The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ & Amal

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Name: The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ & Amal
Abbreviation(s): TJ&A
Creator: E.K. Weaver
Date(s): 2009-2014
Medium: webcomic (with available print volumes)
Country of Origin: United States
External Links: The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ & Amal
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The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ & Amal is a webcomic by E.K. Weaver which ran from 2009 to 2014. The story follows Amal, an Indian-American med student. After a disastrous coming out to his parents, he calls off his arranged marriage and tries to drown his sorrows in a bar, where he meets TJ. The next day, TJ claims the two made a drunken pact to drive from Berkley, California to Providence, Rhode Island, to attend Amal's sister's college graduation. The rest of the comic follows Amal and TJ's misadventures and developing relationship over the course of the 10-day road trip.

During its run, the comic was published in 3 collected volumes by Iron Circus Comics. In 2015, after the conclusion of the story, an omnibus edition was funded through Kickstarter, and included author's notes, concept sketches, and an excerpt from a previously out-of-print side comic. That same year, Weaver published "Five Years Ago and Three Thousand Miles Away", a short volume outlining three possible epilogues to the main story. It has not been said which of these epilogues is the "true" ending, as Weaver wanted readers to decide for themselves which ending they like best.

The comic has been translated into various languages, with fan-made Russian and Italian translations linked on the main page. Officially-licensed French and German translations also exist.

Development

Weaver has stated that TJ's design came about after she saw an ad in 2006 for a BL manga character design contest. Feeling frustrated with the "sameness" of the designs, she tried specifically to come up with a character who would break the mold of what one typically saw in BL works.

Awards and Accolades

Fanbook

Shortly after the conclusion of the comic, Kori Michele (creator of the webcomic Prince of Cats) announced that E.K. Weaver has given permission for a fanbook volume of art that would pay tribute to the characters many people had come to love. The book, which eventually came to be called "The Tribute Album" to reflect the importance of music in the story, garnered input from 61 artists. Printing of the volume was funded through pre-orders and was later released as a PDF.

Fandom

Because the story was always meant to be a long-form work intended for print, EK Weaver did not want to clutter up each individual page with comments. However, fans shared art and opinions widely on Tumblr.

Fanworks

Fanart

Fanfic

Links and Resources