As soon as they landed in Seattle to speak at Emerald City Comic Con, St. Louis-based cartoonist learned that their comic strip 鈥淗eart of the City鈥� was picked up by the Washington Post 鈥� not even three years into drawing the comic. 鈥淗eart of the City鈥� replaced 鈥淒ilbert鈥� after the satirical comic strip was because of creator Scott Adams鈥� racist remarks on his YouTube channel.
In 2020, 鈥淗eart of the City鈥� creator and cartoonist Mark Tatulli handed over the reins to Stewart after 22 years. Stewart as one of the few syndicated Black cartoonists in the United States.
follows a young girl named Heart and her group of theater friends as they navigate the crushes, hobbies and changing relationship dynamics of middle school.
鈥淭he series is really about her growing up and trying to be the best actress that she can be,鈥� Stewart told St. Louis on the Air. 鈥淭hey're just regular nerdy middle schoolers, and it's all about their growth.鈥�
Stewart said that now they are more comfortable writing longer story arcs than when they first started drawing the comic.
鈥淚'm finding that these stories end up being longer and more complicated, because life is complicated,鈥� Stewart said. 鈥淚 like to show real relationships in this comic.鈥�
Stewart said they pull from their own memories of middle school when exploring the characters鈥� more nuanced feelings. Stewart shows up in the strip, as well.
鈥淚'm even illustrated in the comic several times. I'm actually Charlotte's neighbor,鈥� Stewart said, referencing one of the characters. 鈥淚 like the idea that these characters are real. They're real as magic is real. Even though they are not actually real people, they are real to the readers.鈥�
The second 鈥淗eart of the City鈥� collection, titled 鈥淟ost and Found,鈥� will be available in bookstores on April 4.
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Where: McCormick Place, 2301 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60616
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