Crystal Frasier

Last updated

Crystal Frasier
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater New College of Florida
Art Institute of Seattle
Notable work Pathfinder Roleplaying Game
Venus Envy

Crystal Frasier is an American artist, author and game designer. She is known for her work on the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, as well as being the author of the webcomic Venus Envy , which features a trans woman as a protagonist, and the graphic novel Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms .

Contents

Early life

Crystal Frasier grew up in small town in Florida, where she spent her spare time watching television, reading, and playing with her Ninja Turtles or stuffed animals. [1] [2] In elementary school, she started writing stories and drawing comics, continuing this in junior high school, where she drew comics for the school's newspaper.

She unexpectedly fell into role-playing games when she mail-ordered Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Other Strangeness , thinking it was a novel, only to discover it was the RPG created by Palladium Books. [3] From there, Frasier started playing other role-playing games created by Palladium, and eventually started playing Dungeons & Dragons . [3]

In high school, she wrote Sailor Moon fan fiction, began running a gaming blog, and wrote her first paid article for a fan magazine published by Palladium Books. [3] [1] When Palladium dropped her as a freelancer, Frasier decided to concentrate on art rather than writing.

She graduated from the Art Institute of Seattle and the New College of Florida. [4]

Career

Web comic creator

In December 2001, Frasier created the webcomic Venus Envy under the name "Erin Lindsey." [5] [6] [7] In addition to dealing with the themes of transgender people and gender transition, [8] the strip also deals with other themes such as adolescence in general, William Shakespeare and women's soccer. Laura Seabrook, in a review for Polare, called the comic "really important", and praised the protagonist as a well-rounded, believable character, accompanied by a consistent and well-done supporting cast. [9] Venus Envy ran until 2014. [5] [10] [11]

Paizo: artist

In 2009, Frasier joined the art and layout department of Paizo Inc. as an intern so she could learn graphic design. [3] She worked in the art department until 2014. [12]

Paizo: game developer

In 2015, Frasier left the art department and became a game developer for Paizo. [13] Amongst other projects, she created Shardra Geltl, the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game's first transgender iconic character. [14] She also worked on comic books based on Pathfinder, like the Spiral of Bones and Dynamite series. [15] [16] [1] [17]

In June 2015, she and Jenn Dolari also received notice for the creation of a meme featuring transgender people based on the Vanity Fair cover featuring Caitlyn Jenner. [18]

In 2016, Frasier was announced as a Gen Con Industry Insider Featured Presenter. [19] In 2018, she left the Paizo game developing team to "focus on her freelancing career." [20]

Freelancer

Frasier left Paizo to pursue a career as freelance author, editor and artist. She contacted Green Ronin Publishing about the lack of trans-gender characters in their upcoming second edition of the fantasy romance RPG Blue Rose , [3] and this resulted in a good deal of work for Green Ronin, including becoming the Line Developer for the latest edition of Mutants & Masterminds . [21] Her adventure design credits include The Harrowing and In Hell's Bright Shadow. [22] [3]

In August 2019, Frasier participated in the game designer panel "Playing with Identity: Tabletop Role-Playing Games and the Queer Power Self-Definition" at Flame Con about the impacts of queer identity on game design and play. [23]

Frasier collaborated with Val Wise to create the graphic novel Cheer Up!: Love and Pompoms, published by Oni-Lion Forge, and described by Barnes & Noble as a "sweet, queer teen romance perfect for fans of Fence and Check Please! ." [24]

Mimi Koehler called the book "a heartfelt, quick-paced, sweet, and super diverse graphic novel", noting that it manages "to pack a lot within those pages—from diverse representation, a sapphic love story (with the unbeatable trope best-friends-to-enemies-to-friends-to-lovers) to representations of transphobic microaggressions and teammates becoming friends for life." [25]

In February 2021, DC Comics announced that Frasier would be one of the writers for the Love Is a Battlefield special, working with Juan Gedeon on a story where Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor have a "date night that inevitably takes a superheroic turn." [26] [27] [1]

In March 2021, Marvel Comics announced she would be a co-writer with Al Ewing of a comic series titled Gamma Flight, illustrated by Lan Medina. [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] Frasier had previously worked for Marvel in 2020 on a comic about The Immortal Hulk. [33]

Frasier was also co-author of the D&D sourcebook Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft published in 2021.

Personal life

After hiding her identity during her first years at Paizo, Frasier came out as a trans woman following her transition, as she had no community to connect with, and wanted to help other trans people at that point. [34] In November 2020, she tweeted that she was also intersex. [35] [34]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hulk</span> Marvel Comics Character

The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of The Incredible Hulk. In his comic book appearances, the character, who has dissociative identity disorder (DID), is primarily represented by the alter ego Hulk, a green-skinned, hulking, and muscular humanoid possessing a limitless degree of physical strength, and the alter ego Dr. Robert Bruce Banner, a physically weak, socially withdrawn, and emotionally reserved physicist, both of whom typically resent each other.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Absorbing Man</span> Marvel Comics fictional character

The Absorbing Man is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and writer-artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Journey into Mystery #114, in the Silver Age of Comic Books. Carl Creel has the power to absorb and become any material he touched. Originally a supervillain, in later years, he has reformed into more of an antihero.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenn Talbot</span> Fictional character appearing in Marvel Comics

Major Glenn Talbot is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in Tales to Astonish #61.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abomination (character)</span> Marvel Comics fictional character

The Abomination is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Gil Kane, the character first appeared in Tales to Astonish #90. He is one of the main enemies of the superhero Hulk, and possesses powers similar to his after also being exposed to gamma rays.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Betty Ross</span> Fictional character in Marvel Comics

Elizabeth "Betty" Ross is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 (1962) as a romantic interest of the Hulk. She is the daughter of General Thaddeus E. "Thunderbolt" Ross. Over the years, the character has undergone multiple transformations, including the Harpy and Red She-Hulk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">She-Hulk</span> Comic book superhero

She-Hulk is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist John Buscema, the character first appeared in The Savage She-Hulk #1. Walters is a lawyer who, after an assassination attempt, received an emergency blood transfusion from her cousin, Bruce Banner, and acquired a milder version of his Hulk condition. As such, Walters becomes a large, powerful, green-hued version of herself. Unlike Banner in his Hulk form, Walters largely retains her normal personality in her She-Hulk form, in particular the majority of her intelligence and emotional control. Furthermore, though she's much taller in her She-Hulk form, Walters's body mass is just as dense as that of her normal human self. In any case, like Hulk, She-Hulk is still susceptible to outbursts of anger and becomes much stronger when enraged. In later series, her transformation is permanent, and she often breaks the fourth wall for humorous effect and running gags, as the first major Marvel character to do so frequently, ahead of the more famous fourth wall breaker Deadpool.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leader (character)</span> Comic book supervillain

The Leader is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Leader first appeared in Tales to Astonish #62, created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko as the archenemy of the Hulk. He has mainly appeared in Hulk-related comic books over the years and was one of the featured characters in the Marvel NOW! Thunderbolts relaunch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thunderbolt Ross</span> Comic book character

General Thaddeus E. "Thunderbolt" Ross is a fictional character who appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics featuring the Hulk. Ross is a United States military officer, the father of Betty Ross, and the ex-father-in-law of both Glenn Talbot and Bruce Banner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blonde Phantom</span> Fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics

The Blonde Phantom is a fictional masked crime fighter appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created for Marvel predecessor Timely Comics by Stan Lee and Syd Shores, the character first appeared in All Select Comics #11, during the 1940s period fans and historians call the Golden Age of Comic Books. The heroine was so well received that the next issue was retitled The Blonde Phantom. The series continued to feature her until issue #22. She also appeared in backup stories in many other Timely comics; in Superhero Comics of the Golden Age, Mike Benton observes that "for a few months in 1948, readers could find her in seven titles on the newsstand." In The Supergirls, Mike Madrid asserted, "Once again, a capable woman hid behind a meek persona and only let her hair down, literally, to come to the aid of a man who completely ignored her unless she assumed a disguise. In a 1947 story entitled "I Hate Myself", Louise even dreams that Mark finally confesses his love for her, only to have the Blonde Phantom persona appear and steal him away."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christina Strain</span> American artist

Christina Strain is an American comic book colorist, writer and screenwriter. Strain formerly worked for Marvel Comics as a colorist before pursuing a career as a writer. Strain's notable works include; the award-winning Marvel series Runaways, Marvel's Generation-X, the Syfy TV show, The Magicians, and the Netflix series Shadow and Bone.

Paizo Inc. is an American role-playing game publishing company based in Redmond, Washington, best known for the tabletop role-playing games Pathfinder and Starfinder. The company's name is derived from the Greek word παίζωpaizō, which means 'I play' or 'to play'. Paizo also runs an online retail store selling role-playing games board games, comic books, toys, clothing, accessories and other products, as well as an Internet forum community.

The Gamma Corps is the name of two fictional Gamma-based military units appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skaar (character)</span> Comic book superhero

Skaar is a fictional character, a comic book superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually as a supporting character in stories featuring his father, the Hulk, who conceived Skaar with the extraterrestrial Caiera during the 2006–2007 "Planet Hulk" storyline. Created by writer Greg Pak and artist John Romita Jr., the earliest version of the character appeared in a cameo in an alternate history story in What If? Planet Hulk #1, in which the character was drawn by Rafa Sandoval. The Earth-616 version of the character appeared in World War Hulk #5, by Pak and Romita, Jr.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">She-Hulk (Lyra)</span> Comics character

She-Hulk (Lyra) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Jeff Parker and Mitch Breitweiser, the character first appeared in Hulk: Raging Thunder #1(August 2008). Lyra is an antihero who is known under the codename of She-Hulk. She is from an alternate future of the Marvel Universe's main timeline. She is the daughter of that reality's Thundra and the Marvel Universe's Hulk. The character was also a member of the Defenders and the Avengers Academy at various points during her history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sophie Labelle</span> Canadian writer and cartoonist

Sophie Labelle is a Canadian cartoonist, public speaker, and writer. She created the webcomic Assigned Male, which draws upon her experiences as a transgender child. She is an activist in the transgender rights movement, and speaks on the subjects of transgender history and transfeminism.

Assigned Male is a webcomic illustrated and written by Sophie Labelle. It draws upon her experiences as a trans girl and woman. The comic, and series of zines, address issues of gender norms and privilege. It began in October 2014 and is ongoing, published in English and French. The webcomic is released in printed anthologies on Labelle's online store.

Venus Envy is a webcomic written and designed by a trans woman, and artist, named Crystal Frasier. It was first released in 2001. In addition to dealing with the themes of transgender people and gender transition, the strip also deals with other themes such as adolescence in general, William Shakespeare and women's soccer.

<i>Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms</i> 2021 graphic novel by Crystal Frasier

Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms, sometimes stylized as Cheer Up!, is a young adult graphic novel written by Crystal Frasier, with art by Val Wise and lettering by Oscar Jupiter. Published on August 10, 2021, by Oni Press, it tells the story of two queer high school girls, Beatrice – who is transgender – and Annie, as they try to become cheerleaders.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Frasier, Crystal (February 2021). "An Interview with Crystal Frasier" (online). Pop Culture Beast (Online). Interviewed by Aiden Mason. Archived from the original on February 18, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Crystal Frasier". Simon & Schuster . Archived from the original on March 29, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Arndt, Dan (April 14, 2020). "Time Travel, Punching Klansmen, And The Queer RPG Agenda: A Chat With Crystal Frasier". The Fandomentals. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Crystal Frasier". OrcaCon2019. Archived from the original on March 29, 2021.
  5. 1 2 Crystal Frasier ( a ). "MTF Nightmare No. 36" Venus Envy,no. 2(December 1, 2001).Official website of Venus Envy (webcomic).Archived from the original on June 13, 2021.
  6. ↑ Frasier, Crystal [@AmazonChique] (February 12, 2018). "No, I'm _THE_ Erin Lindsey" (Tweet). Archived from the original on March 28, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2021– via Twitter.
  7. ↑ Frasier, Crystal. "Crystal Frasier". RPG Geek. Archived from the original on September 27, 2020. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  8. ↑ Frasier, Crystal. "Welcome to Venus Envy". Official website of Venus Envy. Keenspace. Archived from the original on December 14, 2004. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  9. ↑ Seabrook, Laura (April 2006). "Transition Stories, Switch-Around, Personal Histories, Theory, Incidentals and Gag Strips". Polare (67). Archived from the original on April 4, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  10. ↑ Crystal Frasier ( a ). "Untitled" Venus Envy,no. 2(January 30, 2004).Official website of Venus Envy (webcomic).Archived from the original on November 12, 2020.
  11. ↑ Frasier, Crystal. "About the comic". Official website of Venus Envy comic. Archived from the original on February 26, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  12. ↑ Fraiser, Crystal (September 15, 2009). "They appreciate my mastery of fire..." Paizo.com. Archived from the original on March 29, 2021.
  13. ↑ Frasier, Crystal (March 9, 2015). "They Still Appreciate My Mastery Of Fire". Paizo.com. Archived from the original on March 29, 2021.
  14. ↑ Fraiser, Crystal (July 31, 2014). "Meet the Iconics: Shardra Geltl". Paizo.com. Archived from the original on September 8, 2018.
  15. ↑ Wickline, Dan (May 30, 2018). "Writer's Commentary – Crystal Frasier Talks Pathfinder: Spiral of Bones #3". Bleeding Cool . Archived from the original on January 25, 2021.
  16. ↑ "Crystal Frasier at Outsider Comics in Seattle, WA on Wed March 21, 2018, 5–7 pm – Seattle Readings & Talks Events Calendar". The Stranger . March 21, 2018. Archived from the original on March 29, 2021.
  17. ↑ Frasier, Crystal (February 2021). "RICH INTERVIEWS: Crystal Frasier Writer for "Pathfinder: Spiral of Bones"" (online). First Comics News (Online). Interviewed by Richard Vasseur. Archived from the original on January 24, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  18. ↑ Eleftheriou-Smith, Loulla-Mae (June 5, 2015). "Trans people are sharing #MyVanityFair covers in celebration of the community's diversity". The Independent . Archived from the original on March 29, 2019. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  19. ↑ "Industry Insider Featured Presenters for 2016". Gen Con. Archived from the original on July 31, 2016. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
  20. ↑ Daigle, Adam (July 3, 2018). "Farewell to Crystal". Paizo.com. Archived from the original on September 17, 2018.
  21. ↑ "About Crystal Frasier". Green Ronin. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  22. ↑ "Queer as a Three-Sided Die Panelists". Tabletop Gaymers. Archived from the original on December 2, 2020. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  23. ↑ Sendaula, Stephanie. "Highlights from Flame Con 2019". Library Journal. Archived from the original on March 22, 2023. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  24. ↑ "Cheer Up: Love and Pom-Poms by Crystal Frasier, Val Wise, Paperback". Barnes & Noble . Archived from the original on March 29, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  25. ↑ Koehler, Mimi (April 29, 2021). "Read With Pride: 'Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms' by Crystal Frasier and Val Wise". Nerd Daily. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  26. ↑ Stone, Sam (February 9, 2021). "DC's Love Is a Battlefield Special Superbly Showcases Romance Across the DCU". CBR . Archived from the original on February 15, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  27. ↑ Casey, Conor (February 10, 2021). "DC: Love Is a Battlefied #1 Review: Many Heartfelt Stories Make for a Lovely Anthology". ComicBook. Archived from the original on February 10, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  28. ↑ "New Gamma-Powered Series Spinning Out of Al Ewing's 'Immortal Hulk'". Marvel Comics . March 15, 2021. Archived from the original on March 24, 2021.
  29. ↑ Jennings, Collier (March 15, 2021). "Gamma Flight: Marvel Announces Immortal Hulk Spinoff Series". CBR . Archived from the original on March 19, 2021.
  30. ↑ Johnston, Rich (March 18, 2021). "Crystal Frasier, Al Ewing, Lan Medina Launch Gamma Flight From Marvel". Bleeding Cool . Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  31. ↑ Lovett, Jamie (March 15, 2021). "Marvel Announces Hulk Spinoff Gamma Flight". comicbook. Archived from the original on March 16, 2021.
  32. ↑ Kaplan, Avery (March 15, 2021). "New GAMMA FLIGHT series lands this June!". Comics Beat . Archived from the original on March 16, 2021.
  33. ↑ Sava, Oliver (March 2, 2020). "Immortal Hulk is the unstoppable ruler of superhero comics". Polygon . Archived from the original on April 15, 2020.
  34. 1 2 Frasier, Crystal (April 14, 2020). "Time Travel, Punching Klansmen, And The Queer RPG Agenda: A Chat With Crystal Frasier". The Fandomentals (Interview). Interviewed by Dan Arndt. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021. ...I'm not proud of it, but I went stealth for a long time after I transitioned...I ended up coming out when I was working for Paizo.
  35. ↑ Frasier, Crystal [@AmazonChique] (November 28, 2020). "I mean, I'm trans and intersex, and I want my perspective to be considered. Trans people are valid and socialization arguments are 99% bullshit" (Tweet). Archived from the original on November 29, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2021– via Twitter.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.