Given the chance, Bored Panda reached out to Laura Romagnoli, an Italian illustrator known for her comic series "Average Adventures of an Average Girl."
Laura's journey with her comic series began as doodles on her high school homework, evolving into a digital comic that has since expanded into three books and over 350 episodes.
"Average Girl started out of boredom as a silly sketch on my high school homework, back then I surely didn't expect it to become anything more than that! The silly sketches - with just the AG character and a speech bubble - slowly became more 'sophisticated' by adding first a second panel, and then a third and fourth. Then, the silly sketches became digital comics thanks to my first drawing tablet - the next, natural step was publishing online!
I didn't think much about it when I started posting Average Girl on a couple of comics platforms in the summer of 2014, but then, some months later, I signed 'Average Adventures of an Average Girl' to become an original series on Webtoon USA until 2018! After that, I published three books here in Italy while I kept the series going on social media. Since its beginning in 2014, 'Average Adventures of an Average Girl' counts more than 350 episodes, takes part in 3 books (one of its own) and 3 comics anthologies!"
She also explained the source of inspiration for her comics, "AG comics took inspiration from my everyday life: after all, I was an awkward teenager back then, just like many others like me! That's where the title came from. I wanted to let people know that, despite all the difficulties one may have along their growing path, they'd never be alone."
Regarding her creative process, Laura remarked, "Ah, it's simple, really! I tend to have a vivid imagination, so anything banal and common can trigger a flow of ideas that quickly get into comic format. Everyday life is my fuel, where I exaggerate everyday things into something out of the ordinary!"
She also spoke on the evolution of her work and its themes, "Those are for sure the first themes I started with. With time, as I grew, those themes evolved with me. I think, if you read the comics one after the other since the beginning of Average Girl, you can see how the character herself evolved from an awkward teenager who always felt out of place into a woman who finally (or almost!) learned how to love herself. Hopefully, the people who read 'Average Adventures of an Average Girl' can learn to love themselves, too! They deserve it.❤️"
On the topic of social media's role in her career, the artist expressed to Bored Panda, "Oh boy, social media sure did! It helped me reach many work opportunities, collaborations, and meet many amazing artists and become part of a large community! But, that was back in 2019 when IG didn't change the algorithm yet. Since then, I saw that, despite my effort, the platform hasn't grown as much as before. I can't post every day like social media would want me to - and that's ok. I value my mental health more than engagement under a post!"
Looking forward, Laura is keen on bringing "Average Adventures of an Average Girl" to an international audience and is currently working on "Of Men and Magic," a dark fantasy/romance webtoon set in late 1920s Italy, drawing from Italian folklore. She concluded, "Right now, I'm trying to bring 'Average Adventures of an Average Girl' outside Italy, since my audience is mainly English speaking. So, if you enjoy my work, be sure to support me to do so! In the meantime, I'm working on a dark fantasy/romance webtoon called 'Of Men and Magic'... My goal is to finish the first season as I'm currently working chapter 11 out of (maybe) 15! If you're in the mood for not your usual fantasy webtoon, go check it out and let me know what you think!"
