2017; the year itself is both controversial and filled with controversies. Political, social, and Star-Wars-related debates fill every waking second of our lives, constitute every other post on our social media feeds. Whether you believe that the world is a little brighter at the end of 2017 or not, the consistent turmoil is tiring. Escapism comes for me in the form of comic books. I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing some truly wonderful titles over the course of the year, stories directly from the hearts of creators. Genuine. Powerful. Fresh. And free to anyone who is willing to read them.
Here are a few of my favorite webcomics that I reviewed in 2017.
Webcomic: Dogma
Creator: Kemi Jang
Review
Summary: Yura is a human boy in a world where that could mean anything from an expensive pile of parts to dissect, to a deity. He escaped, years ago, from a palace where he was being held with his sister and treated like a lab rat. His only desire is to become stronger, and return there to rescue his sibling. His captor and guardian, Aaron; however, has other plans.
Conclusion:Â I can honestly say I’ve never read another comic like this. My only concern is that Lezhin seems to require a (very) small payment in order to read the last chapter. Generally, I find this off-putting in a webcomic. I am unsure if the last chapter is locked forever, or if they website follows a “Crunchyroll” sort of business model where paying only gets you the update a bit sooner than individuals who read the chapters for free.
Other than that, this comic is one of the best I’ve ever read. It’s amazing, and I could not be more happy to share a name with this grumpy robot skeleton of a protagonist. I’d give this comic a “Six out of Five” if our rating widget had the functionality to allow me to.
Creator: Kyle Latino
Review
Summary: She Dwarf, the titular character of this webcomic, is on a quest to find the lost city of Dammerung; the last place that she might find more of her kind. Her journey brings her into an unfamiliar world and a hostile cast of adversaries that would rather see Dammerung left buried to time, but the headstrong Dwarf pushes onward, even making a few friends along the way in this charming high-fantasy adventure story.
Conclusion:Â This is a great comic with both art and characters that are vibrant and endearing. You should read this comic. There isn’t even that much material to catch up on yet! Do yourself a favor, and if you’ve ever enjoyed anything even tangentially related to swords and sorcery, check out She Dwarf.
Webcomic: Gorilla My Dreams
Creator: Tim Stiles, Ahmed Rhaafat
Review
Summary: Gorilla My Dreams is a comedic detective noir title about a self-loathing, sentient gorilla. There’s more description to it than that, but if you aren’t already hooked on the idea then you don’t deserve to know more. It’s like a black and white, noir Hellboy but with 300% more puns.
Conclusion: Get in on this action while it’s still new. Gorilla My Dreams has a wonderfully user-friendly website, a great premise, and a promising future. Recommend to anyone. Now, keep up this strong pace, and don’t let me down!
Creator: Kristina Stipetic
Review
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 had 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?).
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.
And that’s it!
 Whether you viewed 2017 as good or bad, may your 2018 be better and brighter! As always, if you have suggestions for webcomics that you’d like to see reviewed, post here or send me a message on Twitter (@Sully_Writes). Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and have a wonderful New Year!
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