A Magic Pen

Tabletop gamer, plant collector, Animorphs superfan: Carey Pietsch ’10 makes art fun … and fun art.

“I’m really drawn (sorry) toward the cartoony end of the spectrum, with the goal of pushing poses and acting in expressive and funny ways,” she says. “My first published comics were one-off strips in the Phoenix that were all just silly gags.”

Pietsch collaborated with the McElroy family podcasters to adapt one of their shows into the new fantasy graphic novel The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins. Rendered in her signature style, Gerblins is a kindhearted/comedic, sparkling/snarky adventure. (Dungeons & Dragons has never been as charming as in her panels depicting a wizard-cleric-fighter elevator sing-along to “The Girl from Ipanema.”)

“I’m interested in using fantasy as a tool to explore interpersonal relationships in new settings,” she says. “Using magic or fairy-tale rules to learn empathy and express vulnerability is a theme that comes up again and again when I’m writing.”

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