Wāhine Toa Comic
Youth Education • Freelance • Comic Book
Find Your Inner Superhero
A bespoke 70’s themed comic which shares fourteen real stories from successful Wahine across Aotearoa to inspire and empower. This year long project involved numerous superhero readings from Tapahia Heke with each heroine, after which I helped bring the essence of their character to life through illustration and comic book design.
• Character Design
• Digital Illustration
• Editorial Design
• Digital Illustration
• Editorial Design
Meet Tapahia Heke - Superhero Readings with Wāhine Toa
Tapahia is a former teacher and pro-wrester who specialises in helping people discover their inner Superhero. In collaboration with Maoriland trust he travelled across New Zealand to interview 14 Wahine Toa from various industries and backgrounds. He talks with individual and sees their alter-ego – right down to their hero outfit.
'We need a Māori illustrator to help bring these larger than life personas to life'
I was brought on to turn the 14 superhero profiles into illustrated comic book characters. A big part of it was defining the individual details for each and every scene in relation to the character arc - outfit, hairstyle, powers, physique, facial features, branded name and colour pass.
A close-up of the all Wāhine Toa character spreads.
'Everybody is the superhero to their own story'
A positive, fun way to empower Māori women
