Do you like fantasy Webcomics with cute art? Of course you do. Do you like Webcomics with grumpy characters who learn to make friends? Of course you do. Do you like Webcomics with cats? Ha, like I even needed to ask that one.
And that's why I'm recommending...
xkcd! Haha April Fools, pranks, mirth, etc. I'm actually pitching Harpy Gee (
homepage,
page 1) by Brianne Drouhard. It's currently in its sixth and final chapter, though each "chapter" is usually divided into a handful of smaller episodes. The update schedule is irregular; it usually updates Mondays, but the number of pages per update varies wildly based on Drouhard's other obligations. It's recently back from a hiatus of several months between chapters, and has entered its sixth and final chapter.
The comic stars and is named for Gigi "Harpy" Geranium, a young elf who's left her homeland behind for reasons that are probably spoilers. She's accompanied by her pet goblin cat Pumpkin, whom I'd describe as 10% goblin, 40% cat, 50% bag of holding, and 100% attitude. They find themselves in a backwater town called Podunkello, where they meet the adorable and brilliant witch Opal, owner of the local "Item Shop," and her pet/assistant Truffles the pig. Rooming in Opal's shop is the teenage castle guard (sort of) Ash, who is
much more of a jerk in the first chapter than I remembered thanks to his mother instilling in him a distrust of elves, but underneath it he's a cinnamon roll. This is also true of the last and grumpiest main character, Prince Humphrey, though his crusty exterior is a few meters thicker. He ran away from home to avoid his twin sister's birthday party (sort of) only to get roped into a party for a dog belonging to his uncle, the conniving Duke hollandaise. The duke is one of those "manipulative but for your own good" types. From there, they have various adventures involving plant monsters, dragons, mermaids, at least two large monsters with mushrooms growing on them, bread-baking ogres, a turkey with an eyepatch, and most dangerous of all: Interpersonal conflict.
Quick heads-up: Yes, the title is a play on "RPG" but apart from incorporating some of the standard fantasy tropes like elves and magic and swords and stuff, it has little to do with the likes of GURPS or Chrono Trigger. The characters are just characters, not
player characters. Of course, there are plenty of easter egg references, especially in early chapters, but if you're looking for something like Order of the Stick or the one about the goblins (I forget what it's called), uh, sorry.
So why am I pitching this? The main thing is, as always, the characters. They're broad and comedic, but they all have depth, hidden layers, secrets, and so on.
They remind me a bit of the SSSS crew. Humphrey is somehow Lalli and Emil at the same time. Ash reminds me of Reynir. There is a cat who is the best character. But mainly I mean they're a mismatched bunch of flawed characters with various barriers between them that they're forced to overcome to become good friends. (One of the later sub-chapters is literally called "Friendship Barriers," though by that point they're already friends.) They all speak the same language, so it's more a clash of status and personalities. I'm not really doing it justice, but I feel pretty confident that if you like the character dynamics of SSSS or most of the other comics I've pitched, you'll like these guys too.
Most of the comics I've pitched thus far have been somewhere in between realistic and cartoony. Harpy Gee isn't full Saturday Morning but it's definitely toward the cartoonier end of the spectrum. This makes for some pretty dynamic action sequences, some threatening yet cute monsters, and some really expressive characters. But as someone once said, you don't have to take my word for it:
(Okay, actually you might for now since my Web host isn't cooperating. I'll post the art samples as soon as I can.)
And now it's time for everyone's favorite Comic of the Month party game, pin the tail on the content warning!
- It's not that there's not violence aplenty, but it's largely slapstick played for humor. (Which can be a bit of a problem when one obnoxious guard's death is treated as a joke, but that's an isolated incident.) What violence isn't slapstick can lead to a handful of intense or scary action scenes, but nothing brutal. There is a teeny-tiny bit of blood at one point. Read it before you hand it to a kid, but it's PG at worst.
- There's violence against aggressive fauna, but they tend to be fine. Just a bit embarrassed. Still, I could see that being a turnoff for some folks. I find it a little uncomfy myself in the earlier chapters.
- Naughty words are typically censored or replaced with alternatives (No profanity in any language can match the intensity of Humphrey saying "Fart" near the beginning of one chapter) but a little one slipped through at one point.
- Despite a fair amount of emphasis on romance, there's no sex. At most, there is the very occasional bit of mild cleavage. It is discreetly implied that at least one character has parents who had sex in the past, but even that is on the mild end of PG.
- Honestly the biggest thing is going to be the eye strain warning. Much of the comic is hand-lettered, and while that lends a lot of charm, it can also result in inconsistently sized or just really small text that's hard to read. Zoom is your friend. (The browser feature, not the videoconferencing service.)
So level up your Webcomic reading with Harpy Gee! Because I told you to!
UPDATE: I can't seem to FTP today, so while my host works on that issue, I've posted my usual art excerpt over on my Mastodon account at @
linebyline@
bytetower.social. (Anyone else here on the Fediverse, by the way?)
