John Marcotte

Secret identity of a father raising two super-heroic young girls

Heroic Artist: Natalie Nourigat (Tallychyck)

“Tally” Nourigat is a writer, cartoonist, and animator in Portland, Oregon. She works on everything from superhero comics to animated series to commercial storyboards to concept art. Natalie is a member of Periscope Studio, and has worked with great publishers like Marvel, Dark Horse, and Image Comics. Her graphic novels include Between Gears and A Boy & A Girl. Natalie’s work has been nominated for the Eisner Award, GLAAD Media Award, and Oregon Book Award. Natalie loves traveling and learning languages. She majored in Japanese in university and spent 2013-2014 in France (Annecy and Paris). You can find her around Portland with a sketchbook in one hand and coffee in the other.

We asked Tally how she made the jump from talented amateur to Eisner-nominated professional artist:

I maintain my [DevantArt] page because a ton of people use the site, but I’m not all that active on DA.  I attribute my jump to drawing comics professionally to 4 things:

  1. Exhibiting at conventions (where it’s possible to meet editors)
  2. Selling minicomics at indie bookshops around Portland (which introduced local retailers, authors, and publishers to my work and helped me start to network in the Portland publishing scene)
  3. Starting a webcomic (Between Gears) that was later collected by Image Comics, and
  4. Interning at Periscope Studio.

You can see a small gallery of Tally’s art below. Click on the pictures to make them larger. You can find more of Tally’s work on her website NatalieNourigat.com.

Astrid Get Your Gun by Tallychyck
Batgirl by Tallychyck
Death by Tallychyck
The Golden Compass by Tallychick
Mononoke Con Sketch by Tallychyck
Monsters And Dames 2010 by Tallychyck
Olivia Dunham by Tallychyck
Over the Surface Chapter 1 Cover by Tallychyck
Spirited Away by Tallychyck
Sydney Illustration 2 by Tallychyck
Superhero Girl by Tallychyck

Girls Read Comics – January 21, 2015

One of the hardest things about reading comics is knowing where to start. Comics shops carry hundreds of titles and get dozens of issues in every week on new comic-book day. On top of that, many comics have complex mythologies and backstories that make it hard to just pick up any random issue and have a clue what is going on.

That’s why Heroic Girls recommends comics every week that are excellent “jumping on” points for new readers. Without further ado, here are our picks for the week of January 21, 2015.

Lumberjanes #10

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Lumberjanes is simply the best ongoing comic book on the market for young girls. If you have a young girl that likes comics, you absolutely should be buying this every month. If you are just young at heart, you should be buying this book. Everyone should be buying this book.

The first eight issues were a single arc, followed by a one-off issue #9 — so issue #10 is another great place to jump on. You won’t regret it.

The Roanoke cabin is back and they’re ready for something crazy…but Mal wouldn’t mind something normal, soft, and maybe quiet and harmless? It’s definitely going to be another fun camp adventure between best friends and the unknown!

This issue comes with two different variant covers.

Powers #1

The Eisner Award-winning Powers tells the story of homicide detectives Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim, who are assigned cases specifically involving powers. If a superhero falls dead from the sky or a super villain is found dead in the gutter, it’s up to Walker and Pilgrim to solve the case. But having barely survived the most harrowing case of their careers and discovering government corruption of the highest level, Walker and Pilgrim are now faced with the most difficult decision they’ve ever had to make.

This one isn’t for kids, but Deena Pilgrim is an awesome female protagonist, and a new #1 issue means that you can get familiar with the characters before the Powers TV show comes out next year.

Four variant covers are available.

Sensation Comics Featuring Wonder Woman #6

Sensation Comics #6
Sensation Comics #6

While the main Wonder Woman title languishes under the yoke of an inexperienced writer and an oversexed artist, the often overlooked Wonder Woman title Sensation Comics continues to put out beautiful little all-ages stories that are self-contained and out of the mainstream continuity. Every issue is self contained and ready to rope in a new generation of Wonder Woman fans.

Hippolyta’s first rule of war is demonstrated in ‘Generations,’ as Diana and Cheetah battle over a phoenix egg – and its promise of immortality! Then Diana and Big Barda fight the awesome menace of robot gorillas in ‘Not Included.’

Robot gorillas! How could you not buy this book?

Girls Read Comics – December 3, 2012

One of the hardest things about reading comics is knowing where to start. Comics shops carry hundreds of titles and get dozens of issues in every week on new comic-book day. On top of that, many comics have complex mythologies and backstories that make it hard to just pick up any random issue and have a clue what is going on.

That’s why Heroic Girls recommends comics every week that are excellent “jumping on” points for new readers. Without further ado, here are our picks for the week of December 3, 2014.

Angela: Asgard’s Assassin #1

Angela: Asgard's Assassin #1
Angela: Asgard’s Assassin #1

Angela, Heven’s finest warrior, was raised from birth to hate Asgard with every fiber of her being. And then she learned the truth: she is Thor’s sister and an Asgardian herself.

Cast out from Heven, and wanting nothing to do with Asgard she is truly on her own for the first time in her life.

Or she would be except she has something that both Heven and Asgard desperately want. Can Angela figure out what they are after and who she should trust before she gets killed?

Fight Like A Girl #1

Fight Like A Girl #1
Fight Like A Girl #1

I’m going to be honest. I’ve never heard of this book. I am not familiar with the writer, David Pickney. I do not know the artist Soo Lee. Here is what I do know:

  • It has a bad-ass girl on the cover.
  • The aforementioned bad-ass girl is standing in front of a mother-flippin’ T-Rex.
  • Did I mention the girl is black? Because she is. Hooray for more women of color in comics!
  • I am so buying the crud out of this.

It is quite possible the cool title and cover are selling me on a book that isn’t that great, but for now I am a complete believer. I mean, she had a baseball bat. She’s gonna fight a dinosaur with a Louisville Slugger! How could you pass on that?

Secret Six #1

Secret Six #1
Secret Six #1

Gail Simone’s Secret Six was one of the many sad casualties of DC Comics’ New 52 reboot. Secret Six was a book that dared you to root for the bad guys every month and never took the easy way out by making them heroic.

Simone fleshed out her team of misanthropes so that one-dimensional characters like Bane or Deadshot were suddenly complexed and nuanced, she reminded us that punchline villains like Ragdoll and Catman were menacing, and she gave us strong new characters like Scandal Savage that became instant classics.

None of that old history ever happened in DC’s bold new universe, so readers will have an opportunity to get in on the ground floor as Simone puts together a new team of villains to root for including old favorites and new members alike.

Girls Read Comics – Nov. 18, 2017

One of the hardest things about reading comics is knowing where to start. Comics shops carry hundreds of titles and get dozens of issues in every week on new comic-book day. On top of that, many comics have complex mythologies and backstories that make it hard to just pick up any random issue and have a clue what is going on.

That’s why Heroic Girls recommends comics every week that are excellent “jumping on” points for new readers. Without further ado, here are our picks for the week of November 19, 2014.