My good friend PinkSphinx released an original furry magical girl comic RADIO STAR in print last week, and the digital version is on sale now! It’s 20% off with code SUSSYWORM. ko-fi.com/s/07b8e9d953
I also recommend the print copy! The print version of Radio Star #1 is 20 pages of full color comic on 5.5×8.5” premium, heavy glossy paper stock, with soft-touch laminated covers. It genuinely looks and feels better than most large-press comics! It looks and feels premium! Support a small artist!
Buy my friend’s comic! RADIO STAR #1 by Ash Thomas/Pink Sphinx (they/them)! A mallrat gets a chance to become a magical girl—it’s joyful, funny, gonzo bubblegum punk-rock charm. 20pp, full color, 5.5×8.5”. Preorder it for $15 at https://ko-fi.com/s/8ea74ecbe4!
I found out yesterday that manga legend Akira Toriyama died. I suspect many of you feel the same way I do. 68 is long enough to have an impact and to have led a good life, but it doesn’t seem like enough. Toriyama wasn’t just the creator of Dragon Ball. He was prolific and profoundly influential as a cartoonist. His control over pacing, choreography, tone, were all world-class. Yes, he forgot some characters existed, but I suspect I would too if I were turning out a chapter a week. This isn’t meant to be an analysis of Toriyama-sensei’s works–though I’d like to do one in the future–but rather a bit of a eulogy. What Akira Toriyama’s works meant to me personally.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been afraid. I was never quite certain of what; it was nebulous and elusive, and changed form often. It felt like there was something inside of me that was wrong somehow, and that I had to contain it or face disaster. I felt weak, afraid, insufficient. Six months ago, I was officially diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder and began treatment. I feel better now than I have in my entire life. I’m thirty-six years old, and I’m finally unfettered and showing my true power.
Given that, it should be no surprise that my favorite character in Dragon Ball is Son Gohan. I immediately related to him. The bookish and soft son of the world’s greatest fighter Son Goku felt familiar. When I saw his character arc play out on Toonami’s broadcasts of Dragon Ball Z, and later when I saw Team Four Star’s Dragon Ball Z Abridged and finally read the manga, it hit. It felt like Akira Toriyama got me in a way I hadn’t quite gotten myself yet.
Sometimes you’ll be scared.
You can be weak.
Sometimes you’ll be angry.
It can feel like you’re all alone sometimes.
You can make terrible mistakes.
Sometimes life pushes you into situations where you don’t want the expectations that are being put onto you.
You can feel like there’s something that separates you from everyone else, something you have to keep in check, or face disaster.
It doesn’t matter.
In your life, the hardest work will be all yours to do. Nobody can take it away or do it for you. When the day of fate comes, what you have inside of you is enough. That’s all you have to be. The power to face your fight, win or lose, was always yours, it was just a matter of letting it loose.
See you at the next Tenka’ichi Budōkai. If you liked this article, you might like some of my other posts on media I like.
Images from Dragon Ball, various volumes, sourced from Dragon Ball Official (March 8, 2024).
On the edge of space, a small jumpstation watches over the wormhole that’s essential for interstellar travel. Crewed by a gaggle of misfits and rejects from more prestigious posts, Transfer Relay EBF-0218 is the last place anyone wants to be assigned.
Issue 1 of this science fiction workplace comedy comic introduces us to Zeke, Dawg, and the rest of the aliens, uplifted anthropomorphic animals, and human cyborgs who crew EBF-0218.
Ezekiel Wilder—Zeke—wakes up from cryosleep to find out that he’s no longer a pilot, his contract has been reassigned, and his right arm and leg have both been amputated. His memory fuzzy from cryosleep, he can’t remember what happened that landed him here, but whatever it was, it was a doozy. As Zeke gets used to his new station and prosthetic limbs, he meets the rest of the crew and finds out instead of piloting ships himself, he’ll be coaching the hyperactive cargo loader pilot Dawg.
This first issue sets itself up for success from the beginning. The characters are well-defined, rounded, and likable, and are primed for deeper development as the series progresses. I can’t wait for Zeke to explore not being a pilot, and see how his new colleagues help him out.
The art is also excellent.
Scott Fabianek’s physical comedy is among the best I’ve seen in indie comics. His sense of setup, payoff, and motion between still panels calls to mind great sight-gag artists like Jeff Smith or Chuck Jones. Top that with endearing and expressive character designs and engrossing settings, and this comic’s art shines.
Scott can be found online at twitter.com/art_mutt.
Spatial Anomalies #1 was published by Fenris Publications, September 2022. 32 pp., prestige format. Buy your copy at https://www.fenrispublishing.com/order.php?s=fabianek!
