Our Fresh Friday Features takes us into the lives of warriors! Defending the world from enemies or fighting for your own survival, each of these battle-hardened characters has a code of their own and their own reason for fighting. Explore their stories and find your warrior's spirit in these inspirational titles of things worth fighting for.
- Comic - Age of Yōkai: With her father dead and her home destroyed, Sonomi joins a trio of wandering samurai in their quest to exact vengeance from the master of the yokai: the sorceress known as Odokuro.
- Manga - The Fall of Godz: Only the strong survive while the weak suffer and parish across the futuristic state known as the Badlands.
- Webcomic - Nerya: The Unblessed: In a world full of Demons and Beasts where being Blessed by the Gods means everything, Nerya, a powerless village girl strives to be a capable warrior.
- Webcomic - Salvation Deity: With the rise of discrimination & no aid from the other Gods, the Daran God waged war against the world.
Age of Yōkai, 200 pages - Published by Sean Meighen, (cc/ @smeighen)
Japan, Sengoku period. One hundred years of civil war have torn the country apart. The Land of the Rising Sun is soaked in the blood of its people. And from that blood…came the yokai. Sonomi was the daughter of a simple peasant farmer until the day a horde of murderous yokai descended upon her village. With her father dead and her home destroyed, Sonomi joins a trio of wandering samurai in their quest to exact vengeance from the master of the yokai: the sorceress known as Odokuro.
Story and Art by Eugen Betivu, Micah Myers, Rich Perrotta, Sean Meighen
Vivid action and a distressing battle at the beginning is a classic start to any revenge story. Yōkai are some of my favorite supernatural beings to read stories of, and this comic was a natual choice. Between the yokai, bandits, and civil war, life is hard enough. I'm curious to see more about this mysterious Odokuro, and wonder what kind of Yōkai she might be. What are her reasons? What else is in store for our heroes?
The Fall of Godz, 242 pages - Published by Regalia Comics, (cc/ @RegaliaComics)
In the year 2026, a group of superheroes known as the HARAI rule the world without mercy while the powerful crime syndicate known as A-KIRA runs organized crime in Katsu-O City. Only the strong survive while the weak suffer and parish across the futuristic state known as the Badlands. One day, a mysterious boy begins punishing the wicked that operate in Katsu-O City, and events are set in motion that will ultimately decide the fate of humanity and eventually lead to an EPIC showdown against the mighty so-called "Heroes" that will forever change the world as we know it.
Story and Art by Regalia Comics
When gods get too big for their own good, who brings them back down to size? The Godslayer of course! Going up against an entire league of gods has to be something that's at least a little intimidating, but not for our heroes. The artwork is incredibly dynamic and paneling smooth. I appreciate the love-letter to manga that this title is, and applaud it for the attention and commitment to detail. I'm sure a lot went into this!
Nerya: The Unblessed, 338 pages - Published by Neto Rito, (cc/ @NetoRito)
In a world full of Demons and Beasts where being Blessed by the Gods means everything, Nerya, a powerless village girl strives to be a capable warrior. After the mysterious death of her entire family, she sets off on a journey to find the truth of their world and to seek revenge. Will hard-work and courage prove to be enough to achieve her goals in an unfair world... or will she be forced to take a darker path?
Story and Art by Neto Rito
Constantly put down and underestimated, Nerya has a lot to prove, to everyone and to herself. She's clearly a hard worker and doesn't tolerate disrespect. Such detailed and clean colored work is no easy task, especially with complex fight scenes. The vertical format is utilized incredibly well with lots of beautiful backgrounds too. It's overall a feast to see and I suggest it for anyone who loves an underdog story!
Salvation Deity, 247 pages - Published by Mup.art, (cc/ @mupart)
In a world of 8 nations ruled by 8 Gods, a disease known to make people turn to stone was spreading amongst the Daran people. With the rise of discrimination & no aid from the other Gods, the Daran God waged war against the world. A few years later after the war & the sealing, an ordinary boy named Lernis stumbles upon a pilgrimage to save the Gods. Growing up with existentialist views, he will soon realize on this journey how the politics of the outside world are more complex than he thinks. Is it really possible for him to advocate his values to align the views of the Gods & the world?
Story and Art by Mup.art
The art and backgrounds on this are what initially drew my attention to this. I really appreciate all of the work that's gone into this, especially the design of the characters, unique weapons and environments. Backgrounds are something I often see skipped or not as well developed, but it's clear Mup isn't shying away from them. It feels like a nice but sad coming of age story, and flows very well in vertical format. I'm looking forward to catching up entirely over the weekend. Great work Mup!
That's all for now, but we'll have another set of Fresh Friday reading recommendations next week. You can also browse through our Featured Comics news section and add them to your Library for future reading!
Check out more amazing stuff from @ArtCrumbs below.
Did you get a chance to check out any of these fresh picks? If you enjoy any of these stories, don't forget to add them to your library, and share your thoughts in the comments below! You can also join our Discord server to talk with other readers and creators.