Leif & Thorn is an original, LGBTQ-centric, fantasy webcomic, about a magic knight trying to have a romance in his second language.
Volume 8 finds Thorn still taking care of a lost teen AU version of himself, Leif being as supportive as his TOS will allow, and Kale trying to do unprecedented magic without anybody dying (this time).
New backers here from Printopia: Just want to start with Volume 1? There's a special tier for you! At a discount, even.
Returning readers: Welcome back, and come get your copies of Volume 8!
Our story so far:
Ex-Dark-magical-boy Kale was finally getting his life together. He joined a cult-survivor support group. He made some friends, who know his sordid backstory and like him anyway. He has a non-evil job. He has a dog. Nobody's tried to kill him for a solid year!
...Then, in the last book, a teenage AU variant of Kale kicked a magical teen AU Thorn into this universe. And it's been touch-and-go ever since.
Even with our local Kale's powers unblocked - on purpose, this time! - he doesn't actually know how to send Kid Thorn home. It'll take a crack team of mad scientists and magical-girl adults to help him figure it out.
Meanwhile: Local Thorn continues to struggle with his surprise-custody of a superpowered teenager. Kale tries to get closure on parts of his backstory. And Leif gets a long-time wish fulfilled.
Leif & Thorn Volume 8: Tread Softly covers the daily strips from early 2024 through mid-2025. Along with info pages, side stories, and other bonuses.
It'll be 192 pages, full color, with a wraparound cover and a bunch of exclusive art inside. Like Volumes 1-7, the page size will be 8.25" X 10.25". The individual strips get arranged to fill the pages.
Some samples, with the guidelines visible (those don't get printed, I just want to show off the nice neat grid):
And it's full of exciting storylines like these:
ALWAYS HOPING THAT YOU'LL END THIS RAIN - Another figure from Kale's past is looking for him. For non-nefarious reasons! Probably.
TOO MUCH PRESSURE - Turns out "opening a controlled rip between two universes" is hard to get right. At least they did this at the aquarium?
SHIPPING MANIFEST - Kale helps our heroes exploit a loophole, so Leif and Thorn can get some long-overdue Couple Time.
BURNING THAT BRIDGE - Mind control! Stabbing! Near-fatal injuries! Irreparably destroyed relationships! CLAMP-level eye trauma! I swear this is a comedy.
CAST OFF - Another effort to get Kid Thorn home. And this one better work, because it's almost the end of the book.
AND MORE - Worldbuilding tidbits, extra one-off pages, and a whole new "previously only available to Patreon supporters" bonus storyline.
You know it's a Good Comic when the comments section looks like this:
"I am officially caught up! I started reading this about a week ago – gonna be honest, haven’t got much sleep since then. Characters! Plot! Art! Wow, all amazing, thank you, great ten years of art!!" ~Eve
"AHHHHHHHH *vibrates in excitement*" ~Puzzler99
"I’m SO excited about everything that’s happening right now, I got to catch up on the entire multiverse arc just a while ago and it’s SO GOOD" ~Chaos
"I’m not crying, I’m just partaking in my monthly ritual of cutting onions while reading webcomics. Doesn’t everyone do that?" ~E.K.
"THE REVEAL IS FINALLY HERE AND I’M SURE IT’LL GO FINE." ~Hinn
"Your pacing is really nice, just quick enough to be urgent without feeling rushed. The sunday pages just have this… I don’t know how to describe it. They’ve got meat on them. I love it." ~Kiwi L Apple
"Leif is an expert at weaponized UST subtext and I adore him for it." ~Acorn
"Could see this exact strip content coming since, like, Tuesday. Gushed to my husband on our way to dinner today about how excited I was for the outfit upgrade I knew would be happening. Literally sat on the site at midnight refreshing waiting to see the new strip. Losing my ABSOLUTE MIND about how gorgeous and different and REGAL he looks." ~Jared
"Thorn, dear, it’s sweet of you to be concerned but Leif’s been ready." ~AllanV
The first 15 backers who pledge at least $50 get a Leif & Thorn bonus sketch. All claimed!
These will be printed in the book, wherever I need to fill a patch of empty space in the layout. They're also never published online -- you'll need a copy of the book to get an exclusive look at the whole set.
Almost any characters, any scenario, canon or AU. The only restrictions are (a) the content has to be safe-for-work, and (b) it has to involve characters who appear in Leif & Thorn Volume 8.
📌Add-Ons
Want an extra book? Got a friend, family member, and/or local library who would appreciate a copy? Or maybe you want more merch than I offered in any of the regular tiers.
Click "Back It" on the main tier you want, then pick more prints, books, pins, and more from the "Add additional items to your pledge" menu.
📚 Printopia Specials
Leif & Thorn Volume 8 is happy to be a part of Printopia 2025! It's a big, coordinated team-up of writers and artists, all funding our books at the same time, all here to support each other.
Leif & Thorn is part of the Duskmelt Group. (I think they just didn't want to call it "Twilight.")
Printopia Bonus: Back at least 10 projects (at their physical-reward tier), in any Group, and BackerKit will personally send you a nice bookmark.
Duskmelt Bonus: Back any projects from this Group, then earn points by being active -- commenting, starting discussions, even just leaving likes! -- and you can unlock our bonus "Crowd Quest" digital zine. All of us in Duskmelt contributed a little something. (Exact points goal TBD.)
If you back any of the physical-reward tiers in both Leif & Thorn and Guardian Angel Academy,both campaigns will send you an extra mini-print. Featuring art that's never been printed before. Keep an eye out for the design reveals!
Crowdfunding campaigns have been a smashing success for funding all 7 volumes so far. They're a hit with readers, too, which is why so many of you keep coming back. Let's keep that ball rolling.
At first I did these things on Kickstarter, but for several years now, I've used BackerKit to manage post-campaign surveys and rewards. Then at last I brought it all together, so now I run the campaigns directly on BackerKit's platform.
So far, so good!
💹 Where exactly is the money going?
Mostly to printing Volume 8! Paper costs keep going up.
There are also production costs for the other rewards, like the mini-prints. BackerKit takes a cut. So does the payment processor, Stripe. And there's an emergency cushion built in, to cover any surprise expenses I didn't plan for.
Finally: Volume 3 is almost out of stock. Any leftover profits will be put toward a new Volume 3 print run.
📦 Postage costs aren't included in my tier. When do you charge those?
US backers: Your shipping costs are built into the basic tier price. Keeps things simple.
Everyone outside the US: Your shipping is calculated after the campaign, and you will get a separate charge from BackerKit when they're ready. Please keep that in mind when budgeting!
Estimated costs (based on current USPS rates, all prices are in USD):
For a single book:
Canada: $20
European Union: $25
Rest of world: $35
For the whole 7-book backlist:
Canada: $60
European Union: $75
Rest of world: $85
(Same rate as last year, because all the books fit in a Medium Flat Rate Box. For now.)
📫 When will my rewards get delivered?
Based on the first 7 Leif & Thorn campaigns, here's our estimated timeline:
Digital rewards: December 2025-January 2026
Print books (US): April-May 2026
Print books (international): May-June 2026
Everything on my end is ready! The comics are 100% drawn; the print file is already laid out. It's just a matter of final clean-up, adding the Early Bird bonus sketches, and getting the money to pay the printer.
After the campaign, I'll post regular updates about the production process -- so even if there are unexpected delays, I'll keep you in the loop.
Thorn has two hands, so maybe your chibi bottled Thorn also needs a chibi bottled Kale. Good news, now you can get that magnet too.
$5,401: Make It A Boxset
If this book out-earns the previous record-setting Leif & Thorn campaign, we'll unlock a cool custom slipcase for the first 5 Leif & Thorn books.
And that's the campaign for Leif & Thorn Volume 8: Tread Softly
This comic has been running and building its readership for almost 10 years now. Returning backers, thank you for all your ongoing support. New supporters, welcome on board.
Keep up with Erin Ptah's other work on Tumblr, on Deviantart, or on Patreon. (Come for the public announcements, subscribe for the patron-locked bonus art.)
This project is participating in the BackerKit event Printopia 2025 📚 A celebration of books, comics, and graphic novels featuring an all-star lineup of creators crowdfunding together from September 9–30, 2025.
🧭 Explore the 4 Printopia Groups — Every project belongs to one of four unique groups helping you discover stories you’ll love and creators to follow:
Dawnrise | Uplifting, imaginative tales for all ages.
Suncrest | Bold, hopeful adventures for middle grade readers.
Duskmelt| Emotionally rich stories for teens & adults.
Nightfall | Complex, mature narratives for older teens & adults.
⚔️ Introducing Crowd Quest — a backer-powered community game running during Printopia! Every project belongs to a group, and when you interact, you earn points that help unlock group-wide rewards. Learn more about it in our freebies section below!
🎁 Printopia Freebies Overview — Check out all the different ways you can get freebies in addition to your pledge rewards!
Cross-Collab Freebies — Back both projects in a Cross-Collab pair and get 1 freebie from each creator (see individual project pages for unlock requirements).
Crowd Quest Digital Zine Freebie — Help each of the 4 groups unlock their achievement to earn their digital zine freebie, filled with art, stories, and bonus content from that group’s participants. Collect up to 4 digital zines — one from each group.
Printopia Bookmark Freebie — Back 10+ projects across any group to get the Limited Edition Printopia 2025 bookmark (fulfilled by BackerKit).
*Only pledges to physical reward tiers or main digital offerings (if no physical items are offered) qualify towards earning the limited Printopia 2025 Bookmark.
