ND Stevenson

This Pride month, a rebellious, shapeshifting teen by the name of Nimona burst on to screens across the world in one of the most stylish, creative, and uplifting movies of the year. But before she was a rhinoceros, whale, otter, dragon, boy, girl, and a million other things on Netflix, Nimona was the web comic creation of ND Stevenson.

Stevenson is known for his comics, his writing, and perhaps most famously, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, which he created and ran for five groundbreaking seasons. Since then, he’s come out as transmasc and bigender, changed his name, and — this summer — he got to see one of his early creations come to life in a whole new way. Now he’s getting ready for the next chapter.

“I’m in the process of entering a new creative phase in my life and figuring out what that means for me, especially as I enter my 30s amid the turbulence of late-stage capitalism,” he says. “Not sure I’ve overcome it yet — but I’ll let you know as soon as I do.”

No matter what Stevenson does next, he wants to continue to send the same messages of love and acceptance that made Nimona so impactful. “You don’t have to understand someone to love them,” he says. “The world is so much bigger and weirder than we know — when you love someone for who they are, the understanding will follow.” @gingerhazing