Representation is very important in the comics industry. - Asiah Fulmore


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While she’s always loved drawing, Fulmore, who currently calls Columbia home, never actually considered art as a career until her junior year of high school. When she toured Winthrop, she met with now-retired design faculty member G. David Brown. They talked for two hours, and by the end of her visit, she knew she wanted to be a Winthrop Eagle.


After the young Princess Amaya gets in trouble, she’s grounded to Earth as punishment, but slowly loses all memories of Gemworld, her beloved home planet. But when Gemworld falls into danger, Amaya’s old friend Topaz finds her and asks for help. Together with Amaya’s best friend, Autumn, the trio return to Gemworld to save the day!


That’s the plot for DC Comics’ 2021 graphic novel “Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld,” illustrated by Asiah Fulmore ’18.


“It’s a classic hero story of friendship, adven- ture and coming of age,” said Fulmore, a visual communication design graduate. “When I got the script, I was super inspired by the friendships between the characters. It reminded me so much of all the old cartoons and anime I used to watch and how warm the relationships were between the characters. I wanted to recreate that.”


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While the Amethyst character and her friends made their first appearance in a 1983 comic, Fulmore’s art showcases why representation matters. Black Entertainment Television recog- nized Fulmore as one of its “5 Black Women Illustrators Who You Should Know,” pointing out how she “adds a wonderfully colorful palette to the graphic novel and comic book industry that would make any art lover excited to be in such a fantastical place.”


“Representation is very important in the comics industry,” Fulmore said. “It’s historically a very white and male-dominated industry, so now that comics are having a comeback, it’s important that they connect and work with BIPOC and LGBT+ communities. Kids and youths of all races and creeds should be able to see themselves and feel represented by the media they consume; it has such a beneficial effect on their confidence and sense of self.”


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Like a Family to Me “The class sizes were super small, and Professor Brown was so cool and knowledgeable,” she explained. “I knew I could get great one-on-one instruction and find a place for myself there. The Department of Design was like a family to me.” She and her fellow illustrators and designers formed a bond, and she still considers them “some of the coolest, most creative” people she’s ever known.


After graduation, Fulmore worked at a library and then joined the Society of Children’s Book Writ-


ers and Illustrators (SCBWI). She began taking a master class at Benedict College with Sanford Greene, an accomplished comics illustrator and Eisner Award winner, and continued working with him. She also displayed her work at SCBWI’s conference in Los Angeles.


Then, she got the call: her editor from DC Com- ics – the powerhouse behind Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and other popular superheroes – reached out and asked if she would illustrate Amethyst.


“I feel really good about the response to it,” she said. “I had the opportunity to visit some schools, and it was so nice to see the kids really connect- ing with the book. It gave me the warm fuzzies!” As for the future…Fulmore has already started work on a new, yet-to-be-announced comic.


“I’m working with a client for a pitch and some fun other children’s books! As for DC Comics… who knows what the future holds?”

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