Seraph Inn - Phoenix Requiem

Phoenix Requiem

THE STORY

The Phoenix Requiem is a Victorian-inspired supernatural fantasy story about faith, love, death, and the things we believe in.
On a cold December night, a gentleman stumbles into the town of Esk, gunshot wounds leaving a trail of blood in the snow behind him. Despite making a full recovery at the hands of an inexperienced nurse - and deciding to make a new life for himself in the town - he is unable to escape the supernatural beings, both good and bad, that seem to follow him like shadows.
As they try to discover why, the nurse must question her beliefs and risk her own life in order to protect her family, her friends, and those that she loves.
Warning: Contains horror, violence, supernatural themes, drug use, and brief suggestive content. PG-13.

THE AUTHOR

Sarah Ellerton began her graphic novel obsession with 'Inverloch', a 760 page comic completed in 2007.
All of her artwork is created in Painter and Photoshop on a PC with a Wacom drawing tablet.
She currently resides in Queensland, Australia and works in IT.

 ~ from the author's website (link in the title)

 I've recommended another webcomic by author Sarah Ellerton, Inverloch, a few months ago, and to my neverending shame... I forgot to recommend this comic as well. You can view my.... hmm... review I suppose it is, here.
 Moving on now...

I've actually stumbled upon Phoenix Requiem before reading Inverloch. It was still an ongoing webcomic at the time so, on a free weekend I spent the better part of my time reading Inverloch and hoping PR would update faster.
PR is a story about a man who is plagued by shades and falls in love with the woman who saves his life. The story retells their experiences when faced with the supernatural and their reactions in the face of a shade invasion.

The story has a good ending, not one I was expecting but even better. I don't want to spoil anything but I can guarantee it is good!
There are 25 chapters split in five volumes so there's plenty of reading and awesome art to admire on a weekend.

Enjoy!

A Redtail's Dream

aRTD - A Redtail's Dream

"A Redtail's Dream" is a webcomic which updates every day except Sundays (because that's when I sleep, apparently), telling the tale of a young man and his dog on a very much involuntary journey on the other side of the Bird's Path, in an artificially created dream existence. As the only ones aware of their unusual situation, the duo has been given the task of bringing their fellow villagers back into their own reality before their souls are passed on to the realms of Tuonela. And the two are attempting to do so with zero enthusiasm.

~ from the author's website (http://www.minnasundberg.fi)

 This is one of the internet's best webcomics. It's filled with Finnish mythology and a healthy dose of humor. You will love the characters, Hannu, arrogant, rude and a problem magnet and his dog, Ville, the most adorable animal out there. The "villain" here is a fox who sends them on the most awesome of adventures to save their village in an alternate reality, a dream world.
The art is gorgeous, perfect for the story and, as the author says, only practice for her future comic. If this is her practice comic, I can't wait for the next one!
The comic updates almost daily (there are no updates on Sundays) which is a bonus.
That's for the good points: great characters, lovable (even Hannu), plenty of updates, beautiful art and well-thought story.
As for the bad points... hmm... well... there's no update on Sunday. Other than that I don't really see anything bad about it.
:D
So go read it, it's amazing!

P.S. While you're out there, check the author's gallery as well:
here

The Tarot Café

The Tarot Cafe is a manwha written and drawn by the amazing, Korean Park Sang-sun.

 The story is compiled in seven volumes, also released in English in the US by Tokyopop.

It centers around a young woman whose story starts in the Medieval Era and continues throughout history until today. The woman, named Pamela has supernatural powers and runs a cafe during the day and caters to otherworldly clients after closing. Raised by a dragon and made immortal through him, she makes a deal with a devil (Belial). Now Pamela searches for the pearls from Belial's necklace to fulfill her part of the contract. In exchange she wants to be a mortal again. Throughout the volumes she encounters magical cats, fairies, vampires and other devils who help her along the way. By her side she has Belus, a young man who saved her life once and has been next to her ever since.

I was first attracted to this series because of the art. I still flip through the pages and just stare at the lines hoping one day I could be at least partially as good. The story hooked me as well. Underneath all the searches, the despair, the hope and the fun there is a genuine love story with a bittersweet open ending.

Good Points: Belus, the art, the story, brooding Alecto, Belus again.

Bad Points: Seven volumes seems a little too short and I could have read at least seven more. However bittersweet, I loved the ending. It seemed somehow fitting after all that happens.

And now here is some eye candy to make you go and read and enjoy it:

And this link is for those that need to read before buying (I am among that type of people so I get how that is).

Seraph Inn - Inverloch

 Inverloch

Inverloch

The story of Inverloch centers around a young man named Acheron, from a horned wolf-like race called the da'kor. After a chance encounter with an elf, he finds himself setting out on a seemingly innocent mission - that of trying to locate Kayn'dar, another elf who has been missing for the past twelve years.
Meeting up with new friends and companions along the way, he quickly begins to learn that the world is not quite the peaceful place he believed it to be - embroiled with prejudice, racial segregation, and hidden danger. And the truth behind Kayn'dar's disappearance is something none of the party would ever expect...
Start date: June 2004
Approximate size when finished: 750 pages
Estimated end date: Mid 2007

Author Bio

Name: Sarah Ellerton
Country: Australia
DOB: 27th September
Occupation: Unix/Windows Systems Administrator
Email: artsangel@gmail.com
Click here for my blog!
I'm a self-confessed computer geek with a passion for games, comics, and drawing. I ventured into the web in the late 90s to showcase my amateurish Wheel of Time and Final Fantasy fanart, eventually deciding to experiment with the world of web comics and create my own characters and stories. My ultimate dream would be to see one of my stories adapted into a game or movie some day :)

~ from the author's website (link in the title)

 This is one of my favorite webcomics so far. It has love, suspense, magic, elves, thieves, fighting and all the other ingredients. In addition to the story it also has beautiful artwork. Across the 5 volumes you can see the author's style change, become better, the strokes more definitive, not wavering, the colors more... there.
This is a funny, charming story between a da'kor and an elf (not the average love story - bonus points for that). We have the journey, the friends, the enemy. It's like a fairytale for older teens and, well... for people in general (I'm not exactly a teen anymore).
Enjoy!