Today we’d like to introduce you to Jamila Rowser.
Jamila, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My former blog Girl Gone Geek blog was what started me on my path to becoming the comic book writer that I am today. I started blogging back in 2010 about geek culture as a way to talk about what I loved, and hopefully, make friends at the same time. As my blog grew, so did my geek culture network. I met friends Yissel and Rachel and we founded the international meetup group, Geek Girl Brunch, as a way to provide a safe space for women and nonbinary people to geek out and network. It’s only been around a few years and we already have over 12,500 members and chapters around the world. I also founded the hip hop x geek culture project Straight Outta Gotham, which I run with Jemar Souza.
So as you can see, I’ve always had my hand in creating in the space in some form. Having such a deep love for comics, I slowly began to flirt with the idea that I, too, could be a comic book writer. It took a while for me to fight back the self-doubt but eventually, I did and now have two comics out. Wash Day, illustrated by the phenomenal Robyn Smith, is a slice-of-life story that pays tribute to the beauty and endurance of black women and their hair. It’s received a lot of praise and even chosen as one of the best comics of 2018 by the Comics Journal and won a DINKy award! My second comic Wobbledy 3000 is a fun, sci-fi twerking tale illustrated by the fantastic Sabii Borno. I have more comics in the works and plan to publish the comics of other Black and Brown women through my publishing company, Black Josei Press.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Working full-time and managing all of the different projects has definitely been a struggle over the years. I have to constantly work towards having a better work/project/life balance, because my free time is usually spent working on a project, rather than just relaxing. I also have generalized anxiety disorder, depression, an autoimmune disease and chronic illness/pain and that has also made working on my projects difficult, and life in general. Finding the motivation to work, or fighting past the anxiety seemed impossible at times. I would just have to give myself time to feel what I needed to feel, speak to friends and family when I was low, try to remember to be kind to myself and give myself breaks when I wasn’t well.
Tell us about your business/company. What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of as a company? What sets you apart from others?
Right now I’m most proud of my comic, Wash Day. It was my very first comic and Robyn Smith and I put so much love and work into it and it shows. We also were able to get Wash Day translated into Spanish as well because the Kickstarter was so successful. This was something that was very important to me and my Dominican and Puerto Rican heritage because I know the negativity natural hair gets in those cultures as well. The response it’s received is indescribable and was totally unexpected. It tells me that the world likes and wants more stories by and for Black women. It’s really motivated me to continue down this path of telling stories that are very important and special to me and other Black and Brown women.
How would you describe the type of kid you were growing up?
My mom was in the Air Force and my dad was a teacher, so I grew up all over the world. We moved every few years and I spent most of my childhood not living in the continental U.S. I was born in England and lived in Hawaii, Holland, California, and Germany. Living in different countries as a young girl exposed me to different cultures and ways of living that I wouldn’t have seen growing up in the states. My parents also taught me to be proud of my heritage as a young girl as well. All of which helped me understand how different societies viewed me, as a Black, Latina and American woman at a very young age. I was also very active and played sports, but also loved playing video games with my brother and cousin for hours.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jamilarowser.com/
- Email: jamila@jamilarowser.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamilarowser/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JamilaRowser/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/JamilaRowser
- Other: https://www.blackjoseipress.com/
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