Nicole Marie Burton is a comics creator, promoter, and the founder of Ad Astra Comix, a publisher of social justice comic books. Her first comic, "Coal Mountain", illustrated the history of the 1935 coal miners' strike in Corbin, British Columbia, highlighting the role of women in the struggle. Her second work, "DOGS" was a comic version of the findings of the Qikiqtani Truth Commission, an initiative of the Inuit of Qikiqtaluit to document the slaughter of their sled dogs at the hands of the RCMP in the 1950s and 60s.

Indigenous Comix Month was established in April 2014 by Ad Astra in consultation with indigenous artists, to help promote indigenous histories, cultures, and stories in comics. It is an evolving celebration seeking to support the needs of indigenous comics creators and their work.