How the Ladies of Kwento Comics are Flipping the Script on Superheroes and Reshaping the Graphic Novel world One Saga at time

Attention comic book fans! We're about to take you on a wild ride into the world of Kwento Comics, where Asian and Filipino mythology meet kick-ass female heroines, all brought to life by the unstoppable mother-daughter duo, Cecilia and Waverly Lim. As we celebrate Women's History Month, what better time to shine a light on these game-changers who are flipping the script on the male-dominated comic book industry?

As some of you may know the comic book scene has been a bit of a boys' club for far too long, but Cecilia and Waverly are here to shake things up with their all-women, all-Asian comic book company. Think of it as a breath of fresh air infused with a hefty dose of girl power. 

According to a 2021 study by The Beat, only about 20% of creators working at major publishers identify as female. Kwento Comics isn't just about storytelling; it's about representation and empowerment. Their graphic novels feature female protagonists who are as fierce as they are relatable, inspiring young women everywhere to embrace their inner heroines.

In this exclusive chat, Cecilia and Waverly spill the tea on their journey, from the challenges they've faced to the triumphs that have kept them going. So get ready to dive into the colorful, empowering world of Kwento Comics!

Vik Caedo, Artist: @vikcaedo_art, Waverley Lim, Cecilia Lim, Liezl Buenaventura (Colorist) @liezlbuenaventura. Saowee (Cover Artist - Issue #1 Philippine Variant Cover) @saowee

1. Tell us about yourselves and your background, Cecilia and Waverley. 

Cecilia: I was born in 1965 and grew up in Springfield, Illinois. When I was young, my favorite thing to do was to go to the library with my mom. I started reading Edgar Allen Poe, and then moved on to Agatha Christie novels and then I started reading mythology and fantasy novels. Initially I wanted to go into journalism but I eventually got a degree in economics and then went to law school. I had a successful career in corporate America but I knew there were still things I wanted to do, people that I needed to help and stories that needed to be told.

Waverley: I grew up loving to tell stories and was a big musical theater kid growing up. Whether stage or screen, I just knew that whatever canvas it may be, I wanted my voice to be heard. Moving to Los Angeles as a teenager, I quickly realized that there were many others in my community who looked just like me also yearning for their voices to be heard. It then became bigger than just myself and I realized that I wanted to help bring more of our stories to the world, who may not be familiar with our culture. I was lucky to have my mom with me the first year I moved to LA before attending the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and it was then that we were inspired to do something about the lack of representation we were seeing by creating more opportunities for like minded creatives to share the stories we as a collective wanted to tell. While having an affinity at a young age for the stage and screen, we went ahead and picked the page! 

2. How/why did you get into the comic industry? 

Cecilia: Some of my fondest memories of going to the library as a child was stopping by the newstand at the bus stop to pick up an issue of one of my favorite comics. It is so much more interesting to not only read the story, but see the characters on the page come alive and then imagine the events and the dialogue that happens in between the panels. Once my daughter and I decided we wanted to tell stories with strong Asian women characters, it made sense to tell the stories using comics. Getting into the comic industry seemed so unattainable as a young person but as I got older, I realized that with the right amount of passion, research and resourcefulness, many things are now possible.  

Waverley: Candidly, I never thought comics would be a medium that I would use to express the stories I wanted to tell. When my mom said: “well, how about comics?” I was quite hesitant at first because I truly didn’t know the first thing about comics as a reader or a creator, but I’m so glad I took on the challenge to learn about such a new space that I now have such an appreciation for.

Kaitlyn Fajilan (Writer of The Mask of Haliya) @kaitlyn.fae, Jenapher Zheng (Editor & Art Director) @jenapherzheng, Waverley Lim (co-founder) @waverleylim & Cecilia Lim

3. Tell us how and why you founded an all Asian-women comic book company? 

Cecilia: Kwento means “story” in Tagalog. Creating Kwento Comics is how we thought we could tell the stories that we wanted to share and enjoy. The fact that the team ended up being all Asian and all women was the result of us looking for team members that shared a common goal of telling these stories. 

Waverley: I guess for me I really wanted to show the power of what Asian women could do together, that a company of all women could be successful. I know that the intersection of our race and gender is a unique identity and shared experience that I knew if told authentically, would hopefully resonate with readers in a profound way.

4. What are some of the obstacles that you experienced in your career? How did you overcome it? 

Cecilia: My parents raised me with the mindset that if you work hard, your efforts will be recognized in the end. Unfortunately, I learned through the years in corporate America that hard work is not the only factor in climbing the corporate ladder. You have to spend time building relationships, marketing yourself and your talents and putting yourself out there for folks to see. My biggest obstacle was to learn to market myself in a large corporation which was not a skillset that I honed at an early age. I overcame this particular obstacle by finding successful executives that were willing to mentor and guide me in the areas that I lacked.  

Waverley: As COO of an industry I first knew nothing about, I think the biggest obstacle for me was the amount of quick learning that I had to do on the job. It was a pretty big learning curve having to all of a sudden manage while simultaneously learn all the ins and outs of the comic book industry from production, publishing, marketing, distribution, events, and even navigating the comic convention space.

5. In moments of self-doubt, what do you do to build yourself back up?

Cecilia: Everyone has moments of self-doubt especially when you are trying something new or stepping outside of your comfort zone. In those moments when I am not completely sure that something will work, I have to take a pause and remember how scary it must have been for my parents and in-laws to come to the United States and start a whole new life in a foreign country. They were able to navigate a brand new world because they had each other. I am super lucky that I am working alongside my daughter and I know we will weather any storm.  

Waverley: This is something that I work on every day that I think I’ll forever be working on. It’s easy to let the voices of the outside world speak louder than the one that’s in your heart and often it can be difficult to block out the noise. When I’m feeling uncertain or lacking confidence, I’ve learned to remind myself that there have been lots of times in my life when I didn’t know which way to turn or what I should do next, but no matter what, your intuition and gut will always lead you to exactly where you need to be, so trust and have faith that no matter what you will figure it out.

6. What advice would you give to someone interested in doing comics?

Cecilia: It is hard to be a business person and a creative at the same time. If you like the creative side, but not the business side, find a partner that can do the business while you create. Alternatively, if you like the business aspects, make sure you have a strong writing and art team to help you. Otherwise, if you try to do it all, you will find that it will take you a long time to get your comics created in a timely manner.  

Waverley: Don’t be afraid to play and try new things on the page! Experiment with panels, play with color and shading, and be open to the flexibility of how you can stretch and maneuver language. Once you understand the basic structure and format of a comic book, it can be really exciting to explore the various ways you can bend the medium on the page, so have fun!

7. Knowing what you know now, what would you do differently? If anything? (Either or both professionally or personally) 

Cecilia: Knowing what I know now, I would have taken the risk of becoming an entrepreneur earlier in my career. I spent many years in a very safe environment and while I learned a tremendous amount in my corporate job, I feel that I probably could have left corporate life a few years earlier.  

Waverley: While in the moment of any mistake made, you always wish you could go back, but I know that if I never made that mistake I never would’ve known what I know now. When we first started Kwento Comics, my mom and I truly had no idea what we were doing. I didn’t have much of an eye for comic book art and had no clue how to assemble a comic book team or what the process of creating a single issue was actually like. If we hadn’t jumped in feet first and made the many mistakes that we made along the way, we never would have learned how to do it to begin with. It’s an inevitable part of life, but the most important part is that you actually learn and grow rather than repeat the same mistakes.

8. What is one of the biggest lessons you’ve learned so far? 

Cecilia: Working in corporate America for almost 20 years, I always romanticized the idea of becoming an entrepreneur. Now that I am one, I find that being an entrepreneur, while it is hard work and never ending, is what makes me get out of bed every day and jump on my computer. The biggest lesson that I have learned so far is that there is no problem that can’t be solved by either myself or members of my team if we just put our heads together and brainstorm ideas in a collaborative environment.  

Waverley: Comics has taught me patience and to trust the process. I actually love watching the journey of creating an issue: from when we get the script to seeing our artist storyboard the comic then seeing the line art create the fine-tuned detail to the splash of color making it really jump off the page and then finally the lettering to help bring our characters to life. It’s a very tedious process, however like in life, it’s not about the destination, but the journey getting there. 

9. What are you currently working on? 

We have a few top secret but exciting projects in the works including a new series in development at Kwento Comics which will explore an entirely new mythology in the Philippine mythological canon and unfortunately that is all I can say for now so stay tuned ;)

10. How can people reach you?

You can find us on all social media platforms @kwentocomics

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Written by Jennifer Redondo

Co-Founder and Co-Author of In Her Purpose

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