Faith Erin Hicks

I'd already been following Faith Erin Hicks' Superhero Girl comic in Halifax's community rag The Coast when we started planning for the Library program featuring the artist. So, I took the opportunity to read up on Hicks' previous work, which includes Zombies Calling (2007), The War at Ellsmere (2008), and her newest book, Brain Camp (2010).

I like the concept of Superhero Girl; when she isn't collaring criminals or defending the planet, our hero is grappling with the mundane concerns of ordinary life, like figuring out how to pay the bills.

In Zombies Calling, Robyn, Sonnet, and protagonist Joss (an anglophile and zombie movie aficionado) do battle against a campus-full of zombified students guided only by a spork and The Rules of Zombie Movies (e.g., rule number one: "never leave the mall"; rule two: "in a zombie movie, someone will make a sacrifice.") The graphic novel is sophisticated, attractive, and chock full of sly social commentary. In spite of the mayhem that threatens the trio, the only thing that really scares Joss is her student loan (I hear that!).

If you're a comics fan or an artist interested in breaking into the industry, be sure to visit Keshen Goodman Public Library on Thursday, November 18th at 7 p.m. for Hobby to Career: Drawing Comics with Faith Erin Hicks.