Brittney Griner Portrayed In 'Female Force' Comic Book: Unsure Teen To WNBA Star To Russian Prison Cell

TidalWave's 'Female Force' is a biographical comic series that highlights influential women who are shaping modern history and culture. The dozens of women immortalized by FemaleForce include such icons as Madonna, Dolly Parton, Oprah Winfrey, Hillary Clinton, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Gloria Steinem, Ellen DeGeneres, JK Rowling and Chelsea Handler. Brittney Griner is now among them.

The life of the WNBA superstar is told in a 22-page TidalWave comic book, dubbed "Female Force: Brittney Griner." 

Written by Michael Frizell and illustrated by Martin Gimenez, the book chronicles Griner’s life from her early days as an uncomfortable and very tall teenager, through high school where she struggled with her sexuality and identity, and then on to become a sought-after college basketball player who went on to WNBA fame.

The comic ends with Griner’s 10-month ordeal in a Russian prison where she was sent after being detained on Feb. 17, 2021, at a Moscow airport with cannabis oil in her suitcase. On that day, one week before Russia invaded Ukraine, Griner was flying into Moscow to finish up her seventh season with a Russian team for whom she played during the WNBA off-season.

Griner, beloved in Russia by basketball fans after all those years, was released and returned to the U.S. on Dec 8 in a prisoner swap involving the notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. 

First Appearance After Return To The U.S.

The two-time Olympic gold medalist and eight-time WNBA All-Star appeared for the first time in public last week at the annual MLK Day March in Phoenix on what would have been Martin Luther King Jr.'s 94th birthday.  

Frizell said the production of the book on Griner's life actually began several years before her Russia nightmare, which was viewed as part of the standoff between Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden with Griner as the bargaining chip.

"My initial approach was to explore her history to show her growth as an athlete and person," Frizell said in a news release per Chron. "I hope readers will walk away understanding the person behind the headlines." 

Griner, who turned 32 while incarcerated in Russia, has already announced plans that she intends to return to play for the Phoenix Mercury next season.

Released on Jan. 18, the comic is available in print and digital formats.