In the spirit of celebrating sci-fi and fantasy-themed romance with LGBTQ characters, this week's selections from Tapas and Webtoon pull together all of these elements with great writing and beautiful art. Whether one-sided crushes and a lot of pining or slow-burn romance appeal the most, the webcomics below will scratch the itch.
From a bizarre dreamscape to another apocalypse reboot to lungs that grow flowers, here are this week's weekend webcomics selections.
Casual Hex
Tapping into the nether always comes with a cost. For Raziel Bautista -- who wants to become a famous hexorcist -- and Raumi Scriber -- who wants to reboot the apocalypse for the third time -- that price is a mysterious red string that ties them together. With different goals and totally different approaches to dealing with the supernatural, these two get sucked into an unexpected comedy of errors that they have no choice but to navigate together.
Written by Taneka Stotts, illustrated by Ria Martinez and colored by Genué Revuelta, Casual Hex is a queer, supernatural comic with a twist. Martinez's art perfectly sets the tone of the story, Stotts' writing is sharp and Revuelta's colors are eye-popping and perfect. Don't sleep on this comic.
Available on Tapas and Webtoon, updates Fridays
Ghost Lights by Fanta
Noah has strange dreams all the time, but when they start overlapping with reality, he starts to worry. His best friend, Robin, is used to patching him up and listening to his weird stories, but it's been some time since Noah came out with something really bizarre. Still, Robin worries. When the pair end up getting lured into a place from their past, they slowly begin to recall memories from before their current lives -- and realize they weren't always human.
Ghost Lights is a slow-burn, supernatural romance by Fanta that was originally created as a standalone one-shot in 2015. Now, it's a sprawling, epic story with gorgeous world-building, heart-rending characters and a magnetism that cannot be denied. Chapters are interspersed with extra scenes and art, all of which create even stronger attachments to Noah, Robin, their love story and their world.
Available on Tapas and Webtoon, updates monthly
It Stems From Love by Soya S. Helm
Unrequited crushes are hard enough without physical evidence of those feelings. When Charli wishes Hana would look at her the same way she looks at the flowers in their shop, it has a strange and unexpected effect, though she soon realizes it isn't unprecedented.
Soya S. Helm's It Stems From Love stumbles through all the awkward, early stages of a relationship, from the perspective of a protagonist who struggles to express herself and her feelings clearly. The writing and art are light and fun, though the comic also delves into the deeper, more stressful parts of having anxiety and trying to navigate romance. Helm's work is really beautiful and incredibly captivating from start to finish.
Available on Tapas and Webtoon, complete