November 9, 2022

MentorTalks: Making it in the Marvel Universe

When Marvel first approached award-winning Pakistani illustrator and designer Shehzil Malik about contributing artwork to its latest series, Ms. Marvel, Shehzil thought the message might be spam. But it was no joke – Marvel wanted to use some of Shehzil’s artworks in the show to represent Kamala Khan’s heritage as the first Muslim/Pakistani-American superhero.

On Wednesday, November 16 at 9:00 a.m. ET, find out the story behind Shehzil’s journey into the Marvel universe, how she uses illustration to inspire social change in her home country, and why more creators should take a chance and apply for a Fulbright Scholarship.

In this MentorTalks episode, you’ll also hear what inspired Shehzil to become interested in art as a way to tell a story and why she believes South Asians need to tell stories from their own perspectives.

“I think the more personal you can get, the more universal your story can be,” she says.

Tune in November 16 on Facebook, LinkedIn, or YouTube!

Speaker Bio (via Shehzil’s website, courtesy Shehzil Malik)

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Shehzil stands in front of a Ms. Marvel series poster featuring her artwork in Los Angeles, California. Ms. Marvel is an Original series from Marvel Studios that premiered on Disney+ this year. (Image courtesy of Shehzil Malik via Instagram @shehzilm)
Shehzil Malik is a designer and illustrator with a focus on human rights, feminism and South Asian identity. She leads a studio that works on social impact projects through digital art, publications, textile and public art. Her work has been featured in CNN, DW, BBC and Forbes with clients including Sony Music, Penguin Random House, Oxfam, New York Times, GIZ and Google.

She is a Fulbright scholar with an MFA in Visual Communication Design from the Rochester Institute of Technology and is part of the International Development Innovation Network (IDIN). She was a contributing artist and panelist at the Oslo Freedom Forum 2019 and has previously worked as an art director at Ogilvy & Mather, Lahore.