CR 083: Christopher Eliopoulos on Cartooning, Comic Books, and the Fun of Drawing Princess Diana

The acclaimed illustrator discusses his career and his latest release, “I am Princess Diana.”

Photo courtesy of Christopher Eliopoulos

Social media is rarely associated with positivity and friendship, so it’s surprising that a hugely popular children’s book series that promotes kindness, compassion, and empathy might not exist if it weren’t for, of all places, Twitter.

It started when New York Times bestselling author Brad Meltzer and comic book illustrator Christopher Eliopoulos connected on the site. “[Brad] had started his show on the History Channel,” Eliopoulos says. “We were following each other on Twitter, and he started doing a viewing—you know, nights where they would view the show, and he’d tweet out what was happening. I would respond. I was a history buff from day one. I just love history. At one point [Brad and I] were going back and forth, and then he started sending me direct messages, as opposed to out in public.”

The two developed a friendship and soon began working together on a series of picture books called Ordinary People Change the World. Each release in the…