“Between the Panels” is a monthly interview series focusing on comic book creators of all experience levels, seeking to examine not just what each individual creates, but how they go about creating it.
On some parallel world in the multiverse, Jasmine Walls is currently famous for a booming bakery business. On this world, Jasmine’s renown is due to a library of graphic novels and webcomics that, while visualized by different artists, all still clearly carry the voice of one dynamic storyteller.
First off, the basics…
Your specialties (artist/writer/letterer/inker/etc.): Writer; Editor
Your home base: California
Website: www.jasminewalls.com
Social Media
Instagram: @mythjae
Bluesky: @mythjae
Fanbase Press Contributor Kevin Sharp: We start with the same big question for all guests: Why comics? What is it about this medium in particular that keeps you coming back?
Jasmine Walls: For me, comics are the perfect storytelling medium. They’re written word and visual art combined in ways that give each other endless new possibilities. I’ve loved art, storytelling, and illustrated tales since I was young, Virginia Hamilton’s books in particular, illustrated by Diane and Leo Dillon, were a huge influence on me growing up. My mother also has a big collection of classic BDs, like Tintin, Asterix, and Lucky Luke, so comics were always part of our household library. When it comes down to it, I just really love comics. I think I’ll always keep coming back to them.
KS: Please tell readers a bit about your creative life growing up. What kinds of things did you used to enjoy making? Was there an original favorite hobby for you?
JW: My hobby is collecting hobbies. I love learning new creative skills, and I love a challenge. I’m constantly making things with my hands. When I’m not writing or drawing, I’m baking, crocheting, knitting, learning to make my own paper, carving linocut prints, experimenting with bookbinding, gardening, it’s endless. My favorite has to be baking. I love recipe testing; when you’re creating a recipe from scratch and make it again and again, tweaking the tiniest things, until it’s perfect. It’s so satisfying when you finally get it just right. My family and neighbors get a lot of baked goods this way.
KS: I don’t believe there’s ever been an opportunity to discuss baking in this context, so I’ll take advantage of the moment. Was there a recipe during your baking years that you enjoyed making the most and/or felt you were best at?
JW: I think I like experimenting too much to have a single recipe, but my go-to favorite thing to bake has always been cookies. Anything from my ideal chocolate chip cookie — golden brown, crisp at the edges, chewy in the center, and made with browned butter — to complex flavors and designs that take multiple days to make (like delicate shortbread thins with a roasted chestnut caramel filling, or 3D cookie birds you can put together like a puzzle). What I tend to be known for now is my tradition of packing holiday cookie boxes with a fun variety that changes every year. If you ever want recipes, I’m always happy to share.
KS: Do you recall roughly when the idea of pursuing a creative career first occurred to you? Was this an “a-ha” moment of inspiration or something that had been simmering?
JW: Aside from childhood dreams of becoming an astronaut or a veterinarian, I’ve aimed for creative careers pretty much from the start. While in high school, I had to choose between art or culinary school, and though both were equally appealing, practicality and my love for baking won out. When things get rough, you can always find a job in a kitchen, and I had a genuinely delightful, if exhausting, time getting my culinary degree.
KS: How about the idea of working in comics specifically? Where did that arrive in your timeline?
JW: About a year after opening my own bakery, life hit hard and despite the business doing well, I made the difficult choice to close it and reassess my life’s trajectory. Since I’d been focusing on my baking career and only my baking career for years, it wasn’t an easy switch. I spent about a year adrift and that’s not my usual attitude at all. I’ve always got a goal in mind and a ten-step plan on how to reach it. I’m a lists-for-everything type of gal.
After getting tired of my own lack of direction, I decided to reach back to that high school dream of making comics. The idea stuck, and I found my new goal after stepping into the world of all these incredible indie graphic novels, which meant a new ten-step plan and a passion I surprised myself with. I started writing and drawing short comics, hiring friends to illustrate 4-5 pages at a time while working two other jobs to save up the money. Ah, to have that kind of energy again!
KS: If some kind of artistic career — and let’s including baking for the sake of the premise — hadn’t happened, what would have been an acceptable Plan B field where you could’ve at least been content if not outright happy?
JW: I genuinely have no idea. Every career I’ve ever considered has been an artistic one. I’m a trained pastry chef, a comic writer and artist, and all of my hobbies are crafty and art-based. I could get a job that paid the bills, but I’d be restless and clawing up the walls in no time, it wouldn’t last without some sort of artistic outlet. I consider editing to be creative, but that would perhaps be the closest to an average ‘office job’ in this scenario. In that case, I would love a chance to work as an editor in a publishing house.
KS: You mentioned your high school dream of making comics, but back up further than that first. Would your mother’s collection have been your earliest exposure to the medium?
JW: My earliest exposure was my mother’s collection, and later, my brother’s various Marvel and DC comics — I just picked up whichever covers looked cool, so I never had a clue what was going on.
KS: How about access to a comic store or some reliable source for reading material?
JW: I didn’t have much access to comic shops growing up, but everyone in my family loves to read, so I spent a lot of time in bookstores and reading was very encouraged from a young age.
KS: What were your first favorite titles, either standalone graphic novels or ongoing series?
JW: Some standout titles from when I was younger include InuYasha, which I was obsessed with in my early teens, Static Shock, which I dove into because I loved the animated series, Calvin & Hobbes, and so many manga and webcomics that I can’t even begin to list them. Okay, I have to list SAKANA by Mad Rupert, which was one of the first webcomics I read weekly and encouraged my love of slice-of-life stories. The Authority had quite a grip on me, especially once I realized that I could find queer characters in more mainstream comics, and I bought every volume, even the ones I didn’t actually like, just to have them.
KS: Was there one comic title or comic story that had a real impact on you in those formative years?
JW: One of the biggest impacts comics had on me was when I realized I could find queer characters without tragic endings or who were boxed into caricature-level stereotypes. Northstar’s character, as well as Apollo and Midnighter, brought me into comics shops on a regular basis as I collected their stories, along with any others I discovered along the way. It’s also how I really got into BL and GL manga, as well as more indie-published comics and webcomics. I would name them, but a lot of what I read at the time — the early 2000s — did not age well; however, I do think depictions of queer relationships have improved a lot in media, especially comics, and it’s been really amazing to see that evolution. She Loves To Cook, And She Loves To Eat by Sakaomi Yuzaki is a more recent title I can’t recommend enough, especially with well-represented ace characters and delicious-looking meals being made.
KS: Can you pinpoint why those stories were right for who you were as a reader at the time?
JW: I was a young teen who had no idea how to identify myself. I didn’t have words for being aromantic or asexual at the time, but I knew I wasn’t straight. I was desperate to just devour any stories about queer characters that I could get my hands on; to get these glimpses of other lives that felt, not the same, at least different in a way I recognized. I already loved reading, but it’s what got me to truly love the act of storytelling. And also fanfiction. I’ve written so much fanfiction. I wouldn’t be the writer that I am without it.
KS: During that post-bakery period when you devoted yourself to making comics, did your ten-step plan have a specific destination of where this would all hopefully lead? Did you see yourself as a “one-person band” making your own work or…?
JW: I definitely had this grand idea of making all of my own comics, which very quickly scaled down to reality when I realized just how slow I am at drawing and I realized I had too many ideas crowding up in my mind to devote myself to a single epic series. When I began working with fellow artists, I discovered how much I loved collaborating on comics. I’ve been lucky enough to work with some of the most incredible artists I know and what could be cooler than that?
The rest of my plan stayed pretty on track, though. I always start small and work my way up. I researched comic publishers and what sort of portfolios they wanted, then began making short, complete comics. I learned a ton in the process, and made some great connections on the way. My original goal was to get a graphic novel published, and with a combination of stubborn hard work, incredibly lucky timing, collaborators who believed in the story, and a large sprinkle of pure chance, it happened.
KS: Speaking of getting published, how did you ultimately decide on what your first book would be out of all the ideas you had in various stages of development?
JW: The first book I signed a deal for — which ended up being I think the third book to hit shelves — was Brooms. It was an idea that hit me one day as I wondered about the trend of magical academia tropes and what happened to all the kids who weren’t able to attend fancy magical schools, especially in a historical time period. I thought of my own family from the deep south and what their experiences might have been like in a world of magic, and it led to the idea of backwoods illegal broom racing. Unlike my short comics, or sprawling multi-book epics, it was a story that would fit into a single, if chunky, graphic novel and was something I wished I could read, so I figured, “Why not?”
KS: Please talk about the balance between stubborn hard work and lucky timing — in whatever ratio they occurred — in getting Brooms out into the world.
JW: Absolutely, and I’ll preface it by saying that I worked on comics with a professional goal in mind for five years before my first book deal, so it was hardly an overnight success. The hard work was not just writing and drawing, but actively bettering both of those skills by studying comics to find out what styles, processes, and techniques I could use to improve my own work. And then actually doing it. Something I tell folks looking to pitch to publishers is that anyone can start a story, but publishers are only going to care if you can also finish it.
Luck is crucial in comics. Did an editor happen to see a post made about my work? Did someone pass my name onto an editor looking for someone with my niche interests? Did an editor happen to read the goofy D&D comic I made years ago and hold onto it in order to hire me half a decade later? It’s the part you can’t account for as a creator, all you can do is make the things you love and hope it resonates with the right folks to land you work.
Timing was one of the biggest factors in Brooms existing as a book at all. I felt brave one night and pitched the idea to Teo DuVall, who was more of a passing acquaintance at the time and a huge inspiration to me. He happened to have some free time between projects and liked the idea enough to reply the next day, and we were off. As it happened, Teo was at a convention and chatted with an editor who asked to hear about any pitches he had, and he loved the idea of our book. If things hadn’t happened in exactly this order, things could have been completely different.
KS: The DC webseries Vixen stands out among your credits, because you worked with a “corporate character.” Could you outline the process of getting started on that — for example, did you have to pitch?
JW: Webtoons and DC reached out to my agent, asking if I would like to write a test script for Vixen’s opening episode. They liked it enough to hire me for the series, which was such a cool feeling! I was given a very rough concept to kick off the story, and a few characters that they wanted to have large roles. (Bumblebee and Beast Boy were top of the list.) Aside from that, I was given quite a bit of freedom to come up with all the smaller story arcs and I chose to request characters that weren’t usually found in big line-ups, like Grace and Anissa, and I was delighted to get all of them greenlit. Anansi, in particular, was a fun character to work on, and Manou Azumi’s character designs for the series gave them so much more depth and helped shape how I wrote them. DC does have specific guidelines, but since I wasn’t writing anything too wildly edgy, I didn’t get tagged for anything big.
KS: Were there any noticeable creative differences for you in working in that format and/or with characters you hadn’t created?
JW: Oh yes, I’d never done a scrolling format comic before and it was a really fun challenge. We played with it a bit, especially in scenes with lots of height, but I’m sure if I did it again now, I’d push it even further. As for working with a character I didn’t create, it was a different approach than I’m used to, but I went back to a few older series Vixen played a part in and read through to get a sense of her personality and mindset, then adapted that to how we wanted her in this series, as a younger version but with all that same fire and determination.
KS: Hypothetical time: I can hook you up to a machine Matrix-style and instantly upload expert-level skill in any area you currently don’t have. What’s your new expertise?
JW: I’d absolutely choose the ability to easily pick up spoken languages. It’s something I really struggle with no matter how many years I study. I’d love to be able to converse more easily with people in other languages without relying heavily on translation tech or phrase books. American Sign Language, on the other hand, has been delightful to learn, and I encourage more folks to give it a try! Otherwise, I love the process of learning a new skill. There’s no replicating the feeling of getting something right after messing it up a few dozen times first, or being able to look back and see how much you’ve improved.
KS: If there was a Comic Book Hall of Fame and you could sponsor one title with a plaque, what’s the series, issue, or graphic novel you feel represents this medium at its very best?
JW: Now this is a tough one! But if I had to choose, I’d have to pick Reimena Yee’s The Carpet Merchant of Konstantiniyya, and honestly anything else Reimena makes because she’s an absolute powerhouse of how innovative and creative comics can truly be. She studies, improves upon, and teaches comic techniques with a level of passion I really admire. This comic not only tells a story through beautiful, empathetic writing, and lush art, but fully embraces the idea of playing with mood, themes, motifs, and patterns. Panels don’t just frame art, they become art all on their own, often inspired by shapes in architecture. Gutter spaces are filled with traditional carpet designs, every page is beautifully thought out from concept to completion and Reimena really embraces all the possibilities in comics as a medium.
KS: To wrap up, tell us what you have out now, as well as anything new you have coming out on the horizon.
JW: Some of the recent books I wrote would be Brooms, MIDST: The Valorous Farmer, Vixen: NYC, and The Last Session. More of my published and available work can be found on my website! As for upcoming work, I’ve got three comics and my first prose novel brewing. All of the comics are still secret, unfortunately, but at least one should be announced soon-ish! The best way to get updates on the books is to follow me on social media.
