Comic of the Month

[Jitter]

Thanks Linebyline, I knew I could count on you!

[Linebyline]

Mag is such a slow learner. I kinda love that about her. It's so easy to fall into the trap of thinking that because a character has learned a lesson, they have to immediately change their behavior. I've certainly caught myself thinking that way. And in fairness it is a bit frustrating to see Mag respond to every new scary thing by insisting there's no way it could possibly work the way Id says it will. But you know what? That's life. Heck, that's me. We all fall back into the same habits even after we should know better. And this is probably a pretty minor spoiler, but...

Spoiler: show

it's so satisfying when she admits to herself, "I keep forgetting normal rules just don't apply here."

EDIT: And then shortly after...

Spoiler: show

she catches herself blaming Id for being in this mess and then immediately reminds herself that she'd be way worse off without her.

Also, FYI, Widdershins is back from hiatus and just updated today! (The 22th, according to the URL.)

[dmeck7755]

Also, FYI, Widdershins is back from hiatus and just updated today! (The 22th, according to the URL.)
[/quote]

YAY!!  I know this is the last chapter, and it will be good to see it ended properly

[Linebyline]

I'm making it to the end of my reread just in time for the end of the month. The ending is a little more troubling than I remembered, or at least it's really easy to read that way. But I think it's ultimately still a good message, even if I suspect an expert on the subject would have some notes.

Spoiler: show

It seems almost like the cure for depression is being depicted as "just think happy thoughts." Which, yeah, that doesn't work.

But I think that's just somewhat clumsy phrasing. If you look at what's really going on, you can see it's not about Polyanna-ing your way out of severe mental health problems. It's more that positive thinking is something that has to be nurtured. Koo'bur says it best when he tells Mag, "It will be the hardest thing you'll ever do," and while the battle is endless, "it's one worth fighting."

Thanks to all who joined me on this journey to the center of a neurotic gryphon-thing's fragile psyche! Who's got June?

[Jitter]

Anyone for June?

Linebyline I read it through and enjoyed it! Some parts were a bit simplistic but overall it was a good depiction. Thank you for the recommendation!

[Jitter]

Soo, anyone got something for July?

[Linebyline]

Oh no! Did we miss a month? I haven't been getting reply notifications for some reason, so I assumed the conversation was going on without me and I just kept getting distracted from checking. Sorry!

How about Tabmerlane? Written and drawn by Caytlin Vilbrandt with co-writer/editor Ari Noble and a team of flatters, Tamberlane is definitely my kind of comic, combining the adorable dystopia of Taxicat (see below) with the "One human in a world of furries and everyone's kinda weird about it" angle of MAiZ.

The main protagonist is Belfry, an incredibly clumsy bat who, when the eponymous human baby is discovered, declares herself Tamberlane's adoptive mother. This creates a rift between the well-meaning but irresponsible and borderline incompetent Belfry and her own adoptive family, who fear both Tamberlane and what Belfry's getting herself into. Eventually, as the child grows, most of the townsfolk get used to her, but there's always some level of discomfort at how her presence pokes at their society's norms, especially with respect to: A mysterious illness that (allegedly) transforms people into monsters; the mysterious faraway land known only as "Abroad," where said monsters are banished and where some of the infected deliberately go to seek a cure, but whence no one is allowed to return; and the Edicts, draconian laws which proscribe publicly discussing, much less teaching children about, the reasons for any of this under pain of (you guessed it) banishment.

Vilbrandt describes the comic as "Rated PG13 for themes of xenophobia and childhood neglect." I'll add that there are some scary scenes in which some kids nearly die. Traumatic fallout from those scenes. Bullying, some but not all of which ties into that. Lots and lots of interpersonal drama involving various controversies that threaten to tear families apart. EDIT: Oh, also apparently implied forced labor.

Also, it's furry, and clothing-optional. It's much closer to the no-pants-funny-animal end of the spectrum than the FurAffinity-esque "basically a naked person but it doesn't count because you can't see nipples or genitals" end. Also, the word "vagina" is used once in a discussion of how to sex a baby. (If you're cool with Tiger, Tiger or Rising Sand, this ain't nuthin', but I know some of y'all find furries off-putting.)

Full disclosure: I haven't read the beginning of the comic as it currently exists. A lot of the early pages were edited, and a new one inserted, to massage a few details to fit better with what's established later. There is a list of what pages were changed but it doesn't

I really don't know how to describe the art. It's charming, generally well done. A little toward the cartoony side of painterly? Here are a few representative pages: 19, 70, 83, 125

And if you want to preview some of that dystopian world-building in a candy-coated format, start at page 220.

Honorable Mention: I won't do a full writeup, but to make up for the missed month, I'd like to also plug Taxicat by Katie Emma Gross. It's technically active, but it updates kind of whenever. Last update was in may; before that, January; and the one before that, mid-2021. It features gorgeous watercolor artwork and a largely caste-based society with dark secrets. This, too, is furry. (I have a type! Sue me!)

[Keep Looking]

Ooh, I've seen Tamberlane but haven't read it before, I'll have to check it out! Thanks for the rec

[JoB]

I'd like to jump in and retroactively fill the June slot - the main reason being that I discovered this webcomic by its current Kickstarter campaign, which will end before the next turn of the month, and I guess that it'd be the less-than-endearing kind of shenanigans to only tell y'all after the fact ...

So, if you're still with me, we're talking about Apocalyptic Horseplay [home] [start] [Kickstarter], a concluded webcomic that ran from 2016 to 2020.

As the title suggests, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are among the main cast, and their horses ride the narrow line between "main" and "supporting" cast. In this version of their tale, they all have been given the gift of Free Will™, much like the humans/souls, prompting the horsemen to refuse their scripted destiny and go into hiding so as to avoid those who'd rather like them blindly following it. Enter a wannabe journalist blowing their cover and providing said others with a lead to their whereabouts.

As for trigger warnings: Well, we're talking about War, Famine, Pestilence and Death (almost) doing their thing, so a hefty dose of (comic grade) body horror is to be expected. Also, there are extensive references to Christian belief, of course, plus to Third Reich crimes - but I'm not of the opinion that the comic gets excessive in referring to those. (The "what are they up to now?" episode in the epilogue feels more "on the nose" to me.) I'd like to warn you of chapter 1 episode 5, though, where Mot a.k.a. Death demonstrates his abilities to a randomly visiting policeman - by divulging to him how the service weapon he carries ruined, and ended, the life of its previous owner ...

(Oh, and one for the language nerds on this forum: Most of the comic happens in Reading, UK, and the double entendre with the -ing form of "to read" is used a couple times - including at least one where it's supposed to work in spoken English. Unfortunately, the pronunciation of the town's name is leaning towards the other end of the verb's "I will read // I once have read" spectrum.)

As usual, I'm not one to have much to say about the artwork, but it's definitely solid and I'm likely to read up on Boredman's other comics sooner or later ... probably as soon as I think myself in danger of becoming a bored man myself, hehe. Again, it's rather the plot, the questions it raises, and the general topic of apocalyptic events that kept me catching up over the last weekend. (The other comic I referred you to in this board was The Sword Interval ... gee, I sense a theme there. )

Edit to add: Forgot to mention this: The comic also has a presence on the author's DeviantArt gallery, but I'm referring you to WebToons nonetheless; The pages on DA have been rearranged and most of them shortened, so you'd be missing a lot of plot there. It seems that there's some extra art not appearing on the other site with both, though.

[Linebyline]

Dosh garnit I've been slipping. Sorry I've apparently been asleep all August. Let's see what I have for this mo... er, week.

How about Tellurion? Okay, it's not technically a comic by the McCloudian* definition ("Mommy, why ain't I juxtaposed?"). It's a story told in pictures, and only pictures. No text. If it were printed, I think even Scott McCloud would call it a comic; imagine a graphic novel where every page is a full-page spread.

Unfortunately, we never learn the actual names of the characters. Artist Matt Rhodes said he'd wait until the project was completed before revealing them, and then changed his mind and decided to keep them secret.

So our protagonists are Blond Guy, Cool Robot, and Art Girl. Our story begins with Blondie as part of a ragtag group of thieves, sneaking into a seaside village of some kind to steal resources from a tower. Right away we see that the world of Tellurion is no naturalistic earth-like setting: When Blondie stops to take in the view, we see the dome of the sky has a giant metal track along which the sun moves. Meanwhile, a bad-ace** warrior appears, having apparently just walked straight out of the water. Suffice to say shenanigans ensue, Mr. Bad-ace is revealed to be Cool Robot, and Blondie (abandoned by his companions) winds up apprenticed to him.

It turns out CR is on a quest to find the sword that goes with the hilt and scabbard he's carrying around, whereas Blondie is on a quest to not die of incompetence. They meet Art Girl when she's being harassed by dudes with helmets resembling CR's head and Blondie decides to die of foolhardy rescue mission instead (don't worry, he's fine), and wouldn't you know it, she turns out to also be on a quest! Her quest is probably more of a spoiler than I should reveal here, but I doubt it would surprise you to learn that it intersects with CR's.

As the adventure progresses, our intrepid zeroes encounter fish, some beautiful overgrown ruins, those wiggly swords, isopods, friendly sailors, friendly fat people, costume changes, facial hair, gravity, unfriendly fat people, fish, blow darts, and a reveal that's played a lot straighter than it was on Lower Decks. Mysteries are explored, characters grow and change, pictures are drawn, and various characters avoid dying several times.

I'm not really a romance guy, but I must say the evolution from Blondie's schoolboy crush on Artie to mutual admiration and affection is cute.

The artwork is, of course, gorgeous. Maybe it's just the amount of blue, but it reminds me of Phantomarine, if a touch less cartoony. Here are some examples: 4, 44, 57, and 85.

So how's about some content warnings? There's some violence. What's on-panel is usually pretty mild, not far about TV-Y7 action cartoon levels, but there are exceptions. Even early on, there's a bit of blood, but not much; there's a late story...mild dismemberment, if that makes sense? Definitely enough scary stuff that I'd recommend reading it first before showing it to your kids.  There is at least one slightly suggestive scene, and you already know what it is if you figured out my Star Trek reference***. There's also a recurring birdlike mask motif that kinda looks like boobs if you turn it upside down.

One other thing to watch out for is that the story is split up on the gallery page such that if you keep clicking right it will wrap around to the beginning of the gallery long before the story's over. Just close the lightbox popup and scroll down.

I think that covers all the bases. Enjoy!

* That being "Juxtaposed pictorial or other images in deliberate sequence," from Understanding Comics and its sequels.

** Is that an acceptable bowdlerization or does it just sound dorky? Wait, I am a dork, so who cares? I stole it from Jessica "NeonDragon" Peffer, in case anyone cares.

***After Quark but before Sulu, if that helps.

[Keep Looking]

Dosh garnit I've been slipping. Sorry I've apparently been asleep all August. Let's see what I have for this mo... er, week.

I think we've all been slipping a bit, it's ok! But I'm excited to check out your recommendation. Fully-pictorial graphic novels can be really interesting - have you ever heard of or read The Arrival by Shaun Tan? It's a story about immigrant and refugee experiences set in a fantastical-looking world full of strange creatures, and told with no words, only pictures. His art style and the creatures he comes up with are amazing, and he tells his story really effectively. You'd probably like some of his other work as well, Tales from Outer Suburbia is a particular favourite of mine. I also have to give him a recommendation because he's from Western Australia (like me)!

Just from first impressions, Tellurion looks like it's set in a very interesting world!

[thorny]

The Arrival by Shaun Tan is fantastic. One of my local libraries has it, and I read it several years ago. I highly recommend it; but I don't know whether it's available online anywhere legitimately for free.

[Keep Looking]

Seconding Thorny that yes, as far as I know The Arrival is a print book only. But if you can buy or borrow a copy it's very much worth it.

[thegreyarea]

Just finished my first read of Tellurion! And quite enjoyed it! 

How about Tellurion? Okay, it's not technically a comic by the McCloudian* definition ("Mommy, why ain't I juxtaposed?"). It's a story told in pictures, and only pictures. No text. If it were printed, I think even Scott McCloud would call it a comic; imagine a graphic novel where every page is a full-page spread.

I'd say it's a digital-era comic, where you don´t have to save paper and therefore can draw, and show, your art without constraints.

I think the author did a great job to convey the story without text (hey, no need for translations!  ). Nevertheless, some text would be quite useful in many parts, particularly to contextualize (perhaps a narrator could "show up" outside the pictures). I often felt like watching a movie without subtitles and with the sound muted...

Unfortunately, we never learn the actual names of the characters. Artist Matt Rhodes said he'd wait until the project was completed before revealing them, and then changed his mind and decided to keep them secret.

Well, that's consistent with the "no text" option... and saves all the work to find proper names! 

Right away we see that the world of Tellurion is no naturalistic earth-like setting: When Blondie stops to take in the view, we see the dome of the sky has a giant metal track along which the sun moves.

That part made me sooooo curious about the setting of the story! Who made all that? Where are they? What's outside the "sky"?
I'll write more about that later...
 

As the adventure progresses, our intrepid zeroes encounter fish, some beautiful overgrown ruins, those wiggly swords, isopods, friendly sailors, friendly fat people, costume changes, facial hair, gravity, unfriendly fat people, fish, blow darts, and a reveal that's played a lot straighter than it was on Lower Decks. Mysteries are explored, characters grow and change, pictures are drawn, and various characters avoid dying several times.

No one can complain about lack of action in this story! 

I'm not really a romance guy, but I must say the evolution from Blondie's schoolboy crush on Artie to mutual admiration and affection is cute.

Yes it is! 

The artwork is, of course, gorgeous. Maybe it's just the amount of blue, but it reminds me of Phantomarine, if a touch less cartoony. Here are some examples: 4, 44, 57, and 85.

It's gorgeous indeed! That's one reason to read it again, but at a slower pace. And I'll check out the author's other works.

Thanks, Linebyline! Great suggestion! 

[Linebyline]

have you ever heard of or read The Arrival by Shaun Tan?

It vaguely rings a bell. I've bookmarked it on Bookshop.org so I'll remember to pick it up eventually. Thanks for the rec!