iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

A few strange questions for folks who are more science-minded than I am, if you'd please! If the moon was damaged, but not destroyed (something like the below), would that change its rotation and/or tidal locking at all?

The moon with part of Chairface written across it and a chunk taken out of the side from The Tick.

The moon after getting shot with a laser beam and having a massive chunk blown out of it in Sonic Adventure 2.

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David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Wouldja couldja believe that @beckbeean.bsky.social and I have been married for two whole years as of today???? Of course you would because it's obvious to everyone who knows us that we're best friends who are madly in love with each other. I love you, Beck!!!

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David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

TWO FREE PATREON POSTS BACK-TO-BACK! Yeah, I remembered that I needed to post my 12 sample scripts for artist portfolio builders! If you're a comic artist looking to strengthen your portfolio with new genres or new skills, and get feedback from a pro writer/editor, this is for you!!!

patreon.com

12 Short Sample Scripts | David Mariotte

A few weeks ago, I saw a conversation on Bluesky about the desire for comics collaborative jams like the "game jams" hosted on itch. I broug

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David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

New Patreon Post: In which I announce I'm going to return to posting on Patreon with more frequency??? WHOA!!! If you wanna find out what I've got in store there, as well as learn about some of my other recent and upcoming projects, this is the post for you! And this one's free for everyone!

patreon.com

The Blog is Back??? | David Mariotte

Hey, it's been a while! How are things? Thanks for your patience and continued support when things've been quiet over here for a bit. But t

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David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

My issue with the NYT top shows list is two-fold. First, it's the NYT who have repeatedly given up on good journalism and done a lot of material harm to trans folks, so like... we really don't have to give them the attention. Second, 2000 is not the 21st century. The century started in 2001.

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David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Happy bisexuality day! From me, one a those!!!

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David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Bullying the nerd or the dork is a classic trope and one that often makes you feel for that underdog. But who is the one that most deserves it? Who makes you agree with the bullies that this guy just stinks???

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David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I've said it before, I'll say it again. I don't want stupid resource draining thievery tech. I want a dishwasher that does the dishes by itself including handwash and puts them away. I want a washer/dryer that does the same for clothes. I want a button that drops an anvil on my enemies.

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David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Hey! I had a lovely conversation with the wonderful @pirateprincessjess.bsky.social about, well, just about everything I've ever done as an editor and writer! Check out the video!

youtu.be

This man has worked on all the coolest series! Interview with David Mariotte

YouTube video by PiratePrincessJess

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David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Letterboxd seems to be down, which is a huge problem, because how else am I supposed to make a record that I just finished watching a movie that I didn't really like???

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David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

The closest I've come to working on Batman officially is DC x Sonic the Hedgehog: Metal Legion has been coming out during my time at SEGA. It's very good! The last issue just came out, so you can ask for the whole thing at your comic book store, or pre-order the collected edition! Happy #BatmanDay!

The A cover to DC x Sonic the Hedgehog: Metal Legion #1 by Pablo M. Collar, depicting DC Superheroes including Superman, Green Lantern (John Stewart), Wonder Woman, Cyborg, Flash, and Batman and Sonic characters Sonic (as Flash), Amy (as Wonder Woman), Shadow (as Batman), Tails (as Cyborg), Knuckles (as Superman) and Silver (as Green Lantern).

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David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

I wanted to watch Spice World but it appears we'll have to rent it from the local video store, so instead we watched Garden State and that was a terrible idea. 🫩

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David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

If I had to describe my taste in only three words, they'd probably be stupid, horny, and earnest. Most of my favorite works of art: paintings, film, books, comics, songs, everything, are at least one if not all three of those things. And they go so well together!

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David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

I have been sick this weekend, so I haven't had a lot of energy or brainpower to do much at all and lemme tell ya: The Venture Bros continues to rip!!! It'd been a bit since I had revisited season 1 and just seen how much of the show truly is there mostly formed from the jump. Love them Ventures.

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David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Ready to get wet?! Dive in to Oceanman Adventures, a new anthology about everyone's favorite wer warriors, the hydro-dynamic duo, Oceanman & Mollusk! A titanic tome, including The Long Submarine by me, @fancygoblin.bsky.social, & @bertacious.bsky.social! Assembled by @louissouthard.bsky.social!

A graphic for the Oceanman Adventures #1 Kickstarter pre-launch, featuring Mollusk, a youthful sidekick with blue skin and a blue and yellow outfit, and Oceanman, a muscular man clad in red with yellow and purple accents.

The cover for Oceanman Adventures #1, featuring our heroes posing together triumphantly.

A tease for The Long Submarine, my story with Devlin Baker and Buddy Beaudoin. Oceanman is wrapped up in the slimy seaweed of Sargassia!

A graphic for the Oceanman Adventures #1 Kickstarter pre-launch, featuring two of our green-skinned, black and white swimsuit clad baddies: The Swimmer and Diving Bella!

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David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Comic artists (particularly newer and mid-experience folks)! I've put together 12* stories that you can use as portfolio/skill builders! 6 2-pagers, 6 4-pagers! 2 sci-fi, 2 horror, 2 superhero, a romance/slice of life, a comedy, a mystery, a Western, a smutty one, and 1 TBD. More info in 🧵

12 STORIES FOR COMIC ARTISTS TO PRACTICE WITH
By David Mariotte

A few notes from the writer:
Please remember that these are all meant to be fairly simple stories. They are for practicing the art of sequential storytelling and are not a magnum opus for anyone.
Focus on what is important to you--there are notes for specific color choices and the scripts include dialogue, captions, and SFX that could be lettered, but if that's not your skillset or what you want to work on, they should all work without!
If you want, definitely ask someone to collaborate with you! Bring in a colorist or letterer friend to get them some practice too!
These stories are meant to have enough details to help you tell the story, but also be open enough that you have a lot of flexibility to make them your own!
These stories are provided for free for the purposes of building your portfolio. My only request is that you credit me and anyone else you work with correctly and that you don't sell the completed stories (it's fine to post them online for free/to include in your portfolio or website, I'm even okay if you end up putting them in a for-sale zine with a bunch of your other work as long as they're not the only or main thing in the zine)
If you use AI in any capacity to create your version of these pages or you try to train an AI in any way with them (pages, script, etc), you owe me $100 million USD.
Once you finish any scripts you dig, you can reach out to me at dmariottewebhost@gmail.com and we can schedule a 10-15 minute digital portfolio review. We’ll talk about the comic you made off these scripts. We can talk about some of your other work if you provide a full portfolio, your goals in comics, and how to get there. It’ll be fun and easy!

1. SCI-FI (2 PAGES)
A cyberpunk hero in a bike chase across the moon. They actually works for the UPPS (United Planets Postal Service) and are delivering a package.

2. SCI-FI (4 PAGES)
A girl in a car is being chased by an alien spaceship through the countryside. She does a magical girl Transformers-mation to become a mecha magi girl. The spaceship has become a mecha kaiju and they fight. The mecha magi girl wins the day, but has secretly had help from a mysterious stranger.

3. HORROR (2 PAGES)
A big scary looking Michael Myers type guy hides in a closet and watches through the slats as a pair of yuppie young people come and make out in front of him. But actually, they're the killers and he was hiding and they found him and get him!

4. HORROR (4 PAGES)
A person is at a big box store and is trying to get headache medicine out of one of those stupid sealed cases--pressing the button, but no one comes. A worker finally shows up, but they've got like a weird eye monster on them. The protagonist runs, looking for help, but everyone's got the eye monster. The protagonist collapses from the headache and their eye bursts out and latches itself with its new tentacles to their face.

5. SUPERHERO (2 PAGES)
A car is driving way too fast in a city and a speedy hero is trying to chase it down until finally catching it and opening the door to... A pregnant woman who is about to have a baby that the hero has to rush to the hospital!

6. SUPERHERO (4 PAGES)
The hero is fighting Doppelgang, a villain who can create near-identical duplicates of himself. The hero must navigate around an army of duplicates, knowing trying to fight them all would be exhausting, to get to the real one (potential double page spread). The hero gets the real Doppelgang and saves the day.

7. ROMANCE/SLICE OF LIFE (2 PAGES)
A boy and a girl in parallel seem to be waking up late and rushing to get ready for school--making their lunch, barely getting their toast in their mouths--and seem to be on a collision course at the corner. When they arrive, they swap lunches, give a quick kiss, wish each other a good day and look forward to this weekend because they're actually already a couple.

8. COMEDY (2 PAGES)
A parent notices the cookies are missing from the cookie jar and starts interrogating the family, with the obvious suspect being the crumb-faced little one, but then.... "J'accuse!" their spouse tries to deny it with their mouth obviously stuffed with cookies and everyone laughs.

9. MYSTERY (2 PAGES)
A hardboiled detective smashes a window and begins exploring a messy apartment. After searching each room, they find keys in a trenchcoat by the door, only to call the window repairman to fix his apartment window and it ends on a "how'd this happen? it's a mystery" punchline. (Sorry this is also funny)

10. WESTERN (4 PAGES)
A cowpoke is HOT in the desert and their horse is hot too, panting and trying to fan themselves. They finish their canteen and crack open a cactus for water, they walk in circles under the circling vulture trying to catch whatever shade they can. The cowpoke notices the moon just starting to come up over the horizon and lassos it. The cowpoke pulls the moon up, making it nighttime, and they both sigh in relief as its finally cool.

11. EROTICA (4 PAGES)
A couple is at a park with one of them sucking on a creamsicle that melts all over their chest. They get their partner to lick it off, moving their top aside to let them suck on their nipples. Still wanting to suck on something for the creamy goodness within, the ice cream one starts giving the other head. The receiver pops all over the givers face and they both lick it up to clean up, with the giver requesting to cum a *lot* when they get home.

12. TBD (4 PAGES)

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David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Seems like people are interested, which is great! I've been noodling and have 11 out of 12 ideas set! I've got 2 sci-fis, 2 horrors, 2 super/action heroes, a romance/slice of life, a comedy, a mystery (which... admittedly is also kind of a comedy), a Western, and an erotica story. What am I missing?

David Mariotte@davidmariotte.bsky.social

Interest check: Less experienced comic artists, would you find it useful to have some short (2-4 pages) scripts by a comic professional writer to practice honing your craft and be able to add to your portfolios? And then when the comics complete, get a ~15-minute portfolio review to talk about it?

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David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

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David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

I am excited to pick up the new Legion #1, but when people wonder why LSH doesn't seem to be able to recapture the direct market, how often do they think about how the reimaginings never have Superboy berating the new members?! Maybe that's the secret sauce!

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David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

As a reminder, I've got some cool out of print Artist's Editions, signed Artist's Selects, and other just like nice books available on my eBay! Go ahead and give it a look! www.ebay.com/usr/dwmariot...

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David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Also very neat: I'm on your Hoopla app! You can go read Conjure-Man Dies or Sonic over there for free from your local library!!!

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David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Seconded and also it made me miss Strip Law so much.

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David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Living in LA is just like the movies! Power outage right at the tail end of an extreme heat warning! 100 degrees outside and climbing inside!!!

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David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Welp, we didn't make it. Here's a message for everyone who pledged and everyone who just supported us during this campaign. We love the book. It's finished. We'll be figuring out next steps. And when we do, we hope you'll check it out again! Thank you!!! Much love! David & @jamesotron.bsky.social

kickstarter.com

Update 8: We'll get it next time · Monster Under the Bed

Thank you all again! We didn't make it this time, but all the confidence and support you showed us means so much to us as creators. We're enormously proud of Monster Under the Bed and are figuring out...

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David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Hey all! We're down to the final 24 hours on Monster Under the Bed, so here's one last masterpost of what the comic is and why you'll wanna back it! Monster Under the Bed is an erotic horror-comedy/queer monsterfucker one-shot comic by me (@dukenucum.bsky.social) and @jamesotron.bsky.social!

kickstarter.com

Monster Under the Bed

An erotic horror-comedy monsterlover one-shot comic featuring M/Monster & F/Monster(s) relationships!

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David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

We just dropped the latest update on Monster Under the Bed as we quickly approach the end of the campaign (37 hours left!!!)! Including this awesome pin-up by @blackyshep.bsky.social! And the results of the backer pin-up poll for @beckbeean.bsky.social's piece! www.kickstarter.com/projects/dwm...

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David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Did I go and overhaul our Kickstarter landing page with 60 hours left to go? As Vilgor would say, "Crabsolutely." If you don't get that joke, good news, you can read his character bio on the revamped page. Monster Under the Bed. @dukenucum.bsky.social. @jamesotron.bsky.social. Back it today!

kickstarter.com

Monster Under the Bed

An erotic horror-comedy monsterlover one-shot comic featuring M/Monster & F/Monster(s) relationships!

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David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

I've been editing this and just what an absolute treat it's been! If you've ever held a property dear because you found something in the stories, despite knowing it mostly exists to make a company money by selling toys, this book is for you!

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David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

I made a video about my and @jamesotron.bsky.social's Kickstarter that ends in 3 days, Monster Under the Bed! Like the comic, it's a little silly, a little *sexy*, and kinda scary for me to make! Check out the video and get an idea of the project, then go back @: www.kickstarter.com/projects/dwm...

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David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

We're officially down to the final 3 days! The Monster Under the Bed by me and @jamesotron.bsky.social campaign ends at 7 a.m. PST on 8/28! These last days are pivotal in making sure you and other backers can get those tasty rewards! www.kickstarter.com/projects/dwm... Shares very appreciated!

The campaign banner for Monster Under the Bed depicting Tammy, a human woman, holding up a gleaming flashlight under a dark monster's watchful glowing eyes. In the bottom right corner it says "Ending Soon: Kickstarter" in the Kickstarter green & white.

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David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

James is the coolest, you guys! Just look at them!!!

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David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Monster Under the Bed (Pin-)Update! With 4 days left on the campaign, there are 2 days left to vote for @beckbeean.bsky.social's pin-up! Currently option D is in the lead, but you could still tip the scales! And get to know the girls below! But wait there's more pin-up news! 🔥👙🍑🔞👺

Four pin-up options from Beck.

We've got 4 lovely options!

A - Inspired by 2000s ecchi anime, are Tammy and Alexa about to kiss? With some Kursthh tentacles for good mix!

B - Inspired by the summertime and Alexa's bikini coffee shop job, what if she had a cute little wardrobe malfunction!

C - Tammy with some of Kursthh's tentacles and tendrils wrapped around her!

D- Alexa in just an incredibly cute pose!

Meet the Cast of Monster Under the Bed.

A photo shows a smiling young woman with brown hair dressed in a yellow outfit waving goodbye.

Name: Alexa
Age: 21
Occupation: College student, bikini barista
Bed size: Full (parents' house), XL Twin (campus housing)
Cup size: D
Relationships: Dylan (boyfriend), Tammy (bestie), The Killer (crush)

Meet the Cast of Monster Under the Bed.

A photo shows a goofy young woman pink hair and piercings dressed in a black-and-red skull bikini and a spiked collar.

Name: Tammy
Age: 21
Occupation: College student, bikini barista
Piercings: Septum, left ear (3), nipples
Cup size: C
Relationships: Alexa (bestie), Dylan (idiot guy), Vilgor (her monster)

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David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

That's right, Tammy, it is go time! If you wanna see Dylan's big [campaign] that could last up to four [days], you're going to want to go to www.kickstarter.com/projects/dwm... and back Monster Under the Bed! Also here's a picture of my cats! Supporting our Kickstarter also supports them*.

A panel from Monster Under the Bed. Art by James Marsh. Words & lettering, including jokey bad lettering, by me.

Off-panel, a woman wails "Oooahhahh, Dylan! You're so big! I feel like this (different font, replacing original text) "campaign" could last up to four (different font, replacing original text) "day"s!

The main image is one of the stars of the book, Tammy, dressed all in black with a flashlight. She's ready for action as she whispers "Go time."

Nadja, a calico, and Tiansheng, a tuxedo, sit on two folding chairs in our living room. They both appear much more polite than they actually are. They're our kitties and they're cute and technically, indirectly, this Kickstarter funding is good for them too.

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David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

I'd love if there was a way to just hide all games with AI bullshit in them on Steam. Like, I genuinely appreciate the disclosure thing, but it'd be rad if I could just not see them cluttering my homepage up at all.

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David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

"But David & @jamesotron.bsky.social," you cry, "just how does one meet a Monster Under the Bed?!" Step 1: Break in. Step 2: Lie in wait. Step 3: Let the beautiful lady cum her brains out. Step 4: Sink into a netherrealm. Step 5: Hope to survive! Or there's always the *other* way...

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David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

If anyone I know has experience with exporting epubs, I'm trying to do it for a thing and cannot get this one right. It's duplicating some pages. It's reflowing things in a really odd way. It seems to hate that I have images and text. If you know of a good explainer, any help would be appreciated.

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David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Just listed a bunch of Artist's Editions, Artist's Selects, IDW Collections, and other big, nice, largely out-of-print collections on my eBay and have a bunch more that'll be added tomorrow! Give it a look! Some great hard-to-find stuff!

ebay.com

Items for sale by dwmariotte22 | eBay

Shop eBay for great deals from dwmariotte22!

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David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

As we enter our final week, I'm about to be promoting the hell out of this thing, so expect probably a couple more Simpsons memes because @jamesotron.bsky.social and I both think they're funny! If you think Simpsons memes and the people who make them are funny, good news, this book's a comedy*.

Lisa brings Bart's dead body into their parents room in a child's wagon. Lisa: MOM, DAD, MONSTER UNDER THE BED IS DEAD!

Homer and Marge sit up in shock and horror!

Bart excitedly sits up. He's not dead!
Bart: DEAD SERIOUS ABOUT REACHING OUR FUNDING GOAL BY AUG 28TH! BACK TODAY!

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David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Genuine questions: Do the folks getting into the "Petra Parker/Reilly Parker/trans Spider-Man" thing know about Ultimate Jessica Drew? Is she embraced by the trans community? Is she not? What's the vibe with her nowadays?

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David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

I'll do this, but pretend favorite is spelled the American way.

Reply with a character and I'll tell you my favo(u)rite design for them

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David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

We saw Beyond the Valley of the Dolls at Vidiots last night (with an introduction by Edgar Wright and one of the stars, Erica Gavin) and it was so rad. Just fun and frantic and a movie worth seeing in the cinema. Truly something magical about experiencing such madcap and strange movie with a group.

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David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Folks making horror comics, you GOTTA have Spencer on your radar! Just amazing work!

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David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

I've said it a lot recently (in no small part because I have a Kickstarter going, have another comic in the works, and have 5 more already announced/partially-announced projects with cool folks), but damn do I get to work with a ton of great artists. Hehehe!!!

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