Webcomic Wednesday - Check, Please!

There can only be one webcomic to review this week, since the book was released this month and my copy arrived on Monday, and that is Check, Please! by Ngozi Ukazu.

I first started reading Check Please as a webcomic a couple of years ago. The artwork is a joy with  thick lines and clear, uncluttered framing that provides a perfect canvas for the expressive, character driven story. It's a sports story based around college hockey, but it's much much more: coming out, fitting in, being different, dealing (or not) with expectations and a glorious slow burn gay romance. Eric 'Bitty' Bittle is the cutest bloody narrator in the history of narrators, and is surrounded by a cast of amazing secondary characters. I love this comic. So much that I bought the book.

Check, Please! Book 1   

Eric Bittle may be a former junior figure skating champion, vlogger extraordinaire, and very talented amateur pâtissier, but being a freshman on the Samwell University hockey team is a whole new challenge. It is nothing like co-ed club hockey back in Georgia! First of all? There’s checking (anything that hinders the player with posession of the puck, ranging from a stick check all the way to a physical sweep). And then, there is Jack—his very attractive but moody captain.

A collection of the first half, freshmen and sophmore year, of the megapopular webcomic series of the same name, Check, Please!: #Hockey is the first book of a hilarious and stirring two-volume coming-of-age story about hockey, bros, and trying to find yourself during the best four years of your life. This book includes updated art and a hilarious, curated selection of Bitty's beloved tweets.

Amazon Buy Link


This book combines Year 1 and 2. Years 3 and 4 will be combined in a volume due out 'Fall' 2019. But of course I couldn't wait until then to have more printed Check, Please! in my life. I've bought Year 3 from the Kickstarter (although I'll probably buy this combined volume too. Don't tell anyone).

Link to the start of the webcomic: Check Please 

There's also a store if you want other bits and pieces, or the book in Year format. 

That's Bitty in the middle there. Bless his little cottons

Check, Please is a slow-burn romance. Very slow burn. But there is swearing and talk of drinking and carousing as you would expect from a book set around a group of (mostly) male 18 to 23 year olds. I'd say it is definitely YA and probably teen suitable, depending on your teen.

This comes highly recommended. If you read the webcomic and want to shell out for the physical book I can confirm that the quality of the book is exceptional. I have the softback, which has beautiful glossy, raised artwork on the cover and clear, gorgeously coloured glossy internal pages. Each page features two panels from the comic.

Webcomic Wednesday - Get Your Man

First off, Webcomic Wednesday is appearing on Friday because Kami is attending Thought Bubble in Leeds this weekend and if you're there I suggest you pop by the Dragonhide table and grab a copy.

On with the rec:

If you don't like explicit smut in your comics, then look away now. But you'll be missing a treat.

Get You Man is a comic about a Mountie and his Scottish doctor (boy)friend!

These characters exist in several Alternate Universes. It's probably best that I send you to the website to explain. About Get Your Man.

Blurb

GYM is a sex-positive, romantic and erotic webcomic about Francis & Charles - a couple usually, but not always, depicted as a Canadian Mountie and Scottish Doctor.
Not always - because their stories span various fabulous universes!
They've been robots, vampires & werewolves, dogs & fleas, humans & aliens, high school kids, goats, coffee shop employees, space explorers and even Vegetables!

Their adventures usually revolve around their blossoming meetings and romances - often with sexy results. Like, really sexy.


Buy links

Paper copy
PDF


I read the Omnibus Edition, which I picked up at comic con, and contains the coffee shop AU and future robot Francis, with some 90s AU, 1900 AU, vampireFrancis AU, and wereCharles AU.

The Coffee Shop AU takes up most of this book. A good choice because it is absolutely fan-bloody-tastic. Cute and sexy.

I immediately followed that read with the short single story volume: Get Your Man - Microbiology

Blurb

This time, Doctor Charles Pemberton awakes to find himself inside his own body, being guided by the mysterious Francis, who claims to be a white blood cell.
Will they escape a deadly infection? What exactly happened to cause this strange adventure? And will Charles keep his hands to himself for 5 minutes? ... Probably not?

Buy Links

Paper copy


Haha. I loved this. I'm not going to say too much, I don't want to give the story away, but it's sweet and sexy and funny.

And since I appear to be pimping everything in the store I have these prints and they are glorious.

Now if I could just get a butts mug I'll be happy.

Want to try before you buy? You can read the adventures of Charles and Francis at this tumblr account: http://getyourmancomic.tumblr.com/


Links

Website: Get Your Man
Twitter: @kamidog
Tumblr: superkamiokande

Webcomic Wednesday - Taproot

Okay, I have a confession to make. That title might be slightly misleading in that I don't know if this was originally a webcomic. I read this in graphic novel form, having picked it up in the LGBTQ section at Dave's comic book shop in Brighton. (I know that part won't be of interest to most people, but if you're in the area it's well worth a visit.) On to my recommendation for this Wednesday.



Taproot 
by Keezy Young

A story about a gardener and a ghost

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.

My Two Pennies' Worth

The tag line says it all, this is a story about a gardener and a ghost. It's a gentle story of Hamal, who works in a flower shop, and is the only person who can see the ghosts, and Blue, a ghost who is in love with Hamal. The story takes a darker turn when we discover why Hamal is the only one who can see the ghosts and a sacrifice is required to put things right. Those few poignant pages made me weep. But never fear, there is a happy ending to this tale.

The artwork is perfect for the style of story being told, very gentle with muted colours.

I loved the two leads, a young man that people think is a bit crazy because he talks 'to himself' and a ghost killed in a motor accident. Their relationship as friends is beautiful and when they finally declare their love for each other, well, yes you can imagine what I was doing at that point. There are secondary characters, some alive and some ghosts, but it is the otherworldly reaper that gets my vote for best secondary character; they're a scream.

This comic has no explicit panels or curse words. And I would consider it suitable for everyone from 9 to 99. It's certainly suitable for teenagers and YA readers.


Buy Links 

Since I'm a bit a a stickler for these kind of things I'd suggest going to your local comic book shop to try and pick this up (if we don't use them, we'll lose them). But you can buy this on Amazon.

Amazon UK
Amazon US

It's here on Goodreads, if you want to add it to your shelf or check out other reviews.


Links for the author

Website: http://www.keezyyoung.com/
Twitter: @KeezyBees

I'll be checking out their other work, Never Heroes (which is currently an ongoing webcomic), soon. Seriously, look at that artwork.

Webcomic Wednesday - Finding Home

Last Webcomic Wednesday I introduced you to a a funny sexy comic about demons. Today I couldn't get any further from that. 

Today I want to rec to you, Finding Home (Vol 1: The Traveller) by Hari Conner. 

Finding Home is a slow-burn romance about nature, magic, anxiety, and growing close to someone. Two friends on a long journey find out more about each other than they expect.

I was lucky enough to back this project on Kickstarter and get my own physical copy. As you can see from the cover, the art work is beautiful, and this quality of artwork can be found inside too.

It's a beautiful story of two travelling companions getting to know each other as they travel. Gentle storytelling and a calming colour palette makes this a relaxing read.

I can't wait for Volume 2.




Find:
Hari on Twitter
Finding Home on Tapas
Hari's Patreon

If you want a physical copy of the book (and why wouldn't you) you can preorder it here.

Webcomic Wednesday - Exorcism Academy

Well, this is a new feature.

I've just read the best webcomic and I wanted to share it with you all.




Exorcism Academy: Exorcise your demons

At the Exorcism Academy, agents are trained to operate in the field, to exorcise demons from the people and places they inhabit. To exorcise demons, you need a demon’s Sight and Strength. To get it, you’ve got to be willing to bond with a demon ripped from The Void. And sometimes, what comes through The Void will take you to dark places you never thought you’d visit.

This is a NSFW 18+ comic.There’s foul language, violence, religious themes/implications, nudity, and graphic gay sex, so beware!

If you’d like to read the censored version of this comic (sexual nudity is blacked out), it’s available on Tapas!

Other Links: Twitter // Tumblr // Patreon 

This comic is funny, sexy,  but still with plenty of feels and action. The world building is great and there's a huge cast of characters all with their own personalities and quirks. And the MCs, Al and Ethan, they are adorable, even if Ethan shouts a lot.

I'm all caught up with the 255 pages that are up so far and I'll be keeping my eye on any new updates.

Hard to pick a favourite panel, but this one makes my heart melt.



For your information, from the website:

When does this comic update? Every other Saturday with two pages uploaded at a time!

Why are some of the pages in pencil and the rest are inked and colored? When I first started EA I didn’t have access to a tablet monitor and felt I could complete pages faster if I kept them as pencils. The further I got in, however, the more I decided I’d rather have a uniform look, and once I picked up a tablet I began doing pages digitally instead of traditionally. I’m working on completing all of the early penciled pages in order to make a published book/digital downloads in the future!