Graphic Novel Classics: The Secret Garden, Anne of Green Gables, and Heidi

Mariah Marsden spent her childhood hunting for faeries amidst the old hills of the Missouri Ozarks. Co-author of Anne of Green Gables: A Graphic Novel and The Secret Garden: A Graphic Novel, she writes about the dreams and difficulties of girlhood, the folklore of her home, and the complexities of rural life. She’s still on the lookout for faeries.

Brenna Thummler is the creator of the Sheets series from Oni Press, and the upcoming graphic novel Gumshoe from HarperAlley. These are middle grade reads that encompass her entire personality of ghosts, the mail, and girls who try. In attempts to overwhelm herself, she also writes plays and musicals, reads a lot of books, and studies for her Masters at the Middlebury Bread Loaf School of English. Her cats Vinnie and Oona think she’s doing just fine.

Hanna Luechtefeld spent the early part of their childhood in New Hampshire, the later part in Missouri, and all of it in the woods. Long afternoons filled with outdoor adventure gave them a flair for the creative and a love of storytelling. They graduated from the University of Central Missouri in 2019 with degrees in graphic design and illustration and a passion for zines and DIY comics. Today, Hanna lives in Kansas City, where they help run a local art gallery and music venue. When not preparing for a zine fest, you can find them outside: mountain biking, roller blading, or hiking. Someday, they hope to have a backyard “secret garden” of their own.

Ofride is the alias of Italian illustrator and comic artist Elena Bia. Born in a small town near the Alps, Odride draws inspiration from nature and folklore.