What is Runewriters?

It's a fantasy webcomic about a mundane deaf girl trying to help her shapechanger friend and a mute necromancer fix some embarrassing magical mistakes.

When does Runewriters Update?

Runewriters updates with 4-5 pages as I finish each 'scene,' which is close to monthly! You can follow RW on RSS, Twitter, Tumblr, or Deviantart to get notified of updates! Updates are also posted on the Discord, if that's more your style!

Alternately, if you wanna watch things more closely, I post each page as it's finished for my $1 patrons, so you can get a bit of a sneak peek by pledging there!

Who draws this thing?

I do! My name is Shazzbaa, and I'm the writer/penciller/inker/colourist/letterer for Runewriters. I did a completely different webcomic before this one, and if you have any questions that aren't answered here, feel free to e-mail me at

How do you draw it?

I print a pencil sketch on normal-sized cardstock in non-photo blue, ink it with an ordinary ballpoint pen, scan it, remove the blue, and colour it using Photoshop and a Wacom tablet. Half those fancy comics classes I took would never approve!

How long does a page take you?

Probably about ten-twelve hours altogether. 5ish to pencil and ink; 6ish to colour. Maybe a little longer. I'm hoping to get faster!

Is this comic okay for kids?

It's not written with younger children in mind; I'd probably rate it PG-13, for a bit of language and a bit of blood. Not anticipating anything NSFW, though! If you have a specific concern feel free to email/message me about it!

I don't use RSS, are there any other places where I can be notified when Runewriters updates?

Absolutely! Runewriters has its own Twitter account and Tumblr account you can follow! You can also read the comic by subscribing on Tapastic or watching my DeviantArt account!

How do you pronounce that "æ" symbol?

The symbol is an ash, and it's pronounced differently in different languages -- here it is pronounced like the "a" in "cat."

Hey, I know sign language, do you want some help translating? I can tell you all about the Deaf!

Man, I appreciate this offer, but I've already got a couple of friends connected to Deaf education and speech therapy who help me out, in addition to the research I do myself - so, no thanks! I am good on that front!

Are the scribbly comics from the vote incentives "canon?"

That's kind of up to you! Any information explained in them is usually accurate (provided the character explaining it knows what he's talking about) but whether or not it actually happened isn't really important; if it were important, it'd go in the comic proper! So feel free to adopt it as headcanon or discard it, Death of the Author style. c:

AAaaaah why isn't there an archive of old vote incentives???

GUYS IT'S COOL they totally come back! There's a two-month delay on vote incentives being added to the archives (because I want them to be a treat for people who vote), but after that you can find an old vote incentive by going back to the page it was associated with, and finding the "Vote Incentive for This Comic" link in the author's comments under the page!

When is [NEW CHARACTER] going to be added to the Cast Page?

Characters get added to the Cast page when (a) they are major characters who will last for more than one chapter, (b) it is pretty obvious in the story that they are going to be major characters and (c) I have enough art of them to crop three little image slices that I like. Sometimes I'm also waiting until a specific point in the story before I reveal the details in their profile!
Rest assured, I really like posting these, so you won't usually need to remind me. :D

What's with the "music" on the Cast Page?

Most of my characters end up with a few songs that remind me of them or inspire me to write about them! I think it's kind of a fun thing, and for me, a lot of times music conveys the feel of a character better than a description would. So I pick the song that fits the most closely (and is the least spoilery) and include it for you guys to check out if you so desire!
They're all taken out of context, though, and often they're not literal; like, as an example, "Temporal Shenanigans" for Esra shouldn't be taken to imply that he's secretly a ghost (he's not), but the song's preoccupation with a careful, ordered set-up and a clear and perfectly laid out plan has always reminded me of him.

You learned comics at SCAD, right? Should I go there if I want to draw comics?

If you have the money? ABSOLUTELY, it is awesome and gives a great jump-start to your learning! But if not, it may not be worth incurring massive debt. Don't fret, though! There are two big things that college will give you: deadlines, and connections. If you can give yourself really harsh deadlines, challenge yourself to do things you're bad at, and really try to study the people you admire and learn from them, you will excel, regardless of schooling. Art College just makes you have to do these same things for a grade. Great environment, I learned LOADS, but it's totally not necessary.

You should make a book!

There are chapter books available in the store! With bonus concept art and everything! :D

Will you do a link exchange with me?

Sorry, I do not do those. It's nothing personal!

Do you do commissions/requests/art trades?

I don't ever do requests and only RARELY do art trades for people I know. But I am, on the odd occasion, open for commissions. When that happens I usually announce it all over the place.
If you have freelance work you'd like to get me on, feel free to shoot me an email, but it does take a lot to tear me away from RW!

What's the best way to get in contact with you if I have a question/correction/lucrative movie contract?

There are a lot of different ways to send me messages, and I try to sort of keep up with them all, so I'll probably read your message eventually... but I'm really, REALLY bad at remembering to answer anything. If you actually want a RESPONSE, then the best way to contact me is:
Two e-mails.
The first e-mail: whatever you wanted to tell me. The second e-mail: a week or so later, simply asking "Did you get my e-mail about blah?"
I won't think you're a pest, I swear! It is honestly the only tried and true method for getting a response from me.