Jon Erik Christianson
Good Thing: Fierce Fashion in Binglin Hu’s ‘Furesh Taste’
Artist Binglin Hu's Furesh Taste zine boasts furry anthropomorphic folks modeling tangerine handbags, teal jackets, and clothes that I lack the language to describe. This pay-what-you-want experience features four models — Balsamic the dog, Melon the sheep, Pit the monkey, and Sachima the tiger — flaunting four fashions each.
Tessa Stone’s Horror-Comedy ‘Not Drunk Enough’ Picked Up By Oni Press [Exclusive]
Ordinary blue-collar worker concerns may include low minimum wages or job automation. Repairman Logan Ibarra's concerns, however, aren't as ordinary; he just want to escape his night's last assignment without getting beheaded, assaulted by flowery parasites, or stabbed (any further).
With nearly two years into its run, Tessa Stone's horror-comedy webcomic Not Drunk Enough is now set to be published as a trilogy by Oni Press. ComicsAlliance sat down with Stone to talk about Not Drunk Enough, claustrophobia, and the debatable merits of actually being drunk during a horror scenario.
Good Thing: Julia Reck’s ‘Overwatch’ Instagram Art Is A Buoyant Delight
Through punchy voice lines, bold designs, and a sparing use of canon lore, Blizzard has crafted Overwatch characters that reach fans in a way that fosters creativity and reinterpretation. A single line reading between characters is enough to send avalanches through Overwatch's vibrant and prolific fan community.
One such member of that community is artist Julia Reck, whose Overwatch Instagram series captures the game's iconic heroes when they're not defending the payload (or, more precisely, when they're not not defending the payload).
Ladies’ Knights: Barbara Perez and M.J. Barros On Creating A Safe Space For Queer Women In ‘The Order of Belfry’ [Love & Sex Week]
Fighting is often an expression of love. It means defending and protecting and sacrificing for what matters most: your home, your family, your right to love, your right to exist. It means enduring adversity for what matters.
The Order of Belfry is a webcomic about an order of female knights who protect their kingdom and defend what they love — which often happens to be one another. It is through this knight's order that creators Barbara Perez and M.J. Barros create their own space, one that's inclusive and centered on queer relationships, that also fights for love. Webcomic Q&A spoke with Perez and Barros to learn more.
How Cameron Lucente’s Personal Journey Transformed ‘RoomZero’ [Webcomic Q&A]
At least nightmares end. They may destroy your night's sleep, imperil your mental health, and unearth long-buried skeletons, but at least they're fleeting, banished mostly when the sun rises, right? Well, not for Alan. His nightmares follow him around town, through his home, and even to his work place --- much to his employer's annoyance. In Cameron Lucente's RoomZero, Alan learns that burying your demons won't stop them from coming to life.
ComicsAlliance spoke with Lucente about monsters, toxic masculinity, and developing the RoomZero world through DeviantArt roleplay chats!
Ships On Ships: Noella Whitney Talks ‘Broadside’ [Webcomic Q&A]
Looking to take some time off? Want to catch some rays in the scintillating sunshine? Fear for your life and desperately need to escape the country as a result? How topical! Consider this travel tip: stow away on a pirate ship. It's a risky choice --- its inhabitants may execute you or sell you to a nearby brothel --- but an afloat ship is better than a sinking one.
ComicsAlliance spoke with cartoonist Noella Whitney about why comics readers should consider Broadside's Black Lion, a ship from the Golden Age of Piracy staffed entirely by buff ladies, as their next vehicle for adventure.
Knife Fights and Queer Smooches in Valerie Halla’s ‘Goodbye to Halos’ [Webcomic Q&A]
There's no getting around it: having your father strand you in another universe sucks. And it leaves you wondering, did he really just forget to check the back seat of the car before pulling out of the 7/11 parking lot? Was that last Father's Day tie too gaudy? Does he at least have the courtesy to ditch me in a universe with wi-fi?
If you are going to find yourself starting life anew in an unfamiliar world, there are a few better places to be than the neighborhood of Market Square in Valerie Halla's Goodbye to Halos. It boasts a community full of queer, anthropomorphic people, action-packed bouts of magical girl fisticuffs, and flirting as, basically, currency. ComicsAlliance spoke with Halla about positive queer representation, gay lions, and the value of found family.
Kathleen Jacques’ ‘Band vs. Band’ Makes Nostalgia Gay Again [Music Week]
Gosh! Don't ya ever wish you could go back to simpler times, where milkshakes and ascots and groovy tunes made life the cat's pajamas? Well, fold up your fictional feline fashion, friends, for decades past were never so simple for marginalized folk.
Luckily, Kathleen Jacques' webcomic Band vs. Band captures years of ace aesthetic and kooky kitsch with none of the exclusion. There's just super style, boss band battles, and a killer crescendo of gay romantic tension. Tune in to ComicsAlliance's conversation with Jacques for more.
Polished Boys, Blushing Boys: Savanna Ganucheau Talks ‘George and Johnny’ [Webcomic Q&A]
Two high school boys, two very different personalities — one, Johnny, is a black nail polish-wearing alternative "cool guy" who has been kicked out previous schools; the other, George, is a sensitive, shy, and socially shrinking boy who is (probably) dressed by his mom. On the first day of school, they're seated together. How will these disparate souls reconcile their—
Oh? They get along just fine? Refreshing! In Savanna Ganucheau's slice-of-life webcomic George and Johnny, the titular characters, though surface differences, become fast and affectionate friends as they navigate high school, band drama, and super queer thrift stores.
Reimagining Fantasy in Robin Kaplan and Nathan Robison’s ‘Ushala at World’s End’ [Webcomic Q&A]
Everyone's got baggage, but Ushala probably has a little more than most. She's the reincarnation of the woman who nearly exterminated her entire tribe many years ago. As a result, she's been exiled from her community (by her own mother!) and now has more physical baggage in the form of a carrion wraith who follows her around, hoping to devour her.
The fantasy genre also has a lot of baggage, and through Ushala at World's End, Robin Kaplan and Nathan Robison hope to upend and overcome that baggage — with matriarchal societies, a ban on sexual violence, and a more considered eye towards marginalized representation in the narrative. Webcomic Q&A caught up with them to find out more.