I didn’t get to spend a lot of time on the floor this year for lots of reasons (fun! interviews! sunshine!), but early Sunday morning I snaked my way to the floor entrance to get a glimpse of all the things I had missed, hoping to find something cool to bring home on my flight.
In the independent press area, I found it. It was a small booth, and I wouldn’t have stopped, but they had a huge pile of mini-buttons, 2 for $1, multi-fandoms, and I was looking for little trinket gifts to bring home to my kids. Those huge piles of cheap buttons pulled me in, but the art on their comic books had me asking questions.
Kymera Press
The booth was for Kymera Press, an independent comic book company that is fully run by WOMEN! The “booth dude” as he called himself was just there to help hawk their goods, but the creators, writers and owners were all women. They had five titles for sale, and all of them looked great. According to their website,
Kymera Press is one of the few woman-owned comic book publishers in the industry. We publish comics that are written and drawn by women, to be loved and cherished by folks of all sexes.
The fastest growing demographic in comic readership is women. Comixology reports that 20 percent of their readers are women, up from 5 percent the previous year. And yet, women artists and creators are underutilized in the business.
So when Debbie Lynn Smith decided to turn her writing skills toward comics, it was with the specific mission of promoting these underutilized but immensely talented women artists and creators. Also, she wanted to get away from the sexualized bodies used to sell comics to teenage boys of all ages, and create and publish comics that reflect a more realistic view of girls and women.
Join Kymera Press in celebrating comics and the women who adore them. And to those who keep telling us that we are bound to fail, “We’re not asking for permission …”
That pitch was enough to get me to listen to each of the series summaries, and to purchase two of the titles in full.
Our wonderful writers – @nancyholder (Mary Shelley Presents) @kellyswails (Dragons by the Yard) @DLynnSmith_GoM (Gates of Midnight) @ElephantSkinny (Ivory Ghosts) at @Comic_Con #SDCC2018 #SDCC18 #SDCC pic.twitter.com/PO4p2uvn68
— Kymera Press @SDCC # 2003 (@KymeraPress) July 22, 2018
Pet Noir
I have to be honest, other than the buttons, the art of Pet Noir is what hooked me into purchasing. Look at that cute freaking kitty! Kitty! In! Space! Kitty that needs to be loved in space!!!!
My 11 year old daughter loves the Warrior Cats novels by Erin Hunter, and every iteration of YouTube animation of Warrior Cats she can find. She has even been known to delve down into the depths of Deviant Art, looking for depictions of her favorite cat warriors.
Pet Noir? The covers are gorgeous, smart-looking cats. The story is based on a series of short stories by Pati Nague, and is essentially about a genetically enhanced detective cat with a human partner. When I came home from SDCC with it (and other goodies) in tow, my daughter was really impressed. She read all five issues that night. She liked them so much, I thought I would do a quick interview with her about them, for posterity’s sake.
Interview with an 11-year-old girl
So, Pet Noir is your first comic book that you’ve read all the way through? What do you think of it?
It’s cute, first of all. I love the artist. And it’s good. A good story.
How fast did you read it?
Around maybe 3 hours to read all five of the first issues. I like to do the voices in my head.
What do you like about the art?
It’s realistic and it’s so great. Also there is a lot of comedy art – you know, with the eyes, the color makes the eyes pop with sarcasm. I like that.
What makes it different than other comics you’ve picked up?
I haven’t read any comic books that weren’t online.
Do you think read more?
Yes. I want the rest of these right now!
You said it ended on a cliffhanger?
YES! He’s either going to get ravaged by dogs or nothing is going to happen. I don’t know exactly what kind of cliffhanger I’m dealing with.
What do you think of the characters?
Devon [the human] is just a side-kick. He’s not a main character, but Leon is apparently his new pet.
Spatz is probably my favorite character because she’s the funniest. I love Cuddles because I feel like he’s a love interest for Spatz. They seem like they could be together.
And the main character, Leon?
I love his eyes and his obsession with shrimp and French fries. One thing I’m annoyed with, is I can’t tell if he’s a kitten or not. His mother is half his size, but when he was taken away, his siblings were still kittens! Maybe he’s big because he’s genetically modified. But his eyes are the best.
My sweet girl loved her first experience with comic books, and I have to thank the creators and writers at Kymera Press for that.
