#spellastra

[princejuls]

[alexissara]

THE Comics Of The Year 2023

I'm Alexis Sara, and if you don't know me then you should know I am an Eisner [among several other award] winning comics writer and I eventually kinda left behind comics because of a massive feeling of burn out and a lack of hope for the industry. However, I utterly adore the medium and I do enjoy comics still even if mostly in indie form or Manga. Manga of the year is a separate post since I just read more Manga and I wanted to talk about more comics overall so this section is all non manga stuff from Webcomics to graphic novels to single issue type deals, everything I read is up for consideration.

Extreme Venomverse #4 Necroko story 

This story makes me even more mad than I am every day about the state of the public domain. Stan Lee is dead, he doesn't need Spider-man money but Marvel will for many many many more years hoard the amazing ideas made by so many other people that relate to spider-man and even when Spider-man enters the public domain Disney will sue people for using any part of spider-man that doesn't come from the debut time and is still with in their copyright. So an amazing character like Nercroko is stuck at the whims of some editor to see if the creators can bring her back, for how long they can bring her back, they get to decide how gay she is allowed to be, how violent, if the story fits their brand image and if a random event has her erased from the timeline or something to fuel a mans pain or something. Which is to say fuck Marvel comics, don't buy their stuff but I read this story and it's really fucking good, 12/10 it's not really worth buying Extreme Venomverse cuz the other stories are mid but as fuck but this little short story if you could find it at retail value for a single issue of Venomverse #4 pick it up for sure. It's a venom magical girl who is gay, just great, perfect, brilliant, inspirational.

IDW Sonic 

You expect to see the sapphics from me and there here, for real, but I really enjoy this series in general. Whisper and Tangle are my main draw but I did enjoy Sonic video games a lot when I was younger so the characters, designs, etc are always something I just like seeing. The IDW comics bring a great consistent art style that makes the world of sonic feel very alive, stylish an cool. The new characters are all people I want to show up as playable in new sonic games and the story lines all feel like they would be exciting to see in a video game. These comics are really well done and while it could be more explicit in allowing it's original characters to be queer [I understand main game characters not being able to have romance to give the game devs space] it's still a good time.

Ladykillers

I love when the lesbians are on an adventure, when they are poly, when they are silly, and we got it all here. Ladykillers is a silly D&D inspired webcomic that has these cute little dumbasses go on quests and get into trouble. It starts pretty one shotty and eventually gets into a continuous narrative. If you loved Bauldr's Gate but wished it was just about like three homoerotic girls getting into silly trouble, this one is for you.

My Dragon Girlfriend

My Dragon Girlfriend every year is a top series for me. The release format of release makes each update a very small dose of a larger narrative but these little romances are all compelling and sweet and fun filled with silly little sapphics. While the newest couple added in is the one I am least compelled by I still enjoyed them. The art is really cute and sweet, the way emotion is portrayed is handled really well, Country really knows how to capture emotion within the medium and masters making good use out of all the little details.

Grand Slam Romance

I don't like sports but if lesbian magical girls played soft ball I would have to convert to being the number ones sports girly. The messy lesbian drama here is so good and the jokes are really great, when I grabbed this I kinda worried it be YA toned which typically doesn't sit well with me but luckily this is in fact adult fiction for adults that just has a strong sense of whimsy. It's a really great read and I hope a lot more people check it out because it's super good and even has a follow up book coming out.

SpellAstra

These lesbians have issues and I am so fucking here for it. We got a trio of queer witches casting spells, fighting monsters, etc who are all also teachers for a school of other witches. One of the party turns into a demon if her seal is broken which causes her to get all violent and feral, one has a magical artifact tied to a bigger play happening across the universes of the world and the final is holding secrets she doesn't want to share. From there their issues run into each other, they deal with new problems they cause, their love lives get complicated and we find out the truth of all the messy lesbian fun that is unleashed between them. The translation is sometimes a little wonky but if you can forgive a self published self translation to English for sometimes saying words a little wrong but still understandably then damn there just isn't really a story like SpellAstra I've read.

Mage & Demon Queen 

After following this series for so many years it finally finished. This action comedy yuri series is fucking amazing from start to finish a fun time with some of the best jokes across all of comics for nerdy little sapphics like me. I do think near the end of the series we spend too much time with the men of the cast who simply were not the draw for me at all but they got a lot of panel time but outside of that small preference so much of this series is so perfect it's hard to even fault the parts that are a little less great.

Pink Sugar 

What a fucking book, what a queer gift that this exists, that we live in a world where this is being released on webtoon [and a ton of other places] gives me hope for queer art and art in general. This story is lesbian in the deepest ways, with the diversity of lesbians that I want to see. Masc Non Binary Lesbians, bigger fem lesbians, trans lesbians, all falling in love with each other in these gloriously sweet ways. This series is truly queer in the most real sense. The presentation of the afterlife is innovative and fun. the comedy is great, the chemistry between all four of this polycule is great, the romantic moments are super sweet, the art's fantastic, the pacing is great and all of that lends to some really fucking heart breaking moments to as we get into the deep feelings of these dead women. This is one of the best stories being told right now and maybe ever. I love Pink Sugar, I beg of you to check it out. It's currently kickstarting a physical version if your reading this near release of this post then you should go back it. You can read it for free, if you like it, back it.

If you want to help me enjoy more art then consider checking out my Patreon or Ko-fi and giving me a little bit of cash so I can do more of this kind of writing but also like make lots of my own art, art is hard to make and costs money and like maintain my chronically ill and trans body also takes money so anything helps, thank you. If you want more details on any of these I do have reviews for many of the pieces of art above but you can also let me know you want more and maybe I'll write more.

[neptunejheart]

I am currently in love with Nova Stanfield from the Webtoon, Spellastra by Zephylith. Omg! 🥰😊 She reminds me of myself in some aspects so ofc I'm in love with her🤷🏻‍♀️ she's got depth. All the characters do actually. I really like the Webtoon in general. I'm just hyperfixated on her.

All of the characters are hot as fuck. The art is fabulous & I enjoyed the story. I am looking forward to seeing how the story plays out. I need more!! The Webtoon is SO SAPPHIC 🥰 I love it!!

[alexissara]

SpellAstra Season 1 - Quick Review

SpellAstra is a really beautiful webcomic by Zephylilth. They are a french artist and translate the comics themselves into English. This leads to some awkward phrasing but if you can get past this you are in for one of the best pieces of lesbian fiction being written right now. It's a super fun magical setting that has clearly been something the author has been super dedicated to for many tears before this book and it's very "comic books" without any of the baggage of these big comic book universes. She has several series she wrote before this and their all tied into this same world but the story doesn't need you to know that she had one of the characters in a different comic, you'll know everything you need to know about the returning characters when they show up.

The main trio of the cast has some fun messy lesbians with a nice age gap and plenty of layers of potentially problematic and dramatic that is just so delicious and fun and romantic and enticing. I'd want to take a bite out of this comic it's so fucking delicious. It's like exactly the kind of self indulgent art people deserve to make and it's so fun and well drawn with some of the sexiest women I've sever seen in a comic. We got demon girls, we got magic witches, violence, alterative dimensions, it's got everything good, a buffet but it all works as a cohesive narrative.

The basic plot is simple multi axis story telling with a basic plot of the demon plane being up to something and our characters being caught up in the events while each has their own narrative. Mana is in love with Nova her mentor and now co-worker/Teammate but also has a demon sealed inside her she must restrain. Nova is dealing with the trauma of her past and a means to correct it all while being trying to maintain a professional relationship with the woman she is in love with. Syphea is most directly dealing with the overall plot when her weapon of choice is the target of a demons plan but also she has a romance brewing with a single mom with a bad ex husband. Their stories are connected and interlinked and they bring in more characters, more conflict and it's just juicy and fun.

Personally I love messy polyam lesbian Roda and there was a big plot twist with her at the end of season one I really hope she stays as utterly delicious to deal with as she was before. If you want a fun, dramatic and juicy time I really commend this webcomic and it's free so like, just do it.

If you enjoy these reviews you can read more, I write lots of them and if you really enjoy them I can always use support over on Patreon and Ko-fi.

[alexissara]

Probably The Top 10 Characters of 2023

It's time for the hardest top 10 list of the year, deciding who my top 10 characters of the year are. I am a very character focused writer and GM and that translates to my enjoyment of art too. I love characters and it's so hard to pick between the amazing swath of fantastic characters I read this year. Lowering the list down after eliminating stuff I had the list at like over 20 characters so getting this down to 10 was an exercise in self doubt. Of all of these lists this really is the list that I want to thin about next year and see what characters I am still thinking about in one years time. Unlike my other lists this is not even roughly in any order it simply is the 10 characters that at the moment I was writing this I managed to cut a list down to. My 45th character at this moment might be number 2 tomorrow and you can't see my 45th character, you can only see 10.

Mary Satome [Kaguri Twins]

I watched this early in the year but Mary stuck with me. She's funny, she's clever, she is messy, she's an asshole, she's sweet, she's passionate and determined and I just want the best for her and her girlfriends. It's rare to see a woman be as messy as her and remain the main character but she gets to both be kinda noble and heroic while also clearly being self motivated.

Prospera Mercury [gwitch]

Easily mother of the year, Prospera Mercury is a litness test for me on someone's taste and makes for an easy read on if someone will have utterly trash politics or not. If Prospera was a man she would probably be one of the most beloved characters in anime as a passionate loving mom who tries to teach her child hard lessons and is willing to do anything to give her child freedom and get her revenge. However, she is not a guy so from the start everyone suspected she was awful and abusive and terrible when the text never not even at the end supports it, she is mean to Sulleta exactly once and that is so she is not an accomplice to her crimes in case she ends up getting stopped.

Tilty Claret  [MagiRevo]

My favorite "side" character of the year has to be Tilty, this little freak. Tilty is sweet, she's kind, she deserves a girlfriend, two girlfriends, she should be dating Anise and Euphy. She is funny, she's well used, she does great emotional support and understands Anise so well, I love her so much and I love how loyal and great she is to the people she loves. I love her sciencey freaky attitude too she's just great.

Honey Trap [Super Women In Love]

Villain to Hero Honey Trap is utterly endearing. She starts as simply simping for Rapid Rabbit but it's fun to watch her evolve as a character and as a person over the course of the manga. She's sweet, endearing and brutal at all the right times. She's so gay and really funny, and she is really a perfect protagonist for this romantic comedy action yuri series. She's such a perfectly crafted character who can really command a range from serious threat to tragic damsel to Hero to gay little goof ball all while feeling like the same consistent character.

Satya [Pink Sugar]

Satya comes in with an air of mystery but this trans lesbian swiftly shows how quickly someone can go from sexy mystery to beloved dork. Satya gets a lot of the most soft and sweet moments with her future girlfriends getting to be someone to listen to them, to ask questions as an outsider to the trio and to be the inciting incident to get them to go on their wild road trip to begin with. I am really curious where her story will go but it would be lying to say she hasn't already endeared herself to the top of my list despite being probably the least focused on girl of the quad so far.

Shadowheart [BG3]

BG3 has a lot of good characters, great characters even and that is in spite of it being attached to one of the worst IPs around D&D. Shadowheart stood out to me among the many characters of a character who had queerness as part of her character done well despite being a player sexual character and I think she has the most dramatic character arc of the batch on her good path. Shadowheart starts as a catty Mormon girl and evolves into this kind heroic adventurer who you could see saving the world many more times.

Adalia [En Garde!] 

While En Garde! might be a short 3 hour romp all three hours with Adalia are perfectly used. She's funny, charming, cute, and heroic. She's fitting a very classic archtype but is a spin on it by having it both be a woman but also be queer. These two factors do add to Adalia's charm, the gay side lets us see her enter dork mode where she is very gay for a sexy pirate woman and her animations change and she makes worse decisions then snap out of it when it's what needs to happen to help people. She's utterly lovely and a true delight.

Nova [Spellastra]

While almost every character here has a bit of a silly side, I can appreciate a more dramatic character. Nova is a character covered in tragedies, of angst, of wanting to love but feeling unable, she's rough and prickly and messy and makes bad choices but they all make a lot of sense for where she is at in any given moment. Nova is at once the older mentor who knows what to do but also the love interest who's fucked up plenty of times and blames herself even more than she ever should. Nova's a testament to the depth and layers you can really give a character while having her be lovable and desirable and still fit in for more fun moments while having these hard edges.

Jala [Thirsty Suitors]

Speaking of messy queers we have the disaster bisexual herself Jala. She's a character I really wanna dive deeper into because I think there is so much to Jala and the game does a pretty good job at leaving a lot of space for my brain to get cooking about why Jala is like this while also explaining a lot of why Jala is like this. Jala has hurt a lot of people, like most of the people in her life and her path to make it right with everyone is great. We get to see where other people fucked up, what complicated situations, where she grows and where she stands firm. Jala is a really perfectly envisioned character with a cast weaved so perfectly around her that every interaction is splendor to behold.

Astra [Grand Slam Romance]

Astra's on a quest to fuck every woman on the planet and more power to her. Astra is kinda the villain of the first book but she's also the romantic lead which places her in an interesting position in the story where we see her at her worst, we get to understand how she got there and we are cheering for her to tone it down like 10%. I am fully biased in my love for her and I make no excuses for it. Astra is designed exactly like many of my OCs with a personality similar to a lot of my OCs, I love everything about her, I want her great success and I look forward to people telling me I ripped her off even if I made characters like her like 10 years ago and have a record of it. I love her and I just wanna see more of her.

If you want to help me enjoy more art then consider checking out my Patreon or Ko-fi .and giving me a little bit of cash so I can do more of this kind of writing but also like make lots of my own art, art is hard to make and costs money and like maintain my chronically ill and trans body also takes money so anything helps, thank you.

[riveramorylunar]

I have to say all these characters from SpellAstra are hot like um excuse me please...... Making me have a gay panic right now

[bmblb-fanatic]

I don't know how many of y'all read comics on Webtoon but if you like magic, action, romance, and wlw then you need to read SpellAstra by Zephylith! The art is amazing and characters are even better. Seriously I haven't been this hype for a GL in a long time. It only updates every month or two right now but the chapters are long and well worth the wait. If I can get just one person to read it and support this author then this post will have been worth it. Check it out!

[bmblb-fanatic]

I don't know how many of y'all read comics on Webtoon but if you like magic, action, romance, and wlw then you need to read SpellAstra by Zephylith! The art is amazing and characters are even better. Seriously I haven't been this hype for a GL in a long time. It only updates every month or two right now but the chapters are long and well worth the wait. If I can get just one person to read it and support this author then this post will have been worth it. Check it out!