We've been fans of the creator of Nimona, Lumberjanes, and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power for years, and now, we get to know him a little bit better.
Nate Stevenson, professionally known as ND Stevenson, has come out in a new comic, updating his name and pronouns.
"Hello! I have something to tell you! My name is Nate!" the comic starts out. "And my pronouns are he/him! ...But I am not (entirely) a boy."
"I've chosen a 'male' name and 'male' pronouns because this is how I want to interact with a world that demands we choose one of two. But I am not one of two," it continues. "I am keeping my middle name 'Diana.' It is my way of paying tribute to this other side of me. I may keep it hidden and close to my heart, but I am not ashamed of it. It is mine and no one else's."
He specified that professionally, he'll be ND Stevenson, to keep a connection to his past work.
Stevenson also talks about the journey he went on, trying out different names with friends, and using the name Nate among close friends for nearly a year. While he admits it's been a "messy and awkward process," he also says it was definitely worth it.
He also opened up about other gendered markers that we use in society, saying "daughter" feels uncomfortable to use, but he still sometimes refers to himself as a "wife." He says that "when in doubt" gender-neutral words like "sibling" and "spouse" work just fine.
Stevenson closes out the comic expressing how life-changing these decisions have been for him, and how it's helping him be truer to himself than ever before.
"I never knew it was possible to feel this kind of joy and freedom in my form before," he says. "Like I'm feeling grass beneath my feet for the very first time."
"I want you to know me as I am. In some ways different, in some ways the same. Daughter and son, brother and sister, and everything in between. Just as I have always been," he wrote. "I am Nate Diana Stevenson. I am still at the beginning of my journey, and I would like you to come with me."
Stevenson first came out as nonbinary in 2020, saying he was "nonbinary, or something like it" at the time. He also underwent top surgery during that year, which he described as "like taking off ankle weights you didn't know were there."
When asked why he decided to come out this way during Pride Month, Stevenson said "comics have always been the best way I know how to explain things, so it just made sense to use a comic to come out."
Stevenson's upcoming projects include an animated film adaption of his graphic novel Nimona, about a shape-shifting girl and the gay supervillain she attaches herself to. The film stars Chloe Grace Moretz, Eugene Lee Yang, and Riz Ahmed, and will be released by Annapurna Pictures on Netflix sometime in 2023.
Congratulations, Nate! We love the name and love you!
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