Daryl Toh (born April 15, 1986) is a Malaysian

comic book artist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the literary ...

and writer. Toh first gained attention through his

supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...

webcomic ''Tobias and Guy'', published on his

Tumblr Tumblr (pronounced "tumbler") is a microblogging and Social networking service, social networking website founded by David Karp in 2007 and is owned by American company Automattic. The service allows users to post multimedia and other content ...

account, and focusing on the relationship between the human Guy and demon Tobias. Toh would go on to work on various

independent comics Alternative comics or independent comics cover a range of American comics that have appeared since the 1980s, following the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Alternative comics present an alternative to mainstream su ...

self-published Self-publishing is an author-driven publication of any media without the involvement of a third-party publisher. Since the advent of the internet, self-published usually depends upon digital platforms and print-on-demand technology, ranging fr ...

projects. In 2018, Toh worked on the second volume of Greg Anderson-Elysée's ''Is'nana the Were-Spider'', focusing on the son of mythological figure

Anansi Anansi or Ananse ( ; literally translates to ''spider'') is a character in Akan religion and folklore associated with stories, wisdom, knowledge, and trickery, most commonly depicted as a spider. Anansi is a character who reflects the culture ...

; the comic would win a Glyph Comics Award the following year. In 2020, Toh worked alongside Steve Foxe on the graphic novel ''Cheater Code'', which was published by

Oni Press Oni Press is an American independent comic book and graphic novel publisher based in Portland, Oregon, best known for publishing such series as '' Scott Pilgrim'' and ''Rick and Morty''. In 2019, it became an imprint label following the company's ...

. Citing

H. P. Lovecraft Howard Phillips Lovecraft (, ; August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American writer of Weird fiction, weird, Science fiction, science, fantasy, and horror fiction. He is best known for his creation of the Cthulhu Mythos. Born in Provi ...

and

Junji Ito is a Japanese horror manga artist. Some of his most notable works include ''Tomie'', a series chronicling an immortal girl who drives her stricken admirers to madness; ''Uzumaki'', a three-volume series about a town cursed by spirals; and ''Gy ...

as some of his inspirations, many of Toh's works connect to the

horror genre Horror is a genre of speculative fiction that is intended to disturb, frighten, or scare an audience. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror. Literary historian J. A. Cuddon, in 1984, defin ...

and often include

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

characters and themes in them.

Early life

According to Toh, ever since he read the science fiction-horror novella ''

At the Mountains of Madness ''At the Mountains of Madness'' is a science-fiction and cosmic horror novella by the American author H. P. Lovecraft, written in February/March 1931 and published in 1936. Rejected that year by ''Weird Tales'' editor Farnsworth Wright on t ...

'', he became interested in

's other works. Some of his inspirations as an artist include

Mike Mignola Michael Mignola (; born September 16, 1960) is an American comic book writer best known for creating ''Hellboy'' for Dark Horse Comics, part of a Hellboy Universe, shared universe of titles including ''B.P.R.D.'', ''Abe Sapien'', ''Lobster Johns ...

, especially concerning horror, as well as

Richard Corben Richard Corben (November 1, 1940December 2, 2020) was an American illustrator and comic book artist best known for his comics featured in '' Heavy Metal'' magazine, especially the ''Den'' series which was featured in the magazine's first film a ...

Tyler Crook Tyler Crook is an American comics cartoonist. He broke into comics in 2011 with ''Petrograd'', written by Philip Gelatt and published by Oni Press, and in 2012 he won the Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer Award. He is best known for his work o ...

, Guy Davis,

, and

Masahiro Ito is a Japanese video game artist best known for his work with Team Silent. Career Ito worked as background and creature designer on the survival horror video game ''Silent Hill'' in 1999. He was art director for its sequel, ''Silent Hill 2'' (20 ...

Career

Toh first gained notoriety through his

-based webcomic ''Tobias and Guy'', which started in 2015, and focused on the human Guy and his demon boyfriend Tobias. ''

ComicsVerse ComicsVerse was a comics journalism website covering comics news, reviews, analysis, and interviews with artists and writers. In addition to original written content, the site produced podcasts, videos, original webcomics, and covers news related ...

'' described the series as one of the best magical-themed LGBT webcomics, praising its ability to humorous and heartwarming, but also dealing with topics such as

coming out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

, depression, and

mourning Mourning is the emotional expression in response to a major life event causing grief, especially loss. It typically occurs as a result of someone's death, especially a loved one. The word is used to describe a complex of behaviors in which t ...

. In the same year, Toh also worked as an artist on Luc Labelle's psychological horro

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 ...

''Outer God'', based on the

Cthulhu Mythos The Cthulhu Mythos is a mythopoeia and a shared fictional universe, originating in the works of American Horror fiction, horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent and protégé of Lovecraft, t ...

. During the same year, Toh would work on another Cthulhu-inspired project, as an illustrator for Imp House Game Company' dice game ''Chaos of Cthulhu''. In designing the Elder Gods, Toh attempted to ensure they resembled

frescos Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting becom ...

. Toh worked with comic writer Ryan King in 2016, on the horror comic ''The Games We Played''. They would work again a second time in 2017, publishing the comic series ''Nico's Fortune'', which was funded through

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

. The comic was described as an

-friendly horror story that took inspiration from films such as ''

Rear Window ''Rear Window'' is a 1954 American mystery film, mystery thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and written by John Michael Hayes, based on Cornell Woolrich's 1942 short story "After-Dinner Story, It Had to Be Murder". Originally released ...

'' and ''

Fright Night ''Fright Night'' is a 1985 American supernatural horror film written and directed by Tom Holland, in his directorial debut. The film follows teenager Charley Brewster (played by William Ragsdale), who discovers that his next-door neighbor Je ...

''. Another Kickstarter-funded project Toh worked on was the second volume of Greg Anderson-Elysée's ''Is'nana the Were-Spider''. Anderson-Elysée had been a fan of Toh's ''Tobias and Guy'' and was amazed at a pin-up he had drawn, which started their friendship and resulted in Toh working on the comic. In 2019, during the 14th

Glyph Comics Awards The Glyph Comics Awards is an annual award ceremony for comic creators who are people of color. The ceremony was initiated with the goal of inspiring young writers from diverse backgrounds to participate in the comics industry. The awards are ...

, an award ceremony recognizing the best comics created by and for

people of colour The term "person of color" (: people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is associated with, the United States. From th ...

, the comic won Story of the Year. In 2018, Toh would again work with Imp House Game Company on the game ''Mad Love''. Since 2019, Toh has been illustrating the

webcomic Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on the internet, such as on a website or a mobile app. While many webcomics are published exclusively online, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or ...

''Black Key Incubus'', written by James Schleisman. The comic focuses on witch Norman Castor who in an attempt to prove his abilities summons forth a Caliban, a demonic prince participating in a

battle royal Battle royal (, also battle royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules, where the winner is the one who registers the most wins. In recent times, the term has been ...

. The two men quickly realize they are soulmates and begin a relationship, while attempting to navigate both of their supernatural-based issues. As part of its Limerence Press imprint, which focuses on erotic and sex-education comics,

released ''Cheater Code'' in 2020, with Toh working alongside writer Steve Foxe. The graphic novel focuses on Kennedy who is a gamer and, after having a fight with his boyfriend, is sucked into his video game library. Foxe described the story as taking inspiration from ''

Shortbus ''Shortbus'' is a 2006 American erotic comedy-drama film written and directed by John Cameron Mitchell. The plot revolves around a sexually diverse ensemble of colorful characters trying desperately to connect in an early 2000s New York City. ...

'', wanting it to contain sex but also "real emotional undercurrent and worthwhile story". In 2021, Toh worked alongside Caleb Palquist on another Kickstarter-funded comic titled ''Unicorn: Vampire Hunter''. In 2022 it was announced that Toh was working on the

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...

title ''Young Men in Love'', published by A Wave Blue World and featuring 20 different stories focuses on gay romances. All of the stories are written and illustrated by

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...

men and

assigned male at birth Sex assignment (also known as gender assignment) is the discernment of an infant's sex, typically made at birth based on an examination of the baby's external genitalia by a healthcare provider such as a midwife, nurse, or physician. In the v ...

non-binary Non-binary or genderqueer Gender identity, gender identities are those that are outside the male/female gender binary. Non-binary identities often fall under the transgender umbrella since non-binary people typically identify with a gende ...

individuals that are attracted to men. Toh worked on two stories; the pirate-themed "The Treasure Map to My Heart" written by Oliver Gerlach, and "Bright Idea" written by Charles Pulliam-Moore.

Bibliography

* ''Tobias and Guy'' (also writer; 2015–2016) * ''Outer God'' (with Luc Labelle; 2015) * ''The Games We Played'' (with Ryan King; 2016) * ''Nico's Fortune'' (with Ryan King; 2017) * ''Is'nana the Were-Spider'' (with Greg Anderson-Elysée's; 2018) * ''Black Key Incubus'' (with James Schleisman; 2019—present) * ''Cheater Code'' (with Steve Foxe; 2020) * ''Unicorn: Vampire Hunter'' (with Caleb Palmquist; 2021) * ''Young Men in Love'' (2022)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toh, Daryl 1986 births LGBTQ comics creators Living people Malaysian comics artists