In an announcement on social media, the creator of The Witch Boy, The Girl from the Sea, and The Deep Dark revealed that his new name is Lee Knox Ostertag and that he now uses he/him pronouns.
“I’ve been going by Lee and using he/him pronouns with friends and now you are invited to do so as well! Hi!” he wrote, adding: “Please do not worry about bringing me books to sign with [his former name] Molly on them, etc.—it does not bother me! After all, ‘molly’ was Victorian slang for gay, so it feels apt. [wink emoji]”
I’ve been going by Lee and using he/him pronouns with friends and now you are invited to do so as well! hi!
— Lee Knox Ostertag (@mollyostertag.bsky.social) 2025-08-26T15:30:43.155Z
Ostertag, 33, is an award-winning cartoonist whose most recent graphic novel, The Deep Dark, was nominated for this year’s Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story or Comic. His other credits include the webcomic Strong Female Protagonist (2012–2018), Dungeons & Dragons: Dungeon Club (2022–2025), and Shattered Warrior (2017), as well as writing for TV shows such as Star vs. the Forces of Evil, The Owl House, ThunderCats Roar, and the unreleased Neon Galaxy. He had previously indicated non-binary pronouns on his Bluesky bio since at least November 2024.
Ostertag is married to fellow transmasculine cartoonist ND Stevenson, the creator of Nimona and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. The couple married in 2019, a year before Stevenson came out as non-binary, and three years before he shared his current name (Nate) and pronouns. In 2022, Ostertag drew a comic reflecting on his husband’s gender transition and his own journey toward acceptance. He also previously tweeted:
“I just gotta say that as a cis woman, I’ve learned more about loving and celebrating my gender from trans people than I ever did from cis feminists.”
Both cartoonists remain busy with their projects. Ostertag’s next book, Dungeon Club: Final Face-off, the conclusion to the D&D series he co-created with artist Xanthe Bouma, will be published by HarperCollins on September 30. He is also serializing a Sherlock Holmes adaptation, Watson’s Sketchbook, in his newsletter. Stevenson’s upcoming graphic novel, Scarlet Morning, will be released on September 23.
As for Netflix’s Witch Boy movie, which the streamer announced in 2021 and said would feature a soundtrack by HAIM, its official status remains unknown.
Source: Bluesky
