Barbara Perez Marquez

Book cover: The Grammar of Fantasy by Gianni Rodari, illustrated by Matthew Forsythe, translated from Italian by Jack Zipes. Cover illustration is a colorful, textural depiction of a child in white cloak walking past a giant’s foot; snakes, fish, a rabbit, and dragons lurk nearby. Eerie but friendly at the same time.

Chapter header from The Grammar of Fantasy: 38. The Child Who Reads Comics Illustration of a child hidden behind a large comic book with simplified shapes, eyes, and a mouth for panels.

Excerpt from The Grammar of Fantasy: books, new inventions are often added to the basic sounds, and these, too, must be deciphered. The entire course of the story must be reconstructed in the imagination, combining the signals provided by the captions, dialogue, and onomatopoeia with those given by the drawings and color, so that the many loose threads of the plot can be mentally tied together into a single, continuous thread. And it is the reader who makes sense of everything: the personality of the characters, who are not described, but shown in action; the relationships between them, which result from the plot and its developments; even the action itself, which is revealed to the reader only through jumps and fragments. For a child of six or seven years, comic books seem to me sufficiently demanding work, rich with logical and imaginative operations, regardless of the value and content of the comic book, which is not at issue here. When reading a comic, the imagination of the child does not passively assist; rather, it is urged to take a position, to analyze and synthesize, to classify and decide. There is no room here for absentminded daydreams, not while the mind is engaged in such complex attention and the imagination is called upon to fulfill its most noble functions. To venture to say that up to a certain point, the child's principal interest in comic books is not determined by their content, but is tied directly to the form and substance of the comics themselves, as a means of expression. The child wants to master the technique of the comic strip. That's it. She reads comic books in 238

Continued excerpt from The Grammar of Fantasy. order to learn how to read comic books, to understand their rules and conventions. She enjoys the efforts of her own imagination, more than the adventures of the characters. She plays with her own mind, not with the story. It may well be high-handed to separate things so clearly in this way. But the effort of distinguishing between them is worth it if the distinction helps us not to underestimate the child, and the underlying seriousness and moral engagement that she brings to everything she does. Everything else about comics has already been said, for better or for worse, and I won't bother you by repeating it.

did not expect this chapter! I especially love:

“When reading a comic, the imagination of the child does not passively assist; rather, it is urged to take a position, to analyze and synthesize, to classify and decide.”

(and also the eternal nature of “comics ? for kids ????” discourse lmao)

I need this as a pin and sticker 💯

1983. Absolutely staggering. Sound on :) #anime #animation #2danimation

Also, I have great news: hearing from a lot of small press and indie publishers with a presence at AWP that they wanna see more graphic novels, soooo 👀💯

Feeling very “wow being a writer is the best” hrs right now 🥹

Yeah!!!

Lesbians of colour! If you are interested in working with me on a TTRPG project, please comment on the post below ⬇️

It’s important to know that garage’s are largely open air in DR and our desk was a folding table 🤣

At 16 I was leading a nationally televised (in DR) pop culture news segment and it was filmed in my house’s garage

Quien abrió el baúl starter pack? 👀 Bienvenidos, hablo mucho en Ingles pero de ocasión me quejo en Español también y escribo y tengo libritos que vienen pronto y ojala un día los traduzcan también 🥺

Looks great! 😍

If you need a replacement idea, I started adding a lil printed QR code into my event kit, that I just have people scan on the spot if I’m out of cards or just trying to pace them.

The SPX Table Lottery is live and open until March 15th! We wanna see you there so don’t forget to fill out the form below.

But we do it for the children!!!

6 is too many school presentations in one day, 4 is probably my sweet spot 😵‍💫

a woman's back muscles. share if you agree.

Join Fanbase Press for the ‘Comics & Coffee’ Meetup on March 7, 2026, to Bridge the Convention Gap for Industry Pros - Fanbasepress Since March of 2020, Fanbase Press' weekly Comics & Coffee Zoom sessions have provided comics industry professionals with an opportunity to discuss ways

Join Fanbase Press for the ‘Comics & Coffee’ Meetup on March 7, 2026, to Bridge the Convention Gap for Industry Pros

Tiffany Babb launches The Comics Staple, a monthly magazine of comics news Tiffany Babb is launching The Comics Staple, a monthly 12-page magazine devoted to covering the latest in comics from an all-star line-up of writers

Tiffany Babb is launching The Comics Staple, a monthly 12-page magazine devoted to covering the latest in comics from an all-star line-up of writers

Librarians rule, which we already knew, but I just got saved by one at my current school visit so it bears repeating 👏💯

Automate your lettering, save your wrists!

I’ll be running a panel for @cartoonist.coop’s Nib & Ink Festival about how to make your computer do more work and prevent injury while lettering!

Time: May 9 @ 2PM EDT
Place: Zoom / remote

More info here: nif.cartoonist.coop/event/automa...

Thrilled to be able to say that THE OCTOBER GIRL Book One is a Foreword INDIES Award Finalist in Young Adult Fiction!

It's my first award nomination as a writer/artist and as corny as it sounds, I am genuinely over the moon to have this book be nominated!

www.forewordreviews.com/awards/final...

👏👏👏

Photo of a notebook being held open, showing pencil sketches of Barbara and Torma

A student drew portraits of Torma and I during one of our workshops!

Middle Grade Magic 2026 JoinSchool Library JournalonMarch 5for oureight annualMiddle Grade Magicvirtual event, a day-long celebration of authors and creators dedicated to crafting literature forkiddosages eight through 12. G...

It's #MiddleGradeMagic day! If you haven't already registered, follow the link below, and be sure to join in for panels featuring LBYR authors ⬇️

1:15–2:05 PM ET: @mustachebabs.com (The Library of Memories)
3:40–4:25 PM ET: Kate Lumsden (Confessions of a Mango)

www.slj.com/event/middle...

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#comix4all #reading #comics

For a time I was getting up at like 3am in the morning to fit everything 😅

I pointed out at the reading last night that having to frantically print some poems ahead of it was very reminiscent of my MFA experience prepping for workshops, etc.

Similarly, back then I also had a dawn writing routine cause I would be at work and straight to grad class es most days.

Day 5 had an early start to beat the busy schedule ahead. Have several school events and Middle Grade Magic and then hoping I'll catch some more time in the evening to round the word count out, but so far 500 words.

A six panel comic of a man and a woman where their word balloons are actually other panels (there are no words) indicating future actions and explaining why they did what they did.

a three panel comic about Søren Kierkegaard in which the text of the man reads backwards and the dog forwards "Life can only be understood backwards" and the dog "but it must be lived forwards"

It's that time in my Making comics intro course when I talk image-text relations, which gives me an excuse to share 2 favorite comics that do bewildering things that can only be done in comics! Ibn Al-Rabin's seminal Le Verbe Prophétique alongside the always brilliant @tomgauld.bsky.social. So good!

🥰💖💯