Crystal Frasier is an American artist, author and game designer. She is known for her work on the

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game The ''Pathfinder Roleplaying Game'' is a fantasy role-playing game (RPG) that was published in 2009 by Paizo Publishing. The first edition extends and modifies the System Reference Document (SRD) based on the revised 3rd edition ''Dungeons ...

, as well as being the author of the webcomic '' Venus Envy'', which features a

trans woman A trans woman or transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity and may experience gender dysphoria (distress brought upon by the discrepancy between a person's gender identity and their ...

as a protagonist, and the graphic novel '' Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms''.

Early life

Crystal Frasier grew up in small town in Florida, where she spent her spare time watching television, reading, and playing with her

Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') is an American media franchise created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo, four anthropomorphic turtle brothers trained ...

stuffed animals A stuffed toy is a toy with an outer fabric sewn from a textile and stuffed with flexible material. They are known by many names, such as plush toys, plushies, lovies and stuffies; in Britain and Australia, they may also be called soft toys ...

. In elementary school, she started writing stories and drawing comics, continuing this in junior high school, where she drew comics for the school's newspaper. She unexpectedly fell into role-playing games when she mail-ordered '' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Other Strangeness'', thinking it was a novel, only to discover it was the RPG created by

Palladium Books Palladium Books is a publisher of role-playing games (RPGs) best known for its '' Rifts'' series (1990–present). Palladium was founded April 1981 in Detroit, Michigan, by current president and lead game designer Kevin Siembieda, and is now b ...

. From there, Frasier started playing other role-playing games created by Palladium, and eventually started playing ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) originally created and designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical ...

''. In high school, she wrote ''

Sailor Moon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. It was originally serialized in Kodansha's Shōjo manga, ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Nakayoshi'' from 1991 to 1997; the 60 individual chapters (later reorganized into ...

fan fiction Fan fiction or fanfiction, also known as fan fic, fanfic, fic or FF, is fiction typically written in an amateur capacity by fans as a form of fan labor, unauthorized by, but based on, an existing work of fiction. The author uses copyrighted ...

, began running a

gaming Gaming may refer to: Games and sports The act of playing games, as in: * Legalized gambling, playing games of chance for money, often referred to in law as "gaming" * Playing a role-playing game, in which players assume fictional roles * Playing ...

blog, and wrote her first paid article for a fan magazine published by Palladium Books. When Palladium dropped her as a freelancer, Frasier decided to concentrate on art rather than writing. She graduated from the Art Institute of Seattle and the

New College of Florida New College of Florida is a public university, public liberal arts college in Sarasota, Florida, United States. The college is a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges. New College has the smallest student enrollment in the State U ...

Career

Web comic creator

In December 2001, Frasier created the webcomic '' Venus Envy'' under the name "Erin Lindsey." In addition to dealing with the themes of

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

people and

gender transition Gender transition is the process of affirming and expressing one's internal sense of gender, rather than the sex assigned to them at birth. It is a recommended course of treatment for individuals experiencing gender dysphoria, providing impro ...

, the strip also deals with other themes such as

adolescence Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human Developmental biology, physical and psychological Human development (biology), development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age o ...

in general,

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

and women's

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

. Laura Seabrook, in a review for ''Polare'', called the comic "really important", and praised the protagonist as a well-rounded, believable character, accompanied by a consistent and well-done supporting cast. ''Venus Envy'' ran until 2014.

Paizo: artist

In 2009, Frasier joined the art and layout department of Paizo Inc. as an intern so she could learn graphic design. She worked in the art department until 2014.

Paizo: game developer

In 2015, Frasier left the art department and became a game developer for Paizo. Amongst other projects, she created Shardra Geltl, the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game's first transgender iconic character. She also worked on comic books based on ''Pathfinder'', like the ''Spiral of Bones'' and ''Dynamite'' series. In June 2015, she and Jenn Dolari also received notice for the creation of a

meme A meme (; ) is an idea, behavior, or style that Mimesis, spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying c ...

featuring

people based on the '' Vanity Fair'' cover featuring

Caitlyn Jenner Caitlyn Marie Jenner (born William Bruce Jenner, October 28, 1949), formerly known as Bruce Jenner, is an American media personality and retired Olympic gold medal-winning decathlete. Jenner played college football for the Graceland Yell ...

. In 2016, Frasier was announced as a Gen Con Industry Insider Featured Presenter. In 2018, she left the Paizo game developing team to "focus on her

freelancing ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

career."

Freelancer

Frasier left Paizo to pursue a career as freelance author, editor and artist. She contacted

Green Ronin Publishing Green Ronin Publishing is an American company based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 2000 by Chris Pramas and Nicole Lindroos, they have published several role-playing game–related products. They won several awards for their games includi ...

about the lack of trans-gender characters in their upcoming second edition of the fantasy romance RPG ''

Blue Rose A blue rose is a flower of the genus ''Rosa'' (family Rosaceae) that presents blue-to-violet pigmentation instead of the more common red, white, or yellow, through use of artificial means such as dyes. Blue roses are often used to symbolize myst ...

'', and this resulted in a good deal of work for Green Ronin, including becoming the Line Developer for the latest edition of ''

Mutants & Masterminds ''Mutants & Masterminds'' (abbreviated "M&M" or "MnM") is a superhero role-playing game written by Steve Kenson and published by Green Ronin Publishing based on a variant of the d20 System by Wizards of the Coast. The game system is designed to ...

''. Her adventure design credits include ''The Harrowing'' and ''In Hell's Bright Shadow''. In August 2019, Frasier participated in the game designer panel "Playing with Identity: Tabletop Role-Playing Games and the Queer Power Self-Definition" at Flame Con about the impacts of queer identity on game design and play. Frasier collaborated with Val Wise to create the

graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...

''Cheer Up!: Love and Pompoms'', published by Oni-Lion Forge, and described by

Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. The company operates approximately 600 retail stores across the United States. Barnes & Noble operates mainly through its B ...

as a "sweet, queer teen romance perfect for fans of ''Fence'' and '' Check Please!''." Mimi Koehler called the book "a heartfelt, quick-paced, sweet, and super diverse graphic novel", noting that it manages "to pack a lot within those pages—from diverse representation, a sapphic love story (with the unbeatable trope best-friends-to-enemies-to-friends-to-lovers) to representations of transphobic

microaggressions Microaggression is a term used for commonplace verbal, behavioral or environmental slights, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative attitudes toward members of marginalized groups. The term was coine ...

and teammates becoming friends for life." In February 2021,

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

announced that Frasier would be one of the writers for the ''Love Is a Battlefield'' special, working with Juan Gedeon on a story where

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superheroine who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''All Star Comics'' Introducing Wonder Woman, #8, published October 21, 1941, with her first feature in ''Sensation Comic ...

and

Steve Trevor General Steven Rockwell Trevor is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Wonder Woman. The character was created by William Moulton Marston and first appeared in ' ...

have a "date night that inevitably takes a superheroic turn." In March 2021,

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

announced she would be a co-writer with Al Ewing of a comic series titled ''Gamma Flight'', illustrated by

Lan Medina Rolando Medina, commonly known as Lan Medina (born December 22, 1961), is a Filipino comic book artist best known for his work on ''Fables, Aria, District X'', and '' The Punisher: MAX'' imprint. Awards In 2003, Medina won an Eisner Award for ...

. Frasier had previously worked for Marvel in 2020 on a comic about

The Immortal Hulk The Devil Hulk, also known as the Immortal Hulk, is a fictional alternate-personality character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history The Devil Hulk first appeared in '' The Incredible Hulk'' (vol. 2) ...

. Frasier was also co-author of the ''D&D'' sourcebook ''

Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft ''Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft'' is a sourcebook that details the Domains of Dread from the ''Ravenloft'' campaign setting for the 5th edition of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game. Summary ''Van Richten's Guide to Ravenl ...

'' published in 2021.

Personal life

After hiding her identity during her first years at Paizo, Frasier came out as a

following her transition, as she had no community to connect with, and wanted to help other trans people at that point. In November 2020, she tweeted that she was also

intersex Intersex people are those born with any of several sex characteristics, including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical binar ...

References

External links

Twitter accountOfficial website

Writings for Know Direction Podcast
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frasier, Crystal 21st-century American LGBTQ people American comics writers American intersex women American intersex writers American role-playing designers American role-playing game artists American transgender women American transgender writers DC Comics people Intersex transgender women LGBTQ comics creators Living people Marvel Comics writers New College of Florida alumni Transgender women writers Year of birth missing (living people)