I Read Comic Books discussion

For this month's BotM, we're looking at comics that have been collected/released in a non-traditional format!

That could mean webtoons, Kickstarters, newspaper strips, basically anything not released through traditional (i.e. Diamond/Comixology) means.

This month's BotM episode will be a Patreon exclusive, available on November 27th!

Proud Lore Olympus Trash here, so I will be reading even more of this story I am so obsessed with - I've been keeping myself away for a few months so I could have a good binge reading session!

I am glad Lore Olympus is available in books now. I don't enjoy reading it online. Too much scrolling!

I've now read volumes 1 and 2. Waiting on 3 and 4.

Ed wrote: "I am glad Lore Olympus is available in books now. I don't enjoy reading it online. Too much scrolling!

I've now read volumes 1 and 2. Waiting on 3 and 4."

I wish I had your patience! I lost an entire weekend scrolling through everything available at the time. Once I finally stopped reading, my eyes could hardly adjust - the walls of my room were zooming by like I was scrolling through them, lol!

Well, I only learned about Lore Olympus this year, so I didn't really wait long.

The only web comic that I read very much of online was Quantum Vibe. I did like that enough to stick with it for a few volumes despite not enjoying scrolling.

If anyone could give me some recommendations it would be greatly appreciated.

One of the few webcomics I consume as they are released (i.e., piecemeal on the web rather than in subsequently-released print or digital book collections) is Girl Genius. The creative team behind this comic is composed of the wife-and-husband team of Kaja and Phil Foglio (Phil does the artwork and both do the writing) along with Cheyenne Wright (who does colors). Kaja describes the comic as a “gaslamp fantasy”. I’m not sure I know exactly what that means, but if you think “steampunk” you won’t be too far off the mark. Tonally it’s a kind of melodramatic serial adventure, but one that’s pretty light-hearted and tongue-in-cheek. Girl Genius started life around 2001 and has been a regularly-appearing webcomic since 2005. Over the years, the strip has won a number of awards (including a few Hugos).

If I have a problem with the comic, it’s that the plot has over time become so sprawling and convoluted that it’s hard for the casual reader to make sense of what’s going on. Amusingly, even the creators have admitted to occasionally getting confused.

Collections are released every year or so. The most recent, the twentieth in the series, is entitled Girl Genius: The Exorcism Engines .

The strip appears every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday here:
https://www.girlgeniusonline.com/

There are a few fan sites devoted to the strip. This wiki may be the best of the lot:
https://girlgenius.fandom.com/

I enjoyed White Ash by Charlie Stickney, Conor Hughs and Fin Cramb which originally came out on Kickstarter before Scout Comics published the first volume. It is a fantasy story set in a coal-mining town in Pennsylvania, and its romantic leads are a half-dwarf man and an elven woman who need to keep their town safe from supernatural evil.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...

For fans of Derf Backderf's Punk Rock & Trailer Parks, he continues the story of Otto, aka The Baron in a webcomic: http://www.derfcity.com/comix/Baron/B...

Nancy wrote: "I enjoyed White Ash by Charlie Stickney, Conor Hughs and Fin Cramb which originally came out on Kickstarter before Scout Comics published the first volume. It is a fantasy story set in a coal-minin..."

That is a fantastic series. I keep waiting for the next volume to come out.

Nancy said: For fans of Derf Backderf's Punk Rock & Trailer Parks, he continues the story of Otto, aka The Baron in a webcomic:

Thanks for this info, Nancy. I consider myself a fan of Backderf, but am embarrassed to admit that I knew nothing of this continuation of Punk Rock & Mobile Homes .

Back in October of 2018, Juni Ba created a little comic for Inktober about a tour of Monkey Meat Island. I loved the art style and am intrigued by the premise.

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/01Lk5

Just recently he has published a trade paperback Monkey Meat, which I hope to read soon.

I've already read all of this that has been published, but I highly recommend Acception on Webtoons. With a gender non-conforming central character, this story set in high school includes a wide range of body types, sexualities, family structures/dysfunctions, and some wild fashion. There are four 'seasons' published so far and the fifth one will be starting before too long.

Happy to have my recommendation mentioned on the podcast if folks need that permission; also happy to hear from anyone who checks this cool story out.

Having read many of the comics around the web, I decided to support the author (Nathan W. Pyle) and read Stranger Planet.

I ended up reading the first part of Distant sky #1

Chad wrote: "Nancy wrote: "I enjoyed White Ash by Charlie Stickney, Conor Hughs and Fin Cramb which originally came out on Kickstarter before Scout Comics published the first volume. It is a fantasy story set i..."

I look forward to V2 also!

Canavan wrote: "Nancy said: For fans of Derf Backderf's Punk Rock & Trailer Parks, he continues the story of Otto, aka The Baron in a webcomic:

Thanks for this info, Nancy. I consider myself a fan of [author:Back..."

I hope you enjoy it! He hasn't updated it in a long time tho.

Canavan wrote: "Nancy said: For fans of Derf Backderf's Punk Rock & Trailer Parks, he continues the story of Otto, aka The Baron in a webcomic:

Thanks for this info, Nancy. I consider myself a fan of [author:Back..."
I just finished reading his Dahmer graphic novel. Pretty unsettling learning about a serial killer's upbringing but it was really good! Might have to check out what else he has written.

Veronika wrote: "Might have to check out what else [Derf Backderf] has written"

I recommend Trashed as a break from the unsettling some of his books can be. It is shockingly good and informative for a topic most folks just want to ignore.

Paul said: I recommend Trashed as a break from the unsettling some of his books can be.

I would second this recommendation.