An Ignorance of Romance, created by Kai and myself, is now on indefinite hiatus.
I’m not going to get into too much detail about it here, but there are private issues happening at this time. Things may escalate before calming down.
If and when An Ignorance of Romance returns, I (Kelci) will take over the writing duties, not just the art. When that is? That has yet to be determined.
The Legend of Jamie Roberts will continue as normal, but if it, too, needs to be put on hiatus, I will inform you ASAP.
Can you believe I drew these Two Ladies a decade ago?
Yep, I call this piece “Two Ladies.” I can’t think of the title of this without thinking of the song “Two Ladies” from the movie adaptation of Cabaret. Fun fact, the song eventually made its way to the Broadway version after the movie.
I drew them in Copic markers on brown paper to really make the earthy tones pop, and to give the other colors a more neutral tone. I wanted this to be down-to-earth, above all.
In 2015 I was on a kick of drawing LGBTQ+ couples for a while. This is probably my favorite of the bunch, though I have more. And I can’t wait to show you them!
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In today’s video, let’s discuss the age-old question asked anytime we walk into a room where comic artists congregate…”Should I make fanart or original art?”
As mentioned in today’s video, here’s where you can Join the Club!
DISCLOSURE: Memoh and I are members of the Cartoonist Co-op. Memoh put out a call asking for reviewers for their book, Dominion, volume 1. So I reached out to Memoh and they gave me an ARC (Advance Reader Copy). I’m not being paid for this review.
Before I read Dominion, volume 1, I had some vague notion of what the comic was about. I had seen some of the art before, as it’s also a webcomic on Tapas and Webtoon.
And then I picked it up, and could not put it down. Volume 1 absorbed me from start to finish with its charming character art, intrigue, and on-fire action scenes.
The story follows Desmond, a new recruit in the guard who is also a Blessed, or someone with divinely-gifted powers. (For you RPG nerds, think Paladin from D&D). He’s eager to prove himself, and not just to get out from under the thumb of his brother, who is a tradesman taking over the family business and a manipulative dick. Desmond gets dragged by his brother and father into “a trip” into the seedy part of town, going into an illegal fighting ring.
Then suddenly, an arsonist bursts into the scene, blowing the place up in flames. Who is the arsonist? Pasha, a young woman with a dark past and a bone to pick with the city’s seedy underbelly.
I’ll admit, as a reader, I struggled with the first couple of chapters, mostly because the writing edged into Jane Austen-esque interpersonal drama with the family dynamic. This kind of writing is not usually my cup of tea, but I made it through… Rewarded with the arson attack and everything that comes after. If Jane Austen levels of drama is your jam, expect a fair bit of it in this series. It’s a romance drama, and volume 1 is there to set the stage for more fireworks to come.
But back to volume 1.
Once we got to starting the murder mystery, however, that was exactly my jam.
Pasha, the arsonist, is forced by the captain of the guard to pair up with Desmond to solve the mystery behind a string of murders happening in the city.
Eventually, we meet Jaavir, aka Pasha’s friend and my new obsession. Look, I have a type when it comes to fictional characters, and that type is big, green, and taciturn with an appreciation for puns. He helps Desmond and Pasha by taking them to their first lead. And I’m going to stop the summary there because I highly recommend this comic! And I will tell you why:
It’s not just the murder mystery. Or the interpersonal drama. Or Jaavir. It’s also that Desmond is genuinely a sweet guy trying to do right in a time and place where that is very hard to do. I haven’t even touched on the world-building, which is itself detailed and intriguing in a way that I look forward to learning more about this world. Also, the world-building is paced with the plot in a fluid, natural way.
(Look, I’ve read my fair share of comics that did lore dumps out the gate, or had characters provide exposition in a canned and forced way. Dominion, by comparison, is a breath of fresh air.) The story feels like you’re dropped into a new world and you need to figure it out as you go, in a fun and character-driven way.
Dominion, volume 1 is giving some flavors of Jane Austen personal drama, some flavors of Fullmetal Alchemist (especially Captain Leddeck. Very Olivier Mira Armstrong vibes there), and some flavors of Dungeons & Dragons. I had a great time with this book! You should read it!
You can get a copy of this comic anywhere in New Zealand, with a worldwide release coming soon. Find out more (and even get a copy of your own!) by going to Memoh’s official site.
I’m going to try a personal challenge – no watching YouTube for the next 31 days.
That’s right. For the month of May, I’m going to make the effort to NOT watch YouTube. (This likely means no new YouTube videos on my channel, either. Apologies in advance to my YouTube channel subscribers. I will, however, be doing workshops with the Cartoonist Co-op as part of Nib and Ink Fest, and those workshops will be up on their YouTube channel. I’ll post links to those workshops in the next few days.)
“But WHY?” You might ask. “YouTube is everywhere! How can you possibly do no YouTube for the month of May?!”
So, before I get into the How, let me tell you the Why.
Why #1 – May is a BUSY month for me.
I mentioned the workshops I’m doing with the Cartoonist Co-op as part of Nib and Ink Fest. I will also be packing up and preparing to move to a new apartment before the end of the month.
“You could just put YouTube on in the background – “
No. That’s part of my next Why.
Why #2 – YouTube is More Distraction Than Helpful.
I need to keep my hands busy, usually with making comics and art, or packing my apartment up for the move. I can’t be distracted with shiny visuals. Also, I have caught myself – multiple times – scrolling YouTube to try to find *something* to turn on, but realizing that nothing is catching my interest.
This leads me to…
Why #3 – YouTube isn’t FUN anymore.
I made this collage yesterday to make art out of my frustration with YouTube. Because YouTube used to be fun.
Used to be.
Now, because of its algorithms prioritizing the same content delivered in roughly 1700 different ways (seriously, HOW MANY videos are there talking about “productivity” or “things I do to stop doomscrolling” – on a platform formulated for doomscrolling). There’s also the sponsors who are 99% of the time scams, the ads, and my once-favorite YouTube creators no longer being favorites…
Well, it’s time that I take a break from YouTube.
So, HOW am I not going to watch YouTube?
How #1 – the Unhook extension.
The Unhook extension built for Firefox has commands for when you *do* end up on YouTube. Unhook does things like turning off Shorts, bringing you to your subscription feed instead of the front page, turning off the comments section, and other quality of life fixes.
I’m leaving this extension on in case I have a moment of weakness and end up on YouTube. That way, Unhook makes sure I only see what’s in my subscription feed. Which, right now, is looking slim, since I unsubscribed from a lot of people who stopped being fun for me to watch.
How #2 – audiobooks.
I have a long-ass TBR list of audiobooks on hoopla, an app available from my public library. It’s basically free Audible (so stop paying for Audible. You literally get hoopla and Libby – two audiobook apps – free thanks to your tax dollars). So instead of turning on YouTube, I’ll turn on an audiobook.
OR, I’ll turn on…
How #3 – podcasts.
This one might be trickier for me, as I’m trying to cut down on the number of apps on my phone. Podcast apps are freaking storage hogs. Also, as it turns out, a lot of podcasts I listen to don’t have episodes available on their websites. Their websites are basically place holders to tell people, “Listen to us on Spotify!” Which does nothing to help me.
Still, some podcasts have their episodes on their websites, and those will be super helpful this month. I also have some of my favorite episodes downloaded onto my laptop, which I don’t mind listening to The Dollop talking about the 1904 New York to Paris Car Race for the 17th time.
How #4 – music.
Y’all. My music playlist on my hard drive is entirely too big and I don’t play it enough. I gotta turn on some tunes!
Also, my library offers an app called Freegal, where you can download 5 songs a month – for free – that you can keep forever on your devices. Freegal’s music library is a little tricksy to navigate, and they don’t have everything. Still, I like that they have some of my favorite bands on there.
If Freegal’s not your speed, hoopla also has music. Hoopla has a lot of songs that Freegal does not, like Chapelle Roan.
So here’s something I’d love to hear from you: how do you listen to podcasts? Let me know in the comments, because I really want to listen to more podcasts!
