Tee Franklin

Tee Franklin is a black, gay, disabled comic book writer for Image Comics. She is the first black woman to be hired by the company and hopes to pave the way for more marginalized comic creators. She is the creator of the hashtag #BlackComicsMonth.[1]

Early life

Tee Franklin was born on February 11. She was introduced to comics by a family member who would regularly babysit her.[2] She continued to read them until she got married and had kids. She got divorced in 2011 and returned to the comic book world, starting out with reviews of comics, and interviews. In 2014, she realized how hard it was to find a comic with someone that looked like her in it or on it, so she took it upon herself to start writing those stories. She regularly speaks out against the lack of representation in comics, and gained the respect of several well-known comic creators, who "peer pressured" her into creating comics.[3] She is a domestic abuse survivor and has written her miniseries Jook Joint as a therapeutic release.[4] Tee Franklin was in a car accident in 2014 that left her permanently disabled and has been using a mobility aid, and regularly speaks out about accommodating at conventions.[5] She currently resides in New Jersey.

Career

Her first book was Bingo Love, was kickstarted in 2016, raised $57,000, and was published by Image Comics, selling out before it even hit the shelves. She specifically crowdfunded it to see if people were actually interested in these kinds of stories.[6] Bingo Love is a love story about the adolescent same-sex romance of Hazel Johnson and Mari McCray that spans more than 60 years. Forced apart by their families and society, Hazel and Mari both married young men and had families. Now in their mid 60’s, they meet again at a bingo hall and realize they still love each other. The book has been nominated for a GLAAD Media Awards for Outstanding Comic Book[7] and has also won Prism Comics’s 2017 Queer Press Grant.[8]

Jook Joint was originally written in 2016 following a suicide attempt. Her therapist suggested doing something constructive and she began writing about her trauma.[2] Jook Joint is a socially conscious period horror story about Mahalia, who runs the hottest spot in New Orleans in the 1950s. She puts a trigger warning at the beginning of the book along with hotline numbers because of the themes of the book. She wants her readers to be prepared before they read it.[2]

Her writing is also featured in Nailbiter #27: "The Outfit",[9] Love is Love: "Tears", and Elements Anthology: “A Blazin'”[10].

See also

References
  1. Ayres, Andrea. "NYCC: Celebrating 4 Years of #BlackComicsMonth". Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  2. Brooke, David. "Writer Tee Franklin talks horror comic series 'Jook Joint,' trigger warnings, and more". AiPT!. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  3. "Writer Tee Franklin Dishes on Her New Comic 'Bingo Love'". www.pride.com. 2018-01-22. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  4. "Tee Franklin and Maria Nguyen Explore Domestic Violence in Jook Joint at Image in Fall 2018". www.bleedingcool.com. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  5. Jagannathan, Meera. "Why disabled comic creator Tee Franklin felt 'worthless' after a BookCon panel failed to accommodate her scooter". MarketWatch. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  6. Staff, SYFY WIRE (2018-04-02). "Behind the Panel: Bingo Love writer Tee Franklin on the power of comics". SYFY WIRE. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  7. Puc, Samantha (2019-01-25). "Syndicated Comics". The Beat. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  8. "2018's Icons, Innovators, and Disruptors". www.advocate.com. 2018-03-08. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  9. "Review: NAILBITER #27: THE OUTFIT". Comicosity. 2016-12-09. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  10. "CONTRIBUTORS". Tumblr. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
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