Queer and Trans Comics by Dylan Edwards
Check back next week to find out whether or not xe* got eaten already.
Where can you see this frabjuous page?
* Quick note about pronouns: I expand on this more in the VoSS FAQ, but the TL;DR version is that cultures of the Pocalo Valley don’t have a concept of gender per se, so they don’t have gendered pronouns.
Whatever your physical body may be (and they know there are more than two possible configurations), that carries no expectations regarding your social behavior or your abilities.
With page 2 of Valley of the Silk Sky, our aerial survey of the valley continues. The settlement on the lower right is called Duvane, and there’s a reason it’s not on the ground. Not that the sky is a whole lot safer, it would seem.
So many choices of where to see the page!
Progress report on the rest of the story: I’ve been nailing down the script for the rest of the book. Chapters 1-3 were already scripted and thumbnailed, and while I knew what happened for the rest of it, now it’s a matter of getting all the bits in order and formally set out. For instance, I now know there will be seven chapters total plus an epilogue. I don’t have a final page count yet, but I’m guessing it’ll come in at around 120 pages, give or take.
Chapter 1 pencils are finished, and I’m most of the way through the inks for page 10. Once the inking is wrapped up, it’ll be back to coloring.
I’m hoping to have a little minicomic of chapter 1 available for sale at ECCC. At this rate I should have all the pages done in time to get something printed up. This is mostly for promo, probably not going to print each chapter individually. Though I do very much hope to have a print book of the whole story once it’s complete.
So! That’s the status of things. Tune in next week for an actual PROTAGONIST.
Cheers,
Dylan
Lots of stuff to run through today! This is the last Politically InQueerect post for awhile, but it does feature Todd’s hairy chest, so you can’t say I never gave ya nothin’.
I will obviously babble more about PiQue once the Old Ghosts book is out, but for the foreseeable future my comic energies are bent (har har) towards …
… Valley of the Silk Sky, which officially debuts today! You have several choices for where to read this series:
So! Pick yer favorite, and follow along!
Cheers,
Dylan
The title to this post is hilariously meaningless if you don’t know my wacky shorthand (wackronyms?). Taxo Unbo = Taxonomically Unbound, VoSS = Valley of the Silk Sky.
Anyway, point being, I’ve posted a new Taxonomically Unbound today, and you can read it here on Studio NDR, or here on Tapastic.
Meanwhile, Valley of the Silk Sky is set to start next week! It debuts on Wednesday, January 14 (or on Monday, January 12 for my $1+ Patrons). I made this tiny banner for it, just in case you’re the sort of person who runs a queer webcomic list and wants to add a link:
As far as overall progress goes, I’m midway through the pencils on page 12, with five pages completely finished, so I’ve got a decent buffer going in. We’ll see if that buffer survives convention season, of course, but I’m gonna try to keep it going uninterrupted.
See you next week with a BRAND NEW COMIC.
Cheers,
Dylan
The second half of Politically InQueerect’s storyline “Typical” is now up on Tapastic!
Lookit that old CRT monitor. And the excitement over receiving email rather than a sigh of relief over an empty inbox. How times have changed …
… speaking of changing times, that’s about it for PiQue. I do believe I’ve gone through all the old comics at this point. Next week I expect I’ll do a post of random art and sketches and whatnot, stuff you might not have seen. And then the mantle of “comic I am focusing on” will pass to Valley of the Silk Sky, which debuts next week on Wednesday, January 14. Or on Monday, January 12 for my $1+ Patrons.
Interestingly, Politically InQueerect is 15 years old this month. This first comic I ever did for that series was published on my website back in January 2000. 100 pages of comics in 15 years is not a great showing, truth be told. But VoSS already has 27 pages done or penciled before its release, so I think this one will stick a bit better. :)
Sci-fi/fantasy has always really been where my heart is, and over the years it’s gotten harder and harder for me to feel motivated to write about the real world. Like, why do I want to spend my time living vicariously in a workaday office world when I don’t even want to live that in real life? Ya know?
So I’m off to have queer adventures in made-up worlds. Hopefully you’ll stick around for that, but if not, thanks for reading!
Cheers,
Dylan
This week’s PiQue update on Tapastic has a whopping four pages.
This is the first half of the first multi-page story I’d ever written for Todd & Archer, back in 2003. It definitely shows some of the weaknesses of a first attempt, but Todd’s arc still strikes me as amusing.
I have to say, they’re both exceptionally loathsome in this story. I don’t blame you if you’re overcome with an impulse to smack them. They unquestionably deserve it.
You also get a new-old Taxo Unbo this week, another perennial favorite (or is that perineum favorite?). This andropomorphic comic includes a bonus horrible pun in the title.
Yes, it’s been a lot of reruns recently, but new work is barreling your way. Next week’s PiQue will wrap with the second half of “Typical,” Taxo Unbo will be a new stinker, and then the week after THAT, on January 14, Valley of the Silk Sky will debut.
So! Stick around for new work in this, the new year.
Cheers,
Dylan
Another from the archives, as the Johnny Damon reference will attest (he could run really fast, okay?). This comic originally ran as The Outfield #43 on OutSports.com.
If you don’t follow baseball at all, the important thing to know here is that baseball fans are stat-obsessed to the point of sometimes drawing meaningless conclusions from the data at hand.
“Jerry” is a reference to Jerry Remy, one of the Red Sox announcers since forever.
Meanwhile, work progresses on Valley of the Silk Sky, which is set to debut on January 14, 2015. Eight pages penciled, five inked, and one about halfway painted.
Once the series starts it will update regularly on Wednesdays. OR, if you are feeling generous and supportive, you’ll be able to read updates on Mondays over on my Patreon blog by pledging at least a dollar a month. Until then, $1+ pledgers get to see sneak previews of pages in progress.
So! If you can, throw some bones my way and help me keep this webcomic train a-rollin’.
Cheers,
Dylan
In this week’s episode of Taxonomically Unbound, look on in horror as sarcastic marine animals make sarcastic remarks. You can witness the carnage here on Tapastic, or here on Studio NDR.
Oh, hey, and the collection of LGBTQ comics for the Side By Side International Film Festival is now available! While this book is marketed to Russian queer folk, you can help support their efforts at outreach by buying your own copy.
As you probably know, news out of Russia for sexual/gender minorities has been pretty grim lately, so you can help throw some support their way by buying comics. PRETTY GREAT, no?
Cheers,
Dylan
Politically InQueerect: Play Ball! part 3 of 5 is now up on Tapastic. This comic originally ran as The Outfield #33 back in the day.
We know Todd & Archer get off on conflict, so it’s no big surprise that a core source of contention for them is the ol’ Yankees vs. Red Sox rivalry.
It does beg the question of whether or not Archer chants “Yankees suck” when they’re having sex.
Meanwhile, I’m still plugging away on my brand new webcomic, Valley of the Silk Sky, which is scheduled to start on January 14. I’ve got 8 pages of the first book penciled so far. In order to have some of those pages actually, you know, finished in time for a Jan 14 start, I’ve switched over to inking for a bit.
And, of course, there’s the 16-page Silk Sky short story that will be in Beyond. When does Beyond come out, you might be wondering? And the answer is, I don’t know the actual date yet, but it will be early in 2015.
There’s been a lot of discussion in the queer comics world lately about the dearth of stories available to queer youth that are about something other than coming out angst. Not that works dealing with coming out aren’t important, but maybe fun adventures are also important, ya know?
So my intent with Silk Sky is to keep it in the YA range. That’s part of why it’s getting its own website, but also because it’s such a big world with a lot of characters and environments and creatures and whatnot, it’ll just be easier to digest if it has its own space.
I may redesign said space once more before I officially launch, but anyway, that’s what the deal is with that.
Cheers,
Dylan
It’s Friday, and that means it’s time for a new Taxonomically Unbound. A Roasted Development is now up on Tapastic and here on Studio NDR.
Also, my very first Patreon payment is en route, so once that clears I will be sending out rewards to folks who have signed up to receive stuffs in the mail. EXCITEMENT.
Also also, we are approximately six weeks away from the debut of my new queer sci-fi webcomic, Valley of the Silk Sky. MORE EXCITEMENT. I’m midway through the pencils for page 8, which feels like a safe enough amount of padding to be confident about a Jan 14 launch.
Meanwhile, I’ve been sick all week, so now I think it is time to curl up into a ball and watch cartoons and feel sorry for myself.
Cough,
Dylan