Karla Medrano

Karla Medrano, also known as Moon the Storyteller, is a Black independent comic book creator, publisher, podcaster, nonprofit founder, nurse, and community builder whose work centers on amplifying underrepresented voices in comics. She is the creator and writer of Luna: Queen of Mahru — a fantasy comic series following Luna, a young woman who discovers her vital importance to the universe — first published independently and re-launched under her publishing imprint Blaq Girl Comics in 2026, with new issues releasing monthly. Blaq Girl Comics publishes comics, poetry, and prose celebrating the global Brown and Black girl experience, with submissions open to all. In 2024 she co-founded the Ororo Comics Podcast with Dr. Ebony Toussaint — a podcast at the intersection of health, culture, and comics, designed for women who are passionate about all three. Within months of launch the podcast won the Comic Book Community Award for Best Unknown Channel. She founded Ink the Future, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to amplifying the voices of underrepresented comics creators. The inaugural initiative of Ink the Future is the Zelda Awards — a comics award she founded to recognize and celebrate the outstanding achievements of women shaping comic book culture, named after Zelda Jackie Ormes, the first Black woman cartoonist in the United States to have a regularly published comic strip. Nominations for the inaugural Zelda Awards opened November 1, 2025, with voting opening February 16, 2026 and the ceremony held virtually on April 11, 2026, hosted by Dr. Angélique Roché. The inaugural ceremony received more than 150 nominations across all categories and 9,000 total votes. Medrano also teaches an indie comic marketing course and has been a vocal advocate for independent Black women creators in the comics industry.