Earlier in my career, I wrote comics, but it had been over a decade without creative work and I really missed creating characters and stories. I am a writer but I am demonstrably NOT an artist. To create the comics, I commissioned an illustrator to work on character and background designs – once I was happy I asked for all the elements as cut outs. I then use Canva to build the individual pieces into comic strips – a process that is quite quick and why I’ve been able to produce 3 new comics every week since launch.

In my mind, comics fall into 4 categories or types. Slice of Life Silliness – these comics are life or character observations that are normally quite conventional and end on a laugh.

Flirtation Fails – I use the dark night backyard background for what I call Sushi & Ren: After Dark. These comics are a bit naughty and normally involve Ren, who can be so smooth with romance, falling on his face when it comes to flirtation. While Sushi, who struggles with romance, is in her element with seduction.

Romance and Uplift – In these strips Ren is typically trying to lift Sushi’s confidence and mood. I think readers really enjoy the positive message of these comics, even though they aren’t often “funny”.

Heartbreakers – These strips hit hard. Both characters have their flaws and Sushi, in particular, is battling dark forces. They are often a little sad, some even feel mean, but I hope readers appreciate that a little complexity makes the characters and their story more interesting. And that without the dark we would have no light.

I hope one day I can earn some income from the comic so that I can spend more time on it and, more importantly, to be able to commission more scenes, expressions, poses, and even new characters to fill out the world of Sushi & Ren.