Creator Spotlight: Geneva Bowers

(Image from Black Girls Create)

A self-taught illustrator for children’s books including The Dragon Thief and Glow, Geneva Bowers (GDBeeart) currently resides in North Carolina. She’s done work for major animation studios like Disney and Dreamworks, and is a 2018 Hugo Award winner for Best Fan Artist. Her dynamic and soothing art shows tremendous promise.

When I first read Geneva’s webcomic HoverGirls, the colorful and vibrant art style drew me in. The colors, dynamic character expressions, and level of detail stayed with me after the last chapter. HoverGirls follows cousins Jalissa and Kim Vasquez as they try to make a living in the city of Los Aquaceros. And then they become magical girls. Now they have to fight fish monsters during rainstorms. Geneva incorporates and subverts tropes from Japan’s magical girl genre. Instead of the grimdark themes common in most magical girl anime today, she has created a story that’s just as uplifting and confident as her artwork.

Geneva’s lovely illustrations and original pieces evoke calmness and combine realistic and fantastical elements. Her work depicts images of a girl walking with ghosts, a dinosaur garden, a view of an open road, and more. From magical girls to serene landscapes, Geneva never fails to impress.

(Image from Kickstarter)

Her Kickstarter campaign for Weightless, her collection of illustrations from 2020, has already surpassed its initial funding goal of $7,800. On the site, Geneva expresses her purpose to bring about feelings of peace and wandering thoughts, elevating everyday mundane images and moments. The pledge rewards for her campaign include her coloring book Pigments and an exclusive art print. The campaign will end on March 6th, so if you’re able to, please support her!

You can view her artwork on her site and visit her store.

For more great webcomic recommendations, check out our Wednesday Webcomics archives! You can also find more posts about Black creators and their works on The Geekiary here.

Author: Bradda M.

Bradda M. currently lives in Virginia. He teaches ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages) at a public school and spends his free time reading and watching movies each night with his partner. For The Geekiary, he writes about webcomics and SFF media.

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