Delayed COVID-19 Post about Famous Female Comic Artist

By: Ron Baxley, Jr.

Like many things with COVID-19, my blog has experienced some delays. The delay of posting this blogpost about a famous female comics artist, June Brigman, occured because the newspaper with which I am contracted part-time was originally going to place this online but changed their minds. I queried some independent news outlets about the piece too, but many of them seemed to be only publishing in-house during these difficult times. Finally, a journalistic colleage of mine at another newspaper seemed interested in doing a collaboration regarding this piece but has not replied about it after a couple of weeks. Before it becomes less timely, I decided I should put the piece, which is angled on a famous comics artist coping with circumstances surrounding COVID-19 but NOT having COVID-19 herself, on my blog. Mrs. Brigman was a joy to interview, and I cannot thank her enough for her time and patience. Enjoy.

Note: I met comics artist and creator June Brigman, who was a special guest, during one of the last cons I attended this year as an authorial vendor at FarleyCon in East Ridge, Tennessee on Saturday, March 7 before many cancellations of cons and festivals started happening. She signed a copy of an 80s comic I read as a child, “Power Pack”, for which she did the art. We became friends on social media and have chatted from time to time. Several months ago, Mrs. Brigman, who lives in a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia, agreed to be interviewed by me.

ATLANTA, GA – Even big-name comic book artists and syndicated comics strip artists have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the, at times, introverted nature of artistic work can make a pandemic seem like just another day to some, including to well-known comics artist June Brigman.

June Brigman is a middle-aged American comic book artist and illustrator who was at the tail end of the baby boomer generation and currently lives with her husband, who is also an artist, and seven cats in a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia. She is known, among other things, for creating the preteen superhero characters Power Pack with writer Louise Simonson in 1984.

BEING A POWER PACKED TEAM DURING THE PANDEMIC

Mrs. Brigman stated in an interview over email, “Staying put is business as usual for a cartoonist. My husband and I work at home, and often don't go out for days at a time. We get a kick out of our friends who are going stir crazy (during COVID 19). We've been preparing to shelter in place for most of our adult lives.”

“The pandemic really hasn't affected our lifestyle very much. We don't eat out very often, even under normal circumstances. We do miss seeing friends and going to comic cons. We're really very fortunate to be healthy and have jobs, so we don't have anything to complain about,” Mrs. Brigman added.

She stated she has been submitting work digitally for quite some time so that aspect has not changed. The pandemic has not affected her having to ship artwork in other words because work is submitted over the Internet.

Brigman was also the artist of the syndicated newspaper strip “Brenda Starr, Reporter” from 1995 to 2011. She became the artist for the newspaper comic strip “Mary Worth” in 2016 and continues this to the present day. In addition, Mrs. Brigman has done penciling, inking, and painting for comics but mostly focuses on penciling now. She has done work for numerous comics publishers, including D.C. and Marvel and numerous independents. Also, she has done illustration work for book publishers and the Topps card company. In addition, she taught for two years at the Joe Kubert School of Cartooning and nine years at SCAD. Also, Mrs. Brigman has a BFA in Sequential Art from Empire State University in New York and recently completed a MFA in Illustration for SCAD. She will be an adjunct professor at Kennesaw State University in Georgia this fall.

Mrs. Brigman explained her current process and artistic partnership with her husband, “My husband and I do two different steps in the creation of a comic. I do what's called penciling, the first step in the artistic process. Roy does inking, the second step. We didn't always work together.”

“But at some point editors figured out it was like one stop shopping to let us work together. It's like a little cottage industry,” she mused.

Mrs. Brigman stated that she has not had to have any virtual conferences with any of these comics publishers or other publishers during the pandemic, but she has attended some “zoom cocktail parties which have been kind of fun.”

She added that she has had some friends who came down with the COVID-19 virus, but, thankfully, they have recovered.

Mrs. Brigman has not recently been at a comic con since FarleyCon in March but did have a virtual interview in something called Stay-at-home Con sponsored by the comic-book store Infinite Realities in Tucker, Georgia. Facebook users were able to send in questions, and Ms. Brigman was interviewed by the store owner. As varying types of media have been, stores and others have become innovative with “at-home” methods to spread and promote content and, at times, the items they sell. Artists and celebrities are increasing their outreach more through on-line digital video as well. They are promoting themselves and causes they value.

Mrs. Brigman does not go to many conventions so did not have to do many virtual conventions as a result of the pandemic. Mrs. Brigman explained, “We don't go to many conventions. Comic cons are more about promoting our work and socializing than generating income. We always enjoy hanging out with old friends and making new friends too at a comic con.”

Sometimes details can be revealed about creatives or celebrities when the digital camera is rolling. At least one cat was in the background during the Stay-at-home Con filming of Mrs. Brigman at her residence, for example.

Mrs. Brigman explained over email, “We're currently down to seven cats, but trust me, that's plenty. I have an endless supply of inspiration for Captain Ginger, a comic book I co-created with writer Stuart Moore. It's great science fiction, kind of like the original Star Trek, but with cats and all their idiosyncrasies.”

“Of course, you can't have cats without dogs too. I don't want to give away too much. It's a great read published by a great company, Ahoy Comics. You can find it at your local comic shop, or digitally at Comixology,” she added.

She stated that like the digital filming for Stay-at-Home Con that she may have to be doing the same when she teaches art part-time this fall: “I hope I can teach in person instead of on-line, but we'll have to wait and see.”

THE POWER PACKED BACKGROUND

What Brigman is perhaps best known for at some cons and comics shops is being the co-creator of the 80s comic “Power Pack” which continues to the present day. 

Brigman explained, “Power Pack was a case of being in the right place at the right time, and having the skills to follow through. The writer, Louise Simonson, came up with the concept of siblings who get super powers from an alien who crashes on earth.”

“It was a great idea. But although there were lots of artists who could draw big, muscular super heroes, there weren't many artists who could draw children. I had some experience drawing children after a summer doing portraits at Six Flags Over Georgia, so I was up to the task. Power Pack really was my lucky break,” added Brigman

Brigman stated, “Power Pack are similar to the Fantastic Four, but younger and all brothers and sisters. Recently Marvel has published a teen-aged version of the group. I guess this is to appeal to an older age group. But I think it's a mistake to age them. The fact that they were such young kids made them stand out from the crowd of adult superheroes.”

FROM SUPERHERO COMICS TO SOAP OPERA STRIPS

Mrs. Brigman discussed her background doing art for the Brenda Starr comic strip and, at present, doing the art for the Mary Worth strip.

Mrs. Brigman explained, “Strips and books are different animals. Strips have a very limited format that restricts what you can do as far as layout and storytelling. In comic books, the story advances very quickly, whereas in strips the stories take a week to advance from one scene to another. While I find comic books more challenging, they’re also a lot more fun to draw.”

Brigman stated, “Brenda Starr (the comic) was written by a real reporter, Mary Schmich. Her experience really gave the strip its authentic character. Brenda was certainly more adventurous than Mary Worth.  But Mary and her friends have lots of drama in their lives too.”

“Mary Worth is a soap opera. Strips like Peanuts or Snuffy Smith have a different focus every day. Mary Worth is a continuity strip. So, like a soap opera, the readers have to read the strip almost every day to keep up with the story,” Brigman continued.

“Karen Moy does a great job maintaining the gentle character of the strip that its long time fans still enjoy. I've tried to keep the characters visually recognizable while drawing them in my own style, which is different from the style of previous artists,” she added.

Brigman discussed the online reactions she had when she made some changes to the Mary Worth character initially, “Social media certainly encourages a pack mentality. So if one person makes a nasty comment, fifty more join in. Honestly, I don't read the comments on the strip. The opinions that matter to me are those of my peers, the writer, and of course, my boss.”

DISCOURAGEMENT AND ENCOURAGEMENT AS A COMICS ARTIST

Brigman was not encouraged early on to be a comics artist by her parents. “Ha ha, yes, drawing comics wasn't what they had in mind. They thought art was a nice hobby, but not a good job,” Brigman quipped.

She did eventually break into the comics world as she explained: “I started out working for a small company in Florida called Americomics. Then I did a little job for DC Comics New Talent Showcase. From there I went to Marvel where, portfolio in hand, I made the rounds of the editors.”

“One of the editors was Louise Simonson. She told me about an idea for a group of child siblings who become super heroes. I did some sketches and she submitted our proposal for a book called Power Pack. Marvel approved the idea, and we went to work. Power Pack was my big break that started a thirty five year career in comics,” she added.

  

Brigman stated the comics industry is very different now than when she first started :

“When I started working back in 1983, there were fewer comic book companies and fewer artists. There were also very few women working in comics. Now there are lots of publishers and lots of women working in comics. Comics are also more mainstream.”

“They aren't just for nerdy pubescent boys. The Marvel and DC movies have really made comics a part of pop culture. And the popularity of Manga and Anime with young women has brought more women into the comic industry,” she added.

Brigman does not see herself as the groundbreaker for female comics artists. She stated, “I think the women who broke ground for female creators were a generation ahead of me. Women like Marie Severin, Ramona Fradon, and Trina Robbins really cleared a path for women in comics.”

Brigman’s work has influence from all genders and some big names in comics as shown by her statement: “My comic book work is mostly influenced by great comic book artists like Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Joe Kubert, and Berni Wrightson. But when I was drawing Power Pack I was also influence by an artist from the golden age of American illustration named Jessie Wilcox Smith. Her specialty was children.”

For more information on Ms. Brigman, do a search for Infinite Realities, Stay-at-home Con, and June Brigman at YouTube or go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo1xqJV78ck .