Katie Skelly, an award-winning cartoonist and simply one of the best comic artists today, has a new graphic novel, Heaven, published by Fantagraphics. We chat about her new book, the inner workings of it all: influences, storytelling observations, fun stuff and serious stuff. Basically, an all-around great conversation. The timing on this spotlight is good too as Katie presents Bad Girl Tarot, a beautiful tarot card deck she has created, all her drawings and design work, currently on a Kickstarter campaign that runs through July 15, 2026.
Katie Skelly
Heaven is, at its core, a good old-fashioned ghost story, with a group of high school girls, and a haunted mansion on a hill. Well, not so much a mansion in this case as a super weird strip club that goes in and out of existence. For more details, just read my review. And I highly recommend that you get your copy so you can see for yourself. There are endless inventive details to savor, starting with those giant upside-down neon heels lighting up the desert night skies.
I like to focus on the creative process and that’s why it’s great to call attention to both Heaven and Bad Girl Tarot. For me, it’s all part of something bigger. In this interview, I ask Katie to share about what she’s thinking about as she creates work. Everyone will answer in a different way. Katie has some very specific passions she can draw inspiration from as well as a very curious mind open to whatever random element that might cross her path. A couple of deep wells of inspiration are horror genre films and manga. If you’d like some insight into the mind of one of our great comic artists, then I invite you to check out our conversation.
At a crossroads.
Heaven is the fourth, and latest, graphic novel by Katie Skelly, published by Fantagraphics. It is only now, with hindsight, viewing all four books together, that we have the luxury of saying they all fit in so well with each other. I suggest as much to Katie. And she agrees. She states: “Well, sure, My Pretty Vampire and Maids find their way into Heaven. And The Agency finds it way into all of them, one way or another.” And thus we begin our chat. It’s important to realize that each book is its own world of hard work and countless problem-solving, years in the making. So, yes, it’s a super big deal to have all of this work look so cool, a beautiful seemingly seamless result.
And with that, I set you lose to enjoy the above video, or audio at various platforms. The video will go up first and is ready as I write this. The audio will load up shortly, after I make a few more tweaks. Anyway, feel free to comment, like and subscribe. Every bit of engagement from you helps.
And just a few more words . . .
A few more things to say about the Bad Girl Tarot campaign at Kickstarter, thru June 15, 2026:
Bad Girl Tarot II is a complete 78-card tarot deck with guidebook created and designed by me, cartoonist Katie Skelly. The goal of this Kickstarter is to raise funds for the first printing of the deck, working towards fulfillment in October 2026. I’m excited to offer backers a special price on Bad Girl Tarot II, plus rewards like original art, stickers, and more as thanks for supporting the project.
The Team:
Katie Skelly: that’s me! I am an award-winning comic book artist with four graphic novels from Fantagraphics, plus the creator of the original Bad Girl Tarot and Bad Girl Oracle. Find more of my work on my website and on Instagram.
Chelsey Caswell: a professional tarot reader with both regular private clients and popular sessions at spots like NYC’s Soho House. Find more about her on her website.
