Kent State grad tackles challenges of being a girl playing football in debut graphic novel

Guts, glory and the gridiron.

Drama, self-discovery and friendship.

All make their appearance in a story written and illustrated by two Kent State University graduates.

Misty Wilson's debut graphic memoir, "Play Like a Girl," to be released Sept. 27, follows the trials and trepidations of the author navigating the complexities of her first year of middle school growing up in Wadsworth.

Illustrated by her husband and artist David Wilson, the story follows Misty's attempts to maneuver the trappings of adolescence — crushes, the shifting sands of once well- established friendships, and the search for identity — as well as her desire to play football on a city league team, dragging her best friend onto the field with her.

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Misty's pursuit of the sport makes her a pariah to some, but she perseveres, making some new friends along the way.

She tackles the challenges of playing a traditionally male sport while juggling her home life and aspirations to popularity.

Occasionally falling, she spends little time on the ground before getting back up to try again. Not all on her own, of course. She's surrounded by a cast of characters who are largely supportive, including her stepfather and mother.

"Kids are always trying to find a place where they fit in," Misty said. "Especially with girls, they want to fit in with that popular group. [The book] is about finding your people, people who accept you for who you are, and following your passions."

Misty earned a master's degree in teaching from Kent State University. She was teaching a group of third graders at Crestwood when it occurred to her that she had a story to tell.

At the time, she had some students, obsessed with graphic novels, staying in from recess who were concerned about fitting in, an anxiety she's faced in her own life.

"I always struggled with the fact that I did want to be one of the girls, but I also wanted to march to the beat of my own drum, which included more of the boy things," Misty said.

Teacher teams up with artist husband for graphic novel

She pitched the idea of creating a graphic novel to David. At first, he was concerned that he might not be right for the job.

"I wasn't sure if my art would fit for middle-grade, for kids comics," said David.

David, who has a master's degree from KSU in visual communication design, typically focuses his illustration work on more adult themes and doesn't fit the traditional art style represented in graphic novels aimed at a younger audience. Misty calls it "cartoony" and David calls it "bubbly."

"I wanted to do it," he said, "and I just said, 'Screw it, let's figure it out.' "

David's renderings of middle school life are bright and full of detail that make the story come to life, like a loose shoelace trailing a runner; grass stains on elbows and bandages on hands, capturing the perpetually injured state of kids fumbling about in their newly shifting forms.

The Stow couple had collaborated on projects before, but "Play Like a Girl" was the first time that Misty took the lead.

Misty told her tale to David and he adapted it into a script, relying on his storytelling experience writing comics, movies and books. But when their editor became involved in the process, asking what he calls "really hard questions — what are the themes of the book?" he realized he needed to hop in the back seat.

"It was stuff like, this is not my business to even be in this conversation," David said. "It was nice once I was like, 'Oh, that's not my role to take — I just make this as good as I can via the art.' "

He created the first script using Misty's account of seventh grade, but that was only a springboard into uncharted territory. At the time, she said she had no idea how to tell her story in a digestible, relatable form.

"While I was waiting for my editor, it just became months of reading writing craft books," Misty said.

She read other graphic novels as well as prose novels to inform her own work.

"I needed to learn how to take my experience and turn it into a story with an actual arc and character changes," she said. "So taking the lead was a lot. There were a lot of tears."

Collaboration through the COVID-19 pandemic

During the 2019 Christmas break, they worked out sample pages and a synopsis together before beginning the search for an agent, something they quickly found out they were unprepared for.

"We had no idea what we were doing," Misty said. "We went into this like we do pretty much everything in life; like, 'Hey, let's just go for it — we don't know anything!' "

Ideally, she said, you're supposed to have a script ready to go by the time you start looking for agents. Misty and David didn't.

After one of the agents they'd emailed got back to them asking for additional materials, they spent 24 hours writing a script. Then they had to write a three- to four-page outline.

"It was a huge learning experience," Misty added, "but in the end we had three agent offers out of, I think we sent eighteen."

Some people can send out hundreds of queries that all end in rejection, she said.

"It is partially luck, but also David's great at what he does, and it's a timely topic," she said.

Though he's a seasoned artist versed in illustration, design and filmmaking, David said that "Play Like a Girl" is by far the biggest project he's ever been involved in.

"Usually, like freelance illustration, you do like one [piece] or maybe a series of three or four," David said. "Even with comics, not getting paid, so I'd max out at 10 or pages or 15 tops."

"Play Like a Girl" is 268 pages with two to six drawings per page, he said.

Collaboration through the COVID-19 pandemic

From December 2019 to March 2022, their lives were consumed by the project — drafting, writing, re-writing; drawing, coloring, and lettering. A significant amount of the work was done during the initial phases of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

"Every room we walked in was just pages of graphic novel that we were revising, or index cards taped to the walls that we were moving around," Misty said. "Everywhere we went was 'Play Like a Girl' staring at us."

"It wasn't bad, but there was nowhere to go," David said as Misty laughed. "We're working on this massive project every day. I think we credit-carded vacations for each of us." David was the first to crack. He booked an Airbnb on a river up north and spent three days watching movies. Misty stayed at the Kent State Hotel for a little bit.

Now, with the release date of Sept. 27 bearing down, the project still feels unfinished.

The Wilsons felt a brief respite in March, when the book was sent to the printer. Since then, there have been a host of pre-release duties. The interviews have been easy, according to Misty. It's the promotional videos vexing them currently. Everyone wants a video, David said, so he animated a trailer and they hired a voice actress from Fiverr. The idea, he said, was to make it look more like a cartoon in order to get kids more invested in the story.

The novel, published by Balzer + Bray, is available for pre-order on Amazon for $10.99 for the digital edition, $22.99 for hardcover and $12.99 for paperback.

'Girls can do anything'

Playing football was difficult in the beginning, Misty said. After her best friend quit, the field became lonely for a time.

"It was just me, alone with a bunch of boys who didn't want me there," she said. "Eventually, however, after I'd proven myself, and I had done well...I feel like most of them came around."

After seventh grade, Misty didn't play football again. During her one and only season, she was the same size as all the boys on the team. After they kept growing, and she didn't, she was worried she wouldn't fare well.

If she couldn't be the best, she said, she wanted nothing to do with it.

That's not to say that she stopped playing sports. She continued playing basketball and played lacrosse in high school and still does things outside of her comfort zone, like writing books. She said she's got 1,000 stories in her, so there's more to come.

"I'm going to specify and say that girls can do anything," Misty said, "including things that are considered boy things, but really it's about how anybody can do anything, or try anything. I just think that a lot of times, people are told that they should be one way and then they start to believe it."

Misty and Dave both have upcoming projects that they're currently not at liberty to discuss. Keep an eye on their websites for news of their work.Misty WilsonDave Wilson

Contact reporter Derek Kreider at DKreider@Gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: KSU grad's debut graphic novel to be released Sept. 27