I Made A Comic About Lake Erie and the Toxic Algae Blooms

I made a comic about Lake Erie and the toxic algae blooms! You can read it now, freely, on Crucial Comix and The Revelator.

This is my first nonfiction comic publication, aside from a 3-page explainer for a Columbus, OH zine about the 3 Sisters crop arrangement (that’s coming later). I had not made a science comic like this before, and I’m glad I accepted the challenge!

On Crucial Comix, it’s, “Lake Erie Was Declared Dead. Now We’re Fighting For Its Life.” On The Revelator (a publication of The Center for Biological Diversity), it’s, “In Ohio, Facing A Future Without Clean Water.”

Here’s a sneak peek of it:

part 1 of my lake erie comic.
part 2 of my comic about Lake Erie

To read the rest of the comic, head to Crucial Comix or The Revelator. Links are above the art.

I want to make more comics like this. The scientists who got me in touch with the biologists for this are expressing interest in working with me again on a separate project. We’ll see who likes the pitch and where we can go with it!

During the making of this comic, I learned *way too much* about Lake Erie. So if you have questions, leave them in the comments and let me know.

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading!

You. Are. Awesome.

Now on Crowdfundr – A New Collaboration, “An Ignorance of Romance”!

Announcing: a new collaboration with Kai (co-creator of Seeing Him) on a new webcomic project! “An Ignorance of Romance: Adventures in Wooing” is now on Crowdfundr, looking for support.

An Ignorance of Romance is the story of an unfortunately straight young man named Lian, tasked by his father The Duke with embarking on a quest to find his True Love™. Assisted by his squire, the two encounter Amber, a warrior woman searching for her lost husband. Adventures and attempted seductions ensue!

Here are some sketches we have finished so far for production!

Kai and I are running a small Crowdfundr campaign to cover the cost of domain registration and webhosting costs so we can host this comic ourselves. We also want to cover the labor for the first handful of pages of the webcomic.

We have some fun rewards available, including (but not limited to):

  • Early access to the webcomic pages!
  • Commissions!
  • And even the opportunity to be drawn as a character in the comic!

This campaign will run for one month, starting March 28 and ending on April 27, 2025.

And full disclosure – we are running this as a “Keep It All” campaign, not “All-or-Nothing” like KickStarter. This way, we can start production as soon as possible!

If you have any other questions, check out the campaign first!

Broke? Share this campaign with your friends! Sharing is caring and helps more than you know.

That’s all for now. Thank you for your support!

You. Are. Awesome.

It’s a Ko-fi Membership Drive!

It’s time for a Ko-fi Membership Drive!

WHAT?

This is a drive to get more memberships on my Ko-fi page, whether you give just once, or you join with a monthly membership. (Though there are definitely more perks if you join the monthly membership, more info below).

As of right now, we have 8 active Ko-fi members. If we can make these following benchmarks, we can unlock the following goals:

  • At 10 active members, all members (one-off and monthly) will get a 4×6-inch Little Caticorn mini-print!
  • At 15 members, all members (one-off and monthly) will get that PLUS a 4×6-inch Forest Spirit mini-print!
  • At 20 members, all members (one-off and monthly) will get these PLUS a 4×6-inch Prince Odinon mini-print!
  • At 25 members, all members (one-off and monthly) will get these PLUS a 4×6-inch mini-print of The Two Sisters – a watercolor painting from the 2022 Columbus, OH show, Comics vs Art!

More rewards will be announced as more goals are unlocked!

WHY

2025 is going to be an uncertain year for a lot of folks for many different reasons. For me, 2025 will be risky because of book bans and their challenges (I’m a genderqueer comic artist who makes comics about LGBTQ+ characters). Plus, for 2025 I’m *only* going to zine fests and shows in the Toledo, OH area. For one, those shows are friendlier to comics like The Legend of Jamie Roberts. Also, the proposed tariffs are affecting many artists’ ability to afford merchandise stock like keychains and books. This isn’t even mentioning that comicons and pop culture cons are too expensive to go to as a vendor, even with splitting tables with friends.

Because of these impacts, that leaves us with a question: how can comics like The Legend of Jamie Roberts, Vanita and the Demon King, and so many zines and minicomics happen with these challenges ahead? How can we solve at least one part of this puzzle?

That’s where Ko-fi Memberships come in.

Ko-fi Memberships are an easy way to get cool and custom rewards *and* support to keep making comics like The Legend of Jamie Roberts. The more supporters there are, the more comics and art that can be made and shared with more and more readers!

I want comics like The Legend of Jamie Roberts to keep going. More importantly, *the readers* want comics like The Legend to keep going. This comic especially is written with teens and young adults in mind, who, like me, struggle with gender identity and their place in the world. Stories like this cannot exist in a vacuum, and need support from readers like you to continue.

HOW

Ko-fi Memberships come in two flavors – one-time donations and monthly memberships.

If you give just a one-time donation during this Membership Drive, you get…

  • Ko-fi shop discount codes,
  • First dibs when I’m available for commissions,

If you join any of my monthly memberships – the Digital Club, the Zine + Sticker Club, the Art Club, you get all of that PLUS…

  • Webcomic updates two days earlier than the rest of the internet,
  • Sneak peeks at how comic pages are made,
  • Access to comic scripts,
  • Shout-outs on YouTube,
  • Member-exclusive zines and stickers (for Zine + Sticker Club and Art Club members),
  • Exclusive 4 x 6 inch mini-prints (Art Club members),
  • AND members-only rewards if you back a KickStarter or Crowdfundr campaign.

To get these rewards, head to my Ko-fi page and click “Memberships” to join monthly, or “Shop” to get some goodies. Spending $3 or more in the shop gets you the one-time rewards. You can also get one-time rewards by leaving a tip of $3 or more on the main Ko-fi page.

Keep in mind, too, that you can cancel monthly memberships anytime, no questions asked.

These are options IF you have the budget for it. If you are broke or struggling, absolutely *do not* feel pressured to join. Like I mentioned up top, I understand that 2025 will be a tough year for all of us. So if you are broke, share this campaign with other folks who love genderqueer pirates, trans girls, demon kings, dragons, fantasy malarkey, and supporting queer creators. Sharing is caring and helps spread the word that this campaign and these comics are even happening.

WHEN

This Ko-fi Membership Drive will run UNTIL JAN 31, 2025. I will be updating you once a week on Tuesdays to let you know how the campaign is going. Rewards will ship out after Feb 1.

That’s all for now. If you have any questions or anything, please let me know!

Thank you so much for your support.

You. Are. Awesome.

Preparing for Awesome Con with Ben-Wright Heuman – A Live Stream

Lurk while Ben Wright-Heuman and I work and prepare for Awesome Con! We’re sharing a table at this event (happening March 8-10 in Washington, DC). Be sure to check out Ben’s website and YouTube channel, as well!

⭐ To get free phone wallpapers and other goodies, join my email newsletter.

💜 Get early updates and behind-the-scenes peaks at The Legend of Jamie Roberts by supporting the comic on Ko-fi.

🖌️ I’m available for commissions! Check my Commissions Board to get started.

🎨 TOOLS USED:

  • Streaming – Streamyard
  • Mic – Blue Snowball
  • Drawing software – Clip Studio Paint

👏 THANK YOU TO MY CLUB SUBSCRIBERS! 👏

To get your name added to this list, join one of my clubs.

  • magicalgirlkyra
  • All Unka
  • Raiden
  • Ella Q
  • Andrew Balch
  • Adam Vazquez
  • Maya Smith
  • Pat Jade
  • JessicaMcIntosh
  • RPZ
  • Bryce Bargar
  • Heidi Allison
  • Saphronia Maple
  • Bamboo Studiosbv
  • Cakes
  • Isaiah Broussard Art
  • C McClain
  • Rainer Kannenstine

And thank YOU for watching!

You. Are. Awesome.

Find me at Small Press Expo!

Find me at Small Press Expo this weekend! Sept 9 and 10, at the Bethesda North Mariott in Bethesda, MD. They have a TON of events, artists, and more (all listed on their site), and I’m one of those artists!

What will I have there? What won’t fit in the suitcase? Well, you can watch the replay of my livestream below for some clues!

Can you make it? I hope to see you at the show! To repeat, find me at table D8, side B.

If you can’t be there, I have an online shop you can browse. All orders will be shipped once I get back home.

You also have the option of pre-ordering new Mr. Dino LGBTQ+ Pride merch on Crowdfundr! I’m accepting pre-orders until September 30.

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

You. Are. Awesome.