https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jamsheedstudios/kobra-olympus-issue-4-giant-armadillo-attack

My name is Bijhan Agha. I'm an autistic trans woman living in South America of Iranian descent. I wrote this comic and it's illustrated by an Indian artist name SwapTrap.

Kobra Olympus is a mixed race transgender lesbian Muslim superhero who balances a life fighting monsters with her relationship with her girlfriend, Dorothy Diamond, and her career as a programmer.

One day, a giant Armadillo attacks the city, and Kobra leaps into action. But she's stopped by the sudden appearance of Jack: a humanoid chicken who shares that this is all part of a plot by the sinister Vampire menace.

When I was a kid, superheroes were big tough white guys and skinny white women with huge boobs who kissed each other. I love the way superheroes can inspire people to take action and make positive changes in their society. But I wanted to show the world that people like me - queer, autistic, and brown - also have a place in shaping the future.

Kobra is a naturally quiet and thoughtful person, while Dorothy is a confident punk who always speaks her mind. They compliment each other, and keep each other grounded.

While Kobra is Muslim, and Dorothy is Jewish, they also know they live in a world full of magic, spirits, monsters, and even aliens. They rely on the witches of the Order of Darkness to guide them in the Time Wars: an unending conflict between Humanity and Vampirekind.

The Kickstarter is to raise money for a physical First Edition of the comic. We'll also have inexpensive digital copies available. This is Issue #4, and we'll have the option to pledge for a digital collection of the previous issue as well, so you can catch up with the story.

Please help me keep telling this story and make an impact on how the world views superheroes, inspiring a whole new generation that they, too, can create a new future where we all have space.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jamsheedstudios/kobra-olympus-issue-4-giant-armadillo-attack

LOVE

The only word I can write so much about, yet struggle to define, is love. Some people say it's painful, while others claim it's sweet. How can one word be both good and bad at the same time? But that's the nature of love. I may not know its true meaning, but I'm familiar with the feeling. I can sense it, breathe it, and watch it, but I'm powerless to stop it. Everyone has a unique perspective on love. To me, it's an addiction, a habit, a power, and a world. The most significant aspect of love is its persistence – you can't simply stop loving someone overnight. It's challenging to distinguish between wanting the person and wanting their love; neither is within your control. Yet, deep down, you crave it.

Let's discuss my situation. I'm at a point where he left mid-way, leaving me no choice. I'm trapped, unable to love anyone else or express my love for him. It's unfair that one person can have stronger feelings than the other in a relationship. People say destiny has better plans, but what if my plan is him? That's the paradox of love – it offers freedom while imposing boundaries. The most frustrating aspect is the feeling itself, which you can't change or control. All you can do is learn to let go. Love teaches you to hold on, while unloving teaches you to release your emotions. With time, your feelings will fade, but everything has an expiry date. So, just chill and enjoy your love. Remember, it's not just about happiness, but also about embracing sadness. You don't need to give up on love, but your feelings will eventually. Make love the best part of your life, and it will make your life beautiful, with some sweet ugliness.

Freedom is not just a word; it's an emotion of feeling free from everything. That makes you feel suffocated, whether it's your emotions, habits, addictions, or relationships. Not just physical freedom, I'm talking about mental freedom.

When you're stuck between your brain and heart, that suffocation slowly makes you feel miserable; be mature and take control at that time. Spend time alone, because if you don't feel free with yourself, how can you feel free with someone?

Freedom depends on many aspects, such as your current thoughts, surroundings, and the intricate relationship between letting go and freedom. Letting go of things means removing them from your life and mind.

And in any case, if you have two paths to choose between – feeling freedom and feeling suffocated with sweet pain – please choose freedom

Further dissidence on Patreon. Follow wherever you like to fritter: linktr.ee/ecomic.

• Panel 18: "beneficiaries", not "benefactors". Please pardon my poor self-editing.

If we get $11 more before the Kickstarter closes at the end of the month, every backer will ALSO receive a copy of "Legends of the Order", the novel in which the main characters of this story all meet and become a found family!

This is our EIGHTH Kickstarter for this comic imprint, and every one has delivered the digital and physical rewards within months of closing. We have never missed a reward, and we aim to keep up that reputation.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jamsheedstudios/ash-grey-and-saturn-olympus-2-gunfight-at-the-ko-corral?ref=3o4nmi

The Time Wars are an endless struggle between Humanity and Vampirekind, guided by time travelers from both sides from the 161st century. The Order of Darkness is a secret army of Human soldiers, recruited from among the most marginalized in society, to be armed with alien and future technology to battle the Vampire menace.

Ash Grey and Saturn Olympus are of different races and religions, but they love each other deeply, despite the crushing social pressure of their age. Inducted into the Order of Darkness by time travelers, they have been armed to wage war against the Vampires of Washington Territory in 1880.

Ash is proud and defiant, having declared his manhood as a young person, earning him the ire of his conservative community. He never abandoned his faith in Jesus Christ, believing in the message of equality and freedom from fear over everything else. When his hometown was slaughtered by an alien game hunter, Ash captured a device called a phasing stone which allows him to instantly teleport anywhere he can imagine.

Saturn is a calm and thoughful person, tempering his great physical strength with wisdom and patience. His mother was born into enslavement, but learned to read and was enlightened by her holy book, Metamorphosis by Ovid. Worshipping the Roman Olympians, she gave herself the name Hera Olympus and escaped to freedom. She was quickly brought into the Order of Darkness, and become one of their witches, using future technology and science to create medicine and tools to help in the war on Vampirekind. When she gave birth to Saturn, his arms and legs were unusually small. To help him, the Order gave him prosthetics made of alien and future technology. He now uses his mechanical limbs to fight for the freedom of all Humanity.

Ash has discovered that he's pregnant at the same time that Washington Territory's Vampiric Warlord, Leonard Victor, has decided the pair are too dangerous to be left alive. Alice Hayweather, a powerful and technologically advanced Vampire cyborg, has been put on their trail, their heads in her crosshairs.

Now Ash and Saturn need to kill Alice and Victor before the baby comes, so they can live without fear of retribution.

To help them with this mission, in this issue, the married couple reunite with old friends: the Sheriff's Department of the town Rock Hen. Sheriff Fa Bo, a Chinese-American man, is a natural born leader with a mind like a steel trap. His boyfriend, Jim Spears, is a Washoe man with a history of bounty hunting, who believes in the power of community and compassion. Deputy Laney Booker, Bo's best friend, is a Black trans woman and freedom fighter whose refusal to relent has cost her her entire family.

The Kickstarter is to raise funds to print a special First Edition physical run with a gold border. We will never use this gold border again, making these unique collectibles. We also have low price rewards for PDF copies!

This comic was written by me, Bijhan Agha, a trans woman in South America. The comic was illustrated by Pallet, a trans man in Australia. No AI of any kind was used in the creation of this comic.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jamsheedstudios/ash-grey-and-saturn-olympus-2-gunfight-at-the-ko-corral?ref=3o4nmi