Busy Geek Breakdown (TL;DR): If you haven’t checked out this webcomic, you’ll get hooked quickly. It has adventure, magic, teen angst, and plenty of geeky references. We need more stories like this, with complex representation of Queer characters. Checkout their newest Kickstarter. If you want to checkout the comic, you can do that here.
Get ready for an exhilarating adventure as “Magical Boy Basil” returns with its highly anticipated fifth chapter, “Magic Fight,” and you have the opportunity to make it a reality!
In this thrilling installment, Basil finds himself immersed in a world of enchantment as he investigates tangles, mischievous creatures born from fractured magic items. But what starts as a mere investigation takes a dramatic turn when Basil and his friend, Eli, become entangled in an epic magic fight between Noah and Aaron. Brace yourself for action-packed sequences, vibrant magical transformations, and plenty of laughter as Basil navigates through the concluding chapter of the first arc of “Magical Boy Basil.”
If you’re new to the comic, Magical Boy Basil is a free-to-read webcomic that updates every other Friday. It is an LGBTQIA+ story featuring a group of undercover teenage magicians that battle monsters in order to maintain the balance of the universe.
Magical Boy Basil is produced by Jordan Wild (writer) and Beck Murray (artist). They’ve been working on Magical Boy Basil together for 7 years now. (1 year of pre-production, and 6 years of publication)
Since the webcomic’s launch in 2016, the audience has grown to over 30,000 readers. In October 2022, Magical Boy Basil became part of the Tapas Early Access program, was number 1 in ‘New Releases’ the first week of release and has since exceeded 6 million views on the platform.
The first print edition of issues #1-4 (awarded “Project We Love by Kickstarter staff) were all successfully funded through Kickstarter.
Creative Team: Jordan Wild, R.E. Murray, and Sid McNulty
And here’s from my interview with one of the creators, R.E. Murray:
DGH: How has it been interacting with your fans, whether in person or online?
REM:I feel like we’re a small little comic but we’re almost always approached by folks at cons (notably Flame Con) who not only recognize us but are so excited by and love Magical Boy Basil. Having conversations with fans about the story, the genre, and life in general is my favorite part. Everyone is just so friendly!
DGH:How does your personal identity and experiences as an LGBTQIA+individual influence your creative process and the stories you choose to tell?
REM:I think I almost exclusively write, draw, and am inspired by LGBTQIA+content. I spent the first fifteen years of my life not knowing why I was different and only consuming heteronormative stories until I learned that queerness was real and that stories could be queer too- My stories could be queer even!
DGH:Can you walk us through your typical creative process? How do you develop ideas, create characters, and bring your stories to life on the page?
REM:Usually there’s some back and forth with Jordan (our writer) as to what the character’s core traits should be or what a storyline should roughly look like. Sometimes it takes some teasing the threads out to come to a solid conclusion but sometimes designs or story beats will come on like a lightning strike. It’s very in the moment!
DGH:Are there any specific comic book artists or writers who have influenced your style or storytelling approach? How have they inspired you?
REM:Personally, I consume a lot of manga (and graphic novels) so it’s less anyone or anything specific and more a hodge podge of the things that catch my eye- how someone draws clothing folds or expressions or their shorthand for environment details- that kind of thing. I will say that Yuhki Kamatani has amazing visuals and that it’d be cool to try to incorporate more visual metaphors like they do.
DGH:How do you envision your work impacting readers, particularly those who identify as LGBTQIA+? What messages or emotions do you hope to convey through your stories?
REM:I think just telling a queer magical kid story is impactful in and of itself. After all, queer folk can have magical adventures and save the town/world too! Magical Boy is something I wish I’d had when I was younger and we’ve had younger readers come up today saying how excited they were to see Basil’s story so that tells me our message is coming out loud and clear.
DGH:Who is your favorite Federation Captain, and why?
REM:Oh gosh, no judgements please but I’ve never watched much Trek… That being said I DID watch Next Generation and I think Picard is a fantastically complex character.
(That was a close one, Beck. I was worried for a second. Everyone here knows I have strong opinions. Anyway, even now, we all know Jean Luc can get it. Then again, so can the new Captain Pike. Anyway, what was I saying? Let’s geek out more when we see each other at Flame Con!)
While webcomics provide an excellent and accessible medium (and I love being able to load them up on my Kindle or phone when I travel), there’s something extraordinary about holding a comic book in your hands. It brings the story to life in a unique way, immersing readers in vibrant artwork and captivating narratives. The creators of “Magic Boy Basil” understand this, and their desire to provide a complete and immersive experience led them to bring the series to print.
By supporting this Kickstarter campaign, you’ll help make “Issue #5 – Magic Fight” a reality and ensure that “Magic Boy Basil” continues its positive impact on readers. Let’s bring this extraordinary story full circle and place the power of “Magic Boy Basil” into your hands. Experience the magic, excitement, and heartwarming moments that await within the pages of this remarkable comic book. Back the campaign now and join us on this enchanting journey!
Title Image and all other images used with permission: The copyright of Magical Boy Basil belongs to Fireside Stories, LLC.
Madeleine Cull (AKA Mccull) – has been a webcomic artist for close to ten years now, and has been writing stories for as long as she can remember. She currently lives in the pacific northwest and spends most of her time drawing or hanging out with her cat, but tries to travel as much as she can too! She loves attending “Artist Alleys” (at comic/anime conventions), music, writing, and the ambiance of her local coffee shop.
I had the opportunity to interview Madeleine, which you can read below.
First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT! Could you tell us a little about yourself?
Thank you for giving me the chance to interview! My name is Madeleine Cull (AKA Mccull) and I’m the creator of the webcomic “The Leg Less Traveled” (which is my current project, although I’ve been a webcomic artist for nine years now). I’m also a novelist and have published a couple of books in the last few years. So, as I’m sure you can guess, I love storytelling. In my free time I try to attend “Artist Alleys” at comic cons/anime cons, so traveling and meeting fans and selling merch is also a big part of what I love to do!
What drew you to storytelling, particularly to the medium of comics? Were there any writers or stories that sparked your own love and interest in storytelling?
Ever since I can remember I’ve been into storytelling. And, I started drawing so young that I feel it’s simply always been a part of me. So, I think the truth about me getting into comics is that it was more of a “when” it would happen, than a “how” it happened. Of course, there are a lot of inspirations that have carved a path for me creatively and even helped me develop an art style. Artists like Hamletmachine, Lucid, Hazel & Bell, and a few others really set the stage for me when it came to webcomics. I started reading their work when I was just a freshman in high school, and by the time I was a senior I’d worked up the courage to start my own.
As a webcomic creator, you are known for your comic, The Leg Less Traveled. what was the inspiration for this story?
The Leg Less Traveled actually has a bit of a sad origin story if I’m being honest. Back in 2020, the Pacific North West had some really horrible wildfires, and one of them happened to sweep through the town I was living. I lost everything in that fire aside from my laptop and my beloved cat, and it was shortly after that fire that I decided to quit working on my previous project (A Webcomic called “Periwinkle Blue”). I’d been struggling with it for a while anyways, but after such a huge life-changing experience, I just didn’t feel like the same person anymore.
What really saved me at this time was meeting one of my closest friends (and now editor) B. Rowdy Lufkin. Rowdy sort of stepped up and encouraged me to get back on the horse when it came to creating. He added a lot of stability to my life when I needed it most, and in return, we ended up with TLLT. I remember talking with him about starting a new webcomic, and he told me then (in not so many words) that if I was going to do it, I needed to make it the most self-indulgent comic, and really write what I love most. He and I were both worried about my ability to be self-disciplined and finish a comic after what happened with PB, but in the end it couldn’t have been further from the truth. I absolutely ADORE working on TLLT. And since starting it, I’ve gone from thinking “this will be my last webcomic” to, “this is the new beginning of webcomics for me”.
So, I guess to answer your question more directly, my inspiration for TLLT was to write a story that would truly rekindle my love for webcomics. And the way I did this was by incorporating all things and themes that I personally love. Music, traveling, culture, humor, self-discovery, and romance… I wanted to write a story that was bright, lighthearted, and, above all, made me happy.
Can you give us any trivia (that hasn’t already been given) about the characters from The Leg Less Traveled?
This is a good question and one that I had to really think about before answering! The most significant thing about the characters that people might not know, is that originally Kinley was going to be the main character/Judas’ love interest. His design came first and, while I liked his design a lot, after coming up with Judas and drawing them together I knew it wasn’t the right fit. Personality-wise, the story would have been totally different if Kinley had been our MC. So, I decided to set him aside and start over from a completely different angle. Fletch came rather quickly after that, and I think the only hang-up I had with him was that, at first, he was too “boring”. I knew I wanted to have some type of disabled representation in the comic, but it was actually Rowdy’s idea to have him missing a leg/use a prosthetic. I loved this idea for him, and that was what really sealed the deal. From there came the title “The Leg Less Traveled” and I was later able to bring Kinley back in as a totally separate character.
Another thing worth mentioning that I’m sure no one knows (this is totally just a fun fact) is that Fletch and his mom’s cats are all named after the soup. Gazpacho, Gumbo, Bisque, and Minestrone! Those four cats were named before ANY of the main characters were. LOL.
What are some of your favorite parts of the creative process? What do you find to be some of the most frustrating/difficult?
My favorite part of the creative process has got to be… simply talking about the characters with Rowdy. Talking about their lives, their hurdles, their family, what they would do in different situations, how they would feel about certain things, and why. This is the part of the process that comes most naturally to me, and, I believe it’s what makes my characters feel real. When I start a big project like TLLT, I never have the entire thing figured out from the get-go. I have major plot points I want to hit along the way and goals for the story, but I sort of let the characters fill in all the gaps as we go. Rowdy and I always say “the characters write themselves” and it’s TRUE. Fletch and Judas have practically become real—that’s my favorite part.
As for the most frustrating and difficult part of the process… I think, physically, it’s the linework phase of creating. This is the most time-consuming portion of working on an update, and it’s the portion that I find myself dreading the most. So… so mindless.
As a creative, who or what would you say are some of your greatest creative influences and/or sources of inspiration?
I mentioned above a few of the other webcomic creators that have really inspired me… but along with them, I think the most influential thing in my stories is music. You’ll never catch me working on art without listening to something in the background. I have playlists for everything—sad scenes, happy scenes, background noise, angst; all sorts of moods. Even playlists for the character’s themselves.
Aside from your work, what are some things you would want others to know about you?
One of the biggest things I want people to know about me is that I’m not only a webcomic artist—I’m also a novelist! I’ve written two books (The Maple Effect and Honorable Discharge) and both of them are very near and dear to my heart. Rowdy and I also co-wrote a short story (RAWHIDE) and all of them can be found on Amazon. I love writing just as much as I love drawing, and sometimes I think I’m actually a better writer than an artist, so they’re worth checking out if you enjoy reading!
I realize that ^^^ sort of falls under the same category as “my work”, so I’ll answer your question in a more personal way too.
I’d want people to know that (even though I’m not a shy person) I’m a very introverted one. So, it takes me a while to warm up to new people. I often think that (In person) I must come across as reserved or serious-natured, but in reality, I’m just tied up in my own head. Lol.
What’s a question you haven’t been asked yet but wish you were asked (as well as the answer to that question)?
A question I wished I was asked… Hmm… To be completely honest, I’m not sure! I wish I was asked to be a guest creator at some big comic con or anime convention. Or asked to be on a panel alongside other amazing webcomic creators! Or come do a book signing… or sign a movie deal for one of my stories… or something. Hahaha. But these are all more goal-oriented “asks”, I know that’s probably not what you meant…
Are there any projects you are currently working on and at liberty to talk about?
Right now, TLLT truly is the only project I am working on. I’m sort of afraid to let myself work on two projects at the same time because I get so sucked into my work that I fear one might take precedence over the other, and then I’d lose my momentum. Also, Rowdy would kill me if that happened.
What advice might you have to give to aspiring creatives, particularly those who might want to work on their own webcomics someday?
There’s so much advice I could give to new artists just starting out… but I think most important above all, is that YOU have to figure out what YOU want out of doing a webcomic. For some people, webcomics are just a fun hobby, and for others, they are a whole career. I believe the amount of effort you’re going put into your work is greatly affected by what YOU decide you want out of it. Knowing this from the beginning will help you stay authentic to yourself, and then you will be more likely to be proud of the work you put in.
Finally, what LGBTQ+ books/ comics would you recommend to the readers of Geeks OUT?
There’s a TON of webcomics I could recommend, but I’ll give you two in particular. One of them is a comic that’s been finished for a long time, and it’s not hosted on any webcomic app (it’s got it’s own website). It’s called “The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal” by E.K. Weaver. This is the ONLY other BL road-trip-romance comic that I’ve ever read. It’s funny and nostalgic, the characters are unique, and the story itself is well-written. I find myself coming back to this comic a lot when I need a good pick-me-up read.
The other comic I will recommend is “Countdown to Countdown” by Xiao Tong (AKA “Velinxi”) who is a master at world-building and overall, incredibly talented artist. This webcomic is by far the most beautifully drawn comic I’ve ever read, and It’s still ongoing! Which is great, because if you read it, I can almost guarantee you’re going to get sucked into the world and want more.
Nez is the webcomic creator of Friends With Benefits and Timeless Eclipse. He is based in New Zealand with an academic background in Animation Storyboarding. His story and art styles vary greatly from humorous and light-hearted, to dark and gritty moments. He works full-time during the day and turns into an elusive creator at night. When taking a break from comic making, he enjoys gaming and reading.
I had the opportunity to interview Nez, which you can read below.
First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT! Could you tell us a little about yourself?
Hi, and thanks for having me here! I’m a webcomic artist mostly known for Friends With Benefits, a story about an asexual genderfluid person looking for love. It’s a 4-panel slice-of-life webcomic that I posted for fun without any major plans only for it to blow up into what it currently is.
What drew you to storytelling, particularly to the medium of comics? Were there any writers or stories that sparked your own love and interest in storytelling?
I’ve always loved stories as a kid, and I would read and draw almost all the time. Eventually, I started writing fanfiction as a teen and began writing original stories later on. I wanted to share my stories with everyone else, so what better way to do it than comics?
I grew up with Japanese mangas and anime. Neon Genesis Evangelion (Yoshiyuki Sadamoto) and Fullmetal Alchemist (Hiromu Arakawa) are my biggest inspirations and the first ones that sparked me. In one of Fullmetal Alchemist’s behind-the-scenes book, the author showed how the comic was made and as a teen, that was mind-blowing. This was a time when I didn’t have much access to the internet and artist network, so learning about that was a big deal. Aside from mangas, my favourite writer of all time is Stephen King.
As a webcomic artist and illustrator, you are known for your webcomic Friends With Benefits, a story centering a gender-fluid and asexual lead character. As a acespec person myself, I’m curious to hear what was the inspiration for this story?
So, the idea for Friends With Benefits happened during a time when I was figuring out my own orientation and expression. You just haven’t found the right person, they said. It’ll be fun, they said. I’m sure a lot of acespec people have heard that in some form. It was a frustrating time and I created FWB to let out my thoughts through fictional characters. Some aspects of the story stem from personal experiences, some are not. Some are words that I wish someone had said to me. There are scenes that are raw and uncomfortable for people, but I wanted to write it as they are without covering them up because these experiences do happen. For example, Eri’s loneliness and desperation for love.
In a sense, FWB is a comic to express my experiences but rather than an autobiographical comic, I turned it into a creative fiction with its own cast of characters. At first, I wrote the story for myself without any expectations, but the positive reception from so many readers surprised me more than anyone else. The simplistic art style and the title itself is chosen for ironic purposes to contrast the story subject.
What are some of your favorite parts of the general creative process? What do you find to be some of the most frustrating/difficult?
My favourite part would be the initial idea development followed by storyboards. I have a lot of rough ideas and I enjoy building the characters, the world, and tying the plot together. This part has the most freedom because there are no limits but yourself. You’re free to make the most realistic or absurd story as you like. My second favourite part is the storyboards and layout process. I enjoy playing with camera works to layout the panels for effective visual storytelling.
The most frustrating part would be how much I must compromise because of time constraints. I create webcomics on the side and in the current market, the expectations for indie creators are kind of insane. You have to post consistently and frequently, and your art and writing have to be top-notch too, and you have to be seen on social media. You’re basically an entire production and marketing team squished into one body. People say to ignore these standards and just do what you want at your own pace, but I believe that I must at least acknowledge this and take part in it until I reach a point where my work can speak for itself. Where is this point? I can’t answer that because this point of success is different for everyone.
As an artist, who or what would you say are some of your greatest creative influences and/or sources of inspiration?
Specifically for FWB, I drew inspirations from Wonder Cat Kyuu-Chan (Sasami Nitori) and of course, my own experiences. But as a general inspiration, mangas, books, movies, games, and strange ‘what-if’ scenarios I come up with in response to something that happened in real life or fiction. What if the sun turns black one day? What if the hero fails in their journey? What if?
Aside from your work, what are some things you would want others to know about you?
I like antiheroes and villain main characters.
What’s a question you haven’t been asked yet but wish you were asked (as well as the answer to that question)?
Q: “Why did you make Eri, the main character of FWB, flawed and unlikable at the start?” A: Because queer people are not flawless. Just because a character is queer doesn’t mean they are the perfect hero. Queer characters can make mistakes, be evil, be kind of a douche. Perfect is boring, embrace the character struggle.
Are there any projects you are currently working on and at liberty to talk about?
Yes. I’m in the process of self-publishing the physical print of Friends With Benefits Vol 1. All the pages will be redrawn and I’m estimating it to be 3 volumes long. The webcomic sequel of FWB will be posted by (I’m assuming) the time this interview is published. Titled Friends With Solitude.
What advice might you have to give to aspiring creatives, particularly those who might want to work on their own webcomics someday?
‘Just start’ is good advice, but it’s not the only advice. Learn the basics of drawing and writing. It’s important to have a good foundation in anatomy, perspective, storytelling, etc. no matter what style you are going for. Start small, build on it. Keep going. Learning is continuous.
Finally, what LGBTQ+ books/ comics would you recommend to the readers of Geeks OUT?
When she was a child, Megan commandeered scrap paper and markers to create family “newspapers.” She learned to read at age 3 by reading out loud from the T.V. Guide. When a relative wasn’t convinced, she was handed pages from the New York Times to read. Her family is still trying to figure out where she gets her writing ability from.
Megan is a 2002 graduate of the University of Alabama, where she was a member of the Million Dollar Band and served on staff at the Crimson White. Upon graduation, she embarked on a newspaper career that took her from Alabama to the border of Tennessee and Virginia, up to Maine, across the country to Arizona and back east to Pennsylvania.
Megan is a journalist for PennLive.com/The Patriot-News, where she is a data reporter, podcast producer, and social media manager. She lives in (the real) Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, with her imported British husband, her cats and many books – and has yet to find any malicious clanks lurking in her house.
Isabelle Melançon is a French-Canadian artist born in 1985. She grew up in a family of book and comic-lovers. She reads manga, European comics and American comics and has been drawing ever since she could lift a pencil. She used to want to be a dragon-riding knight, then envisioned a career change as a fantasy writer at the age of 10.
Since then, Isabelle has been drawing her way through school, which included doodling on lockers, and graduated from the University of Ottawa with a visual arts and administration double-major. Isabelle has a few published graphic novels and art exhibits under her belt. Namesake is her first long-term project.
Isabelle’s drawing style is heavily influenced by American and Japanese animation, as well as older Victorian and French illustration work, creating a fluid yet detailed mix.
She is madly in love with fairy tales and literature and enjoys playing with the classics in her comic and written works.
I had the opportunity to interview both Isa and Meg, which you can read below.
First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT! Could you tell us a little about yourselves?
Isa: I’m Isabelle, I have been working on the webcomic Namesake for over a decade with Megan! We both take care of the writing, and do the art. I also work on other webcomic projects such as the comedy webcomic Crow Time, and an upcoming comic called Trinket, which is a magical girl story, with artist Inês Bravo. I work as an editor and in artist management, mainly at the webcomic focused publishers Hiveworks & Slipshine. I drink a lot of tea, have two cats, and identify as bi, genderfluid and ace!
Meg: I’m Megan, and I have been working with Isa on Namesake for over a decade! Like Isa said, we both do the writing and Isa does the art. I do the lettering and book design, as well as maintain the business end of our partnership. Outside of the comics I do with Isa, I do lettering for other comics as well. I am a journalist for PennLive.com/The Patriot-News, where I handle social media, podcast producing, and data reporting. I run Hivemill, the store for Hiveworks, as well as do book design for Hiveworks. Like Isa, I also have two cats. I identify as she/her and demisexual.
How did your webcomic, Namesake, come to be? Where did the inspiration for the project come from?
Isa: I think it came from a very aspirational place. At the time, webcomics that were huge fantasy epics were starting to pop up, like Gunnerkrigg Court, The Meek and Girl Genius. Megan and I were bathed in the light of incredibly creative fandoms on the platform where we met – Livejournal. I was always drawing very loose pencil comics inspired by fandoms we liked, and scraps of adventurous ideas we both longed to see in media. At some point, Megan was like, yeah, you should be drawing this. And my reply was basically, ok, but I’m taking you with me. Essentially, it was the idea that we could make something we felt was overlooked and unique at the time, a comic serial built around women in fantasy, and we didn’t need to wait for a large publisher to notice us, we could just dive in and make our world. We were both complete newbies at making comics professionally and to the English comic community. Me, especially, since I was still mastering English as a language.
This happened, as stated above, quite a while ago. When we met stuff like Patreon and Kickstarter, tools that are now considered essential to webcomics, didn’t exist yet.
Since then, there’s been a huge boom in comics both online and offline. Print publishers are making way more graphic novels than ever before, collective publishers such as Hiveworks came to be, and platforms such as Webtoons and Tapas were introduced to the English market. I have an abundance of favorite comics and authors online now, our dream of an abundance of unique comics came true. It’s nice to see this happening, after doing Namesake for so long. We went from this mindset of “we need to do this because it doesn’t exist” to “we are part of a massive collective of (queer) creators” and that’s a unique experience.
Meg: The comic content itself came from a love of fairy tales, such as the Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland. The earliest form of Namesake is a fandom parody comic that ran on Livejournal.
How did the two come to know each other and work together creatively? How would you describe the collaboration process?
Isa: We met in fandoms, like many people do online. Collaborating came easily. I’m very flexible by nature and Megan was already used to collaborating with people professionally, being a journalist. The flow of how we collaborate is very much a conversation and even happens in the form of a discord chat nowadays. Usually we do a chapter outline, then I pencil the comic in sequences of 4 pages, which I then share with Megan, and we discuss them!
Meg: It is an unusual process, but one that has worked well for us. One of my favorite stories about that is when we worked on the Womanthology anthology. It was the first one we did together, and we had a proper editor. We worked in our normal process of discussing pages over Isa’s sketches. And the editor wanted to see an actual script, despite us having completed sketches with dialogue. So, I wound up writing a Marvel-style script based on our sketched pages just to make the editor happy.
Isa is so great at coming up with the overall plot, and I am our details person.
Who are some of your favorite characters to draw/write?
Isa: There’s a lot of characters that are fun to draw because they are very appealing, design wise. But I think my favorite to draw right now (and write) is probably the lead, Emma. I’m just a sucker for strong hero energy. I love how she moves on a page; I love how she thinks, I love to draw her monster forms when she changes, it’s all great.
I also really like drawing animals and weird creatures right now, a lot.
Meg: I have always felt close to Elaine, and I really enjoy writing for her. I also really, really love writing for Jack. His sense of humor and optimism is fantastic, and my favorite romance in the series is actually the one between Jack and Penta. I also enjoy writing Warrick in peak snarky mode, as well as Agha and Hercilia from the Oz arc. We’ll be seeing those two again soon, which is great, because I really love writing those two.
Considering Namesake is based on several fairytales and classic children’s book stories, what would you say are some of your personal favorites?
Isa: My all-time favorites are Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, the Little Mermaid, Diamonds and Toads, and Prunella, to toss an obscure one in. I plan to tackle all of these in individual comics one day. I do think Cinderella is my number one because it’s so simple, efficient, and emotional. There are versions of Cinderella in every country dating far back. For as long as we’ve had jerks and classes, we’ve had Cinderella stories.
Meg: My favorite fairy tale is Thumbelina, and I was thrilled when we got to visit her world in Namesake. I have always enjoyed stories of little people wandering around a larger human world, like Thumbelina and the Borrowers. I blame watching way too much of the Smurfs when I was a child! My other favorite fairy tales are The Wild Swans, Momotaro from Japan, The Red Shoes, and The Emperor’s New Clothes. Lots of Andersen in there, because that’s what I grew up reading. My mom passed down her copy of Andersen’s fairy tales to me.
As an artist/ writer, who or what would you say are some of your greatest creative influences and sources of inspiration?
Isa: There are a few comics I always re-read when I feel stuck. Namely, the manga Gunnm (translated and adapted into Battle Angel Alita for USA audiences), the 70’s comic Elfquest, Sandman, the works of Clamp and Rumiko Takashi as a whole, Full Metal Alchemist, Berserk, Please save my Earth, and Sailor Moon. I don’t think they’ve all aged gracefully, but they still bring me a lot, emotionally, as inspirations. The Italian comic Sky Doll had a big influence on how I draw when I discovered it as a young artist, as does the work of webcomic artists Petra Erika Nordlund and Emily Carroll.
I’m focusing my response on what inspires me when I’m feeling stuck because, I’ll be honest, my inspiration list is long and updated daily with new favorites. I consume comics and novels obsessively. Right now, in the newbie category, Ascendance of a Bookworm is a big one, as well as the webcomic Obelisk and the Korean webtoon I Dream of Health, Wealth, and a Long Life. The manga series Kusuriya no Hitorigoto and Sousou no Frieren currently live on my desk and the recently printed webcomic Hooky book two is something I’m excitedly waiting for. I’m probably as much of a comic reader as I am a creator.
Meg: My love of history directly comes from being given a set of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House series when I was a child. I was heavily influenced regarding storytelling structures by J. Michael Straczynski’s Babylon 5, and I still love re-watching this series. I find something new to appreciate, even 25 years after I first watched it. My biggest influence in writing dialogue is the In Death mystery series by J.D. Robb. I love the huge cast of still-growing characters and the banter they have with each other.
Rumiko Takahashi was the first manga artist I read, and her work got me into comics as a whole. If I need inspiration for writing, I actually turn to my favorite romance novel writers these days. Tessa Dare, Lisa Kleypas, Cat Sebastian, Courtney Milan and Eva Leigh all write lovely, witty dialogue.
Why did you find yourself exploring/reconstructing the specific stories you do and why do you think as writers and readers we keep getting drawn to fairytales when making new stories?
Isa: Fairy tales are the building blocks of story and symbolism. Fairy tales and folk tales are an international story type that has existed forever. It’s so much the building blocks of story that the Aarne-Thompson-Uther Classification of Folk Tales exists. If you don’t know what that is, it’s basically an ancient TV tropes composed by Finnish folklorists.
Fairy tales have a rich imagery and a power that is undeniable. People have built media empires on the back of fairy tales. Peter Pan as a play has kept a children’s hospital financed for decades. Everyone remembers the illustrations of the first folklore picture book they have held. Loving fairy tales to a point where you work with them is just accepting that you’re enthralled by a fairy queen. That’s just your life now. However, I don’t think fairy tales should be used in modern stories without thinking about them critically, learning about their origin and using them in a transformative way.
There’s always this underlying idea of beauty and riches tied to goodness in fairy tales which is complete rubbish when taken as is. Andersen wrote objectively queer fairy tales, but a lot of interpretations ignore that. There’s also a bucketload of patriarchy and outdated representation in a lot of fairy tales that you must make sure to shed. Peter Dinklage recently expressed concern regarding the representation of little people in Snow White and a lot of people pushed back, seeing it as him messing with the classics. But if you have imagination, removing what is rotten in your inspiration is a fun challenge. Fairy tales are good to use, fun to research, and an amazing way to create a world that feels magical but real, because deep down we all know the fairy tale rules. But they aren’t perfect. Using them without reflection is not ideal.
Meg: I have always been a fan of the “what if?” plot? What if you took a single element and just tweaked it slightly? How does this change the universe? I really love alternate reality stories. An example of this in Namesake is right at the very beginning with Charles Dodgson and Alice Liddell. After Dodgson died, his family decided it was in their best interest to censor his diaries. So they cut a lot out, including the pages in the diary discussing the split with the Liddell family. It’s led to so much speculation. I decided it was perfect for Namesake. In our story, the cut pages deal with Alice’s first Wonderland trip.
You’ve both been working on Namesake since 2010, so over a decade now! Do you see the story coming to a close anytime soon?
Isa: We are in the final arc of the story, which is the fun adventure one. I did have to slow down production to accommodate health concerns, so we’ll probably still be at it for a while. Namesake did get called a “classic older webcomic” on tiktok so I assume that’s my cue to take however many years I need to finish.
Meg: We have been working on it for so long that it’s hard to imagine not working on it. No matter how busy I’ve gotten, working on Namesake has been a comfort to me.
Considering all the changes (both in art style and narrative) this comic has gone through since its inception, how do you feel yourselves have changed creatively or personally since then?
Isa: Well, we both grew from young adults to being in our late 30’s to 40’s, so I’d say we’ve changed a lot, across the board. Our approach to Namesake itself has not changed much – the themes we had initially are still themes we care about greatly, and the fairy tale adventure inspiration keeps the story timeless. We have gotten better at telling the story – our touch is more subtle, our approach to characters gentler. Scenes are more balanced, and our goals have oriented towards including more joy. I would say the main change is general improvements as storytellers and more happiness making our work than ever.
Meg: I agree with Isa. We especially wanted to write a healthy relationship being at the core of our center romance in the series. Really, both center romances. I know personally that I have gained a lot of self-confidence doing this series.
What are some of your favorite elements of the webcomic/graphic novel medium? What craft elements/techniques stand out to you the most?
Isa: I really like designing a page (and inking it). I still work traditionally so page design is fun to do. I like to think my paneling is pretty good.
Meg: I learned how to do lettering and book design when I worked as a newspaper designer, and I always loved that work. I really enjoy the process of book design and lettering panels. There is something magical about fonts and how using the right one can determine the entire mood of your work.
What’s a question you haven’t been asked yet but wish you were (and the answer to that question)?
Isa: I’m not sure! People ask me questions all the time, as an editor. I never really think about un-asked questions. I suppose I’d love there to be more discussion about working traditionally in contemporary comics. It’s getting rarer, especially with traditional paper comics adapting poorly to scroll-down comic formats. I’m not the type of person who has disdain for digital art and tools. Digital comics are gorgeous, and digital tools are very useful and I use them myself often. But I do think we are losing something important if nobody inks comics traditionally. It would be nice to have more tutorials and general attention for them. Inking challenges are a big help to that, I love those!
Meg: I love that you asked this, because I ask it myself as a journalist! I can’t really think of anything off the top of my head.
Are there any other projects you are working on or thinking about that you can discuss?
Isa: I’d just like to encourage folks to follow me on Instagram to read my short Crow Time comics, and to follow Inês for future Trinket news! We do have other comics in the works – we really want to draw an adaptation of Carmilla. But due to health issues I’m mainly focused on Namesake, Crow Time, and Trinket for now!
Meg: What she said! Right now, my main focus is supporting Isa.
Trinket
What advice would you give to other aspiring creatives?
Isa: Always take at least one day off per week, even if someone is on fire. No matter where you are in the industry; print, studio, webcomic, webtoon, successful or beginner, you’re always in a situation where it’s easy to accept overwork as part of your life, especially if it’s being pushed on you by success or deadlines. A lot of people expect that when you reach a certain level of success, you can relax. But there’s a pressure to perform that comes with success, even tiny success, and this idea that if you don’t capitalize on it fast enough, you’ll lose it. There’s never a stage where you “make it” hard enough that you can relax. There are always more deadlines and demands. Take your rest when you need it, not when you earn it. This is the hardest thing to do as an artist – I’m not even successful at it, at all. But the consequences of overwork are numerous, so even if you fail, you should always try to incorporate rest time in your work week.
Meg: Turn off any sort of anonymous commenting, whether it be on Tumblr, in the comments section of your comic, or any other social media. There are so many people trolling out there because they know they upset you. They are specifically looking for a response from you, and it rewards them when you grant it. Don’t let them get to you. Don’t be afraid to block or mute someone. Heavily curate your experience. My Twitter feed is largely romance novels, comic artists, and cats. Your mental well-being is so important. Have a safe support team that you can vent to. Don’t be afraid to get off social media entirely. It all plays into what Isa said as well about taking time off. That especially includes social media.
Finally, what LGBTQ+ books/comics would you recommend to the readers of Geeks OUT?
Isa: Ooh, Yoru to Umi is superb, I wish more people would read it! It’s only available in French, I’m afraid. The webcomic Kiss it Goodbye by Ticcy is adorable and will be in print soon as well! These are the two I’m into right now! I like cute ones!
Laura Gao is a 25-year-old queer artist, author, and bread lover. Originally from Wuhan, China, Gao immigrated to a small town in Texas when she was four. Gao’s art career began by doodling on Pokémon cards and has since blossomed to be featured on NPR, the MOCA in NYC, and most notably, her parents’ fridge. Her debut graphic memoir, MESSY ROOTS, was published on March 8, 2022 with HarperCollins.
Gao graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2018. She worked at Twitter as a Product Manager until 2020, when her webcomic, “The Wuhan I Know“, went viral on Twitter and ignited her art career. She swears on Jack Dorsey’s beard she did not pull any strings to go viral, and wishes people would stop asking her for tips. Besides drawing and complaining about early-onset back pain, Gao enjoys living nomadically and biking around the world, designing apps for nonprofits, bakery-hunting, and watching SNL. Laura’s pronouns are she/her and they/them.
I had the opportunity to interview Laura, which you can read below.
First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT. Could you tell us a little about yourself?
Thank you for having me! I am a queer artist and author of the upcoming graphic memoir, Messy Roots. I was born in Wuhan, China and then immigrated to a small town in Texas where I grew up. I’ve been drawing ever since I was a toddler doodling (and probably slobbering) on Pokemon cards, but I didn’t start pursuing it professionally until 2020 when a comic of mine went viral and got me a book deal.
What can you tell us about your debut graphic novel, Messy Roots: A Graphic Memoir of a Wuhanese American? Where did the inspiration for this story come from?
Messy Roots is about my self-discovery journey as a queer, Chinese American teenager stuck between cultures, homes, and expectations of “who I should be” instead of “who I want to be”. It explores my differing experiences between Wuhan, where I was born and visited later on, Texas, where I grew up and experienced the most amount of racism and homophobia, and college and San Francisco, where I had to reckon with and love my entire identity.
Messy Roots started out as a viral comic I created called, The Wuhan I Know, which highlighted the beautiful things I loved about my hometown and shared my own experience with racism growing up and at the start of the pandemic. When the comic unexpectedly went viral, I received countless heartwarming notes from people around the world! The one that struck me the most was from an Asian-American mother whose daughters had read and were inspired by the comic, asking if I was planning on writing more.
And that’s how this book began.
How did you find yourself getting into comics? What drew you to the medium?
I didn’t start drawing comics until after graduating college, although I’ve been reading them for as long as I could remember how to read. The most impactful graphic memoir I read, Spinning by Tillie Walden, was pivotal in helping me understand my own LGBTQ identity despite growing up in a conservative place like Walden did. After graduating college, I worked a standard corporate job but kept up drawing after work as a creative outlet. I’ve always loved telling stories, and had taken animation classes in college where I learned my favorite part was the storyboarding, so comics became a natural medium for me to explore.
For Messy Roots, I wanted to magically transport the reader into my shoes as they undergo the same identity-seeking journey I did. From squirming in embarrassment as the entire school mocks the Asian mathlete, to staring in awe at the beautiful Wuhan skyline reflected on the Yangtze river the first time I went back to my hometown, to my internal battle with identity portrayed by the white rabbit from Chinese candies and folklore. Comics enable me to marry my storytelling with my art to give readers the full, immersive experience.
As an artist, who or what would you say are some of your greatest creative influences and/or sources of inspiration?
Makoto Shinkai’s works, Weathering With You and Your Name. Tillie Walden. Anime and manga I grew up on, like Yotsuba, Naruto, and Haikyuu. Comedy TV, like SNL, Parks and Recreation, and Sex Education.
In light of the pandemic and this being a memoir, this story seems like a highly intimate and potent project for you. Could you discuss some of the craft elements you utilized when trying to depict the personal?
Talking about personal and sometimes traumatic events is incredibly hard, especially when sharing with millions of strangers! However, in the same way I often cope with bad memories through humor, I balance out the heavier scenes with comedic ones throughout the book. It lets the reader take in all the Big Feelings while also allowing them a break before the next Big Feeling.
I also depicted some intangible feelings through motifs, such as the dream-like scenes with the white rabbit from Chinese candies and folklore that symbolize my internal battle with my Asian American identity, and the moon being hidden by clouds as signs of my closeted feelings.
What are some things you would want readers to take away from Messy Roots?
I hope readers understand that everyone’s search for identity and home is different and complex. And that’s okay!
I just wrote a whole memoir about it, and every day I’m learning new things about myself. However, by letting your voice shine above the doubts, you’ll realize the right people and places will naturally gravitate towards you. No matter how messy your roots are.
What advice might you have to give to other aspiring creators?
Post terrible work!
Yes, you heard right. The quicker you get over your perfectionism, the faster you’ll finish projects, get feedback, improve, and overcome imposter syndrome or “artist stage fright”. I give myself a deadline for when I must post the art, finished or not. Even if it has mistakes, after I post, I realize 99% of people never even notice. Ultimately my goal is to tell a story; I don’t need to be perfect to be impactful.
When I look at “The Wuhan I Know” I see plenty of ways I could’ve improved it, and I’m sure I’ll feel the same about my book when it comes out, but if I kept the comic in my drafts trying to get it perfect, I’d never have published it and gotten the book deal to give me my dream career.
Besides your work as an artist what are some things you would want readers to know about you?
I lived nomadically last year, splitting my time between Taiwan and Europe, and would love to continue exploring the world while drawing and hunting for the best bread. I also build websites and apps for various nonprofits. My bucket list includes biking every major long-distance trail in the world, and starting a media company that only creates queer joy content.
What’s a question you haven’t been asked yet but wish you were (and the answer to that question)?
What’s your favorite queer ship? Korrasami hands down.
Are there any projects you are working on or thinking about that you are able to discuss?
I’m currently working on my second book, which will be a queer rom-com about astrology throwing a group of teens’ lives into a hot mess!
Finally, what LGBTQ+ books/comics would you recommend to the readers of Geeks OUT?
I had the opportunity to interview Victoria, which you can read below.
First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT! Could you tell us a little about yourself?
Thank you! I’m Victoria Grace Elliott, a comic artist living in Austin, Texas. I’m the author of Yummy: A History of Desserts and its follow-up, Yummy: A History of Tasty Experiments! And hopefully many other comics down the line.
How did you find yourself getting into comics? What drew you to the medium?
I’ve always been a storyteller at heart, and I’ve always loved drawing. There’s a lot of ways that can manifest, but comics felt like the most natural conclusion to me since I was pretty young. I gravitated toward any comics I could find, even if they weren’t really in my age range, like a lot of the manga that came out in the 80s and 90s, haha.
How would you describe your creative background/ artistic education? And how did you develop your gorgeous style?!
My family is very into art and movies and writing and music, so that was really the backbone of my education! As an art teacher, my mom had all kinds of art materials, and she was big into the crafting that was popular in the 90s. I feel like between her painting, crafts, and decorating, I picked up a lot about color in particular. And as a movie buff family, I was watching all kinds of stuff, which, like the manga, may have been a little over my head, but inspired me nonetheless.
Since my family was such a rich environment for it, this all really encouraged me to take my art seriously, even if just as a hobby. I went to college for Linguistics at the University of Texas, but eventually I found my way into the Radio-TV-Film department, where I learned a lot about media analysis and saw even more kinds of movies and television. Soon after, I joined the comics staff at our student newspaper, The Daily Texan, where a lot of other people from all kinds of departments–art, English, you name it–wanted to hone in on their comics skills. This is really where my comics education flourished. I feel as though our styles of art and storytelling all bounced off each other and our influences.
So yeah, it’s always been a lot of self-teaching and community-teaching for me! It’s hard to describe since it’s such an organic process, but it’s like: Oh, this person is drawing this way, I want my art to look like theirs. At other times, it’s the opposite: I want my art to be distinct from theirs in this way. As time goes on, you naturally come into your own style.
Where did the inspiration for your latest book, Yummy: A History of Desserts come from?
Truthfully, the inspiration came from Gina who started the Random House Graphic imprint herself! I was interested in pitching to RHG, but had so many ideas I didn’t know where to start. In a huge stroke of luck, my agent, Steven Salpeter, had a meeting with her and picked her brain about the kinds of work she’d be interested to see, the key one being a comic about food history!
As I mentioned before, I studied at UT, and I wrote a lot of research papers. As time went on, it had kind of evolved into writing essays about comics and comics as essays. In other words, I felt so prepared for this! I loved synthesizing stuff like that, testing the limits of what a comic could be. After some workshopping, I came up with the pitch for A History of Desserts, featuring three narrator food sprites and a chapter format!
What would you say are some of your favorite desserts (and are any featured in Yummy)?
Of the desserts featured in Yummy, I love mochi ice cream, egg tarts and drop cookies! Those are some of my all-time favorites! I also really love custard-filled sweets, mousse, and light yellow cake with fresh fruit and whipped cream. Sadly, those didn’t make the cut, but they’re truly my go-tos.
As an artist, who or what would you say are some of your greatest creative influences and/or sources of inspiration?
I have always been inspired by my peers, online and in person, and the many artists I find there. For comics, I’d say my biggest influences have been from manga. For Yummy specifically, I’ve pulled from the manga artists of CLAMP and the cute illustrations from Summikko Gurashi and Sanrio. But I’ve also pulled a lot of humor from peers like ggdg, Zack Morrison, and a bit of style from Choo!
What are some of your favorite parts of the illustration/ creative writing process? What do you feel are some of the most challenging or frustrating?
My favorite parts and hardest parts kind of go together, honestly! I’d say the most challenging part of Yummy was the visual research, both in tracking it down and adapting it to the cute style of the book. However, that’s also the most fun part, too! It takes a lot of time to find, say, a glass dish that will look good in the book from possibly the right time and region for a certain historical cake. But it’s fun to adapt it to my style. Sometimes I have to re-research dishware or patterns or photos, change them from before, draw and redraw. But in the end, it’s always worth it. It adds so much character drawing from real history and objects.
As a queer creative who has previously worked on other queer projects, such as your webcomic, balderdash! or, a tale of two witches, may I ask what creating queer representation means to you personally?
I feel a lot of nebulous ways about what queer representation means to me these days, honestly! I think when I was younger, like in my balderdash! days, I needed so much more labeled representation as I figured myself out and started exploring those sides of myself as a young adult. As an older person who has more fully embraced the nuances of my sexuality and gender, I feel as though I can see it everywhere, like I’m cheating the system to get the most out of it for myself, haha. I think it’s always very important to have the people behind the works be the ones whose representation matters most–queer authors making whatever work they want to– but I also think there’s a wonderful power in empathic readings, where you can maybe see parts of yourself in something that maybe was never meant for you. As a queer creative, that can be converted into soil for your own stories and projects, or even just love for yourself and who you are.
Approaching work like that, I think it’s a lot easier to pick up on, say, the genderqueer vibes some of the sprites of Yummy give off, or some cute flirting I’ve drawn in. That’s all very purposeful, but also very subtle on my part, and I think my presence as the author should speak enough as it is.
As of now, are you currently working on any ideas or projects that you are at liberty to speak about?
Right now, I’m finishing up Yummy: A History of Tasty Experiments! This is a follow-up book that focuses on a lot more unusual food, from cheese to soda to packaged foods! I wanted to explore our relationship to really, really old foods like pickles and cheese to much younger foods, like SPAM and boxed macaroni and cheese. How did these foods become common? And how did we make them before?
What advice would you give to other aspiring creatives?
Make work for yourself first and foremost. Even if it’s an assignment, or even if it’s a commission, find a way to make it satisfying and fun for yourself. There will be times when that’s really, really hard, but I think that’s a key way of tending to your creativity. And take breaks! Long ones! Sleep a lot!
Finally, what LGBTQ books/comics (or comics in general) would you recommend to the readers of Geeks OUT?
For other LBGTQ comics around the same age range as Yummy, I’d recommend a few incredible works from Random House Graphic: Reimena Yee’s Séance Tea Party, Trung Le Ngyuen’s The Magic Fish, and Jessi Zabarsky’s Witchlight. They’ve all got upcoming books as well. I know Yee’s next work is My Aunt is a Monster, which looks wonderful, and Zabarsky’s Coming Backis coming out later in January!
Suzana and Owen are a married lesbian couple who love world-building, character-making, and story-telling together. Tripping Over You is their current ongoing webcomic, and their attempt to fold all of those shared interests and passions together. I had the opportunity to talk to them, which you can read below.
Where did the inspiration for Tripping Over You (TOY) and what has made it stick with you for this long? Where did the inspiration for Milo and Liam as characters come from?
Suzana and I have been making original characters to bounce off of each other since we were kids, long before we started dating. We’ve always been interested in writing together, pitching each other ideas for how so-and-so’s relationship would go, making little gift arts for each other of each others’ character— it just sort of snowballed into webcomic-shape after we started dating and moved in together. We keep making pages because (we’re addicted) it continues to be really satisfying to finish just one more page; it feels like giving our characters a couple more seconds of existence with every update.
Both of you are collaborators on this comic as well as wives. How would you say the romantic partnership has reflected/ affected on the artistic partnership and vice versa?
We started dating a couple years after we made Milo and Liam, and then (on a whim) started making a webcomic shortly after we started dating. It’s really hard for me to imagine what our life would look like without the comic being part of it. It’s true that a lot of how our characters relate to each other has flickers of what our actual relationship once felt like, but I think the real takeaway for us goes the opposite direction: making stuff together has improved our ability to communicate with each other.
We’ve basically crafted this perfect excuse to practice expressing to each other what each of our individual goals are, and then to try to figure out how to accomplish as many of those goals as possible without taking away from the other person’s goals. That’s given us a really solid framework to build on when it comes to talking to each other about what we both want out of our personal life together, too.
TOY has been running on a digital platform since 2011. How do you find yourself drawn to web comics and What do you think are some of the benefits of this medium?
Webcomics were some of the first things we ever found as we were first stumbling around the internet as kids back in 2000. Suzana and I used to send each other links to new comics we’d find, or yell at each other to go catch up on an old favorite after they’d posted a particularly exciting update. It’s just so compelling to follow something that’s so indie-made, where the story and art is directly handed off from creator to reader. You get to watch the art and the story improve over time— and you get to see what kinds of stories people make when they’re being really self-indulgent. It’s all really authentic and sincere and fun.
One of the loveliest things about TOY in my opinion is the progression of the main characters’ relationship, seeing how they evolve in their relationship with the world and each other. How did you keep the balance between maturity and light-heartedness when creating this queer narrative?
This means a lot to me, specifically because I feel like I really struggle with this. I’m not sure I always keep this balance in a way that’s masterful, despite it being one of my biggest goals to improve at it as much as I can. I’m one of those people who will enthusiastically explain my joke if no one laughs— even to a chorus of groans and eye-rolling. It’s definitely a forever thing, developing more mindful ways to think about this particular puzzle. I do find that it’s really helpful to read pages out loud to myself, to see if it sounds like what I intended for it to sound like. Getting feedback on what lands (and what doesn’t) is really helpful, too – which is cool, because that’s sort of naturally built into the webcomic format.
Nearing the end of TOY, what sort of stories do you think you might be working on in the future?
We have a sequel to TOY lined up to start at the end of the chapter we’re working on now (with a fun little time skip between them), which we are deliriously excited about lately. We’re also working on launching an adult queer comic with Slipshine this year. We also have some fun (very silly, very meta) plans for some of Liam’s stories once we get into exploring his career in writing.
What advice might you offer for hopeful creatives out there?
Something I remind myself daily, especially when I find myself hitting a wall: you may not feel like you’re good enough yet to work on that dream project you’ve been chewing on, but I promise that’s not a bad thing. You’re allowed (and entitled!) to make whatever you want, even before you become as good at it as you’d like to be. Plus: there’s always going to be someone out there who your stuff means a lot to. As long as you make something you care very much about, some people will sense how much you care, and they’ll care too. Please, please make stuff. I personally want to read more things like that!
Finally, what LGBTQ+ books/comics would you recommend to the readers of Geeks OUT?
Here’s some of our absolute favorites! Some are completed, some are ongoing, and some have adult content:
