WCW: JAMILA ROWSER-WRITER
You guys may have seen me post about Geek Girl Brunch, on my social media pages. I am so grateful to have found the Geek Girl Brunch Community. I have met so many amazing women through it and wonderful friends.
I had the opportunity last week to talk to co-founder Jamila Rowser. Jamila is bomb! She has written for NYLON Magazine, MTV, Mass Appeal and Critical Chips 2 (which was nominated for the 2018 Angouleme Alternative Comics Award). In addition to Wash Day and Geek Girl Brunch, she also founded Straight Outta Gotham, a project that highlights connections between hip-hop and geek culture.
Back to her new project Wash Day! Wash Day is a slice-of-life comic that pays tribute to the beauty and endurance of Black women and their hair. The 27-page story was written by Jamila Rowser and illustrated by Robyn Smith, with script edits by J.A. Micheline. It follows Kimana, a 26-year-old woman living in the Bronx, as she cares for her long, thick hair.
As Kim goes through her Sunday morning rituals, readers experience the highs and lows of her day—fresh coffee, rising rent, girl talk and catcalls.
Jamila, inspired by her own wash day ritual and desire to read more comics by and for women of color, decided to follow the words of the great Toni Morrison, “If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it
Robyn decided to peruse comics so she could tell stories that highlight the personal and societal aspects of Black womanhood. It is those very facets that she saw in Wash Day and drew her to the project, “There’s something radical about a story of a Black woman taking time for herself and taking care of herself in ways extremely specific to Blackness.”
Wash Day will be self-published with the help of a Kickstarter campaign. Which runs from April 3rd - May 4th. Hyped to see Washday exceed its Kickstarter goal of $5k to $10k! #blackgirlmagic at its finest!
A physical copy of the comic book, Wash Day
Check out my q&a with Jamila below!
O.C.O: What brought you to comics?
J.R: I’ve always enjoyed anime, video games and sci-fi and fantasy, so comics was inevitable for me. I also had a late uncle named Barry who was a huge comic book fan and was a big inspiration to me as well. He took me to my first comic con when I was young.
O.C.O: What was the inspiration behind “Wash Day”? and Why was it important to you to highlight the day in the life of Kimana?
J.R: I love josei manga and I wanted to create a Black josei comic basically. A comic by and for Black women. There’s a quote Robyn Smith, the artist of Wash Day, said that I think describes up it beautifully, “There’s something radical about a story of a Black woman taking time for herself and taking care of herself in ways extremely specific to Blackness.”
Preview pages, illustration by Robyn Smith
O.C.O: How did you and Robyn link up?
J.R: I found Robyn on Twitter! Someone had retweeted her art and I was drawn to it. I look at more of her work and I loved her style and read her moving comic The Saddest Angriest Black Girl in Town and reached out to about working on Wash Day. She was excited to be a part of the project and loves drawing hair, which is great because there’s a lot of it in this comic. She’s been an absolute pleasure to work with.
With a pledge of $30 or more, readers will receive a Wash Day sticker sheet featuring art by Robyn Smith.
Preview pages, illustration by Robyn Smith
O.C.O: Who has had the biggest influence on you outside the comics industry, and how did they affect your life?
J.R: Other than my Uncle Barry, I would say my friends and music are my biggest influencers. Specifically, artists like Frank Ocean, Solange, SZA and Tyler the Creator, especially their recent projects. Missy Elliot, Erykah Badu and Outkast are also big inspirations to me as well. I think they are all highly creative people whose art is often clever and intellectual, but also deeply relatable and accessible to many.
Preview pages, illustration by Robyn Smith
O.C.O: What element of your work gives you the most personal satisfaction?
J.R: That I get to work on something that I care about. It sounds simple, but it’s truly fulfilling to be able to devote time and energy into a project you’re passionate about.
O.C.O: If a young girl is interested in creating comics, what’s the best advice you can offer her?
J.R: Create what you want to exist in the world.
O.C.O: What’s on your horizon? Any current/future projects and plans/dreams you can share with us?
J.R: I am working on a mini comic that I’m not ready to announce yet. I hope to release it late summer/early fall. I’m pretty excited about it! I can say that it is inspired by an iconic song.
O.C.O: What advice would you give to aspiring artists wanting to use their art to address social issues?
J.R: Try to let go of the pressure to be the representative of your people. It’s often a burden I feel as one of the few Black women who works in a predominantly white space (I’m talking about my 9-5 job), but I actively try to let it go and remind myself that my experience is mines alone and I can’t and shouldn’t have to represent my race or sex. The same goes for stories, of course there are experiences we all share, but don’t get hung up on trying to include everyone’s experience.
Support Wash Day y'all: www.washdaycomic.com the kickstarter campaign runs through May 4th.
You can follow Jamila on Instagram and Twitter.
Xo
Kos
