jeremywhitley

[jeremywhitley]

As part of their active banning of queer books, the Trump administration and DoD have actively targeted "The Dog Knight" by myself, Bre Indigo, @mcapriglione-art for removal from DoD schools. However, you can buy it right now and support us at Bookshop!

How do I know it's banned? Well, this article was published discussing the full list of books banned by DoD schools: https://pen.org/books-banned-by-department-of-defense-schools/

It included this link to a list of all of the books banned right here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iKxUEllBpsap4cmH_vfWtzv0h069jkSc/view

Rightfully at this point your next questions is probably "Why did they ban it?" Well, they seem to have targeted a ton of books dealing specifically with gender issues, feminism and racism. Which, if you know anything about what I write, should mean I have a ton of books banned on here. But I don't!

THAT is somehow worse, because The Dog Knight is a book aimed for middle-grade students and features a protagonist who is nonbinary. It is also a book about magical talking dogs who are trying to save the world from chaos and how Frankie, our protagonist, is chosen to help them.

The list doesn't have "Navigating with You" an explicitly lesbian YA romance, "Princeless" a book that's literally about fighting the patriarchy, or "Unstoppable Wasp" a superhero book with lots of stuff about the under-representation of girls in STEM fields and comics. That sticks out.

Because what this tells me is the administration made this list by term-searching books about nonbinary people and explicitly went about removing that representation from these schools without reading any books. They explicitly went around removing books for and about kids struggling w/identity.

They aren't trying to remove books that are harmful or dangerous, they're explicitly trying to remove books designed to provide comfort and love to those who need it most. They are targeting queer children and they do not care who they injure in the process. We need to stand up for our kids.

We need to demand better. We need to fight just as hard to make sure our kids get the books they need as they are fighting to take them away. That's what The Dog Knight was written for. And sure, this is a message that financially benefits me for you to accept, but my book isn't alone on this list.

Go read "Elle Campbell Wins their Weekend" by Ben Kahn

Read "The Deep Dark" by @mollyostertag

"The Prince and the Dressmaker" by Jen Wang

"Tomboy" by Liz Prince

"Genderqueer" by @redgoldsparks

If it's on the list, READ IT

Because these books aren't banned because they're dangerous to you, they're banned because the government doesn't want your kids to feel comforted, to feel supported, to feel safe, or to feel sane. The government wants queer kids to hate themselves and you must be part of stopping them.

[jeremywhitley]

As part of their active banning of queer books, the Trump administration and DoD have actively targeted "The Dog Knight" by myself, Bre Indigo, @mcapriglione-art for removal from DoD schools. However, you can buy it right now and support us at Bookshop!

How do I know it's banned? Well, this article was published discussing the full list of books banned by DoD schools: https://pen.org/books-banned-by-department-of-defense-schools/

It included this link to a list of all of the books banned right here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iKxUEllBpsap4cmH_vfWtzv0h069jkSc/view

Rightfully at this point your next questions is probably "Why did they ban it?" Well, they seem to have targeted a ton of books dealing specifically with gender issues, feminism and racism. Which, if you know anything about what I write, should mean I have a ton of books banned on here. But I don't!

THAT is somehow worse, because The Dog Knight is a book aimed for middle-grade students and features a protagonist who is nonbinary. It is also a book about magical talking dogs who are trying to save the world from chaos and how Frankie, our protagonist, is chosen to help them.

The list doesn't have "Navigating with You" an explicitly lesbian YA romance, "Princeless" a book that's literally about fighting the patriarchy, or "Unstoppable Wasp" a superhero book with lots of stuff about the under-representation of girls in STEM fields and comics. That sticks out.

Because what this tells me is the administration made this list by term-searching books about nonbinary people and explicitly went about removing that representation from these schools without reading any books. They explicitly went around removing books for and about kids struggling w/identity.

They aren't trying to remove books that are harmful or dangerous, they're explicitly trying to remove books designed to provide comfort and love to those who need it most. They are targeting queer children and they do not care who they injure in the process. We need to stand up for our kids.

We need to demand better. We need to fight just as hard to make sure our kids get the books they need as they are fighting to take them away. That's what The Dog Knight was written for. And sure, this is a message that financially benefits me for you to accept, but my book isn't alone on this list.

Go read "Elle Campbell Wins their Weekend" by Ben Kahn

Read "The Deep Dark" by @mollyostertag

"The Prince and the Dressmaker" by Jen Wang

"Tomboy" by Liz Prince

"Genderqueer" by @redgoldsparks

If it's on the list, READ IT

Because these books aren't banned because they're dangerous to you, they're banned because the government doesn't want your kids to feel comforted, to feel supported, to feel safe, or to feel sane. The government wants queer kids to hate themselves and you must be part of stopping them.

[jeremywhitley]

As part of their active banning of queer books, the Trump administration and DoD have actively targeted "The Dog Knight" by myself, Bre Indigo, @mcapriglione-art for removal from DoD schools. However, you can buy it right now and support us at Bookshop!

How do I know it's banned? Well, this article was published discussing the full list of books banned by DoD schools: https://pen.org/books-banned-by-department-of-defense-schools/

It included this link to a list of all of the books banned right here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iKxUEllBpsap4cmH_vfWtzv0h069jkSc/view

Rightfully at this point your next questions is probably "Why did they ban it?" Well, they seem to have targeted a ton of books dealing specifically with gender issues, feminism and racism. Which, if you know anything about what I write, should mean I have a ton of books banned on here. But I don't!

THAT is somehow worse, because The Dog Knight is a book aimed for middle-grade students and features a protagonist who is nonbinary. It is also a book about magical talking dogs who are trying to save the world from chaos and how Frankie, our protagonist, is chosen to help them.

The list doesn't have "Navigating with You" an explicitly lesbian YA romance, "Princeless" a book that's literally about fighting the patriarchy, or "Unstoppable Wasp" a superhero book with lots of stuff about the under-representation of girls in STEM fields and comics. That sticks out.

Because what this tells me is the administration made this list by term-searching books about nonbinary people and explicitly went about removing that representation from these schools without reading any books. They explicitly went around removing books for and about kids struggling w/identity.

They aren't trying to remove books that are harmful or dangerous, they're explicitly trying to remove books designed to provide comfort and love to those who need it most. They are targeting queer children and they do not care who they injure in the process. We need to stand up for our kids.

We need to demand better. We need to fight just as hard to make sure our kids get the books they need as they are fighting to take them away. That's what The Dog Knight was written for. And sure, this is a message that financially benefits me for you to accept, but my book isn't alone on this list.

Go read "Elle Campbell Wins their Weekend" by Ben Kahn

Read "The Deep Dark" by @mollyostertag

"The Prince and the Dressmaker" by Jen Wang

"Tomboy" by Liz Prince

"Genderqueer" by @redgoldsparks

If it's on the list, READ IT

Because these books aren't banned because they're dangerous to you, they're banned because the government doesn't want your kids to feel comforted, to feel supported, to feel safe, or to feel sane. The government wants queer kids to hate themselves and you must be part of stopping them.

[jeremywhitley]

As part of their active banning of queer books, the Trump administration and DoD have actively targeted "The Dog Knight" by myself, Bre Indigo, @mcapriglione-art for removal from DoD schools. However, you can buy it right now and support us at Bookshop!

How do I know it's banned? Well, this article was published discussing the full list of books banned by DoD schools: https://pen.org/books-banned-by-department-of-defense-schools/

It included this link to a list of all of the books banned right here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iKxUEllBpsap4cmH_vfWtzv0h069jkSc/view

Rightfully at this point your next questions is probably "Why did they ban it?" Well, they seem to have targeted a ton of books dealing specifically with gender issues, feminism and racism. Which, if you know anything about what I write, should mean I have a ton of books banned on here. But I don't!

THAT is somehow worse, because The Dog Knight is a book aimed for middle-grade students and features a protagonist who is nonbinary. It is also a book about magical talking dogs who are trying to save the world from chaos and how Frankie, our protagonist, is chosen to help them.

The list doesn't have "Navigating with You" an explicitly lesbian YA romance, "Princeless" a book that's literally about fighting the patriarchy, or "Unstoppable Wasp" a superhero book with lots of stuff about the under-representation of girls in STEM fields and comics. That sticks out.

Because what this tells me is the administration made this list by term-searching books about nonbinary people and explicitly went about removing that representation from these schools without reading any books. They explicitly went around removing books for and about kids struggling w/identity.

They aren't trying to remove books that are harmful or dangerous, they're explicitly trying to remove books designed to provide comfort and love to those who need it most. They are targeting queer children and they do not care who they injure in the process. We need to stand up for our kids.

We need to demand better. We need to fight just as hard to make sure our kids get the books they need as they are fighting to take them away. That's what The Dog Knight was written for. And sure, this is a message that financially benefits me for you to accept, but my book isn't alone on this list.

Go read "Elle Campbell Wins their Weekend" by Ben Kahn

Read "The Deep Dark" by @mollyostertag

"The Prince and the Dressmaker" by Jen Wang

"Tomboy" by Liz Prince

"Genderqueer" by @redgoldsparks

If it's on the list, READ IT

Because these books aren't banned because they're dangerous to you, they're banned because the government doesn't want your kids to feel comforted, to feel supported, to feel safe, or to feel sane. The government wants queer kids to hate themselves and you must be part of stopping them.

[jeremywhitley]

Support black women making comics!

Support black women in fantasy!

Support black women telling stories when it's not February!

Back it! Share it! They have a lot of ground to make up!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/844735737/midnight-mystics-an-anthology-of-fantasy-comics-by-black-w

[jeremywhitley]

Last minutes! We've hit all our goals, but if you decide to back now you get so much cool stuff. Just saying.

Right now the Kickstarter for "Aces and Aros: An Asexual and Aromantic Comics Anthology" is three backers away from one-thousand total backers! It's also $47,177 headed for our THIRD STRETCH GOAL of $50,000!

We're down to 16 days left and you can help us meet these goals, support queer art, and show love for your ace and aro community during Pride all at the same time! Backer levels start at $1 and physical anthologies start as low as $30! Come join in and help us make great ace and aro art!

[jeremywhitley]

We're less than $50 away now! Come push us over!

We're under $1000 from our final stretch goal! This is it! Only hours to go!

Help Aces and Aros clear our last goal and get all of our hard working creators bonuses!

If you've been waiting, this is your last chance!

#booksky #comicsky #pride #lgbtqia

[jeremywhitley]

We're under $1000 from our final stretch goal! This is it! Only hours to go!

Help Aces and Aros clear our last goal and get all of our hard working creators bonuses!

If you've been waiting, this is your last chance!

#booksky #comicsky #pride #lgbtqia

[jeremywhitley]

Right now the Kickstarter for "Aces and Aros: An Asexual and Aromantic Comics Anthology" is three backers away from one-thousand total backers! It's also $47,177 headed for our THIRD STRETCH GOAL of $50,000!

We're down to 16 days left and you can help us meet these goals, support queer art, and show love for your ace and aro community during Pride all at the same time! Backer levels start at $1 and physical anthologies start as low as $30! Come join in and help us make great ace and aro art!

[jeremywhitley]

My Aces and Aros Story

While I have a minute, I wanted to talk about how I got involved in editing an anthology. Editing isn't usually my gig, but it's actually very personal, so maybe buckle in? If you just want to TLDR, here's the link, support Ace stories and creators!

DO IT!

This story goes all the way back to the beginning of my comics making career. As many of you know, my first widely published book was a book called Princeless about a black princess who decided to save herself instead of waiting around to be saved. It got this great queer female fanbase really quick and a lot of them asked me "Is Adrienne Gay?"

The unsatisfying answer was "It doesn't matter, this story is about not needing to be saved, sexuality is beside the point". However, I and those readers really liked the idea of telling a story of queer heroine in the world and thus Raven Pirate Princess was born.

Spinning Raven off meant giving her a crew and I wanted that crew to be filled with queer women of different stripes from different parts of life and that meant doing some research into sexualities I knew little about. Eventually, I decided to make Quinn (seen here carrying her girlfriend Zoe to safety) demisexual.

The result of that research was me doing a lot of looking into demisexuality and going "But isn't that just everyone?"

Reader, it is not.

It is me though.

That took me a while to digest and come around to, but eventually a I came out. I'm very happily married and in love, so daily it changed nothing.

EXCEPT...

It absolutely did. There's an immense power in having a name for that thing that is going on inside your brain that makes it not like other brains. It's incredible to be able to say "this is how I am" and have people understand.

Time went by and then I got this cool invitation from @alannawrites.bsky.social who was putting together a team of aspec creators to write a story about a certain girl who had been displaced into a comic book world coming to terms wither asexuality. You may have heard of her.

Or possibly played as her in a popular video game

Here I got to work with an all aspec team of creators for the first time in my life and tell a story that I hadn't realized I'd been working on my whole life. And having moments where something that spoke to me also spoke to that team was amazing.

We felt like we were all from the same planet...

It was an incredible feeling I then got to experience at every convention I did that year as more and more people came up to and came out to me, talking about how much it meant to see their experience, which is so rarely explored in comics, on the page. That was something else and you all mean the world to me.

So, when @comicuno.bsky.social & @philfalcowrites.bsky.social asked if I wanted to coedit an anthology full of stories about and by ace folks, the idea of getting to facilitate a ton more people having that experience was way too much to pass up. I mean...imagine...

I knew I wanted to write a story for the anthology as well, but I wasn't sure what to write about. I knew I wanted to bring back

@bailierosenlund.bsky.social and

@kellysue.bsky.social who had made our Marvel story so perfect. Then it hit me, there was one story that would be the perfect intro

So our story is called "Introduction" and it's about the Ace umbrella, learning we were under it, and finding community through making a comic where we all got to share our ace experience with eachother. Now, we're comic book characters and you an support a lot more people having this experience

[jeremywhitley]

Here's a rundown of the first half of the stories and creators including details about the creators and images from each and every story!

Genre: Educational

Writer: Jeremy Whitley (My Little Pony, Unstoppable Wasp)

One of the Editors of Aces & Aros. Find full bio in "Creative Team" Section of the Kickstarter page.

Artist: Bailie Rosenlund

Bailie Rosenlund ; a graduate of Sheridan's Illustration program in Oakville, ON, Canada; is an award-winning illustrator located in Vancouver, Canada. She is currently working as a Comic Artist on Marvel Voices: Avengers Academy. She recently illustrated the comic Hero Outage: An Epic NPC Man Adventure. Previous clients include: Marvel, DC, Bad Egg, Dreamworks, Warner Bros, Cartoon Network, Apple, Nickelodeon, Netflix, Restoration Games.

Instagram | Website

Colorist: Kelly Fitzpatrick (Archie)

Kelly Fitzpatrick is a professional colorist who has been working full-time for over 10 years in the industry. Their client list includes Marvel, DC, Archie, Darkhorse, and Image Comics; as well as many other indie publishers.

Genre: Slice of Life

Writers: Phil Falco & Kat Calamia (Lifeline Comics)

Two of the Editors of Aces & Aros. See full bios in "Creative Team" Section of the Kickstarter page.

Artist: Valeria Peri

Valeria Peri (she/her) is a freelance comic book artist from Italy. She graduated from the Art Academy, A.C.M.E. of Milan with specialization in comics. Valeria has published two short stories with a local publisher and is now working as a freelance artist.

Genre: Fantasy

Writer: Derek V. Song

Derek V. Song is an Asian American writer known for his work on the WEBTOON adaptation of Dimension 20's Fantasy High. When not writing, he can be found anxiously staring at the wall, trying to decide what to write next.

Bluesky | Website

Artist: Alex Brennan-Dent

Alex Brennan-Dent is a prizewinning queer comic artist, illustrator and all-round nerd from the UK; who can either be found making videos over on his YouTube channel, or at his desk working on various (usually fruity) comic projects!

Genre: Poetry/Slasher

Writer: Sarah "Neila" Elkins

Sarah "Neila" Elkins is an asexual writer and artist who's worked in the comics industry since 2008. She loves scifi, fantasy, horror, and mystery. She has a from of chronic ossifying tennis elbow.

Bluesky | Mastodon

Artist: Feriowind

Feriowind is a Taiwanese-American illustrator and creature and comic artist who has previously worked on Godzilla Rivals: Mothra vs Titanosaurus.

Genre: Spy

Writer: Cici Affini

Cici Affini (She/Her) is a demisexual comic book writer best known for “MythFall.” She was featured in the “Oxymoron: Killing Time” anthology and wrote the prose short “Thin Ice” for the Chimeranverse Tales collection. She is one fourth of creator-owned indie publisher Attic Door Media and a member of the ComixLaunch community.

Substack | Instagram | Bluesky | Facebook

Artist: Mauricio Mora (HAUNTING, Damsel from D.I.S.T.R.E.S.S.)

Mau Mora is a comic artist and illustrator from Costa Rica who loves fantasy, action and drama. After several years of working as an artist for indie video games projects, he started to make his way into his true passion, comics, and in particular, creator-owned projects. Some of his most recent projects include the sci-fi thriller "The Game, spy/fantasy "Damsel from D.I.S.T.R.E.S.S.", horror drama "HAUNTING", cyberpunk/superhero "Xolotl" and the Comixology Original sci-fi adventure, "Major Thomás". In the meantime, he's also started working on writing his own projects, soon to come! He lives in Costa Rica with his much more talented comic artist wife, and their two very dumb cats.

Genre: Slice of Life

Writer/Artist: Emily C. Martin

Emily C. Martin is a comic artist, illustrator, printmaker and teacher based in Sonoma County, California. On the internets, they are known as Megamoth, and found mostly through www.megamoth.net. 

Website

Genre: Video Game Comedy

Writer: Suzanne Wdowik

Suzanne Wdowik is a writer and aspiring math teacher from metro Detroit. She has previously been published in the Eisner-nominated anthology SENSORY: LIFE ON THE SPECTRUM (Andrews McMeel) and the horror anthology IN THE NECK OF THE WOODS (Greykin Press).

Instagram | Bluesky

Artist: Yonson Carbonell

Yonson Carbonell (he/him) is a  freelance comic artist and illustrator based in the Dominican Republic, has work with Plague Doctor press, Alpha eve, kofi, and more. He's currently working on his personal comic project Hooligans (free to read on his Kofi and webtoons). When not working you can find him watching anime, playing video games or with his pets.

Website | Instagram | Twitter

Genre: Slice of Life

Writer: CC Mooney

CC is a Canadian writer and editor. This is their first work in comics and they're super excited about the opportunity!

Bluesky

Artist: Gib Lewis

Gib Lewis (they/them) is an Iowa born and raised graphic novelist with a passion for telling interpersonal stories. They are primarily a YA creator and are currently working on their own graphic novel, an early 2000s paranormal mystery tale.

Twitter | Bluesky

Genre: Historical

Writer: Logan Noack

Logan Noack is a comic writer best known for his ongoing webcomic, The Witch's Thrall. This is his first published work and he hopes more will follow.

Bluesky

Artist: Ornella Greco

Ornella Greco is a cartoonist and freelance illustrator from Italy. She studied in Palermo, Sicily at the Grafimated Cartoon-School of Comics and finished her studies in 2019. After she graduated, she began working for various publishers in the American and French comics industry, on such works as the acclaimed Dragon Kingdom of Wrenly series from Little Simon, Star Trek: Picard’s Academy with IDW Publishing, and more.

Instagram

Genre: Fantasy Romance

Writer: Bwillett

Bwillett, disabled biroace comics gremlin and Webcomics Old One. When not juggling multiple webcomics, she enjoys building models, being very Opinionated about toys, cross stitching and dealing with her screaming goblin of a dog, Duchess.

Bluesky | Mastodon | Website

Artist: Zuzanna Lewandowska (Bi Visibility: Still Bi, Hairology)

Zuza is an illustrator and comic enthusiast from Poland who is a huge fan of interesting stories, complicated characters and art in general. Their ambition is to one day publish their own comic.

Instagram

Genre: Slice of Life

Writer: C.K. Carpenter

C.K. Carpenter is a queer disabled writer who most recently co-edited (and contributed a story to) the unSEEN/unHEARD: Disability & Neurodivergence anthology, published by Unseen Alchemy Publishing. Other recent works include short comics in Transphoria by Lifeline Comics and Down Below by Limit Break Comics. They also edited, published, and contributed a story to Scott Snyder Presents Tales from the Cloakroom v1. Their stories tend to center on queer characters or characters with disabilities.

Twitter | Bluesky

Artist: Sam Alegre / Darkjellyfish

Sam (they/them) is an agender illustrator from the Dominican Republic. Their artwork usually shows experiences as a nonbinary individual, appealing to a young audience. In their artwork, they explore self-discovery, mental health, and self-expression. Sam currently works as a graphic designer and children’s book illustrator. They also enjoy playing with their pets and roller skating.

Instagram | Behance

Please jump in and support the anthology and help us tell comics stories by, for, and about ace and aro folks! And look out for the next post with the other half of the stories!

[jeremywhitley]

i had to

[jeremywhitley]

Here's a rundown of the first half of the stories and creators including details about the creators and images from each and every story!

Genre: Educational

Writer: Jeremy Whitley (My Little Pony, Unstoppable Wasp)

One of the Editors of Aces & Aros. Find full bio in "Creative Team" Section of the Kickstarter page.

Artist: Bailie Rosenlund

Bailie Rosenlund ; a graduate of Sheridan's Illustration program in Oakville, ON, Canada; is an award-winning illustrator located in Vancouver, Canada. She is currently working as a Comic Artist on Marvel Voices: Avengers Academy. She recently illustrated the comic Hero Outage: An Epic NPC Man Adventure. Previous clients include: Marvel, DC, Bad Egg, Dreamworks, Warner Bros, Cartoon Network, Apple, Nickelodeon, Netflix, Restoration Games.

Instagram | Website

Colorist: Kelly Fitzpatrick (Archie)

Kelly Fitzpatrick is a professional colorist who has been working full-time for over 10 years in the industry. Their client list includes Marvel, DC, Archie, Darkhorse, and Image Comics; as well as many other indie publishers.

Genre: Slice of Life

Writers: Phil Falco & Kat Calamia (Lifeline Comics)

Two of the Editors of Aces & Aros. See full bios in "Creative Team" Section of the Kickstarter page.

Artist: Valeria Peri

Valeria Peri (she/her) is a freelance comic book artist from Italy. She graduated from the Art Academy, A.C.M.E. of Milan with specialization in comics. Valeria has published two short stories with a local publisher and is now working as a freelance artist.

Genre: Fantasy

Writer: Derek V. Song

Derek V. Song is an Asian American writer known for his work on the WEBTOON adaptation of Dimension 20's Fantasy High. When not writing, he can be found anxiously staring at the wall, trying to decide what to write next.

Bluesky | Website

Artist: Alex Brennan-Dent

Alex Brennan-Dent is a prizewinning queer comic artist, illustrator and all-round nerd from the UK; who can either be found making videos over on his YouTube channel, or at his desk working on various (usually fruity) comic projects!

Genre: Poetry/Slasher

Writer: Sarah "Neila" Elkins

Sarah "Neila" Elkins is an asexual writer and artist who's worked in the comics industry since 2008. She loves scifi, fantasy, horror, and mystery. She has a from of chronic ossifying tennis elbow.

Bluesky | Mastodon

Artist: Feriowind

Feriowind is a Taiwanese-American illustrator and creature and comic artist who has previously worked on Godzilla Rivals: Mothra vs Titanosaurus.

Genre: Spy

Writer: Cici Affini

Cici Affini (She/Her) is a demisexual comic book writer best known for “MythFall.” She was featured in the “Oxymoron: Killing Time” anthology and wrote the prose short “Thin Ice” for the Chimeranverse Tales collection. She is one fourth of creator-owned indie publisher Attic Door Media and a member of the ComixLaunch community.

Substack | Instagram | Bluesky | Facebook

Artist: Mauricio Mora (HAUNTING, Damsel from D.I.S.T.R.E.S.S.)

Mau Mora is a comic artist and illustrator from Costa Rica who loves fantasy, action and drama. After several years of working as an artist for indie video games projects, he started to make his way into his true passion, comics, and in particular, creator-owned projects. Some of his most recent projects include the sci-fi thriller "The Game, spy/fantasy "Damsel from D.I.S.T.R.E.S.S.", horror drama "HAUNTING", cyberpunk/superhero "Xolotl" and the Comixology Original sci-fi adventure, "Major Thomás". In the meantime, he's also started working on writing his own projects, soon to come! He lives in Costa Rica with his much more talented comic artist wife, and their two very dumb cats.

Genre: Slice of Life

Writer/Artist: Emily C. Martin

Emily C. Martin is a comic artist, illustrator, printmaker and teacher based in Sonoma County, California. On the internets, they are known as Megamoth, and found mostly through www.megamoth.net. 

Website

Genre: Video Game Comedy

Writer: Suzanne Wdowik

Suzanne Wdowik is a writer and aspiring math teacher from metro Detroit. She has previously been published in the Eisner-nominated anthology SENSORY: LIFE ON THE SPECTRUM (Andrews McMeel) and the horror anthology IN THE NECK OF THE WOODS (Greykin Press).

Instagram | Bluesky

Artist: Yonson Carbonell

Yonson Carbonell (he/him) is a  freelance comic artist and illustrator based in the Dominican Republic, has work with Plague Doctor press, Alpha eve, kofi, and more. He's currently working on his personal comic project Hooligans (free to read on his Kofi and webtoons). When not working you can find him watching anime, playing video games or with his pets.

Website | Instagram | Twitter

Genre: Slice of Life

Writer: CC Mooney

CC is a Canadian writer and editor. This is their first work in comics and they're super excited about the opportunity!

Bluesky

Artist: Gib Lewis

Gib Lewis (they/them) is an Iowa born and raised graphic novelist with a passion for telling interpersonal stories. They are primarily a YA creator and are currently working on their own graphic novel, an early 2000s paranormal mystery tale.

Twitter | Bluesky

Genre: Historical

Writer: Logan Noack

Logan Noack is a comic writer best known for his ongoing webcomic, The Witch's Thrall. This is his first published work and he hopes more will follow.

Bluesky

Artist: Ornella Greco

Ornella Greco is a cartoonist and freelance illustrator from Italy. She studied in Palermo, Sicily at the Grafimated Cartoon-School of Comics and finished her studies in 2019. After she graduated, she began working for various publishers in the American and French comics industry, on such works as the acclaimed Dragon Kingdom of Wrenly series from Little Simon, Star Trek: Picard’s Academy with IDW Publishing, and more.

Instagram

Genre: Fantasy Romance

Writer: Bwillett

Bwillett, disabled biroace comics gremlin and Webcomics Old One. When not juggling multiple webcomics, she enjoys building models, being very Opinionated about toys, cross stitching and dealing with her screaming goblin of a dog, Duchess.

Bluesky | Mastodon | Website

Artist: Zuzanna Lewandowska (Bi Visibility: Still Bi, Hairology)

Zuza is an illustrator and comic enthusiast from Poland who is a huge fan of interesting stories, complicated characters and art in general. Their ambition is to one day publish their own comic.

Instagram

Genre: Slice of Life

Writer: C.K. Carpenter

C.K. Carpenter is a queer disabled writer who most recently co-edited (and contributed a story to) the unSEEN/unHEARD: Disability & Neurodivergence anthology, published by Unseen Alchemy Publishing. Other recent works include short comics in Transphoria by Lifeline Comics and Down Below by Limit Break Comics. They also edited, published, and contributed a story to Scott Snyder Presents Tales from the Cloakroom v1. Their stories tend to center on queer characters or characters with disabilities.

Twitter | Bluesky

Artist: Sam Alegre / Darkjellyfish

Sam (they/them) is an agender illustrator from the Dominican Republic. Their artwork usually shows experiences as a nonbinary individual, appealing to a young audience. In their artwork, they explore self-discovery, mental health, and self-expression. Sam currently works as a graphic designer and children’s book illustrator. They also enjoy playing with their pets and roller skating.

Instagram | Behance

Please jump in and support the anthology and help us tell comics stories by, for, and about ace and aro folks! And look out for the next post with the other half of the stories!

[jeremywhitley]

Here's a rundown of the first half of the stories and creators including details about the creators and images from each and every story!

Genre: Educational

Writer: Jeremy Whitley (My Little Pony, Unstoppable Wasp)

One of the Editors of Aces & Aros. Find full bio in "Creative Team" Section of the Kickstarter page.

Artist: Bailie Rosenlund

Bailie Rosenlund ; a graduate of Sheridan's Illustration program in Oakville, ON, Canada; is an award-winning illustrator located in Vancouver, Canada. She is currently working as a Comic Artist on Marvel Voices: Avengers Academy. She recently illustrated the comic Hero Outage: An Epic NPC Man Adventure. Previous clients include: Marvel, DC, Bad Egg, Dreamworks, Warner Bros, Cartoon Network, Apple, Nickelodeon, Netflix, Restoration Games.

Instagram | Website

Colorist: Kelly Fitzpatrick (Archie)

Kelly Fitzpatrick is a professional colorist who has been working full-time for over 10 years in the industry. Their client list includes Marvel, DC, Archie, Darkhorse, and Image Comics; as well as many other indie publishers.

Genre: Slice of Life

Writers: Phil Falco & Kat Calamia (Lifeline Comics)

Two of the Editors of Aces & Aros. See full bios in "Creative Team" Section of the Kickstarter page.

Artist: Valeria Peri

Valeria Peri (she/her) is a freelance comic book artist from Italy. She graduated from the Art Academy, A.C.M.E. of Milan with specialization in comics. Valeria has published two short stories with a local publisher and is now working as a freelance artist.

Genre: Fantasy

Writer: Derek V. Song

Derek V. Song is an Asian American writer known for his work on the WEBTOON adaptation of Dimension 20's Fantasy High. When not writing, he can be found anxiously staring at the wall, trying to decide what to write next.

Bluesky | Website

Artist: Alex Brennan-Dent

Alex Brennan-Dent is a prizewinning queer comic artist, illustrator and all-round nerd from the UK; who can either be found making videos over on his YouTube channel, or at his desk working on various (usually fruity) comic projects!

Genre: Poetry/Slasher

Writer: Sarah "Neila" Elkins

Sarah "Neila" Elkins is an asexual writer and artist who's worked in the comics industry since 2008. She loves scifi, fantasy, horror, and mystery. She has a from of chronic ossifying tennis elbow.

Bluesky | Mastodon

Artist: Feriowind

Feriowind is a Taiwanese-American illustrator and creature and comic artist who has previously worked on Godzilla Rivals: Mothra vs Titanosaurus.

Genre: Spy

Writer: Cici Affini

Cici Affini (She/Her) is a demisexual comic book writer best known for “MythFall.” She was featured in the “Oxymoron: Killing Time” anthology and wrote the prose short “Thin Ice” for the Chimeranverse Tales collection. She is one fourth of creator-owned indie publisher Attic Door Media and a member of the ComixLaunch community.

Substack | Instagram | Bluesky | Facebook

Artist: Mauricio Mora (HAUNTING, Damsel from D.I.S.T.R.E.S.S.)

Mau Mora is a comic artist and illustrator from Costa Rica who loves fantasy, action and drama. After several years of working as an artist for indie video games projects, he started to make his way into his true passion, comics, and in particular, creator-owned projects. Some of his most recent projects include the sci-fi thriller "The Game, spy/fantasy "Damsel from D.I.S.T.R.E.S.S.", horror drama "HAUNTING", cyberpunk/superhero "Xolotl" and the Comixology Original sci-fi adventure, "Major Thomás". In the meantime, he's also started working on writing his own projects, soon to come! He lives in Costa Rica with his much more talented comic artist wife, and their two very dumb cats.

Genre: Slice of Life

Writer/Artist: Emily C. Martin

Emily C. Martin is a comic artist, illustrator, printmaker and teacher based in Sonoma County, California. On the internets, they are known as Megamoth, and found mostly through www.megamoth.net. 

Website

Genre: Video Game Comedy

Writer: Suzanne Wdowik

Suzanne Wdowik is a writer and aspiring math teacher from metro Detroit. She has previously been published in the Eisner-nominated anthology SENSORY: LIFE ON THE SPECTRUM (Andrews McMeel) and the horror anthology IN THE NECK OF THE WOODS (Greykin Press).

Instagram | Bluesky

Artist: Yonson Carbonell

Yonson Carbonell (he/him) is a  freelance comic artist and illustrator based in the Dominican Republic, has work with Plague Doctor press, Alpha eve, kofi, and more. He's currently working on his personal comic project Hooligans (free to read on his Kofi and webtoons). When not working you can find him watching anime, playing video games or with his pets.

Website | Instagram | Twitter

Genre: Slice of Life

Writer: CC Mooney

CC is a Canadian writer and editor. This is their first work in comics and they're super excited about the opportunity!

Bluesky

Artist: Gib Lewis

Gib Lewis (they/them) is an Iowa born and raised graphic novelist with a passion for telling interpersonal stories. They are primarily a YA creator and are currently working on their own graphic novel, an early 2000s paranormal mystery tale.

Twitter | Bluesky

Genre: Historical

Writer: Logan Noack

Logan Noack is a comic writer best known for his ongoing webcomic, The Witch's Thrall. This is his first published work and he hopes more will follow.

Bluesky

Artist: Ornella Greco

Ornella Greco is a cartoonist and freelance illustrator from Italy. She studied in Palermo, Sicily at the Grafimated Cartoon-School of Comics and finished her studies in 2019. After she graduated, she began working for various publishers in the American and French comics industry, on such works as the acclaimed Dragon Kingdom of Wrenly series from Little Simon, Star Trek: Picard’s Academy with IDW Publishing, and more.

Instagram

Genre: Fantasy Romance

Writer: Bwillett

Bwillett, disabled biroace comics gremlin and Webcomics Old One. When not juggling multiple webcomics, she enjoys building models, being very Opinionated about toys, cross stitching and dealing with her screaming goblin of a dog, Duchess.

Bluesky | Mastodon | Website

Artist: Zuzanna Lewandowska (Bi Visibility: Still Bi, Hairology)

Zuza is an illustrator and comic enthusiast from Poland who is a huge fan of interesting stories, complicated characters and art in general. Their ambition is to one day publish their own comic.

Instagram

Genre: Slice of Life

Writer: C.K. Carpenter

C.K. Carpenter is a queer disabled writer who most recently co-edited (and contributed a story to) the unSEEN/unHEARD: Disability & Neurodivergence anthology, published by Unseen Alchemy Publishing. Other recent works include short comics in Transphoria by Lifeline Comics and Down Below by Limit Break Comics. They also edited, published, and contributed a story to Scott Snyder Presents Tales from the Cloakroom v1. Their stories tend to center on queer characters or characters with disabilities.

Twitter | Bluesky

Artist: Sam Alegre / Darkjellyfish

Sam (they/them) is an agender illustrator from the Dominican Republic. Their artwork usually shows experiences as a nonbinary individual, appealing to a young audience. In their artwork, they explore self-discovery, mental health, and self-expression. Sam currently works as a graphic designer and children’s book illustrator. They also enjoy playing with their pets and roller skating.

Instagram | Behance

Please jump in and support the anthology and help us tell comics stories by, for, and about ace and aro folks! And look out for the next post with the other half of the stories!

[jeremywhitley]

Now, let's talk about the rest of the stories from the Aces and Aros anthology that tumblr wouldn't let me put in the same post

Genre: Modern Fantasy

Writer: Lore

Lore (they/she/him) is a freelance writer and literary media enthusiast based in North Carolina. They utilize words to build sanctuaries for those whose voices are silenced, and teach empathy to those who're unknowing. Their philosophy is that all words, no matter how small, are powerful.

Bluesky | Instagram

Artist: India Boeckh

India Boeckh is a LA artist who works in animation, she loves DnD, comics and collaborations with other artists. They enjoy all types of media from traditional painting to making 3D figurines.

Website | Bluesky

Genre: Fairytale

Writer: Jenn K. Tidwell

Jenn K. Tidwell is a producer, writer and director working in animation. When she’s not working on spreadsheets or schedules, you’ll probably find her relaxing at the movies or curled up with a cat and a comic.

Twitter | Bluesky

Artist: Yury Guzman

Yury Guzman is a Guatemalan-American illustrator and comic artist. She loves drawing characters being silly and emotional in fantastical situations while drinking too much coffee. When not drawing, she loves gaming and reading manga. 

Instagram | Bluesky | Portfolio

Genre: Kink

Writer: Te Belak

Te (They/Them) is a comic writer living in Colorado. Coming from a prose background as a dyslexic, they found comics gave them a lot more freedom in their writing. They have had works published in ales from the Cloakroom vol 1, Containment Breach Volume 3, Tales From the Dispatch Vol. 05, Vengeance Comics New Year New Comics 2025 anthology and unSEEN/unHEARD: Disability & Neurodivergence Comic Anthology.

Instagram

Artist: Fiammetta De Innocentis

Fiammetta De Innocentis, aka Fidi, is an art teacher by day, a deranged artist by night and a singer on even days. She specializes in illustration and comics with a focus on LGBTQ+ stories and erotica.

Instagram | Twitter | Bluesky

Genre: Mecha

Writer: Tomi Trembath

Tomi Trembath is a comic writer, podcaster, and art producer with a passion for color changing artwork and stories that explore identity and sexuality. Her first comic, When We Transform, was successfully funded on Kickstarter last year, featuring the same artistic team as her story in Ace and Aros. Tomi is also the host of Transcending Comics as well as Giant Sized Violence: A Toku-Comics Podcast, where she interviews fellow creators about her two biggest interests: trans comic books and transforming superheroes!

Website | Bluesky | Instagram

Artist: Gabriel Fassina

Gabriel Fassina, a freelance manga-style illustrator and comic book artist based in Brazil.

ArtStation | Instagram

Colorist: Carlos Amorim

Carlos (he/him) is a proud trans colorist for more than 6 years, loves interesting stories in any media, is a fan of politics, games and Gundam.

ArtStation | Bluesky

Genre: Romance

Writer: Day Irwin

Day Irwin (they/she) is a queer and neurodivergent writer, narrator, and all-around storyteller based in Toronto. Day's comics have been previously published in Transphoria, The City We Chose, Wayward Kindred, and Shout Out. They enjoy games, comics, and animation.

Linktree

Artist: Emilia Strilchuk

Emilia Strilchuk is a queer Ukrainian comic artist and writer based in Canada, nominated for The Doug Wright Award for Best Small- or Micro-Press Book for her graphic novel debut, Be Yourself! Oh, Not Like That, which offers a deeply personal look at growing up undiagnosed autistic. Her fantasy comic Oriana: The Forgotten Deities reimagines Slavic mythology. She creates autobiographical, fantasy, and horror stories that explore neurodiversity, mental health, and resilience. Through her work, Emilia sparks connection, conversation, and comfort for those who see themselves in her stories.

Website | Instagram | Bluesky | Facebook

Genre: Fantasy

Writer/Artist: Tess Eneli Reid

Tess Eneli Reid is a Canadian cartoonist working in animation. They’ve contributed to award-winning anthologies and love to self publish their own zines.

Instagram | Twitter | Bluesky

Genre: Historical

Writer: J. L. Osaka

J. L. Osaka (she/they) is an asexual writer and somewhere on the aromantic spectrum (they are still learning more about this element of their being), who also happens to be an avid enjoyer of romance novels. She enjoys exploring ways to intersect aro and ace identities with the romance genre, and hopes to someday write and publish a book. Correspondence is their first published work!

Instagram | Bluesky

Artist: Michela Cacciatore (My Little Ponies)

Michela Cacciatore is a comic book author who has collaborated with IDW, Lorcana, Disney and Soleil among others. Author of Hades - I'm the end. Voracious reader and lover of buying too many books without any hope of reading them all.

Linktree

Genre: Spiritual 

Writer: Abigail Guerrero

Abigail Guerrero (she/her) is an aroace, ND, and ESL/EFL author based in Mexico. When she's not reading or writing speculative fiction, she can be found watching anime, playing video games, or petting her cats. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Bloodless, Drabbledark Vol. III, Bitter Become the Fields, Short Fantasy Stories, The Skull & Laurel, Simultaneous Times, and Radon Journal, and it's been nominated for two BSFA awards.

Twitter | Bluesky

Artist: Matt Salisbury (Bi Visibility: Still Bi)

Matt Salisbury is an illustrator from Mississauga who lives in Toronto with his amazing partner and their three chaotic but lovable cats. He has a Bachelors of Illustration degree from Sheridan college. He identifies as being bisexual and demisexual and looks to tell more stories for members of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Instagram | Bluesky

Genre: Sci-Fi

Writer/Artist: Rani Sisavath

Rani Sisavath (she/they) is a Lao American author and illustrator making funny, heart-filled YA comics that explore themes of love, grief, culture, and friendship. Creator of the webcomic KAI.

Website | Instagram | Bluesky

Genre: Slice of Life

Writer: Kat Calamia

One of the Editors of Aces & Aros. Find full bio in "Creative Team" Section of the Kickstarter page.

Artist: Paree Pourmand

Paree Pourmand is a Persian illustrator and comic artist who enjoys doing queer art and telling stories inspired by her Persian heritage. In her free time she enjoys playing video games and watching action movies!

Bluesky | Instagram

Be sure to check out the previous post with all of the other stories included! https://www.tumblr.com/jeremywhitley/784711343129477120/aces-and-aros-an-asexual-and-aromantic-comic-book

And go support the anthology on kickstarter now! We're so excited for you to help us bring to life comics for, by, and about asexual and aromantic people!

[jeremywhitley]

My Aces and Aros Story

While I have a minute, I wanted to talk about how I got involved in editing an anthology. Editing isn't usually my gig, but it's actually very personal, so maybe buckle in? If you just want to TLDR, here's the link, support Ace stories and creators!

DO IT!

This story goes all the way back to the beginning of my comics making career. As many of you know, my first widely published book was a book called Princeless about a black princess who decided to save herself instead of waiting around to be saved. It got this great queer female fanbase really quick and a lot of them asked me "Is Adrienne Gay?"

The unsatisfying answer was "It doesn't matter, this story is about not needing to be saved, sexuality is beside the point". However, I and those readers really liked the idea of telling a story of queer heroine in the world and thus Raven Pirate Princess was born.

Spinning Raven off meant giving her a crew and I wanted that crew to be filled with queer women of different stripes from different parts of life and that meant doing some research into sexualities I knew little about. Eventually, I decided to make Quinn (seen here carrying her girlfriend Zoe to safety) demisexual.

The result of that research was me doing a lot of looking into demisexuality and going "But isn't that just everyone?"

Reader, it is not.

It is me though.

That took me a while to digest and come around to, but eventually a I came out. I'm very happily married and in love, so daily it changed nothing.

EXCEPT...

It absolutely did. There's an immense power in having a name for that thing that is going on inside your brain that makes it not like other brains. It's incredible to be able to say "this is how I am" and have people understand.

Time went by and then I got this cool invitation from @alannawrites.bsky.social who was putting together a team of aspec creators to write a story about a certain girl who had been displaced into a comic book world coming to terms wither asexuality. You may have heard of her.

Or possibly played as her in a popular video game

Here I got to work with an all aspec team of creators for the first time in my life and tell a story that I hadn't realized I'd been working on my whole life. And having moments where something that spoke to me also spoke to that team was amazing.

We felt like we were all from the same planet...

It was an incredible feeling I then got to experience at every convention I did that year as more and more people came up to and came out to me, talking about how much it meant to see their experience, which is so rarely explored in comics, on the page. That was something else and you all mean the world to me.

So, when @comicuno.bsky.social & @philfalcowrites.bsky.social asked if I wanted to coedit an anthology full of stories about and by ace folks, the idea of getting to facilitate a ton more people having that experience was way too much to pass up. I mean...imagine...

I knew I wanted to write a story for the anthology as well, but I wasn't sure what to write about. I knew I wanted to bring back

@bailierosenlund.bsky.social and

@kellysue.bsky.social who had made our Marvel story so perfect. Then it hit me, there was one story that would be the perfect intro

So our story is called "Introduction" and it's about the Ace umbrella, learning we were under it, and finding community through making a comic where we all got to share our ace experience with eachother. Now, we're comic book characters and you an support a lot more people having this experience

[jeremywhitley]

I can't believe that the kickstarter for Aces and Aros: An Asexual and Aromantic Comics Anthology is already over 900 backers with 18 days left! We could get to a thousand backers! What a PRIDE milestone that would be! Can you back us, like, and reblog?