It’s Thursday which brings us a new interview and our 11th “Women of BOOM!” feature, spotlighting the many kick-ass women that work at BOOM!, Archaia and KaBOOM! We’re focusing on everyone, editors, designers, writers, artists, you name it! We’re making sure to include the hard-working folks whose contributions are often overlooked in the process.

BOOM! (and KaBOOM! and Archaia) has given us unprecedented access and the chance to ask questions to their staff, and creative teams, to find out why the publisher is so successful in hiring women and their experiences in the comic industry as women.

Artist Megan Hutchison is up to the plate this week. Her graphic novel An Aurora Grimeon Story: Will O’ the Wisp debuts this week from Archaia. Hutchinson’s line work is delicate, animated, and spooky, blending influences from Tim Burton and Mike Mignola. The story follows a young girl who is forced to live with her estranged grandfather on a mysterious island where she thrusts herself into the middle of the mystery on it, uncovering secrets that might be better left buried.

Graphic Policy: How did you get involved in the comic book industry?

Megan Hutchison: I came into the comic industry through making movies. I met my writing partner at film school and we developed our graphic novel based on a screenplay that he was outlining. I always wanted to draw professionally, especially a comic book or graphic novel, so we decided to put a pitch together and shop it around. It was picked up and just recently completed. Comic books and movies are surprisingly similar — both are narrative, visual storytelling.  Film has helped me to become a better comic book illustrator and illustrating has made me a better filmmaker.

GP: Did you read comics growing up? Do you read them now?

MH: When I was a kid my older brother read comic books, so I read comic books as well. My dad would take us to the comic store every other Saturday to pick out a few issues of whatever we were reading, so learned to draw coping pages out of X-Men and Batman as most young artists do. At the comic store I was also exposed to Manga, which influenced my art quite a bit. As my brother and I got older, we grew out of it until the last few years of high school when I was introduced to graphic novels though other artist friends. I read every graphic novel I could get my hands on. I still do.

GP: How did you come to work with BOOM!/Archaia?

MH: When we had put our pitch together for our graphic novel, we researched a few publishers that we’d like to approach. What really stood out to us about Archaia was the quality of their books. They are beautifully printed, designed, and a lot of care goes into each book. I was drawn to the quality and uniqueness of artwork of each of their projects.  We knew that we wanted to have that kind of quality and care given to our project. We consider ourselves very lucky to work with such talented editors and other creatives throughout the whole process.

GP: How would you describe your job for people?

MH: I get to make movies on a page. While drawing a page I become the director, production designer, cinematographer, costume designer, etc. It’s a dream job.

GP: For people who want to pursue a career in what you do, what advice would you give them?

MH: Anything worth having is something worth fighting for, and creating and illustrating a comic book or graphic novel is no different. If it is something that you want, you have to go after it. It is very very tough, but there is nothing else like it.

GP: Did you have a mentor to help you break into the industry? Do you mentor anyone yourself?

MH: I was very fortunate to have Ed Brubaker as my mentor. I was art directing a film that he had written, when he took a shine to my writing partner and I. During our many weeks on set, he introduced us to his friends in the comic book industry, which helped us get our foot in the door. He is still a big advocate of our work and has been very supportive through the whole process. Although I don’t mentor anyone personally, I would like to.

GP: Do you think women have a more difficult time breaking in and making it in the comic industry, if so why? And if yes, how do you think that can be overcome?

MH: As in the film industry, there are very few woman in the comic industry. It does make it harder to break into the “boys club” as a female. However, what I found in the comic industry is that there is a lot more support. I met with a lot of female editors who would bend over backwards for me because they want to see other talented woman thrive. I think that is the key. We should all be supporting each other.

GP: We notice that when it comes to women in the comic industry, BOOM!/Archaia has a lot of diversity present. Why do you think have they succeeded when so many other publishers struggle with this?

MH: BOOM!/Archaia’s books are unique and diverse, which represents the motivation of the company. There is a lot of creativity and out of the box thinking within the company, which needs to come from a range of different creative people. I think the older companies struggle with this a bit because it is hard to change these out-of-date rules of what kind of comics are made and how to make them.

GP: We’ve heard horror stories concerning women in the industry, have you ever seen or been discriminated/harassed and if so, how did you handle it?

MH: I’m very lucky to not have had to deal the discrimination first hand, although I know that it’s there. What I do notice is, within the comic industry, it’s hard to find material about a strong female character who isn’t overly sexualized. I think this is a problem. Much of what motivated my writing partner and I to develop our story in particular was the main character being a young girl who solves the mystery using her brain, bravery and science. Growing up reading comics, thewoman were all very unrealistic, which is the result of a male dominated industry. I think it is important for not only woman, but all creators to make material for today’s female audience.

GP: What advice do you have for women looking to break into the comic book industry?

MH: You have to be brave and rely on your integrity to break into in this industry. I have been passed over for so many jobs because I’m a woman, but I refuse to let that stop me. Find like-minded people who will build you up and strengthen you as you work towards your goal.  Push the negative people aside, they will only slow you down. If you have a passion, relentlessly follow it.