‘SYMBOLIA’ DEBUTS TODAY: Tablet magazine founder wants to change ‘illustrated journalism’

COMICS JOURNALISTS such as Sarah Glidden and Susie Cagle have emerged in recent years. Now, publisher Erin Polgreen wants to help frame their reporting art in her new format.

Today, Polgreen is launching “Symbolia,” an app that she subtitles ”the Tablet Magazine of Illustrated Journalism.” The magazine’s mission is “to provide an immersive, engaging experience for a new generation of newshounds.”

SARAH GLIDDEN: The debut issue of Symbolia includes Glidden’s look at life in Iraqi Kurdistan. (Photo courtesy of Sarah Glidden) “I founded Symbolia because I want to shift the way we think about journalism and nonfiction storytelling,” Polgreen tells Comic Riffs. “I want to bring a sense of wonder and play to the news.”

Besides Glidden and Cagle — whose work has also been featured on the comics journalism site the Cartoon Movement — the app will spotlight such graphic journalists as Wendy MacNaughton, Darryl Holliday, Erik Nelson Rodriguez, Kat Fajardo and Audrey Quinn.

“As a lifeling comics fan, I also wanted to increase the visibility of a new crop of cartoonists and fine artists [who] are telling incredible stories by merging and reportage ... ,” Polgreen tells Comic Riffs.

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From the preview issue of the new “Symbolia” digital magazine. (courtesy of Erin Polgreen / SYMBOLIA) .

Polgreen underscores why she and co-founder Joyce Rice decided a bimonthly digital magazine was the best platform for this storytelling.

“I raised money to found Symbolia because I am committed to paying these groundbreaking storytellers, and the tablet marketplace offers solid opportunities to create a more sustainable, subscription-based revenue source that can support creative work and surface new artists,” Polgreen says. (Subscriptions are $11.99 for six issues; $2.99 for a single issue; and a preview issue is free.)

“Today, news organizations are struggling to figure out what ‘audience engagement’ means — or how to reach more people with journalism that serves the public,” Polgreen tells us. “Comics and journalism are a powerful tool for accomplishing these goals.