252

4 Comments on 252
Oh it’s that guy. And they apparently know each other… Next week, we’ll see what Ethan & co are up to!

In the meantime, why not check out Gifts of Wandering Ice? If GoTI seems familiar, it was featured a few weeks ago as a part of the SpiderForest comic showcase. There was a mishap with the link, though, so it didn’t get all of the love it deserves.

Gifts of wandering ice – Sci-fi story about ancient things people find in melting icebergs and the apocalypse that, surprisingly, made humanity better.

Patreon | Twitter

251

7 Comments on 251
A memory…

More SpiderForest comics to check out!

What it Takes is a post-apocalyptic action/adventure that follows Colbey O’Conner as she searches for her fiance in a harsh and violent wasteland. Her biggest clue to his location is the enigmatic A City in a Place. Can she make it there before King Arthur, who wants the City’s resources for his own? Rated R for violence and profanity.

The Devil’s Own – Dominic is second generation Devil’s Own, a cadre of dhampir soldiers whose sole duty is to protect their vampire Lord, Damien, from threats within and without. When visitors arrive from the United Territories his world gets turned on its ear. Rated Mature for violence and language.

6-CommandoMike-One-Echo is a giant robotic tank designed to win an atomic war, but he wasn’t supposed to start one. Programmed with the highest ideals of mankind and the weaponry to end civilization, he is now on a mission to execute one last program: to save as many people as he can – no matter whose side they’re on – from the ravages of the war he started, and from themselves.

Patreon | Twitter

250

8 Comments on 250
We’re back at this market again!

This week’s SpiderForest comics to check out:

XII: Of Magic and Muses: Willow lives in a mundane and restricted school, which ends up being the worst place someone could get gifted a magical necklace. Desperately trying to contain the magic within, this act of futility seems to just make matters worse. As the necklace crumbles the school’s secrets around her, Willow is left to wonder if it was a gift sent by friend or foe? Find out at xiicomic.com

SupervillainousThe Crimson Claw is a family man, a self-made supervillain, and accidental savior. Now it’s time for the next generation to take up the family business!

Patreon | Twitter

249

8 Comments on 249
This is a perfectly happy scene in which nobody’s unhappy. Nope, not a single unhappy soul here. …Is what Danbi might say.

More SpiderForest comics! This week is all about adventures and magic.

Castoff – Vector always dreamed of traveling. He got kidnapped instead. Now, with the help of a short-tempered bounty hunter, a happy-go-lucky cartographer, and many more unlikely friends, he has to try and make it home in one piece.

Ingress Adventuring Company – Toivo Kissa is Ingress Adventuring Co., a very small, very wizard-based dungeoneering service. No job is too small, though sometimes his adventures are problems of his own making.

Children of Eldair A sorcerer saves a girl from flesh-eating demons. After trying to use magic to find her friends, he’s trapped in a vision of the past–one that will help him save the world and the girl he loves.

Patreon | Twitter

248

11 Comments on 248
A happy moment… like all moments, it is fleeting.

More SpiderForest comics to check out! Some notes on this week’s selection: Arbalest has a list of content warnings, but don’t be alarmed about the sex. It is not gratuitous at all, and tastefully depicted. The comic as a whole reads like a surreal poem, and the sexual content (which there is only a little bit of) blends into the whole seamlessly.

I have read broken (with a small b) and can vouch for its amazing quality. I’m hoping to check out Spare Keys For Strange Doors soon; the premise is interesting, and an older lady as a lead? Sign me up!

Onto the comics!

Arbalest – Haelu is a monster, born of the snow and the long dark. In 6 months, she will be dead. Her purpose: to bring back the sun. But, as awareness of her complex self begins to emerge, Haelu forges goals of her own. Rated M for partial nudity, blood/gore, sex, themes of abuse.

Spare Keys for Strange Doors: Two experts in the supernatural help ordinary people with their extraordinary problems. Specialities include visitations, disappearances, compulsions, manifestations, transformations and removal of uninvited guests.

broken is a fantasy/horror story about a zombie kid befriending a fairy general and trying to deal with guilt, grief, and PTSD. This is complicated by eldritch abominations, a genocidal dictator, the dictator’s wife, and a panic-induced exit from the last known bastion of civilization. Contains graphic violence (including suicide), body horror, and the occasional flashing image.

Patreon | Twitter

246

5 Comments on 246
:'(

More SpiderForest comics to read! This time, both are post apocalypse, but not the grimdark, blood-stained type. These are more mellow — although danger still lurks! — and… watery. I’m in the process of catching up with Black Shallows and digging it so far! Planning on doing the same with Gifts of Wandering Ice as well!

Black Shallows: The world is quite literally falling apart. With ever increasing amounts of land collapsing into the water, the search for answers leads to a secretive group of people who can seemingly travel through dirt and time.

Gifts of wandering ice – Sci-fi story about ancient things people find in melting icebergs and the apocalypse that, surprisingly, made humanity better.

Patreon | Twitter

245

5 Comments on 245
Children…

More SpiderForest member comics to enjoy!

The Ferrin Elanor Standish just wanted to finish her paper on the wild Alien species, the Ferrin, not uncover secrets hidden from and by the galactic superpowers that control the current universe. (YA to mature)

Sunset Grill — Gangsters. Soldiers. Public defenders. Ordinary people struggling to survive in an extraordinary future. They all have one thing in common: they all drink beer.

Cosmic FishSoon-to-be resident-snake/fish monster Acantha has rejected the childish idea of solving the mystery as to why her unusual kind exists and why they’re deemed the enemy of the planet. That may very well change when the child-like guardian (and known monster hunter) Bells believes they can work together to find peace. But both have a long way to go as they each have to face their mistakes and learn from the past to find a hopeful future.

Patreon | Twitter

244

16 Comments on 244
Wonder how poor Danbi is doing in the room, huh?

More SpiderForest comics to check out!

Corner the Maze – Chimalli Ramírez is a racing driver eager to make his mark with a new team. When he finds himself stranded in another dimension after veering off track during a sudden rain storm, he’s not sure whether he hit the wall or actually went through the strange glowing green portal, but he’s determined to fight his way back home and finish the race. Teen for Violence, disturbing imagery and occasional swearing

True Magic, the Comic! – A fun fantasy adventure about handsome peasants, the fireball-throwing nobles who use them for target practice, and the dangerous conspiracy they stumble into on their quest for better treatment.

Patreon | Twitter

243

8 Comments on 243
Ethan really needed this. :’)

The next chapter will begin right next week! While you wait, I’ve got some comic recs for you to check out. SpiderForest is doing the annual Comic of the Week recs. The comics are very diverse in genre, tone and style. Even if your tastes are as narrow as mine, you’re bound to find a few that you enjoy!

For those of you not familiar with SpiderForest, SF is a curated group of webcomics — kinda like Hiveworks, but more chill (SF is a club with some quality control, whereas Hiveworks is an actual publisher). HoK had the honor of being accepted into it back in 2017. I have such respect for my fellow SF creators!

Without further ado… Comics of the Week, round 1:

The Cyantian Chronicles: An adventure in finding yourself and living with it.
The Cyantians are a race of uplifted creatures, created to serve a dying alien race. Abandoned on a world not their own, they’re learning to make it home.

Soul’s Journey – A cursed pendant turns a runaway prince into a wolf. Can he find a way back to his human form to stop the brewing war on the horizon before it’s too late?

Realm of Owls offers a healthy dose of OWLS. And why not have some HUMOR with your OWLS as well? (And possibly a hint of SATIRE. We don’t know how that got there, but you can have it.)

Patreon | Twitter