Cheyenne graphic novelist and librarian gets "Artist of the Month" honors

The growth of graphic novels in the past few years has been amazing. Some of my writer friends thinks that this is one of the signs of the decline of western civilization, or of civilization's general decline. But it's just the opening of a door to other ways of expression. 

Laurel Shelley-Reuss is a comic author and illustrator living in Cheyenne. As is the case with many creatives, she has a full-time job -- hers is at the Laramie County Public Library. Her mother was a librarian in Cheyenne and has since moved on to greener fields in Colorado. In her teen years, Laurel was babysitter to my daughter on a several occasions. Laurel loved to draw and was an anime and manga fan back before most of adults knew what those were. She and my son are about the same age and they could talk anime until the illustrated cows came home. 

Laurel went to school at the well-respected Savannah College of Art and Design. She returned to Cheyenne to mind our library's books and to get to work on her own. Her first graphic novel, “Olive Peril,” was released by Arcana Comics in November of 2010, following the “Olive Peril” webcomic, which went live in late 2008. She’s been featured in the Sugar Ninjas Sugar and Spice anthologies in 2009 and 2010, a series of comics created by women artists working in the comic book industry and will be in the upcoming 2011 editions. She currently works on both the “Olive Peril” webcomic as well as a second webcomic, “Chorus of the Neverborn.” Her freelance work has included book covers, websites and logo design for private and non-profit organizations.

Laurel was featured in Sunday's Wyoming Tribune-Eagle as the Arts Alliance of Cheyenne's "Artist of the Month" (see image at the top of this post). Much deserved honor for a talented young person who is really going places.