An ex-soldier joins a group of thieves in a desperate attempt to find a new home.
The Kalvivan thief system seem to have it all together, but when a band of outsider thieves appear, bent on wresting the city from the the system, will they be able to defend their own?
Queer themes.
Recommended rating 16+ for sexual content, language, violence and blood.
Liz, trying to get rid of her writer's block, gets caught up in the weirdness surrounding the nurse she interviewed.
Switch is a superhero, but he doesn't enjoy it. Between the struggle to uphold his mother's legacy and dealing with the hassle of being a celebrity hero, he feels pretty bad about the whole job. Things are going as well as can be expected until events surrounding the release of a new technology start to change everything.
Beatrice “Bea” Whaley seems to have it all; the seventeen year old high school senior is beautiful, wealthy and the star performer of the drama club. And with her uncle’s connections to Broadway theater, the future looks bright ahead of her. Little does she know that her future might actually be brighter behind her. Bea begins having vivid dreams about a brave and handsome soldier named Alan Warren–a member of an elite group known as Knowlton’s Rangers that served during the Revolutionary War. Prone to keeping her head in the clouds, Bea welcomes her nightly adventures in 1776; filled with danger and romance they give her much to muse about the next day. But it is not long before Beatrice questions whether her dreams are simply dreams or something more. Each night they pick up exactly where the last one ended. And the senses–the smell of musket shots and cannons, the screams of soldiers in agony, and that kiss–are all far more real than any dream she can remember.
THE DREAMER turned 10 years old this Independence Day. That's 10 years of Revolutionary War nerdery and romance! Like pretty much anything having to do with American history, I have complicated feelings, but I think this comic has figured out what it is and does that pretty darn well. It's worth noting that this comic came before Hamilton, but has all the names you'd expect to see dropped, like Hercules Mulligan and Alexander Hamilton.
What It Is:
A time-slip story with a teenage protagonist who quite literally dreams herself into the early days of the Revolutionary War. There's a strong parallel between the literal dreaming that she's doing and the metaphorical dreaming of the rebels as they envision a future for their new country.
Peppered with references to battles, historical people of note, and uniforms/attire that much have been dreadful to illustrate, the story feels well-researched and educational as well as fantastical.
The romance is confusing at times, as Beatrice doesn't remember the life she had in the past, or her relationship with Alan, just that some part of her loves him. She tries to stay interested in present-day Ben, but it's hard for her to do so when she's visiting another man every night in her dreams. Any confusion felt by the reader is likely that of Bea, trying to sort out what she should feel and what she does feel.
What It Isn't:
A treatise on race or on the roles of free and enslaved African-Americans in the war. The heroine's best friend in the modern day story, Yvette, is dark-skinned, as is her present-day love interest, Ben. In 1776, however, we see people of color only in serving roles, and a couple as soldiers. If you're looking for a story that will emphasize the parts played by PoC in the war, this isn't the place to go.
It's also not a story in which the main character is perfect. She kind of sucks a lot of the time, to be frank. She's selfish, treats Ben, her friends, and her family poorly, and generally acts like a self-centered teenager. BUT she also appears to be growing as a person. She's realized how her actions are not only unhelpful, but pretty destructive. If you start the comic and hate her, know that she does, in fact, get better.
What made me keep reading is that this is also not a HELL YEAH AMERICA story. The characters, particularly Alan, are conflicted about the toll the war is taking on the populace. Are stamps really worth this many lives? There's very little emphasis on American exceptionalism, with more focus on liberty and self-governance.
Miscellany:
The art is clean and beautifully colored, though some of the numerous white men in uniform eventually blur together (this may be entirely on me). I bought the first volume digitally, which was I believe 5 issues. As of 7/6/17, I couldn't buy the next volumes digital, but all three are available in print or you can do as I did and read the rest as a webcomic.
As for the research, creator Lora Innes has a "Library" tab on her site, where you can find a bunch of the research and supplemental materials she's used while creating this comic.
THE DREAMER is still running, updating 3x a week. If you're curious, A couple of issues worth of reading will give you a good idea of whether you'll like the comic as a whole.
May 16, 2008 - In the span of a single day, Amal calls off his arranged marriage, comes out to his conservative parents, promptly gets disowned, goes on a bender... and wakes up the next morning to find TJ, a lanky, dreadlocked vagrant, frying eggs and singing Paul Simon in his kitchen.
TJ claims that the two have made a drunken pact to drive all the way from Berkeley to Providence. As it happens, Amal promised his sister he'd be there for her graduation from Brown University. And TJ, well... TJ has his own reasons. The agreement is simple: Amal does the driving; TJ pays the way - but a 3500 mile journey leaves plenty of time for things to get complicated.
Our comic was inspired from Tchaikovsky’s “The Swan Lake”. However we have twisted the characters, events, and setting into our own shape and made a story of loyalty, love, duty and greed that we are very excited to share with you all.The comic begins, as fairy-tales so often do, in a faraway land, with mysterious events on the edge of a forest that will put the Prince of the kingdom on the path of an adventure that will forever change his fate, and the fate of two kingdoms.
Pitched to us on Twitter as a "comedy/drama about some queer boys in the 90's, mostly dealing with abuse."
If you'd like to purchase a copy of this book, please consider using the Amazon link to support the site or from Iron Circus to best support the indie comics we love!
15-year-old Corinth was just trying to clean up the beach; she never expected to meet a mermaid, let alone be nearly drowned by one. It was the start of a very strange friendship!
After Skylla, the deadly fanged mermaid, mysteriously lets Corinth live, they grow closer through a cautious exchange of stories, gifts, jokes, and sign language. Mermaids, it turns out, eat people, but however terrifying Skylla may look, she’s a little younger, a little smaller, and perhaps a little too soft for all that. Bewitched by Corinth and their growing bond, she learns about all the best things in life on land: books, burgers, donuts, and this strange chattering human sound called laughter. But a storm is brewing – both at sea and in Corinth’s increasingly dangerous relationship with her obsessively jealous boyfriend – and a magical bargain may be the only thing that can save her, at a tremendous cost.
A whimsical dark fantasy retelling of “The Little Mermaid,” The Sea in You upends everything you thought you knew about magical creatures of the deep, on a whirlwind journey to a whole new world you’ve only dreamed of before!
15th century Europe — To foster good relations with its southern territories, the Holy Roman Empire has been sending one of its princes on yearly visits to the Kingdom of Italy.
Tomas is the son of a powerful Sienese family who have the privilege of hosting the royal visits. He’s been spending his summers with prince Emil at a remote family estate in Civita. But Emil is an ostentatious, spoiled brat, and Tomas couldn’t care less for such “honor.” The only thing that makes the whole situation bearable is another boy in prince’s retinue. Matthias is everything Emil is not: kind, easy going, and makes for good company; nicknamed “St. Matthias” for his God given ability to ease the effects of prince’s grating personality.Having to play nice with royalty is a pain, but Tomas’ true worry is a private one—he’s unfulfilled in his romantic life. Relationships seem so complicated. Pessimistic about anything long term, he’s equally unenthusiastic about the casual life of a bachelor. But…what else is there?Contemplation leads him stumbling into unexpected feelings for Matthias, his childhood friend. Consumed by this newly discovered attraction, and eager to forget his woes, Tomas dreams of a fun, uncomplicated summer romance.But what awaits him is anything but simple. The young men who return to Italy the following summer are not the Matthias and Emil that Tomas once knew. Both have changed in unexpected ways, and more importantly, both are hiding something. Tomas soon finds himself drawn into a mystery spanning two years and three hearts—one of which is his own.
The Sun Prince, The Saint and the Changeling is a Renaissance romance with modern sensibilities. It’s an original BL graphic novel by Chama.
Tunes of Lycka is a webcomic about the 14yo girl Lycka forming a band with her friends and her older cousin. There’s adventure, drama, a little bit of romance - and it is all revolved around our relationship to music.