With more people reading manga and webtoons (aka vertical scroll comics) than ever before, Beat’s Bizarre Adventure gives three writers an opportunity each week to recommend some of their favorite books and series from Japan, Korea, and elsewhere. This week we have a short but intriguing webtoon, a shojo manhwa melodrama, and, of course, crabs.
AFTERSHOCK: No regrets
Writer: UDM King
Artist/Coloring: Vincent Alef
Typsetting & Lettering: Metakomik
Platform: WEBTOON CANVAS
It’s been almost a year since the start of WEBTOON’s Webcomic Legends contest. Although it has long since concluded, I continue to find artists and series among its contestants that make me wish I came across them sooner.
AFTERSHOCK: No Regrets is a mature rated submission originally for that contest. The series follows Kanji, a cynical loser who was once best friends with a boy named Ochido Takeshi. When Takeshi’s body is found floating in a river, his death is reported on television as a suicide. Kanji sees the news and goes to find out why Takeshi did what he did.
I first discovered this series in the WEBTOON CANVAS creators Discord server thanks to Vincent Alef’s art. He pairs a gritty, textured, and dark manga-inspired style with muted colors that have a color noise effect and texture. It captures the distorted and dark reality within Kanji’s mind.
Of course, the three available episodes imply that Kanji is more involved with Takeshi’s death than he likes to admit. Especially given context clues such as Takeshi being in Kanji’s blocked contacts list or Takeshi’s classmates theorizing his suicide could be a cover-up. You get some pieces but not enough to come up with a proper answer, which leaves you wondering what could really be going on.
It is such a shame that AFTERSHOCK ends on a cliffhanger after three episodes. Now that the WEBTOON Legends contest is over, I hope that UDM King will continue the story when they feel the time is right. I will most certainly be waiting. If this sounds interesting to you and you want something short to read, do give it a try. Who knows, maybe more eyes on this series might allow it to continue.
Now I feel bad for ending my contest submission on a cliffhanger as well! I should get back to that when I have the time. Until next time my lovely birb nerds <3 — Justin Guerrero
An Invitation From a Crab
Writer/Artist: panpanya
Translator: Ko Ransom
Publisher: Denpa
An Invitation from a Crab is a series of short comics and brief essays by panpanya that take a lightly creepy and humorous look at the world, from chasing a crab through a bunch of alleyways to using a dolphin as a calculator in hopes of solving a difficult equation. What I found so fun about panpanya’s style is how they blend detailed backgrounds with basic character designs while showcasing great talent in the composition of their art. It creates an easy to read flow sensation where everything is simple and pleasing to the eye, while really being very complicated if you take the time to visualize everything. There are also cute sight gags that I enjoyed throughout.
The essays, dated between 2012-2014, focus on mundane musings regarding life, experiences, and those little things humans take for granted because we so often don’t think about them. Like someone shining a light on the obvious while making you feel as if you’re considering the subject for the first time. I love these kinds of talks from creators because they’re a small way of showing off what it’s like being an artist. Some of the best to do it are those who experience the world in just a slightly different way than anyone else, and use that spark of imagination to fuel their passion (whether they realize it or not).
I got the sense reading An Invitation from a Crab that as a writer myself, I’ve not been using my imagination to its fullest. So many of the comics in here are filled with zany concepts and imagery that combine to make something that just leaves you in awe. Even the way panpanya chooses to represent their human characters is interesting, like how characters of authority will have a unique shell-like design for a head. It’s intriguing to observe how panpanya integrates that with speech bubbles. Their reoccurring dog Leonard is also just so much fun.
I had a blast with An Invitation from a Crab. If you’re wanting another excuse to pick this up, panpanya is non-binary which is pretty cool. — Derrick Crow
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