Brass tax: everyone consumes NSFW material. It accounts for 13% of web searches and 20% of mobile searches. My AO3 searches have been diabolical recently (thanks, Hades 2), and I love looking at well-drawn boobs. However, to admit this in public is at best treated like a dirty little secret and at worst, a moral failing. To like pornography for anything other than its “usefulness” gets you labeled as a pervert or a “gooner” or even an addict (even though porn addiction is not a real thing).
I understand where this comes from. I was raised Evangelical Christian. Black evangelical but still evangelical. Christian hangups about sex, how it’s had, and who has it are the building blocks to how this nation came into being 400 years ago. Those sex hangups we have are strong, even inside secular spaces. It’s the reason why many porn sites are riddled with malware-laced ads, the reason adult video stores were always in the middle of nowhere, and if I had to guess, the reason why the incognito browser exists.
Unfortunately, these beliefs are the reason why SESTA/FOSTA laws and anti-porn legislation is being passed. It’s why major payment systems are cracking down on NSFW work on places like Patreon. However, don’t take it just from me. Take it from a number of NSFW creators I have interviewed.
Speaking of…
Can you give a little introduction to who you are (pronouns please!). What comics do you make, and how long have you been making them?
JP: I’m Jey Pawlik. I’m a nonbinary comic artist who uses they/them pronouns. I’ve been working in comics since 2013 with two completed webcomics under my belt, Dead City and Gender Slices, quite a few anthologies, and I’ve done work for Filthy Figments and I’m a full-time comic artist with Oh Joy Sex Toy.
GB: I’m Gina Biggs, I use she/her pronouns and am a full-time artist. I’ve been working in comics since 1997 under the publishing title Strawberry Comics, with my first webcomic, Red String, premiering in 2003, and my latest webcomic, Love Not Found, an LGBT+ sci-fi romance series has been running since 2014. I am the creator and team captain of Filthy Figments (est 2010) where I’ve personally contributed several short comics as well as longer series like my currently running Sugar on Top. Through Filthy Figments, I have worked with a number of fantastic artists in the NSFW comics scene.
NVO: Hi! I’m Nero Villagallos O’Reilly, and I use he/him pronouns. I’ve been drawing adult comics professionally since 2013. I’ve worked with Slipshine, Filthy Figments, Iron Circus, and numerous NSFW anthologies. I also have been working on my adult webcomic, Ultraviolents, since 2023!
Seosamh Dáire: I’m Seosamh “Joe” Dáire, he/him, sé/é as gaeilge. My partner Anka Connolly and I both write and both illustrate the trans sci-fi webcomic Superpose (since 2016) and I’m responsible for the (also trans, also sci-fi) webcomic Birth of the Sun which I started publishing publicly earlier this year. Additionally I’ve participated in anthologies and zines like Fortuna Media’s Buffomet and Paradise Lust in Noah’s Ark vol 3, and in the freshly available Boys With Tits. For Shortbox Comic Fair 2024, I made a 110pg comic called The Solar System. I also have side projects, like my recently-released experimental comic/story about a trans, butch hookup, Boy Skin.
My work as a whole is intended for mature readers regardless of level of sexual content, though it does feature in all of them.
What inspired you to make NSFW work? What’s your favorite part about making it?
JP: I really love drawing bodies. I love drawing fat and folds and wrinkles and characters interacting with one another. Porn is all of those things for me.
I was inspired to start making NSFW work in the early 2010s because there wasn’t a lot of porn with different body types back then. I really wanted to fill that niche that porn comics so desperately needed.
GB: Thinking back on what inspired me, it was back when women were seemingly non-existent in the field. Not that they weren’t there, but all the comic porn sites featured porn for the straight-white-male gaze which didn’t hold much interest for me. I wanted something that had ME in mind and so I cobbled together the FF website, invited five friends and colleagues, and set out to do something different. Over time, we ended up branching out to include creators of all walks of life and have such a lovely variety of porn for a variety of readers!
My favorite part of making porn is weaving the story that brings you to that point. Sexuality is part of the human experience and woven into the narrative of our existence. I love to be absorbed into the adventure of it and what draws these characters together. I love to experience the raw passion of emotions. I love being drawn in.
NVO: I view it similarly to comedy or horror- it’s a genre to me! There’s all kinds of stories, interactions, and feelings that can only be explored through erotica. And being able to bond with others about stories we find hot- it’s a perfectly natural thing, like being jumpscared during a movie, but most people are initially super reluctant to talk about it. It’s awesome seeing people be able to open up like that because of comics.
It’s simple, but my favorite thing has got to be being able to draw all kinds of unusual characters and stories that I personally find interesting but never see. Maybe it’s a little selfish but…people enjoy it! So I’m not going to stop!
SD: Rather than a genre, porn to me is a medium through which much of a character, world, or myself can be explored. Genre brings in themes but porn is the language and I’m the speaker.
The majority of my work focuses on trans men and butches, and the people who orbit them. As a butch trans man, expressing myself— my body, my wants, and those of people like me— through this medium introduces a whole other level of transgressive. It’s viciously unbecoming, dirty, sensual, and I love that. It offers not only a world to express gratuitous fantasy, but one that equally speaks to the real and physical world— I can better understand myself, my interests, my limits, and those of other people by playing (even professionally) in this space. It may be fantasy, but I bring myself there and out again, potentially with new discoveries.
If BDSM promises a space, a scene, of expression, release, and trust, what lies within the boundaries of the illustrated/story page can do the same. It’s a type of vulnerability I enjoy.
NSFW work carries a certain stigma as does all sex-related work. What are some of your experiences with this stigma? Please feel free to be as brief or thorough as you can.
JP: I’ve had a very quiet porn comics career. I have a few very dedicated readers and supporters who enjoy anything and everything that I throw at them. I think because I’m very niche I haven’t been a target of anyone online who’s against it.
However, I don’t tell my family what I do. That’s a bit harder. It’s not that I think they’d be upset or disappointed, but I think there’s that level of “they might not understand.” So for now, I’m keeping my over 10 years of drawing porn a secret to them– especially since most of it is behind paywalls.
GB: While I do not post much of my NSFW art outside of the paywall, I have been very open about it with my readers. Filthy Figments is completely dependent on reader memberships and support and so it’s been important to shout it from the rooftops as loudly and often as I can. With regards to my personal life, my family knows what I create and are supportive in the endeavor. I am a little hesitant to talk about it with neighbors and friends outside of the comics scene as I sometimes worry it will not be looked upon as graciously as it is online.
NVO: I’ve gotten comments in the past about how my skills are “wasted” drawing what I draw, and that I could be making more money elsewhere. I don’t really care about that- I’m drawing what I like. Thankfully I currently live in a pretty liberal area where kink and sex related work isn’t unusual to talk about, so I haven’t had any issues with housing, banking, etc.
SD: Well, I’ve had my work plastered on hate sites and been harassed for it as a result, so that sucks, but it’s mostly stopped. The worst is always when fellow trans people see no value in portraying our bodies experiencing pleasure (or erotic peril in some cases, hahaha) whether before or after surgery. Because of course to be trans means to hate your body and deny it pleasure, “a real trans man would NEVER do xyz!” Yawn.
To be blunt, I don’t hide what I do— my partner and friends know about it, my readers of course know about it, and I don’t have a family to hide from. I don’t necessarily advertise it in mixed company, but I’m pretty lax. SUPERPOSE may appear at first glance to be uh… more… “normal” (I’m lying) which helps.
Payment processors have been a lifeline to many independent creatives, but have been taking a staunch anti-porn stance in the past 5 years due to SESTA/FOSTA laws and other legislation. How has this affected your work?
JP: It’s frustrating for everyone for sure. I’m not even from the USA and it effects me and I hate that US laws can just do that to the entire world?
I do use Stripe on my online store but just to sell physical books, which they don’t seem to mind, but they did suspend my account when I was selling PDFs. It was really scary, like this company could just take my entire shop from me at a moment’s notice. They did reinstate it once I took the PDFs off luckily, but I feel like I’ve been walking on eggshells ever since.
I also refuse to use Paypal on my shop for this exact reason as well. Stripe just seems like they care a little less about my super niche stuff than Paypal would.
This is why I’m glad we have a site like itch.io that’s been fighting for NSFW products. My only hope is that they don’t get eaten up by Paypal’s legal team down the road.
GB: Payment processors in the USA have been very troublesome for NSFW creators everywhere and honestly, it’s not even them so much as it is the credit card companies that hold the keys to the castle. They make the rules and the processors recite these bizarre and seemingly arbitrary content rules that can trip you up easily. Meanwhile, you have contradictory rules about what types of format you can sell. Paypal allows you to sell adult content in print, but not in digital format. Stripe is similar. Places like itch.io are a haven for NSFW creators in comparison.
NVO: I’ve had to learn more about how payment processors and card companies work than I ever really wanted to, honestly. What trips them up, what sets them off. It’s exhausting having to calculate everything I do multiple years ahead to figure out if I’ll get in trouble for it down the line.
One of the reasons I started my current webcomic, Ultraviolents, was to have something free and out in the world that technically doesn’t depend on a processor. Something where I can draw what I want to draw and not have to worry about accidentally taking down a whole paysite and tens of people’s livelihoods by accident because a cigarette looks too close to a joint, or because period blood is mentioned. It’s so incredibly stressful.
SD: Yes, payment processors, credit card companies, Apple, tumblr, etc…. it’s so rancid. Patreon has a number of self-contradicting, arbitrary rules. They insist that any “salacious” nudity be kept behind their paywall, which I’ve complied with. But Patreon has flagged my posts/account for bullshit reasons like usage of “yaoi” or “porn” in my posts… as if Patreon isn’t aware (and they are) that SWers and their ilk are the backbone of not only their platform, but are responsible in large part for the basic luxury of being able to pay for shit online. SW/porn is always innovating, way more than some weird VC startup. Generally on my storefronts I’m pretty coy about what I’m selling. I try to be honest, but avoid terms that could get me into trouble.
Itch.io is a godsend. So are in-person events— which I’m all but barred from due to being immunocompromised in a poorly-managed pandemic, but I was able to show at the outdoor QTZine Fest last year. I hope I’ll have the opportunity to attend more, safe events. Accessibility should always be considered in how we can protect each other.
In an ideal industry, how would you like for your work to be received? Do you desire award recognition? Would you change the perception of NSFW creators and comics?
JP: Very similar to anyone, it would be nice to have a liveable wage while doing the work I love, but more so I want to show that porn can be about anyone. I want people to look at my work and think “that looks like me, and I can be sexy too!” which is something I struggle with myself. I want fat people to be seen as sexy. I want to de-stigmatize cellulite and wrinkles. It seems like such a modest dream but it also still feels like it’s so far off.
GB: Ideally, I would love a bit more stability for NSFW creators so that we do not have to keep rebuilding every time another company or social platform decides it’s time to dump the NSFW folks. So many artists struggle with making a living as it is and it’s so disheartening to see so many of us constantly having to pick up and start over. I know it is mentally exhausting to rebuild time after time, only to know we’ll have to do it again in a couple years. I want there to be a place for everyone.
NVO: Similarly- I would just love for a sense of stability. I’ve gotten so used to having to fly under the radar with certain sites, phrase posts in certain ways, that’d it’d be nice to just be able to post my comics and be done with it.
I’d also love to help change the perception that this kind of work is easy- the jokes about making $40k on Patreon drawing sexy furries really wear thin when I look at my upcoming rent increase, y’know? Erotic comics require a level of vulnerability that most people aren’t used to writing or even reading.
SD: Agreeing with everyone here. Stability and a living wage, universal income, abolition and the death of capitalism (full communism now) with more education and understanding of the labour involved in art and sex work, and more grace and trust from readers, would make an unbelievable difference in my life.
I do this because I love it, but that love alone can’t support a life, unfortunately. The point of making this work is, for me, to share it— to share this key part of myself with others and invite them into it. I care very much about storytelling and characters as well as the eroticism, and I would love for that to be received for all that it is, and really feel, really believe, be shown, that there’s a place for it. Porn can be silly yeah, but it’s not frivolous crap, especially when it’s so heavily punished.
Lastly, where can people find you? Do you have any exciting ongoing or future projects you want to point people to?
JP: You can see my portfolio at https://jpawlik.com my online shop https://topazcomics.com/shop and my Patreon https://patreon.com/jpawlik where I have an enormous NSFW archive.
My spouse (Max Parker) and I do a lot of our NSFW stories together. Xey write and I draw. We’re in the brainstorming phase right now for a new sexy longform comic “Clitrina Cosmos: The Rockstar Booty Hunter” which is exactly what it says on the tin. We’ll be posting that over on my Patreon to start so keep your eyes peeled for that!
GB: You can find most of my comic work through https://StrawberryComics.com/ which will lead you to my various projects including Love Not Found, Sugar on Top, my online shop, and a portfolio of my work. If you’re looking for my adult content, it can be found on https://FilthyFigments.com/ where there are hundreds of comics (and thousands of pages) from dozens of creators!
NVO: All my projects can be found through https://itsnero.com! My main public one is Ultraviolents (https://uv.itsnero.com)- gay body horror erotica. I’m also working on another webcomic for Slipshine with my partner Iris Jay; Wedlocked- about three trans men who try polyamory to disastrous results. It’s a lot of fun. And of course, there’s Patreon for early posts and deep cuts- https://patreon.com/itsnero, where you can find over 1k posts of comics and the occasional illustration.
SD: My homepage, portfolio, and collection of baubles is https://198X.love. You can read SUPERPOSE https://SUPERPOSECOMIC.COM and BIRTH OF THE SUN https://birthofthesun.mov for free and for fun. Our patreon is https://patreon.com/SUPERPOSE , store for physical items is https://store.SUPERPOSECOMIC.com and check out https://SUPERPOSE.itch.io for digital book downloads. Patreon houses an enormous archive of our process and materials, and you can receive beautiful prints and the strangest of otherworldly ephemera in the mail. Since the labour is split equally between my partner & I, the patreon supports both of us. Among other upcoming projects, I’ll have some gay boy specials in DATURA mag vol 4 and Dark Spark Press’ LEATHER & LACE this fall.
English (US) · 