FILE PHOTO: A screen grab of a page of a new comic book on Brittney Griner, obtained by Reuters on January 11, 2023. (TidalWave Comics/Handout via REUTERS)
From college hoops to a Russian jail cell, the life of basketball star Brittney Griner is being told in a new comic book from TidalWave Comics.
Griner is part of the publisher’s Female Force series that celebrates women with inspirational stories.
Griner was arrested on Feb. 17 at an airport outside Moscow for carrying vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage.
She was subsequently convicted of drug smuggling and later transferred to one of Russia’s most notorious penal colonies before being released in a prison swap in December.
Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and eight-time Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) All-Star, said she plans to return to her WNBA team.
Writer Michael Frizell said they began working on the comic book before Griner’s arrest and had a focus on “her growth as an athlete and person.” Adding that he “found Brittney’s story fascinating despite not knowing much about the WNBA.”
Frizell hopes readers understand “the person behind the headlines.”
The comic book will be released Jan. 18 in print and digital form.