Jeremy Whitley

Jeremy Whitley is an American comic book writer and artist, known as the creator and writer of the Marvel Comics series The Unstoppable Wasp, centred on Nadia van Dyne,[1] of the Glyph-winning, Eisner-nominated series Princeless, and as a major writer of IDW Publishing, especially the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic comic franchise.[2]

Jeremy Whitley
Whitley in 2015
Born (1983-08-19) August 19, 1983
La Mesa, California, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Area(s)Writer, editor, publisher, producer
Notable works

Early life

Jeremy Whitley was born in California and raised in Livermore, California and in North Carolina.[3][4] He became interested in comics through his father, who would walk him to their local Livermore comic book shop, Fact, Fiction, and Fantasy. From an early age Whitley began collecting both comics and the Marvel Masterpieces trading cards, and wrote and illustrated his first comic when he was in the third grade. He attended the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in English with a minor in Creative Writing.[3][4]

Career

In 2011, Whitley created the comic series, Princeless, a series about a young black princess determined to break the norms of what a princess should be.[5] According to Whitley, Princeless was conceived thus:

"Princeless came from a confluence of issues I had. I’ve always had a lot of close geek girl friends and I’m always looking for strong female characters in comics to share with them. I think there just aren’t enough. When I married my wife, I got to know her younger sisters and some of her cousins. As young girls of color none of them had ever picked up a comic book (except my wife) and why should they? I can count on one hand the number of black women you can find on your comic book stand right now, not to mention the number who are positive portrayals. The same holds true for women of color in fantasy stories. I wanted my daughter to have comic books she could love the same way I’ve loved mine. Not to mention, I’m a little leery about the princess culture and what it actually teaches girls."[3]

Also in 2011, Whitley was hired as the Director of Marketing and Public Relations at Action Lab Entertainment, focusing on the solicitations, reviews, press releases, and interviews for new releases.[2] Whitley has also acted as a co-writer for 2012 digital mini-series "GlobWorld" and the current series "NFL RushZone".[2] In addition, Whitley has also been a regular writer for IDW's My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and My Little Pony: Friends Forever.[2]

From 2016 to 2019, Whitley was the principal creator and writer of the Marvel Comics series The Unstoppable Wasp, across two runs of eight and ten issues respectively.[6] His work on The Unstoppable Wasp received attention for "bringing a nuanced understanding understanding of mental health, and bipolar disorder in particular"[7] to Marvel comics, also drawing praise from bipolar advocates [8] and mental health professionals.[9]

Personal life

Whitley currently lives with his wife Alicia and daughters Zuri and Amara in Raleigh, North Carolina.[4] He identifies as being on the asexual spectrum.[10]

Awards and honors

Whitley's Princeless won three Glyph Comics Awards in 2012, and it was also nominated for two Eisner awards.

Year Nominated work CategoryAward ResultNotesRef.
2012 Princeless Story of the Year Glyph Comics Awards Won with M. Goodwin [11]
2012 Princeless Writer of the Year Glyph Comics Awards Won [11]
2012 Adrienne, Princeless Best Female Character Glyph Comics Awards Won with M. Goodwin [11]
2012 Princeless #3 Best Single Issue or One-Shot Eisner Awards Nominated with M. Goodwin [12]
2012 Princeless Best Publication for Kids (Ages 8–12) Eisner Awards Nominated with M. Goodwin [12]
2019 The Unstoppable Wasp: Unlimited, vol. 1: Fix Everything Great Graphic Novels for Teens 2019 Young Adult Library Services Association Included with Gurihiru [13]
2020 The Unstoppable Wasp: Unlimited, vol. 2: Unstoppable! Great Graphic Novels for Teens 2020 Young Adult Library Services Association Included with Elsa Charretier, Veronic Fish, Ro Stein, Ted Brandt [14]

References
  1. DeRider, Mathias; Frost, Kay Tilden (August 15, 2018). "'Unstoppable Wasp' Returns: An Interview With Jeremy Whitley". Geek Dad. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  2. "Jeremy Whitley – IDW Publishing". www.idwpublishing.com. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
  3. Cunningham, Keith (November 2, 2011). "Interview With Jeremy Whitley: The Genesis of 'Princeless.'" Archived 2015-07-22 at the Wayback Machine Action Lab.
  4. Jeremy Whitley. Amazon.com. Retrieved October 5, 2015
  5. "PRINCELESS: Indie Comic Turns Princess Stories on Their Head". Newsarama. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
  6. Terror, Jude (June 12, 2018). "The Unstoppable Wasp is Back with a New Ongoing Series by Jeremy Whitley and Gurihiru". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  7. Schrodt, Paul (2019-03-19). "Marvel's New Comic Book Series, The Unstoppable Wasp, Stars a Superhero With Bipolar Disorder". Men's Health. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  8. Forbes, Elizabeth (2021-03-05). "The Unstoppable Wasp: Fighting Bipolar & Bad Guy". bphope. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  9. Issues, Doc (2019-11-07). "More than mania: A psychiatrist looks at the Unstoppable Wasp's Bipolar Disorder". AIPT Comics. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  10. Clarke, Cass (April 27, 2023). "Gwenpool Makes an Important Discovery in 'Love Unlimited: Gwenpool' #47".
  11. MacDonald, Heidi (2012-05-20). "2012 Glyph Award winners led by PRINCELESS and ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN". Comics Beat. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  12. mtvgeek (2012-04-04). "2012 Eisner Award Nominees Announced". MTV. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  13. "2019 Great Graphic Novels for Teens". Young Adult Library Services Association. American Library Association. 2019-01-17. 9b108bb2-d787-41d8-af3a-cb81905a3a0d. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
  14. "2020 Great Graphic Novels for Teens". Young Adult Library Services Association. American Library Association. 2020-01-02. ee348815-4598-4e81-9fc7-7cbee47af93c. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
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