Abby Howard facts for kids

Abigail Howard (born August 3, 1992) is an American artist who creates webcomics and video games. She grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina. Abby is a co-founder of Black Tabby Games, an indie game studio. She is known for her comics like Junior Scientist Power Hour and The Last Halloween. She also created the game Scarlet Hollow.

About Abby Howard

Her Early Life and Career

Abby Howard was born on August 3, 1992, in Jackson, Mississippi. She spent her childhood in Charlotte, North Carolina. She went to McGill University in Montreal. There, she studied Biology. She loved learning about how living things grow and change. However, she didn't enjoy the math or chemistry parts of her studies. Abby often says she was "a wretched student" because all she wanted to do was draw.

In the summer of 2012, she started her webcomic, Junior Scientist Power Hour. With only a few comics, she joined a webcomic competition called Strip Search. Even though she came in second place, this show helped her become a full-time cartoonist. She even wrote a comic about it called "Screaming Constantly". Abby is married to Tony Arias. Together, they started their own indie game studio, Black Tabby Games. They live in Toronto.

Her Amazing Comics

Junior Scientist Power Hour

Junior Scientist Power Hour was a weekly webcomic by Abby Howard. A webcomic is a comic strip published online. This comic often showed parts of her daily life. It also made fun of pop culture. The comic's Facebook page said it was "about her incredibly interesting life with her cat." Most of the comic panels were hand-drawn in black and white. But, some parts, like the band members in the "Tupper Ware Remix Party" strip, were drawn in bright colors. Abby's art style is inspired by another artist, Jhonen Vasquez. She especially liked his comic Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. Abby mostly uses traditional art tools. But she uses digital art for coloring her comics.

Strip Search

Abby was one of twelve artists chosen for Strip Search. This was a reality competition show about making webcomics. It was created by Penny Arcade. Abby was the only person on the show who used traditional art supplies. She gained many fans during the show. Her fans called themselves “Team Tangent.”

The Last Halloween

After Strip Search, Abby started a Kickstarter for her next comic, The Last Halloween. Kickstarter is a way for people to raise money for projects. She described it as a scary but funny comic series. People gave enough money to fund the project in just 20 minutes! The Kickstarter raised over $126,000. Her goal was only $9,000.

The Last Halloween started on October 8, 2013. The art style is like Junior Scientist Power Hour. But it has more detailed drawings and a continuing story. Abby loves horror movies, and they influenced this comic. The story is about a young girl named Mona. She has to save the world when many monsters appear on Halloween night. Abby first thought of this story in high school. She had the whole story written out before she started drawing. This way, she can add hidden clues and hints for readers.

Her Cool Video Games

Scarlet Hollow

In 2019, Abby and her boyfriend (now husband), Tony Arias, started Black Tabby Games. This is an indie game studio. An indie game studio makes games independently, often with a small team. Their first game was Scarlet Hollow. It's an episodic horror visual novel. A visual novel is a game with a lot of reading and choices. The first part of Scarlet Hollow came out in September 2020. The second part was released in June 2021, and the third in March 2022.

In Scarlet Hollow, you play as a character you can customize. You meet your long-lost family for the first time. This happens in the town of Scarlet Hollow. You are there for your aunt's funeral. You get caught up in a mystery about the town's past.

After the first episode, Scarlet Hollow had a very successful Kickstarter. It reached its funding goal on the first day. The game was also a finalist in the AT&T Unlocked Games awards. It won both the runner-up and audience choice prizes. Many people have praised the game. A writer from Kotaku called it "one of the best narrative games [he's] played."

Slay the Princess

In 2022, Black Tabby Games announced their second game, Slay the Princess. Like Scarlet Hollow, it is a horror visual novel. In this game, you play as a character who is told to kill a princess. She is trapped in the woods.

Black Tabby Games released a free demo of the game. They showed an extended demo at PAX East 2023, a big gaming event. The full game was released on October 23, 2023.

Other Creative Works

Abby also worked on other projects. In 2016, she created the comic The Portrait of Sal Pullman with writer Lonnie Nadler. She also wrote and drew the graphic novel Dinosaur Empire!. This book is part of the Earth Before Us series. It was published on August 1, 2017.

From July to December 2016, Abby co-hosted a horror podcast called Scared Yet?. She hosted it with cartoonist Kris Straub. In 6 episodes, they talked about horror stories. They also shared writing tips and their favorite scary tales.

Awards and Recognition