Sasha Matthews

Sasha Matthews is a cartoonist, activist, and 10th grader living in New York City.

Sasha Matthews
Sasha Matthews
Born (2004-08-24) August 24, 2004[1]
New York City
NationalityAmerican
Notable work
  • Everyday Superheroes
  • Steve Harvey: The Life of Steve Harvey
  • Pompeii: Lost and Found
  • Sitting Bull: A Life Story
Websitehttp://rumblecomics.com

Activism

Everyday Superheroes Fundraiser for ACLU

From early 2017 through early 2018 Matthews worked on a fundraiser for the American Civil Liberties Union. Her idea was to represent everyday people doing what they do in everyday life, but in the iconic form of a superhero. She called this project Everyday Superheroes. In the end she completed 95 commissioned drawings and collected $11,635.83, which she presented to ACLU President Susan Herman at the ACLU headquarters in downtown Manhattan.[2] Along the way Matthews' Everyday Superheroes earned recognition from United States Senator Kamala Harris[3] and was written about by Amy Poehler's Smart Girls,[4] Huffington Post,[5] Ashton Kutcher's A Plus,[6] DNAinfo[7] and West Side Rag.[8][9] ACLU President Susan Herman went on to commission an Everyday Superhero portrait of herself[10] and another of ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero.[11]

Scholastic Art & Writing Awards

The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards recognize creative achievements of teenagers in grades 7-12. In 2018, nearly 350,000 works were submitted for consideration.[12] Matthews had intended to submit her Everyday Superheroes project under the Civic Expression category, for work that "expresses a vision of the society they are working to build, one that exemplifies democratic values and that allows all voices and viewpoints to be heard and respected."

Before she submitted her work, Matthews read the Terms & Conditions and discovered that the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards were claiming ownership of kids' copyrights. She highlighted the questionable text and tweeted a question.[13] She didn't receive a sensible response, so she wrote a cartoon about the situation and tweeted it.[14] Still no response, so next Matthews wrote up the experience for an 8th grade homework assignment. This report was then published by web site Boing Boing.[15] As a result, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards announced their intention to revise their Terms before the upcoming 2019 contest. This outcome was written about by Hyperallergic,[16] Danish national newspaper Politiken,[17] AM New York,[18] and Boing Boing.[19]

Editorial Cartooning

Matthews responded to the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting with a series of editorial cartoons, which were then written about by web site Hyperallergic.[20] Previously Matthews had responded to the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, which was written about by web site The Mary Sue.[21]

Marvel Comics & Internet Trolls

Matthews took a stand when a group of conservative Internet trolls began attacking a group of women working at Marvel Comics.[22] Conservative pundit Michelle Malkin wound up publicly siding with Matthews[23] and the whole incident was covered by web site The Mary Sue.[24]

Published works

Matthews has authored and self-published four comic books: Everyday Superheroes (2018),[25] Steve Harvey: The Life of Steve Harvey (2016),[25] Pompeii: Lost and Found (2015),[25] and Sitting Bull: A Life Story (2015).[25]

Matthews' comic books have been written about by Tech Times,[26] Bleeding Cool,[27] Book Culture,[28] Fumettologica (Italian),[29] and Women Write About Comics.[30]

Matthews publishes under the name Rumble Comics, a reference to the erupting volcano in Pompeii: Lost and Found.[31]

Everyday Superheroes

Between 2017 and 2018 Matthews worked on a fundraiser for the American Civil Liberties Union, creating 95 commissioned drawings and raising $11,635.83 total. She collected 48 of her favorites to make her fourth self-published comic. The comic book version of Everyday Superheroes was introduced at Book Culture alongside cartoonist R. Sikoryak.[32]

Steve Harvey: The Life of Steve Harvey

Matthews was invited to appeared on NBC's Little Big Shots. For her appearance she wrote a new biographical comic about the host, Steve Harvey.

Pompeii: Lost and Found

Her second comic, "Pompeii: Lost and Found," was introduced at a joint book event with New York Times bestselling author George O'Connor of the Olympians series.[33] Pomeii: Lost and Found was recognized by Massimo Osanna, Head of Archaeology at Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae, for attention to historical and cultural detail.

Sitting Bull: A Life Story

Her first comic, Sitting Bull: A Life Story was originally published by Boing Boing.[34] Mark Frauenfelder, co-editor of Boing Boing, favorably compared her work to that of a young Robert Crumb.

Television appearances

Microsoft 3D Holiday

Microsoft modeled their 2017/2018 holiday campaign on Matthews. Their fictionalized and animated character, also named Sasha, uses her art in support of inclusion and making the world a better place. The commercial transitions to the real Sasha at the end.[35][36]

NBC's Little Big Shots

In 2017 Matthews appeared on NBC's Little Big Shots (S2 E5) as the show's first author/artist.[37][38][39] For her appearance she wrote a new biographical comic about the host, Steve Harvey, using Wikipedia as a reference. Ellen DeGeneres, a co-producer of Little Big Shots, also has a cameo in the comic. The segment was taped July, 2016 at Warner Bros. Studios.[40]

Awards

NYC Council Citation

Matthews received a Citation from the New York City Council in May, 2017.[41]

Crain's 20 Under 20

Crain's named Matthews as one of their 20 Under 20 for 2017.[42]

Public speaking

ACLU Conference

On May 10, 2018 Matthews will be a speaker at the ACLU Conference in Washington, DC.[43]

Nasty Women Unite Festival

On June 5, 2018 Matthews was a panelist at the Nasty Women Unite Festival.[44]

Clara Lemlich Awards 2018

On May 1, 2018 Matthews was a presenter at the Clara Lemlich Awards held at the Museum of the City of New York. The awards honor women in their 80s, 90s, and 100s for lifetimes of activism. Matthews will introduce honoree Doreen Wohl, retired Executive Director of the West Side Campaign Against Hunger.[45]

Girl Up New York Leadership Summit 2018

On April 29, 2018 Matthews was a keynote speaker at the Girl Up New York Leadership Summit in New York City. Following her presentation, she sat on a discussion panel with American Civil Liberties Union president Susan Herman.[46] Girl Up is the United Nations Foundation's adolescent girl campaign, which engages girls to take action.[47]

Women's March 2018

Matthews was invited to speak at a rally at the 2018 Women's March in New York City. She spoke following New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.[48]

Clara Lemlich Awards 2017

On May 1, 2017 Matthews was a presenter at the Clara Lemlich Awards held at the Museum of the City of New York. The awards honor women in their 80s, 90s, and 100s for lifetimes of activism. Matthews introduced honoree Ingrid Frank, a Holocaust survivor who then worked for 75 years for civil rights.[49]

References
  1. "Sasha Harmon Matthews". turnstyle.com.
  2. "Local 13-Year-Old Gives ACLU $11,635.83, Earned from Her 'Everyday Superhero' Drawings".
  3. "Kamala Harris on Twitter". twitter.com.
  4. "Meet Sasha Matthews, Teen Artist Who Has Raised Almost $10,000 for the ACLU".
  5. Pittman, Taylor (9 March 2017). "Girl Raises More Than $2,000 For The ACLU With 'Everyday Superheroes' Art" – via Huff Post.
  6. "This 12-Year-Old Girl's Comic Series Shows That Everyone Is A Superhero No Matter What". aplus.com. 20 March 2017.
  7. "12-Year-Old Cartoonist's 'Everyday Superheroes' Help Raise Money for ACLU". dnainfo.com. Archived from the original on 2017-03-22.
  8. "12-Year-Old Local Artist Creates 'Everyday Superheroes' to Raise Money for the ACLU". westsiderag.com.
  9. "Local 13-Year-Old Gives ACLU $11,635.83, Earned from Her 'Everyday Superhero' Drawings". westsiderag.com.
  10. "Susan Herman Everyday Superhero by Rumble Comics". rumblecomics.com.
  11. "Anthony Romero Everyday Superhero by Rumble Comics". rumblecomics.com.
  12. "The Awards".
  13. "Rumble Comics on Twitter".
  14. "Rumble Comics on Twitter".
  15. "How a kid cartoonist avoided Scholastic's digital sharecropping trap".
  16. "Kid Cartoonist Pushes Scholastic Art Contest to Reconsider Its Copyright Policy".
  17. "Rumble Comics on Twitter".
  18. "Manhattan teen cartoonist prompts review of Scholastic awards' copyright rules".
  19. "After copyright wrangle, Scholastic promises better deal for competition entrants".
  20. "How a 13-Year-Old Cartoonist Responded to the Parkland School Shooting".
  21. "Our Favorite 12-Year-Old Cartoonist Had the Perfect Response to Trump and Charlottesville".
  22. "Female Marvel Comics editor harassed online for milkshake selfie".
  23. "Michelle Malkin on Twitter".
  24. "A 12-Year-Old Cartoonist Got Trolled For Her Social Justice Views (So Let's Help Her Out)".
  25. "Search for Author: "Matthews, Sasha" - Book Culture". bookculture.com.
  26. Times, Tech (13 August 2015). "Portrait Of A Comics Artist As A Young Girl: An Interview With Sasha Matthews". techtimes.com.
  27. "Is Sasha Matthews The First Ten Year Old Proper Comic Book Publisher?". bleedingcool.com. 14 August 2015.
  28. "Interview with Sasha Matthews, author of "Sitting Bull: A Life Story" - Book Culture". bookculture.com.
  29. "Avere 10 anni, una casa editrice e 3 fumetti pubblicati - Fumettologica". fumettologica.it. 17 August 2015.
  30. "Eleven Year Old Sasha Matthews Could Teach You A Thing Or Two About Making Comics". womenwriteaboutcomics.com. 16 February 2016.
  31. "Rumble Comics by Sasha Matthews". rumblecomics.com.
  32. "Columbus: R. Sikoryak and Sasha Matthews".
  33. "Columbus: Sasha Matthews & George O'Connor - Book Culture". bookculture.com.
  34. "Comic: The Life of Sitting Bull, as told by a 10-year-old". boingboing.net.
  35. "3D Holiday: Microsoft TV Commercial".
  36. "Microsoft's '3D Holiday' Ad Is a Whimsical, Out-of-Earth Inclusion Parable".
  37. Little Big Shots (2 April 2017). "Little Big Shots - Steve Harvey's Life as a Comic Book (Episode Highlight)" – via YouTube.
  38. "Tugging on the Harp Strings". nbc.com. 3 April 2017.
  39. "Steve Harvey's Life as a Comic Book". nbc.com. 2 April 2017.
  40. "Little Big Shots: Season 2". warnerbros.com.
  41. "Sasha Matthews receives Citation from New York City Council".
  42. "Upper West Side, Cartoonist/free-speech activist".
  43. "ACLU Conference".
  44. "Nasty Women Unite Festival 2018 Lineup".
  45. "The Eighth Annual Clara Lemlich Awards".
  46. "Girl Up New York Leadership Summit".
  47. "About Girl Up".
  48. "Thousands Join NYCLU Rally For Rights and Equality at Women's March On NYC".
  49. "The Seventh Annual Clara Lemlich Awards".
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