Top 10 Astonishing Fantasy Webcomics to Check Out

In this over the top adventure the only thing that stands between us and the zombie apocalypse are a bunch of blood-thirsty vampires. Of course the vampires’ reasons for preserving the human race might not exactly be noble, as they need human blood to survive, the extinction of humanity would mean their extinction as well. The comic follows a group of surviving humans and their vampiric allies, as the zombie hordes pick off the last remnants of the human race. The series also gives an interesting new origin for zombies, and connects their origins to vampires, with the first zombie created by a vampire starved of blood over sixty years and driven to madness.

#9: “A Redtail’s Dream” (2011-2013) Minna Sundberg

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The surreal and dreamlike setting of this comic, as well as its beautifully rendered art harmonize perfectly with its mythological setting. Written in creator Minna Sunderburg’s native Finnish and English, the story draws from Nordic legends. We follow a boy, Hannu, and his dog who are trapped in a dream world by a fox spirit, who blows off his duty of managing the northern lights. Hannu, who begins his journey as a reluctant hero, must usher the inhabitants of a village trapped in the dream world back to the mortal world, while dealing with the mischievous fox and a number of other spirits.

“Tales” acts as the backbone and much of the mythological history of the Overside universe, which features a number of other popular webcomics, in a bizarre and unique fantasy world. Ignoring many of the fantasy genre’s tropes, the series does not feature the usual cast of dwarves, elves, or even humans, instead featuring original creatures and a world for them to inhabit. Taking place hundreds of years before the many of the other stories of the Overside universe, we follows Koark, last Teller of the Order of Tales, fifteen years after the destruction of his hometown. Following the instructions of his deceased father Koark sets off on an epic quest to discover lost history.

This coming of age tale features a group of middle schoolers with superpowers going up against paranormal forces. When the new kid in school, Maxwell Puckett, discovers that he is one of the few who can see the supernatural all around him he joins the, Paranatural, Activity Club. Max and the other members of the club possess spectral abilities that help them go up against their supernatural foes. Much of the humor is drawn from Max’s self-deprecation and the comic’s clever wordplay, and it has aptly been described as “Ghostbusters meets the X-Men, except everyone is twelve”.

Although Phoenix Requiem takes most of its inspiration from Victorian romance, it breathes new life into the genre by combining it with elements of fantasy and mystery. The story begins after a young man, Jonas Faulner is found unconscious in the woods near the small town of Esk. He is nursed back to health by doctor in training Anya Katsukova, who he develops a budding friendship with. Anya’s skepticism is put to the test when a supernatural plague sweeps into town not long after Jonas’ arrival. Along with ex-solider Robyn Hart, who possesses an ability to see spirits they must unravel the many mysteries surrounding the town and their pasts.

With a visual style inspired by 19th century Japanese wood block prints, Emily Carroll’s art is unique and hauntingly beautiful. However it isn’t just the artwork that makes her short comics so memorable, the stories, often described as modern fairy tales, are filled with horror, fantasy, love, and bizarre characters. Each strip tells its own often bizarre and beautiful story, often with an unconventional storytelling style. Carroll’s prolific webcomics are unsurprisingly some of the most critically recognized of the last few years taking in a number of honors including multiple Eisner awards, the most prestigious awards in the comic book industry.

Unlike many of the artists on this list, Ellis was already a prolific comic book artist when he announced his innovative project “FreakAngels”. Set in a post-apocalyptic steampunk world, the strip followed a group of super powered survivors of a global flood six years earlier. Theses survivors, known as the FreakAngels, come up against a number of difficult struggles and moral decisions. Much of the comic centers around the twenty-three year old protagonists’ decisions of how to use their extraordinary powers, with some acting selflessly with others are as selfish as you can get. The coming of age themes, and those of power and responsibility are constants in this epic webcomic that was eventually picked up by and published by Avatar Press as a graphic novel.

Initially devised as a fan fiction comic set in the “Dungeons and Dragons” universe, creator Yan Gagné rewrote early versions of the comic to transform it into an original feature with its own lore. That comic’s lore has increased exponentially over the years and it has become the central comic in the Drowtales web comic universe, which features a number of comics that explore the backstories and characters featured in “Moonless Age”. Of course the deep and rich mythology isn’t the only thing to love about this webcomic, as it features a number of intriguing characters, stunning artwork and complex story that continually keeps its readers coming back for more.

When DC launched their webcomic imprint, Zuda, in 2007 they turned to someone well versed in dark fantasy to bring a series he had been developing for three years to fruition. The comic combined the supernatural fantasy and western genres by featuring a Pinkerton tuned bounty hunter Matthew McGregor going up against werewolves in the old west. If the premise of a cowboy hunting down werewolves isn’t cool enough on its own, the comic features a number of memorable and complex characters and ideas and a sepia tone art style that melds perfectly with the setting. Before we unveil our top pick here are a few honorable mentions: “The Fox Sister” (2011-) Jayd Aït-Kaci “Demonology 101” (2001-04) Faith Erin Hicks “Delve” (2009-) Andrew Hunter

Interning at Pixar, and later landing a job at DreamWorks, Cjazkowski’s experience and skills as a professional animator comes across in her beautiful webcomic, typically featuring stunning artwork mixed in with animated panels. Conceived when she was only thirteen years old, as a way to creatively cope with her depression, she spent the next eight years developing the story. As its name implies the actual story follows the teenage Ava and her possession by a trickster demon that makes life difficult for Ava. Set in a futuristic, faraway galaxy, the story blends multiple elements of science fiction and fantasy in a beautiful and often haunting space opera.