Stephany Lein is a writer and artist living in Mississauga, ON but is originally from a Northwestern Ontario city called Thunder Bay. She has lived all over the province and attended many different schools growing up. She has been interested in drawing and writing comics from a very young age, and Shelly was one of her original creations and comic projects.
As the years moved on, Shelly was pushed to the side and new styles and inspirations took hold of Stephany’s artistic interests, but the artbooks still remained in the storage bins; she still aspired to make comics and tell her stories.
Years passed and Stephany went through a dry spell of neither drawing, nor creating. It wasn’t until 2013 that Stephany decided to pick up comics and art again, only seriously this time. She took a number of workshops in Downtown Toronto with Ty Templeton and immediately began bringing stories to life. Her first publication was in Toronto Comics Anthology, but soon branched out to other anthologies including Epic Canadiana 2 (winner of the Gene Day Award of 2016), Strange Romance Vols 1 and 2, and Toronto Comics Anthology Vols 2 and 3. It wasn’t long after that she published her LGBTQ comic, Strays, and later, a children’s comic, Skelt and Apy.
It was through sheer luck that one day Stephany found her old artbooks and supplies and came across Shelly. Immediately inspired, Stephany decided to reshape and modernize the character she created in the 90s to better fit today’s youth and dreamed up a series designed just for girls. She hopes to continue this series and offer something that modern girls can relate to.
Stephany can be reached on Facebook, Twitter, and through the contact form on this website. She attends several conventions during the year in Southern Ontario and is very approachable. Please don’t be afraid to come by her table and say hi (that is, if you’re at a show!) or to send an email and offer feedback, or even your own personal stories.
Girls matter. Your stories matter. Your feelings matter. You are the future, and here’s hoping that Shelly is one among many future comics for today’s beautiful young ladies.