The Beat is a proud sponsor of Comix Experience’s Graphic Novel of the Month Clubs, which bring comics fans a curated mix of the best of new release graphic novels and conversations with the creators who make them.  Each month, the staff of Comix Experience votes on two sets of upcoming books they are most excited—one gets presented to adults and another to middle readers. Each club provides schwag like original signed custom bookplates for adults or buttons and magnets for the kids.

Most excitingly, the Graphic Novel Clubs bring in the creators of selected books to talk exclusively to GNC members in interviews conducted by Comix Experience owner Brian Hibbs, who brings thirty years of experience in comics to the table. These talks are livestreamed to members all over the country and are a fun and informative mix of conversation on craft and form, as well as on the business of making comics.  The Graphic Novel Clubs make a point of being inclusive, inviting creators from a wide variety of age, race, sex, and cultural perspectives to speak to members.

Membership is what propels these conversations, so if you like what you see, please support these discussions of comics, and the creators who make them, by joining the club.

This Week: Recently, as part of his kids comic book club, Hibbs spoke with Brenna Thummler, the cartoonist behind Sheets. Published by Lion Forge’s Caracal imprint, Sheets follows Marjorie Glatt, a thirteen-year old girl in charge of her family’s laundromat business on top of all the typical teenage business of going to school and learning to be a person. Then, one day, her world collides with that of Wendell’s, the ghost of a boy who died too young yet remains attached to the human world.

In their conversation, Hibbs and Thummler discuss the surprising reasons why Thummler came to comics and the process of pitching Sheets before turning the mic over to insightful questions from the kids themselves!

Disclosure: The Beat is owned by Syndicated Comics, which, like Sheets publisher Lion Forge, is owned by Cel Shaded Ventures.