Grace Crowley's naturist webcomics
Discovering Loxie & Zoot and its spinoffs
Loxie & Zoot is a webcomic created by Grace Crowley which ran from 2003 to 2006, during the big webcomic boom when titles like Penny Arcade, Ctrl+Alt+Del, and 8-Bit Theater rose to prominence. Its titular characters run an Australian nudist camp together called Koala Bares, populated by a diverse cast of characters including multiple men named Herb and an eccentric old man named Mungo who seems to be able to see into the future.
Over the comic’s run, they deal with the anti-nude politician Tex Tyler’s weird schemes, college porn scams, a traveler from another dimension, and jewel thieves who aren’t what you expect.
These storylines are all quite elaborate, with Crowley weaving multiple plot threads together involving several cast members, plus plenty of zany, good natured gags and frank discussions of body image and other familiar nudist issues without ever sounding preachy.
The first storyline itself is a solid one hundred and fifteen pages! It feels like it would’ve made a great TV show with all the wacky sitcom elements involved. There are also some attempts at aping famous newspaper strips and some guest strips by other creators, which are fun to see.
I’m a fan of Crowley’s art style, especially as it develops over the years. It reminds me a little of the Archie Comics house style with a bit of 90’s alternative comics like Love and Rockets or Evan Dorkin’s work. Characters come in all shapes, sizes, ages, and colors, some have tan lines, and everything is colored in a pleasantly simple way that you don’t see too much these days. As a cartoonist myself I have a bit of envy and know I’ll be taking inspiration from it in the future.
The comics are easily accessible from the archive linked above, but most of the other links on the site are broken. It’s a shame, I’d like to read the old reviews and see what folks thought, as even twenty some years later the comic really stands out to me. The plots are so involved without being convoluted, the cast never feels too bloated, the issues and themes are handled so casually, and reading it is just a good time, and I hope others felt that way as the comic ran.
It appears Crowley was never very good at keeping the site working, as I’ve found mention here and there that the forum they ran while the comic was active would go down frequently and I encountered more dead links and messes after I finished reading the archive.
Crowley also made a series of spinoff comics under the title the Bare Pit, which I was unfortunately only able to access through the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine. Loxie and Zoot return, new characters are introduced, some older characters get to take the lead, and it seems Crowley really settled into a great art style with these. The cast gets even more diverse, with one storyline introducing Zoot’s mother who’s had a mastectomy and his brother who’s gay. There are more than 300 pages total, including some fan comics, and I like them even more than Loxie & Zoot, though it’s helpful to have read those comics first.
In 2009, Crowley also made a series of single panel comics for H&E Magazine called Bare Manors, fourteen altogether. These definitely feel the most like an old fashioned newspaper strip and are also accessible through the Wayback Machine.
After some more digging, I’ve found that Crowley was actually making nudist comics as far back as 1997! Loxie and Zoot actually made their first appearance back then, in an issue of Australian Sun & Health. Seeing just how much Crowley’s style evolved in the twelve years of making comics with these characters is a big part of what I enjoy about reading them.
I’ve really enjoyed reading through all of these comics (and to be honest I’m still not quite done with the Bare Pit yet!) and learning about Crowley’s long running work. They still feel fresh today, and having them more easily accessible online would be great. Having them in print would be even better!
The original Koala Bares storyline was printed, but I don’t think it can be purchased right now and I couldn’t find any second hand copies online. I’m not sure about any of the other storylines.
At some point in time, Crowley transitioned and changed their name (you’ll see in early strips that they used to go by the name Stephen, but it’s dropped early in 2003) and despite never returning to naturist settings, they continued making webcomics, notably a superhero comic called Magellan, which was still updating until October 2023.
Crowley’s own Twitter account hasn’t been active since November 2022. I attempted to reach out to them in January with the email I found on the website for Magellan, hoping to interview them, but unfortunately I never got a response back.
Wherever they are, I hope they’re doing well and that they know their work is appreciated. 🪐
Loxie and Zoot is a fun comic.I'm fortunate to have a copy of the one book that was produced.The follow up comics are great as well.Hopefully one day the site will be updated to include all of Crowley's comics.
Those comics definitely had a big impact on me, too! I agree with your assessment - great stories, characters, body representation. I’m lucky enough to have won a signed copy of The Koala Bares, a real treasure.
Also - There’s an interview with Crowley on the nudescribe site under “disrobing suspense.”