Kids Comics Pitchfest Showcase

Whoa, Nellie!

A mix of comedy, adventure, and historical fiction, Older Middle Grade graphic novel series WHOA, NELLIE! follows a young Elizabeth Cochran as she stands up against robber barons and social norms, fighting for the downtrodden while searching for her own path to become American legend, stunt reporter Nellie Bly. Nellie and her friend Meg travel the world, solving mysteries and exposing corruption with some of the Gilded Age's most interesting figures, such as Emma Goldman, Ida B Wells, and Jules Verne.

In the first book, THE LONELY ORPHAN GIRL, a simple letter of protest to a chauvinist newspaper editorial leads to Elizabeth and Meg facing despotic oil tycoon HC Frick, and a news editor's city-wide search...to offer Nellie Bly a job.

My Why:

Gibson & Rori aim to make graphic novels to inspire a love of women's history and a sense of adventure and empowerment in girls and young women, while providing a fun and multi-layered read for parents as well. In pioneering journalist Nellie Bly, they found an intriguing and intrepid figure who stood above her male counterparts, one whom history has overlooked in favor of idealized male heroes. With WHOA, NELLIE! they seek to shine a light on the women whose derring-do shaped American history and the world.