Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Indiginerds, iron circus

An Indiginerds Preview From James Willier & Sam "Mushki" Medlock

Indiginerds is a comics anthology from Iron Circus intending to celebrate Indigenous culture, from a geekish perspective.

Indiginerds is a brand-new comics anthology from Iron Circus Comics intending to celebrate Indigenous culture. Edited by Alina Pete, one of the co-editors on Iron Circus' folklore anthology Woman in the Woods, this book collects work from several Indigenous artists and writers, focusing on their more geeky tastes, covering gaming to social media, pirate radio to garage bands, Star Trek to D&D, and missed connections at the pow wow, intending to cover Indigenous culture in a different way to than how it's usually portrayed. And is being crowdfunded on BackerKit, currently $16,140 of a $20,000 goal, from 759 backers and with 30 days left, Bleeding Cool has an exclusive extract from the book, from Saving Throws by James Willier and Sam "Mushki" Medlock. As well as links to other previews below…

James Willier is from Sucker Creek Reserve in Treaty 8 territory. Part of the Cree Nation, great great grandson to Headman Moostoos, one of the signers of Treaty 8.

Storytelling has always been part of James' life, from his childhood watching cartoons like He-Man, and learning to read through comics like Conan the Barbarian.

His father would tell stories that taught James much of his culture and values. The love for storytelling allowed tabletop role playing to become a haven for him, as storytelling helps him understand the world around him and the games help give a structure to it.

Sam "Mushki" Medlock has been making comics since childhood. Both self-taught and with a comics degree under their belt, they self-published four graphic novels at over 200 pages each. One of which is an ongoing web manga called Peripety! They also make hand-made experimental zines about heavy and personal topics like queerness, mental illness, abuse, and more.

"Most stories about Indigenous people are focused on two things: current grief or the past tragedies of colonization," says Alina Pete. "But First Nations culture isn't stuck in the past, and generations of Indigenous kids have grown up watching the same movies and tv shows that non-Indigenous folks have. This pop culture has crept inexorably into our lives, and we love video games, cosplay and other nerdy things just as much as everyone else! Indiginerds tells modern stories about modern Indigenous people, and celebrates our joys and passions."

Indiginerds is a 6.625"x10.25" full colour comic anthology, eleven stories across 120 pages. The line up includes:

• Saving Throws by James Willier and Sam "Mushki" Medlock
• Digital Eden by Raven John and Asia Wisely
• Dorvan V by Alina Pete
• Uncured Horror by Gillian Joseph and Wren Rios
• Missed Pow Wow Connection by Kameron White
• Airwaves Pirates by Autumn Star and PJ Underwood
• Amplification/Adaptation by Em Matson and Nipinet Landsem
• Welei (I Am Fine) by Bianca "binkz17" and Rhael McGregor
• Bvlbancha Forever by Ida Aronson and Tate Allen
• Walk With The Earth Mother by Maija Plamondon and Milo Applejohn
• Roll Your Own Way by Jordanna George

"The mainstream view of First Nations needs an update," said publisher C. Spike Trotman. "INDIGINERDS is here to show the vibrant and evolving culture experienced today. This is sure to be another amazing addition to the comic collection of anyone interested in Indigenous culture!"

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