Amandla Stenberg Is Creating a Comic Book About a Young Black Warrior Woman: 'Her Journey Is My Journey'

Amandla Stenberg's new comic book, NIOBE: She Is Life, will be available Nov. 4

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Published on September 10, 2015 02:50 PM

Amandla Stenberg is creating a new comic book that sets out to prove that women of color can be pretty adept at saving the world.

At just 16, The Hunger Games actress has already been a vocal proponent for advocating for women and people of color, and her latest project gives that work a graphic spin.

NIOBE: She Is Life is expected to be released on Nov. 4 and follows the story of Niobe Ayutami, a young, black warrior on her adventures to save the world.

“I was drawn to give voice to Niobe and co-write her story because her journey is my journey,” Stenberg said in a statement obtained by The Huffington Post. “I connect to her mixed racial background and quest to discover her innate powers and strengths, to learn who she truly is.”

Niobe, who is half human and half elf, also discovers quite a bit about herself during the journey, and eventually learns that she is made of some seriously strong stuff.

“She is on a path to a destiny that will test her faith and her will, something we can all relate to,” Stenberg said, per HuffPo. “But there’s never been a character quite like her – one who shatters the traditional ideal of what a hero is. We need more badass girls!”

The comic is created in conjunction with Los Angeles’ Stranger Comics, which works on projects that highlight underserved audiences. Stranger Comics CEO Sebastian A. Jones has worked with Halle Berry and Garcelle Beauvais on the I Am Mixed and I Am book series.

Earlier this year, Stenberg – who attended prom with Jaden Smith in May – made headlines when she posted a video essay to her Tumblr page titled “Don’t Cash Crop My Cornrows” and called out artists for “cultural appropriation.”

Pointing out the deaths of black men including Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and Eric Garner, Stenberg asks in her essay, “What would America be like if we loved black people as much as we loved black culture?”