Welcome to my little fragment of internet swamp! I’m Maia, I’m a recent graduate from the Center for Cartoon Studies, and I make comics! You might recognize me from small-scale tumblr hits like this comic or this one. Or you might follow me on instagram. Or you might be my mom. Or possibly a secret fourth category. However you found me, I’m glad you’re here.

I make journal comics about identity, curiosity, mental health, queerness, and joy. Sometimes I make other things too! My big dream is to write and illustrate full-length graphic novels for kids and teens centering and celebrating LGBTQ+ stories—books that imagine kinder, wilder, brighter worlds. We deserve ‘em.

about this newsletter
Subscribing is the best way to keep up with what I’m working on. I will be publishing posts about 1-4 times a month. Some posts are journal comics, others are more traditional blog posts with a mix of photos, illustrations, and text.

While most posts will be available to the public at the Free subscription tier, there is also a paid subscription tier. For $5 a month you get access to all the public posts PLUS exclusive bonus content not intended for wide distribution, like behind-the-scenes, sneak peeks, and more personal posts. The paid subscriber tier is a great way to financially support me as I enthusiastically chase my graphic-novel-making dreams through this bleak capitalist hellscape. Whichever tier you’re at, thank you for being part of my community. I mean it. I’m glad you’re on my team.

content notes
My posts are generally suitable for teens and older, and there are unlikely to be any that are explicitly 18+. That said, minors: please use discretion. Posts containing potentially sensitive material will always have a content warning right at the top.

accessibility
From July 2025 onwards, all images include image descriptions in the alt text to make this newsletter more accessible to low vision viewers using screen readers.

sparklemaia's buttondown

compass

a blog post about resurrecting a dream ft. journal comics from the vault