Noelle Stevenson

“Social media is basically the entire reason I have a career right now. Like everything, my readership for 'Nimona' came because I was active on Tumblr.”

“I've always liked shape-shifter characters. I gravitated towards characters like Mystique from 'X-Men,' Zam Wesell from 'Star Wars,' and Tonks from 'Harry Potter.'”

“I'm very lucky to have been given a lot of freedom in my career, but it's also fun to play in other people's playgrounds!”

“The reason I wanted to do a webcomic was that I could be my own boss, and I could call the shots myself.”

“I think almost anyone is capable of doing things that are evil or hurtful or harmful.”

“Usually I start with a concept, which I then sketch out so that I can get a feel for the character. The character doesn't really become real to me until I draw them.”

“People are like, 'Are Nimona and Ballister romantic?' And I'm like, 'No! Of course not.' 'Well, are Ballister and Goldenloin in a relationship?' And I'm like, 'Yeah, okay.'”

“I love the female characters in 'She-Ra.' There isn't another show quite like it.”

“I think technology is changing and growing, and the best approach to have is to be self-aware and aware of what's going on around you and also have some idea of who you are and how to make that ever-changing climate work in your favor.”

“I do more research about 'Lumberjanes' than I did for a story of medieval knights.”

“I didn't get into comics until college, and it was sort of an accident.”

“I feel that kids are smart, and I feel that kids will understand things even if they don't understand them from personal experience.”

“It seems like everyone in my peer group has more 'Pokemon' knowledge than I do.”

“I know that when I was a kid, and I was reading whatever I could get my hands on, I didn't associate myself with the girl characters.”

“I was always looking for the female characters in sci-fi and fantasy who were more than just the girlfriend.”

“Some comics are made to be displayed digitally, and it doesn't degrade them.”

“Just make the comics you want to see, and people will notice.”

“I tend to bristle at people praising alt comics as some kind of perfect comics paradigm, because there's quite a lot of misogyny in its history as well. Like, in my first comics class, every single great comic creator we studied was male.”

“'Nimona' was originally a vague idea I had when I was in high school, when I was just getting into shapeshifting characters. It was a straightforward superhero story at the time. Nimona was named Nightshade, and she had an eyepatch for some reason. There was nothing really special about it, though.”

“I personally always have a hard time relating to queer characters in media because I didn't really see myself in them. They were kind of pigeonholed early on as the gay character, and they would naturally end up with the other gay character who would emerge at some point as their love interest.”