"HERE LIES is a beautiful and atmospheric love story between two young women, one of whom happens to be a ghost. Her mortal lover is pulled further from the world of the living as she tries to free her from the abandoned house she's forced to haunt." — MICEXPO
Since being bitten by a strange wolf as a child, Malaya Walters has attempted to live a quiet life…hopefully a life free of attempting to eat her family or the customers at her family’s coffee shop. Being the only werewolf she’s ever known, Malaya has managed her condition by keeping tight control on herself and the world around her, with lackluster results. That is, until a strange guy wanders into her shop one day and introduces her to a whole world she never knew existed…How to be a Werewolf is a long form, ongoing story, started in February 2015. It features a diverse cast, as well as a cast of mostly LGBTQ characters.
No full review (YET! it's in the queue) but we wanted to note that the comic starts out in B&W and is now in full color. Both are lovely.
ADULTS ONLY Ed Fiedler is a common man. 61 years old and employed as a scribe in a royal palace, his most regular client is Lucardo von Gishaupt, a forever-young aristocrat . . . and member of the mysterious and revered Night Court. When the eternally 33-year-old Lucardo and the aging Ed develop feelings for one another, both are forced to contend with the culture shock of a mortal man's presence among the deathless, the perilous disapproval of the sitting Lord of the Night Court, and Ed's own ever-present mortality, threatening to bring an end to their romance in the blink of an everlasting eye. This is the first book in a planned four-volume series.
LETTERS FOR LUCARDO is that rare piece of graphic erotica that surprises me. I've grown accustomed to everything from tentacles to ghosts to aliens, but an actual human over the age of 40? Whoa.
Lucardo is a vampire, forever 33. His love interest, Edmund, is a 61 year old human, serving as scrivener (scribe, notary, etc) for the vampire Night Court. Their age difference is complicated by the fact that Lucardo is well over 400 years old, but physically much younger than Ed. Ed, however, feels unworthy and old at times. This could have turned into a story of "well, yeah, but I don't mind." Instead, Noora Heikkilä has written Lucardo as a tender person (and lover) who shows Ed his affection and attraction, rather than serving up empty platitudes. Readers are given an older man who is still a complete sexual and emotional being, with a lover who is deserving and appreciative of him.
The art? It's lovely. While reading, I was compelled to send a photo (above in the blog post) to a friend. I love the play of emotions over Ed's face and how Noora consistently shows us rather than tells us. It also doesn't hurt that Lucardo looks like a certain gentleman who played Jefferson in a popular musical...
As for the plot, it's more complex than I had anticipated. I was wondering how this story could be drawn out over 4 graphic novels, and now I know. I'm still not sure yet whether Lucardo's family is a) bigoted, b) evil, c) pranksters, 4) all of the above?
Two points of criticism:
1) Since readers are dropped into the story after months of flirting and conversation between Lucardo and Ed, we don't see much of what has drawn them together. (They pretty much get down to business, which is standard for erotica.) I would welcome development of their relationship via flashbacks or something.
2) WHAT THE HELL THAT ENDING. Maybe I shouldn't have started the series with only 1/4 books out.
If you'd like something sexy and sweet with a paranormal twist, this may just be the book for you. If you don't want one hell of a cliffhanger at the end? Wait a while. I'm basically sitting here stalking Iron Circus's feed waiting for the announcement of Book 2. (Yes, I'll let you know when it goes up!)
Razzmatazz is a fairy godparent, a magical entity tasked with overlooking Fairytales and their human protagonists for the duration of the tale. Humans are regarded as pretty difficult to work with by the fairies, as they keep having opinions and oppositions that derail their stories.
Razzmatazz decides that the perfect solution to get around how unaccommodating humans can be is to raise a Fairytale protagonist from infancy to her 18th birthday.
Despite his superiors telling him the idea is completely crazy, he commits to it. In doing so, he also commits to becoming co-parent with a beast named Bon, who found the child at the same time as him in the woods.
Bon and Razzmatazz settle into a human lifestyle and grow as parents, getting more and more attached to Melody. Razzmatazz begins to hesitate -confused by his feelings about his job, his new family, and Melody's future, leading both him and Bon to an important decision.
Life of Melody is a sweet, magical slice of life story for teen readers and up, originally posted as an exclusive Patreon comic.
Pick it up at your Local Comic Book Shop!
(You can also get it on Comixology)
From the first issue:
A NEW ONGOING SERIES from Lumberjanes creator GRACE ELLIS and talented newcomer SHAE BEAGLE that tells a story of monsters, romance, and magical hijinks! The first arc also includes an additional short story with artist KATE LETH! Fantasy creatures are living typical, unremarkable lives alongside humans, and barista Julie strives to be the most unremarkable of all. Normal job, normal almost-girlfriend, normal...werewolf transformations that happen when she gets upset? Yikes! But all bets are off when she and her centaur best friend Chet find themselves in the middle of a magical conspiracy. Will Julie and Chet be able to save their friends? Is Julie's dogged determination to be normal a lost cause? Who's going to watch the coffee shop while our heroes are out saving the world?? These questions and more will be answered in MOONSTRUCK, coming July 19 from Image Comics.
Issue 1 was a delightful exercise in world-building, with character introductions and little bits of plot underscored by various creatures and magical happenings in the background.
Our main characters appear to be a writer/barista werewolf and her centaur BFF and fellow barista. Julie, the wolfy one, is at the beginning of a relationship and, though we haven't yet met the lady of her affection, I'm already shipping them. Chet, a punny centaur with an ambiguous gender identity, appears to be crushing hard on a minotaur who comes in for coffee regularly.
There's also a book-within-a-book, which is total catnip for me. It's as if the creators sat down, said "what are the best things in the world? coffee? books? magic?" and then put them all in one comic.
The art is fittingly adorable and the storyline (so far) is a mix of humor, pathos, and warm fuzzies.
I'm already signed up for more.
It is 17th century France, the age of discovery and scientific revolution. Sulvain, a mysterious traveler, is absorbed in the Parisian academic scene. Through his friendship with the renowned Christiaan Huygens, Sulvain has the chance to study the latest discoveries of the distant cosmos. Deep in the library of Academy of Sciences, however, our traveler will meet Huygen's apprentice--Raziol Quamar--who will truly spark new lights in Sulvain's universe. But as the two grow closer, trouble brews in the city.
NOVAE is a beautiful comic. As of this writing, KaiJu has released two full chapters/issues and is part-way through a third. I would have kept reading this all day had I not run out of content. It's that kind of lovely.
I have a limited knowledge (and interest, tbh) in astronomy, but the building relationship between Sulvain and Raziol has got me hooked. Sulvain is mute, leaving the two to supplement their written conversation with a lot of facial expressions and touch. Long glances, subtle blushes, awkward excuses... it all rings true.
The story so far is centered around Raziol's study of Saturn's rings, a presentation, and a stargazing interlude. With humor, mystery, and a hint of something magical, this story will draw readers in and keep them there.
ADULTS ONLY My Monster Boyfriend brings three new elements to the Smut Peddler series: full color, longer stories, and a focus on not-exactly-human men! We're offering ten tales of fantastic fornication, written and illustrated by some of the most talented women in comics.
Hold on. It's about to get weird.
http://www.loveinpanels.com/comics/rewind-smut-peddler-presents-my-monster-boyfriend
Buy it at your local shop!
Blue is having a hard time moving on. He’s in love with his best friend. He’s also dead. Luckily, Hamal can see ghosts, leaving Blue free to haunt him to his heart’s content. But something eerie is happening in town, leaving the local afterlife unsettled, and when Blue realizes Hamal’s strange ability may be putting him in danger, Blue has to find a way to protect him, even if it means… leaving him.
This review is a bit late, since the 6 year old living in this household stole my copy of TAPROOT and ran off with it for a week. When I finally snagged it back and immersed myself in the beautiful, eerie world that Keezy Young created, I completely understood the 6 year old's urge to read it over and over.
Pitched as "a story about a gardener and a ghost," TAPROOT is part love story, part ghost story, part spooky fantasy. If, like me, you don't love horror but do love Halloween, this book is perfect for the season. There's a lot of eeriness to be had, particularly when Blue (the ghostie) starts being pulled through the veil. Said eeriness is balanced with beautiful verdant plant imagery and a sweet love story that transcends the limits of space and physical vitality. Without giving a spoiler, I'll warn romance readers that the HEA isn't what you probably expect/hope for in a romance.
You'll notice that I let my 6 year old read it - it's definitely something you can give to kids to read. There's a kiss, there's a bit of spooky, and some peril at one point, but it's very cute and the ghosties are kids and teens.
As for the art, you can get a pretty clear idea of Keezy Young's style based on the cover. The book is in color, with a palette of greens and browns and a muted blue that suit the book's themes of nature and life. It's a style that will either appeal to readers or be sort of "meh," and I think I fit into the latter category. The story, however, resonated with me enough that I eventually settled into the art style and ended up loving the book as a whole.
Featuring 19 comics by 23 different creators, THE OTHER SIDE is a celebration of queer romance and the paranormal! Inside, you'll find positive romance stories featuring a wide variety of queer and trans protagonists -- as well as poltergeists, shadow monsters, guitar-playing hypnotists, lost angels, genderfluid vampires, trickster ghosts, and many more!
THE OTHER SIDE features the talents of: Kou Chen, Mari Costa, Natasha Donovan, Melanie Gillman, Kori Michele Handwerker, Gisele Jobateh, Margaret Kirchner, Hannah Krieger, F. Lee, Kate Leth, Mildred Louis, Sfé R. Monster, Katie O'Neill, Amelia Onorato, Aatmaja Pandya, Fyodor Pavlov, Bitmap Prager, Ezra Rose, Britt Sabo, Bishakh K. Som, Sarah W. Searle, Laurel Varian, Mary Verhoeven, and CB Webb.
As a reader of comics and paranormal romance novels, I was reeeeally excited about this anthology. While I ended up really liking it, it wasn't what I was expecting, so here are the talking points summarized for you:
If you want a light, happy read in which you can find some queer people finding happiness with paranormal entities, this is the book for you.
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!