The River's Source

Koda is from the modern day and is around 8-11 years old. How they ended up here is the most unclear out of all of the characters, and they tend to be more visibly scared of this new environment than the other humans. Despite this, they’re still kind to their companions and serve as a peacemaker in the group.

Lady is a woman in her late 30s/early 40s from ~1958. She’s an underground railroad conductor stationed in Cincinnati, and escaped slavery herself sometime in her twenties, changing her name to Lady afterwards. She has no children or husband, but does have a larger extended family who she has mixed feelings on, specifically a sister who she finds deeply annoying.

Edmund is a man in his late 20s from the 1920s. He’s the most willing out of everyone to do morally fuzzy actions and serves as the right hand man to Lady. He was a rum runner, smuggling alcohol further south along the river during the prohibition.

Warrior is a 35 year old man from the Mississippi River Civilizations ~800 BCE. While the other characters can’t understand his language, they can discern the general meaning of what he’s saying. He gets along well with Koda, eventually opening up to them about his wife and two daughters, who he wants to get home to.

Sasha is a woman in her 30s and a WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilot) in WW2. She’s the resident “smart guy” of the group. Her history and experience with physics and engineering are helpful in a pinch. Eventually she admits to a less than ideal life back home with a failed marriage and estranged family that she dealt with by devoting herself to her work.

My personal artistic spirit lends itself to history and storytelling the most. When asked to come up with art pieces based on the Ohio River, that's where my mind immediately went.

Combining my personal knowledge on the history of the Ohio River Valley and its folklore and culture, I created a fantasy world. Each of the tributaries are based on both historical moments and personal experiences. Growing up, my family and I made frequent trips to museums, parks, and landmarks. Those experiences and that relationship with history were massive inspirations on The Rivers source.

The Marsh is based off of Loveland, its castle and its cryptids. The glacier is based off of the many many exhibits of the ancient glacier that pushed up Cincinnati's hills. And the lick is inspired by trips to Big Bone Lick. Each of the characters are taken from a major moment in Ohio's history.

Other elements had less personal connections. The glass garden was born less out of a deep personal or historical connection, and more my distaste for how little shade there is in some riverfront parks.

This is my first published work. I am responsible for not just the story but character design, storyboards, and line art. But I cannot understate the help that Max and Ashe were with every step. Assisting in writing, management, and coloring.

When I was first deciding what I wanted to do for “My River, My Roots, My Freedom” I really wanted to include many different parts of the Ohio River’s history and how it has been used throughout this history. The big things that stood out to me was its use for industry, by freedom seekers, by rum runners, and by indigenous people. However, I couldn’t think of a way to combine all of these ideas into one project. Eventually I settled on focusing just on the river’s use in industry and how that has polluted the river, since it was a topic that I was already familiar with.

When I heard Violet’s idea for this comic I was really excited because it conceptualized exactly what I wanted to do with my original project idea. I especially liked the concept for the Old Ocean, because I’ve learned a lot about the Ordovician period in one of my college classes, and am very passionate about paleontology.

It was really fun working on this project with Violet and Max and I hope people enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed making it!

The River's Source is a fun and engaging story inspired by our favorite historical moments in the Ohio River's history. It conjoined many of our outside interests into one project including American history, biology, and character design. We wanted to bring people closer to our interests and this history by giving them characters and personalities to connect with.

This project helped me to grow as a digital artist, communicator, and storyteller. Violet was inspiring to work with and I hope we can continue this story.