Brussels-based artist Exaheva recently released her interactive digital comic Still Heroes, a tender story of self-discovery that experiments with reader agency in visual storytelling. Readers follow main character Emeline’s struggles after her superhero group suddenly disbands and she finds herself lost for direction. Though seemingly a superhero narrative, Still Heroes touches on intimate experiences with…
REVIEW: I’ve Become a True Villainess Doesn’t Have Bite
Open any digital comics portal — Tapas, Webtoon, Tappytoon, Manta — and you’ll be bombarded by comics depicting shiny-eyed girls in elaborate, vaguely-pre-Industrial gowns and jewelry, often being embraced or carried by large men. Most of these comics follow the same setup: a girl is reincarnated as the villainess in a fantasy romance novel, and…
VIZ Pubwatch July 2022
Welcome back to another VIZ Media pubwatch, dear readers! It’s the height of the summer anime season, the height of convention season, and the height of “new volumes of ongoing series I like being released by VIZ” season. And I can’t wait to talk about those new volumes! But first, the VIZ anime news.
A Brief History of Webcomics: 2010 to Now
Though comics have been posted online since there was an online to post them on (the earliest known webcomic being uploaded on CompuServe in 1985), in the last decade, the landscape of the internet and digital comic hosting have changed drastically. Today, even children read webcomics on their smartphones, whether they be four-panel gags posted…
So You Liked the Batfam Webtoon — What’s Next?
If you’re already a Webtoon user, then adding Wayne Family Adventures to your subscription list was probably no big deal. But there’s no way none of the 544K subscribers are new, so for those of you who signed up just to read Robin hijinks but want to learn more, here are some Webtoon recommendations to…
VIZ Media Pubwatch: July 2021
Happy July, everyone! The summer anime season is in full swing, virtual anime conventions are streaming, and VIZ Media has new releases for you! This month we’re covering some old favorites of mine and a book new to the VIZ lineup, Devil’s Candy. But first, the news.
REVIEW: Heir’s Game Brings a Swashbuckling Romance to Webtoon
As a kid I loved The Three Musketeers and the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. I loved the big feathered hats and the rapiers, the swashbuckling and the adventures. I was therefore thrilled to discover Heir’s Game by Suspu, a Webtoon with all the rapiers and adventures anyone could want, and also, queer protagonists!
REVIEW: Superman/Batman Fan Book Soft Lead is The World’s Sweetest
Batman and Superman have a long and storied history but in a recent fan comic shared on Twitter, artist Chan Chau encompassed a sweet, soft, and caring side of the heroes that we rarely see. The 17 page comic is one of the loveliest things that I’ve read in a while, and both moved and…
A Platform for Philippine Komiks: An Interview With Penlab
Filipino komiks (“comics”) have long had a commercial industry that goes far back as the 1920s, but it has been only until recently that interest in these works has grown outside of the Philippines. With social isolation restrictions still in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many artists have been turning to ways to expand…
REVIEW: Phobos and Macroverse
Phobos by Jason Brubaker is a new premium comic on the mobile comics platform Macroverse, a platform whose unique selling point is the fact that instead of scrolling the reader taps to progress in their comics reading. Phobos follows the humorous and horrifying misadventures of a mad scientist and his wacky assistants in a vampire’s…
A Tiny Review of Tinyview
Tinyview is an app by Newput Inc. that first launched in December 2019, promising “bite-size comics for your phone! Instead of reading in a zigzag order, read comics by scrolling up and down.” But what separates this app from other apps like Webtoon or Tapas? Let’s look at the content.
REVIEW: Princesses Meet Mecha in Cosmoknights
Cosmoknights by Hannah Templer is a webcomic and graphic novel nominated for this year’s Outstanding Comic Ignatz Award. As per the comic’s about page, it follows the adventures of “a ragtag band of space gays… beating the patriarchy at its own game.” And it’s awesome.