A few years ago, I was first contacted by Aphy Ray for some commissions for their urban fantasy sapphic fairy novel, Saffron and Honey. Since then, Aphy and I have worked together on several illustrations, leading to our biggest collaborative project, Your Boot is My Temple, a boot worship comic featuring two of their characters Ravi and Felicity.
I’ve been sitting on writing a blog post about Your Boot is My Temple because… man, I hate writing about my projects. I have a hard time talking about process, which is part of why I introduced monthly calls to my Patreon this year, as a means to talk about craft and have open conversations about art and life without the filter of writing things down. And Aphy is one of the people who regularly attends these calls, for which I am extremely grateful. But I want to blog about this comic! I want to give it some documentation.
Aphy reached out to me in the summer of 2025 to see what my availability would be to make a boot-centric adult comic. I was delighted to explore this particular horny aspect and continue working with Aphy. In the past couple years, I’ve discovered I really enjoy working with writers. Mel Gillman wrote Invasive Species for me to draw, which was my first time working with a writer and easily one of my most favorite pieces I’ve made. Jessica Delphi and I have been working on The Royal Equinox Rager together, a slam dunk of a project for us both who so intimately understand each other's creative roots. And now Your Boot is My Temple is part of my line up of comics written by others, and it became a cementing piece of this aspect of my career.
Working with a writer means I’m relieved of the weight of coming up with concept and script. Sometimes when I write, I find my drawing mind confined to the writer mind. It’s liberating to work with someone else’s words. When I’m looking at a script that someone else made, I’m not closed into how my writer-brain envisioned a scene. Once they send me that script, I’m reading the scene for the first time and imagining all the possibilities of what it could look like. Now I have a secret project with Ollie Hicks on the horizon, and I’m giggling and kicking my feet in delight at just the first draft. I’m really blessed to know so many talented writers who are gracious enough to share their gifts with me, AND who get me. Like, really get me.
Above all, I think working with a writer who is passionate about the comic and characters can be better than any editorial team. A keen, discerning eye that says, “actually, the panties should be a different shade of blue,” can transform the whole work for the better.
Like with all of my projects, I was using Your Boot is My Temple as an opportunity to explore techniques. I think I discovered that I want to craft my own color palette. I have been using premade ones for my entire art career, pulling from risograph inks, tattoo inks, ukiyo-e inks (the latter is what I referenced for this project). It keeps my work cohesive and adheres to colors that have been approved by thousands of people and several centuries of craft to be Good Colors. That said, I found some limitations in the palette I am currently using, and I had to come up with some workarounds to achieve the mood and tone I wanted. During the coloring process, I found I am really interested in making my own palette!
One more thing I learned in this process: I’m not scared of drawing cars. I’m not good at it, per se, but I don’t feel like I need to be. I just have to confidently put down lines and let the reader’s brain fill in the gaps. I’ll be taking this confidence forward to Amira the Van Life Cunt, whose third issue has been resumed after completing YBIMT. And oh my god, yeah there are a lot of vehicles in Amira, as you can imagine.
While working on Your Boot is My Temple, I discovered what working at a reasonable non-burn-out pace feels like. It took about 6 months to complete a 17 page comic (plus covers). When I type that out, I feel a little bit of shame, and a bit of self-doubt, and a bit of insecurity, and then a bit of frustration at the medium of comics. When I reflect on those months, though, it was the least stressed I’ve ever been while making a comic.
I had conventions, day job, and my regular monthly tasks keeping me busy. I picked at this comic at least once a week for those six months, with some very short downtime waiting for feedback from Aphy during check-ins. This relaxed pace and Aphy’s patience were ultimately their greatest gift to me. It’s rare in comic-world. You gotta cherish it when you get it!!
The pre-order for Your Boot is My Temple is happening now. I’ll be shipping a box of books to White Squirrel in July to fulfill the pre-orders. After that, the online price of my books will be going up slightly to accommodate for all the miscellaneous fees that come with shipping books. So if you want it at the in-person rate, now’s the time!
Thank you to everyone who’s supported the pre-order so far. And special thank you to Aphy Ray for trusting me with their characters. I’m so pleased with how this comic turned out, and I can’t wait for what we make next!