PHOENIX — Brittney Griner has faced her fair share of battles on and off the basketball court.
Her detainment in a Russian prison for carrying cannabis oil dominated the news for the better part of 2022. She was eventually freed in a prisoner exchange before returning home to her friends and family.
Now, the WNBA superstar’s story will be told in comic book form, thanks to Tidal Wave comics, who published “Female Force: Brittney Griner” on Wednesday.
The 24-page comic, written by Michael Frizell and illustrated by Martin Gimenez, highlights Griner’s days as a collegiate star at Baylor, her incredible journey to the WNBA, and her recent fight for freedom in Russia.
“This story is about an athlete who overcame obstacles to become a significant player in the WNBA – not about politics. We started working on this story about four years ago to diversify the line, as we’ve featured several male athletes in past issues. Her development as an athlete, and her struggle with coming to terms with being a gay, black woman, first at a religious college and then in the national spotlight, are the focus of this issue. Since we have 24 pages to tell the story, we used that focus to inform what should be included and what we’d have to leave out. For example, as her story developed, we thought we should add two pages about her arrest in Russia. However, as the artist finished the interiors, a deal was struck with Russian authorities, so we rewrote those two pages to ensure our information was accurate,” said publisher Darren G. Davis.
Griner made a special appearance at the Martin Luther King Jr. march in downtown Phoenix Monday.
Griner posed for pictures with fans, who were elated to see the WNBA superstar in person.
Griner, who was with her wife Cherelle, told 12News she is happy to be home.
“Female Force: Brittney Griner” is available in print and digitally on multiple platforms.
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