WEBCOMIC WEDNESDAY REVIEW: The Angel With Black Wings

Hello, everyone! I’m Aaron, and I’m back from a hiatus 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: Mharz
Webcomic: The Angel With Black Wings

Summary: The Angel With Black Wings tells the tale of Ray, a boy who feels alone in the world, who is constantly the subject of bullying and misfortune, and who just wants to run away from all of his problems. The only small comfort in Ray’s reality is the angels that he seems to be able to see all around him, especially the peculiar angel with the black wings. One afternoon, an accident that threatens Ray’s life forces the Angel With the Black Wings to intervene, beginning her relationship with Ray as his guardian angel and “big sis.”

Story: While The Angel With Black Wings is a fairly easy read, paced steadily and rarely bogged down by dialogue; it is not doing anything exceptionally new. The format will be familiar to any anime or manga fan as the story unfolds. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it did make elements of the story feel predictable or cliche earlier on.

I will say that Mharz, the creator, does grow in this area as the comic progresses. Stories begin to flow more freely and feel less formulaic. The characters take on more definition. It begins to, overall, feel less scripted and more unique and believable. There is nuance, and it’s great to see primary characters taking on irritating flaws.

There are a few spelling and grammar errors throughout the work, however it’s not so much that it becomes a distraction.

Art: The Angel With Black Wings has wonderfully consistent art, on a good level for a regularly updated webcomic. It is done in entirely black and white (aside from the special minis) and uses screentones to great effect. it is not an overly detailed comic. Mharz’ art style is not exaggerated or explosive. Instead, everything feels soft, simplistic, and clean. This helps to convey the somber story very well stylistically.

Unfortunately, I felt very distracted by the watermarks on the pages. I know that, in this day in age, sometimes this is unavoidable. However, the usage of the tiny faces is so prolific that they often took me out of the story.

Conclusion: The Angel With Black Wings is already up to nine chapters, and is doing very well for itself. If you’re a fan of old-school manga, then this might be the right fit for you. It’s not fast paced or overly exciting, but instead is a balanced read that finds its stride in exploring characters emotionally. If there is any suggestion that I could give, it’s that, honestly, the bonus content strips were some of the most enjoyable. Perhaps relaxing a bit, and allowing some of that natural humor slip more into the primary pages would be a good thing.

Overall, I have to give The Angel With Black Wings a…

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]