Support This Comic: Jamila Rowser on Gladiolus, Black Josei Press' Stunning Comics and Prose Magazine
The award-winning publisher talks her newest groundbreaking release.
If you've read or listened to any of my work you'll know that one of my favorite publishers is the brilliant Black Josei Press, run by the fantastic Jamila Rowser. Founded in 2017, the award-winning small press has become a powerhouse in the comics scene, publishing gorgeous, inclusive, and beautifully made books like Wash Day, The Saddest Angriest Black Girl in Town, Arrive in My Hands, Ode to Keisha, and Gordita: Built Like This.
Black Josei Press recently launched pre-order campaigns for two brilliant projects. The first is a gorgeous comics and prose magazine called Gladiolus, which features work from and interviews with creators like O'Neill Jones, Rin Ascher, Robyn Smith, Sarula Bao, Sam Wade, Steenz, Stephanie Williams, Ashanti Fortson, Carrie McClain, Christina Santi, Aisha Soleil, Daisy Ruiz, and Danny Lore. Next up is The Gift, a stunning comic written by Rowser with art by Sam Wade, that centers on a young Black girl having a revelatory experience on a visit to a local museum.
To celebrate these two brilliant new releases — which you can order now — I'm happy to share part one of a supersized interview with Jamila. This week we're focusing on the process of making Gladiolus magazine and in part two, which will hit your inboxes soon, we'll be chatting about her stunning new comic, The Gift, with artist — and recent interviewee — Sam Wade!
What was the origin of Gladiolus magazine?
I've always kind of wanted to do a magazine journal-esque thing that was a mix of comics and essays. But I knew it was going to be a lot of work. It's basically like an anthology, which is gonna need a lot of money, a lot more than the comics that I publish, which I always pay for in advance. And I was like, 'I'm never gonna have enough money to pay for a magazine and I don't want to do the pre-order before it's finished.' So I was just like, 'If I just get a bunch of money somehow, it'll happen.' But it was really like a pie in the sky thing that I would love to do if I somehow had the money, which I didn't think I would. But thankfully I got a grant.
Could you talk a little bit about that? A lot of the people who read this, they really want to make their own stuff and they're also in situations where they've been marginalized by the publishing community. So how did you go about getting the grant? Was it something that was recommended to you?
Yes, by Neil from Radiator Comics. He's down here in Miami. So we're homies and he had won the grant previously for a comics project. And I knew about Oolite Arts andThe Miami Foundation, like in the arts scene the grant-giving people are pretty well known. But I thought "They're not going to publish a comic thing." So I didn't even try. But he told me to give it a shot.
So I would say look into your area for local art organizations, foundations, and don't stop yourself from applying because you think they won't accept it for whatever reason. That's why I'd never done it before. I just like, "You're not going to do that unless it's a grant for comics. Yeah." But then I was like, "Fuck it. What do I have to lose?" And it's funny because a couple of years ago Ronald Wimberly and I were talking and he was like, "Oh, you should do like a journal and apply for a grant." And I was like, "I'm not gonna get it." And then here I am.
So once you got the grant then it was time to make the magazine, and you put together a truly incredible lineup of people. What was that process like?
It was very stressful! In the beginning, it went from the high of, "Oh my God! It's happening!" to like "Now I have to start planning..." Originally I had a list of over 100 creators which I had to narrow down, which included comics creators and writers and stuff like that. So I had to narrow down the people and think of the type of content they would likely create. I didn't tell people what to make, I just said make what you want! So I had to think of the styles, the type of voices, make sure it was diverse, like even though that list is diverse it could lean a certain way.
Then I had to think about how to organize and manage the project because it's a bunch of people making a lot of different kinds of things. I'm a very organized person so that helps, but that part was very overwhelming. I just had to calm down and break things up into steps. At first I was just always thinking of the big picture, of everything at the same time. But once I started to get into the rhythm of the planning and got the final wish list of creators together and began to reach out to people, I was very excited.
One of the things that I felt worked so well is there's such a good balance of prose and comics. You have these artistic statements, there's really nice interviews, and then there's stuff about the realities of making comics. And you have all of that alongside these really beautiful comics. Could you talk about curating that balance?
That was another one of the most stressful parts of creating the magazine! That was probably the most stressful part because I just want to create the art. I got this grant, so I don't have to worry about losing money. But I do want people to like it. At first I was like, "Should it be themed, like anthologies? If it's themed then people will know what's going to be in it." The other option was to just have people do whatever they want, and hope that that's fine. Then it's on me to put it in order and curate it in a way that makes sense. Ultimately that's what I wanted, for people to do what they wanted, no themes. So it's really like art versus capitalism and the market. Am I trying to make this because I want it to be marketable? Or do I just want to make it for the sake of the art? That's when I realized, why would I stray from what I do? I never make anything or publish anybody because I think it's going to make a lot of money or be popular in that way.
So that was very stressful. But once I accepted that, putting everything in the order was really fun. It was something that I wanted to get better at. So it was about looking at everything and working out what sort of connects them. What moods connect? What's between them? Even the quotes that are in there to take up the blank spaces are in an order that relates to what's before it or after it. It's very intentional. Everything is very intentional. I spent a lot of time on it and I was very hands on but not when it came to the stories or what the creators wrote.
What was it like to put in all that effort and planning and then get back work that was so brilliant?
It was so exciting. The first one I got was Rin Ascher's Skate Night. I was like, "This is so good!" I was obsessed. So the start was, like, really strong. I knew the contributors were great, and I knew we were gonna make great stuff. Then I think the "Broken Heart at the Center of Comics" was one of the last things to come in. So it was two really strong bookends that were very different. I felt honored to be able to put this work in the magazine and have these creators just trust me to work with them and put my all into making it good.
The magazine looks so beautiful. Could you talk about the process you went through with Alexandria Batchelor, your designer and art director?
Yeah, it was really a collaboration! I love black and white stuff but I was like for a magazine I wanted color. But I was thinking about budget and, more than that, it continues that manga tradition. I did a lot of pre-production work, gathering different examples of magazines like ordering old Shojo Beat magazines, Full Bleed from IDW, and a zine called Plantain Papers that I love. They were one of the biggest inspirations when it came to design. I love my reference, so it was then just me sending all of that to Alexandria. She's an amazing designer, she actually designed the Black Josei Press logo. So we talked about the things that we really liked and talked about the different ways we could lay certain things out. And then she came back with the first draft and I'm like, "Amazing." I didn't have any changes, I was just blown away all the time. So the ideas were almost all hers.
Okay, so finally, how much would it cost you to make the magazine a regular thing? If someone reads this and gets the magazine and is like, "This is absolutely fantastic, we want you to make two a year," or "I would love to publish this," how much would you need to make the magazine and also make it a sustainable thing for you to do and live off?
$80,000. Because I'm thinking of income for the year, I'm a sick girl, I go through a lot of doctor's appointments. We're in America, everything is expensive. I also try to make sure I pay the creators like a good amount. Give me $80,000 and even with a small team, I could make it.
So let's say with $100,000 a year, then Gladiolus could be a periodical.
I completely agree!
So my dear readers, get those check books out and help make this magazine an ongoing thing! Once you read the first issue you'll be just as excited about it as I am. Get your copy now!
Very cool! Just grabbed a copy!