#comicguy

Small Blessings is a lovely little comic that tells the story of small little house spirits that give a helping hand where ever they can, whether it’s untangling phone cords or even just making sure things are fixed before anyone really notices.

We follow the everyday life of a specific house spirit named Alasdair as he does his best to take care of an old apartment building he has lived in all his life. We see him do his best to take care of the place as well as the people who live in it, befriend other spirits who reside in the building, and we even see a blossoming friendship between him and a young woman named Alicia. 

This isn’t so much a fantasy adventure or anything, it’s just a lovely story about being kind. If anything it’s just the adventure of living your life and moving forward and all the scary things that come with it. It’s such a relatable story with the struggle of leaving your safe space and venturing out into new places.

The art starts out sketchy and rough, looking very much like doodles instead of a comic, but as it tends to happen, with each page you can see the slow refinement of the artist's technique and you see the designs become much more refined. As you all most likely know by now I personally love seeing this kind of progression in a webcomic, it shows that the creators are still learning even as they tell their story.

It’s a small comic, so not really much else to say about it. Small Blessings is just very heartwarming and honestly has helped settle my thoughts down when I needed some peace. Sometimes what you need isn’t a grand adventure, sometimes all you need is a story like this one.

And, as always, I hope you enjoy as much as I do.

The Otherknown is a sci-fi webcomic following the tale of a young girl named Chandra. She has never truly had a family of her own, her closest relative being her aunt Ajupris Lerazmine adopts her but doesn’t seem to provide the loving atmosphere one would hope for.

We start our story with Chandra and her aunt visiting a mining operation on a small moon. A business meeting is set to take place between Ajupris and the foreman of the operation, meanwhile, Chandra decides to explore. She meets a young boy and slowly become friends, after a few incidents.

Despite all this Chandra and her aunt are hiding something, something that could change the very world as they know it, and with the knowledge they have, they just might do exactly that.

Sorry about being vague, but I really don’t want to spoil anything that happens. It’s probably my favorite kind of twist in stories and I’d just really hate if I ruined it.

Anyways, the story itself is a great drama piece with plenty of heartwrenching moments as well as plenty of suspense. You go into this story with a certain impression and it’s quickly changed as the characters talk and hints are given. Going into this story completely blind is probably the best decision you could make.

The art style starts out with a heavier focus on the characters while the backgrounds look more plain and simple. As the chapters go on things become much more detailed and absolutely gorgeous to look at.

After getting caught up to the most current page I can only say that I’m so eager to see what happens next. From decisions that are made, to things that are said and done, I’m so excited to see what’s in store.

Island Hoppers is a fun seafaring adventure story filled with wacky hijinks, daring-do, and lots of good old-fashioned voyaging. I haven’t found a lot of webcomics that have a focus on sailing so that shelf is a bit bare so I’m happy that I’ve found another to add to it! 

Our story opens up with the young man named Naveen, a very nervous fellow looking to hire some strong muscly types to help defend the island from some sort of invasion. The usual patrons of the bar he goes to aren’t around so he ends up with two women named Marin and Tsura who are quick to help and even quicker to start questioning whether or not what Naveen is doing is right.

After a quick kidnapping and an explanation or two later we learn that the “invasion” Naveen was so worried about was just some merfolk moving up on land thanks to a gang called the Lagoons having taken over their underwater village. What follows is probably one of the most ridiculous and downright corny fights I have ever had the pleasure of reading. It’s so over the top in some scenes while just plain goofy in others and I adore every second of it. Of course, the heroes win and go along their merry way to new adventures on the high seas, and so ends chapter one.

As far as first chapters go, this is a pretty damn good one. It does its job of introducing and establishing characters, we get to see some of their abilities and powers, and most importantly we get a cliche goodbye scene as Naveen leaves his home to join Marin and Tsura in their travels, and I’m a sucker for a tearful departure. 

The art is very expressive if that’s a good way of putting it. Not just the characters facial expression, but their body language and even the backgrounds are full of so much detail it’s obvious a lot of hard work went into each page. There are a few pages that can feel a little too busy, but I only started feeling that way on subsequent read-throughs as I sorted my thoughts on the comic itself. 

All in all, this is a top-notch comic and I am so looking forward to the next update. 

And, as always, I hope you enjoy as much as I do.

Damsels Don’t Wear Glasses is a supernatural fantasy style comic centering around a rather rough and tumble woman named Lave Faraday. Working with the local police for past crimes she finds herself first in a zombie summoning gone awry, then as a legal guardian for a young boy named Jake D`Crux who seems to suffer from some sort of trauma. Either way, it looks like this is gonna be a difficult assignment for Lave.

I love these kinds of comics, where the magical and crazy are just part of every day modern life. Of course, this particular comic has a plot point centering around a character who is for all intents and purposes a criminal. What sort of crimes she’s committed have been somewhat ben answered in an FAQ page later on, but we don’t really have much insight into her past. So while the story builds up we are given plenty of questions that hook you in and keep you reading if only to have them answered. Personally, I would be reading regardless, but the added mystery is just icing on the cake to me.

The story as a whole is so good and just downright fascinating to read. I always have fun seeing different interpretations of magic and how things are done. As of right now, it has been mostly character building with little drips of lore throughout the comic. I would like to see more lore, but I think it’s perfect as is for the moment.

The art is fairly well done in the first pages but really gets into its stride after the first chapter. You can tell that where some of the action seems stiff, or when the panel set up is a tad clunky starting out, later on, things just flow so smoothly and the action is much more dynamic and fluid. 

All in all, It’s a fun story filled with magic, bloody violence, and a kid who needs to stop running off and stick with his guardian. If you like these kinds of comics I highly recommend giving Damsels Don’t Wear Glasses a read.

And, as always, I hope you enjoy as much as I do.

First things first, I would like to apologize for the lack of a review last week. A few days prior I had my first panic attack and have been recuperating ever since. I still have a headache that hasn’t quite gone away, and I’m starting to suspect it won’t for the foreseeable future. I thank you all for your patience.

Technically Magic is a story set in a world very similar to ours with the slight difference of being filled with magic and fantasy creatures. We follow a trio of adventurers: John “Booker” Biblio, Marie Nightingale, and Joseph “JoeJoe” Dawn. Each of them has their own unique abilities and powers, as well as very well defined personalities. Where JoeJoe seems to be very straightforward and blunt, Booker is somewhat timid and meek. Marie is her own flavor of supportive, cheerful, and a tiny bit of a battle maniac. Get on her bad side however and she is no-nonsense. All of this is layered even further when you realize that all three of them are in a relationship, so not only are their personalities playing on one another as an adventuring party, but there are also moments where they directly conflict with each other on account of them being lovers. It’s a very interesting dynamic, and I really can’t express how much I look forward to seeing them develop.

The story, what there is so far as the first chapter has literally just been finished, seems to just be this trio trying to find their place in the world, which is an easily identifiable story. We see they have their pleasures, their jobs, and their hobbies. We learn enough about the world that the story doesn’t feel rushed or too slow paced, it seems to have struck just the right balance at the start, which means we have excellent storytelling to look forward to down the line.

The art (gonna beat a dead horse here) starts out really rough, unrefined, looks very sketchy and seems somewhat stiff when it comes to dynamic poses. Of course, I personally love seeing how this comic started, shows how far along the creator has come as an artist. There’s obviously a lot of love being poured into this comic as the style changes and improves in the first chapter! I’m really excited to see how the characters look a year from now, and then two years etc. 

Another story with a lot of potential in it. Love the characters, the concepts in the story itself my favorite being the idea of an “Ink Eater” type mage, would love to have that kind of ability. It’s a relatively new comic like I said only one chapter so far which means we can all watch as the story evolves and grows at the same time. Give it a read, lemme know what you think.

And, as always, I hope you enjoy as much as I do.

Gallus is the tale of a young chicken who was snatched away from the safety of his family and whisked away into the wild yonder. Luckily he manages to survive the encounter but is now lost with no way of knowing which way home is. With some unexpected help, and a brave hen chasing after him, we watch as Gallus’ tale unfolds.

I absolutely love stories that give animals a voice and tell stories from their perspective, ever since I was a kid and first watch The Wind in the Willows, The Secret of Nimh, and so many others I have just loved stories with this kind of premise. As far as I can recall though this is the first one that I have found that is less a scrambling adventure of naive animals and more along the lines of a Hero’s Epic. 

Our main character is, of course, Gallus, though he doesn’t start out with that name. He is just another chick in the flock. Curiosity and wonder are what seal his fate and lead up to the events that take him far, far away from his mother and siblings. So far, as the comic is relatively new and hasn’t had the chance to develop his character all that much, that’s about all we know. He’s curious, scared, and small. There’s a really big emphasis on him being small.

The story, as I said, is a Hero’s Epic. A telling of his adventures and leading to his eventual self we see in the beginning. There have been struggles, fears, and companionship discovered thus far and there is bound to be more down the road. I can’t wait to discover where this story goes and see how Gallus becomes... Well, Gallus.

The art is just perfect, showing an amazing understanding of all sorts of different kinds of anatomical structures ranging from chickens and sparrows to things like otters and hawks.As someone who has taken care of chickens a lot this past year, I can see that the artist has had their fair share of time around them as well. It’s so unique to be able to say that each bird has their own individuality to them, from expressions to their facial features, while similar, each one has a clear distinction. With a style that is already this amazing, I honestly am eager to see how they improve upon it.

This is a gorgeous story, both visually and narratively. If it ever comes time for physical copies you can bet your ass I’ll be in line for one to add to my collection. Give it a read, let me know what you think.

And, as always, I hope you enjoy as much as I do.

Before I start giving my two cents about this comic let it be known that this one is very heavy and political. It contains themes and situations that may be triggering to some readers if not properly prepared for them. Even I found myself having to take breaks just to catch my breath. So, just a warning for those who feel they may not be able to handle this particular read.

Doomsday, My Dear is a very unusual comic in that the creator wants it to be read completely from start to finish in one go. It’s a bit of an odd goal considering the very essence of a project like this is something that is updated once a week to every weekday if we readers are lucky. It is supposed to be a “film-like” experience once it is finished and I can honestly see what they mean. 

The “camera” isn’t like most comics. The cuts and scene changes are timed pretty much exactly how I would expect a tv show would. The first few pages even set up the threat that will be present for the duration of the story, or at least for as much as we have seen so far. Each chapter feels like it is its own act or season with spans of time occasionally jumped past but still maintaining that same visceral fear and confusion that previous chapters had. I really wouldn’t be surprised if someone went out of their way to animate this entire story from start to finish.

There is a pretty large cast of characters, and each of them contributes to the plot in their own ways, but we haven’t really seen exactly how each of them affects the web of this story. For sake of ease, we’ll focus on the character that receives the most “screen time” in the story, Abner Kecket.

A young, scrawny lad of nineteen years with a debilitating stutter. He is just your average kids trying his best to get through life even as he is beaten down by bigger and stronger people. Oh, and to make matters worse he is one of many “Carriers”, people with a new genetic mutation that has the effects of heterochromia as well as having any children they usher into the world to be born fatally sick. Where this mutation came from and what its relevance to the story is you’ll just have to see for yourselves because man does it involve some spoilers if I tell you here. 

I really relate to Abner, at least on some levels. While I was never abused quite to the extent he was I did have my share of bullies growing up. Plus I’m just a sucker for a character we’re so obviously supposed to sympathize with, I mean come on. It’s so very interesting to watch the subtle changes in his, as well as all the other characters as we read. He goes through so much and we watch as he slowly grows in various ways and it has me so curious as to how all these experiences are going to impact Abner in the long run.

The story itself is amazing. It has political intrigue, espionage, mystery, and scenes that just downright give me shivers and make me cringe. It is such an interesting read that I really wish it was already completed so I could experience as the author intended it to be. I will say, if you’re used to reading other comics this one may be a bit hard to adjust to since the style is so different. It was a bit jarring for me at first but once I got invested in the story it was a breeze to read the rest.

The art starts out very rough and sketchy, which of course I personally love, and slowly evolves into an elegant and beautiful platform for this story. The backgrounds can occasionally be lackluster, like a blurred as the “camera” focuses on what’s in the foreground. I don’t mind this too much as the details of the scenes are there and we can make out where each scene is supposed to be taking place, but I’m just one of those people who likes looking at the backgrounds and seeing what sort of things I can find. Not really a huge gripe with the comic just a small peeve I have with it is all.

Honestly, I’m tempted to just save this one and wait for it to be finished before picking it back up, but at the same time, I really wanna know what happens next. Give it a read, let me know what you think, get hooked and yet another good story.

And, as always, I hope you enjoy as much as I do.