Comics/Graphic Novels

Off-Panel: Sana Amanat Became Her Own Hero

Swapna Krishna

Staff Writer

Swapna is the Comics Editor at Book Riot. She's a Space Columnist for Paste Magazine and writes for Syfy Wire—Fangrrls, Tor.com, Bustle, and other sites. She co-hosts a podcast called Desi Geek Girls. You can find her incessant ramblings on Twitter at @skrishna. She lives outside Philadelphia.

Our daily round-up of news around the comics space, from the gutters and beyond.

“Growing up in overwhelmingly white suburban New Jersey, Amanat was pained and felt like an “outsider” as one of the only Muslim families in the community, and often the only person of color in her class. Amanat’s identity as a Pakistani-American Muslim (her parents were recent immigrants) in an otherwise overwhelmingly Caucasian community led her to find solace in an unlikely place: on the pages of X-MEN comic books, where she found friends and inspiration in the “otherness” of the superhero characters of those stories.”

This video/article from MAKERS on how Sana Amanat is her own hero is everything. (Extra shout out to Sana’s mother talking about how she prayed for a daughter. TEARS, people.)

“As a follow-up to our much-beloved DuckTales Theme Song with Real Ducks, and to kick off this year’s #DisneyThrowback Week, we thought it only fitting to remake the Chip ‘n’ Dale Rescue Rangers theme song with … you guessed it, real chipmunks.”

WHATTTTT.

“Breaking into comics is tough. So, every year, we at Top Cow run this Talent Hunt, as an opportunity for unpublished artists and writers to get a shot a showcasing their stuff and getting some real industry work.”

Aspiring comic artists and writers, take note!