Iron Circus Comics is bringing another beloved Webtoon series to print with its latest BackerKit campaign, and The Mary Sue can exclusively reveal the details. On Monday, the publisher released the pre-launch page for Rigsby WI, Volume 1: Foothold by cartoonist S.E. Case.
The slice-of-life drama series has garnered more than 5 thousand views on Webtoon and an average 10-star rating since Case began cross-posting from the comic’s original site in 2023. Rigsby WI is currently on Volume 4 and has been going since 2019.
Rigsby WI follows a group of misfit teenagers named Jeordie, Anna, Erik, and Beth as they try to navigate small-town life in a scenic but unfriendly northern Wisconsin town during the early aughts. The series explores the intersections of race, sexuality, and poverty through the lens of raw teenage feelings and ever-evolving, complex relationships between friends, family members, and more. Case also incorporates a lot of levity into the story through a handful of central debates between the characters, including, “Is Phish a good band?”
“When you’re young, you have so little control over your own life—you are subject to the whims of your parents or guardians, which is not always a bad thing if they truly have your best interests at heart, but unfortunately that’s not the case for all kids,” said Case in a statement. “Part of being a teenager is trying to figure out who you are, and that’s hard—but even harder when those around you cannot accept who you discover yourself to be.
“Will anyone recognize your value as a person when your goal is not to make the football team, or get into a prestigious college, or be crowned homecoming queen, but to simply get through the experience of being a teenager relatively unscathed?” Case continued. “Maybe smoking weed in the woods and stealing sunglasses from the mall aren’t the most productive coping mechanisms, but what else is a disaffected 16-year-old in a rural town to do?”
Check out an exclusive preview from the 120-page print edition of Rigsby WI, Volume 1: Foothold below.
This comic is as bittersweet as it is funny, with a delightful cast of characters. Rigsby WI will appeal to fans of Forest Hills Bootleg Society by Dave Baker and Nicole Goux; Let’s Play by Leeanne M. Krecic AKA Mongie; and Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki’s Roaming (one of our best graphic novels of 2023).
The BackerKit campaign for Rigsby WI, Volume 1: Foothold will go live in April and run for one month. For updates on the campaign, including a link to support as soon as it’s published, sign up here.
(featured image: Iron Circus Comics)
