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Queer Book Character Tournament Round One
Henry Jekyll- The Glass Scientists
Jack Sheppard- Confessions of the Fox
Nyneve- Witchy
Shen (Yuan) Qingqiu- The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System
Character, book, and author names under the cut
little buddies doodle before bed ✨
read witchy by ariel ries
support me on ko-fi!
...
So one thing we learned this week is if the protagonist of this next webcomic can survive being on the run from the Witch Guard, we can survive schoolwork and moving house!
Today’s spotlight is on Witchy by @arielries.
Updates: Monday Recommended if you liked: Amulet (Kazu Kibuishi), Howl’s Moving Castle, Mistborn (Brandon Sanderson), Wand Wars, NewsPrints (Ru Xu)
Witchy follows Nyneve Ahmadzai, a witch who is haunted by her father’s death. When conscription day for the Witch Guard comes to her school, Nyneve has to choose between joining the same guard that was complicit in her father’s death… or make a decision unheard of in the kingdom of Hyalin.
The world of Hyalin revolves around magic that is directly related to the length of one’s hair. Long hair means strong magic; hair too long, however, means you’re a threat to the kingdom and likely to become a victim of a witch burning.
The magical system is so fantastic, not only because it’s a unique manifestation of magic but also because it opens up a dialogue around the significance of a “specific kind of hair” and how that relates to one’s future success. The weight behind hair’s appearance in our world is translated into something fantastical and open for deconstructing in Witchy. Ries does a good job in showing how this focus on one’s appearance is often manipulated by other characters - those who charm their hair to look longer and gain attention, or shorter to avoid attention.
There are other subtle clues into the culture that Ries throws into conversations, which makes the world of Witchy feel rich and authentic. Characters will refer to “children’s games” or “banned books” - speaking volumes of what exists within this world through the short mentions in conversation. It keeps an air of mystery while not completely excluding the reader.
Still need a reason to jump into this adventure? Ries defines the comic as “a melting pot fantasy world influenced by cultures spanning continental Asia, where everyone’s Asian and no one is straight.”
More interested in the visual? When you look through the archive (after getting caught up that is!) you can see the effort that Ries has put into evoking mood through colour. You can identify, even at a glance, where the humourous, sad, angry, joyful scenes are - and that’s pretty awesome.
Read it HERE from the beginning!
Support independent artists! Ariel Ries’s Patreon
Cry Wolf Girl is about a Girl who feels she is going mad, she truely believes there are wolves. And there is a Wolf Hunter. And he is strange and quiet and apart.
And at the end, at the very end, when everyone else has turned their back on her and blamed her and left her.
The Wolf Hunter still cares about the wolves.
He understands her pain. Her pain matters too. He will always listen.
And the Wolf Hunter stays. He stays. She isnt magically all better and he still fucking stays.
Fuck man, why does everyone always get saved by someone? But i always have to save myself? Its not fair. Fuck i hate myself so much. And then!! They say you need to practice feeling safe in relationships but that only works if you have access to a safe relationship which you cant force anyone to give you, you just have to be lucky and good enough. Its not fair. I feel like such a pathetic child. Im so ashamed.
Big school holidays at Squishface!
There's a lot happening at Squishface Comic Studio in Jan. We wanted to stack the month with a lot of events. Mostly for kids, but also for large kids (adults).
Squishface Comic Studio 14th birthday party! Sat Jan 4, 10am-2pm, free entry It's Squishface's birthday! Coaster drawing and cake! Yes, we're an awkward tween! Deal with it, Mum! OMG you are SO EMBARRASSING!
Squishbook workshop at Squishface Comic Studio! Wed Jan 8, 11am-12pm, $5 to bring up to 4 children Finally, we're running a Squishbook kids workshop at Squishface Studio! Bring the family.
Artists-in-residence at Artery in Hobart Sat Jan 11, in-store residency from 12pm, then a Squishbook workshop from 2:30pm We're going to hang out and draw at Hobart's finest art store/framer. Join us! If you want to bring some kids to the afternoon workshop, just let the Artery team know: [email protected] or call (03) 6234 3788.
Squishbook workshop at Bentleigh Library Wed 15 Jan, 11am-12:30pm, free entry but please book Hey Glen Eira, join us for some Squishbook action!
Comics workshop at Diamond Valley Library Fri 17th Jan, residency from 10am-4pm, manga workshop at 11am, free entry but please book Sarah will be artist-in-residence at Diamond Valley from 10am-4pm, and at 11am will be running a One Piece-inspired manga workshop!
Squishface Summer Workshop Day with Sarah Howell, Lily Mae Martin and Ariel Ries Sat Jan 18, 9:30am-12:30pm, $30 per workshop or $75 for all three Really excited about this. A huge morning of skills sharing from three amazing artists who coincidentally have also been Squishfacers. Suitable for all ages.
Manga workshops at Hyphen Wodonga Library Gallery, Wodonga, Vic Mon Jan 20, 8-12s session: 11:30am-12:30pm, 13-16s session: 1:30-3:30pm We're running some manga-inspired workshops at Hyphen! No booking link yet.
Squishbook workshop at Campbell Turnbull Library, West Brunswick Thu Jan 23, 10:30-11:30am, free entry but please book Great to be back in Brunstown for some Squishbook action! Maybe all the Brunswick kids we used to teach will bring THEIR kids along!
Squishbook workshop at Squishface Comic Studio! Fri Jan 24, 11am-12pm Can't make it to our Jan 8 workshop? Here's another one to close out the school holidays with.
Witchy by Ariel Ries won the Ignatz Award this year for “Outstanding Online Comic.” Here’s a description of the long-running webcomic:
Witchy is an ongoing webcomic about the young witch Nyneve, who is haunted by the death of her father and the threat the Witch Guard poses to her own life. When conscription rolls around, Nyneve has a choice to make; join the institution complicit in her father’s death, or stand up for her ideals?
The first volume of Witchy is also available in print.
✨Review✨
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I absolutely loved the graphic novel that was included in last month’s @owlcrate 🌟Witchy by @arielries @onipress was an amazing tale about a kingdom called Hyalin where a witches strength is thought to be directly connected to the length of their hair. The witches determined to be assets to the Witch Guard are conscripted to enforce the laws including killing witches deemed a threat because their hair is too long/power too great. What happens when a witch questions all of this, cuts her hair, and goes to find answers?
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The art was amazing, and the adventure story was exciting enough to leave me wanting more. I have so many questions with how this book ended, and feel like the story just got started. Please tell me this is a series and another volume is coming soon to tell us what is in store for Nyneve and the whole kingdom of Hyalin?!?⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Do you enjoy witchy stories, graphic novel or otherwise?
