Check out these rebel ladies who rocked the world! Giorgina Anzulata Betty Marby The Shaggs An Interview with Pénélope Bagieu What was your inspiration in creating Brazen? Like a lot of women, I grew up identifying with male characters, because in most of the books and movies, girls were either a not-so-bright sidekick or a damsel in distress. The hero was the cool guy. But as I started writing comics, I thought of all the amazing women I had actually always known, and who were unfairly little known, when they were known at all. So I wrote a my first biography of my all-time favorite singer Cass Elliot of the Mamas and the Papas. But before I started writing another, I had to decide between two or three of my other personal heroines, and I realized I had way more than three, or five, or even ten. I decided to shortlist thirty of them, and let people know about them in a very short but dense story, hoping that would make readers want to know more. And I had an amazing time doing so. How did you choose which women to include in this book? Were there any that almost made the cut that you couldn't fit in? That was the really tough part, because I had an initial selection of more than fifty. I love them all very much, for very different personal reasons. I tried to focus on the ones whose story I love to tell the most, over and over again, to the point where people are sick of hearing it, because that is usually a good sign. And then I also kept in mind that for once, I wanted to show that not all the women who make it to history books are western, white, educated, cisgender straight women. That not all of them necessarily were queens. Sometimes they went in space, but sometimes they took great risks just to live the way they wanted. So that's how I picked them. And those who didn't make it to the A-list, well they are on a B-list at the end of the book! What was your favorite thing that you learned while researching this book? That all of them, whether it's in ancient Greece or in Queens, faced that decisive moment, that twist in their path, when they were presented with a fork on the road: the expected (by their parents, husbands, society in general), or the tough, weird, tricky side track. There is a specific moment in each of their stories, every one of them, when they had to decide to go down that alternative route, knowing it would be ten times harder, but also that it was the only way. All of the stories I tell are very short, not more than five or six pages, so I can't try and tell a complete biography. I have to focus on a few important scenes. And once I discovered that thing they all had in common, I tried to single out this twist in their life, to make it the turning point in my story. I loved that. Can you tell us how you make your artwork? It depends on the project, really. But as for Brazen, the stories were initially pre-published weekly by French newspaper Le Monde, so I had to have an almost militaristic work pace, and find an efficient art style that wouldn't require too much time, because I had to read so much before I started to draw. What really mattered was to decide how to represent each woman, based on her real appearance mixed with my way of making her lively and expressive. The most important thing to me is to create an empathy with the reader, so the art really has to communicate a lot of emotions. And then for the colors, also because of the time aspect, I settle for a very simple palette of four colors for each story, chosen carefully regarding the era, the country, the global feeling of the story. And whether with the quick drawing or the restricted color range, this whole process improved my artwork in general so much. It's a great exercise for any comic artist!
✔ Author(s): Pénélope Bagieu
✔ Title: Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World
✔ Rating : 4.8 out of 5 base on (386 reviews)
✔ ISBN-10: 1626728690
✔ ISBN-13: 9781626728691
✔ Language: English
✔ Format ebook: PDF, EPUB, Kindle, Audio, HTML and MOBI
✔ Device compatibles: Android, iOS, PC and Amazon Kindle
Readers' opinions about Brazen by Pénélope Bagieu
Beata Shepard
This book completely captured my heart. The characters were so relatable, and their journeys resonated deeply with me. The writing was poetic and powerful, leaving me with a sense of awe. I'm grateful to have experienced this literary gem.
Sydney Richardson
The world-building in this book was simply phenomenal. I was transported to a different realm and felt like I was part of the characters' journey. The attention to detail made it all so immersive.
Aileen Menzie
This book has reignited my passion for reading. It reminded me of the sheer joy that can be found in losing oneself in the pages of a good story. I can't wait to explore more books now.
