Some amount of months ago, Jocelyn mentioned that this November would mark the fifteenth anniversary of Rain. I made a note to have a comic about it, and when I learned she was going to put out the call for folks to celebrate, I was like… “oh heck yes.”
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There’s something so special about Rain’s journey through her senior year of High School that felt like an analogue experience for me to live myself; a look into what things might have been like if I began my transition in my late teens instead of at thirty-five.
Not that I would have transferred schools or anything, but a view through a window into the past where I didn’t just realize what my gender questioning meant, but had acted on it.
I had made a comic a while back discussing Dana Simpson, the author of Ozy and Mille (and Phoebe and Her Unicorn, which I still need to read!!), and how she was a major influence on me growing up, both as an artist and as a queer kid. Having the opportunity to meet and chat with her was a colossal experience and she is every bit as wonderful as I imagined.
I’ve had the opportunity to chat with Jocelyn ( @lynnsenpai ) as well. It’s been so awe inspiring to connect with these absolute titans of influence in my life. As her work suggests, Jocelyn is patient, kind, caring, and just an amazing person. I wish I found her work sooner.
I’d like to also shout out the comic artists (and writers!) shown in the third panel.
Michael Terracciano introduced me to the world of webcomics with Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire, planting the seed of my love for the medium. It was through the DD forums that I heard about…
…El Goonish Shive by Dan Shive ( @danshive ) ! Without giving too much away, EGS heavily discusses gender identity from the perspective of High School students, and as that’s what I was at the time of finding it, it had a similar effect to me as a teen as Rain had to me as an adult.
Ozy & Millie is the most adorable, endearing comic in all of human history and I loved it so much that I wore my O&M tee shirts until they were literally falling apart (see here!):
Penny Arcade and by extension, Mike Krahulik, was the single biggest influence on me in terms of my development as an artist. Through the patience and kindness of my friend AC, I’ve been working on not negging myself anymore, and actually saying that I am an artist and what I make is art. My two year semi-break from drawing unintentionally allowed me to refocus and improve my artwork.
I’ve been studying new artists to keep developing, but there is an element of Mike that will always be a part of my artwork, so thank you, Mike.
Other shout outs relevant here:
@tigergirltail for her hilarious comment on not being surprised by Penny Arcade influencing me.
Larissa Frost ( @lariumbreon ) for her amazing work as the voice of Rain in Rain: The Animated Series!
I love you all and I’m so fortunate to have experienced the amazing art you create.
Thank you.
much love <3
