Favorite independent/lesser known comics?
Hey all! I love that comics has its own tag now. So in that vein, I'd like to ask what are some smaller comics you read? Any kind; oneshots, long running epics, webcomics, anthologies, anything that just might not be from a big publisher like marvel or just something that you think deserves more attention.
A few of my personal favorite webcomics are Phantomarine (hosted on website of the same name), as well as City of Blank(on webtoon).
Phantomarine is a maritime mystery with an intriguing world and (for me)absolutely tantalizing central question. A big reveal just happened, so it's an interesting time to read!
City of Blank is an action/mystery about a world in which creatures called Blanks can steal your face(and memories). It's in the final season, and I would say that following the third season it's the best so far.
Ok, your turn!
Some favorites of mine are:
Wilde Life - Wilde Life is a supernatural adventure/horror series set in a small town in rural Oklahoma. It focuses on stories about creatures from Native American mythology as witnessed and documented by a journalist from Chicago, Illinois.
Adventures with Eggie - Eliana "Eggie" Fisher is a clumsy disaster of a girl whose primary skill in life is to make a lot of noise. When an unexpected twist of fate begs many world-shaking questions, she and her mercenary older sister, Malene, must leave their hometown to seek answers, find new friends, and battle against a threat they didn't know existed.
Tales from Alderwood - Katherine is a confident young wizard living on the streets with a penchant for learning new spells. When she attempts a teleportation spell that is just a little too advanced for her, she accidentally finds herself flung into the house and employment of Hechoton Sinclair, the man who led Alderwood into an era of rapid technological advancement.
RedGreenBlue - No neat summary on this one, it contains one-shots and is just a funny take on internet culture stuff.
Thanks so much for these! I'll check out all of them but Wilde Life and Tales from Alderwood really stuck out to me! Good taste 🤌
Wilde Life is easily my favorite of the ones I named. It's got excellent characters and humor. Make sure to mouse over the comics, there is hover text there.
I'll second Adventures with Eggie. I've been reading since early on in the run. It just started getting really interesting and I'm excited for the next chapter.
Clover and Cutlass - The child of an Orc Warlord and a Dark Necromancer who doesn't want to follow in their parent's footsteps to bring about the end of the world.
Brothers - Postmasters fight monsters in towns ignored by the fighting nuns.
Star Impact - Boxers get special powers if they can find the gloves that fit them!
In Blood We Rise - A human from a noble witch household constantly associates with those his family hunts.
I read so many webcomics but are a few I haven't seen mentioned yet. I can add a slew more if anyone has any specific genre interests.
Oh my gosh, your comment is like a treasure trove. I would love to hear more recs from you, got any sci fi or mystery?
Oh DO I!
Sci fi! Cassiopeia Quinn - One amazing space rogue and her badass cyborg partner do crime and sponsor orphans while dodging the law... but is someone behind the scenes really pulling the strings all along???
Mystery Freakshow - This whole comic is really hard to explain but it is mysteries in mysteries.
A couple more that I just discovered and really enjoyed are.
Court of Roses A half-elf bard full of love and joy joins forces with other bards of unique skills and try to save the world while also saving themselves!
The Witch Door - A person dealing with trauma and stress finds she is next door to a witch who, after being introduced by a cat, decides to help her.
I gotta say there's only a few that I get excited when they update, though I read a lot of them. Those are Countdown to Countdown, Covenant, Exorcism Academy (18+), The Croaking and Vamp Sabbath. All MLM and LGBTQ+.
There's Love Bot which says S2 has ended and will come back and honestly I'm pretty excited. It's sci-fi and kinda deals with what it means to be human/a person and have emotions. And Heir's Game which did make me shed some tears and gets a literal visceral with the injuries sometimes though I wouldn't describe it as a gory comic. It's finished and honestly a good ride.
I love webcomics. <3
Oh I love Countdown to Countdown! The artist illustrated a new comic out on tapas called Daughter of a Thousand Faces, which I have been enjoying a lot. I also liked Lovebot and Muted(from the same creator).
I did read Covenant and Croaking but I stopped reading awhile ago for some reason, do you recommend picking them back up?
That depends on why you stopped reading them, to be honest! I think both those comics are just now getting to the point where they are starting to answer the questions posed by the premise (what is the Croaking and what does Gabriel really want). I definitely recommend picking them back up.
Though, I gotta say, I love Covenant but this season the art hasn't been as good as it used to be, I think because Webtoons is being too demanding on the artists (and iirc there's three now, explodikid, an inker, and someone who does flats) which sucks :(
I see! Actually that does entice me to keep reading so I'll check them out soon, I quit a few months ago. Maybe I really did stop reading before it got good haha.
Yeah I do notice that a lot, artists putting a lot of effort into first season art but then realizing that's too demanding so they have to scale it back for their health. And yeah that makes sense, more crew means chances for it to be less consistent. But if it helps the artists to be in a better place overall, I can't complain.
IDK if it's necessarily lesser known (though it seems like I never see it mentioned anywhere), but Kevin and Kell claims to be the longest running daily webcomic starting in 1995 (and the website is very much retro now in its unchanged design). It did get published in a newspaper for a bit, so IDK if that counts as independent, but maybe because the website is so 90s it definitely still feels like some dude in a basement posting their drawings for sheer love of it.
Mind, not all of the strips or storylines are good, but if you've got time to kill there's literally almost 3 decades of daily archives to read through.
Oh wow, I've just gone and looked at the site and I love the vibe and character designs. I'll definitely check it out!
If you're a fan of horror/psychological thrillers, I highly recommend Bastard, Sweet Home, and its prequel, Shotgun Boy. If you want a shorter, punchier title, I'd suggest Wolfsbane. All of these can be found on Webtoon.
Bastard: ~90 ep. A phenomenal horror webcomic. I will say nothing more, go into this completely blind. For a general reference, I felt this was vaguely similar to Killing Stalking, with its emphasis on the mental anguish of the protagonist, but with slightly tamer gore.
Shotgun Boy: ~70 ep. This is a prequel to, and should be read after, Sweet Home. As such, I can't give much in terms of plot, but it involves the classic tale of an underdog victim trying to stand up to his bully.
Sweet Home: ~140 ep. A boy is stuck in an apartment complex with a few other survivors in the midst of a large-scale monster invasion. A great character study of how different people deal with pressure, solid monster design, and actually believable decision-making, all come together to deliver this home run of a webcomic.
Wolfsbane: 26 ep. The shortest of my suggestions can easily be knocked out in 20-30 min. Revolves around a family of monster hunters that has been dwindled down to the last daughter, hunting the last living werewolf before she can finally live in peace. It's a very bland description, but I offer it so as to not spoil any of the many revelations that occur throughout the reading. Great character development for its length.
I have plenty more where these came from, mostly action-adventure/drama webtoons, but all worth the read; wasn't sure if you would be interested given what you said you had read in your post, but let me know if you are.
Oh, I'd heard of Sweet home and Shotgun Boy all over the place but never actually got it sold to me. Well, I'm interested. (and the other ones. I might actually read Wolfsbane rn while i wind down)
Go ahead and post your other favs, I might not end up liking them but maybe someone else will!
Good idea! Here are some action webtoons:
The Boxer: ~135 ep. The story is about an overwhelmingly dominant boxer. Pretty simple premise, but it delves into the psychology of obsession, mortality, and as a plus, a few satisfying bully beat-downs! Features crisp artwork and gives near EVERY character a strong a compelling story
Eleceed: (Ongoing 250+ ep) A boy gifted with supernatural speed has hidden his secret from the world until he falls headfirst into the world of "awakeners", people gifted with similar abilities that are split up into factions and groups, and our protag is completely clueless. Follow him as he tries to make his way through this brand-new world full of people that try to kill him. Quite often.
Potential spoiler for Eleceed
No clue if this turns out to be true, but the protagonist, Jiwoo, has seemed to learn Kayden Braek's electric ability despite having a speed base. This could mean that anyone can learn any skill, given that have an affinity for that ability, which would make sense given that there are ENTIRE orgs full of people using the same element (wind, fire, etc.). So this could be affinity since some orgs are family-based, or the families just chose to always teach their kids the same element, and since no one else has the same experience teaching said element, their descendants would be the most powerful users of the element. But that's just a theory. Don't worry, I won't say it.God of Highschool: ~550 ep. If you've watched the anime and are turned off by the suggestion, don't be - the anime tried to fit 100 chapters into 13 episodes, so the development didn't really carry over. Also, the webtoon does a MUCH better job of explaining pretty much all of the integral moving parts of the world of GOH. If you haven't watched the anime: A boy named Mori Jin loves to fight. A lot. He earns an entry to a tournament called "The God of High School". Chaos ensues, long friendships are made, time skips happen, and characters are developed well. The only thing I'll say is that so much ends up happening that over the webtoons near decade-long run, it can get a bit difficult to remember every little thing.
Weak Hero: (Ongoing 300 ep) A small, frail student named Gray Yeon transfers to a school full of bullies in an area ruled by school gangs united under the banner of the Union, an organization run by the terrifying and indomitable Donald Na. Turns out that despite his appearance, Gray Yeon is a badass, using dirty street-fighting tactics paired with an intimate knowledge of martial arts and his opponent's habits to completely dismantle them.
Hanlim Gym: (Ongoing 150+ ep) A tough guy is humiliated by a fighter wearing the name of Hanlim Gym on his jacket. In an effort to get back at the fighter, the protagonist, Yeongha, uncovers a massive cage-fighting scene, the king of which is...Suho Kang. Follow him as he tries to beat Suho Kang. You can probably tell, it's quite basic, but very compelling through the character's backstories.
Lookism: (Ongoing 450+ ep) A loser named Daniel Park has had enough. Sick of the bullying he decides to move away to another school in another town, leaving his old life behind and reinventing himself. He doesn't start off great, getting beat up soon after his arrival, but then he wakes up the next morning in a different body. A better body. Taller, more handsome, and as he will soon find out, far more capable of fighting. This started off as more of a drama, going into detail about body image issues and social problems in Korea, but it has since taken a turn for the more extreme. I won't say worse, because it still definitely touches on problems, but they are certainly more dramatized, with long, incredibly drawn fights, intense hype spanning hundreds of chapters long, and a strong narrative throughout. The art style gets a major glow-up, as do some character designs, so it's quite a solid entry on this list. Not to say the art was bad before, it was just more simple and not as dynamic.
Hectopascal: (Ongoing 40+ ep) Super straightforward concept: Dude wants to beat up a gang group called Nexus and gets funded to do so. Obviously, there's more going on, but action very much takes center stage and most surrounding events are just to connect incredible, multi-chapter-long fights. The story certainly has a solid foundation to get far more complex, but for now, taking this as just a great fighting webtoon is enough imo.
some thriller/dramas (with a touch of horror):
The Horizon: 23 ep. Very short, and very emotionally impacting. Great high concepts about mortality, loss, and perseverance. Highly recommend.
Distant Sky: 110-120 ep. When Hanuel Kang wakes up in the pitch black and finds himself among the ruins of Korea, it becomes immediately clear that something is wrong. That's all I'll say, this story is absolutely insane, very high-octane, mind-bending, and absolutely worth binging now that it's over.
The Retreats: ~50 ep. This is a classic tale where the rich and poor are separated and the only way to change this is for the poor to compete and kill each other for a chance at a better life, I think there's a show with this same basic premise. This webtoon actually never delves into the competition save for two chapters, and that's all I can say because it really is extraordinarily difficult to pitch this webtoon without spoiling some things that need to experience firsthand to be appreciated. The ending though, was a little lazy. It gets cut off too soon without closure. Great up till then though.
Tales of the Unusual: Anthology series about different little horror scenarios. Basic, but extremely effective.
Let's Play: I just wanted to mention this because apparently the creator is no longer released in the 4th season of the series due to conflicts regarding age restrictions and lack of title promotion, so this title is a little locked up. It is, however, deserving of a cursory glance; It's a romance webtoon but uses comedy and themes of self-improvement that are genuinely refreshing to see.
Enjoy! I got a little lazy in some parts and was a bit stingy with some information, but in many of these cases, it's the small bits of info that made the bigger moments hit so much harder and I didn't want to diminish any of the impacts.
Wow you're a saint! Tysm! I've also read Tales of the Unusual and you're right, it's simple spooky tales done well.
I also did read Wolfsbane the other night and really enjoyed, so thank you! The art was so cool, you don't often see traditional art on webtoon I feel.
So I have three main ones I'm reading at the moment - all webcomics. Most of the other stuff I read tends to be manga.
Wilde Life has already been mentioned, but I really can't recommend it enough. It's got awesome characters, good humour, and the art is gorgeous, especially the splash pages.
Go Get A Roomie is an NSFW (from the very beginning) comic about a hippie girl and her band of friends. It delves into relationships a lot, and there's a bunch of LGBTQ+ characters that get explored. It's good fun, but has also gotten me to think a lot about love and life, and definitions of both of them. It's currently on a re-release, updating Mon-Fri.
Order of the Stick is a super long running comic following a group of characters set in a world that runs on D&D 3.5. It starts off as a gag-a-day with plenty of jokes about the setting and rules, but quickly develops into a story with incredible depth and complex characters, whilst keeping the humour. It updates... uh... infrequently. But you'll have almost 1300 comics to go through before you're caught up.
Similar premise to order of the Stick: Darths and Droids.
But, ( AFAIK since OOTS is still on my to-do list ) unlike OOTS, DaD bases its plotlines creatively on those of the movies, going through them in screencaps which are turned into parts of the sessions.
E: And I'm pretty sure they're still ongoing, updating somewhat regularly, but I feel behind some time ago and haven't caught up yet so I might be mistaken.
Oh those last two I've heard mentioned around!
Just so I know what I'm in for irt order of the stick, is it like an ava's demon situation where everyone is basically convinced the author will never finish the work? I don't know if my heart can take another of those.
No, the updates still do come out, but slowly and irregularly. The author injured his hand quite badly some time ago (there's a comic that makes fun of it) so it takes him a while to write and draw them. And I think they're also slow because they're well-written.
It's not abandoned, nor do I think it will be. Rich is writing a really good story, and I trust him to end it well.
https://rosemarymosco.com/comics/bird-and-moon
Cute comics about nature.
https://www.ohjoysextoy.com/
Sex positive info and education about sex, gender, health and a lot of taboo stuff.
https://www.oglaf.com/
Goofy, raunchy sex comics in a medieval fantasy setting.
Tysm for these! I'd actually heard of oh joy sex toy before but never actually read it. Clicked in and immediately learned something new!
I'm not sure how lesser-known it is, but I never hear anyone talking about it - The Maxx is far and away my favorite series I've ever read. I believe it ran for a few years in the mid-90s - my first exposure to it was the late-night MTV cartoon. There was a crossover with Batman not too long ago, just a little miniseries, but other than that if I recall correctly the Maxx himself is part of the Image comics universe.
It's a bit weird, and deals with some very dark themes. The art is fantastic though, and the characters are great. The whole book carries that same weird 90s angst/escapist feeling you can find in books like Transmetropolitan.
It's been ages since I've kept up with it since they discontinued Image Direct, but I really loved Monstress. The art is fantastic and the designs are beautiful and terrifying. It's in a unique fantasy world with eldritch abominations, and the main character is a very angry woman who can and will kill you if you cross her. It's got basically everything I love about comics as a medium.
Skottie Young is one of my all time favorite artists and his I Hate Fairyland is fantastic. It’s light hearted and irreverent and violent. Very fun read.
Check out is work on The Wonderful Oz which is also fantastic.
One of my favorites is Existential Comics a humorous webcomic about philosophy and philosophers.
Bit out of date on it, but Sleepless Domain by Mary Cagle is lesser known and pretty cool. It's about magical girls! Takes place in a city where people lock themselves in at night as monsters fill the streets, and magical girls come out to clean up. It's awesome! Great world building, dark at times, very emotional at other times, lovable characters.