This has been an especially difficult year (for all of us, really), so I was especially distressed when it was announced that one of my favorite webcomics, Mei Rothschild’s Brimstone and Roses, was going on indefinite hiatus. With its main character being portrayed as fat and (gasp!) desirable, it did my self-esteem a lot of good to see someone like myself represented in a wholesome character like Bea, and I doubted very much I was going to see another character anywhere near her level of awesomeness for years and years. The gods have smiled upon us, however, and introduced Honey and Venom into our lives!
Created by the supremely talented Kurzz, the comic follows Robin Caelia Herrera, a woman who may be the reincarnation of an ancient priestess. She’s fat, with noticeable hair on her legs and stretch marks which she doesn’t attempt to hide (being fond as she is of crop tops and two pieces). Almost right away, RC encounters Axiothea, a distinctly non-human woman who may be a goddess (it’s unclear what her current “occupation” is) and is most definitely the daughter of the goddess Hekate (a beloved deity of mine). Axiothea is convinced that RC is her former priestess, and it appears she still harbors very intense feelings for this woman. RC seems interested in Axiothea, but is adamant that despite her middle name (Caelia) being the same as that of the person Axiothea knew (it’s a long-standing family name, apparently), she is not that woman … no matter what her dreams are telling her.
For her part, Axiothea seems to have set out with the best of intentions back in the day as a young goddess. She didn’t want to hang on her mother’s illustrious coattails, and she wanted to create a safe haven for the women who would follow her. She’s tall and (usually) horned, with dark skin and hair under her arms, making her instantly a badass babe in my book. She’s just returned to the mortal world after many, many centuries of being away, so despite her 3,000 years of age (plus or minus a year or two), she’s very unsure in the modern world.
The setting and time hops between ancient Rome and modern-day California (one of RC’s jobs is renting out floaties to beach-goers), so we’re slowly unraveling the story of what must have gone wrong in the past to see Axiothea turn up so lost in the modern world (decidedly without anyone knowing anything of a goddess by that name), as well as what new relationship these two might forge together.
This is a new comic on Webtoons, and anyone interested in reading this tale of lesbian goddess/mortal love as it unfolds can find it for free there.
[Written by Ashley Nicole Hunter.]
