Women In Comics Month: Interview with Agnes Garbowska

In honor of Women in Comics this March, PREVIEWSworldtalks with writer Agnes Garbowska!

PREVIEWSworld: Tell us a little bit about yourself! What are you currently working on?

Agnes Garbowska: I was born in Poland and immigrated to Canada when I was a young child. Since I was an immigrant I could not speak English and I spent a lot of my time in front of the TV watching cartoons and doodling what I saw. I became fascinated with cartoons and this lead me to become obsessed with art and comic books. I could not stop drawing and I knew from early on that I wanted to have a career with art. I did not know it was going to be comics at the time, but I knew I had to draw. It was my love of telling stories that lead me to pursue a career in comics.

I am currently working on the My Little Pony line of books for IDW as an interior artist, as well as doing cover art for IDW and other companies.

PREVIEWSworld: How long have you been working with sequential art? What titles, companies, and creators have you worked with over your time in comics?

Agnes Garbowska: I have been working with sequential art now for about 10 years. Since I started in comics I have usually done all the pencils, inks, and colors myself, with the exception to a few projects. I started in small press and self publishing till I got my break in 2009 working on Girl Comics and Spider-Ham 25th anniversary for Marvel Comics. Words cannot express how honored I was to be able to work on both these projects. For Girl Comics, me and Robin Furth worked very closely together to develop the story. This was a very exciting experience and still one of the most memorable.

It was about two years ago that I started working with IDW. It all started with an exclusive cover for Boston Comic Con when my art rep, Bob Shaw, pushed my name forward for a My Little Pony cover.  I showed Bobby Curnow (MLP editor extraordinaire) my web comics in a printed collection — the MyMisiu Gazette at many conventions. I was able to prove to him that I could draw ponies as well. Bobby trusted me enough to continue to give me cover work, which then lead to interior work. I have been continuously working on MLP since then, and I’m loving it. I have had the honor to work with amazing writers on the MLP books, including Ted Anderson, Christina Rice, Jeremy Whitley, and Thom Zahler.

Since working at IDW I also have had many amazing opportunities to work for other companies as well. I did a back story for Victories for Dark Horse written by Michael Oeming. As well as stories for Aspen Comics, including a Free Comic Book Day issue. A year ago I was also able to take part in Dynamite Entertainment’s Li’l Dynamite run of books where I did all the subscription covers and the interiors for Li’l Vampi. The most recent work other than MLP is that I did a number of Off Panel strips for Archie Comic’s Sonic Universe comics. Archie Comics recently put out a issue with my cover as well.

In addition to sequential art I have also been a cover artist for a number of books. I have done covers for Power Puff Girls, Samurai Jack, Littlest Pet Shop, Judge Anderson, and Jem and the Holograms comics for IDW. I have worked on covers for Aspen comics for their comics Damsels in Excess and Fathom Kiani Volume #4, where all the covers paid homage to popular movie posters. Dynamite Entertainment put out a Doodle Jump comic and I was able to contribute a cover to the series.

PREVIEWSworld: Did you have a mentor or hero in the industry that inspired you to pursue a career in comics?

Agnes Garbowska: I actually have a number hero’s in the industry that I looked up to when I was younger and others than I have started to look up when I started working in comics. When I was younger I love Michael Turner, Chris Bachalo, Jim Lee, and Joe Mad. I bought all the comics with their art. I remember trying to draw all the characters from their stories. I was a huge X-Men fan so I had sketch books filled with X-Men art. Since I started working in comics I had the pleasure of meeting amazing creators, such as Dustin Nguyen, Skottie Young, Ming Doyle, Gail Simone, Tony Daniel, and Geoff Johns just to name a few. Whether it is with their stories or art I was captivated and it made me want to work even harder at becoming a better creator. I believe that it is persistence and hard work that are the road to success.

PREVIEWSworld: In your opinion, how has the comic book industry evolved in terms of gender? 

Agnes Garbowska: I believe publishers are realizing now, more than ever that women and girls also love comics too. When I was growing up it really was harder to find books for girls, but it was not really something I thought about. I just picked up any comic that interested me. I love X-Men, Supergirl, Fathom, Battle Chasers, and Witchblade the most. I looked up to Supergirl and Rogue. They were my favorite characters growing up. Now there are so many more titles and super heroes for woman to enjoy.

I also believe that there are more woman in comics now than before as well. Especially in small press or self publishing. IDW has a number of great women working on the MLP books including Sara Richard, Amy Mebberson, Katie Cook, Christina Rice, Barbara Randall Kesel, Brenda Hickey, Heather Breckel, Lauren Perry (My flatting assistant), and more! I think it is because there are more women working in comics that there is more content coming out that women and girls can enjoy.

PREVIEWSworld: What stereotypes do you see surrounding women in comics? How could people of all genders go about breaking those stereotypes? 

Agnes Garbowska: This isn’t so much a stereotype, but more of an assumption people make and that is that being a woman in comics is very different than being a man. I get asked a lot what it is like to be a woman in comics and I always give the same answer. It’s about the work and your work ethic, not what gender you are. I don’t get hired because I am a woman. I get hired because I can tell a story and I am extremely hard working.  I have been very lucky that I have not experienced a lot of discrimination because I am a woman. I am dedicated to my craft and hitting my deadlines. This is what should be most important. I think maybe there are not that many women in mainstream comics because a lot of the women creators I know have very unique styles, but this is also why this is the best time to be in comics. More companies are looking for unique styles and this is where a lot of women are starting to find their way into mainstream books, not just small press, web comics, or self publishing.

PREVIEWSworld: How do you want to see women represented in comic books 10 years from now?

Agnes Garbowska: I want women to be represented as strong, independent, and able to kick bum! Now more than ever you are reading comics and web comics where the women don’t just wait to be rescued by their prince or their hero. It is the women who do the rescuing and it’s the women who are the leaders.

PREVIEWSworld: If you could give advice to any aspiring editors, executives, writers, or artists, what would you tell them?

Agnes Garbowska: Never give up. No matter what anyone says or if they try to put you down, please, never give up on your dreams. Living your dream can be a very hard road and filled with many obstacles. It really is about persistence, hard work, taking criticism, and dedication. You are allowed to make mistakes, but make sure to learn from them.

PREVIEWSworld: And lastly, are there any up-and-coming women creators who you would recommend readers check out?

Some up-and-coming women creators that I know will make it big in no time are Meaghan Carter who has two super awesome webcomics Take Off and God Slave. As well as Caitlin Major who has a number of self published books and web comics including Space Pyrates ad Peach Plum Pear.

Check out more Women In Comics Month interviews in our special section on PREVIEWSworld!