SPOTTED SHOWERS
Webcomic Recomendations!
Here's a list of some of my favorite comics on the web!
Sakana
Reccomended Age Range: All Ages... Although a Young Adult/Adult audience would get the most out of it, imo!
What it's about: "Sakana is a slice of life, romantic comedy (a sli-li-rom-com, if you will) set in the Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo, Japan. Our heroes must wrangle unruly seafood and navigate a hazardous dating scene to find love, peace of mind, and a paycheck." (From Website)
Why I like it: Sakana started in the 2010s, so it's been around for a while, and it's remained my #1 favorite webcomic since I found it back in high school! The characters are incredibly charming and the consistent and simple artstyle is easy to digest. The simple comic-strip format makes it extremely accessable, but it still has a lot of depth, especially from the rich character relationships, that make it well worth the read! Sakana, to me, falls somewhere in-between the workplace comedy nature of something like Regular Show, and the bizzare comedy and hard-hitting character moments found in series like Yakuza. It fills a niche that nothing else has been able to replicate.
Other Notes: The webcomic has been on hiatus for a while, but as of June 2023 the creator has begun uploaded new pages to patreon, meaning new public pages are just around the corner. It's a great time to start reading! Also, if you're looking for stories with queer characters, Sakana is not without them, even though it doesn't directly advertise itself as a queer story. (It actually has one of my favorite gay characters in webcomics, so theres that!) Sakana is all-ages; if you're wanting something a bit more adult, though, the creator of Sakana also has an Adults-Only 18+ webcomic about queer alien adventures, if that's more up your alley...
Transfusions
Reccomended Age Range: Strictly 18+; explicit sexual content
What it's about: "Transfusions is a love story between Dylan, a media student, and a young, arrogant vampire called Joa. Their relationship develops from threats and bickering into a gentle but passionate romance. The story has two parts. The first part, Book 1, focuses on Joa and Dylan’s relationship. Book 2 has more vampire action." (From Website)
Why I like it: Transfusions starts a little shaky, but quickly finds it's footing in subverting harmful cliche's often present in "boy's love" webcomics. What results is a queer story that feels genuine and has real storytelling passion behind it. Transfusions is a breath of fresh air in the vampire romance genre, and the author, Anni K., is constantly trying to make the comic more inclusive and representative. It's written with care! The vampire lore is genuinely gripping, and the evolving relationhips between the characters is consistently fun. Don't get me wrong—This comic does not spare any spice, and the erotic interludes are pretty engaging, standing out even compared to comics that market themselves as erotica! This isn't the forefront of the comic though, and this aspect is well-balanced with the other elements of the story. It feels like a realistic look into the lives of these adult characters: yes, adults have sex, but there's many more aspects to life as well... especially when the supernatural is involved!
Other Notes: The creator of this comic also has another more age-appropriate and romance-light comic called The Witch Door, although I havent read enough of it to recomend!
Ride or Die
Reccomended Age Range: "Mature Audiences." No explicit sexual content. Per the author: "This comic is intended for mature readers and may contain material unsuitable for children, including harsh language, drug and alcohol use, violence, sexual themes, and murder. Please read at your own discretion."
What it's about: "After finding a car once owned by his mother, Lucky and his childhood-crush Vick are launched into the world of street racing in an effort to learn more about her. But what they don't know is something's lurking under the hood of the car, something fueled by revenge...and gasoline. It’s Christine meets Ghost Rider meets Fast and Furious but gayer!" (From Website)
Why I like it: I grew up in drag racing family, and was always enamored with hot rods and street racing, meaning this comic immediately drew me in promising all of that, plus the inclusion of the supernatural, queer themes, and the theraputic demise of bigots in the automotive hobby. The artstyle of this comic is also mind-blowing, mixing classic comic-book palettes and textures with chromatic abberatation à la Spiderverse. There is no single page of this comic that looks bad. I don't really have much else to say. There's really nothing else out there like it.
Other Notes: N/A.
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