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@newdirectioncomics
Chapter 2 of New Direction is out now.
Roy comes back to the cemetery for one lost thing.
Arieh finds out he may have lost much more.
Read it here: https://tapas.io/episode/3886594
A slow-burn LGBTQ+ graphic novel about grief, faith, family silence, and being seen too late.
Content note: grief, homophobia, religious trauma, illness, and emotional confrontation.
New Direction is an original LGBTQ+ graphic novel by Niv Haviv.
A rainy funeral in Jerusalem.
A stranger at the edge of the family.
A letter that was never meant to be found.
Ari’s brother is dead, but the silence he left behind is still alive. When Ari finds a letter connected to Roy, the man his family refused to acknowledge, grief becomes the first step toward a truth Ari can no longer ignore.
New Direction is a slow-burn LGBTQ+ graphic novel about grief, faith, family, silence, and the difficult intimacy of finally being seen.
Chapter 1 is now available to read for free on Tapas:
https://tapas.io/series/New-Direction-Comic
Content note: grief, homophobia, religious trauma, and a brief physical confrontation.
A year ago, Roy met Arieh for the first time.
It was the day after Rafael’s funeral — Arieh’s older brother, Roy’s partner.
That meeting ended in anger. In grief.
Roy blamed Arieh for abandoning his brother at his most vulnerable.
And Arieh? He was just beginning to realize he never really knew the truth.
Since then — they haven’t spoken.
Until now.
Sunset in Tel Aviv.
Roy sees him — sitting alone on the beach steps.
Arieh looks up.
Their eyes meet for a moment.
Then he stands and tries to slip away.
But Roy is already chasing after him.
“What are you doing here?!”
From Chapter 3 of New Direction.
Follow on Instagram: @newdirection.comic
Work in Progress: My Next Big Thing
For the past eight months, I’ve been quietly working on something that means the world to me:
A queer Israeli graphic novel — written, illustrated, and crafted with care, page by page.
As of today, I’ve crossed the 100-page mark (!!!)
And if all goes well… I’ll be ready to publish it this December.
This project is not just about story — it’s about memory, identity, grief, love, and finding your voice in a world that often tries to silence it.
If any of that speaks to you, follow along.
There’s so much more coming.
🖋️ New Direction — Coming Winter 2025
✨ @newdirection.comic
Keepsakes | Post #8 – from New Direction by Niv Haviv
Roy holds the pendant still hanging from his neck.
The last gift from Rafael — his partner, now gone.
A small object with a quiet weight.
He can’t always explain what it means —
but he feels it.
Sometimes, what’s left of someone we loved
is just a keepsake, a final word, or a feeling we can’t quite name.
They don’t always bring closure —
but they do mark the path grief carves through us,
quietly, step by step.
🎬 From New Direction – a queer Israeli graphic novel
✍🏼 by Niv Haviv | Coming November 2025
First Glimpse |
“New Direction”
by Niv Haviv
Aryeh Carmi meets Roy for the first time…
but not in a café, not on a street corner,
not even in one of Tel Aviv’s colorful nights.
They meet at a funeral.
The funeral of Aryeh’s older brother, Rafael.
Roy was the man who stood by Rafael’s side through everything —
the only one who didn’t leave when things got hard.
Aryeh, on the other hand, hadn’t seen his brother in years.
This moment — simple, silent, under the rain —
shakes Aryeh to his core.
It’s not just grief.
It’s guilt.
And it’s the beginning of a journey he never saw coming.
🖤
The scene you see here is taken from the opening of New Direction,
a graphic novel about identity, silence, and what it takes to truly heal.
🎨 Written, illustrated and created by me – Niv Haviv.
More soon. Stay close.
Meet Rafael Carmi – Aryeh’s older brother, and the invisible thread that ties this whole story together. Rafael never got to tell his story in full – but his absence is the spark that sets everything in motion.
He was sensitive, spiritual, brave — and deeply hurt. After surviving conversion therapy, he left religion and found love and freedom with Roy in Tel Aviv. But his illness cut that story short. Now, through Aryeh and Roy, his voice starts to echo again.
“Their faith was planted in me. But my own faith — I planted the day I met you.”
Sometimes, the most powerful moments are the quiet ones.
In this scene, Aryeh comforts his mother, Malka Carmi, during his brother Rafael’s funeral.
But something shifts — just behind them, through the trees, Aryeh notices a figure watching from a distance.
He doesn’t recognize who it is. Not yet.
The mystery lingers, subtle but heavy, like everything that wasn’t said.
I’m sharing here the initial sketch alongside the final illustration — it’s always fascinating to see how the emotional tone deepens through color, texture, and atmosphere. Sometimes, it’s not just the drawing that evolves — it’s the feeling.
Sketch vs. Final Panel
Sometimes it’s not just what you draw – it’s how.
This post is all about the very first image in New Direction: a cemetery in Jerusalem, during the funeral of Rafael Carmi.
The top image is my first sketch from a few months ago.
Below it – the final version, as it appears in the comic.
Between the two: a whole journey. Not just technical refinement, but a shift in graphic language – finding the tone, the rhythm, the balance between what’s broken and what’s trying to heal.
Like the characters themselves, the illustrations evolve, sharpen, stumble, and search for meaning.
Sometimes you have to start drawing before you can even tell what you meant to say.
A Special One 🎬
After sharing the story, the characters, and the city at the heart of it all –
it’s time to bring everything together in one emotional moment.
This video I created tells the story behind New Direction, my graphic novel.
It’s not just about love – it’s about grief, self-discovery, and the quiet courage it takes to start again.
The video features original illustrations, voiceover, and scenes from the comic itself.
If it speaks to you – like, share, and follow along. 💙
📍For behind-the-scenes content and updates:
Instagram: @newdirection_comic
Welcome to Tel Aviv – The beating heart of New Direction”
I wasn’t born here. I grew up far from the center – in Eilat, a sunny southern city where things move slower, and people tend to live by the book. But then I moved to Tel Aviv – and suddenly, the book was gone.
Tel Aviv isn’t like anywhere else in Israel. Here, the streets are filled with every kind of person you can imagine – queer, straight, religious, secular, loud, quiet, soft, wild. You can walk around in whatever clothes you want, holding whoever you love, and no one will give you a second look. Not because they don’t care – but because they’ve seen it all. And they celebrate it.
That’s why, in my graphic novel New Direction, Tel Aviv isn’t just a backdrop. It’s a main character.
This is where Arie – a quiet, religious yeshiva student from Jerusalem – suddenly finds himself. A place where everything he was taught to hide… is right out in the open. A city that asks him: what would you do if no one was watching? If no one judged?
Through its beaches, its bars, its buzzing nights and tired mornings, Tel Aviv is where Arie begins to lose his fear. Slowly, painfully, beautifully.
And maybe that’s the point. Maybe Tel Aviv isn’t the city of sin. Maybe it’s the city of becoming.
Meet Arieh & Roy — where silence meets storm
One silent moment.
Two strangers, standing face to face — broken in different ways. And suddenly, the past, faith, and the heart all collide.
These are the two main characters of New Direction, the graphic novel I’ve been creating over the past 7 months — written, illustrated, and designed entirely by me.
🔹 Arieh Carmi
26, a quiet yeshiva student from Jerusalem. He’s the younger brother of Rafael, who passed away. In his heart, he still carries a secret he never fully understood — until now.
“The kippah doesn’t confuse me. What confuses me… is everything I feel beneath it.”
🔹 Roy Gefen
25, from Tel Aviv. Rafael’s former partner. He tried to move on after the loss — until Arieh showed up and reignited everything he thought he’d buried.
“I know it’s insane. But what am I supposed to do, when my heart reacts to him — like logic has no place in this story?”
In the image I shared here, they meet for the first time — unsure, tense, vulnerable. The air is thick with unspoken things. This is just the beginning.
If you’re curious to know more about their journey, their contradictions, the quiet longing and emotional storm — I’ll be sharing behind-the-scenes updates here as New Direction comes to life.
🎨 Sketches, thoughts, raw writing, and glimpses from the comic itself. Welcome to the story. I’m glad you’re here. (And hey — feel free to tell me in the comments: which character are you more curious about so far?)
Welcome to New Direction — The Journey Begins Here 🌈
Hey Tumblr friends, I’m Niv Habib — a graphic designer, writer, and illustrator from Tel Aviv. For the past 7 months, I’ve been pouring my heart and soul into creating my very first graphic novel called New Direction.
It’s a deeply personal story about a young man from a yeshiva whose world is turned upside down when he meets his late brother’s boyfriend. It’s not just another coming out story — it’s about identity, faith, family, and the kind of love that changes everything. The whole story takes place right here in Tel Aviv — a city that’s as much a character in the book as anyone else.
I’m sharing this journey with you not only because I want to show you the final story — but because I want you to come along for the ride. On this Tumblr, I’ll be posting behind-the-scenes glimpses, character sketches, inspirations, and the creative process as it unfolds.
If you’re curious, inspired, or just want to be part of a community that embraces stories of truth and transformation, hit the follow button and join me.
My goal is to publish New Direction by November via crowdfunding, and I’d love for you to be a part of it from day one.
P.S. I also just started sharing on Instagram — feel free to follow along there too: @newdirection_comic
Here’s a little sneak peek of the two main characters and our logo — welcome to the world of New Direction.
— Niv Haviv.