Tillie Walden (born 1996) is an American

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

who has published five

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

s and a

webcomic Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on a website or mobile app. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or comic books. Webcomics can be co ...

. Walden won the 2018

Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...

for Best Reality-Based Work for her graphic novel ''

Spinning Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'', making her one of the youngest Eisner Award winners ever.

Early life

Tillie Walden grew up in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

and

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

. Walden was shaped by her childhood move from New Jersey to Texas. She was a competitive

ice skater Ice skating is the self-propulsion and gliding of a person across an ice surface, using metal-bladed ice skates. People skate for various reasons, including recreation (fun), exercise, competitive sports, and commuting. Ice skating may be perf ...

. Walden is named after her paternal grandmother, an artist who died before Walden was born. Walden's first comic was a

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

comic "about never knowing her randmotherbut following in her footsteps." A workshop led by

Scott McCloud Scott McCloud (born Scott McLeod; June 10, 1960) is an American cartoonist and comics theorist. He is best known for his non-fiction books about comics: ''Understanding Comics'' (1993), '' Reinventing Comics'' (2000), and ''Making Comics'' (200 ...

had been a major turning point in her career, given it "really inspired erto draw some comics, and around this time hewas also becoming increasingly bored with

fine art In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...

". Growing up, Walden read a lot of

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

. This greatly influenced her work, leading her to focus more on

line Line most often refers to: * Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity * Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to: Arts ...

than shape or color. The biggest manga artist that had an impact on her was

Yoshihiro Togashi is a Japanese manga artist. He began drawing manga at an early age, before being recognized for his talent by publishing company Shueisha while attending college. Togashi has authored several manga series in different genres during the past thr ...

, creator of the manga ''

Hunter x Hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/ tusks, horn/antler ...

''. Additionally, in an interview, Walden said "

Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Koganei, Tokyo."Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment". ''Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment''. Retrieved 2020-12-14. It is best known for its animated feature films, and ha ...

has completely shaped my visual vocabulary and how I think about stories." Walden is said to have also been influenced by graphic memoirs, such as ''

Fun Home ''Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic'' is a 2006 Graphic novel, graphic memoir by the American cartoonist Alison Bechdel, author of the comic strip ''Dykes to Watch Out For''. It chronicles the author's childhood and youth in rural Pennsylvania, Uni ...

'' by

Alison Bechdel Alison Bechdel ( ; born September 10, 1960) is an American cartoonist. Originally known for the long-running comic strip ''Dykes to Watch Out For'', she came to critical and commercial success in 2006 with her graphic memoir ''Fun Home'', which ...

, ''

Blankets A blanket is a swath of soft cloth large enough either to cover or to enfold most of the user's body and thick enough to keep the body warm by trapping radiant body heat that otherwise would be lost through convection. Etymology The term ...

'' by

Craig Thompson Craig Matthew Thompson (born September 21, 1975) is an American graphic novelist best known for his books ''Good-bye, Chunky Rice'' (1999), ''Blankets'' (2003), '' Carnet de Voyage'' (2004), '' Habibi'' (2011), and '' Space Dumplins'' (2015). Tho ...

and '' Stitches'' by

David Small David Small (born February 12, 1945) is an American writer and illustrator who is best known for children's picture books. His books have been awarded a Caldecott Medal and two Caldecott Honors, among other recognition. Biography David Small ...

. Walden began putting her comics and drawings on her website, and was discovered while still in high school by British publisher Avery Hill Publishing, who worked with Walden to publish her first graphic novel, ''The End of Summer''.

Career

Walden's debut graphic novel, ''The End of Summer'', was published by Avery Hill in June 2015. It is told from the viewpoint of Lars, a feeble boy who lives in a fantastical palace and has a giant cat named Nemo. In an interview with

Paul Gravett Paul Gravett is a London-based journalist, curator, writer, and broadcaster who has worked in comics publishing since 1981. He is the founder of ''Escape Magazine'', and for many years wrote a monthly article on comics appearing in the UK magaz ...

, she dedicates the book to her twin brother, John. She describes the main characters as being a mishmash of her and John. Walden won the 2016

Ignatz Award The Ignatz Awards recognize outstanding achievements in comics and cartooning by small press creators or creator-owned projects published by larger publishers. They have been awarded each year at the Small Press Expo since 1997, only skipping a ...

for outstanding artist for ''The End of Summer''. Her second graphic novel, ''I Love This Part'', was published by Avery Hill in November 2015 and tells the story of two teenage girls who fall in love. Walden won the 2016

for promising new talent for ''I Love This Part''. The novel was also nominated for the 2016

for Best Single Issue/One-Shot. Walden's third graphic novel, ''A City Inside'', was published by Avery Hill in 2016. It won the 2016 ''

Broken Frontier ''Broken Frontier'' is a web-magazine which publishes news, interviews, and essays about the comic book industry, with a focus on the British small press scene. It was founded by Frederik Hautain in 2002. In 2017 the site came under the ownership ...

'' Award for Best One-Shot. ''

'', Walden's first graphic novel

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobi ...

about her years

coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can ...

as a competitive

, was published by

First Second Books First Second Books is an American publisher of graphic novels. An imprint of Roaring Brook Press, part of Holtzbrinck Publishers, First Second publishes fiction, biographies, personal memoirs, history, visual essays, and comics journalism. It als ...

in September 2017. Originally, ''Spinning'' was Walden's

thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

work for the

Center for Cartoon Studies The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS) is a two-year institution focusing on sequential art, specifically comics and graphic novels It won the 2018

for Best Reality-Based Work, making Walden one of the youngest Eisner Award winners ever at 22. Walden's ''

On a Sunbeam ''On a Sunbeam'' is a science fiction webcomic, by United States, American cartoonist Tillie Walden. It was later released as a graphic novel. Set in a spacefaring science fiction world, the plot follows the Character arc, development of the prot ...

'', a

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

, was nominated for the 2017

for Best Digital Comic. The webcomic was adapted into a graphic novel that was released in October 2018 by First Second Books, with the UK edition published by Avery Hill Publishing. Set in space, the story revolves around a crew in charge of rebuilding structures, which allows them to acknowledge the past. As Mia, the newest member, gets to know her team, a flashback occurs where she fell in love with another student named Grace. As time progresses and bonds are formed, Mia inevitably opens up about her reasoning for joining their ship. This piece is Walden's first take on science fiction. The graphic novel won the 2018

Los Angeles Times Book Prize Since 1980, the ''Los Angeles Times'' has awarded a set of annual book prizes. The Prizes currently have nine categories: biography, current interest, fiction, first fiction (the Art Seidenbaum Award added in 1991), history, mystery/thriller ( ...

. To commemorate

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against wom ...

, Walden's piece "Minutes" was featured as a

Google Doodle A Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and notable historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running an ...

on March 8, 2018. In 2019, Walden published ''Are You Listening?'' from First Second Books, which earned her the 2020 Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album-New. In 2021, Walden announced her next graphic novel, ''Clementine'', to be released in June 2022. The comic will follows the continuation of

Clementine A clementine (''Citrus × clementina'') is a tangor, a citrus fruit hybrid between a willowleaf mandarin orange ( ''C.'' × ''deliciosa'') and a sweet orange (''C. × sinensis''), named in honor of Clément Rodier, a French missionary who fir ...

, a character from ''The Walking Dead'' video game series, after the events of the game. The previews have caused controversy among fans of the franchise, particularly for Clementine acting out of character and undoing the ending of Season Four. In 2022, Walden and Emma Hunsinger published ''My Parents Won't Stop Talking!'' from First Second Books.

Personal life

Walden has known she was a lesbian since she was 5. Before she

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

, Walden avoided including queer characters in her stories, feeling that she "couldn't draw openly gay characters if hewas still scared to be openly gay". Walden spoke of her father's influence on her entrance into the comics industry. As said in an interview, "My dad has been the behind-the-scenes guy for my entire comics career. I realized that when I start looking, he’s been everywhere." Walden is a graduate of the

Center for Cartoon Studies The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS) is a two-year institution focusing on sequential art, specifically comics and graphic novels

Published works

* ''The End of Summer'' (Avery Hill Publishing 201

* ''I Love This Part'' (Avery Hill Publishing 2015) * ''A City Inside'' (Avery Hill Publishing 2016) * ''

'' (First Second Books 2017) * ''

'' (First Second Books 201

* ''Are You Listening?'' (First Second Books 2020) * ''My Parents Won't Stop Talking!'' (First Second Books 202

* ''Clementine''

Awards

* ''

,'' 2016 ''– A City Inside'' *

, 2016 ''–The End of Summer'' *

, 2016 ''Outstanding artist'' – ''The End of Summer'' *

, 2016 ''Promising new talent'' – ''I Love This Part'' *

, 2018 ''Best Reality-Based Work'' – ''

'' *

, 2018 ''– On A Sunbeam'' *

, 2020 ''Best Graphic Album-New'' – ''Are You Listening?''

References

External links

*
''On a Sunbeam'' (webcomic)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walden, Tillie 1996 births 21st-century American artists 21st-century American women writers American female comics artists American graphic novelists American webcomic creators Artists from Austin, Texas Eisner Award winners Female comics writers Ignatz Award winners Ignatz Award winners for Outstanding Artist Lesbian artists American lesbian writers LGBT artists from the United States LGBT comics creators LGBT people from New Jersey LGBT people from Texas Living people Center for Cartoon Studies alumni