James Gardner is the creator of Adventures in Underwood, a transmedia universe spanning novels, animation, gaming, and high fashion. He spent over a decade in luxury fashion and beauty before owning Tou Lou Color Salon, with runway credits for Escada, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, and more. As a makeup artist on American Idol, he gained firsthand insight into Hollywood's inner machinery-experience that shapes every page of the Narssica saga. Narssica Ascending, twenty¿six years in the making, explores identity, religious trauma, found family, and the courage to become yourself when everything you've built is a lie. Its monochrome artwork is intentionally designed to let readers inhabit Narssica rather than simply observe her-a world you step into, not a picture you look at. As Amanda Lepore says, "Get into it." Gardner's work celebrates queer culture not as struggle, but as power-creating aspirational heroes for readers who refuse to apologize for being extraordinary. Learn more at www.narssica.com..