In October, I attended the highly anticipated LightBox Expo in Pasadena, CA, where the leading webcomic platform, WEBTOON, made its first appearance at LBX. Click here to read more about my first LBX experience and see if attending LightBox in 2026 could be for you!
At LightBox, I interviewed ROSEOAK, a visual developer, storyboard artist, and comic creator responsible for the wholesome high school romance and WEBTOON Original series, Not So Silent. With its organic and awkward interactions between characters, accurate illustrations of ASL, inclusivity, and positive representations of disability, Not So Silent has cultivated a loyal fanbase since its launch in May 2024. Widely considered a comfort comic, NoS explores what many adolescents face in high school, including insecurities, peer pressure, and the complex complications that come with puberty and first love.
As a high school romance, Not So Silent is set at Faraday High, where the main characters and love interests Lewis Walker and Fern Montalvo meet for the first time, commencing the start of a love story that has won the hearts of thousands. Popular class president, high achiever, and an evident people pleaser, Lewis has very little time for himself, let alone his close friends. He volunteers every spare second for extracurricular activities and tutoring, so when he’s asked to give the new kid a tour of campus, Lewis agrees without hesitation. However, before the tour, Lewis is surprised to learn that Fern is deaf.
With only a basic understanding of ASL, Lewis’s confidence as a tour guide crumbles, but Fern, who was used to reading lips and was accompanied by his mother, is happy to continue with the tour. As planned, they navigate the campus with Lewis leading the way. His sign language is stiff, at best, but Fern and his mother appreciate his efforts, and Lewis finds himself more flustered by Fern’s freckles, fluffy hair, and laughter. Red-faced but determined to be closer to Fern, Lewis works to improve his ASL fluency, and in doing so, he learns the many small and significant challenges the disabled community faces regularly.
In this LBX exclusive interview, NoS creator ROSEOAK discusses how her comic originated on WEBTOON CANVAS, grew in popularity, and then launched as an Original after years of careful research. ROSEOAK also emphasizes the importance of applying empathy and in-depth research when writing characters affected by physical and/or mental disabilities, and presenting respectful and authentic representation. Keep reading if YOU want to learn more about ROSEOAK and the love, empathy, and research she put into rewriting her original webcomic!
For readers who are unfamiliar with your work, can you tell us about yourself, your original webcomic on WEBTOON, and what drew you to comics as a medium?
I was originally a high schooler when I started on WEBTOON CANVAS. I was going through a really hard time then, and webtoons became a helpful outlet, so I started creating a fictional version of a lot of my problems with fictional characters. I was even able to resolve issues I was dealing with through my writing.
For those who don’t know about Not So Silent, one of the main characters is deaf, and the other main character is autistic. They were part of a story that I really wanted to write at the time, and WEBTOON just happened to be a really accessible platform that evolved into something much bigger. I never thought that I would be creating comics as a full-time job. Initially, it was just a hobby, but I’ve always loved writing stories. Lately, I’ve been writing a lot of fantasy and less slice of life, evolving as a creator and exploring more of what I can do with world-building and storytelling.
How would you pitch NoS to new readers or readers less inclined to read slice of life or romance?
Not So Silent deals with romance between two very unlikely characters who happen to cross paths, with a big communication barrier between them. One of them is deaf, so they have to work together through their communication barrier, and doing so builds romance between them. If anybody is looking for a fun story with humor, romance, language barriers, and best friends to lovers, then Not So Silent is the story to check out.
As a creator, how did you approach incorporating physical and mental disabilities into your characters?
Original readers from CANVAS know that it took three years to launch the Original version of Not So Silent, and that’s because when I incorporated anything into the story, I set a rule for myself. With my editors, Bree and Griffin, we established this rule that anything we put into the comic must be well-researched. For instance, I took an ASL class. It only scratched the surface of how much there is to the deaf community, and so I am by no means an expert, but I refused to write unless I had taken a class or talked to someone in depth who had firsthand experience with the issues included in the story.
A lot of my best friends are queer and neurodivergent, so I took the time to have heavy conversations with them about inclusivity and how it can be applied to the story and its characters. We talked about the dynamic between my main characters, Lewis and Fern, and how to positively portray it as just two people with different disabilities learning to understand each other. It took a lot of thinking on how to make Not So Silent a story about two people who just happened to be born the way they are, and talking with my friends really highlighted what feeds into being queer and disabled.
A lot of stories we have seen in the media often use a character’s disability as a hook for their audience, and then they infantilize the characters. As a golden rule, I never wanted to infantilize my characters, but I’ll also be transparent. In the CANVAS version, I completely infantilized the characters, but I realized that when I grew as a person and reread the story. Not So Silent became a story that a lot of people wanted to see finished, and I wanted to tell it in a way that I implemented more research to make sure the characters felt fully rounded and real.
Before launching as an Original series, Not So Silent was on WEBTOON CANVAS. How would you argue your series has evolved?
A lot of the original CANVAS readers would argue that the dynamic was almost reversed between the two main characters. In the WEBTOON Original version, my main character Fern is really outgoing and kind of the life of the party, whereas my other main character Lewis is trying to be the A-plus, not rebellious at all, student. But it was reversed in the CANVAS version.
And that was a big thing I wanted to change when rewriting Not So Silent because it felt like the right change to make. Lewis was constantly trying to defend Fern against people in school, speaking for him and indirectly infantilizing him. When I reread it, I quickly realized, ‘yeah, this is not what I want this story to be.’ So we did the proper research, we rewrote it, and I’m really happy with where the story is now.
What would you say inspired the core idea of Not So Silent, and what compelled you to tell this particular type of love story?
Not So Silent presented a love story that I wanted to feel and witness as a person. In real life, I’m not particularly a romantic person, but I love writing romance. I put a lot into the characters that I wanted to see and read about in high school, and it was a big comfort to me when I was first writing this story and creating characters who came to life and grew as the story progressed. And seeing that growth really made me feel fulfilled as I was writing.
What is your go-to snack when you’re working on your comic?
I usually don’t snack, but I do have a bunch of different drinks. Most of the time, it’s coffee on an empty stomach, which, yeah, is probably not a great idea. I’ve also had Red Bull and different cups of caffeinated teas, like green and black teas. Ro-taniah, creator of the comic Star Catcher, even introduced me to this brand called SPLYT, which is basically caffeinated milk. Just picture a bunch of cups, and that’s actually how my desk looks a lot of the time.
How did it feel to be among the panelists for WEBTOON’s first appearance at LightBox?
Very surreal. I was always planning on going to LightBox at some point, but I never imagined that my first time going would be as one of the presenters WITH WEBTOON. Post Lightbox, that fact has me feeling very fulfilled and grateful!
With many current and aspiring comic creators attending LBX, what advice would you give them in regards to comic creation, building their brands, and engaging with their readers?
It’s a constantly evolving art form, to be honest. With all the evolving ways to communicate, network, and connect with an audience, it’s all about experimenting with what sticks with people when it comes to what you want to make as an artist. But! Some easier stuff– being an active participant with your audience. Send out polls, answer questions with public Q&A’s, be present as an author– and in return they’ll be more present as readers! That, in my experience, is so important to building a core audience that will read ALL of what you make, not just one of your titles!
While attending LBX as panelists, what did you do and like best about LightBox and what it had to offer attendees this year?
I did! I wanted to go to the KPop Demon Hunters one since I know a couple of concept artists who worked on that movie, but I didn’t get the chance to. I spent most of the time exploring the artist alley and the show floor in general, and I got to meet animation director and character designer Ami Thompson and get a signed print by her!
She’s one of my favorite artists currently! AND I got to meet up with some old art school friends, and we got to attend the concept art awards ceremony. It was great, and we got to meet up for dinner and talk all about the industry and what inspires and drives us as artists for about three hours. I think the sense of community and network is very beneficial to the attendees in general, and from my experience, it was really strong this year!
With up to 56 episodes to read for FREE on WEBTOON, Not So Silent updates every Tuesday at 6 PM PST!
If you love wholesome high school romance, with positive LGBTQIA+ and disability representation, Not So Silent is the comic for you! You can follow ROSEOAK and her creative journey on TikTok and Instagram, and you can support her via Patreon!
