I will be speaking at an online seminar organised by the University of Limerick and the University of Luxembourg alongside Aodhán Morris, Aliénor Gandanger, Rachel Beck, Richard Conyngham and Xian Jee. We'll discuss the ways in which our work interrogates history and historiography, and how comics can be used as a tool to educate the public about history. Pretty rad nerdy stuff! If you are curious about my particular approach to my histfic webcomics and my author footnotes, this is for you!
The seminar is on November 15 (Friday), 11 am to 1 pm Ireland time. Click the link here to access the talk when Friday comes!
I think adults in gatekeeping positions (educators, librarians, editors, etc) need comics education MORE than the youth they are attempting to connect to.
(more…)I was interviewed by Aisyah Anesee for her article on The Star (Malaysian newspaper) advocating for comics as a beneficial medium. An abridged version of the interview was printed as a sidebar in the printed edition. I did have some hot takes that weren't all mentioned in the sidebar, so I am posting the original interview here on my blog, which is where all my hot takes live.
(more…)I was asked by the Australian Librarian comics advocacy group ALIA and the Primary English Teachers Association Australia to present a talk on 'the power and potential of graphic novels and comics for young readers, their benefits for developing readers and their language/visual literacy skills, and what you keep in mind when you’re making comics for a young audience!'.
(more…)One of the hardest things about comics that I'm glad to have finally gotten the hang of is writing pitches. It's not elevator-pitch style (don't ask me to do that), but it's concise and has the goldilocks ratio of information needed. (3 pages divided into 6 sections).
(more…)On the rare occasions I step out of my bubble (or, I don't even need to: sometimes the call is coming from inside the house), I time-travel to the era before the rise of Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Art Spiegelman, Marjane Satrapi, etc, and encounter publishing or academic or institutional or creative people who think comics are not a valid art form or even a medium. Despite the fact comics are flourishing in the US, already a core part of literature in Europe and Japan, accessible to a varied audience, and proving itself a strong representational medium for a variety of issues/topics/experiences. But I don't have to reiterate the statistics and official articles and journals to confirm this. It should be as mundanely acceptable a phenomenon as prose books and films in the global cultural consciousness, because it already is a part of said consciousness.
(more…)This is the second stage following the Onion Method: An Outlining Method for Graphic Novels. You got the onion...now how are you going to present it? This post will talk you through how I craft the art direction of a graphic novel... weaving the thematic and character motivations established earlier in the outline into its final, ultimate mode of language: the visuals.
(more…)I was talking to a friend in our Group Chat the other day, and he asked if any of us had any recommendations for a system that'd help him organise the research for his food culture graphic novel. It reminded me that the system I used has changed in the past year, and besides, it's time to make an addendum on the How I Do Research for Graphic Novels post. So here it is. An update of sorts.
(more…)FINALLY YESSS THE NEWS IS OUT!
My new middle-grade adventure graphic novel MY AUNT IS A MONSTER is about a POC blind girl writer and her (formerly) World’s Greatest Adventurer aunt with a big secret. :O You may recognise Lady Whimsy from a post awhile ago!
A bit more in the cut.
(more…)I was asked to share my ups and downs about being creative during these strange times for an article from the Nerdist. Click here for the full story!
Reimena Yee is a graphic novelist, artist and flamingo enthusiast.
She writes and illustrates quite a few webcomics and graphic novels. When not making books, she lulls away her time with essays on craft, life and experiences in the publishing industry. Some of her thoughts of art and life are rather unstructured and will evolve over time as this blog matures, as they should be.
Currently committed to being Alexander the Great's death doula. Is a nerd for all things spooky and historical.
Melbourne / Kuala Lumpur
Melbourne Comics Art Jam, every Saturday 1-3pm
Q-Lit Festival
Perth Comic Arts Festival (all four days)
Melbourne Alternative Comics Festival