When I was living in Tucson, AZ I went through a ten cent bin at a local comics shop and found a comic with an evil-looking, anthropomorphic cat girl on the cover. I immediately put it on top of the huge stack of comics that were already threatening to spill out of my arms. When I got home, I spread out all of my new comic/manga purchases on my bed. Again, the first one to catch my eye was the cat-girl. (I have a soft spot for anthro art and comics.) The comic was titled “Saiko and Lavender” and it kept my attention throughout the whole book. The minute I finished reading, I ran up to my usual comic shop and asked the owner to start ordering the comics for me. I received a few more “Saiko and Lavender” issues over the next few months and made all of my friends read them.

Diana X. Sprinkle and Michael Vega’s art style and sense of humor made me an instant fan! Published by Radio Comix, these comics wormed their way into my heart. In fact, this comic inspired me to make my own comics.

Years later, while peddling my comics and artwork at my table in artist alley at Akon 2008, I noticed the table across from me had “Saiko and Lavender” comics on their table. I walked up to the table and asked one of the ladies why they had the comics on their table. That’s when the blonde woman with glasses replied, “I’m Diana Sprinkle.” Now, I’m not the type to be a fan girl, but my lip quivered a little, here was the person whom inspired me to make my art and comics available to other people, right across from me, the whole time! I did my best to not sound like a dork, but I think I ended up gushing a bit. Diana was nice enough to sign a comic and pose for a picture with me. I also spoke with her again at Animefest that year. She is an intelligent person with a twisted sense of humor and a lot of experience in the comic world.

“Saiko and Lavender” is a twisted comic set in a magical, anthro world. Lavender, a cat and Saiko, a rabbit own and operate a potions and magic shop. Lavender is a serious business woman who has to fend off magical rivals and gets into all kinds of trouble and adventures. To Lavender’s grief she is always stuck with her bouncy counterpart Saiko, who annoys the living crap out of her. This is a very entertaining series with amazing artwork. I’m also a big fan of the inking and line weight; it’s just one of those things I looks for in comic/manga artwork. (Especially since my inking abilities are sub-par at best. Heh.)

Saiko and Lavender is my personal favorite work of Diana (along with her hilarious buttons and awesome prints). She has worked on so many other comics that I can’t even list them all, so for a complete list of works, check out her website. You can also purchase comics, prints, pins and more from Diana at her webstore, see more of her comics at Web Comics Nation and look at her work on DeviantArt.

Me with Diana X. Sprinkle at A-Kon 2008!