Background: Noah Wilson (he/him) is an artist, illustrator, and comic writer based in Richmond, Virginia. He recently graduated with a BFA in Communication Arts from the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). His art focuses on the themes of fantasy and reality, often combing the two in unique ways. Some of his artistic obsessions include plants, frogs, and bugs, among other nature imagery. He also has an interest in video games and anime, to include the popular RPG game Genshin Impact and Japanese animation company Studio Ghibli. His work can be found on his website, as well as Etsy, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter @vampirefrogs.
Photos included with the written permission of Noah Wilson. All rights reserved.
A Spontaneous Day in the Life of Jamie Blue is a 32 page, full-color comic that centers around a middle schooler who gets lost at Anime-X, an anime convention in an unnamed US city. Jamie Blue (he/they) is a friendly, anxious, and incredibly relatable nonbinary character who is just excited to explore all the fun events Anime-X has to offer. In fact, it was while he was rambling about all of the events he was excited to attend, including the panel of voice actors and the artist alley, that he lost track of his mom in the huge crowd of con-goers and cosplayers. This heartfelt short comic follows Jamie as they use all the resources at their disposal to search for his mom, including help from a surprise friend.
It’s hard to summarize and describe a short story without spoiling all of the surprises. So, I’ll let the creator do the talking! In a promotional video he posted while raising money through Kickstarter, Noah described this story as “packed with action, comedy, and tons of cute moments,” further explaining that, “I think there’s something for everyone to love.”
I couldn’t agree more. From spontaneous chase sequences to burnt out retail worker comedy and seemingly infinite references to various anime, video games, films, and TV shows, this comic truly does have a little bit for anyone to enjoy. Plus, the nonbinary representation in this comic is flawless. Within the text of the comic, Jamie is referred to by gender-neutral terms, even by strangers who don’t know them.
The artist’s talent and skill are evident from page one, with a good eye for comic page layout, artistic perspectives, and creative text placement. One page in particular stands out to me: page 6 of the comic depicts Jamie attempting to call his mom. When he hears the iconic beep to leave a voicemail, Jamie just facepalms and then takes a huge breath before releasing all of their internalized anxieties and worries in an extra long voicemail. The last three panels on the page are essentially walls of text, which make his anxiety incredibly visible and tangible. These panels take up two-thirds of the page, each one getting narrower and narrower to convey Jamie’s constricting chest and anxiety, as well as him running out of breath.
Noah perfectly captures Jamie’s anxiety in every detail of this page, from Jamie’s expressions to each word of their probably over 2 minute long voicemail to their mom. The attention to detail in this comic book is incredible, as evident from the above example of synergy between page layout and conveying emotion.
There are also innumerable easter eggs and moments of foreshadowing in the comic, hidden both in the background scenes and suggested in the dialogue. It’s a comic worthy of several re-reads to focus on and find these hidden gems. One of my favorite things to do when re-reading this comic was to look closely at all of the background characters to identify all of the cosplayers’ characters and fandoms.
Noah Wilson began work on this comic in September 2021, and it was printed 7 months later, in April 2022. Over 400 hours of work went into this phenomenal comic book, for which Noah completed all storyboarding, character design, panel/layout design, script writing, drawing, coloring, and lettering. A Spontaneous Day in the Life of Jamie Blue is available for purchase on Noah’s website or on his Etsy page.
Kasey Roper 