I know, it’s been too long since I did a Comics Friday post. And yes, I know you’re eager to get going and discover some of the best comics on the web*. However, before we get underway, did you notice what I did to the title? “Free Comics Friday” has become “eComics Friday.”
I made this change not so much to promote donating to the talented people who produce the comics I’ll talk about here, but to ensure that I’m not dissuading anyone from donating to them**.
Okay, so that’s that. Now on with the show. I’ve talked about Sarah Ellerton before and recommended that you check out Phoenix Requiem (and if you haven’t yet, you should). But P.R. isn’t her first stab at an eComic, before she started work on Requiem, there was Inverloch. And if you haven’t discovered that one yet, you are in for a big treat.
As with Phoenix Rising, there are multiple storylines running throughout the comic. The main storyline being the quest to discover what has become of an elf named Kayn'dar, who went missing twelve years before the story opens. Chief among those searching for him are Archeron, a mythological creature called a Da'kor, and Kayn'dar's betrothed companion and fellow elf, Shiara. Along the way they'll be joined by magical half-elves, a "severed elf" thief catcher, and a master thief as they journey to far off places to solve the mystery of Kayn'dar's disappearance.
As I said, that's the main storyline, but it's far from being the only thing that keeps this ball of story rolling. Archeron, our main character, is an innocent forest dweller when we first meet him, but his travels with bring him face to face with the reality that the world is a tougher place than he had previously thought. Making things even more difficult are the budding feelings that begin to develop throughout the group, complicating their relationships with each other. And then there are the dark forces that are conspiring against them.
As with her other works, Ellerton's Inverloch reads fast, drawing its readers in by hooking you with dangling storyline after storyline until you feel as though you've gained so much momentum that you couldn't possibly stop. So I'm warning you against starting this one right before bed; you'll never sleep for all the fun to be had.
However, unlike Ellerton's Phoenix Rising, this comic has been completed. You can read it in it's entirety on Ellerton's Seraph Inn site and/or purchase it at Indy Planet.
In every form of media there are people who just excel. Maybe it's an over-abundance of talent, maybe it's a lot of behind the scenes dedication and hard work, maybe it's a combination of the two, but for whatever the cause, their work just stands out when compared to the rest in their field. I've decided that Sarah Ellerton is one of those people in the eComics community. The quality of her artwork and her writing places her on par with some of the best in the print comics world. So it should come as no surprise that Inverloch, the winner of three Web Cartoonist's Choice Awards***, has made the transition from web comic to printed graphic novel. And while I wish her tremendous continued success in the print format (her work clearly merits it), I hope that the web comics community will still be able to claim her as one of their own. Considering that Phoenix Requiem continues as an eComic gives me hope that her future, at least in part, will remain digital.
*At least, it's the best that I've been able to read. If you know of a particularly good one that I haven't covered yet, please let me know about it. Thanks!
**And to be clear, the artists, writers, and all other creatives involved with these comics have not paid Suvudu or Random House to appear here. They're out there on their own, so donations to them go directly to them.
***Outstanding Fantasy Comic (tie), 2005. Outstanding Long Form Comic, 2006. Outstanding Environment Design (tie), 2007.
Leave a comment