Molly Knox Ostertag (born October 28, 1991) is an American cartoonist and writer. Her work includes the animated series ''

The Owl House ''The Owl House'' is an American animated fantasy television series created by Dana Terrace that aired on Disney Channel from January 10, 2020, to April 8, 2023. The series features the voices of Sarah-Nicole Robles, Wendie Malick, Alex Hi ...

'', webcomic '' Strong Female Protagonist'', the middle grade graphic novel series (''The Witch Boy'', ''The Hidden Witch'', and ''The Midwinter Witch''), and on the series '' Tales of the Night Watchman''. She was named one of ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' magazine's 30 Under 30 in 2021.

Early life

Ostertag grew up in

upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region of New York (state), New York that lies north and northwest of the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area of downstate New York. Upstate includes the middle and upper Hudson Valley, ...

. She attended

Bard College Bard College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains within the Hudson River Historic District ...

and studied illustration and cartooning at the

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by Silas ...

(SVA) in New York City, where she graduated in 2014. She moved from upstate New York to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in 2016.

Career

Comics

As a comics artist, Ostertag has been drawing the superhero webcomic '' Strong Female Protagonist'' written by

Brennan Lee Mulligan Brennan Lee Mulligan (born January 4, 1988) is an American comedian, actor, writer, and gamemaster. He often works with Dropout (formerly CollegeHumor) as a writer, performer, and producer. He is the creator and regular gamemaster for Dropout' ...

since 2012, and created the art for the fantasy comic ''Shattered Warrior'' written by

Sharon Shinn Sharon Shinn (born 1957) is an American novelist who writes combining aspects of fantasy, science fiction and romance. She has published more than a dozen novels for adult and young adult readers. Her works include the Shifting Circles Series, t ...

(2017). Her first published work came in 2013 and 2014 when she drew two issues of '' Tales of the Night Watchman'' for So What? Press, "The Night Collector" (2013) and "It Came from the

Gowanus Canal The Gowanus Canal (originally known as Gowanus Creek) is a canal in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, on the westernmost portion of Long Island. Once a vital cargo transportation hub, the canal has seen decreasing use since the mid-20th ...

" (2014). The latter remains one of the series' best-selling issues. In 2016, some of her comics appeared in an anthology with other comic artists titled ''Chainmail Bikini''. In 2017,

Graphix Scholastic Corporation is an American multinational publishing, education, and media company that publishes and distributes books, comics, and educational materials for schools, teachers, parents, children, and other educational institutions. P ...

published ''The Witch Boy'', the first graphic novel written and drawn by Ostertag. It is the coming-of-age story of a young boy, Aster, who is intent on becoming a witch in a community where boys are expected to become shapeshifters.

Fox Animation Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve spec ...

acquired the film rights in May 2017, and a sequel, ''The Hidden Witch'', was published in 2018. The third book in the series, ''The Midwinter Witch'', was published in November 2019. ''The Witch Boy'' was later described by Daniel Toy of

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

's Underscored as an "emotional, magical story

hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

will grab young readers’ attention" which teaches readers the "importance of acceptance and love" while reviewers said that the story of Aster, which begins in the first book, is "parable for gender

conformity Conformity or conformism is the act of matching attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors to social group, group norms, politics or being like-minded. Social norm, Norms are implicit, specific rules, guidance shared by a group of individuals, that guide t ...

." Additionally, Aster's

tomboy A tomboy is a girl or young woman who generally expresses masculine traits. Such traits may include wearing androgynous or unfeminine clothing and engaging in activities and behaviors traditionally associated with boys or men. Origins The w ...

friend, Charlotte "Charlie," who has two dads, is described as not conforming to gender norms, even by the book's publisher, Scholastic. Other works of Ostertag's include the erotic comic ''Alleycat'' and the comic ''How the Best Hunter in the Village Met Her Death'', for which she received the 2018

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 Story. ''

Paste Paste is a term for any very thick viscous fluid. It may refer to: Science and technology * Adhesive or paste ** Wallpaper paste ** Wheatpaste, a liquid adhesive made from vegetable starch and water * Paste (rheology), a substance that behaves as ...

'' described Ostertag's character design as "deft and varied, with a thick, dark line that resembles that of Faith Erin Hicks", noting that she "mostly uses her figures' eyes and their body language to convey emotions." A profile by SVA described her work as "consistently featur ngdiverse casts of characters—multiracial, of differing gender expressions, sexual orientations, and abilities—whose adventures intertwine social justice and superheroes,

peer pressure Peer pressure is a direct or indirect influence on peers, i.e., members of social groups with similar interests and experiences, or social statuses. Members of a peer group are more likely to influence a person's beliefs, values, religion and beh ...

and magical powers", and noted that her "presiding interest lies in

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...

content in young adult work". Additionally, Erica Friedman of

Yuricon Yuricon was an anime convention geared toward fans of yuri anime and manga. The first Yuricon event was held in 2003 in Newark, New Jersey with about 200 attending, although Yuricon has existed as an online entity since 2000. The event was or ...

, a long time fan of Ostertag, praised her work, ''How the Best Hunter in the Village Met Her Death'', calling it a tale that will resonate with those "who have come through their own dark forests and transformed into their true selves." In 2021, an Ostertag graphic novel, ''The Girl From The Sea'', was published. She described it as "teen summer romance graphic novel" set in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

, focused on the story of a 15-year-old

Korean Canadian Korean Canadians () are Canadian citizens of full or partial Korean ancestry. As of 2016, Korean Canadians are the 8th largest group of Asian Canadians. Korean immigration to Canada began with seminary students in the 1940s and accelerated du ...

girl named Morgan falling in love with a

selkie Selkies are mythological creatures that can shapeshift between seal and human forms by removing or putting on their seal skin. They feature prominently in the oral traditions and mythology of various cultures, especially those of Celtic and ...

named Keltie. She noted that it is somewhat based on her experience spending summers at Wilneff Island in Nova Scotia as a kid and called the book her "first serious foray" into the romance genre. ''The Girl from the Sea'' was a finalist for the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Original Graphic Novel/Anthology. In August 2021, Ostertag was among a group of creators with whom fellow comics writer

Nick Spencer Nick Spencer is an American comic book writer and former politician best known for his Image series ''Morning Glories'', his collaborations with artist Steve Lieber on the comedic series '' Superior Foes of Spider-Man'' and '' The Fix'', a three- ...

formed a deal with the subscription-based newsletter platform

Substack Substack is an American online platform that provides publishing, payment, analytics, and design infrastructure to support subscription-based content, including newsletters, podcasts, and video. It allows writers to send digital content directl ...

to publish

creator-owned comics In the United States, creator ownership in comics is an arrangement in which the comic book creator retains full ownership of the material, regardless of whether the work is self-published or published by a corporate publisher. In some fields of ...

stories, essays, and instructional guides on that platform.

Animation

In animation, Ostertag has been working since 2014 as a designer for ''

Star vs. the Forces of Evil ''Star vs. the Forces of Evil'' is an American animated magical girl television series created by Daron Nefcy and developed by Jordana Arkin and Dave Wasson, which aired on Disney Channel and Disney XD. It is the first Disney XD series created b ...

'' and as a writer for ''

'' and ''

ThunderCats Roar ''ThunderCats Roar'' is an American animated television series developed by Victor Courtright and Marly Halpern-Graser for Cartoon Network. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, it premiered on February 22, 2020. It is the third television series i ...

.'' In October 2020, she called on

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

to let her make an animation "centered around

Hobbit Hobbits are a fictional race of people in the novels of J. R. R. Tolkien. About half average human height, Tolkien presented hobbits as a variety of humanity, or close relatives thereof. Occasionally known as halflings in Tolkien's writings, ...

children in The Shire." In January 2021, it was announced that

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

was adapting her

graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...

, ''The Witch Boy'', into an

animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

directed by Minkyu Lee. On December 11, 2020, a project by Ostertag, for

Disney Television Animation Disney Television Animation (DTVA; also shortened to Disney TVA), formerly known as Walt Disney Pictures Television Animation Group and Walt Disney Television Animation, is an American animation production company that serves as the television a ...

under the name ''Neon Galaxy'', was registered. In September 2024, Ostertag announced that ''Neon Galaxy'', a series set "in the distant future," was not moving forward at Disney, noting that it had been cancelled a few months prior despite production work for four and a half years and positive response from "kids who saw materials in early demographic testing" and songs by

Betty Who Jessica Anne Newham (born 5 October 1991), known by her stage name Betty Who, is an Australian musician and singer. After independently releasing her debut single, "Somebody Loves You (Betty Who song), Somebody Loves You" (2012), and her debut ...

. She also noted that it is a "weird, bad time" in the U.S. animation industry, with difficulty in getting series approved, and hoped The Animation Guild can win gains from the

Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) is a trade association based in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California, that represents over 350 American television and film production companies in collective bargaining negotia ...

during negotiations for a new contract, and said that "for now, this is a farewell" for ''Neon Galaxy'' while adding "maybe one day I’ll be back." In November 2024, following the leak of the shelved ''

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur ''Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur'' (or simply ''Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur'') is an American animated superhero television series developed by Steve Loter, Jeffrey M. Howard, and Kate Kondell for Disney Channel. Based on '' Moon Girl A ...

'' episode "The Gatekeeper", Ostertag speculated that ''Neon Galaxy'' was "killed" because two members of the main cast were openly

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

Other writings

From July to September 2020, Ostertag published a ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...

fanfiction Fan fiction or fanfiction, also known as fan fic, fanfic, fic or FF, is fiction typically written in an amateur capacity by fans as a form of fan labor, unauthorized by, but based on, an existing work of fiction. The author uses copyrighted ...

titled "In All the Ways There Were" which shipped

Frodo Baggins Frodo Baggins ( Westron: ''Maura Labingi'') is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings and one of the protagonists in ''The Lord of the Rings''. Frodo is a hobbit of the Shire who inherits the One Ring from his cousin Bilbo Bag ...

and Samwise "Sam" Gamgee together, a story which became relatively popular. She called the fan fiction an extension of her "Lord of the Rings obsession," even creating an alternate

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

account on the subject, with the handle @hobbitgay, and stated she is also writing a romantic fan fiction "retelling the entire series from Sam Gamgee’s point of view." Furthermore, she stated that she saw ''The Lord of the Rings'' as a romance and argued that she rarely sees exploration of "romance as transformative," portrayed, in fiction, with authenticity. Additionally, in 2019, Ostertag created a fan comic depicting a post-credits scene of ''

The Return of the King ''The Return of the King'' is the third and final volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings'', following '' The Fellowship of the Ring'' and '' The Two Towers''. It was published in 1955. The story begins in the kingdom of Gondor, ...

''. In August 2021, Ostertag began writing a newsletter about

graphic novels A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form 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 comics scholars and ...

titled "In The Telling". In October 2021, she announced that she would be releasing a

entitled "Darkest Night" online in weekly installments for paying subscribers, which would focus on a relationship between a teenage cis

butch Butch may refer to: People * Butch (nickname), a list of people * Barbara Butch, French lesbian DJ and activist * Butch Patrick, American child actor Patrick Alan Lilley (born 1953), best known for his role as Eddie Munster in ''The Munsters'' ...

girl (Mags) and a teenage

trans Trans- is a Latin prefix meaning "across", "beyond", or "on the other side of". Used alone, trans may refer to: Sociology * Trans, a sociological term which may refer to: ** Transgender, people who identify themselves with a gender that di ...

girl (Nessa), and later was released to general subscribers. The graphic novel was published under the title ''The Deep Dark'' in a physical form, in a 480-page book, by Scholastic, in 2024. Ostertag called it a "laborious, really annoying process" and said she started the story from a "place of frustration." She also told ''TheGamer'' that she is ok with making "people uncomfortable" with her stories, and expressed a desire to have more "butch lesbians...fat characters...visibly trans characters... ndsuper femme gay men" in her stories who are just "hanging out and existing" and said that despite abundance for queer media presently, people involved in productions for big companies are "afraid of getting it wrong". On her Tumblr, Ostertag is working on an ongoing webcomic based on

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...

titled ''Watson's Sketchbook'', which reinterprets the original

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...

characters as being in a romantic relationship. A physical copy of the project is available on her website.

In media

In 2014, she appeared in the documentary ''

She Makes Comics ''She Makes Comics'' is a 2014 documentary film about the history of women in the comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), pane ...

''.

Personal life

Ostertag is gay and married fellow cartoonist Nate "ND" Stevenson in September 2019. Stevenson began working on ''

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power ''She-Ra and the Princesses of Power'' is an American Animated series, animated superhero television series developed by ND Stevenson and produced by DreamWorks Animation Television for Netflix. It is a Reboot (fiction), reboot of the 1985 Fil ...

'' at the same time he began dating Ostertag, who was influential on the show "from the very beginning," coming up with a major plot twist in the show's final season. Ostertag is also a member of the

Democratic Socialists of America The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a political organization in the United States and the country's largest Socialism, socialist organization. Sitting on the Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left of the politic ...

, and has illustrated a campaign poster for Los Angeles City Councilmember

Nithya Raman Nithya V. Raman (born July 28, 1981) is an Indian American urban planner, activist, and politician serving as the Los Angeles City Councilmember for the 4th District since 2020. Raman, a member of the Democratic Party and the Democratic Socialis ...

Bibliography

Graphic novels

Graphic novel series

* Witch Boy trilogy **''The Witch Boy'' (writer/artist, Graphix, 2017) ** ''The Hidden Witch'' (writer/artist, Graphix, 2018) ** ''The Midwinter Witch'' (writer/artist, Graphix, 2019) * Dungeons & Dragons: Dungeon Club ** Roll Call (writer, art by Xanthe Bouma, HarperCollins Children's Books, 2022)

Other graphic novels

* '' Tales of the Night Watchman'' (So What? Press, 2011–Present) * '' Rick and Morty: Lil' Poo-py Superstar'' #3 (

Oni Press Oni Press is an American independent comic book and graphic novel publisher based in Portland, Oregon, best known for publishing such series as '' Scott Pilgrim'' and ''Rick and Morty''. In 2019, it became an imprint label following the company's ...

variant cover In comic books, a variant cover (sometimes variant edition) refers to an issue of a comic book printed with multiple covers, each with unique cover art. The first comic book marketed with a variant cover was the 1986 first issue of ''The Man of St ...

, 2016) ** "The Night Collector" (artist, 2013) & "Sanctuary" (characters co-created by, 2018) ** "It Came from the Gowanus Canal" (artist, 2014) & "It Came from the Gowanus Canal...Again!" (characters co-created by, 2017) * ''Shattered Warrior'' (artist, written by Sharon Shinn, Macmillan, 2017) * ''The Girl from the Sea'' (writer/artist, Graphix, 2021) * ''Darkest Night'' (writer/artist, Substack, 2021) * ''The Deep Dark'' (writer/artist, Graphix, 2024)

Role-playing games

* ''

Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft ''Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft'' is a sourcebook that details the Domains of Dread from the ''Ravenloft'' campaign setting for the 5th edition of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game. Summary ''Van Richten's Guide to Ravenl ...

'' (writer,

Wizards of the Coast Wizards of the Coast LLC (WotC or Wizards) is an American game Publishing, publisher, most of which are based on fantasy and List of science fiction themes, science-fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail game stores. In 1999, toy ...

, 2021)

Webcomics

* ''Alleycat'' (writer/artist, 2017) * ''How the Best Hunter in the Village Met Her Death'' (writer/artist, 2018) * '' Strong Female Protagonist'' (artist, written by

, 2012–2018) * ''Queens of the Steppe'' (writer/artist, 2015)

Filmography

Film

Television

Web shows and series

Notes

References

External links

* *
Instagram
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ostertag, Molly Knox 1991 births Living people American people of German descent American webcomic creators American women screenwriters American women television writers American television writers Place of birth missing (living people) American female comics artists American female comics writers Queer screenwriters American queer writers American queer artists American LGBTQ screenwriters LGBTQ comics creators School of Visual Arts alumni Bard College alumni Members of the Democratic Socialists of America from California Fan fiction writers American women science fiction and fantasy writers Tolkien artists