Stephanie Williams

Stephanie Williams is a meme queen and a thread of comedy. You can hear some of her pop culture commentary on the podcast The Lemonade Podcast and get a taste of her comic book expertise on the first two seasons of Misty Knight’s Uninformed Afro. She is currently a freelance writer for SYFYFANGRRLS where she, you guessed it, writes about comics. She is also currently writing webcomics, Parenthood Activate! and But What If Though. You can find both on WEBTOON!

Black Girls Create: What do you create?

I have two webcomics that I write, Parenthood Activate! and But What If Though. 

I used to create podcasts. Misty Knight’s Uninformed Afro is the one where I got to focus on Black superheroines and characters in comics. I still talk about comics, but mainly on my Twitter account and in articles I write for SYFYFANFGRRLS.

BGC: When did you get into comics? What draws you to them?

I first got into comics thanks to my older brother. I was already a huge fan of the X-Men thanks to the animated series and the video games. My brother had a copy of Uncanny X-Men, the issue with Storm in her iconic white suit kissing Forge on the cover, and I ruined it with my fingerprints. It was a wrap after that. There was never a time I didn’t try to sneak a comic in the shopping cart whenever we would go grocery shopping with my mom. Archie Digest became a huge staple in my comic reading catalog. 

BGC: What was the inspiration for Living Heroes?

Living Heroes was originally supposed to be just a one-off for my webcomic series But What If Though, which is an anthology webcomic that remixes characters from Marvel and DC, as well as iconic characters from beloved movies and television shows. I love the sitcom Living Single and I loved the idea of Misty Knight, Storm, Monica Rambeau, and She-Hulk interacting with one another in a similar setting. These characters have all interacted with one another in comics but usually as fellow superheroes doing superhero stuff, which is great, but I wanted to play around with these characters and explore how friendships would work between them all. 

BGC: What do you hope your audience gets out of your work?

A good time. I love to make people laugh. So, I’m hoping that people have a few moments of feeling good while engaging in my work. 

BGC: Who or what inspires you to create?

I’m not sure how cliche this sounds but my son inspires me. He’s a 4-year-old, which means he is so full of creativity, wonder, and so fearless. Watching him explore his creativity without fear inspired me to do the same. We get in our own way so much the older we get. Children are a beautiful reminder of how to just go create the thing you want to create and have fun doing it. 

BGC: Why is it important as a Black person to create? 

If we don’t create, someone else will and give us absolutely no credit. Actually, that already happens and has happened in the past. 

BGC: How do you balance creating with the rest of your life? 

Honestly, I don’t know sometimes. I know that having a support system that allows me space and time to create is a huge help. 

BGC: Any advice for new creators?

Get out of your own way. Try not to let fear paralyze you. 

BGC: Any future projects coming up?

At the moment no but I’m always one tweet away from being inspired to do create something. 

You can follow Stephanie @Steph_I_Will on Twitter, and check out her Kickstarter campaign for Living Heroes here.