Amandla Stenberg is an actress, activist and now, a comic book writer

We know and love Amandla Stenberg because she played Rue in The Hunger Games, and since leaving the arena, she has gone onto do many big, amazing things. Not only has she snagged roles in TV’s Sleepy Hollow and Mr. Robinson, but she’s also an incredibly outspoken activist for all sorts of social and cultural issues for this day and age. And then remember when she and Jayden Smith went to prom? Stenberg is cool, and she’s only getting cooler. Adding to her growing list of accomplishments, Stenberg is writing a comic book. She’s here to give us a young heroine that the world needs, and deserves.

Stenberg has partnered up with Stranger Comics, its writer and CEO Sebastian Jones, along with illustrator Ashley Wood, to bring a story about a young, black female warrior to life. It’s called, Niobe: She is Life, and follows the story of Niobe Ayutami, who is half-elf, half-human, and all around awesome. Niobe is on a journey of “self-discovery” to figure out who she is, and also figure out her elf-human powers.

Jones created the character, but as he explained to Huffington Post, he is “not a young, black, teenaged woman,” and needed someone else to “really engage with Niobe’s soul and state of being.” So, in stepped Stenberg, who’s got that depth to bring this teenage warrior to life.

Immediately, Stenberg was drawn to the story and thrilled to help bring the character to life. “[Niobe] is on a path to a destiny that will test her faith and her will, something we can all relate to,” she explained. “There’s never been a character quite like her — one who shatters the traditional ideal of what a hero is. We need more badass girls!” YES, TRUE. So it’s a good thing Niobe is here to (undoubtedly) save the day.

Niobe herself is “courageous, beautiful, flawed, brave, and has the tenacity to follow through with her convictions,” and all of those things apply to Stenberg, too. At age 16, Stenberg has shown that she’s got a powerful voice and is willing to do whatever she can to see that change happens. She is most certainly someone to follow, and now we’re going to do so on the comic page, too.

Niobe: She is Life, is set to hit shelves on November 4, and it’s just jumped to the top of our to-read list.

(Image via Shutterstock.)