Page 366

on January 1, 2026
Chapter:

Happy New Year! Here is the last page (of comics) for chapter nine. There are five more chapters to go, and the roller coaster that Maida is on is only just getting started. This past year has seen a big increase in readers for Phobos and Deimos, and if you’re a new reader, I just want to say, welcome. Cheers. I’ve found a lot of new readers on Webtoon, but also a lot more on this very website. Some of you are here through Spiderforest, the webcomic circle I joined this year. If you’re not familiar with Spiderforest, check them out. I’ve been slowly reading through the other comics, and there’s some bangers. I love that webcomic culture is still alive and well. I’ll always be a webcomicker first and a webtoonist(?) second. Some of you are here from Charles Stross’ blog, and welcome to those people as well. I’m very chuffed to have been mentioned by a scifi author whose work I have so much respect for. Modern scifi, man! It’s better than the classics.

Since so many of you are new, I also want to take this first post of the new year to nudge you all in the direction of my Ko-Fi (it’s like Patreon but more artist-friendly). Help me out with some coffee money to fuel all the colouring I have ahead of me for the next few weeks, and in exchange I’m writing blog posts on a variety of topics. I just published one about the failed promises of the information age, and last month I wrote about revolutionary fiction. Most of what I post is free without subscription, although I will occasionally post things just for subscribers.

↓ Transcript
Panel 1: Maida: "Just the clothes on my back, a broken bike, and a tech system that could be bugged." Zaynab sits next to Maida on the couch.
Panel 2: Zaynab, cheerfully: "Oh, goody! We get to go clothes shopping. You and me 'aven't done that in a while!" Maida, laughing tearfully: "Ah ha ha! Oh, Zaynab!"
Panel 3: Maida: "You really are the best."
Panel 4: Maida turns to Zaynab's mum. Maida: "I owe you all so much. I owe so many people so much. More than I could ever repay. I don't deserve any of this."
Panel 5: Zaynab's mum: "Everybody owes somebody! We all owe each other. That's what makes a community." She's carrying bed sheets with cute, pink unicorns on them.
Panel 6: Zaynab's mum: "Now. These sheets belonged to Zaynab when she was little..." Zaynab is upset. Zaynab: "Mum! No! Not the unicorn sheets!"
Panel 7: Maida is happy, as Zaynab and her mum argue about sheets. Narrator: "Home is wherever your people are."