Crystal Frasier

Crystal Frasier is an American artist, author and game designer. She is known for her work on the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, as well as being the author of the webcomic Venus Envy, which features a trans woman as a protagonist, and the graphic novel Cheer Up!: Love and Pompoms.

Crystal Frasier
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater
New College of Florida
Art Institute of Seattle
Notable work
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game
Venus Envy

Early life

Crystal Frasier grew up in small town in Florida, where she spent her spare time watching television, reading, and playing with her Ninja Turtles or stuffed animals.[1][2] In elementary school, she started writing stories and drawing comics, continuing this in junior high school, where she drew comics for the school's newspaper.

She unexpectedly fell into role-playing games when she mail-ordered Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Other Strangeness, thinking it was a novel, only to discover it was the RPG created by Palladium Books.[3] From there, Frasier started playing other role-playing games created by Palladium, and eventually started playing Dungeons & Dragons.[3]

In high school, she wrote Sailor Moon fan fiction, began running a gaming blog, and wrote her first paid article for a fan magazine published by Palladium Books.[3][1] When Palladium dropped her as a freelancer, Frasier decided to concentrate on art rather than writing.

She graduated from the Art Institute of Seattle and the New College of Florida.[4]

Career

Web comic creator

In December 2001, Frasier created the webcomic Venus Envy under the name "Erin Lindsey."[5][6][7] In addition to dealing with the themes of transgender people and gender transition,[8] the strip also deals with other themes such as adolescence in general, William Shakespeare and women's soccer. Laura Seabrook, in a review for Polare, called the comic "really important", and praised the protagonist as a well-rounded, believable character, accompanied by a consistent and well-done supporting cast.[9] Venus Envy ran until 2014.[5][10][11]

Paizo: artist

In 2009, Frasier joined the art and layout department of Paizo Inc. as an intern so she could learn graphic design.[3] She worked in the art department until 2014.[12]

Paizo: game developer

In 2015, Frasier left the art department and became a game developer for Paizo.[13] Amongst other projects, she created Shardra Geltl, the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game's first transgender iconic character.[14] She also worked on comic books based on Pathfinder, like the Spiral of Bones and Dynamite series.[15][16][1][17]

In June 2015, she and Jenn Dolari also received notice for the creation of a meme featuring transgender people based on the Vanity Fair cover featuring Caitlyn Jenner.[18]

In 2016, Frasier was announced as a Gen Con Industry Insider Featured Presenter.[19] In 2018, she left the Paizo game developing team to "focus on her freelancing career."[20]

Freelancer

Frasier left Paizo to pursue a career as freelance author, editor and artist. She contacted Green Ronin Publishing about the lack of trans-gender characters in their upcoming second edition of the fantasy romance RPG Blue Rose,[3] and this resulted in a good deal of work for Green Ronin, including becoming the Line Developer for the latest edition of Mutants & Masterminds.[21] Her adventure design credits include The Harrowing and In Hell's Bright Shadow.[22][3]

In August 2019, Frasier participated in the game designer panel "Playing with Identity: Tabletop Role-Playing Games and the Queer Power Self-Definition" at Flame Con about the impacts of queer identity on game design and play.[23]

Frasier collaborated with Val Wise to create the graphic novel Cheer Up!: Love and Pompoms, published by Oni-Lion Forge, and described by Barnes & Noble as a "sweet, queer teen romance perfect for fans of Fence and Check Please!."[24]

Mimi Koehler called the book "a heartfelt, quick-paced, sweet, and super diverse graphic novel", noting that it manages "to pack a lot within those pages—from diverse representation, a sapphic love story (with the unbeatable trope best-friends-to-enemies-to-friends-to-lovers) to representations of transphobic microaggressions and teammates becoming friends for life."[25]

In February 2021, DC Comics announced that Frasier would be one of the writers for the Love Is a Battlefield special, working with Juan Gedeon on a story where Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor have a "date night that inevitably takes a superheroic turn."[26][27][1]

In March 2021, Marvel Comics announced she would be a co-writer with Al Ewing of a comic series titled Gamma Flight, illustrated by Lan Medina.[28][29][30][31][32] Frasier had previously worked for Marvel in 2020 on a comic about The Immortal Hulk.[33]

Frasier was also co-author of the D&D sourcebook Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft published in 2021.

Personal life

After hiding her sexuality during her first years at Paizo, Frasier came out as a trans woman following her transition, as she had no community to connect with, and wanted to help other trans people at that point.[34] In November 2020, she tweeted that she was also intersex.[35][34]

References
  1. Frasier, Crystal (February 2021). "An Interview with Crystal Frasier" (online). Pop Culture Beast (Online). Interviewed by Aiden Mason. Archived from the original on February 18, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  2. "Crystal Frasier". Simon & Schuster. Archived from the original on March 29, 2021.
  3. Arndt, Dan (April 14, 2020). "Time Travel, Punching Klansmen, And The Queer RPG Agenda: A Chat With Crystal Frasier". The Fandomentals. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  4. "Crystal Frasier". OrcaCon2019. Archived from the original on March 29, 2021.
  5. Crystal Frasier (a). "MTF Nightmare No. 36" Venus Envy, no. 2 (December 1, 2001). Official website of Venus Envy (webcomic). Archived from the original on June 13, 2021.
  6. Frasier, Crystal [@AmazonChique] (February 12, 2018). "No, I'm _THE_ Erin Lindsey" (Tweet). Archived from the original on March 28, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2021 – via Twitter.
  7. Frasier, Crystal. "Crystal Frasier". RPG Geek. Archived from the original on September 27, 2020. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  8. Frasier, Crystal. "Welcome to Venus Envy". Official website of Venus Envy. Keenspace. Archived from the original on December 14, 2004. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  9. Seabrook, Laura (April 2006). "Transition Stories, Switch-Around, Personal Histories, Theory, Incidentals and Gag Strips". Polare (67). Archived from the original on April 4, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  10. Crystal Frasier (a). "Untitled" Venus Envy, no. 2 (January 30, 2004). Official website of Venus Envy (webcomic). Archived from the original on November 12, 2020.
  11. Frasier, Crystal. "About the comic". Official website of Venus Envy comic. Archived from the original on February 26, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  12. Fraiser, Crystal (September 15, 2009). "They appreciate my mastery of fire..." Paizo.com. Archived from the original on March 29, 2021.
  13. Frasier, Crystal (March 9, 2015). "They Still Appreciate My Mastery Of Fire". Paizo.com. Archived from the original on March 29, 2021.
  14. Fraiser, Crystal (July 31, 2014). "Meet the Iconics: Shardra Geltl". Paizo.com. Archived from the original on September 8, 2018.
  15. Wickline, Dan (May 30, 2018). "Writer's Commentary – Crystal Frasier Talks Pathfinder: Spiral of Bones #3". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on January 25, 2021.
  16. "Crystal Frasier at Outsider Comics in Seattle, WA on Wed March 21, 2018, 5–7 pm – Seattle Readings & Talks Events Calendar". The Stranger. March 21, 2018. Archived from the original on March 29, 2021.
  17. Frasier, Crystal (February 2021). "RICH INTERVIEWS: Crystal Frasier Writer for "Pathfinder: Spiral of Bones"" (online). First Comics News (Online). Interviewed by Richard Vasseur. Archived from the original on January 24, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  18. Eleftheriou-Smith, Loulla-Mae (June 5, 2015). "Trans people are sharing #MyVanityFair covers in celebration of the community's diversity". The Independent. Archived from the original on March 29, 2019. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  19. "Industry Insider Featured Presenters for 2016". Gen Con. Archived from the original on July 31, 2016. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
  20. Daigle, Adam (July 3, 2018). "Farewell to Crystal". Paizo.com. Archived from the original on September 17, 2018.
  21. "About Crystal Frasier". Green Ronin. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  22. "Queer as a Three-Sided Die Panelists". Tabletop Gaymers. Archived from the original on December 2, 2020. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  23. Sendaula, Stephanie. "Highlights from Flame Con 2019". Library Journal. Archived from the original on March 22, 2023. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  24. "Cheer Up: Love and Pom-Poms by Crystal Frasier, Val Wise, Paperback". Barnes & Noble. Archived from the original on March 29, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  25. Koehler, Mimi (April 29, 2021). "Read With Pride: 'Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms' by Crystal Frasier and Val Wise". Nerd Daily. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  26. Stone, Sam (February 9, 2021). "DC's Love Is a Battlefield Special Superbly Showcases Romance Across the DCU". CBR. Archived from the original on February 15, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  27. Casey, Conor (February 10, 2021). "DC: Love Is a Battlefied #1 Review: Many Heartfelt Stories Make for a Lovely Anthology". ComicBook. Archived from the original on February 10, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  28. "New Gamma-Powered Series Spinning Out of Al Ewing's 'Immortal Hulk'". Marvel Comics. March 15, 2021. Archived from the original on March 24, 2021.
  29. Jennings, Collier (March 15, 2021). "Gamma Flight: Marvel Announces Immortal Hulk Spinoff Series". CBR. Archived from the original on March 19, 2021.
  30. Johnston, Rich (March 18, 2021). "Crystal Frasier, Al Ewing, Lan Medina Launch Gamma Flight From Marvel". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  31. Lovett, Jamie (March 15, 2021). "Marvel Announces Hulk Spinoff Gamma Flight". comicbook. Archived from the original on March 16, 2021.
  32. Kaplan, Avery (March 15, 2021). "New GAMMA FLIGHT series lands this June!". Comics Beat. Archived from the original on March 16, 2021.
  33. Sava, Oliver (March 2, 2020). "Immortal Hulk is the unstoppable ruler of superhero comics". Polygon. Archived from the original on April 15, 2020.
  34. Frasier, Crystal (April 14, 2020). "Time Travel, Punching Klansmen, And The Queer RPG Agenda: A Chat With Crystal Frasier". The Fandomentals (Interview). Interviewed by Dan Arndt. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021. ...I'm not proud of it, but I went stealth for a long time after I transitioned...I ended up coming out when I was working for Paizo.
  35. Frasier, Crystal [@AmazonChique] (November 28, 2020). "I mean, I'm trans and intersex, and I want my perspective to be considered. Trans people are valid and socialization arguments are 99% bullshit" (Tweet). Archived from the original on November 29, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2021 – via Twitter.
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