All throughout May, I'll spotlight a different webcomic. Like with the month of independent comics and the month of LGBT comics, I figure I will let you webcomic creators out there suggest your comic for spotlight during this month. So if you want me to spotlight your comic, drop me a line at bcronin@comicbookresources.com!

Today we look at L.S. Zwarenstein's Geist!, a comic about a teenage girl who is scarred by mystical forces. After recovering well enough to return to school, she determines to get her revenge against those that have wronged her. It is a striking story of revenge within a highly intricate alternate reality where invisible monsters impact everyone's daily lives.

Zwarenstein has created a world where invisible monsters known as Geists roam the land, and society has grown to adapt to their presence. They have studied certain patterns and can now basically predict when and where they will appear on any given day. Due to this, one specific type of skill that has developed is that of "running." Trained city runners who can relay messages across the city quickly, since cell phone usage attracts geists, so areas where geists might be have to go "radio silent," hence the use of runners. The protagonist of the story, Kate, was a runner until she and the younger sister of Kate's best friend broke curfew and ignored instructions. They were caught by geists. Kate nearly died (her friend's sister is still in a coma). Kate has basically recovered, but she is scarred, both physically and psychically, by her ordeal. We first meet her as she is receiving treatment from a Geist Trauma specialist.





Here is a glimpse of how the world of geists works - note the list of places or items to avoid.



You see, Kate was getting caught up with a popular group of rich kids at the school known as "Geist Lords." They are part of a political party (mostly made up of rich people and/or aristocrats) who believe that people should be CONTROLLING the geists, not hiding from them. It was their influence that led to the tragedy that befell Kate and her friend. As you can see, this is a pretty big betrayal of Kate's old friends...





However, we don't know exactly what happened yet, and since Kate is such a nice kid, the odds are that it was actually something that the Geist Lords did, not Kate. Either way, Kate is on the outs with the Geist lords, too. In class, the stress of a test causes her curse to flare up and the Geist Lords, being jerks, make a move...



So there you have it - this is a continuing comic (one page every Thursday) with Zwarenstein showing us Kate's attempt to get revenge on the Geist Lords while trying to patch things up with her former best friend (who hates her for what happened to his sister).

It is an interesting plot and, like I noted, Zwarenstein has really created a lush, in-depth world for her story here. And her artwork, with the watercolor coloring, is quite strong.

You can check the series out here. At the site, Zwarenstein provides a TON of background info that can catch you up quickly. Also, this is a pretty new series (less than two chapters in), so you're basically at that really nice stage of still being at the basic ground floor of the story while also having a goodly amount of content to read!