Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Chad Hardin, Comics, harley quinn, HRL, Jemma Young

Meet Chad Hardin's New Partner in Comics, Jemma Young

Chad Hardin writes:

Hey folks, Chad Hardin here — you might remember me from some of my work in the funny books. I've worked on Dragon Age, Warlord, Zatanna, Demon Knights, Amazing Spider Man Family, Stan Lee's The Traveler, and most recently a li'l series called Harley Quinn.

I've been drawing comics professionally for over a decade. I've worked for some of the industry's biggest publishers, and I'm grateful for the opportunity. However, there is still one thing I haven't done in comics: work on a creator-owned project.

I'm changing that. In the next couple of months, my writer (and co-creator) and I plan on launching our own web-comic Temerity. Who is my mysterious partner in crime? Unless you're a fan of Children of Eldair, chances are you aren't familiar with her. Her name is Jemma Young.

Jemma was one of my first students when I was an adjunct illustration instructor at Southern Utah University, before anyone in comics knew my name. When Dark Horse offered me Dragon Age I think she was more excited than I was (and I was plenty excited). When Jimmy and Amanda asked me to draw Harley she was one of the first people to know. It's been an exciting ride, highs and lows, and Jemma was there for the lion's share. She's been at my convention table for endless hours helping manage my booth. She's been up late nights helping me ink pages and color promo images. We've spent hours on the road talking about comics, how to progress as artists and storytellers, and trying to hit deadlines. I've always been proud to call her my student, now I'm proud to call her one of my closest friends.

But wait, you're probably thinking "That doesn't really tell me much about who this Jemma Young person is! Sure she's your friend, but who is she?" Well let me introduce you to her: Without further ado, I give you Jemma.

Hi there, comic world! I'm Jemma Young!

First off, I am a comic creator. Like many comic artists, I'm driven to tell stories through art, dialogue, and panels. I've been both writing and drawing comics since Jr. High, and have continued to for a majority of my life. When I entered college I deviated from my comic path by getting a degree in Graphic Design. But in the end, I couldn't stay away from drawing stories. I picked up an illustration minor my final year in college and continued down that path ever since. I've done comic coloring, and freelance illustration and design, but mostly stayed within the creator-owned sphere of comics.

If you couldn't tell, my art style has really been influenced by Japanese Anime. Part of this is because I love anime, but the other part is because of my Japanese heritage. I've been in love with Japan my entire life and always wanted to go to my grandmother's home country. I finally did in 2007 when I became an exchange student in Nagoya. I went back again in 2009 to teach English in Tokyo, and then again in 2011 when I convinced my new husband, Jacob, that Japan was cool and that he wanted to teach English there too. We graduated from Southern Utah University and packed our bags to live in Tokushima for about six months. It was in Japan where I got my first job coloring for another online comic.

In 2012 I started the online webcomic Children of Eldair, which can be read online for free at www.eldair.com. I've done a majority of this comic myself, from the story, scripting, designing, and artwork. Since its launch it's gained over 30,000 readers on various webcomic platforms including webtoons and tapastic.

Children of Eldair is a comic about a sorcerer who saves a girl from flesh-eating demons. After trying to use magic to find her friends, he's trapped in a vision of the past — one that will help him save the world and the girl he loves. It's a portal fantasy comic with a mix of action, exploration, magic, and romance. In 2017, I launched my first Kickstarter that funded the printing of the first book of Children of Eldair – over 150 full color pages. I'm currently running my second Eldair campaign to get the second book printed and it has a little over a day left of the campaign. It's a project I've been working on for a long time, and I'm excited to bring the second book to print.

While comics are probably my greatest passion, I've colored other comics professionally, done graphic design, book covers, and cartography. I go to a number of comic cons around the USA, selling books, prints, and original art.

Currently, I live with my husband and two kids in Utah near Utah Valley University where Chad happens to be teaching Illustration. We get together weekly and I feed him dinner, he wrestles with my kids, and talks obscure movies with Jacob. I work during the evenings when the kids are sleeping and I dream of creating a new generation of comic readers.

A couple of years ago, Chad and I decided we wanted to team up and create our own comic together. Chad wanted to draw a sci-fi with mecha, and I happened to be writing just that! Turns out he really liked the story and we're finally in a place where we can start making it happen. I'll be writing it and Chad will be doing the best part — the art. Currently, our official launch date is up in the air, but we plan on kickstarting the first issue in June — sometime after we've started posting pages online to read for free at www.temerity.space.

Temerity is about Taeru, a very serious genetically enhanced super-soldier. In an intergalactic world of mechas, brain hacking, and terrible pun t-shirts, Taeru and his mercenary partner, Naia, spend their days performing daring missions for their clients and fighting their own personal demons. Now they're embarking on the most dangerous mission yet: taking down the organization that created Taeru — and attempting to keep their partnership strictly professional.

If you're interested in checking out our awesome new project, you can subscribe at www.temerity.space . You can also check out my Kickstarter that is running right now! If you back the campaign at the physical book level or higher before the 26th, you can use this special code to get an exclusive Bleeding Cool print added to your order after the campaign ends!

I'm excited to share my stories and characters with you, and I'm even more excited to do so with Chad and all the amazing people I've met along the way. And as always, you can follow me on Instagram [@jemmamyoung] and Twitter [@jemmamyoung] to see how our projects are progressing. Both Chad and I are very excited about what's coming up, and we are excited to create some of the best comics out there!

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