Pokémon Twilight

An alternate story of Pokémon, Pokémon Twilight follows the adventures of Indigo League Champion Kaia Attwater and her trainees, Rose Thyme and Gina Green, who are aiming to be Pokémon Masters.

The story's events are like the stories in colored Pokémon games and Ash Ketchum's adventure, but with more characters and interesting lives to follow. There's also a Team Rocket crew that the story follows: Sae, Naelle, and Gavin. I personally believe this Team Rocket could defeat anyone if they persevere.

The art fits perfectly with the story with its not too simple and not too detailed style.

The comic launched in March 2007, and is by Smackjeeves user Ling. Updates to the comic are at ireegular times, but there is usually at least one update every month.

Recommended audience: All Ages

Fairy Tail

Fairy Tail follows the story of mages. It first introduces a 17-year-old girl named Lucy who soon meets Natsu, a young man with transportation sickness. Along with Natsu is his talking, blue cat: Happy. Seeming weak at first, Natsu turns out to be a mage of the infamous guild named Fairy Tail.

As the story progresses, Lucy overcomes challenges with her new friends, also dealing with what trouble Natsu is able to bring upon her.

Up to date Nov.23/09, Fairy Tail has 161 chapters including few special/extra chapters. All art and copyrights go to Hiro Mashima.

Author: Hiro Mashima
Status: ongoing - weekly.
Recommended audience: Teen 13+

Incarnadyne Tears

Incarnadyne Tears is a tale about a high school boy and his friends following their dreams of becoming a well known music band. This is no ordinary boy we're talking about though: Shimo Kazutaka is an overly friendly, hyperactive, and eccentric pretty boy who has a talent for singing (yet somehow got kicked out of school choir).

The older version of the comic began in 2004 on a hosted domain, and was launched on Smackjeeves at the end of September 2007. The new version of the comic began mid-September 2009 and updates about once a week. The comic is by the amazing omgcrew.

Recommended audience: All Ages

So Common So Cheap

So Common So Cheap follows the life of 16-year-old emo boy called Kyle, his hardcore younger sister Korey, and their new neighbour Daniel.

Kyle is serious when it comes to things that emos like him have to go through. He sometimes expresses his opinion on a few things like football players, anime geeks, and Thanksgiving. Korey has to go through life meeting different people like straight-edge people and eccentric boys while dealing with her brother's troubles as well. As the three characters get a little closer, Daniel comes closer to finding his true self when it comes to Kyle.

So Common So Cheap began September 2007 and is by Smackjeeves user kidcomeback. The comic has been on hiatus since May 2008.

Recommended audience: Teens+

[Edit] kidcomeback stated that the comic was first released on another website in 2004 during one of his 2010 news updates.

Fujoshi!

When you have an average high school boy who wants to get closer to his high school crush who's an eccentric yaoi fan girl that always spreads rumours about him being gay, which he is not, but has to lie that he is gay so that he could stay friends with her, you get Fujoshi!

The story combines shojo and shonen-ai themes into one humorous, heart touching, chest pounding comic. Fujoshi! is by Smackjeeves user Neko-Kurai. The comic began mid-June 2008 and supposedly ended late April 2009 until a recent announcement about its revival coming in December 2009.

Recommended audience: Teens+

Cease and Desist

Cease and Desist is a comic about the lives of two men and the Post Office. Meet Elijah Ashley, a 24-year-old man ordered by his roommate to go look for a job that can "pay the rent." He applied for a job position at the Post Office and successfully got it. Casper, another 24-year-old man but who's #1 goal in life was to work at the Post Office, did not. What happens when our two heroes meet? You'll have to follow the comic to answer that.

Cease and Desist began late March 2009, and is created by Smackjeeves users Mickey and Nikki. The art is unique as it looks like it was made with paper and edited on the computer. The character designs are great and distinguishable. The comic doesn't update often, but personally, I believe its future comic pages are something to look forward to.

Recommended audience: All Ages

Ephemeral

With a storyline and fantasy theme like those of old school video games, Ephemeral may just catch your attention after a few reads of its simple three paneled comic strips. The story follows a girl named Arri who is on a journey to find out who and what two strangers were looking for when they murdered her father.

The comic launched late March 2009 on Drunk Duck by Drunk Duck user Prank and is assisted by user Dark_Link777.

Recommended audience: All Ages

Internet Sensation: TaroBoy

Internet Sensation: TaroBoy is about a boy named Airen Lee who has a secret: he is actually the Internet otaku celebrity known as TaroBoy. The storyline isn't clear, because not much has happened so far. From what I can tell, there may be romance between our main character and the girl he likes or the girl that likes him, and drama from what seems to be other Internet otaku celebrities out to find his identity (better yet, out to get him). Whatever the story may be, the concept of a regular prep being a secret otaku--an Internet G0D at that--sounds intriguing.

The comic launched near the end of January 2008 on Smackjeeves, and is often on hiatus. The artist is Smackjeeves user avanope.

Recommended audience: All Ages

Yoroshiku Master

Yoroshiku Master is a shojo manga mixed with the supernatural.

The story is about a teenage female Santa who is the master of a male reindeer that has a casual form of a handsome young man and how their relationship grows with every passing event they experience. The manga adds a bit of heart beating moments with comedy, but there are only a few chapters translated so far.

What bothered me when I read the chapters is that in every other chapter there's a winter Santa theme, and in every other chapter that's not about winter there is a summer bathing suit theme at the beach.

Recommended Audience: Teens

Author/Artist: Tsukuba Sakura
Release Year: 2005

Shadow Sprinters

Do you like shonen manga? How about shonen manga with action scenes and a sci-fi theme? If yes, I suggest you read a few pages of Shadow Sprinters by Smackjeeves user Minyi. The comic's got the characteristics of a shonen manga, the spirit of a shonen manga, and the story of a shonen manga. The art looks professionally done, and the action scenes also look professionally done.

Here's the introduction that Minyi uses for the comic:

A universe alternative to our own, technology being far more advanced. The Shadow Particles, or dark matter as we know it, has dominated most of Earth's atmosphere. People developed a certain gear which allows the user to 'touch' and 'control' these molcules. Over time, a certain dangerous sport was made from this. Shadow Sprint.

Shadow Sprinters launched on Smackjeeves in early June 2009, and has updates about once every few weeks.

Recommended audience: Teens+

Death Brigade

I'm not good at putting things into genre, but with demi luv's webcomic called Death Brigade I've got to put it into humour. The comic is about a trio that specializes in services like search and destroy, and object/human retrievals. Each member works in a different department [according to the artist]: Demi is a 13-year-old in the departments of espionage and beatings, Kami's in assasination and genocide, and Cappu, the leader, is part of the brainwashing and extractions departments. The comic's got its funny moments and some serious moments to them, so I'm still unsure if humour is the best category to place it in.

The manga art style suits the fun yet serious story well and the characters' situations and personalities make the comic. The comic is hosted by Drunk Duck and updates every few days.

Recommended audience: Mid-teenagers+

sunshinable comics and stories of average broken-hearted kids

sunshinable comics is a series of comic strips by gra[s]ie b. hosted on Blogspot. It had its first comic strip posted August 26, 2008. Updates are usually monthly. The art style looks like [I think] a mixture of abstract cubism and modernism done with traditional medium. The dialogue to the comics are about random fictitious moments or people in real life-like situations and how deeply affected they are by it.

Recommended audience: Teens+

Attention: Terminated Mentioned Comic

- Animal Crossing: Crossroad

Other updates:
We'll be reporting one comic per post. (Should have done that before...)

Ghost Hunt

Ghost Hunt chapter 1 by Shiho Inada starts off with a few high school girls sharing horror stories in hopes of attracting a ghost after turning off a flashlight when everyone is finished telling their stories.

The art and starting dialogue make it well enough to understand which one of the girls is the main character, but there's still a bit of a blur to if the other girls are important to the series until later in the chapter. The story then casually introduces a second main character as he walks into the room the girls were in.

How the two main characters become involved with each other is an original "you broke something expensive of mine and now you must pay for it by working for me": a great way to try to keep the reader's interest for later chapters. The art style resembles those of the 90's, and the dialogue makes it feel like it's a shojo manga at times. The characters all have ordinary personalities, but that's what makes the paranormal story feel realistic.


Character Rating: 8/10
Plot Rating: 7/10
Overall Rating: 8/10.


Ghost Hunt is available in english online at Spectrum Nexus, and in print for $15.95 CDN by Random House Publishing Group.

Ghost Hunt anime episodes 1 to 25 are available online in japanese with english subtitles at Funimation's YouTube Channel.

Author: Fuyumi Ono
Artist: Shiho Inada
Release Year: 1998
Licensed by Del Rey

Wazard!

Wazard! is a growing collection of humorous comics by Arthur Tien on Blogspot. The art is appealing in a way where characters are well drawn and look good when it's drawn with either a simple or detailed design. The art style changes with each different titled comic. The backgrounds fit nicely with the characters in it, and the dialogue are original and funny. The blog's updates so far average on 8 posts per month.

Recommended audience: Teenagers+

Happyface Comics

Happyface Comics is comicstrip styled and has stick people as characters. It's by the same artist as Homestore, but was published on smackjeeves before it. The scripts are enjoyable and the art supports the scripts very well. The art looks like it was drawn with a tablet, and when it comes to serious facial expressions it gets a little more detailed. I salute to happyfaceanon for their works. The comic started mid-January 2009 and has had multiple updates every months to this day.

Recommended audience: All ages

My Life as a Teenage Stickfigure

My Life as a Teenage Stickfigure began mid-August 2007 and has been on hiatus since late November 2007. It's in the form of comic scripts with simple shaped stick people. The content are fairly amusing, but have a few that's pretty witty.

Recommended audience: Teens+

Anything about nothing

Anything about nothing is about what the title says: anything about nothing. The comic started off with pokémon and little red riding hood referenced scripts late January 2009. It then went into hiatus after its update on A fairytale romance the next day. The art is drawn cartoon-like and the content is amusing. The comic is rarely updated.

Recommended audience: All Ages

First Impressions

First Impressions is an earlier comic by the same artist as Anything about nothing. The story starts off a school boy called Sam who's learning about the importance of first impressions when meeting new people. The unordinary people he meets pretty much put him into strange situations, and he ends up having to put up with them along with his "Voice of reason," a small angel that follows him around. The comic started around late March 2008 and updates a few times almost every month.

Recommended audience: Older Teens+

Homestore

Homestore has simple character designs and doesn't contain much paneling, so it could get hard to follow at times. The story starts off with two people looking for a place to live and decides that a store would be the best place to make a home. They then found out that they have to run a business or else they'd lose their new home, so they decided to take random jobs as a service. Homestore began late March 2009 and has been on temporary hiatus since the beginning of April 2009.

Recommended audience: Mid-Teenagers+

Humanity: The User's Manual

Humanity: The User's Manual is made with simple computer graphics/images and contains dialogue that recommends how people should act in a situation and in modern society to avoid conflict. The comic started early May 2007, but has been on hiatus since mid-November 2007.

Recommended audience: Mid-Teenagers+

No Shutup.

No Shutup. started late January 2009 and is based on what the artist's thought process and teachings with art. The comic's educational when it comes to the topic of fundamental designs and techniques in visual arts (although the artist says otherwise), and it's fun to read about the events the artist went through during her school years. The art is appealing as if it were done by a professional (which I have to say: it is). Updates to the comic continue today about once every week or so.

Recommended audience: Pre-Teenagers+

Jerri.

Jerri is a well-drawn and well scripted series of moments of a student entering high school. The artist states that the comic "is based on real events and all characters are based on real people." The personalities of the characters feel real and the narration is fun to follow. It's got some swearing to it, but it reveals the personality of the main character better. The comic was launched May 2008, but is usually on hiatus. Updates are rare, but it's always something to look forward to.

Recommended audience: Mid-Teenagers+

box.

box. A series of single paneled comics with a simple drawings that you may never get tired of. The scripts are opinion-wise, and how the artist felt about events are expressed through each panel. The comic began in late-February 2008 and endded early in November 2008.

Recommended audience: All Ages

Pretty Pig

Pretty Pig contains many things addictive about shojo, except for all the sparkly decorations and flowers. You've got the distressed main character who's looking for a boyfriend, but somehow got herself mixed up with the troublesome transfer student because of her secret of transforming into part pig whenever she's embarassed. It's a good reader for anyone that's into shojo manga. The comic started mid-November 2008 and has irregular updates.

Recommended audience: Pre-teenagers +

Nakimushi Baby!

Nakimushi Baby! started early November 2007 and continues today with an update about once a month. It's about a high school girl who fell in love with an upper classman, but had trouble approaching the boy. When she got enough encourage to approach him, she accidentally walked in on him with another girl. The main character later makes a wish to become a better person and is turned into a boy by a magical being. The art has a professional look to it and matches the story nicely.

Recommended audience: Mid-Teenagers +

U,T.E:N.S.I.L.

U,T.E:N.S.I.L. stands for unstable, tangled emotions: nonsensical story of intertwined love. It's got characters that would make you laugh out loud when you get to know them throughout the story. The beginning started off with a cake-loving girl and cake-stealing ninjas. The random scenes in it are things to look forward to too. U,T.E:N.S.I.L. started updating early January 2007, and has frequent updates every month.

Recommended audience: All Ages

From Dusk Until Dawn

From Dusk Until Dawn has only had updates during February 2008. It's been on hiatus ever since. The opening is well written, and the art is nice. The description of the comic isn't on the comic's main website, but could be found in its profile: "Sara has been a girl who has always struggled with popularity and over the years has started many trends that last until she makes new ones. Struggling to find true friends and herself, Sara often escapes at Dusk to the graveyard only to come back at dawn."

Recommended audience: All Ages

Boba Tea

Boba Tea, also referred to as Bubble Tea, began late May 2007. The comic is currently on hiatus, but the outcome of the plot is something to look forward to what with the characters' personalities and all. "Yunxu is a boy who locks away his emotions. Dr. Yang is a doctor struggling to let them out. When Dr. Yang's niece, a spirited girl named Jennifer, comes for a visit during the summer, will she be the key to unlocking Yunxu's emotions? Will Dr. Yang even allow her to do so?"

Recommended audience: Mid-Teenagers +

Huggle the Puppet

HUGGLE THE PUPPET

"This is a fan comic in honor of Billy the puppet, featured as Jigsaw's messenger in the SAW series. The story really has two parts, with no chronology. Its foundation is that Billy, animated and with the mind of a toddler, wandered away from his life of traps and gore, and is learning to live under a completely different set of rules after I take custody of him. The other part is simply him out of context, on various endeavors he has, like to make it on Sesame Street, and to cause physical harm to people."

HUGGLE THE PUPPET is a full page comic, most of the time has coloured pages, and has fillers once in awhile. Its first page was published early March 2007 and continues with irregular updates.

Recommended audience: All Ages

Phoenix Trite

Phoenix Trite is based on the video game Phoenix Wright. The sprite comic doesn't really have a plot to it and is pretty much random. There are some inside jokes to the game, but it doesn't mean that you have to play the game to find it funny. The comic started mid-December 2007 and updates are irregular.

Recommended audience: Mid-teenagers +

Animal Crossing: Crossroads

Animal Crossing: Crossroads is a collection of coloured comic strips based on the video game series: Animal Crossing. The art looks like it's been done with simple computer drawing functions and maintains the looks of the game even though it's not exactly like the game's graphics. The comic started late December 2008 with a plot similar to the game along with some jokes referring to the game. The comic's website closed in 2009.

Recommended audience: All Ages