Welcome to a very Webtoon heavy WWACommendations! This month’s roundtable reflects how many Webtoons titles are earning print publications, whether it be through the Webtoons Unscrolled press or other publishers. It’s been interesting to see these comics pop up in my library. From a purely observational perspective they seem to circulate no more or less than traditionally published work, but I’d love to see some real statistics! As this WWACommendations attests, they’re certainly reaching our eyes, and we’re enjoying them.
Dive into some recs for this strange end-of-summer/back to school season. Soon it will be Fall!
Emily Lauer: I really enjoyed the webtoon HoverGirls by Geneva Bowers, AKA GDBee, so I was excited to see that a refurbished version was coming out as a graphic novel! The graphic novel version of HoverGirls by Bowers came out on August 6th with the same fun plot and characters and more polished artwork. HoverGirls tells the story of two disparate cousins who move together to the big city, get crappy food service jobs, and are suddenly granted weird water-based superpowers during a storm. Their personalities and family baggage often clash, but they are supportive of each other as they (and readers) figure out the mysterious reason for their powers and for the giant sky fish assaulting their city.
One cousin has an athletic build, a constant laconic expression on her face, doesn’t say much, and wears low ponytails. The other cousin is extremely curvy, bubbly, aspires to be a fashion designer and her perky dialogue fills the panel. More than any other factor, I’d say that if this is a dynamic you enjoy, HoverGirls will be an excellent book for you! And it concludes satisfyingly in one volume.
Kathryn Hemmann: Hyeon A Cho’s Your Letter is a single-volume graphic novel that was originally serialized as a webcomic on Webtoon. Set in contemporary South Korea, Your Letter follows a high school student named Sori Lee who moves to a new city after becoming a target of bullying. Sori is deeply traumatized and has trouble talking to people at her new school, but she finds a mysterious letter that leads her on a scavenger hunt across the campus. The people she meets along the way help her stand up to a new bully, this time with the full support of her classmates. Your Letter is printed in gorgeous full color by Yen Press’s new K-comics imprint, Ize Press, and it’s a warm story of hope and friendship that’s perfect for back-to-school season.
Leah Paloma: In Violent Flowers, the new four-part miniseries from Maria Llovet, the archetypal vampire coven is re-imagined as a secret society ruling all supernatural creatures. Beginning in the seventeenth century Pacific Ocean and ending in modern Spain, the first issue opens with the scorned vampire Erzébet—perhaps a fictionalized version of the real life “blood countess” Elizabeth Báthory—being sentenced to eternal torture and ends with an airborne sadomasochistic sex scene between ill-tempered protagonist Carnelia and fellow clan member Bion. Carnelia’s brother, the clan leader Nikodemus, has been murdered. His body was swapped with Erzébet’s and Carnelia doesn’t know who she can trust, but it’s clear from the first issue that her lover Bion knows more than he’s letting on. Llovet provides just enough introductory information to leave the reader hungry for more.
Alenka Figa: Rooftops and Roommates is a sweet and funny slice-of-life webtoon by Zaanart. The protagonist Jeb is a gargoyle living his dream by attending college in the human world. Many members of his family and community don’t understand his love for humanity and human culture, but to understand they need look no further than Todd, the golden-hearted frat boy who’s paired with Jeb as a roommate and then sticks with him throughout school and beyond. Currently, Jeb and Todd have graduated and are out camping and enjoying a homework-free life, but they’re tackling a big, scary problem that’s haunting Todd.
Todd and Jeb’s relationship has long been a main feature of the comic – “roommates” is in the title, after all – but continuing to maintain a strong bond as friends from two different worlds has yielded some undesirable consequences, and they’re working through it together. This process has required Todd to really think about who he wants to be, and Jeb to push himself to understand and try to uphold Todd’s truest wishes for himself. Zaanart is still sticking to the silly tone of the comic, but it’s all very emotional! It’s a precious, non-toxic male relationship between two bros who have learned to be very open about their emotions. I eagerly await the next update.
