Writer of Seraph Through the Veil and Amatharine. I specialize in fantasy stories balanced tones. Largely cozy core-adjacent with elements of adevnture, mystery, family, and a bit of action.
This is my blog where I will post about my current comics.
Dear followers(or anyone who does bother reading my posts) I actually do have a Discord set up for my comics, including Amatharine and my upcoming dragon one.
It has places to talk about normal stuff, my comics, other comics, share your art, promote yourself, etc. Link is below (I do a whole lot more than just ramble about stuff and occasionally post some of my comic art. That's just what my blog here is for) (It's SFW; adults only please)
The official Discord server for The Wanderer's Comics. Come and chat with the author and other enjoyers! | 28 members
I am just gonna throw it out there. It would be good to get more people in there, especially if you are actually interested in talking.
Gonna leave this up unless I get too many scammers
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
The 15th chapter of "Overcoming Yourself" is out!
It's time for Victor Reznov to learn something more about the most mistic and horrified place in whole Silver Sage and finish some obligations!
Creatures, in their side, will have a chance to learn something about the Soviet education system and one human kid's game.
Okay real question ? If in like a year or two ( or several months) Amatharine’s first planned arc ends should I maybe… stop it there depending how things go?
I mean lately it seems the longer a franchise ( show, movie/ book series, graphic novel, webcomic, etc) seems to go on the worse it gets…
The allure of a popular indie project making a lot of money at a time we all need it is tempting, should I ever get there, but like isn’t that the trap everyone falls into ?
It goes on way past its prime and gets bad.
Meh. Only if I feel I have a further story to tell with my characters and world ( Amatharine’s purpose is to be a heart warming fantasy mystery found family tale)
That aside, quitting while one is ahead… perhaps Arcane had the right idea ending on two seasons.
I would gladly take a second wobbly but still solid season over 3-4 mid to shit seasons easily
Between TADC ending( idk it seems some hate it ), Game of Thrones ending, Stranger Things’ ending, The Boys Ending, Rise of Skywalker( as a trilogy ending) and so on…
Is there some curse that makes it so franchises just cannot stick the fucking landing when it comes to concluding things???
Glad I skipped most of those of Thats thr case ( sadly I did see Rise of Skywalker)
i think the biggest issue i take with the "it's just fiction, it's not that serious" sentiment is that it becomes way too vague of a framework for engaging with media that people subsequently apply to EVERYTHING regardless of context or intent
"it's just fiction it's not that serious" is harmless if we're talking about TADC fans sending the creator death threats for not validating their headcanons or media critics needing to learn the difference between subject matter that's inherently harmful and subject matter that's just making them mildly uncomfortable
"it's just fiction it's not that serious" becomes an incredibly dangerous and irresponsible mindset when it results in us as a society popularizing precautionary stories like The Hunger Games and Fahrenheit 451 and I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream and seemingly never actually absorbing their messages enough to notice when what they were trying to warn us about is happening right in front of our fucking faces
Just a quick shoutout to all those whom find motive to keep going and doing what they love, especially in fucked up time like these.
Particular artist and writers; got a nasty case of writing and art block myself. It feels tedious( I am luckily I got friends/ hired help aiding me)
It’s not easy keeping on a schedule or finding motive as it feels kinda thankless to produce drawings or comics or stories especially if if hardly paid the bills.
Props to all those who can keep at it! Especially as shit like AI shills and such is hell bent on stamping out this kind of thing in industries it seems.
Wish I could offer more motive or just bankroll everyone lol
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
The 15th chapter of "Overcoming Yourself" is out!
It's time for Victor Reznov to learn something more about the most mistic and horrified place in whole Silver Sage and finish some obligations!
Creatures, in their side, will have a chance to learn something about the Soviet education system and one human kid's game.
Hey everyone: a good friend of mine and the artist of a few of my comics( Seraph: Through the Veil and upcoming dragon one ) is in a bit of a tough spot. It’s not for me to fully explain.
Long story short: she could use the help. Finically speaking.
Please: take a look and consider supporting her art ( subscribe to her kofi, get a commission, etc) and spreading word of her social media if you can, please. She is highly skilled and makes amazing art. Plus she’s a really sweet person who deserves better.
Lunar-Turtle is an artist on DeviantArt. ♀️ Female 🇨🇿 Czech 🦀 Cancer Hello and welcome to my place. My name is Veronica, but people know me
What's a blog if not a place to vent your thoughts?
Is it weird to feel so bad or guilty for saying a blunt opinion on, like, whatever? I mean its always gonna accept someone, but still...
It's like a catch-22(no-win situation): you really wanna share your thoughts, and it bothers you if you don't (as is the case for me), but someone out there will always dislike or be upset, even if that's not the intent at all(or if you try to "phrase it nicely")
Such is life, both real life and silly internet stuff. Best accept and move on. I know I do. Can't please everyone; if you try, you end up pleasing no one.
(consider this not an insult or slander post so much as a contratrian viewpoint about this comic. Sorry I don't have better stuff to say, but this comic's prime is buried in the 2010s. Honestly, just skip chpater 5 and wait until 6 is well underway is my best suggestion)
( and just to be clear: this is not some petty attempt at trolling or trying to provoke mass discourse on this comic of obsession as some so would spin it. It’s just blunt disappointment as a reader)
Hey guys, I thought since I have talked alot about this comic, I should post a proper review. To stay up to date, lets check in on chapter 5-WHAT IN THE NAME OF?
Welp
Okay, never mind.
Let's talk about tonal dissonance and whiplash, shall we?
Seriously, instead of an essay, how about I just give you a few pictures:
How the fuck does the comic that was "Clumsy bat finds and adopts human kid" go from this::
Velvet Chanterelle is my mushroom punk band.
I think you get the earlier tone.
How does this go to this:
This scene perfectly sums up chapter 5 in a nutshell: random side characters or annoying cameos who have overstayed their welcome bitching and angsting and arguing over whatever(or just nothing really important) in a needlessly melodramatic, overly dragged out drama.
What the fuck does any of this actually have to do with Tamberlane's flashback, the mysterious proector who saved her, her argument with Belfry on the field trip, Oakwood discovering she is a human, or the trial of the teaching aid, the mystery of Abroad, the government or whatever group that spawned Tamberlane or even Tamberlane and Belfry themselves?!
Nothing. The word "Tamberlane" is rarely spoken across dozens of pages.
And the rest of this travesty of a chapter is just side characters I hardly or don't care about talking in crises about nothing or this insufferable yellow guy angsting and being an asshole to everyone. (What a compelling, likable character! Gee, I asure am glad he stole the show from the actual likable PROTOGANIST. That was sarcasm. Are they trying to gaslight me into feeling sorry for his stupid ass after he relentlessly bullied and hospitlzied a toddler?
Do the authors really expect us to feel bad for this asshole?
Oh wait, wrong post, We are talking about tonal whipslash, whoops (but seriously, all these pacing and filler issues are just the main course where this tonal whipslash
But that's not the point, the point here is the huge tonal whiplash of this entire freaking chapter; not enough people talk about this.
Things just go so incredibly dark and emo and melodramatic like what the fuck? The strength of this comic lied in its endearing cartoony art style and its balance of hurt/ comfort. Key word "BALANCE."
Meanwhile, throwing away the entire story of this comic aside, all chapter 5 seems to be is endless brooding.
Here is the most dramatic the comic had to offer before chapter 4 made things go all Cur on itself.
(forshadowing of a heavy choice to come)
It's all starting to blend into background noise for Briar. ... Sort of.
Too bad there are no adults here.
They yell for like 2-3 pages in a somewhat comedic way, then Briar finally shuts them up and they talk it out.
And Piper scares a toddler with a mean prank once. ( she was pushed off a cliff off screen but was fine, thats where belfry found Tamberlane)
I mean you can kind of say pushing Tamberlane off a cliff (when seh did not know what she was in first chapter) earlier in the comic but that was offscreen and had no lasting adverse effects
And of course:
A mean old fart threatens a child.
Like, okay there is drama and such (again go read the whole thing to confirm, I am not just cherry picking things here) but like: its not to chapter 5 levels of dragged out or so melodramatic.
Its balanced. A blend of wholesome/ cute and drama.
THAT IS JUST FINE. It is perfectly fine, dare I say great, that the comic leans into the wholesome and heartwarming vibes of the characters, setting, premise and art style.
The balance is where the freaking charm of the whole things lies, as well as its strengths! It's like Pixar used to be where it's a cartoon thing and never gets too dark, but it has tons of depth and nuance to it that makes it engaging.
Like Belfry's arc, her talk with Tess, the hints to the greater lore of the setting relating to Tamberlane's origins, etc. All of that worked in tandem with the more wholesome adoption premise and story about family going on combined with the cute cartoon art style to make the story strong and enjoyable to read.
None of the stuff above is that bad. Yes, tehre is drama and implications of dark stuff to come, including the whole Abroad stuff but not so overboard. I am sure there was a less melodramatic way to tackle abroad.
I think it also had a little something called SUBTLY
Instead of just banging us over the head with "uh he has angst, look at his sad backstory!" or Cur fucking exploding every 5 seconds he is onscreen or literally everyone just bitching and angsting about everything constantly like WTF?
Meanwhile in chapter 5 is like:
Endless drama(it trails on), a kid lost a leg, the above Cur stuff and more and neither hide nor hare of that mother-daughter dynamics between Tam and Belfry.
For fucks sake: its a comic a bout a cartoon bat raising a toddler! How the fuck is it that in the comic where the protagonist does this:
(forgetting ovenmits and trapping herself in a tent like something from SpongeBob)
Totally the kind of person to be in a dark and gritty totalitarian story about angst and shit. (yes she has depth but come on the clumsiness and whole stuff is where the charm is)
Now we mostly just have this:
The only other time blood showed up in the comic before is Belfry's nightmare in Book 4. Upping the rating a little at a time apparently!
nom nom nom nom
For dozens of fucking pages its just angst and brooding/
Should have leaned into the comedy/drama angle, I know that stories are versatile but there is a balance. Frankly, even the presentation of the drama in chapter 5 has lost any of that slight comedic age and is just exaggerated, and needleslsy dragged out it gets tedious.
Really go read chapter 5 again:
A bedroom~!
And then go read up to chapter 1-3
Look at that little guy!
For added introspection, go read 4 right after that, but I suggest reading 5 first, then you really feel the tonal dissonance.
What is she? A bat? A badger? A coyote? A deer? Or just a weirdo?
Need I go on? I might even add that the earlier chapter actually manages to handle their conflict with way more maturity and subtlety without being so overboard (and not even in a comedic tone overboard, I mean melodramatic and just borderline Grimdark feeling)
Its like most of the comedy and heartwarming stuff is just gone.
Probably because it threw Belfry, Tamberlane, and Oakwood out the window for large swaths of the fucking chapter so that someone's onbouxs cameo can get an ENTIRE FUCKING GRAPHIC NOVEL DEDICATED TO HIM.
This "ensemble" cast approach sucks; the real story is with Tamberlane and Belfry and theri family. Why the fuck do they feel the need to shove in a million subplots and pointless side characters? They add little; it be better if their parts were short(again, not an entire spin off graphic novel shoved into an already bloated chapter)
Seriously, go count the page count of the Cur scenes alone, including the parts that are still foucsing on him (like the characters serarching for him)
Chatper 5 of Tamberlane does not feel like a chapter of Tamberlane at all; it does not match the tone, the balance of comedy/ drama, the execution. Heck, it barely features any of Tamberlane at all, its gonne be over 160 pages and yet Tamberlane is barely even in 20-something of those. WTF
So yeah... I could not avoid bringing up the pacing again, but good grief, this entire execution of chapter 5 is just so jarringly at odds with what came before, even in terms of tone. Even considering the near-tragedy of chapter 4's pond incident (which Cur caused) the tone is so melodramatic and tediously dragged out like good grief.
It's like a perfect summary on everything not to do when making a graphic novel.
Trying too hard to be 'dark and gritty'.
Fuck it, i am gonna just take this moment to make a point:
The authors of Tamberlane are clearly skilled artists and did great with the comic in the early parts; thats why I was so obsessed with it)
But I am saying Chapter 5 is really, really bad. Not just that, but also the comic has been heading the wrong direction for years now. All these pacing and tonal issues, plus Cur's existence in the story?
Its all started in chapter 4.
So yeah, no, I don't wanna copy this:
A comic about a community of fuzzy woodland critters who find a human child... and have no idea what it is!
That's right. Cur. Just Cur. His entire existence, his entire presence in the plot. Everything about him.
All this angst, pacing and tonal issues? Its him. Its his fault (and the authors for, you know, letting him into the freaking story)
The endless angst, bitching, drama, and his obnoxious "snide remarks" and bullying of others has done nothing but bog down the plot and ruin an engaging story about a mother-daughter duo and their family navigating their family dynamics and the child's mysterious origins. And what that means for their family and the greater community.
Like, good grief: I talked to death about all the other issues on other posts and don't wanna bring them up too much here but the tonal whipslash.
Its all Cur. Its all caused by him. He is not the only actor and there were darker hints of stuff to come and drama before but good grief, did he just rerail this entire comic's direction?
Even his facial expressions are annoying; he just a generic bully with a generic sad backstory that acts like the most obnoxious person ever then suddenly it's a huge u-turn into "feel bad for him uwu"
He caused the 180. Go look at every scene that involved him.
Since chapter 5 puts so much emphasis on, its only fair to blame him for the comic's current tonal issues. The entire fucking conflict and for some reason, the climax of this chapter goes to him for some reason!?!
Just want to give a shout out to too of my favorite comics I have read for years.
No North is about to continue after a long hiatus and that's beyond exciting, literally one of the best webcomics I have read.
Another is Fox Fires: Still on Hiatus but its gotten a Kickstarter going for its books 3 and 4
Emilia Ojala's all-ages adventure inspired by Finnish mythologies about a young raccoon dog's quest to find her family continues.
I seriously recommend reading both comics; they are just so good.
For many reasons (especially art style) but one of the biggest things is that both of them know how to tell a well-paced, interesting story with likable characters.
