Lea Hernandez opens door for female web comic creators

Lea Hernandez, AKA "DivaLea," wants to help women use the Web to showcase and promote their comic work:

In order to foster women publishing independently, with economy, and as owners of what they create, I will award three grants annually, of a year's free hosting at WebComicsNation.com, to women making webcomics. The recipients will have unlimited data storage and bandwidth, the ability to choose to support their work with ads, and a storefront for selling merchandise.

The name of the grant is "Nan", after the "digital person" Nan 1^1 from Rumble Girls. In RG, Nan agitates, comments on, and works behind the scenes to help the heroine, Raven, come to the understanding that being her own girl is the key to her strength.

I believe the Web already has what women wanting to make comics need, and that it has and continues to transform American comics from a work-for-hire Boy's Club to a stage for everyone to perform on and be seen. The Web is living up to its promise, and comics can, too.

She added that details and submission guidelines will be announced in early June.