Not all heroes put on capes. So goes the tagline of Wonderful Women Of The World, an anthology of tales launched at the side of the eightieth anniversary of Wonder Woman, which celebrates real-life surprise girls of the world.
According to a submit on Inkspots, DC Comics’ official weblog, the inspiration behind this book is a function that ran behind DC’s Wonder Woman comics from 1942 to 1954, which highlighted highly effective and revolutionary girls from historical past.
In conjunction with the Amazonian Princess’ eightieth anniversary, the writer has picked up the place that function left off with this new anthology.
The anthology is edited by writer Laurie Halse Anderson (who has additionally written a Wonder Woman graphic novel for younger adults titled Wonder Woman: Tempest Tossed), and based on the official synopsis, “connects each highlighted woman through the lens of them being “wonder women” in their very own rights – whether or not they’re athletes, entertainers, scientists, activists or somebody who (on function) doesn’t match any particular mildew”.
The girls chosen for the anthology are “real-world heroes who take up Diana’s mantle and work in the fields of science, social justice activism, diplomacy and more”.
What actually piqued my curiosity on this book much more, nonetheless, was the truth that one in all these surprise girls occurs to be a Malaysian!
Yes, one of many tales places the highlight on Professor Khatijah Mohamad Yusoff, an academician and virologist whose analysis on how the poultry virus Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV) can be utilized to deal with most cancers is recognised worldwide.
Prof Khatijah has acquired varied awards and world recognition for her work, and in 2005, she was awarded UNESCO’s Carlos Finlay Prize for microbiology, and was solely the second Asian scientist to win that accolade.
Interested to find out extra about how Prof Khatijah’s story got here to be revealed in a DC comic book, we reached out to the Malaysian artist who drew the comic, 39-year-old Sarawakian sketch artist Hanie Mohd.
Professor Khatijah Mohamad Yusoff is an academician and virologist whose analysis on how the poultry virus Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV) can be utilized to deal with most cancers is recognised worldwide.
The course of
Hanie, whose full title is Nur Hanie Mohd, got concerned with the anthology when DC editor Kristy Quinn emailed her to ask if she was eager about collaborating within the undertaking.
Hanie had beforehand carried out some work for IDW’s Womanthology: Space collection.“Kristy told me that that I was recommended by another artist that she knows, and asked if I could do some work for them under a very tight deadline. The timeline was a bit crazy, but I couldn’t say no once I heard what the project was about!” Hanie stated in an interview.
“I still had to show her samples of my works and storytelling style to get approval from the higher-ups before we actually began the groundwork for the comic.”
Once she got the approval, Hanie was requested to provide her enter on who she wish to draw, primarily based on a roster of severely superb famend girls around the globe. Once it was determined to deal with Prof Khatijah, she was then requested if she wanted help in finishing the undertaking, because the deadline was actually tight.
“I requested for both a writer and a colourist as I feel that I needed to focus on just drawing the artwork. Getting Amanda Deibert on board as the writer was, to be honest, truly mind-blowing for me. She came up with a script, and after doing some research (and building up a reference folder), I drew a rough layout for all eight pages based on the script,” Hanie stated.
“The layout is then shared with both Amanda and Kristy so they would be able to see the flow of the story. They gave their feedback based on this first draft, and I would revise the panelling or drawings accordingly following their feedback.
“Once the rough layout/rough penciling were approved, I proceeded to do the final inking for all eight pages. I then passed all these completed inks (along with my reference folder) to the colourist, Shari Chankhamma, whom I chose because I like the way she harnesses colours in her works.”
According to Hanie, the entire course of took about a month and a half from begin to end, and was a very collaborative effort the place everybody had a probability to voice their opinions in each step of the way in which.
Hanie says that it felt surreal that Prof Khatijah contributed her personal ideas and experiences in the direction of the story.
Contact with Khatijah
Wonderful Women Of The World is split into 5 sections – Strength, Compassion, Justice, Equality, and Truth.
The “Strength” chapter options tennis legends Serena and Venus Williams, Canadian aviator Teara Fraser, Pakistani activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, and American trans dancer and choreographer Leiomy Maldonado.
Meanwhile, “Justice” highlights late US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, local weather change activist Greta Thunberg, and marriage equality activist Edith Windsor.
Tennis greats Serena and Venus Williams are among the many girls featured within the anthology.“Compassion” consists of American writer and speaker Brené Brown, celebrity Beyoncé, teenage activist Mari Copeny aka “Little Miss Flint” and Peruvian tech entrepreneur Mariana Costa Checa, founding father of the non-profit net improvement group Laboratoria.
Under “Equality”, we get tales about astronaut Ellen Ochoa, Japanese comic Naomi Watanabe, trans activist Marsha P. Johnson, and actor Keiko Agena.
“Truth” options Nigerian physicist and local weather change activist Francisca Nneka Okeke, incapacity activist Judith Heumann, water scientist Márcia Barbosa, and Prof Khatijah.
Of the 5 chapters, “Strength” appears probably the most acceptable one to explain Hanie’s work on the story, particularly since she was additionally closely pregnant along with her first baby on the time.
“I was praying the whole time that I wouldn’t pop anytime soon!” stated Hanie, who’s at present a sketch card artist.
Although she will not be tied to any common comic job for the time being, she had beforehand carried out work for IDW (the Womanthology: Space graphic novel) as effectively for native comic magazines like Karangkraf’s JOM and SEAD Studio’s Awang Khenit.
Being in a position to converse to Khatijah herself concerning the story was additionally a “surreal” expertise for Hanie.
“I sought Prof Khatijah out while Kristy was sourcing a writer, as I wanted to get a head start in getting information about her, and also get a feel on who she is as a person,” Hanie recalled. The artist watched the professor’s lectures on-line, did some Google searches and eventually emailed Khatijah to see if she would have the ability to reply a few questions.
“I actually didn’t expect her to respond, given how busy she must be, but to my amazement, she actually replied to my email!” Hanie stated.
“It still feels surreal to me that Prof Khatijah had contributed her own thoughts and experiences towards the story.
“The whole experience was amazing to say the least. I just feel beyond grateful and humbled by (everything). To be working on an actual Malaysian felt a dream come true, or rather, a dream I didn’t know I could dare hope for,” Hanie concluded.
You can try Hanie’s work on Facebook or Instagram (@hanie_draws).
