Life is full of unexpected twists and turns that can leave us feeling disheartened and defeated in having to make incredibly tough choices. In this article, we showcase four comics that capture the essence of life not going as planned, and offer a lighthearted perspective on navigating the unpredictable journey we call life. The comics in our Fresh Friday Features encourage us to embrace the chaos and just roll with it!
This week, ArtCrumbs picked four titles that they feel deserve more reads! In our line-up this week, we've got one comic from each category to give you a varied list of must-reads for your weekend!
- Comic - Adventures of a System Admin: Everyday there is a hacker with new tricks trying to gain access to the company but JJ is always there to save them.
- Graphic Novel - Frank: A ghost tethered to his undead corpse, Frank and his beloved self shamble around the end of times looking for the reasons why.
- Manga - Dragon Universe: The world is governed by powers called "Talents", a gift given to humans through the the Talent Tree.
- Webcomic - the SEASONS: Summer and Winter have been feuding for a long time, several reincarnations ago.
Adventures of a System Admin, 289 pages - Published by Bearded Man Comics, (cc/ @Gordidon)
A college dropped out and aspiring system administrator was hired by E.L.Y a research company to protect and confront all type of hackers from exfiltrating valuable information. Everyday there is a hacker with new tricks trying to gain access to the company but JJ is always there to save them.
Story and Art by Adrian Iglesias, Alex Simmons, Candela Grizutti, Ely Santos, Juan Espinosa, Tchaikovsky Santos
Comments from @ArtCrumbs:
As someone who isn't tech savvy this was a really fun comic to read. It's fun and interesting to learn about being safe online and see all the different things that can go wrong, but in a story format. This is a comic I've been following for a little bit, and I'm so happy to share. The art for this is awesome, it's colorful and the mood is always appropriate.
The story is equally as fun as I think JJ is a relateable person. He wants to find a job doing what he loves and he does find that, but then the chaos begins. Hackers are constantly trying to break into the data for his company, and their poor preparations makes them easy targets. But, there is something suspicious going on and it's almost a little too easy.
JJ is on to something, sniffing out problems at his new job. When the person he doesn't get along with is suddenly dating his sister, it gets even more weird! I love this comic and anyone passionate about tech would enjoy it
Frank, 75 pages - Published by Broken Icon Comics, (cc/ @BIC)
What would you do if you died in the Apocalypse but never moved on? Frank was an ordinary man who found himself in that very situation. As a ghost tethered to his undead corpse, Frank and his beloved self shamble around the end of times looking for the reasons why. Frank is a comedy unlike any other with action and laughs from cover to cover.
Story and Art by Broken Icon Comics
Comments from @ArtCrumbs:
If you've ever wondered how you'd do in a Zombie apocalypse, I certainly hope you don't turn out like Frank did! This hilarious comic looks at Frank's ghost being bound to his body, his undead body! He follows and guides his body through the struggles of being a brain-dead zombie. It's probably as hard as you imagine, dodging cars, survivors who want to kill your undead body, and killing other people and dealing with their ghosts! It's a comedy of undead proportions and I have read this series a few times over. It's just a fun read!
Dragon Universe, 349 pages - Published by Lancers, (cc/ @NL)
[!! Read Left to Right !! ] If you lived in a world where everyone was Talented, would anyone truly be unique? The world of Dragon Universe is set in a mixed era, where Fantasy and Sci-fi meet! The world is governed by powers called "Talents", a gift given to humans through the Talent Tree. Follow the adventures of Yuki Versai, a strange and lonely girl who lives in a woodland mansion, as she and her new unlikely allies, Bryan and Hitachi, explore the vast, Talented world around them!
Story and Art by Lancers
Comments from @ArtCrumbs:
Money doesn't grow on trees, but Talent sure does! Dragon Universe makes a fascinating proposition in that Talents are handed out Giving-Tree style. A young girl lives alone in this massive mansion, but it's clear right away that she isn't normal. Living in a big mansion, practicing her blade-swinging skills, and an eye patch?! Clearly a character that I want to know more about.
The action shows up quickly when a mysterious group appears, attacking Yuki and searching for something on her property. She's saved by two odd boys and they move forward in an adventure to repair her house and confront those thugs!
I've stopped at the 3rd chapter, but I'm really excited to read more. It's definitely been added to my personal reading list for the weekend. Great job! There's lots of lore, a magic and power system, and really dynamic art. Fantastic work!
the SEASONS, 24 pages - Published by ANYA.KAMI, (cc/ @anya-kami)
Summer and Winter have been feuding for a long time, several reincarnations ago. Isgerd, this winter wants to deal with this problem once and for all. But in order for Winter to meet Summer, she will have to kill Spring. ★Update every Wednesday★
Story and Art by ANYA.KAMI
Comments from @ArtCrumbs:
What an amazing idea, to personify the seasons and create a drama out of them. I love the art in this series so much, the backgrounds are beautiful and full, the perspectives are great, the colors feel accurate to the mood. Overall, I was immediately impressed with the art.
As for the story, we find a young girl, awake and clueless to who or where she is, lost in a snowstorm. Coming from a place where winter can get to -20C or -10F very often, I can feel that cold and know how scary that could be. Based on some of panels and dialogue, I'm curious to see if this girl is our Spring. I was happy to see she was rescued, but it doesn't look like she'll be safe for long.
Great work Anya Kami!
That's all for now, but we'll have another set of Fresh Friday reading recommendations next week. If you're looking for more recommendations, make sure to opt-in for our weekly reading list email! You can find that in your User Profile Notification settings. You can also browse through our Featured Comics news section!
Check out more amazing stuff from @ArtCrumbs below.
ArtCrumbs