Gamer Girl & Vixen is a story about love and shenanigans. It’s a story about finding someone to love through all the obstacles that both we and the world put in our way — especially for same sex couples, for whom those obstacles are more vast and obtrusive than anyone else might realize. But those obstacles can be overcome no matter who we are or who we love. Whether it’s a disapproving parent or a misinterpreted text, women like Bianca Crowley and Liz Jaczynski can still be with one another.

When they’re not busy committing super-crime, of course.

All the crime!

Gamer Girl & Vixen is a supervillain lesbian love story. It’s about two costumed criminals whose crime spree turns to romance — and they just happen to both be women. It’s got burglaries, betrayal and superhero battles, but it’s also got a lot of love and tenderness.

The goal behind Gamer Girl & Vixen is to tell a fun and exciting comic book story — one that also just happens to be about not only women, but gay women. Because, quite simply, there aren’t enough of these types of stories out there, even in superhero comics. There is a strong movement in the comics community these days to feature more comics about women, to acknowledge that women and girls read and love comics. We whole-heartedly agree, and we want to get our comic in the hands of all kinds of readers.

That’s why we’re on the Road to Kickstarter later this Spring. I’ve written a lot about the comics making process on my blog, and now it’s about time that everyone got a better look at our characters and story!

Vixen

Name: Bianca Crowley

Age: 18

About: Bianca Crowley is gay, but it’s a secret. Don’t tell her boyfriend. And definitely don’t tell her mother. Mommy dearest doesn’t approve, and Bianca has locked herself in the closet since high school. Now in college, she’s a cheerleader, the darling of her sorority and is dating a track star. She’s living the perfect life, just like her mother always wanted.

But Bianca’s got another secret: she likes to steal stuff. Her father used to be a notorious thief, and her mother has a lot of rich friends. So most of Bianca’s late nights involve dressing in black and committing a little felony burglary. It’s her own little rebellion.

Bianca is about to embark on her biggest heist to date, and whether she realizes it or not, she could use a helping hand.

Gamer Girl

Name: Elizabeth “Liz” Jaczynski

Age: 20

About: Liz Jaczynski is an out and proud lesbian, an engineering student and a self-proclaimed video game fanatic. She resents the fact that Sega lost the original video game war, has started petitions to have a female protagonist in the next GTA, and is holding out hopes for an Angry Birds/My Little Pony crossover. She’s also a budding superhero with dreams of glory.

When she was younger, Liz’s dad was a bit of a con man, and she used to help out on jobs. But when he was killed in a grift gone wrong, Liz decided she had to do better and succeed beyond his wildest dreams. Liz designed a set of gauntlets capable of producing hard-light hologram constructs, programmable for whatever sort of weapons or equipment she might need. That she programmed in a bunch of video game weaponry is just how she rolls.

Now as Gamer Girl, Liz is ready to achieve the glory she was always destined for — it just might not be the destiny she was expecting.

Bianca and Liz are our two main characters, but the story isn’t just about them. Join me after the jump to meet the supporting players of Gamer Girl & Vixen, and learn a bit more about the story’s premise.

The Story:

The first volume of Gamer Girl & Vixen is about the girls’ first meeting on the campus of Stowe University in Manhattan, where they’re both students. Bianca is already a thief, but she’s not yet Vixen. And Gamer Girl has the costume, the codename and the powers, but she doesn’t have direction. She’s not sure if she even wants to be a full-on superhero, and spends most of her time just working on her equipment.

But a chance Meet Cute on campus pushes both of them towards a team-up that’s greater than their individual parts. Gamer Girl helps Vixen become more confident in herself, and Vixen helps Gamer Girl become a skilled burglar, all leading up to the big heist!

But what’s romance and super-crime without a little drama? Like the fact that both Bianca and Liz are already in committed relationships at the start of the story!

Bo Turner

Age: 22

About: Bo is a senior at Stowe and a track star. He and Bianca have been dating since she came to campus in the Fall. Bo has no idea that he’s a beard, he’s just happy to have a beautiful and fun girlfriend. He’s a friendly, fun-loving frat boy who has even gotten in close with Bianca’s mother — much to Bianca’s chagrin.

Of course, the young, handsome man is exactly the type of person Mrs. Crowley wants her daughter to be dating. He volunteers at soup kitchens and is very politically active. Bo is a model student, and almost anyone would be happy to have him.

Ellen Rei

Age: 19

About: Ellen worships the ground her girlfriend Liz walks on, even if Liz has quietly started to look for ways out of the relationship. Ellen is shy, but friendly and loyal to a fault. She’s heard all of Liz’s pop culture references and still loves the woman anyway. She’s even willing to spend an evening or two cheering on her girlfriend’s latest video game marathon.

Ellen is an education major who is looking to go into teaching when she graduates. She met Liz sophomore year and the two eventually got an apartment off campus together when the new school year came around.

I’m afraid to say that there are going to be some broken hearts in Gamer Girl & Vixen – though hopefully not in ways you expect. 

Friends, allies and loved ones are all well and good, but every story needs some antagonists! We’ve got more than a few lined up to take on our ladies.

Jumpshot

Name: Jacob Jordan

Powers: Superhuman leg muscles make Jumpshot a vertical powerhouse, whether on the court or on the rooftops of New York. Only fliers get more airtime than this guy.

About: Jacob Jordan grew up loving basketball, especially as he just got taller and taller. He fully intended to go pro in the NBA until a rival team cursed him with freakishly powerful leg muscles. Unable to compete in normal leagues, Jacob has decided to give superheroing a try, determined to be a superstar at something.

Jumpshot may not be New York’s best superhero, but surely he can catch a couple of newbie burglars.

Mrs. Crowley

Who: Bianca’s mom

About: Wealthy Margaret married her husband Walter when they were young, charmed by his roguish mannerisms and big dreams. They wed when Margaret became pregnant with Bianca, but shortly after their daughter was born, Walter was convicted of robbery and grand larceny. Walter “Fast-Fingers”, they called him. Walter has been in prison nearly all of Bianca’s life, and since then, Margaret has been obsessed with keeping everything else in her life — especially her daughter — absolutely perfect.

Even if that means keeping a close eye on her daughter, even if she’s gone off to college. Mother’s are allowed to do that, right?

Bubb!egum

Name: Molly Matthews

Age: 19

About: Molly used to be an ordinary music student at Stowe University with big dreams. But when won the latest season of American Popstar!, a reality singing competition in New York, Molly dropped out of college to pursue her singing career! With her eclectic love of pink, she quickly rose to become one of the most popular singers in the country. You should have seen her at the VMAs!

Bianca Crowley is her biggest fan, but that might not be a good thing for Bubb!egum.

Production on the first issue of Gamer Girl & Vixen is complete between myself, co-writer Kristi McDowell and artist Gemma Moody, with lettering by Taylor Esposito.

The Kickstarter for Gamer Girl & Vixen kicks off on Saturday, May 16! And we’ll definitely be bringing the girls to comic-cons throughout the Northeast this summer and fall (and in London too, since Gemma lives on the other side of the pond!).

If you like what you see and would like to support us and keep in the loop, you can follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook and read along with the production process on Tumblr. All three social media outlets are updated frequently, with new art and preview pages as they come in.

Speaking of which, I think I’ll leave you now with a preview of issue #1!

I hope you enjoy our comic. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or any interest in helping us promote the book!

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