WEBCOMIC WEDNESDAY REVIEW: Alethia

Hello, everyone! I’m Aaron, and I’m back again to bring you your next favorite webcomic (hopefully)! Please, if you have any feedback, leave it here in the comments or contact me on Twitter (@Sully_Writes). And as always, if you have or know of a webcomic that you’d like to see reviewed, reach out and let me know!

Creator: Kristina Stipetic
Webcomic: Alethia

Summary: Alethia is a scifi comic series that reads almost more as an anthology than one continuing story. The primary character, a robot thus-far unnamed, travels the world without memory, experiencing each new desolate robotic culture as though it were entirely new to her. With each chapter, a new concept is introduced and a new (often cruel and unfair) power structure is laid bare. The creators have been gone for some time, and the societies built on their foundations are broken.

Also, this is the first time that I’ve read a webcomic that had an animated intro and theme song. I demand everyone else step up their game to this… Fine, okay, maybe not (but consider it, okay?).

Story:Â Alethia features absolutely brilliant writing. The dialogue may be occasionally a bit dry and predictable, almost as though you were reading a fable, but that’sÂ because you’re reading robot fables. The pacing is marvelous, pulling the reader in through each self-contained analogy. In a few short pages, Kristina creates palpable emotion. The segments are fresh, unique, and do not fall into the trap of being overly “preachy.”

The science fiction elements (so far, anyways) feel second-place to the current story. This is a vitally important trait to writing. It is obvious through the chapters that something more is going on, however we are not inundated by that fact. The reader is told only enough to understand what they need to understand. There is a quote that I have used several times throughout reviews, and that is “Scifi is your setting, not your story.” Alethia plays by that rule to perfection.

Art: The art of Alethia is very minimalistic and angular. Colors are bold and truly play into the storytelling on the pages. The panels are exciting and creative, making use of environment and emotion in the very layouts.

There are places where the posture of characters feels a bit plain, lacking a dynamic flow to them. Even the expressions occasionally fall into this trap. However, creativity in other areas more than makes up for these shortcomings. The angles that the scenes are presented in, the flow from one panel to the next, helps carry the burden for the sometimes stiff anatomy. And, well, they are robots.

Conclusion: Alethia is a one-of-a-kind collection of stories with important meaning woven into every page. It’s rare that I find a webcomic this simple and clean, that knows its own purpose so well. I cannot even say that this comic is for sci-fi enthusiasts. Instead, it’s for those that enjoy having their thoughts provoked. I have to rate Alethia…