Pen & Eye
Say it with comics: premium handmade content for a tech-weary world
The public has tech fatigue. Cell phone bans are sweeping through schools. Consumers are paying for silicone "bricks" to physically lock themselves out of the apps that are making them miserable. And on commencement stages, just mentioning of AI draws stadium-wide jeers and boos from angry grads.
Data shows it isn't just the kids. In the latest Stanford HAI AI Index, 52% of the public reports feeling outright nervous about AI products, while a massive 2026 consumer study by AnswerConnect revealed that 85% of people now actively reject AI bots in favor of genuine human interaction.
The antidote: Human-made comics that bloom out of real conversations and original research. Created by writer David Stoesz and artist Marie Bouassi, Pen & Eye translates complex issues into the sequential narrative art, AKA comics. Comics respect the dignity and visual anonymity of the people society marginalizes far better than intrusive photography, and can present your research and advocacy with far more immediacy than a 60-page PDF wall of words.
Cut through AI slop with human stories, told by humans. We make stuff people can trust and will actually remember.
HOW WE PARTNER WITH YOU
As the white-label creative team for your progressive, philanthropic, and social-impact clients we offer two broad models, though some projects could be a combination of the two:
We do the research
What this model is: An artistic and journalistic exploration of an issue, informed by ground-level reporting with those most impacted and the people who work to help them. A great tool for narrative change, public awareness, and humanizing populations who are marginalized.
How it works: The client gives us the issue and general guardrails, pointing us toward a specific community, group of interviewees, or localized policy challenge. We do the reporting—conducting interviews and research, following strict journalistic standards of accuracy.
The product: A narrative-driven print and digital comic book or digital episodic campaign that's experienced as an immersive narrative. Unhoused and other marginalized populations maintain final approval over how they are portrayed, and in some cases may be compensated for their time.
2. We translate your research
What this model is: Taking a dense, academic peer-reviewed research paper, annual report, or technical policy brief and mutating it into an engaging, sequential narrative format that policymakers, donors, and the public will actually open- and maybe remember!
How it works: Your client provides their data—whether it's municipal housing affordability matrices, public safety reform data, or a sub-Saharan Africa vaccination report - and David will digest the policy, strip away the bureaucratic jargon, and script it cleanly without sacrificing scientific rigor. Marie then transforms that script into striking visual layouts.
The Deliverable: A highly scannable, beautifully illustrated "Visual White Paper" or "Illustrated Annual Report" that connects the policy agenda with the people it impacts.
Feature 3
David Stoesz has written data-heavy global health reports for the Gates Foundation, video scripts for Microsoft, B2B white papers, arts journalism, and a number of books, including the local bestseller A Sensitive Liberal's Guide to Life, based on his "Ask an Uptight Seattleite column in the Seattle Weekly.
Marie Bouassi, a native of Montana, is an exceptional illustrator and stalwart of the PNW indie comics scene whose draughtsmanship blends a sharp wit, an unhinged imagination, and boundless human warmth. In addition to her extensive list of original full-length comics, her work has appeared on countless posters, brochures, and Real Change newspaper covers.
As Pen & Eye, this team created a comic on homelessness for Seattle Magazine, which continues to appear in Real Change. An independently published compilation of their work, Sweeps Kill, has sold out multiple print runs. They are currently collaborating with Dr. Megan Welsh Carroll from the School of Public Affairs at San Diego State University on a full-length comic and public awareness campaign to present her research on toilet access and sanitation justice.