RS196

Few names enjoy wide recognition throughout Erj, and fewer still belong to real people. Discounting history books, the most identifiable faces are those of product mascots seen in billboard advertisements across the Western Waste. However, through a sea of Spicy Pnips™ and King Crispions®, there is one real, living erjan individual almost everyone recognizes on sight.

Tega Zen’s fiery red hair and immutable smile are a staple of erjan popular culture, and have shone out to consumers in every major western city for over twenty years by way of paid endorsements for alcohol, swimwear, patent medicines, snack foods, and more—including her own performances. An erstwhile singer and acting talent, Tega has known success unlike a typical erjan could fathom, and her wealth today is estimated to number in the tens of thousands of slabs.

After almost three decades, Tega is long since retired, and the visage for which she is so well known may be as fictional as King Crispion®. Nevertheless, her rare notoriety has secured her a place in erjan folklore: an immortal, unchanging face, renowned for its beauty.

And its association with Byseth Spirits and Wines™.

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RS@TCAF 2025 & the End of RSv1

What up, it’s ya boi, me. I’ve got some good news and some bad news, and I’m not one to give you the sugar before the medicine, so let’s rip the adhesive medical strip off: we have about 40 remaining copies of Rising Sand Volume One. The jury’s still out on the exact number, but the point is, if you’re reading this, it’s presently* too late to get one by mail. You had an entire pandemic and change. Next time, treat yo’self.

Now, the promised sugar: it’s technically not too late to get one at all! RS is going to be at TCAF 2025 this Sunday, June 8th, and we’ll have every last copy of RSv1 in tow for what I’m informally calling the Rising Sand Volume dOne Physical Pharewell Tour (featuring TCAF)—but you don’t have to. These have sold out every time, so run don’t walk! One stop! One date! Exclusive merch. If you’re in Toronto one month hence, slide up to our booth and fill your pockets with Sand, as Dale intended. Tell us we sent you! More details, like table number, etc, as we receive them.

A huge thank you to our impossibly industrious colleague Alaire for allowing us along to spread the plague of Sand unabated by waitlists. Check out her work, and see you at the show!

—Ty

*We’re likely to run out of copies of the book at the show, given previous performance—however, things are getting pretty fucked out there, and no one has much money, so who knows? We’ll update you all on the state of the book after the show. Sit tight!

Rising Sand is 9!

Time flies when you’re having Sand.

Rising Sand is nine (9) years old today, and while it’s perhaps possible we could have made the journey without you, we’re grateful that we never had to find out. Whether you’ve been with us since RS001, or only discovered us last week, thank you so much for reading! Here’s to nine more years of Sand—which is almost certain to happen, given the glacial clip at which we tend to update.

Anyway, if you’d like to kiss the ring, feel free to say hi on Bluesky or Discord—or better yet, if you’re so equipped, you could give us the greatest gift of all: additional insurance against starvation via our Patreon! Thank you all again, and enjoy the free comics!

—Ty & Jenn