History of WOE:

First page posted on June 25th, 2008

Originally hosted on a now-dead webcomic host called Smack Jeeves, WOE has evolved a lot in the many years I’ve worked on it. It started life as an outlet for lots of silly ideas, (some good, some bad,) and an experiment in drawing a webcomic with a computer mouse and Macromedia Flash 8, tools that I hilariously use to this very day. A lot of things were haphazardly improvised as the story grew, a big mess of all the charming cringe one could expect from a bored weird teenager in the late 2000’s.

I was a slow learner when it comes to improving my art and writing, but over time I started to grow, and WOE grew with me, slowly becoming something that I was, (and still am!) very passionate about. (As well as something a few amazing people over the years became passionate about reading, for which I am forever thankful.) WOE evolved into something that means the world to me, and a larger universe of stories and characters I want to tell for the rest of my life.

WOE in the 2020’s

Over the course of 12 years, the story went places I had once only dreamed of reaching, but with the death throes of SJ things became difficult. My time spent at a new webcomic host was brief. 2020 is a difficult time to revisit, but WOE was without a home for the first time in over a decade. There were elements of WOE’s story that teenage me never foresaw making people uncomfortable, and I had to spend a lot of time thinking about these while juggling many other difficulties in life.

Remaking a webcomic is a sin of the medium, and WOE had already undergone one pseudo-remake and facelift, but things couldn’t remain as they were. It hurts to feel like you’re throwing away over a decade of progress, but with it comes a certain excitement. I still had everything that I’d learned in drawing and writing over those years, and the idea of finally having a chance to give the story and world I’ve fallen in love with the thought and care it deserves was worth the effort and years it’ll take to catch back up.

So starting in 2020, I jotted down the early notes of what would be the WOE you see today. My amazingly talented wife Hayley helped me host and put together a site of my own for the first time, where WOE and any future comics can be found! I sincerely thank and love everyone who’s stuck with this comic for so many years, and anyone who is willing to read and enjoy it going forward. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

About the Author:

(Pictured above: Me coming up with stories about cute characters punching each other with magic.)

I used to go by “Seven Rain” but now simply “SevRai” will do.
I’ve been drawing my entire life, and have worked on WOE in some form or another for 15 years as of 2023, with many of it’s characters and ideas growing from concepts I’ve played around with in my head since childhood.

I’ve always been the nerdy socially-awkward sort, and these days I’m a bit of an internet hermit, but WOE was a catalyst for so much of who I am today, not only helping me discover my direction in life, but giving me a reason to take part in a larger webcomic community and awkwardly learn how to break out of my shell and socialize with all kinds of different people. In fact it even helped lead me to the love of my life; a woman I’ve been with for years now and hope to spend the rest of my life with!

I once had silly aspirations of being a big well-known creator. A cool and fun guy who people across the internet love to read comics by and interact with and form discussions and communities around, but these days I’m a bit happier having a small quiet corner of the internet to myself. Sure, I still love sharing my comics, ideas, and hobbies. There’s a sprinkle of vanity that makes me want to ramble about the things I enjoy and spread the word about the things I create and yell “Hey internet check this out!” but even if I were as special as 20-year-old me wanted to think I was, I’m satisfied not bringing a ton of attention to myself these days.

If WOE ever becomes a huge thing, that’s cool. The more the merrier, but I’m just happy when anyone takes time to read and enjoy my little passion project here. I don’t know what the future holds, but anyone who knows me outside of the internet, or who has hung around with me online since the SJ forums days, knows that I will never give up on WOE, the EthereaVerse, and my love of writing and drawing. Even if it takes the rest of my life to finish, I’ll stick with it no matter how many people are reading!