S.E. Case is four chapters in on Rigsby, WI, a webcomic she’s been posting since 2019. The comic is about four average Wisconsin teenagers and the trials and tribulations they encounter with their friends, their families and their futures. While the teenagers may be average, the strip is anything but, as Case has brought to life four characters who will make you laugh, cry, yell and ultimately remember what life was like when you knew everything and nothing at the same time.
Case has teamed up with Iron Circus Comics to publish the first print collection of the webcomic, which is up now on the crowdfunding site BackerKit.
Here’s the description from the publisher: Sometimes as a teen in a small town, you can feel trapped — trapped enough to want to gnaw off your own leg to escape. Bethany has gotten some much needed stability in Rigsby, WI — she’s away from her oppressively disapproving mother, and the other local teens Jeordie, Erik and Anna have welcomed her in — and together the four of them know how to escape from the world that is closing in on them. While Case’s vibrant art and naturalistic writing doesn’t shy away from the rougher experiences and feelings of teens, it also covers the truly important topics like, “is Phish a good band?”, “is the neck the dong of the torso?” and “Ernest Hemingway: Was he a piece of shit?” Nostalgic, sweet, bitter and funny all at once, Rigsby WI feels like a teenage afternoon spent with friends, with all the pathos, boredom and absurdity inherent therein.
I spoke with Case about the campaign, as well as the webcomics’ small-town setting, why now was the right time for a print collection and, yes, is Phish a good band?
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