So, one of the many rewards available for Seeing Him KickStarter backers is a PDF copy of my sketchbook for the first 15 pages.
I’ve been drawing art like CRAZY! Continue reading “New Sketches for Seeing Him, the Webcomic”
If you remember, back in November of 2014, my sis Kia and I ran a KickStarter to raise funds to start “Seeing Him.”
“Seeing Him” is a webcomic we both created about a nerdy skating rink owner named Kate, who falls in love with Adam, a doctor who is also a trans man. Continue reading “The Glorious Return of Seeing Him on KickStarter!”
So, in between my webcomics and my day jobs, I’ve still managed to make some new sketches to develop some comics I have in the works.
I have them posted below. They’re not in color (yet) but I wanted to show you the (dare I say, gorgeous) line-work I used to draw them.
This last sketch is from a webcomic my sister Kia and I are hoping to get on KickStarter, called “Seeing Him.”
The story is about a young lady named Kate who wants to find Mr. Right. She finds him in Adam, a devilishly handsome OB/GYN who is also a trans man.
We both felt like there weren’t enough stories with trans men in them, and what few there are don’t necessarily portray them as, like, people. We hope that “Seeing Him” can help change that.
We tried running a KickStarter previously, but we didn’t meet our goal.
But this time, we learned: we’re going to lower the fundraising goal, and offer more digital rewards and custom commissions for backers.
The plan is to get the KickStarter up online on Saturday, but with my two day jobs deciding they want me to work full-time hours, I don’t know if that’ll happen.
However, if the project gets fully funded, I can actually QUIT one day job for a while. And that would be super cool to just make more comics more often, yo.
Wish me luck!
The Hues is a webcomic made by Alex Heberling featuring post-apocalyptic magical girls, a diverse cast, and a mysterious alien race.
…You had me at “post-apocalyptic magical girls.”
This webcomic centers around Sami, a 17-year-old girl based in Columbus, OH, who witnesses a mysterious signal from an alien race. Turns out the signal is a literal doomsday clock, and when it goes off, the aliens descend into the city and annihilate it completely. The ones left behind are Sami and other girls who have mysterious magical powers like her, and it’s up to them to fight off the aliens.
I love everything about this webcomic.
To start, the main cast is ethnically and physically diverse. Look at this line up!
You don’t see that often in magical girl stories.
Plus, the way the story opens is a nice change from the usual magical girl fare.
Because the USUAL magical girl fair opens with the protagonist waking up late for school and rushing out the door. But then she encounters something MAGICAL on the way to school and gets her powers.
Not with The Hues (thank goodness).
It opens with Sami making a YouTube video about the signal in the sky over her home city.
Horray! Originality!
Plus, the characters have a variety of personal histories. They’re not detailed in the first 2 chapters, but the hints leave you intrigued.
The art is actually a standout from other webcomics, in that it’s all digital painting. It almost looks like vector art. There are few comics that are drawn like this, but the artistic style suits the story it conveys. It’s animated and colorful, but also dark.
This series is definitely worth checking out. And the best way to do it?
Alex is actually running a KickStarter campaign to release the first 3 chapters in a book, featuring bonus materials and remastered art! I know I backed the campaign, and you should, too. It only has a few days left!
If you’re absolutely broke, though, you can read the comic online.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you support The Hues on KickStarter!
I’ll see you tomorrow.
There’s a new addition to my comic collection thanks to the power of KickStarter…
I completely forgot I backed this project until it arrived in the mail, along with a really fun “Believe in Comics” sticker (which I already put on my sketchbook).
To be honest, this was the first horror comic I have ever purchased or read. I’m not usually a fan of horror. I don’t read horror comics and even horror movies are ones I watch sporadically. I’ve never seen many of the things this author draws inspiration from, like Tales from the Crypt.
The only horror films I have seen thus far are Psycho, The Birds, Orphan (which I would say is more a thriller than a horror film), and Shawn of the Dead.
Wait, zombie movies count. Then I’ve seen more horror than that.
But it wasn’t until I read this comic anthology, Six, that I was introduced to the idea that the horror genre had its own niches like atmospheric horror and supernatural horror.
So my mind was pretty much a blank slate in terms of expectations for this book.
And it’s actually good.
This anthology features stories written by one author, Fabian Rangel Jr, with different artists for each story.
The first short story, “The Blood and the Snow,” features a Conan the Barbarian-esque woman warrior fighting her way towards her arch nemesis. This one is still my favorite, but mostly because I have a soft spot for badass ladies (or else I wouldn’t have started the Women Warriors Project). The artist, Jonathan Brandon Sawyer, does a great job.
The second story, “The Souls of Wicked Men,” follows two train robbers who fail in their heist, and retreat into the woods for shelter. I’m not going to spoil the ending, but it made me gasp out loud. I haven’t read a comic that made me do that in a long time.
The third story, “No Stranger to Death,” is probably the weakest story of the bunch. It follows an old man as he travels to a stranger’s house, only to reveal himself as a vampire hunter. And then, after he kills the vampire, out of nowhere, a ghost of a little girl appears and asks him to give her a proper burial.
The mood the author is trying to set in this story is commendable, but the artist, though good with facial expressions, is not a great communicator. The volume I got from backing the KickStarter included scripts of this story in the back, and it’s not entirely the fault of the artist that the story falls flat. The story is just littered with shotgun ideas that don’t connect very well.
The fourth story, “Stinky,” however, brings back the good stuff. It’s about a boy who is teased relentlessly by his classmates because he smells like rotten meat. One day, two of his classmates come over to his house to harass him, but soon discover the secret in the house, and why Stinky is…well, stinky. THIS story creeped me out the most, but in a good way.
The fifth story, “When the Evil Came,” is pure gross/psychological horror. Just…don’t read it if you don’t like bugs.
The sixth story, “Our Own Wars,” is about a soldier in a war against zombies. This was actually featured in another anthology, FUBAR (published by Alterna comics). It’s a good closing story, but not the best one (then again, it’s hard for me to get emotionally invested in a zombie story), since it relies on sentiment. But its circularity in its plot makes me happy.
I would say go and buy a copy, but I had a hard time finding it online outside of its KickStarter (which is over). However, if you find it, leave a link in the comments below!
Overall, I say this anthology is a must-read, even if you don’t read horror comics. This anthology definitely got me interested in horror comics, and if you’re on the fence about getting into the genre, this anthology is a good place to start.
Have any other suggestions for horror comics? Leave those in comments, too. :D
Thank you for reading, and I’ll see you on Monday.
