Comic of the Month

[Jitter]

One of the ideas we had when planning the future of the Forum was Comic of the Month. The idea is that anyone can get a slot to present a webcomic they think others here may enjoy. The comic and a description is posted at the beginning of the month, and when others read it, discussion goes here first.

If the comic gets or already has a lot of following, discussions dedicated to it can of course be opened separately too.

I suggest we start in August. Who wants to go first? This opening post will show the agreed “presenters” and works for the upcoming months.

Reserve your month now!

2023
January - Linebyline - Daughter of the Lilies by Meg Syverud, colors by Yoko Weaver - https://www.daughterofthelilies.com/dotl/part-1-a-girl-with-no-face
February - Linebyline - Immaterial by Sarah Ellerton - https://www.seraph-inn.com/immaterial.html (avalable to read on this site and on Webtoon)
March - Jitter - Bad Space by Scott Base - https://www.badspacecomics.com/
April - Linebyline - Harpy Gee by Brianne Drouhard - https://www.harpygee.com/
May - thegreyarea - Rising Sand by Ty Dunitz and Jenn Lee - https://risingsand.glass/comic/rising-sand/
June - Keep Looking - Sleepless Domain by Mary "Cube Watermelon" Cagle - https://www.sleeplessdomain.com/
July - Linebyline - MAiZ by David "CrikeyDave" Smith - Note! Controversial author, see presentation post on page 26 of this thread
August - Jitter - War in the Shade - https://warintheshade.wordpress.com/
September - dmeck7755 - How to be a Werewolf - https://www.howtobeawerewolf.com/comic/coming-february-3rd
October - Keep Looking - Castoff by Star Prichard - https://castoff-comic.com/comic/1
November - Jitter - Chirault by Varethane - https://chirault.sevensmith.net/?comic_id=0


2021 - 2022 below!

August 2021 - SkyWhalePod - several works by Anath Hirsh and Yuko Ota - https://ssssforum.com/index.php?topic=1237.15
September 2021 - Sc0ut Jitter - Alice Grove by Jeph Jacques - https://www.alicegrove.com/
October 2021 - Keep Looking - White Noise by Adrien Lee - http://www.white-noise-comic.com/comic/1-0
November 2021 - Róisín - Girl Genius by Phil and Kaja Foglio - https://www.girlgeniusonline.com/index.php
December 2021 - Thorny - Digger by Ursula Vernon - https://diggercomic.com/blog/2007/02/01/wombat1-gnorf/
January 2022 - Catbirds - Warm Blood by many artists (written by Josh Tierney) - https://warmbloodcomic.com/
February 2022 - Thorny - Freefall - http://freefall.purrsia.com/
March 2022 - RanVor - Blonde Sunrise by Mana - http://www.blondesunrise.com/
April 2022 - JoB - The Sword Interval by Ben Fleuter - https://m.webtoons.com/en/supernatural/sword-interval/list?title_no=486 (note, it’s on Webtoons, use JoB’s link for page on p 11 of thread if this doesn’t work)
May 2022 - Vulpes - Widdershins by Kate Ashwin - https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/sleight-of-hand-cover
June 2022 - Linebyline - Phantomarine by Claire Niebergall - https://www.phantomarine.com/comic/01-the-horizon-line
July 2022 - Keep Looking - Shaderunners by Alex & Lin - https://www.shaderunners.com/comic/chapter-1-cover
August 2022 - Linebyline - Suihira City of Water by Riana Dorsey - http://www.suihira.com/comic/1
September 2022 - Gwenno - Mystery Babylon (aka Kick Girl) by Val Hochberg - http://www.kick-girl.com/?comic=chapter-1
October 2022 -Linebyline - Freelancer by Martin Kirby - https://freelancerscomic.tumblr.com/
November 2022 - Keep Looking - Tiger, Tiger by Petra Nordlund - https://www.tigertigercomic.com/tiger-tiger/001 note! Tiger tiger has some nudity including full frontal, as of Feb 2023 sex is hinted at but not shown
December 2022 - dmeck7755 - Gifts of wandering ice by Olga Makarova - https://giftscomic.com/index.php?comic_id=0

Here’s how we do it:

The work to be presented as Comic of the Month
- has to be accessible online for free
- has to be understandable to a reader proficient in English (works with no language or very little reliance on language are ok in addition to works mainly in English)
      * if you have a very good candidate that is not in English, we can discuss whether it would nevertheless be ok, however let’s get started with easily accessible ones
- has violence similar to SSSS canon or less, i.e. no outright gore
- has other content (sex, substance use etc) generally in the pg-13 / teen audiences bracket - note content warnings!
- a work that has been dropped before ending may be ok if you think it’s worth nevertheless, but in this case make sure to let everyone know it is or appears to be discontinued.
- it can be a work that has been recommended on this Forum and/or the Disqus comments previously

Note that links to works with Mature or 18+ content may be removed by Forum staff with no warning.

The entry should include, at minimum:
- name and link, obviously
- genre
- short description of what it is about
- how long / short it is, is it currently ongoing and how often it updates.
- why I read it / like it / would like to recommend it

Content warnings
Make sure to include any content warnings needed, and rating if such is available, or your own estimate for a rating if if you don’t think it would be G, OR a statement that no content warnings are needed
- content warnings can be put into spoilers, if you feel it’s beneficial for the story to allow people go in without knowing them. However, even when this is the case, content warnings must be included when needed. When spoilered, people can decide for themselves whether to check them or not.
- if you are unsure whether warnings are needed, please reach to me or another member of the forum staff for advice
- content warnings may be added, or the entry removed for lack thereof, if necessary

Content warnings are intended to help the reader understand what they are about to see, and be able to choose when, or whether, they wish to see such content. Warnings are needed for content that is likely to be disturbing or distressing to some people. Typically content warnings include (source: https://trigger-warning-guide.tumblr.com/triggers)

Rape and Sexual Assault
Abuse (physical, mental, emotional, verbal, sexual)
Child abuse/pedophilia
Animal cruelty or animal death
Self-injurious behavior (self-harm, eating disorders, etc.)
Suicide
Excessive or gratuitous violence
Needles
Pornography (including child pornography)
Incest (including any and all elements of romantic or sexual relationships between family, tonal in theme, thought, or activity)
Kidnapping (forceful deprivation of/disregard for personal autonomy)
Death or dying
Pregnancy/Childbirth
Miscarriages/Abortion
Blood
Mental illness

Issues marked in red are right out here. Several others are only appropriate in very specific situations and with no direct depiction. Conversely, blood and violence don’t require warnings here, up to level similar to SSSS canon.

In addition, let’s make sure to mention if the work includes religious or political themes, or anything that is drastically different than the reader is likely to expect. In other words, don’t trick people into reading it! We don’t want to throw another bunny comic on anyone. (The bunny comic would be eligible, but only with proper description).

Recommended also
In addition to the rules above, the following would be reat but are not required:
- if the comic is currently ongoing and has some sort of comments section, post the link to that nd encourage people to comment there. It is very important for the artists to get feedback and hear from people who are following their work!
- if you can post some samples of the art, it would make a great addition to the entry

[RanVor]

There are a few comics I would love to recommend, but I haven't actually read any of them in over a year, so maybe I'll save that for when I actually get back to them. Besides, I want to see what others have to say first.

[Jitter]

Ran, would you like to book a spot a few months from now? Also to ensure you will get back to it

[Vulpes]

I'd be interested, but not for August - grabbing a little vacation before diving back into in-person teaching, and a quasi-administrative role. Which means that September is definitely out! Maybe October or November, if someone else doesn't talk about the same webcomic(s) first! 

[RanVor]

Ran, would you like to book a spot a few months from now? Also to ensure you will get back to it

Uhh, maybe? Not sure about it, but it would be a good way to stop me from chickening out... I'll think about it.

[Songbird]

How will that work? Just a comic and description posted by whoever wants to present a new one, or votes on a short list of possible future comics, or a mix of the two? If no one wants to go next we could pluck a few suggestions from the webcomics thread and vote on what we'd like to read next.

Will the one presenting a comic need to do anything besides the initial presentation? Any directives about length and hiatus status?

If it's just presenting something and being done and no one has recommendations I can steal one of the previous recommendations I have in the webcomic thread (I read too few comics). Here's an example of the format I've been using, with a few modifications and spoilered to not take up thread space:

Spoiler: Sample comic of the month post • show

Comic of Month: Vainglorious
July 2021


(note: chapter/volume cover or promo art, try to pick something representative with as few crucial spoilers as possible)

Genre: Fantasy
Read it: > Begin Here <


Art

Spoiler: Page without dialogs • show

Official Synopsis
When the small dragon Rei decides to challenge his Queen for the throne, he does not expect to get exiled and cursed into human form. Little by little, Rei searches for a cure in the big world outside his nest - making friends, adventures, and headaches along the way.

Why I read it
So far it's a lighthearted and outrageously fun comic. The art style fits the author's voice like a glove, the setting is diverse and thrilling, featuring cultures other than the standard medieval-europe-make-believe fantasy, with plenty PoC and gender diverse characters. It follows the "accidental group of misfits in a quest learn to deal with each other" plot format.

Status and extra info
Ongoing since 2017, 10 chapters so far.
Seems to have one update per week now. Currently on inter-chapter break.

Content warnings

Spoiler: show

(note: None for this comic, but add this section when appropriate and include the ones made by the authors when those exist. Always use spoiler tag to give people the choice of not being spoilered. See this post for examples of suggestions containing CWs)

About the images, it'd be advisable to upload them to a different server just to not leech bandwidth from the original sites.

[Jitter]

Songbird, that is great! I would say less than this would suffice, but all of this is helpful!

I think we would at minimum need:
- name and link, obviously
- genre
- content warnings, and rating if such is available, or your own estimate for a rating if if you don’t think it would be G, or a statement that no content warnings are needed
- short description of what it is about
- how long / short it is, is it currently ongoing and how often it updates.
- why I read it / like it / would like to recommend it

The presenter is not required to do anything else, but the idea is to read together and discuss, so I would usually expect that the presenter participate in discussion about it.

I don’t think we want to set much limits on length etc. I suggest we can manage with:
- has to be accessible online for free
- has to be understandable to a reader proficient in English (works with no language or very little reliance on language are possible)
      * if you have a very good candidate that is not in English, we can discuss whether it would nevertheless be ok, however let’s get started with easily accessible ones
- has violence similar to SSSS canon or less, i.e. no outright gore
- has other content (sex, substance use etc) generally in the pg-13 / teen audiences bracket - note content warnings!
- a work that has been dropped before ending may be ok if you think it’s worth nevertheless, but in this case make sure to let everyone know it is or appears to be discontinued.

Anything else we should add to the “rules”? I will edit it into the opening post when we are satisfied we hae a reasonable system to get started. The rules may be tweaked if needed based on experience.

Note that links to works with Mature or 18+ content may be removed by Forum staff with no warning.

[Róisín]

I would like to suggest Phil and Kaja Foglio’s steampunk fantasy ‘Girl Genius’. I can’t make links, but maybe someone with more internet skills than I would like to do more detail. The comic updates on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. It follows the adventures of Agatha Clay, a student at Transylvania Polygnostic University, who turns out to be something and someone very different to who and what she thinks she is. The story follows her attempt to find answers to these questions, in a world run by and often endangered by mad scientists called ‘sparks’. The spark ability seems to be a weird fusion of science and magic, and Agatha has it in spades.

There is adventure, interesting relationships, a well realised and detailed background world, lots of humour both verbal and visual, and occasional visceral horror. Oh, and Jaegers. With hats.

[SkyWhalePod]

If you still need someone to sign up to make a post on August 1, I'd be happy to do it! I dunno if the comic I want to recommend has already been recommended in the past, but just in case there are people who weren't around then . . .

[thorny]

- a work that has been dropped before ending may be ok if you think it’s worth nevertheless, but in this case make sure to let everyone know it is or appears to be discontinued.

What about one that came to its planned end some time ago?

-- I'm thinking of Digger.

[Róisín]

Digger is an absolute delight. Funny, sad, very deep, and has a wombat.

[JoB]

I would like to suggest Phil and Kaja Foglio’s steampunk fantasy ‘Girl Genius’. I can’t make links, but maybe someone with more internet skills than I would like to do more detail.

Well, links to first and latest page I can sure do.

Details, erm ... I almost stopped reading it when I ran into the supposedly-villaineous faux-German-speaking Jägers, but am quite glad now that I didn't ... has a Nordic troll-hunting short for an extra ... also, Buck Godot, though that series has dropped off the website by now ... ?

[Songbird]

Songbird, that is great! I would say less than this would suffice, but all of this is helpful!

I think we would at minimum need:
- name and link, obviously
- genre
- content warnings, and rating if such is available, or your own estimate for a rating if if you don’t think it would be G, or a statement that no content warnings are needed
- short description of what it is about
- how long / short it is, is it currently ongoing and how often it updates.
- why I read it / like it / would like to recommend it

The presenter is not required to do anything else, but the idea is to read together and discuss, so I would usually expect that the presenter participate in discussion about it.

I don’t think we want to set much limits on length etc. I suggest we can manage with:
- has to be accessible online for free
- has to be understandable to a reader proficient in English (works with no language or very little reliance on language are possible)
      * if you have a very good candidate that is not in English, we can discuss whether it would nevertheless be ok, however let’s get started with easily accessible ones
- has violence similar to SSSS canon or less, i.e. no outright gore
- has other content (sex, substance use etc) generally in the pg-13 / teen audiences bracket - note content warnings!
- a work that has been dropped before ending may be ok if you think it’s worth nevertheless, but in this case make sure to let everyone know it is or appears to be discontinued.

Anything else we should add to the “rules”? I will edit it into the opening post when we are satisfied we hae a reasonable system to get started. The rules may be tweaked if needed based on experience.

Note that links to works with Mature or 18+ content may be removed by Forum staff with no warning.

I agree with most of these, but didn't understand the sentence about working with no language. You mean idioms and highly local expressions?

I've got a suggestion for the guidelines. It's not a hard rule, but a recommendation: Include at least one image of the said comic in the presentation.

It not only drivers readership but when it comes to comics art is at least half of the work. It stands in for the narrative voice, lets people get an immediate idea of the tone. The art is easily the most time-consuming aspect of doing a comic, ignoring it is ignoring the authors' effort. If they didn't care for the visual aspect they wouldn't pour that much effort into it.


For people not very familiar with BBCode we could stick a template in the first post. We got a beautiful code tag for that. Eg:

Code: (Replace *TEXT LIKE THIS* with the comic information) [Select]

[size=14pt][b]*TITLE*[/b][/size]

[img]*IMAGE URL*[/img]

[b]Read at[/b]:[url=*FIRST PAGE URL*]Page 1[/url]

[b]Synopsis[/b]
*ADD SYNOPSIS HERE*

[b]Content Warnings[/b]
[spoiler]*HELLO WORLD*[/spoiler]
They'd have to just copy and paste, then fill it like a form.
Following this exact format wouldn't be obligatory as long the post follows the guidelines.

[thorny]

Girl Genius is fun. It does have a tendency towards Comic Book Female Shaped Figures, but it also mocks that sometimes.

[Jitter]

Songbird, I agree that a sample of the art would be useful, however posting pictures here isn’t very straightforward so I would like to keep it as a recommendation rather than a requirement.

As for the no language, I have “read” a brilliant work that has no text whatsoever. It was a while ago so I’ll have to see if I can find it still, but it’s possible! I am also imagining there could at least in theory be a work where several characters speak their own language, but it works even if you don’t understand all of those. So I didn’t want to make it too specifically about being works In English.

SkyWhalePod, you are in for August! It doesn’t matter if the work has been recommended before, we haven’t had a community reading effort before so having it as “comic of the month” is new in any case! Actually I’m looking forward to getting some of the works with a lot of fan overlap introduced here, I haven’t really got around to checking most of them yet!

Róisín, would you like to go for September with Girl Genius? We can make the links for you!