Rainbow Fantasy – interview with Kasia Babis

Damian Lesicki: The current edition of “Nowa Fantastyka” immediately catches the eye and stands out from the previous ones. How did you join this initiative?

Kasia Babis: Several of my friends were involved in creating this project from the very beginning, so I have been following its development for a long time. Unfortunately, being on the final straight of publishing a large graphic novel, I did not have time to draw a longer comic for publication in the issue, as I planned at the beginning. That is why I was very happy when the possibility of creating a cover illustration appeared.

DL: So while creating the issue, when it came to planning the cover, the team came back to you with the proposal: “If not a comic, maybe you can at least make an illustration”? Was it your initiative?

KB: Rather, they said, “Hey, actually we still need the cover, maybe you have just the time”? And I did. I know the style of the covers so far, so I asked before if there were any style or theme guidelines that I should stick to, but I was given a completely free hand.

DL: And it was definitely refreshing. How about this comic book. Will it rise someday?

KB: As soon as there is finally enough time! There will be plenty of ideas.

DL: I keep my fingers crossed. Coming back to the cover, what was it like creating “from the back”?

KB: The cooperation went very smoothly, we had very similar visions with the editorial office and we mainly gave each other inspirations about the characters that could appear on the cover.

DL: Some of them directly refer to the texts inside the number. Did you have a list of topics that will be covered so that you can get inspiration?

KB: No, I didn’t know what was going to be inside, but maybe some of the editorial suggestions were inspired by them.

DL: Were there any ideas you wish they had caught?

KB: I would definitely like to stuff half of the characters from the Dragon Age series there . Or at least Krema threw it in to increase the visibility of the tragically underrepresented trance characters a bit … Unfortunately, she is rather a side character, so she would be poorly recognizable.

DL: Were there any preliminary sketches that you submitted to the editors for approval? After settling the concept of the cover, did you just upload the final version?

KB: There was a draft and one version before corrections. The comments included several characters and characteristic attributes to be added, i.e. in general complementing an existing idea.

DL: Who do we ultimately see in the picture and why these characters?

KB: The choice of characters aroused some controversy. The problem with the representation of non-heteronormative people in pop culture is that for a long time they were smuggled in through a side door, “coding” some characters to be LGBT without stating it directly. Hence, many questions about the presence of Ursula, the evil witch from The Little Mermaid . Not everyone knows that it was drawn on the basis of one of the most famous drag queens in the world – Divine. Other characters have become icons in the community a bit against the intentions of the creators themselves (hence the presence of Xena in this noble company). There are also canonically bisexual characters – like Ciri or Harley Quinn. And Dumbledore, whose late “coming out” many fans also have a grudge against.

DL: I think the latter can be extremely controversial, especially in view of the recent surge in transphobic activity by JK Rowling. What decided to include the wizard in this group?

KB: The Harry Potter universe was the first – and very intense – encounter with fantasy for many of my generation. Despite the author’s absolutely scandalous transphobic obsessions, being represented in one of the most famous works of pop culture, in addition to children, was something really big for the queer community. At least in my environment. Despite this, I also had a lot of doubts whether Dumbledore should be there and I still don’t know if it was a good decision or not.

DL: Opinions will certainly be divided. As with Ciri. Although the witcher is a wonderful, strong heroine, many people point out that the thread of her bisexuality begins with a scene of rape and a relationship bearing the hallmarks of the Stockholm syndrome.

KB: Apart from the fact that the relationship between Ciri and Mistle described in the book was toxic and violent, the very idea to reverse the classic trope in which the princess is awarded a prize to one of the brave heroes – because this is how Sapkowski approached it, according to his own words. – is somehow groundbreaking. And for me, as a teenager in The Witcher , very formative.

DL: So in this case also the positives finally outweighed the shortcomings?

KB: In a culture so long dominated by the “only right” narrative about identity and sexuality, it is not difficult to find shortcomings. Growing up, you had to cling to these imperfect threads that flashed somewhere. And the emotions associated with nostalgia remained.

DL: Besides, possible disagreements are a source of discussions that help to understand where these imperfections come from and how to avoid them. Analysis and critical commentary are probably a better approach than throwing a problematic text of culture into the bin. How do you think?

KB: People argue how much Ciri felt attracted to Mistle, and how much it was an interdependence based on violence and trauma bonding. This is a big progress from considering whether bisexuality exists at all and whether homosexuality is a disease. I am not in favor of destroying “problematic” texts, hiding and burning (nobody is?), But on the other hand I am in favor of removing In Desert and Wilderness from the reading list and I am convinced by the arguments that we should limit punching Rowling capital by infinite allegiance to its intellectual property … So that’s the spectrum.

DL: It’s definitely a river theme. All the more so because more and more issues of this kind are raised by bloggers, speakers, portals, and now also in the most famous Polish fantasy magazine. Nevertheless, on such occasions there are voices of indignation that it is “forcing politics” into entertainment. How would you comment on such opinions?

KB: Everything is politics. Everything that amuses us, moves us, makes us angry – results from our values. And fantasy itself as a genre has long been used by us to comment on current social problems.

DL: And yet there are people who tear their robes apart every time they come across a queer thread, ethnic minority groups or a strong female figure. What it comes from?

KB: It’s just my quick thesis, but I think it’s fandom by nature. For many of us, fantasy was counterculture, something that still in my generation met with misunderstanding and mockery at school. And some of us, in these stories full of inconspicuous heroes facing the overwhelming forces of darkness, found consolation and understanding for our “otherness”. And some of them locked themselves in a besieged fortress and used fantasy to fantasize about “once these were the times”.

DL: All in all, it is hardly surprising, since many Polish fantasy writers feel a similar longing for the times they know only from literature and embellished stories.

KB: Polish writers is a separate topic on which I could write an essay. And maybe I’ll write one day, so I’ll let go of this argument now.

DL: Haha. Maybe an article for one of the next issues of Nowa Fantastyka?

KB: Haha, maybe… But slowly, I’ll pick up one storm in the fandom first before stepping into the next.

DL: How do you think the initiative to broaden the horizons of “New Fantasy” will catch on and continue? Fears are heard that it is a single shot and the writing will quickly return to its former tracks.

KB: I think, or maybe I hope, that maybe every year around Pride Month there would be such a thematic rainbow issue … Regardless of this, I am convinced that both the controversy around Komuda’s story and the enthusiastic reception of the November issue will affect the awareness and sensitivity of the environment. And this will inevitably and irrevocably also affect the shape of the magazine.

DL: And this is what I wish you, myself and all readers.