Queer YA sci-fi comics
As promised, the Valley of the Silk Sky short story “Extraction” begins today, and runs weekly for the next couple of months. This story originally appeared in black & white in the Monster Journey anthology, and is presented in full color here for the first time.
The first page is to be discovered here:
As far as chronology goes, this story takes place after “Medicine; Run.”
New page next week!
Cheers,
Dylan
Sorry for the long radio silence (you can just blame 2020 in general), but I will be posting new Valley of the Silk Sky comics soon!
I’m currently finishing up the colors on “Extraction,” a VotSS short story that originally appeared in black & white in the Monster Journey anthology a couple of years ago.
Now that the rights have reverted, I’ve been working on colorizing my original b&w art and prepping the comic for dispersal upon the web. I’m just about done with the pages (a few minor edits left), so I’m gonna start running the story next week. $1+ Patrons will see new pages on Mondays, starting January 11, while the general public will get ’em on Thursdays, starting on January 14.
So! See you next week!
Cheers,
Dylan
How the heck did we get to the end of the chapter already? And yet, here we are:
Chapter 13 is in the works, but it’s early days. I had to design a new environment which required researching some Things, and then figuring out how to retrofit those Things to the technology available to the fine folks in the Valley.
All for an element in the background that is unlikely to garner much notice, ha ha. BUT IT WILL BE A FUNCTIONAL BACKGROUND THING, OKAY.
Anyhow, thumbnailing has commenced. As per usual, I’ll be posting work-in-progress stuff for my $1+ Patrons, so if you want to follow along, a single dollar a month is all it takes.
Cheers,
Dylan
See what you can learn skimming the titles:
Fun fact: my model for Mx. Skeleton is a plastic, glow-in-the-dark Halloween decoration I have lying around.
With the right kind of fungus growing on it, the skeleton in this comic could also be glow-in-the-dark. The possibilities are endless!
Check back next week to find out what else might be happening in the dark …
Cheers,
Dylan
MEANWHILE … let’s see how things are going with Chadsen, shall we? Discover the secrets here:
If you need a refresher on where Chadsen is and what xe’s been up to, point your eyeballs to Chapter 9.
Anyhow, it’s probably fine, nothing to worry about, really.
Check back next week to find out how really, truly fine and not worrisome it all is.
Cheers,
Dylan
And it is springing out at you from these locations:
I don’t know how well it shows up at web resolution size, but if you can’t tell, Ujo’s face in panel 2 is that of a big dork who cries about cute animals.
Perhaps somewhat less apt to cry about the animals in panel 3. Tyv may cry about those, actually, but not for the same reason. (Xe is really not the sort of person who likes hanging out in nature all that much.)
Check back next week to find out what else is hiding in the shadows …
Cheers,
Dylan
Let us see what appears in the distance:
This was my go-to page for posting work-in-progress images for my $1+ Patrons (you can find those posts here, here, and here). So if you enjoy that kind of thing and can spare a dollar a month, consider becoming a Patron!
If you’re thinking that landscape looks kinda familiar but you’re not sure why, you may wish to review Chapter 9. Could be relevant, I dunno ….
Cheers,
Dylan
And now we meet New Character #2: folks, please welcome Ujo to the comic. Observe xer debut here:
“Ujo” means “bashful,” which can either mean “shy” or “handy with a sledgehammer,” depending on the circumstances.
Were these two to have fursonas, Ujo would be a capybara, while Tyv would be an entire bag of raccoons.
What wacky adventures shall ensue? Check back next week as Chapter 12 continues!
Cheers,
Dylan
See if you can find it at one of these locations:
If you desire a refresher re: what the heck is going on here, please turn your attention to Chapter 7.
Something Tyv knows that perhaps you the reader might not (because it’s not SUPER important to the narrative, just a bit of background detail) is that Bantri’s big skill is disguise. Within Cobb’s crew, that largely amounted to pretending to be a traveling merchant (or, rather, several different traveling merchants, busting out a new costume as circumstances warranted).
Anyhow, the saga continues next week!
Cheers,
Dylan
Check out the loot:
This chapter introduces some new characters, of whomst you shall glimpse one here. Tyv is something of a famous burglar, well-known across the Valley for deploying a dramatic flair when xe steals stuff. Hence the fan club of Bad Kids intent on making off with xer wanted poster as a souvenir.
Regarding one of the other posters in the background, imploring people to halt the spread of sweetberry bush, I just wanna say this was written pre-pandemic and is mere thematic coincidence. I’d already figured the Valley would have issues with people complying (sweetberry bush spreads because the berries are tasty, and if you’re hungry, what are you gonna do), but actually stropping the spread for real would require coordinated governmental action and can’t be left to individuals to stop. Didn’t expect that to be quite so on the nose, but here we are.
ANYWAY. The chapter continues next week!
Cheers,
Dylan