This time I'm pitching another completed comic, Immaterial by
Sarah "Arts Angel" Ellerton. The print version is currently available for preorder, and sequel stories are in the works, but the story itself can be read in its entirety on Webtoon (
see the comic page or
go straight to the prologue) or her personal site (
comic page,
page 1).
You ever feel like lost items just vanish into another dimension? This comic takes that idea literally, and combines it with a sort of reverse velveteen rabbit effect. I probably couldn't explain it well even with spoilers. Our main character is Alex, a girl who grew up moving from place to place, and leaving her once-cherished items behind, so she swore off owning more stuff than she could pack into a suitcase. Tired of continuing to move with her mother, she moves in with her cousin Claire and meets her new roomate/deuteragonist/severely depressed recluse Ethan. Or at least his voice through the door.
Things get weird when Alex finds a weird ferrety rabbity creature guy with a jade teapot stuck on his head. She helps remove it but finds herself pulled with him into that weird dimension of lost things. The creature, our third main character Grimnir, quickly returns her
almost where she came from. A failed attempt to climb down from the roof of her apartment building to her balcony a couple stories below leads to her meeting Ethan for real as he prevents her from plummeting to her death, with the help of another roommate. Not long after that, Alex finds that her time in that strange space did something to her, and she resolves to get back in to find out what happened and fix it.
I'll stop there lest I just spoil the whole story. That should be enough to whet your appetites.
I think the character writing in this is very strong. It's more realistic and down-to-earth than some of the other comics we've seen. There are still big personalities, but they're not written quite as broadly as the cast of Phantomarine, Daughter of the Lilies, or Tiger, Tiger. At least, the humans aren't. There is adventure, excitement, and danger--both in the regular world and the mysterious one--but the characters are the real heart of the story. And judging by the comic whose name is at the top of this forum and the ones that tend to get recommended in this thread, I think that's what we're all here for.
But what about the art? It's good. It has a more digital-painting look, more rendered than the comic-style and often cel-shaded stuff I've tended to recommend here. It gives the whole thing a very warm, cozy feeling that fits the comic's tone like a glove, or perhaps like a lost wool sock.
Here, have some samples, under spoiler for space reasons:
Okay, so that's why I think you should check it out. But why shouldn't you? Honestly the content warnings are pretty mild, but there still are a few:
- Mild, uh, body horror? No transformation or anything, but some weird physics stuff that gets distressing.
- More generally, some scary scenes that any SSSS reader will find tame, but you'll want to read them yourself before showing them to younger kids.
- On that note, some suggestive dialogue in early chapters implies that sex is a thing that people do sometimes, though nobody is implied to do it during the comic.
- Ethan is kind of awful early on, shooting down every last little bit of positivity that Alex has near him. I mean, yes, it's a combination of his depression and his meds, but it's still not a great way to talk to other people. If you've been treated that way I imagine you might not enjoy reliving it vicariously through Alex.
- Does the dog die? Unclear. Gonna go wih "not exactly" but there is a "CRUNCH" you won't like.
