For those who may prefer completed stories to comics that are still updating there are three long-form webcomics available that are entirely finished. These are ‘Phoenix Feathers’, ‘Looking for the Sun’ and ‘Artifaxis’. Not a fan of long comics? Then you can read the shorts! There are about 10, ranging from one page to over 30 pages in length. Prefer printed editions to webcomics? Most of Morag’s comics are also available to buy in single issues or graphic novel format through Sweatdrop Studios (of which she is a core member). There are a few of Morag’s comics that are only available in print format, but never fear as she has helpfully uploaded previews of them to her website so you can try before you buy. By now you may have picked up what I’m trying to say – if you want to read some UK webcomics, Toothycat is the place to go!

(pause as I get my breath back)

Sorry, I’ve calmed down a bit now. In order to keep this column to a respectable length, I’ve had to force myself to pick just one of Morag’s webcomics to cover this fortnight. The lucky comic is (dramatic pause) … Looking for the Sun! I’ve chosen Looking for the Sun in particular because it is a long story, which is also complete. It spans approximately three years of the artist’s work (from 2005-2008), giving an insight into how her work has developed over that time. The comic is split into 28 chapters, which are then divided over four graphic novel volumes (at manga tankoubon size) for the printed editions. The comic is sorted by chapter and volume on the website so its easy to see which chapters appear in which books. The entire story is free to read on the website, as are the other comics there, so please have fun reading them! I will certainly be covering more of Morag’s comics in future columns but for now lets get with our search for the Sun.

Looking for the Sun is a fantasy adventure comic centring around a young woman called Kite, who is on a quest to find a world’s missing Sun. This is not the actual ball of gas, but the part that shines and inspires people – without it the world would slowly wither and die. Soon she crosses paths with the white-haired sorcerer, Saryth, who is to be her companion on this quest. Their search leads them across many different worlds, each with their own unique inhabitants and environments. Will they be able to find the Sun before its too late…? If the two main characters, Kite and Saryth, were actors you might say they had good chemistry - they go through a lot together, and as things happen to them their loyalties are stretched. They retain essentially the same personalities throughout the series but seem to grow subtly as individuals and of course become closer companions as the story goes on. Side characters are many and varied and include adults, children, old folks, family, enemies and mysterious strangers.

Bringing so many varied characters and environments to life has certainly made the artist challenge her own abilities and improve over time. The artwork throughout is drawn with a nib-pen, utilising hand-drawn detail rather than screentone. This style reflects the often more historical fantasy setting well. As the comic progresses there are some very noticeable improvements to the use of this pen technique on both the characters and backgrounds. Whilst the comic was still in production, Morag placed as one of the winners of Tokyopop’s Rising Stars of Manga competition as well as winning first place in a character design competition at IMAF (the International Manga and Anime Festival), both in 2006. These awards reflect the work she puts in to her art and writing projects, and also the fun she has with them. Whilst some people might be put off by the art in the early chapters, it should be noted that the characters remain easily recognisable as themselves wherever they appear, so any artistic changes do not impact the reader's understanding of the story.

Once readers have finished a chapter, a volume, or even the whole story, they might be interested in checking out some lovely extra content. Luckily there are plenty of easily accessible extras for Looking for the Sun, all available on the right-hand side of its main index page on the website. These extras include a gallery holding lots of sketches and full-colour standalone art, a fanart gallery that is frequently updated, a character page for quick reference and a bonus short story written by Morag.

So all in all Looking for the Sun is a great UK webcomic package: a complete tale with a compelling setting and interesting characters, whose artwork develops over time to an award-worthy level. There are also lots of quality extras to boot, which really capture the fun the creator had whilst making the comic. A good series for fantasy fans and of course fans of UK manga, as it is probably the longest complete printed UK manga series to-date at the time of writing this column.

Vicki Paull (aka. Wikivic) discovered comics in 2004, fell in love with them and started trying to create her own. In the four years since then she has devoured all the UK comics she could get her hands on, taken notes and written several reviews which are available to read freely on her website. She is now poking her head up out of her manga-styled burrow and is digging around like a comic-loving mole trying to find some fantastic western style UK webcomics to inspire her.

Vicki’s webcomic, Cute Loveable Mascot Training Academy, can be found here www.clmtrainingacademy.com
Her portfolio, reviews and other info can be found on her website here www.bumblemoo.com

Feed the comic mole! UK webcomic recommendations, comments or questions can be emailed to Vicki This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it