Author: erinsdodge

MoonWake Pages 41-48

Black and white comic page. The light-haired woman grabs Anna's shoulder: "We have to go!" and they run to the van.Inside the van, Anna says: "I didn't think there were wolves in New England?" "There aren't." The other girl says, and they drive away.Loud howling crowds the night sky and the full moon. Anna, looking harried, asks "No wolves, huh?"The blonde girl drives, squinting into the fog. "If we can just make it over the bridge... There!" A covered bridge appears.The van approached the covered bridge. The howling and growls intensify. The fog curls around the vehicle.They enter the covered bridge. Eerie voices and whispers beckon: "Come back, Anna."The voices and howls reach a fever pitch as Anna and the other girl approach the other side. Suddenly, a hush falls over them.We see the bridge over the river. No fog. The water rushes past, sounds of whooshing and shhhhh... it carries the voices away.

Pages 41-48

Out of the woods… for now…

Thank you so much to everyone who came out to CAMP: Comic Arts Maine Portland.

With every comic and print sold, I was able to raise $375 for my friend Motaz and his family in Gaza. Thank you so much to everyone who made it possible! Contribute to Motaz’s campaign HERE.

If YOU would like to find out more about becoming a Creator for Gaza, check out @creatorsforgaza and put your creativity and energy towards supporting a family surviving ongoing U.S.-backed genocide. Being able to participate has been one of the most meaningful and proud things in my life over the past several years, and *your* talents are needed!

I am also beyond thankful and full of melty feelings to be a co-recipient of the 2nd Annual S’mores Award for emerging comic creators, alongside the amazing @nellbell_art !! It’s an honor, and I am excited to work on a standalone mini-comic, taking place in the MoonWake universe and building out some lore. <3

If you would like to support/follow my work, you can also find me on Patreon, read the comic at GlobalComix.com, or check out my Illustration Portfolio. I also have prints available to buy at INPRNT. Take good care-

Pages 34-40

Black and white comic page. Two young women stand on a lonely dirt road on a foggy night in the middle of a forest. A long howl pierces the air. Both look, worriedly, out at the forest and the dense, billowing fog.

Thank you so much for reading! If you are able this holiday season, do check out the AMAZING bookstore at Workshops4Gaza bookstore, raising funds to support Palestinians in Gaza. They also have a truly incredible lineup of workshops and lectures, ranging from creative writing to radical history.

 

As Palestinian poet Rasha Abdulhadi says: “Palestinians are still demanding liberation, not just a ‘humanitarian crisis’ response. AND– We whose taxes pay for bombs are all responsible to give liberatory amounts to keep as many people in Gaza alive as possible. We can do both: Refuse & resist genocide by getting in the way!! AND…

 

“Give wildly & call on everyone we know to give wildly to keep as many Palestinians alive as we can !! Until liberation, this is also our serious responsibility. It is our obligation as funders of genocide.”

 

To learn about Palestine:  DecolonizePalestine.com (and the Electronic Intifada for current events, analysis, and news) are great sources to begin with.

 

To Give:  Ele Elna Elak (water, food, help on the ground in Gaza) and… GazaFunds.com (vetted fundraisers for those trying to raise the extortionate fees needed to escape the U.S.-Israeli genocide)

 

To act: Boycott, Divest, Sanction (BDS)

And find actions and campaigns: US Campaign for Palestinian Rights

 

If you would like to support/follow my work, you can also find me on Patreon, read the comic at GlobalComix.com, or check out my Illustration Portfolio. I also have cards, prints, and posters available at INPRNT. Take good care-

MoonWake Pages 21-33

Black and white comic page. Anna, silhouetted against fog and gnarled trees, stands and looks around the forest graveyard. A loud howling sounds, and she clutches her chest. She looks determined, and begins to search her pockets. She sings to herself, "Get it together, keep your head. Wolves are misunderstood." She locates her ring of keys, and a tiny keychain flashlight. She turns it on and shines it ahead, into a dark forest. We see her from behind, surrounded by gravestones and crosses.Anna walks forward, shining her tiny light into the fog. She walks under a gnarled tree-branch, shining her light curiously up at a grinning jack-o-lantern which hangs suspended from the tree. She continues to walk into a more dense patch of trees, and is surrounded by many jack-o-lanterns hanging from the trees all around. She emerges into a clear path of gravestones, and shines her light on them.Anna walks further through crooked and moss-covered old gravestones and rolling fog. A grinning wolf-like creature lurks behind her, emerging from behind a tree. Multiple pairs of glowing eyes shine in the background from within the fog. This page is in color. The scene is in eerie blue and green, with bright yellow coloring the flashlight and the glowing eyes in the night.Anna in profile, walks through the fog and the graves. A strong flashlight beam lights her way, and she finds herself at the edge of a body of water. Her reflection is seen upside-down in the water. Half-submerged gravestones peek up out of the pond, and she shines her flashlight into it. The reflection of the full moon shines in the pond, and Anna looks at it, entranced. There is a pause as she stares into it, transfixed, almost in a trance.We see Anna's reflection, upside-down, in the pale silvery water. She takes a step into the pond, the water rippling around her foot.Full color illustration. Anna's upside-down reflection is framed by pondweed. She is facing the viewer full-on, from the shoulders-up. She looks completely entranced. Her hair is wildly whipped around her face by wind, and she stares at the moon. Her eyes are lit up yellow like the moon, and her face is lit up from below in eerie shades of green.A loud howl rings out from behind. Anna is broken out of her trance, and she turns to look behind her at the viewer. She is standing ankle-deep in the dark water, surrounded by half-sunken gravestones and pondweed.Anna looks up in alarm in the direction of the howling. The full moon is wrapped in fog over her shoulder. A wolf bristles and snarls at her, and then lunges. Anna leaps backwards out of the pond, as the wolf chases her. She runs away, running up the hill away from the pond. The wolf stands still, snarling and watching her go. It then paces around the shore of the pond, as though guarding it. The full moon's reflection shines in the water.Anna runs and runs. Howling noises follow her. She turns, hair whipping around her face, and a swarm of moths surround her as she covers her face in defense. She continues to run. Skeletal trees and thick fog surround her.Anna runs up over a hill, and back down through thick, swirling fog, and forbidding trees.Anna runs towards the viewer, through fog and trees. She finally stops, leaning against a tree and panting heavily. A light shines over her shoulder, and she looks back at it. She sees a strange, floating light from behind a tree in the distance. We zoom in on her wide, frightened eye, as she watched the light bob approach. It looks like a distant flashlight, or a supernatural light, like a will-o'-the-wisp. We see Anna being lit up, as though by a searchlight, and she shields her eyes in fear. "I don't want to see!" She says. "I won't look!" She throws up both hands to cover her face as the light comes closer and closer."Hoonnnnnkkk!" A car horn blares, and Anna shields her face from the glaring headlights. She is caught in headlights bearing down on her. She is caught in silhouette in the light. In the next panel, Anna looks shocked and horrified as a van whooshes past her. We zoom in on her shocked face, and then she clutches at her chest, buckling and gasping at the near miss. She peers back over her shoulder, and sees her suitcase and bag behind her on the paved road. She lets out a sound of surprise, and takes a moment to wonder what on earth is happening."My stuff?" Anna asks aloud. Her suitcase and bag sit on the side of a paved road. From deep in the forest, we see Anna and her things. A wolf peers at her, unseen. Anna looks back in the direction the van went, and sees headlights glowing out from the fog down the road. She hesitates, looking at the vehicle that has stopped in the distance. She slumps, beads of sweat on her face. "There's WAY scarier shit out there for a girl alone at night..." She thinks to herself. A foggy thought-bubble surrounds her, and she imagines daggers, knives, and an axe all pointed at her. A ski-mask floats in her thought bubble along with all the weapons. She holds a hand to her forehead in doom and gloom. in the distance, the mysterious van sits silently in the fog.To be continued…

Thank you so much for reading. MoonWake is a labor of love, and bringing Anna’s eerie story to life is a long-held dream. If you are able to support me in making this comic, it means the world.

You can also follow MoonWake on GlobalComix, and find and support my work below:

Ko-fi | Patreon | Buy Art Prints | Illustration Portfolio

Patreon patrons get early access to new pages, and behind-the-scenes process sketches, inspirations, and works-in-progress.

Or follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr for updates and other work.

Thank you so much for your support, and for reading!

Detail of page 23. Anna walks curiously through a foggy forest graveyard. She shines her flashlight and looks back over her shoulder, surrounded by rolling fog and old, moss-covered graves. The image is in eerie blues and greens, with her bright yellow flashlight beam casting weird light on Anna's face.

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To be continued…

Thank you SO MUCH for reading the first installment of MoonWake! There will be more to come.

Anna walking in the woods. A magpie in the foreground tweets a single note.

A little about the story…

The original idea for MoonWake, amorphous and vague, flew into my head on a long bus ride home probably five or more years ago, and it hasn’t left me since.

The story has changed many, many times over the years. Much of that time I was trying desperately to get it “perfect” before allowing myself to begin.

I was (and still am) afraid that the ideas would simply turn to dust upon contact with sunlight.  So long as it existed only in my head, the story would always be perfect and exactly the way I envisioned it. What if I messed it up?

After years of this, I finally realized that if I never put this story down on paper, it would eventually wilt and die inside of me, never having seen the light of day.

I’m so excited to bring this story into the world, and I’m so grateful that you are taking the time to share that with me.

I’m on Patreon and Ko-Fi if you’d like to contribute financially to the project– or follow on Tumblr to keep up with new updates.

If you’d like to check out more of my other illustration work, check out the About Page, or get in touch directly.  

Please don’t hesitate to be in touch, and thank you so much again for reading!

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To be continued….

Thank you SO MUCH for reading the first installment of MoonWake! There will be more to come.

Anna walking in the woods. A magpie in the foreground tweets a single note.

 Patreon || Ko-Fi