Steenz facts for kids

Christina "Steenz" Stewart is a super talented American cartoonist and editor. They are well-known for drawing the graphic novel Archival Quality. Steenz also writes and draws the daily comic strip Heart of the City.

Steenz was born on September 29, 1990, in Detroit, Michigan. Today, they live in St. Louis, Missouri. In May 2020, Steenz took over Heart of the City from Mark Tatulli. This made them one of the first nationally recognized Black nonbinary cartoonists.

Early Life and Inspiration

Growing up in St. Louis, Steenz loved comics and cartoons. These stories later helped inspire their own work. Some of their favorites included Calvin and Hobbes, Cathy, Curtis, and TV shows like Recess.

Steenz went to Maryville University to study art. They focused on illustration, which is about creating pictures for books or other media. Before becoming a full-time cartoonist, Steenz worked as a librarian. They also managed an award-winning comic book shop called Star Clipper Comics.

It was while working at the comic shop that Steenz realized they wanted to make comics. Seeing the work of another Black woman cartoonist, Brittany Williams, really inspired them. Steenz thought, "If she can do it, I can do it too!" This moment helped them decide to follow their dream.

Steenz's Creative Career

After the comic shop closed in 2015, Steenz started working as an editor. They worked at Lion Forge Comics, helping create the first 12 issues of a magazine called Rolled and Told. This magazine was about comics and tabletop games.

Steenz has also contributed to several comic book collections. They created a short comic called "The Update" for Elements: Fire. This collection won big awards like the Eisner Award and Ignatz Award. Steenz's work also appeared in other collections like Mine! and Dead Beats.

Their first major book was Archival Quality, which came out in 2018. Steenz worked on this graphic novel with writer Ivy Noelle Weir.

In May 2020, Steenz began writing and drawing Heart of the City. This popular comic strip is shared with newspapers across the country by Andrews McMeel.

Steenz is also working on an exciting new project. They are illustrating a graphic novel about the history of tabletop role-playing games. This book is being co-created with writer Samuel Sattin and is expected to be released in 2023.

Popular Works by Steenz

Archival Quality (2018)

Archival Quality is a graphic novel co-created by Steenz. It tells the story of Cel Walden, who gets a new job at the Logan Museum. Cel is dealing with feelings of sadness and worry. She starts having dreams about a mysterious ghost woman. As Cel learns more about the ghost, she also discovers more about herself and the people who work at the museum.

Heart of the City (2020–present)

Heart of the City is a daily comic strip that Steenz now writes and illustrates. The comic is about a middle school student named Heart Lamarr. Heart lives in Philadelphia. The stories follow Heart's adventures with her friends and family. They also show her school life and how she experiences popular culture. Steenz took over the comic strip after its original creator, Mark Tatulli, decided to step down.

Awards and Special Recognition

Steenz's work has received many important awards.

• The comic collection Elements: Fire, A Comic Anthology by Creators of Color won the 2018 Eisner Award for Best Anthology. It also won the 2017 Ignatz Award for Best Anthology. Steenz contributed a comic to this award-winning collection.
• In February 2019, Steenz and Ivy Noelle Weir won the 5th Annual Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity in Comics. They received this award for their graphic novel Archival Quality.
• Archival Quality was also chosen as a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard publication in 2018. This means it was recognized as a high-quality book for young readers.