The Always Fun Comic Illustrator and Writer Brenda Hickey at Calgary Expo 2022
This interview was conducted by Chris Doucher, Editor-in-Chief, Writer and Comic Panel Moderator for GeekNerdNet. (Image credits to: Brenda Hickey and GeekNerdNet)
Brenda Hickey at Calgary Expo 2022 (photo credit: Chris Doucher/GeekNerdNet)
Finally! After two years away, I had the chance to once again sit down and chat with illustrator, writer and comic creator extraordinaire, Brenda Hickey at Calgary Expo 2022. The pandemic may have put many things on hold, however, the one thing it didn’t hold back was the creative output Hickey has had. In 2020, she was asked to be illustrator on a 70-page graphic novel published by Oni Press, Aggretsuko: Little Rei of Sunshine. The character of Aggretsuko comes from the Netflix original series by the creators of Hello Kitty, Sanrio. She jumped at this opportunity. Hickey is a self-proclaimed anime fan, so working on a project like this was a dream to her. A short time later, the editor got back in touch and asked how she felt about writing it as well, and she said “Terrified, but I’m going to do it!” In her previous work on My Little Pony, she never had the chance to write for that property. But she has written for her creator-owned titles previously, see Halls of the Turnip King via Pegamoose Press. But back to her Aggretsuko book: Get your hands on this book because it’s super-fun. I mean, it’s a red panda—Aggretsuko—that works as a mild-mannered accountant by day, and at the end of the day she hits the karaoke bar and gets all her anger out through death metal karaoke.
On a creator-owned side of things, Hickey and her husband Troy Little (not “litter“ - you’ll find out in the interview) launched a successful Kickstarter campaign for a cool book called Butterfly House. And yup, the outlining process for it took place over a good bottle of wine. Not a bad start at all. It’s about a haunted house that takes place in the past and present.
Okay, hit play on the interview and enjoy yet another fun interview with Brenda Hickey—always a great friend to our site.