October 27, 2021October 31, 2021Mermaids MonthlyLeave a Comment

Awoken

by Elyse Russell and Miranda Leyson

PAGE 2, PANEL 1 - TOP QUARTER OF PAGE. The little girl looks past the viewer, green eyes wide, mouth open to reveal her teeth. Her grandmother looks at her, worriedly. There are white lines of water behind them, at the level of their heads. LITTLE GIRL: "But the humans!" GRANDMOTHER: "It doesn't matter anymore! She's coming!" PANEL 2, a big rush of water in a barrelling wave. The onomatopoeia is found within the wave: NGHAHHHG" PANEL 3, small just below PANEL 2, the grandmother holds the little girl as they're swept up by the water. They are in a swirl of green. CAPTION: AAEEEAAAIIIIIE. PANEL 4, next to previous panel, the light source now behind them. Both mermaids are facing the reader. The grandmother is holding the little girl by the shoulders. The grandmother is strained while the little girl looks scared. LITTLE GIRL: "What was that?!" PANEL 5, in a triangle below PANELS 3-4: The mermaids have breached the surface, bright blue water swirls around them. The grandmother looks ahead while the little girl holds an arm over her head, anguished. GRANDMOTHER: "It's Atlantis!" LITTLE GIRL: "The Lost City?"

PAGE 3, SPLASH PAGE. The mermaids are at the surface, looking downward, into the depths of the water below them, which is dark while the water on the surface is light. They both look worried. In the depths below, there are red eyes and a mass of black tentacles. GRANDMOTHER: "No, child." CAPTION, bottom right corner: "It was never a city."

© Copyright Elyse Russell and Miranda Leyson

Elyse Russell enjoys writing short stories and graphic novels. Her first book, Losing It, will be released with Cinnabar Moth Publishing in July 2022. She is currently pitching several graphic novels. Follow her on Twitter @ElyseRussell13 (BraveLittleTeapotThoughts) for updates!

Miranda Leyson is a freelance artist based in Beaverton, Oregon. She has been doing freelance art for the past three years, primarily focused on character art and comics. Miranda just completed work on the indie comic series Decay (written by Randy Fortunato) and is currently working on the creator-owned web series Winged.

Read the Rest of the October Issue

The Ossuary at Ocean’s End by Marisca Pichette
Elemental by Marlan Quade Cook
portrait of a girl in water by Ashley Bao
A Thousand Souls by Marie Brennan
Seafloor Skull by Inkshark
The Ghosts of Mermaids & The Answer Atop Mermaid’s Rest by Coral Alejandra Moore and Cathin Yang
Awoken by Elyse Russell and Miranda Leyson
The Abyssal Architect by Ori Jay
One Last Shriek by Umiyuri Katsuyama
Merfolks as a Passage from My Thoughts and Doings by Chinua Ezenwa-Ohaeto
This Is Your Home by Stefan Slater
Mermaidsong by Csilla Kleinheincz
Fish Out of Water: How Mermaids Represent Disabled, Queer Folk Like Me by Melanie Jayne Ashford
“a sea-like condition” by Felicia Martinez
This Is You by Kathryn Kania
Before You Go in Search of Spirits & The Truth They Hear in My Heart by Cathin Yang and Coral Alejandra Moore
Dreams of Another Life by Elizabeth Kestrel Rogers
Charting the Next Adventure by Meg Frank

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