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Draft:Mari Costa

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mari Costa
OccupationsGraphic novelist, cartoonist, animator
Writing career
SubjectsFantasy, LGBTQ romance
Notable worksLife of Melody, Belle of the Ball, The Demon of Beausoleil, Forgive-Me-Not

Mari Costa is a Luso-Brazilian cartoonist. She[a] is notable for the graphic novels Belle of the Ball, The Demon of Beausoleil, and Forgive-Me-Not.

Career

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Webcomics

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Costa's webcomics include The Well by the House on the Hill and Supermahou.[2] In 2015, Costa launched the webcomic Peritale about a fairy without magic.[3][4]

Graphic Novels

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Costa's first graphic novel, Life of Melody, is about Bon, a beastman, and Razzmatazz, a fairy godfather, who became the guardians of Melody, an abandoned human child, and fall in love with one another.[5] It was initially published on the webcomic service Hiveworks, with a print graphic novel being published in 2021 in conjunction with Hiveworks and Seven Seas Entertainment.[6]

In 2023, Costa released Belle of the Ball, a graphic novel about three queer high school girls, Belle, Gina, and Chloe, who enter a three-way love triangle.[7][8] It was nominated for the 2024 Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ+ Comics.[9]

In 2026, Costa published her first adult work, The Demon of Beausoleil.[10][11] The graphic novel follows Helianthes, a demon-human hybrid born into a noble family who becomes an exorcist, and his human bodyguard Elias.[10][11] As with Life of Melody, it was originally published as a webcomic.[12] In the same year, she published Forgive-Me-Not, a fantasy graphic novel about Forget-Me-Not, a princess who was stolen by fairies as an infant, and her oblivious fairy changeling Aisling, who fall in love as they travel to meet Aisling's father.[13][14]

In addition to her own graphic novels, Costa has illustrated Stephanie Cooke's ParaNorthern and the Chaos Bunny A-hop-calypse[15][16] and Christina Diaz Gonzalez's Offside.[17] She is also the illustrator for the comic series Fade by Aabria Iyengar.[18] She has worked on Lumberjanes.[2]

Personal life

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Costa has a bachelor’s degree in Character Animation.[19] She is Luso-Brazilian, and as of 2023 resides in Porto.[19] She is lesbian.[20]

Publications

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Writer and Illustrator

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  • Costa, Mari (September 28, 2021). Life of Melody. Seven Seas. ISBN 978-1648276491.
  • Costa, Mari (March 21, 2023). Belle of the Ball. First Second. ISBN 978-1250784131.
  • Costa, Mari (January 27, 2026). The Demon of Beausoleil. Oni Press. ISBN 979-8894880341.
  • Costa, Mari (April 14, 2026). Forgive-Me-Not. First Second. ISBN 978-1250784162.

Illustrator

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Accolades

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Year Title Award/Honor Result Ref.
2022 ParaNorthern and the Chaos Bunny A-hop-calypse Ontario Library Association Silver Birch Award Shortlisted [21]
2024 Belle of the Ball Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ+ Comics Shortlisted [9]
American Library Association's Great Graphic Novels for Teens Top Ten [22]

Notes

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  1. ↑ Costa uses she/her and they/them pronouns, this article uses she/her for consistency[1]

References

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  1. ↑ Mari Costa on Instagram
  2. 1 2 Johnston, Rich (2020-08-27). "Mari Costa Sells Belle Of The Ball YA Graphic Novel to First Second". bleedingcool.com. Retrieved 2026-09-13.
  3. ↑ Mey (2016-01-26). "Drawn to Comics: Peritale is Your New Fave Fairy Tale and Xena's Coming to Comics!". Autostraddle. Retrieved 2026-09-13.
  4. ↑ Seeley, Christa (2015-06-19). "Peritale: A New Fairy Webcomic to Watch For - WWAC %". WWAC. Retrieved 2026-09-13.
  5. ↑ Liang, Kuo-Yu. "Graphic Novels 2021 Preview: Read Between the Panels". Library Journal. Retrieved 2026-09-13.
  6. ↑ MacDonald, Heidi (2020-12-22). "Hiveworks teams with Seven Seas Entertainment for print editions". The Beat. Retrieved 2026-09-13.
  7. ↑ BELLE OF THE BALL | Kirkus Reviews.
  8. ↑ Milburn, Rachel (2023-04-13). "Great Graphic Novels (#GGN2024) Featured Review: Belle of the Ball by Mari Costa". The Hub. Retrieved 2026-09-13.
  9. 1 2 "Lambda Literary Award Finalists 2024: Announcing the 36th Annual Lammys Shortlist | Them". www.them.us. Retrieved 2026-09-13.
  10. 1 2 Zhdanova, Masha (2026-01-29). "Graphic Novel Review: THE DEMON OF BEAUSOLEIL summons a fun occult-themed romance". The Beat. Retrieved 2026-09-13.
  11. 1 2 Mari, Costa. "The Demon of Beausoleil". Library Journal. Retrieved 2026-09-13.
  12. ↑ "Exorcisms, half-demons and queer Victorian romance collide in Oni Press's 2026 graphic novel The Demon of Beausoleil". Popverse. 2025-05-21. Retrieved 2026-09-13.
  13. ↑ "Forgive-Me-Not by Mari Costa". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2026-09-13.
  14. ↑ FORGIVE-ME-NOT | Kirkus Reviews.
  15. ↑ Destito, Deanna (2019-09-25). "Syndicated Comics". The Beat. Retrieved 2026-09-13.
  16. ↑ Stephanie, Cooke. "ParaNorthern: And the Chaos Bunny A-Hop-Calypse". School Library Journal. Retrieved 2026-09-13.
  17. ↑ "Offside by Christina Diaz Gonzalez". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2026-09-13.
  18. ↑ Radulovic, Petrana (2024-08-21). "The Fade is a magical coming-of-age adventure by Dimension 20's Aabria Iyengar". Polygon.com. Retrieved 2026-09-17.
  19. 1 2 Kirichanskaya, Michele (2023-09-10). "Interview with Mari Costa, Author of Belle of the Ball". Geeks OUT. Retrieved 2026-09-13.
  20. ↑ Mari Costa on Bluesky
  21. ↑ CBC Books. "Here are the 2022 Silver Birch Fiction Award finalists: 10 great Canadian books for readers in Grades 3-6". CBC News.
  22. ↑ "2024 Great Graphic Novels for Teens Top Ten". www.ala.org. Archived from the original on 2026-08-02. Retrieved 2026-09-13.
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Peritale and Life of Melody]

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