Photo of Jessi Eoin, a fat, white person with short, wavy brown hair, wearing a white knit sweater with the moon phases on it in purple and red. They have dark blue eyes and a small silver lip piercing. They’re also wearing a tan nasal strip across the bridge of their nose. They are smiling at the viewer, standing outside in front of a red brick wall.
Jessi Eoin (they/them) is a comic artist and illustrator from the occupied lands of the Lenape people (Brooklyn, New York). They make art to uplift and positively represent fat, disabled, and trans experiences, and you can find more of their work at jbeoin.com, @jbeoin on instagram, and @JessiEoinArt on twitter.
unexpected joy
jessi eoin
Comic by Jessi Eoin titled “Unexpected Joy” with four panels, each drawn and painted with ink, color pencil, watercolor, and gouache, and each accompanied by text. The color scheme starts in primarily black and white in the first panel and gradually evolves into a flurry of color by the last panel.
Text: “In 2020, I had to start making my own clothes. It wasn't safe to shop indoors, and I needed more breathable and comfortable clothes in my size for my fibromyalgia, asthma, and other disabilities. I couldn't afford quality premade options, so I saved up money for some cotton fabric to make some skirts.”
Panel: A black and white inked drawing of a fat person, Jessi, with wavy hair sitting in front of a sewing machine, working with some fabric. The fabric is the only thing in color, and it's a black background with yellow lemons, green leaves, and white flowers on it. Also in the drawing are a small potted peperomia plant between the sewing machine and curtained window. There’s a speech bubble to the left of Jessi that reads, “Hmmm…”
Text 1: “It was awesome!” [The word “awesome” is in pink.]
Panel: A black and white image of Jessi excitedly wearing their new lemon skirt, the fabric all colorful and now Jessi's shirt is painted all black to pair with it. Jessi is grinning and holding up the skirt with their hands as if to admire their handiwork, while their hair fans out around them. Their leg is lifted up in excitement, and their leg hair is visible. There’s an arrow pointing at Jessi on the top left under some text that reads “First skirt ever made,” accompanied by three speech bubbles. Bubble 1 reads, “Wow! Look at this!” Bubble 2 reads, “So loose! So flowy!” Bubble 3 reads, “I’m never wearing pants again!”
Text 2: "I felt powerful and strong in my skirts, as well as comfortable and soft, knowing I could use my hands to create something so useful and so beautiful.” [The word “powerful” is in pink font. The word “strong” is in purple font. The word “beautiful” is in blue font.]
Text 1: “I felt Gender Euphoria at being one step closer to the image of myself in my mind: masculine and feminine and neither of those, no defined gender, while wearing fabulous, loose, flowy, colorful clothes.” [The word "masculine" is in pink font. The word "feminine" is in blue. The words "neither of those" are in purple. The words "Gender Euphoria" and "colorful" are in rainbow.]
Panel: This panel is an explosion of color. Jessi is shown in three different poses wearing three different, colorful outfits while the rest of Jessi is still drawn in black and white ink. The first, on the left, is them in a bright yellow shirt paired with a dark blue galaxy skirt that has lots of planets, suns, and shooting stars on it in bright, warm colors. Jessi's pose looks confident and proud with hands on their hips, and there's text next to them that reads, "Fuck yeah." The middle one is of Jessi squatting down in horse stance with both of their arms straight up in the air in a comical pose with a silly and intense face with the word "WOOOOOOO!!" above them. They're wearing a bright blue shirt coupled with a blue skirt that has all kinds of sharks and rays on them in a variety of blues and grays. The final one, on the right, is Jessi wearing a pink top with a pink skirt with orange pumpkins, brown vines and stems, and white leaves with a couple of pops of yellow leaves here and there. They're smiling with their eyes closed and their arms outstretched, looking happy, and there's text next to them that reads, "It has pockets" above a small blue heart.
Text 2: "The only thing missing was some more gender ambiguity. So when a new diagnosis of PCOS showed me that I can grow facial hair, my excitement only grew--" [The word "gender" is in purple font. The word "ambiguity" is in yellow. The word "hair" is in green. The word "excitement" is in pink.]
Text 1: continued from previous panel, “I knew it was finally time to start fashioning the rest of me to fit right, too.” [The word "fit" is in blue font. The word “right” is in pink.]
Panel: The final panel shows Jessi painted in full color, wearing a bright yellow shirt with a bright green, frog-bedazzled skirt that's decked out with rainbows, crowns on the frogs, raindrops, lily pads, rain boots, flowers, and lots of texture; in addition, Jessi has added heart-shaped trans pride flag patch pockets to the skirt. It's a bit chaotic in a pleasing way. Jessi's skin is pale, and their hair is brown and wavy and down past their butt. The biggest difference now is that they have grown a fluffy beard and have a bit of mustache around the edges of their lips. They're wearing bright purple sunglasses and posing in a very cheesy way with finger guns directed at the viewer, while grinning mischievously and putting their foot up on a gray rock that reads 2023 (as if to indicate that 2023 will be ROCKY) and that's topped with a trans pride flag, as though to show victory and determination over 2023. There is a vibrant violet speech bubble next to them that reads, “Time to start T, baby.”
Text 2: "The unexpected Gender Joy I found in making simple skirts for myself has undoubtedly given me a dose of positivity that I know I'll need now and for the future, and for that, I'm grateful." [The words "Gender Joy" are in rainbow font. The word "skirts" is in blue. The word "undoubtedly" is in yellow. The words "dose of positivity" are in pink. The word "future" is in green. The word "grateful" is in purple.]
A photo of Jessi Eoin, a fat white person with long, wavy brown hair, is laughing and grinning widely with their eyes shut, their hands inside the pockets of their very first ever made skirt of a lemon pattern on black fabric with green leaves and white flowers all over. They’re wearing a black short sleeved shirt, and this photo of them has been outlined in white and placed on a pink background. There is alternating white and pink text that reads, “This comic brought to you by my favorite photo of myself. That’s right-- it has pockets (referring to the skirt). Love and solidarity to all of us fighting for all of our rights. You deserve joy.” Underneath the text is Jessi’s logo of their name accompanied by the words “Comics” and “Illustration” with three stars.