Pasadena Native Juggles Illustration And Animation In Los Angeles

During adolescence, Nilah Magruder could be mistaken for a young Snow White, traipsing through the forest behind her Pasadena home with squirrels, rabbits, birds and deer in tow. Those critters and her own pets – including dogs, cats, chickens and horses – inspired her to create her own characters.

“I loved animals, and I was very set on mastering the art of drawing them,” said Magruder, who now lives in Los Angeles after spending more than 30 years in a home on Mountain Road. “I learned from cartoons, wildlife magazines and drawing books from the library.”

Magruder’s surrounding environment piqued her interest in nature as she walked long dirt paths that vanished into the darkness and heard the calls of owls, hawks and foxes from deep in the woods. Even her home was spooky.

“The basement was a dark, scary place, and the fact that the far wall sported an old, faded mural my dad painted of a pirate's smoky face didn't help,” Magruder said. “We had this book that came with one of our encyclopedia sets, a children's book that was full of nursery rhymes and fairy tales. I liked to heft it up to my bedroom at night and sit in bed with the lamp on, poring over the stories and ink illustrations. A lot of this seems kind of scary in retrospect, but as a kid it just made life feel mysterious and unfathomable.”

Magruder developed an appetite for Disney movies and whimsical tales: “Watership Down,” “Unico,” “Old Yeller” and “Born Free.” Around age 13, she started watching “Sailor Moon” and other anime, inspiring her to draw people.

Magruder said she never planned on being an artist – accountant or reporter were more likely professions – but she now devotes both day and night to her craft. Working at a studio full-time, she creates concept art and storyboards for two-dimensional projects. With her spare time, she works on her webcomic “M.F.K.”

The winner of the inaugural Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity in February 2015, Magruder’s M.F.K. beat prestigious comics such as “Shaft” by writer David F. Walker and artist Bilquis Evely and “Ms. Marvel” by G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona.

Based in a fantasy world in the empire of Rojardin, “M.F.K.” follows an orphan named Abbie as she travels cross-country to scatter her mother’s ashes at a mountain range called Potter’s Spine. Unfortunately for her, along the way, everyone she meets wants to arrest her or blow her to bits. Armed with special powers, Abbie is caught in the middle of a power struggle.

The concept for M.F.K. spent a decade in Magruder’s head, starting sometime between high school and college. Her goal was to create a shounen manga about a black girl. She is now on the fourth chapter.

“I wanted her to be kind of a cynical, quiet, introverted recluse, doing everything she can to stay out of conflict,” Magruder said of her protagonist, Abbie. “Basically, I wanted her to be a hero I'd never seen before.”

Magruder has also been busy preparing for WonderCon in Los Angeles from March 25-27. She will have new merchandise, including the first printing of “M.F.K.” chapter three.

Soon she will have another work to promote, “How to Find a Fox,” her debut picture book, which comes out in November. Magruder initially shelved the story because she found it boring, but a blog post from a literary agent inspired her to add more conflict and rewrite the story from a new perspective.

“It's about a little girl in the forest armed with a backpack and a camera, up against a fox that does not want to sit still for a photo,” she explained. “Of all my work, this one is perhaps most reflective of my life in Pasadena. The illustrations are full of many of the critters that shared the woods around our house.”

The artist’s long-term goals are to publish several books and help make a movie or two. To learn more about Magruder, visit www.nilahmagruder.com. “M.F.K.” can be viewed at www.mfkcomic.com.