‘Heartstopper’ Creator Dropped a Surprise ‘Our Flag Means Death’ Halloween Crossover Comic

If you love Heartstopper and Our Flag Means Death, I’m going to need you to take a seat and Stede-y yourself. In celebration of Halloween, Heartstopper creator Alice Oseman updated her first addition to the ongoing web-comic series since May 2022. Citing stress and burnout, Oseman went on hiatus and has instead added to the comic series with guest comics from Loan Navet, Kidovna, Emily Thomas, and Mueritos. While Oseman is still on hiatus, she popped in for a Halloween treat for the ages.

The main two characters dressed up as Stede (Charlie) and Blackbeard (Nick) from Our Flag Means Death! While the adaptation of the long-popular Heartstopper series was going to blow up regardless, Our Flag Means Death became a sleeper hit when it was clear that the show was a queer romance and not a tease. (Not to mention blessing us with an introduction of Vico Ortiz). The Netflix adaption of Heartstoppers (written by Oseman, too) introduced the idea of Nick having a special connection to pirates, so it was meant to be!

Pirates of the Caribbean as a vehicle to illustrate to show Nick’s bi-awakening was something in the show, but not in the comics. There are a lot of widely accepted works that shows, movies, and other pop culture properties helped people come into their sexuality, but most of the references are from the ’90s and earlier. So, Oseman fielded inquiries online to get some examples that would work for characters born in the early ’00s. Three years later, we would see this play on Netflix.

Nick and Charlie weren’t the only two couples who coordinated. My faves, Tara and Darcy were dressed as Velma and Daphne, respectively. While the women leading Mystery, Inc. have never been together canonically, their ship is basically accepted as fact among fans.

If you want more Heartstopper but are already caught up (including the guest posts), check out The Heartstopper Yearbook. This graphic novel was released on October 13.

(via Twitter, featured image: Netflix)

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Alyssa Shotwell

(she/her) Award-winning artist and writer with professional experience and education in graphic design, art history, and museum studies. She began her career in journalism in October 2017 when she joined her student newspaper as the Online Editor. This resident of the yeeHaw land spends most of her time drawing, reading and playing the same handful of video games—even as the playtime on Steam reaches the quadruple digits. Currently playing: Baldur's Gate 3 & Oxygen Not Included.

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