NOW ON KICKSTARTER – The Legend of Jamie Roberts, Volume 3!

A young genderqueer person with blonde hair and glasses sits on the edge of a mesa. Two young men stand behind them, one with dark brown hair and the other with light blonde hair. All three wear a light green cape and are gazing out over the horizon. In the distance is a long, winding path leading to a mesa and a castle town sitting on top of it. Text next to them reads "The Legend of Jamie Roberts, volume 3"

It started with a pirate raid…

Jamie, Thomas, and Daniel found an unfinished treasure-map to a land they had never seen before. Once they took the map, they left the seas and became bodyguards for a wandering king. Now, after encountering strange spirits, fighting Eldritch creatures from another plane of existence, and bearing witness to their boss become A MOTHER-FUCKING DRAGON…

There is more adventure to be had!

This! Is! The Legend of Jamie Roberts, volume 3, continuing the fantasy adventure epic that started as a webcomic back in 2018 and that has grown since then. While the webcomic is free to read, print editions like volume 3 feature re-touched art, bonus material that’s not on the website (like concept art and a peek at the process of making comics), and even additional comics exclusive to the print editions.

The Legend of Jamie Roberts, volume 3 is 110 pages of full-color glory, continuing the adventure from where it left off in volumes 1 and 2 (those are also available in this KickStarter campaign, so if you’re new here, you have a chance to catch up). Volume 3 also features bonus content like extra character bios, concept art, and an exclusive short comic that will *only* be in volume 3.

two wide comics panels. Panel 1: a genderqueer person in a green cape, blue pants, brown boots, and white sleeveless short falls, a look of shock on their face. They are in freefall. 

Panel 2: two hands clap the hands of the genderqueer person. Sound effects say "GRAB"

WHY NOW?

I’ve said it before in past KickStarter campaigns, and I will say it again – The Legend of Jamie Roberts is the story I wish I had growing up. As a teen, I wanted stories with genderqueer leads, dragons, magic, and fresh challenges on gender stereotypes. I wanted to see adventures featuring someone I could relate to – and most importantly, I wanted a story where the main character had best friends who would stick by them no matter what.

Turns out, a LOT of readers felt the same way! This comic has gotten successfully funded on KickStarter *and* Crowdfundr, and gets regular support from members on Ko-fi. Thank you, members! (You’re getting a special, exclusive reward included if/when you back this campaign.)

It is by the grace of support from fans like you that The Legend of Jamie Roberts exists. I cannot get this to print – let alone send it off to the far reaches of our readership – by myself. That’s why I ask patrons like you to chip in and help bring this book to print.

This might surprise you, considering the political moment of being a genderqueer artist in the United States making a webcomic about a genderqueer pirate…but I’m not stopping anytime soon. Come hell or high water, I’m making this comic, and I’m going to get this comic to as many readers as I can reach.

Maybe I’m biased, but I think MORE people need to read this comic. And with your support, we can make that happen.

3 comics panels, all showing the same angle of a young blonde man talking to his two friends - a young man with brown hair and a young genderqueer person with blonde hair and glasses.

Panel 1: Daniel says, "HOLY SHIT SO PRINCE ODINON CAME UP TO ME IN THE PALACE AND -

Panel 2: Daniel passes a bag to Jamie the genderqueer one. Daniel says, "Oh. Here's our payment." Jamie says, "Thank you. Please continue."

Panel 3: Daniel goes back to screaming as Jamie counts coins out of the bag. Daniel says, "AND HE WAS ASKING ME QUESTIONS AND I THINK HE KNOWS ABOUT THE CAPTAIN!"

This campaign runs UNTIL NOV 13. If we hit our base goal before then, then there can be a 24-hour late pledge grace period.

With any luck, once we hit our goals, all rewards will be shipped out in time for the holidays! I will post regular updates in the Campaign Updates (as well as in my email newsletter) to keep everyone in the loop. After backers get their rewards, volume 3 will be available for the general public.

So if you’re ready to nab this treasure, ya’ best be grabbin’ it before it sails away!

Broke? Share this campaign far and wide! Good pirates know to spread the word when the gettin’ is good, and shares help more than you know. Use the link tinyurl.com/tlojrvol3 when you spread the word on the virtual seas.

That’s all for now…

THANKS FOR READING!

You. Are. Awesome.

What if Jamie Roberts Was NOT a Pirate??

a genderqueer human brandishes a sword with a dramatic sweep of the cape

You all know about Jamie Roberts, the genderqueer pirate who left the sea with their two best friends to go treasure-hunting in a land full of dragons.

But what if they weren’t pirates? Believe it or not, in very early drafts of this comic, Jamie and friends were not pirates at all!

In SUPER early drafts (we’re talking back in 2011 to 2013), they were students at a military school. In those versions of the story, they discover the top brass held an earth-shattering secret plan: to release a demon king and destroy their enemies. They would flee the military school and get refuge in the land where the demon king was sealed away.

In hashing out one draft, I had it that they were military school students, then turned pirate to escape. And the feedback I got was, “Why don’t you just…make them pirates?”

Honestly, storytelling 101: Keep It Simple, Stupid. Besides, I really wanted to get to the pirate bits more than the military school bits. People love pirates more than school, anyway.

So that’s how they became pirates!

Some of these concept sketches, though, will be making it into the bonus material of The Legend of Jamie Roberts, volume 3…Which is coming to KickStarter on October 14.

Be sure to sign up for my email newsletter to be the first to know! The newsletter is free and private, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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That’s all for now. Stay tuned for more!

Thank you for reading.

You. Are. Awesome.

The Sketchbooks Where the Magic Happens

three sketchbooks, their covers covered in notes and stickers, are laid on a yellow tablecloth

The top two books are the sketchbooks that contain The Legend of Jamie Roberts’ script. The bottom sketchbook contains the majority of the world-building notes. Not ~all~ of them (because many notes are scattered across other sketchbooks). But this one has the majority of the notes, from initial concept to current day. Many of the notes in that one are held in place by paperclips and tape, so it doesn’t leave the studio.

But what do the scripts look like? Well, in the top two books, the pages look a lot like this…

rough pencils of a comic page

They’re rough on purpose! I like doodling around to get the layouts right. As I work on pages, they go from script to a more refined sketch…

more polished pencil sketch of a comic page

…Up to the finished page.

in this page of The Legend of Jamie Roberts, Jamie leaves an offering for a spirit

But it all starts with those rough sketches in the sketchbooks. I’m not going for “perfect” (whatever that is), I’m going for “out of my head.”

Believe it or not, this has worked for me since 2018. Now, I’m going to need a THIRD sketchbook soon, because The Legend is still going, but I’m approaching the end of that second sketchbook. I’m excited to draw what comes next!

Speaking of which, The Legend of Jamie Roberts, volume 3 is coming to KickStarter on October 14. Be sure to subscribe to my newsletter to be the first to know!

That’s all for now. Stay tuned for more!

Thanks for reading.

You. Are. Awesome.

Home By the Rotting Sea Is a Rare Gift

the cover of Home By the Rotting Sea, depicting a pale woman kneeling, with a young brown woman laying her head on the other's lap. Behind them, a hill is lit on fire

I first found out about Home By the Rotting Sea as a member of the Cartoonist Co-op, when buzz started happening around the Ignatz Award nominations. One of the comics nominated was Home By the Rotting Sea by Octava Heikkilä, a comic originally released during ShortBox Comics Fair 2024. I asked for a copy of the comic to review, which Octava Heikkilä graciously provided (thank you!).

If you have never heard of this comic before, here’s the listing from the itch.io page:

“The Väki are giants, and much loathed and feared by us humans. When territorial tensions threaten to break out, the Human King sends an envoy of riches, and two members of his harem, Ilta and Laulu, as gifts for the Väki.

Stranded from their kin and home, the two human brides must find a new way of living among the scarred strangers.”

What follows is 96 pages of stunningly drawn comics. From an art standpoint, I adore the dynamic page layouts. The brush textures that make the colors feel somewhere between colored pencil and dry-brushed acrylics are also fantastic.

The art works seamlessly with the narration and story, which follows the point of view of Ilta, one of the brides sent as a “peace offering” to the Väki. I didn’t know what tone the story would take at first, but it does open with tension as these women are sent to a people they have only heard terrible things about.

The pacing features carefully-paced panels depicting Ilta and Laulu’s slow integration into the community of the Väki. And it is slow. Especially since at the start, the Väki tell the brides (and the audience) that they have no concept of “wives.” Instead they are referred to and treated as “gifts.” Something new but fragile.

As a reader, I appreciated the slow pace of it all. There is time to be absorbed in the textures of the art, the world it depicted, and the characters walking (and eventually dancing and marching) through it. There is also plenty of exploration of gender in this story, from the genderqueer depictions of the giants to the brides confronting their expectations of their roles.

A Word of Warning

That said, there is an instance of sexual assault (that’s not depicted any further than initial contact). The thought-provoking material was how the Väki handled the retribution. Because there are consequences wrought on the one who committed the assault. This narrative explores the consequences as well as the aftermath.

I will not spoil the ending (it’s only 96 pages). But I will say that it fits the tone of the story. An ambiguous story needed an ambiguous ending, which Home By the Rotting Sea achieved. This story is still sitting with me even a week after I’ve finished reading it.

If you would like to give it a read, you can get the comic from the artist at Small Press Expo this weekend! Or you can get it on the creator’s itch.io page.

That’s all for now. Now go read some comics!

Thank you for reading.

You. Are. Awesome.

Roxie (for the Zebra Youth Coalition)

trans girl with a rainbow mohawk painted in watercolor

This is Roxie, a transgender roller derby girl and star of the webcomics Validation and ROXIE. I painted this as part of a series of watercolor paintings as a fundraiser for the Zebra Youth Coalition in Orlando, Florida.

I want to say I painted this with Qor watercolors? It’s actually been so long since I painted it that I forgot!

The original paintings have since sold out. If you see this out in the wild, it’s most likely a print.

I wanted to share this because here in Toledo, OH, it’s PRIDE month! To celebrate, I’m sharing Pride-related illustrations each week during August.

Stay tuned for more Pride art! Or, to get sneak peeks ahead of time, sign up for my email newsletter (it’s free, spam-free, and I don’t sell your email to anybody).

That’s all for now. Thank you for reading!

You. Are. Awesome.