CONNECTOR is a graphic novella about being transgender, disabled, and more comfortable around arcade cabinets than other people.
Jude is anxious about starting his new job at an arcade, and the boy at the front counter instantly wanting to chat him up really isn’t helping. He reluctantly agrees to hang out outside of work hours, and much to his horror, he actually kind of enjoys it. Will the common ground between the two be enough to drag Jude out of his shell, or will he panic and pull away like every friendship he’s had before?Connector will be a 37-page graphic novella reflecting some of my own experiences as a chronically ill trans man through the eyes of Jude. For my BFA thesis, I completed the pitch packet for this story - the full script, front and back covers, and the first five finished pages.
Kai has been drawing funky little guys since he learned how to walk. Ever since sitting in front of a big beige box and discovering Microsoft Paint, Kai has been passionate about drawing colorful, stylized characters that find happiness in each other. His bubbly and expressive digital work has appeared in private commissions, art fairs, comics, and print and sticker merch shops. His driving motivation is to create the disabled trans joy he wishes he could’ve seen in media growing up, as both a gift to his younger self and a gift to others like him. After years of marginalization, Kai uses the joy in finding community as the driving force behind his loving, empowering works.Kai is based in Portland, Oregon and studied illustration and game design at Pacific Northwest College of Art.