Rad Ladies Who Draw Comics: Hellen Jo

This past weekend was the fifth annual Stumptown Comics Fest in Portland, and while I won’t spend too much time on the pretty decentralized nature of the festival, the focus on independent and alternative comics, and gorgeous weather from the weekend, I would like to showcase some of the women comic artists there! April is Comics Month (at least in this town), so this week I’ll profile one woman comic artist a day who was at this weekend’s fest and who was RAD. It’s called “Rad Ladies Who Draw Comics.”

Jo at Stumptown Comics Fest and a self-portrait

Today is all about Hellen Jo, who was a featured artist at the fest. Bay Area-Based, Jo’s first comic book Jin & Jam, about quirkily disaffected teens navigating San Jose (Jo’s hometown), is out now from SparkPlug comics. Before her big small-press debut, Hellen self-published a three part autobio comic called Komiches Buch a "teenage horror story" called Paralysis: A Romance, and a serial comic Blister. Best of luck seeking those out!


In addition to drawing, Jo Hellen also has a bumpin’ blog featuring her paintings, musings, and works in progress. Definitely worth your look-see!

And lastly, here’s a video from last fall, which shows Hellen drawing and talking about APAture, an Asian-Pacific Islander Arts festival and other self-publishing Asian artists.

What did I tell you? RAD.