Spooky meets cutesy comics and illustrations rooted in underground cartooning, surreal storytelling, and outsider joy.
Strange One Comics began with a song. After hearing the Supergrass track “Strange Ones” in the early 2000s, founder Byron Olson felt an immediate connection to its lyrics about outsiders, weirdos, and finding belonging among other “strange ones.” The song eventually inspired one of Byron’s original comic characters, The Strange One, a wandering figure who can speak to the dead and glimpse the future, but struggles to understand where he belongs. That same spirit still shapes the brand today: art for the oddballs, creatives, queer folk, and anyone who’s ever felt a little outside the norm.
Byron creates comics, prints, and illustrated goods that balance spooky aesthetics with softness, humor, and emotion. His work combines elegant linework with playful chaos, pulling inspiration from underground comics, punk and hip hop culture, romance, nature, and surrealism. The drawings often feel both polished and raw at the same time, full of expressive gestures, unexpected details, and characters that seem to exist in their own strange little universe.
Most pieces begin traditionally with ink and a small sable brush, a process Byron describes as deeply meditative. Though he also colors digitally using Procreate and Adobe tools, the physical act of inking remains central to the work. Each line feels intentional, balancing clean cartooning with loose spontaneity and the kind of beautiful messiness that makes the drawings feel alive.
Byron creates from his home studio at a vintage wooden drafting table surrounded by stacks of comics, art books, toys, and prints from artists he admires. With coffee nearby and inspiration covering the walls, the space has become both a creative lab and a personal sanctuary, somewhere to fully disappear into the work.
What You'll Find at Bloom
Original comics, art prints, and illustrated goods, spooky, surreal, and playful cartoon inspired artwork, and expressive ink drawings filled with narrative and imagination
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With Strange One Comics
Why Bloom?
“As a Providence native with deep roots in Fox Point and Wickenden Street, having a physical place where people can discover my work feels incredibly meaningful. Bloom’s focus on supporting artists and building community made it feel like the perfect fit.” - Byron
Fun Fact
Byron is a Providence native who went to RISD after a short stint at MassArt. He played basketball for the RISD Balls, and after graduating became the head coach and eventually the first AD of Athletics at RISD. Athletes can be artists, and artists can be athletes!