I met Jess J.P. Herron at Rose City Comic Con, where she was selling small preview booklets, stickers, and art from her queer sports webcomic, Midnight Furies. I was instantly intrigued by Herron’s dynamic, colorful art, which features bold lines, sharp angles, and distinct character presentations. Once I read the comic itself, I discovered that the story is also bold, pulling inspiration from alternate-reality sci-fi/fantasy stories but staying very grounded in reality.
Here’s the synopsis:
Forced by the death of her parents to drop out of school and support her brothers, Zoe is an ex-basketball-ace desperate for any way to play the game. Luckily, her mysterious friend Chase can get her into the most off-the-wall tournament no one’s ever heard of — one where you play for time added onto your life!
But Zoe’s gotta be careful. Chase is playing her own game… and it might cost them more than just points.
Midnight Furies is a sports drama about basketball, but it’s also about grief, familial obligation, self-fulfilling prophecies, and coming of age. As it tackles these themes, Midnight Furies plays with time, space, and reality in really cool ways. Herron draws the comic in black and white with pops of red and pink, which establishes the intense, dramatic tone of the story from the jump — likewise, the layouts and lettering feed into the frenetic pacing of the basketball court, then slow things down when the story takes place outside of it.
Updated every Thursday, Midnight Furies is available on Tumblr, as well as on Webtoon and Tapas. To keep up with Herron, follow her on Twitter @ThatJPHerron or support her on Patreon (and get loads of extra goodies!). This webcomic is recommended for readers age 14+.
midfury is wildly underrated – so glad to see it (and herron) getting some well-deserved recognition
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