Formal KatyaAs I write these back in 2021, I’m trying to avoid any “present-day” statements about Leif & Thorn. Sure, my plan is to have it still running a long ways into The Future — but if I take that for granted in my writing, you just know that’s gonna jinx it.

That said, even here in The Past, the strips for Volume 5 are almost completely drawn! Barring any huge unforeseen problems, it should be launching on Kickstarter next month.

(Knock wood.)

(ETA, from Present Erin: There was a huge unforeseen problem! Not with Leif & Thorn — the comic is still trucking along just fine — but a problem with Kickstarter. Never should’ve jinxed us like that.)

So it seems like a good time to cross-promote with the annotated Crossover Art.

As of writing, about half these BICP characters have turned up in Leif & Thorn:

I’d like to use Ana Wagner at some point. Also, Strawberry and Morinda, though they’d have to be redesigned — right now, their outfits are “variations on Holly’s magical girl outfit,” instead of “unique homages to different magical girl series.” (Morinda is perfect for a Princess Tutu homage…)


Original character concepts:

Strawberry and Morinda: Both identified young as having serious magical potential. Strawberry is friendliest with earth spirits; Morinda has a strong affinity with water. They argue a lot about which spell techniques are most practical, most effective, and/or most morally acceptable.

Pine: Morinda’s patient and loving boyfriend. Totally normal human in this universe. Works at a wildlife center, rehabilitating injured birds.

Ana Wagner: Trade mogul from Leif’s home country. Always wearing classy furs. Has some lucrative business partnerships with vampires.

Katya: Embassy servant, same position as Leif, though she has different specialties. Taller than he is.

Briony: Works at the highest level with the Ceannic government’s technomagical databases. (They have computer-esque technology, it just all runs on giant crystals.)

Reseda and Lily: Separate characters! Twins, but not hard to tell apart. Reseda is the outspoken fighter; Lily is the mild-mannered dreamer.

Camellia (Torvald): Openly lives the bigender life, because this society doesn’t understand transness as something controversial. Work buddies with Reseda; met Lily in a literature class. You can imagine the rom-com mistaken-identity shenanigans.