“I understand that you wrote this book, in part, for your daughter. What did you see that she I’ve grown up with a lasting love of comics. I’ve lost track of them occasionally, but the books and characters have always been a part of my life. I want that for my daughter too. However, I feel like there is a distinct shortage of books I would feel comfortable handing my daughter these days (at least before she turned 16 or so). Good heroines are few and far between. When you look for ones that are leading books, it narrows the scope more. When you look for one that is appropriate for kids, it gets much narrower. When you talk about one with a lead female of color, the number drops to nearly zero (they exist, they are just very difficult to find). My daughter is black and while I encourage her to look for role models of all colors, girls need to be able to see girls that are like themselves in media. They need it even more when it comes to seeing them portrayed with strength. And, unfortunately, I think that’s sort of a symptom of this exclusionary tendency in the self-professed nerd culture circles. I would love nothing more than to change that culture, but barring that, I’ll help create another one.”

Liz interviewed Jeremy Whitely, creator of the awesome kid’s comic Princeless.

Check it out here.