A little naughty.

When we were reworking the reward tiers for our Patreon campaign, we discovered that it’s become fairly common practice for webcomic artists to offer scandalous pictures of their cast members at their highest Patreon pledge levels.  Garth and I entertained the idea of going the full NSFW route for our cast members, but it didn’t feel right.  Safe-for-work lingerie, revealing outfits, or implied nudity seemed more appropriate than going the full monty, so to speak.

We didn’t feel it was inappropriate for moral reasons.  Garth and I are very sex positive individuals who believe sexuality is something to be explored and celebrated in a safe environment.  We believe in everyone’s right to love whoever they wish.  We don’t think nudity is something to be ashamed of.  We felt it was inappropriate for the tone of the comic we’ve created.  It’s been four years(!) since we launched STAR POWER and we haven’t gotten around to showcasing our first romantic kiss yet.  Call me old fashioned, but I believe there ought to be some romance before getting to the naughty stuff.  So while there’s been no romance in the comic, we thought it was still perfectly reasonable for Danica and company to lounge around in revealing underwear and such.

And personally, I feel we have to be very careful with this sort of thing.  As much as we don’t like to make a big deal of it, we’re still two male creators of a female protagonist and showcasing her sexuality, even behind the paywall of a Patreon reward tier, makes us walk a fine line between celebrating her empowerment and the false perception that we’re objectifying her.  At the moment, SFW portraits of the cast, both female and male, is a good way for us to take baby steps into this realm of our characters showcasing their sexy sides.

Danica is the first cast member to be showing off her sexy side.  Who will be showcased in July?  Dr. Brightman?  Kaylo?  Grex?  The chief?  You won’t know for sure unless you’re a top-tier patron of our Patreon!