As a little girl, Amanda El-Dweek dreamed of being a cartoonist. Now, as an adult, she is living that dream. Amanda has a syndicated online comic strip on gocomics.com.

“I provide seven comic strips for them every week. It is intense, but it’s really fun, so I can’t complain.”

Amanda’s comic strip, “Amanda the Great,” is based on her life in Watford City, North Dakota.

“It includes my husband, me, my parents; even my grandpa, friends and co-workers have made appearances in my comic strip. I always keep a notebook with me so I can remember funny things that happen. I feature North Dakota in my script. Sometimes I get comments when I use a North Dakota word like ‘uffda’ in a strip. People don’t know what that means outside of our state, I guess! I think that makes it unique, and it also gives me a chance to teach people from other parts of the country a little about North Dakota.”

Getting her comic strip syndicated wasn’t easy. Amanda had to submit her work and be open to criticism.

“I first submitted when I was in high school and that was a total disaster, but I learned from it. I took several years off and in 2016 submitted again. This time an editor contacted me with some suggestions. I made the changes and submitted again. That time they offered me a contract. I’ve been submitting my work ever since.”

Click here to check out “Amanda the Great.” By the way, GoComics is the same company that syndiates “Calvin and Hobbes.”

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