Check out a new comic!

I got an ad for this when I opened Webtoon recently and gasped out loud. One of my all time favorite comics, I read this one before it hit Webtoon and will absolutely be rereading it week to week as it's moved to the site. I cannot recommend it enough, and here's some of why.

(Though I've read this before, I will mostly stick to panels and events that can be found on Webtoon!)

Another Typical Fantasy Romance is, despite its name, a really fresh, interesting take on isekai and its tropes. Lithera has already followed the original path of the novel on her first go—saving the world, marrying the male lead, and becoming empress—and found it didn't end happily ever after. She divorces the original male lead due to his controlling behavior, and when she does, he ends up killing her, sending her back to the start again. Knowing what kind of man the male lead truly is, Lithera decides to find an ending that will truly make her happy, rejecting the novel's plot entirely and trying to carve her own happy ending.

As suggested by the plot itself, the novel subverts a lot of common isekai tropes and traditions. While it definitely follows many conventions of the genre, I find the places where it does stray make it a very interesting and unique work.

The biggest part of the plot that makes this comic stand out is the fact Lithera trusts Pellus with the story of her transmigration and reincarnation very quickly after meeting him. Most isekai comics only bring this sort of thing up at the very end, assuming the female lead tells the male lead at all (or she isn't found out by a side character, which also happens). It's pretty neat to see a story where all cards end up on the table from the get-go, as well as how much that impacts the bond, trust, and communication between the main couple.

Lithera's letters to Pellus come back in time with her, and he's already read them by the time Lithera arrives to ask his hand in marriage. It's an interesting spin on their relationship, as Pellus is aware, to an extent, about their past lives. The first timeline comes up often, and I find the way it bleeds into the current story to be a very fun subplot, especially in the later arcs. I won't go into too much detail there, but I will say, the way the letters weigh on Pellus in particular was pretty fascinating to me as the story unfolded and we learned more about him.

Speaking of Pellus... Another place this comic breaks traditions and tropes in the genre is in character design. While Pellus may fall into a traditional role of a romance fantasy male lead as a "cold duke of the north" who turns out to be secretly gentle and kind, he doesn't much look the part of a fantasy's male lead. He looks a lot more realistically like the sort of solider you'd actually expect to spend decades fighting powerful monsters and be labeled a "beast," with a large build, longer hair and facial hair, and heavy scarring on his face and body. It makes him an incredibly unique, stand-out male lead from the moment you meet him, even before you see what he's like as a person.

(And, if you're wondering: No, he never shaves or gets a haircut. I know I've mourned the loss of similar male leads, but Pellus keeps the unique design!)

There's nothing wrong with the "normal" look of male leads in isekai and romance fantasy, but there definitely is a "normal look" in this genre. A lot of male leads look pretty similar, and while each one looks very nice on his own, it's nice to see a different design for a male lead. Pellus's design was a huge selling point to me when I picked up this comic, and I only enjoyed him and the series more the more I read.

While I'm on designs, I also quite like Lithera's design. There's something about her that really stands out to me among female leads, but I've never been able to put my finger on it. I think it's the shape of her eyes, but I'm always drawn to her face and really enjoy her smile.

The art in this comic is also just really pretty in general! These two aren't the only ones with neat designs, though Webtoon hasn't met many of the other side characters yet for me to show them to you. Maybe in a few months I'll come back and add them in a reblog of this post.

Since there isn't much comic out yet, I'm going to circle back to Pellus, as most of the comic so far has centered him (and he's probably my favorite character).

In high society, Pellus has the reputation of being monstrous and terrifying. Some of this was intentional on his part for reasons revealed later, but whether he fed into it or not, it isn't without costs. Being known as subhuman is obviously damaging and isolating, and much of his arc deals with his struggles with his self-imposed image as a beast. Other people tend to assume the worst of him, to the point he himself tends to believe he's a monster or worth less than the people around him. Seeing him dealing with this is a fascinating arc that stretches the whole comic, both with us learning why he came to portray himself this way as well as seeing him learn to acknowledge how untrue it is and much it's hurt him.

It's also fun to watch as Lithera not only helps him grow his self esteem, but how he and Lithera begin to use this image he's created to their advantage. Both of them work well together, playing into each other's strengths and supporting each other's weaknesses.

Both Pellus and Lithera have their own insecurities and issues from their lives before their marriage. Pellus's self-image and Lithera's trauma from her relationship with the original male lead are two major points of pain for the both of them, but through their trust in one another they're able to work through anything that is thrown at them, be it in their past, their present, or their future. They're a very sweet, wholesome couple, and a top tier relationship if sappy romance is your speed.

(I don't think this first image has come up in the comic's Webtoon release yet, but it was too perfect not to use here!)

Pellus, Lithera, and their relationship are definitely the biggest strengths of this comic, but there are way more characters then just these two. Lithera's parents, Pellus's staff, Lithera's friends and allies, and the antagonistic royal family make for a large cast of engaging characters. I can't go into too much detail, as most of them aren't yet in the webtoon version, but I will say I enjoyed watching Lithera and Pellus recruit each member of their little team as the comic progressed when I read it the first time. The way Lithera uses her knowledge of the novel and her first life to help her befriend and help the larger cast of the story, turning many of them into true friends and allies in a way she did not have in her first life, is very rewarding.

I went on a short vacation and was a occupied with the holidays, but I'm back with another comic highlight! Señorita Cometa just wrapped up right before I left, which made it a perfect choice to talk about when I came back.

Right off the bat, I want to say how rewarding it was to reread this comic. I'd been following it weekly since it started in 2022, and weekly comic reading can often make you lose some of the small details. Binging it made it far easier to catch a lot of clever call-backs, running gags, and mystery threads I hadn't picked up on reading it while it was running, and with knowledge of the ending fresh in my head, I caught a ton of moments of foreshadowing I hadn't known to watch out for. Whether you've followed Cometa from the start or are hearing of it for the first time from this post, I strongly suggest giving it a (re)read.

(I don't want to be too specific, since I keep these posts spoiler free, but the dialogue in the final chase? Really good, full of clever call-backs I really loved, incredibly rewarding to reread. I hadn't noticed all the things that made it so clever the first time with years between the scenes, but they were a great detail to catch this time!)

The most immediately striking thing about Señorita Cometa is the comic's use of vibrant colors. Even night time scenes are bold and bright with neon lighting, with most Cometa heists being lit with the comic's signature combination of magenta and cyan.

(I also used these panels to show off some side characters I really enjoyed, though they're certainly not the only ones I loved!)

Many especially intense moments got an even stronger colors scheme, with these panels of Alex from the start and end of the comic being two of my favorites:

Color is far from Señorita Cometa's only strength. It's incredibly fun as a heist comic. Alex is skilled at parkour, intelligent with hacking and technology, and uses a number of her own inventions throughout the comic to enhance these abilities. She also has a team of equally skilled supporters, each with their own strengths added to her own. If you enjoy watching a group of highly skilled individuals excel at what they do best for the benefit of their communities, this is a rewarding read.

Lots of the heists also include Cometa's theme music, which really adds to the heist/action movie feel. They're fun, exciting, and with different targets, varying settings and aims, and new inventions, every single heist feels uniquely interesting and engaging. I've never been one for fight scenes in manga, but I loved the action sequences of Cometa.

Señorita Cometa is definitely a dark comic. It deals heavily with human trafficking, as Alex's entire motive is to rescue her best friend from such a fate. While the comic skirts around directly depicting the most grim and visceral details, it doesn't hide that something darker is going on. It handles the darker aspects of the theme in a way that still feels realistic while sticking to a YA rating, not afraid to be dark while not being over the top. I feel it handles the balance well, especially while genuinely staying a hopeful, humorous comic. Because it is a humor comic, with several good jokes and running gags that kept up and kept high spirits throughout the comic. The humor and lightheatedness are one of the most important parts of the comic, at least to me—these moments help the reader become attached to the characters and invested in their relationships.

Señorita Cometa isn't just an action comic, or a drama comic, or a heist comic. It's also a romance, but more than that, it's a story of friendship and community. Alex sets off with the mission of finding Lola, but ends up befriending not only Adal (her greatest ally in the police force) but several other characters who eventually become her team. She also vows to bring home not only her friend, but every other missing girl in Yoalco. She helps each member of her team become better versions of herself, including Puig, the detective who has sworn to bring Cometa in. Alex's relationships with Adal, Lottie, Sofia, Puig, and so many others grow stronger throughout the comic, and because of these, Alex herself is able to become better and more sure of herself, which allow Cometa to help even more people. The lighthearted, silly moments of banter and friendship are the emotional core which make Alex and the readers able to face the darker aspects of the world that Cometa is trying to fight against.

I really enjoyed the romance aspect of this comic, but one thing that stood out to me is how many friendships there are between male and female characters that don't turn romantic. Alex's closest and most consistent ally throughout the comic is Adal, a male police officer who she met after she began working with the force. While there could have easily been romantic tension between the two, there never is, with both characters remaining close friends the entire comic. It's a refreshing detail, especially to me, as someone who really enjoys friendship-focused stories. Alex and Adal are often bantering or teasing each other, but when it comes down to it, they're both supporting each other toward the same goal.

Señorita Cometa is a mystery comic, even if it doesn't quite feel like one. Alex is trying to find Lola, and there's more to that search than there first appears. Rereading it, I could definitely see hints I had lost track of over years of reading it weekly, which made the bingeread a lot more rewarding. The twist at the end lands whether you see or coming or not, with an exciting and fulfilling conclusion to both the mystery and Alex's story.

Overall, Señorita Cometa is a very thoughtful, hopeful, resonate comic. I loved reading it, loved rereading it, loved Cometa and her team. I highly recommend checking it out if you're looking for something fun but with tangible stakes.

As a final note, I want to give a shoutout to the E103 flashback/dream sequence. I cannot be more specific without spoilers, but it's definitely my favorite scene in the comic, purely on a technical level of how interesting and unique the presentation is. The incredible use of the horizontal format, the thread, the dolls, the final panel of the dream... When the episode dropped I finished it and immediately scrolled back up to read the whole thing again. Probably one of my favorite scenes in any comic I've ever read.

Raining Knives ran back in 2017-2019, and I read it as it was coming out when I was in high school. It’s pretty short, as far as webcomics I’ve read have gone, but it has exactly as much room as it needs to in order to tell the story it wants to.

Believe it or not, Raining Knives is actually a mystery! Yes, even knowing from the first scene who killed Jerry, how they did it, and why. Jerry’s murder isn’t the only strange thing happening in town, nor is it the only thing haunting Dylan. Solving it (or pretending to) leads Dylan and Jerry to look into far more than just the one murder.

Since it’s a mystery, I can’t get too into the story itself, but Raining Knives makes for a very compelling and tense whydunit. There are a few very fun twists with this comic, but I’ll let you find those out on your own! I read it in an afternoon two days ago, and by the end of the read, I was on the verge of tears. I still remembered most of the story beats pretty well six years out, as they made quite an impact on me, and they hit just as hard as when I read them the first time.

The story focuses on Dylan and Jerry, of course; both them as individuals and their relationship as brothers. While Jerry was alive, their relationship had strained enough that Dylan kills Jerry in a fit of anger Jerry had been selfish and reckless, often inconveniencing or injuring Dylan without ever really apologizing; Dylan is reclusive and abrasive, letting resentment build up in secret until it exploded on the night of Jerry’s death. They never really talked about or addressed their issues in life, but when they’re the only person the other has, they’re forced to talk through a lot of the issues that had built between them for most of their lives.

As Jerry has no idea that Dylan is his killer, and Dylan is the only one who can see him, he’s very appreciative of Jerry and that they still have each other. The guilt this pulls from Jerry only grows the longer the comic goes on, especially as their relationship improves. Their bonding feels heartwarming, tenuous, and terrifying, because both you and Dylan know the awful truth.

I think one of the most interesting aspects of the comics is Dylan’s grief. He acts callous and as though he hated Jerry, but guilt and grief for what he did haunt him even before Jerry’s ghost shows up. I think the page of him seeing Jerry’s corpse beside him in class is one of my favorites in the comic, though there are a lot of pages I love.

Dylan and Jerry aren't the comic's only characters, though. There's a small cast of side characters, all of whom are enjoyable in their own right. My favorites are Chris, Eden, and Corey, though all of them are interesting. I can't include much about them without spoilers, but I especially enjoy Corey's plotline, as I think it adds a lot to the story, and he's very interesting to contrast against Dylan.

(I also really enjoy another set of side characters, though I can't talk about them at all without spoilers! Still, their story and the tragedy in it is something I enjoy a lot)

One final thing I really enjoy about this comic is how it uses the power of POV to make you root for a character you often wouldn’t otherwise. In any other story where Dylan was a side character, you’d likely be rooting for him to get caught, but since he’s your protagonist, it’s easier to become invested in his story and start to hope he might get away with it. Even as you become attached to Jerry, you still find yourself rooting for his killer.

If there's one thing that stands out to me most about Phantomarine--and one thing that makes Phantomarine truly outstanding--it's the comic's use of bright, eye-catching color. All three of the main characters/"forces" are assigned a primary color--blue for Phaedra and her crew, red for all Cheths, and yellow for Pavel. Scenes which feature these characters will be dominated by these colors, especially when there's a back-and-forth or an argument, and which colors control or accent a scene will shift as the tide of the conversation does. It's a very simple thing, but it gives every character a very strong presence on their page and gives an otherworldly, powerful feel to the gods and the dead.

I grabbed a section from the comic's archive (which should be zoomed out enough to be illegible, in order to preserve my minimal spoilers review format) to show off the way the colors shift, though I recommend skimming over the archive once you've read the comic itself.

Phantomarine's colors create a world which feels incredibly bright and bold, which is absolutely backed up by the comic's writing. The story takes place centuries after an event known as the "Fracture," in which Cheth, God of Death, was fractured into millions of pieces. He's been trapped in the sea, and death has become trapped with him, leaving countless mindless, starving souls just below the water, devouring anything and anyone who gets too close. This is this is the god Phaedra makes a deal with, and is possibly my favorite character in the comic.

Cheth is absolutely fascinating to watch in action. He's a god with no real form himself, and the ability to take the face of anyone or anything which has died. He's constantly switching faces, speaking with dozens of echos, or even acting as multiple forms at once. He truly feels like a force of nature, and I love watching him move and act on the page. His shifting, strange nature doesn't apply only to his appearance, however--Cheth is a character who is far different than the mask he puts on.

The story of the fracture and his entrapment in the sea all seem to have something deeper to them, hiding beneath the surface, and Phaedra's hunt for the relic which will restore her seems tied to a much more serious mystery. I absolutely love the way this series presents the readers with one version of a myth or legend, then gradually reveals that the common legend is wrong without quite giving away the truth. I'm deeply invested in learning both the myths and the truths of the gods and the fracture, and I love the journey so far that's been unveiling it.

(I can't include my favorite examples, but I will say Chapter 6 has quite a few of them!)

Mystery isn't the only genre this comic covers--it's a spooky comedy, with horror and humor elements. I love this comic's sense of humor and the style of jokes, with clever dialogue, absurd situations, and exaggerated expressions. It definitely favors humor over horror, but with the God of Death and a crew of ghosts in such a prominent role, it never shies away from the horror of Phaedra's situation, nor from the horrors other characters have experienced (or wrought). The balance of humor makes the horror sections hit that much harder--lighthearted joking makes you forget, for a moment, that this story features a number of unstable, injured gods, up until they feel fit to remind you.

(There are even better examples than these, but I was trying to find ones that didn't give too much away and worked without context--I'll let those ones hit when you read them yourselves!)

Of course, humor and horror only matter if you're invested in the characters sharing them, and I'm very invested in the cast of Phantomarine. Phaedra and her friends, Cheth, and Pavel are a fantastic main cast--I've already talked about Cheth, so I'll talk about Phaedra and Pavel next.

Phaedra is a character who has very much lived her whole life believing wholly in the legends she's been told. Making a deal with (and getting help from) Cheth are a test of the faith she's believed all her life, and watching her grapple with the fact these legends may not be as true as she's been told has already been a fascinating conflict. Pavel, meanwhile, is a child who has already lost a lot to the Red Tide, but still has a sympathy for Cheth and for the seaghosts who have taken so much from him. I admire his optimism and willingness to understand others a lot, and am very excited to see more of him in the plot.

Speaking of, in the current chapter, Pavel and Phaedra's crew have finally started their search in earnest. This makes it a perfect time to catch up!

I've been thinking a lot about The Greatest Estate Developer of late, ever since a friend of mine read it and got very obsessed with it. It's one of my favorite webcomics I'm reading right now, so it seemed to me like a perfect excuse to talk about it.

Lloyd as a character is probably one of my favorites in anything I'm reading right now. He presents himself as a greedy, lazy, relatively uncaring person, focused only on retiring as a "rich, lazy bum." But Lloyd is hardworking, determined, and cares deeply for Javier, the Baron and Baroness, the people of the Frontera estate, and every other person who helps him or whose trust he earns. He ping-pongs back and forth regularly between claiming he sees his estate's residents as his ticket to a retirement and putting his life on the line to defend them, often doing both in the same set of panels. He claims he wants to be lazy, but works harder than anyone for a peaceful life. He's a really interesting and enjoyable character, and I really love following his story.

Lloyd himself isn't the only strong point in the story. The relationship between Lloyd and Javier might be my favorite in any webcomic I'm reading right now--those of you who know me know how much I love relationships built on devotion or loyalty. The dynamic between Javier and Lloyd is one such relationship, but it's interesting because at first, that's all it is. Javier is loyal to the Baron and Baroness, and despite his hatred for Lloyd, he follows and protects him. The story is built around Lloyd earning not only Javier's trust, but his genuine respect and friendship.

The two also have really fun banter--even once they properly become friends, they're often ribbing each other or downright insulting each other. A lot of their conversations are just them antagonizing each other, including when they're genuinely expressing concern or care.

I included one earlier, and could genuinely include dozens of examples, but I picked a short one for here. Their banter's one of the most fun parts of the comic to me, so I screenshotted a lot of it.

Another part of the comic's emphasis on Lloyd improving his image and his relationships with the people around him is Lloyd's ability to win so many people over. He helps the people of the estate, his parents, his brother, monsters and nonhuman creatures near his home, other nations, and the queen herself, earning the trust and respect of many people by improving their lives. The comic's themes of caring for one another leads to a lot of silly and heartwarming connections with all kinds of people and creatures, and a lot of other interesting and enjoyable relationships between Lloyd and other important characters.

Arcs in TGED tend to follow a noticeable formula, but being formulaic isn't a bad thing when it works. Lloyd encounters a person or group in need, then uses his engineering knowledge and skills to help meet that need, usually dealing with someone corrupt or a monster in the process, as well as skillfully dealing with whatever unseen consequences or unexpected enemies pop up as a result of his building. Lloyd's knowledge and skills always feel, to me, very earned, as do his moments of ensnaring or outsmarting opponents. This comic has a solid setup for building tension and for payoff, and it makes every single arc very fun to read.

The action and fight scenes are also pretty cool. I'm not immune to cool sword fighting (guy who fences voice). Especially Javier cool sword fighting.

I keep talking about the comic's relationship building and writing style with all the pieces that make it a heartfelt story, but I cannot talk about TGED without pointing out it's an exaggerated, ridiculous comedy most of the time. Many sincere moments give way to jokes and vice versa, and a lot of the comic's humor comes from almost grotesquely exaggerated expressions. Lloyd's money-loving attitude is usually played for laughs, and the side characters often act almost as caricatures, especially when they aren't the current focus. Even the game system which governs Lloyd's abilities has a sense of humor.

The over-the-top humor lends a lot into the way the world works and feels, and I'd argue it helps illustrate exactly the sort of thing Lloyd is fighting to create and protect. The "original" novel, A Knight of Blood and Iron, seems to be an edgy and dark story, but TGED is not. Most of the cast of Blood and Iron die, and Javier is constantly suffering. In TGED, all the characters not only live, but thrive. Lloyd and the people around him can always laugh, as can the reader--his presence has completely changed their lives and the genre of the story. Plus, the humor and willingness to be very silly and make you laugh makes those moments when the comic becomes more serious, thoughtful, or heartfelt land harder, as they help you become attached to the characters and their happiness.

(Tried to find a minimal-spoiler way to show this bit off)

Someone sent me an ask about this comic the other day, so I pushed it to the top of my reading list. I really want to thank the anon who did this, because this comic was delightful!

On The Way to Meet Mom is a very short but deeply rewarding read, with some stunning art and heartwarming relationships that readily draw you in. There are 28 episodes available free on webtoon, but from fast pass, I can see episode 31 is the last. It follows Mori, a nonverbal human toddler, looking for his “mom” in a world where humans seem to be mostly on the brink of extinction.

Instead of finding his mom, Mori meets alien creatures which resemble angels or demons far more than they do humans.

One of those creatures is Ryder, who quickly positions themself as Mori's protector upon seeing the emblem on his cloak, hoping to make money off of Mori's safe return. Miria is another, Mori's secret patron, who was caring for him from afar during his time at the orphanage and whose house is Mori and Ryder's end goal.

It's hard to be much more detailed than that without spoiling the short comic's story, but what I will say is that the most heartwarming thing about this comic is how much love and affection everyone around around Mori clearly demonstrates for him.

The bonds Mori shares with Ryder, Miria, Aeyi, and Miria's staff are all unique and deeply charming, and you can quickly get attached to all of them. I'm including one of my favorites among Mori's interactions with the house staff because, I mean, look how cute this is.

The art and humor of this comic are genuinely so charming to me, I loved them so much and cannot wait to see the last three episodes.

I found Magic Words through misersdream’s other comic, Miracle Simulator, which I followed for its entire original run.

Misersdream always has a fantastic handle on the emotional beats of her stories. I didn’t realize it, but I’d actually forgotten a lot of the details of chapter 1 in the two years since it came out. Rereading chapter 1 for this post felt almost like reading it for the first time, and I was immediately sucked right back into the story.

I was quickly taken by Gilda. You quickly get a sense for what she’s like as a person, how hard she’s been working to take care of Elis, and how much she’s been struggling in a village that rejects her. I really enjoyed how naturally and easily we were able to learn what she’s like and why, and was very immediately attached to her all over again.

Rereading also gave me new appreciation for Elis and W. Their dynamic is incredibly fun, usually very teasing and often at odds. But their talk at the end of the chapter is probably one of my favorite scenes in the comic, and I really love how they play off of each other and help each other grow.

In general, W as a character interests me a lot. He’s introduced as someone kind onstage and curt off, revealing himself to be a very selfish and arrogant character. He's short with others and adamantly refuses to help others, not to mention having a flippant, disrespectful sense of humor, especially when in danger.

...but it soon becomes clear there's a lot more going on with him. He cares far more than he pretends to and is kinder than he acts, though this facade is the first of many. W appears to be a character who lies far more than he's honest, and the more you learn about him, the less it feels like you know. I can never accept any fact he presents about himself, and am very excited to see what his actions reveal. He's a character with a lot of past and a lot of mystery, and that makes him fascinating to follow.

Rereading chapter 1 allowed me to see a few points of foreshadowing of later chapters that I didn’t pick up on when reading it as it aired. I’m pretty curious to know if there’s even more I missed because I still don’t have context, but I’ll just have to reread it again in another two years!

I’ve mostly been talking about chapter 1 for this post, but I do want to give a nod toward chapter 3 as well. I try to keep these relatively spoiler free, so I won’t give too many details, but I loved the mystery. Goldie has rapidly become my favorite character as well—I love her design, as well as her cool, collected intelligence. A lot of stories like to tell you a character is smart without doing the work to back it up, but Magic Words very effectively convinced and impressed me with her quick, sharp thinking.

Also—and this is such a small detail—but I absolutely adore how this comic draws fire. Any magic, really, but I’ll always have a soft spot for beautiful fires. I also included some in the preview image above, and there’s an incredible sequence late chapter one I didn’t include for spoilers, but I often have to stop and look at them.

…Something I’m noticing as I type this is that magical fire seems to be colored differently depending on who cast the spell. I’ll definitely be watching to see if that holds up as we see more magic users!

For once, this is a webcomic whose author I know. I’ve been friends with Reese for a long while, years before WTHI released. It’s been incredible cheering them on as a friend as they’ve been developing WTHI into the comic it is today. I knew I had to talk about it here at some point, but now seemed like the perfect time, since Where the Heart Is has been accepted into the Spiderforest Collective!

I have to talk about WTHI’s use of color first. Reese is an absolute master at limited color palettes, and every single page looks incredible while firmly establishing the mood and setting with few colors. I’ve been really enjoying watching the colors change from chapter to chapter and even from scene to scene, and I would recommend keeping an eye out for moments when colors change and adjust and why.

The paneling in WTHI is also really interesting and often very clever. You can see how well it draws your eye around the page and the cool ways it uses negative space in the pages I included above, but I also really loved this section below for how the paneling aids the dialogue. Reese is always incredibly thoughtful with their paneling and it really shows on every page.

Art, colors, and paneling aren’t Reese’s only strengths—the world and writing of WTHI are equally interesting. In only a few chapters, the world already feels massive, with a lot of small details teasing much larger people, places, and concepts than what we’ve seen so far. WTHI is very good at giving you enough information to be engaging, but nowhere near enough to get the full picture.

WTHI is still in its relatively early stages. We haven’t seen much of the myths, monsters, or magic yet, but everything we have seen has been fascinating. I love the legends we’ve seen, the backstories that we’ve learned, and I cannot get enough of designs like that of the creature known as the Courier which I included in the third image below. The world of WTHI feels deeply rich, and I’m very excited to explore as much of it as possible.

Of course, part of the fun in exploring this world is the characters we’re exploring it with, and I love the main three we’ve met so far. I’ve adored Lani, Num, and Ísja for years, but even if I hadn’t, the flashbacks and interactions we’ve seen have made me enjoy them even more. All three are very charming as individuals and as they interact with each other. Ísja and Num are probably my favorites so far, but I’ve enjoyed basically everyone, including the antagonists we’ve seen so far.

(And, if you’ll forgive me teasing you a little with behind-the-scenes knowledge: I’m also very excited about the Archer from recent pages. He’s always been a favorite of mine, and I sat straight up in my seat when he appeared. Take that as you will.)

Speaking of charm and interactions, WTHI is also a very silly comic. This joke was probably my personal favorite just for the silly sketch Lani, but quite a few pages made me laugh while reading through it.

Also, I like to keep my reviews of comics spoiler free for the most part, but I wanted to include one of my favorite pages from the entire comic so far. It has some spoilers for the most recent chapter, but it showcases a lot of WTHI’s strengths really well. In just one page, you can get an example of WTHI’s interesting paneling imposing the past simultaneously on the present, the beautiful coloring showing two distinct scenes at once, the scarf that is one of my favorite pieces of magic in the series, and the way WTHI teases its mysteries in Ísja’s brief flashback. I’m including the page here, but consider yourself warned!

The art style for this comic is super charming. I really love all the designs and clothes, and I love the way the artist draws faces and expressions. M is probably one of my favorites for this—M’s expressions and body language are probably the most fun to me in the whole comic, but I enjoy everyone.

The driving force and main strength of the comic is absolutely its characters. Kirianna herself is absolutely amazing—clever, brave, willing to call out M as she learns more about his motives and fight back even as she’s captured with no hope of escape. She’s kind and true to herself, no matter how scared she is, and I love her as a character and as a protagonist. She is, however, far from the only character I love in this comic.

Captain M is probably one of my favorite romance comic love interests. The story is branded as a GL, so it’s easy to figure out M is in fact not a man at all, and is in fact a female pirate captain hiding her gender. Her reasons for being a pirate, hiding her identity, and seeking her revenges are all revealed gradually throughout the comic, and make her an incredibly interesting character.

I also want to highlight side characters—my favorite is definitely Tristan, the cook, but I adore Adrian, the first mate, as well as many of the other side characters. I have Adrian and Tristan below, since they’re the most commonly reoccurring ones, but even the side characters who only appear for a few episodes tend to be very charming.

Each side character is thoughtfully fleshed out with their own motives, relationships, traits, secretes, and flaws, making each of them very fun to learn more about. I was just as invested in Kirianna’s friendship with Tristan as I was her dynamic with M, as was I Tristan and Adrian’s friendship or Adrian and M’s.

Tristan, Adrian, and M have a long history together, and each of their dynamics entertains me a lot. I love all the bonus episodes, for example, which talk about how Adrian and M met—rereading them when reading this comic again for the blog had me smiling wide practically the whole time. The whole crew had a very “found family” feel which I find really interesting and rewarding.

Kirianna begins the comic by bonding with Tristan, helping him in the ship’s kitchen, and forming a friendship with him allows her to feel comfortable enough to bond with other crewmates such as Adrian, Finn, and Nathaniel. It’s great to read every budding friendship with each member of the crew and how they help each other grow, but none is more rewarding than her relationship with M.

Kirianna and M are, of course, the main two love interests of the comic—They have an “enemies to lovers” beat, though I’d say it’s more accurately enemies to friends to lovers. Their dynamic is fun even in the enemies stage, when Kirianna and M are often antagonizing each other or bickering with one another. It only grows more rewarding as M grows, going from bickering to bantering with a real and genuine fondness and respect for one another.

M’s arc of growth is centered around her learning to trust Kirianna and to admit her wrong in taking Kirianna from her home—their friendship changes M for the better, and I couldn’t be more excited to see what their romance will do for their story.

Speaking of characters and how they drive the story… I couldn’t talk about the characters without talking about the villains. It’s very easy to hate the villains of this comic, as the author is great at making you fear and hate them very quickly. It makes the conflict even more engaging to read, and keeps tension high. Definitely heed the warnings on this comic as they come up, as it can get dark.

The Pirate and the Princess isn’t a dark comic, though—it’s a story about romance, finding family, learning to grow, and the freedom to choose how one lives their own life. It has a great sense of humor, and when rereading the start for this post, I ended up taking an extra day to write this because I got sucked in and had to read the whole thing again.