Kingston
Kingston may refer to:
Places
* List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated:
** Kingston, Jamaica
** Kingston upon Hull, England
** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia
** Kingston, Ontario, Canada
** Kingston upon Thames, ...
, Jamaica. She aspired to become a cartoonist from childhood, inspired in part by her father, a portrait artist and her mother, a makeup artist. She also enjoyed reading '' Archie Digest'', which she considers a key influence on her work. Smith's family immigrated to
the Bronx
The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...
when she was 16, after she graduated high school.
Smith received her bachelor's degree from
Hampshire College
Hampshire College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. It was opened in 1970 as an experiment in alternative education, in association with four other colleges ...
and received her master of fine arts degree from 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.
Career
During her graduate program at the Center for Cartoon Studies she developed her debut comic book ''The Saddest Angriest Black Girl In Town'' (2016) as a mini-thesis project, a memoir about "her experience being one of the only Black people in a rural Vermont town and how that time affected her mental health and her grasp of how Blackness is viewed in the world." The book was named to the 2016 Best Short Form Comics list by ''
The Comics Journal
''The Comics Journal'', often abbreviated ''TCJ'', is an American magazine of news and criticism pertaining to comic books, comic strips and graphic novels. Known for its lengthy interviews with comic creators, pointed editorials and scathing r ...
''. After going out of print, it was reprinted in 2021 by Black Josei Press. Smith also published comics on
CollegeHumor
Dropout, incorporated as CH Media and formerly known as CollegeHumor, is an Internet comedy company based in Los Angeles that produces content for release on its streaming service Dropout (streaming platform), Dropout as well as YouTube. Dropou ...
.Jamila Rowser approached Smith to illustrate ''Wash Day'', a comic about a hair care ritual for Black women, published in 2018 after a successful
Kickstarter
Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...
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.
Smith illustrated '' Nubia: Real One'' (2021), a
DC comic
DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book ser ...
* 2016 ''– The Saddest Angriest Black Girl In Town,'' writer and illustrator
* 2018 ''–'' ''Wash Day'', written by Jamila Rowser, Black Josei Press
* 2021 ''–'' '' Nubia: Real One'', written by L.L. McKinney,
DC Comics
DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...
Chronicle Books
Chronicle Books is a San Francisco–based American publishing company that publishes books for both adults and children.
History
The company was established in 1967 by Phelps Dewey, an executive with Chronicle Publishing Company, then-publish ...
Accolades
* 2016 ''–'' Best Short Form Comics, ''
The Comics Journal
''The Comics Journal'', often abbreviated ''TCJ'', is an American magazine of news and criticism pertaining to comic books, comic strips and graphic novels. Known for its lengthy interviews with comic creators, pointed editorials and scathing r ...
'' (for ''The Saddest Angriest Black Girl In Town'')
* 2021 ''–'' Emerging Talent Award,
Cartoon Crossroads Columbus
Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC) is an annual, free, four-day celebration of cartooning and graphic novels held in Columbus, Ohio. Venues for the festival include Ohio State University's Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, Hale Hall, and the ...
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 ...