Bearing The Bahdj
Originally published at jaredaxelrod.com. You can comment here or there.
A few days ago, I teased a silhouette of five characters, and here is the reveal! Behold, those who bear the Bahdj, the newly minted protectors of planet Earth!
These guys are part of a pitch for BEYOND, an anthology of queer sci-fi/fantasy comics, edited by Rachel Edidin & Sfé Monster (there’s still three more days left if you want submit a pitch!). The book is going to be in black and white, but I had to do these guys in color just once! Look how cool they are in their color-coded suits and neckties!
It’s a simple story of teenagers saving the world from monsters, and I’m clearly wearing my influences on my sleeve, but I can’t help but love this cast. They’re all queer in their own way (its why they came together, but not why they have super-powers), and personality-wise they’re all based on gay, lesbian, bi and trans people I know. Despite my queer activist tendencies, I haven’t done a lot of fiction with queer protagonists. That’s about to change in the next few projects, with these guys being the first.
They’re a fun group. I’m looking forward their adventures.
The Battle of Blood and Ink: A Fable of Flying City by Jared Axelrod and Steve Walker. Purchase available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, BooksaMillion, Powells Books, IndieBound, Walmart, Overstock and your local bookseller.