GRAPHIC NOVELS & WEBCOMICS

Castle Waiting, by Linda Medley.  (review cross-posted to my book blog)
[link]
It's a medley (get it? ) of "nouveau fairy tales" (Publisher's Weekly) threaded into one long story -- with Inception-like sub-levels of story-within-a-story -- that starts with a reworked "Sleeping Beauty" and wanders through bits of "Iron Henry," "The Musicians of Bremen," "Jack and the Beanstalk," and other tales and nursery rhymes.  Meet good and bad witches; protective and cleptomaniacal sprites; women fighting for faith and independence; nuns having fun; a brawny, flirtatious horse and other characters who join one big madcap family.   


Hark! A Vagrant! by Kate Beaton.
[link]
Beaton spoofs history, literature, and other fun stuff!  My favorites:

80's business woman
Crusoe
Dracula   
Elizabeth I  
French Revolution
The Great Gatsby   
King Lear
The Last Days of Georges Danton
Napoleon's Height
Queen Bess at Tilbury
Shelley and Byron and Dreams    
Wuthering Heights, part 2 and part 3


NEW Hyperbole and a Half, by Allie Brosh
[link]

Thank you, Facebook friend who linked to The Year Kenny Loggins Ruined Christmas!  Allie's drawings are purposefully preschool-esque, but don't underestimate the power of those googly-eyed stick figures.  They will stare into your soul and make you laugh at her most traumatic memories.  

The best:  

A Better Pain Scale (or, "Boyfriend Doesn't Have Ebola. Probably")
Adventures in Depression
The Scariest Story
This Is Why I'll Never Be An Adult     (I kind of want a "Clean ALL The Things!(?)" t-shirt now).
Wolves   
The Year Kenny Loggins Ruined Christmas


No Rest for the Wicked, by Andrea L. Peterson.
[link]
Princess November has always suffered from insomnia, but it's been worse since the moon disappeared.  This webcomic twists a number of fairy tales, including "The Princess and the Pea," "Red Riding Hood," and "Puss in Boots."  It's comic and dark in turns (more Grimm than Disney), and the updates are worth the wait.

3/08/2012: In the words of a certain sweet 'n spicy cowgirl, SWEET MOTHER OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN!!!  
SHE UPDATED AGAIN! 3 MORE NEW PAGES!! YEEEHAAAWWW!!!


Rapunzel's Revenge, by Shannon and Dean Hale, illustrated by Nathan Hale
(review cross-posted to my book blog)
[link]
On her twelfth birthday, Rapunzel discovers what her "mother" has been hiding behind the garden wall.  This Annie Oakley-style princess proceeds on a quest to right wrongs and save lives.  You know what they say–-hell hath no fury like a girl with abnormally long hair who's been locked in a tower too long.


Shrub Monkeys, by Katie Shanahan
[link]
An autobiographical comic following the antics of animator/freelance storyboard artist Katie Shanahan, her brother "Shagster," and sister Hess.  And no, they didn't know the Urban Dictionary definition of "shrub monkey" when they chose that title.   See FAQ#1: [link]
  

FANFICTION

Beauty and the Beast

"Picture This," by TrudiRose [link]
Gaston/Belle.  Is that even possible?  


Harry Potter

"Fox Ears," by The Starhorse [link]
Several days after the battle, something changed in George.  Or maybe Charlie just hadn't noticed it before, confusing his brother's silence for grief.  George was planning something.
   

Inuyasha

"Frivolous Sentimentalities", by Tally Mark
[link]
I've never read Inuyasha, but 's fanart, and the fluff-tastic passage she included from the story, made me really curious.  Tally Mark's style--the innocent, incredulous voice she gives to Kagome--is sweet and funny and fluff-tacular without being cheesy.  


Labyrinth

"Dark Hour of Night", by dansemacabre. [link]
Eight years after its defeat, the Labyrinth is under new rule.  By day, the king is happily married; by night, the kingdom descends into nightmare.  Meanwhile, his young rival returns through the looking glass...  


"End of Days", also by dansemacabre [link]
Home for Christmas, Sarah receives a call for help.  The Labyrinth is falling into ruin, and even her friends wonder if she is somehow to blame.


"The Goblin Market," by Viciously Witty
[link]
Weaving human and Goblin myth, the story begins with 24-year-old Sarah teaching literature in Dublin.  For nine years she has tried to move on.  But odd coincidences keep piling up, pulling her into a much older and less innocent story.


"Immortal Love," by KnifeEdge
[link]
Ten years after defeating the Labyrinth, Sarah sees goblins everywhere...


"Of Pineapples and Kings," by Lixxle
[link]
Sarah teaches Jareth about Halloween, fights him for a cinnamon cookie, and engages in a battle of spit-take-worthy snark   With plenty of fluff to make a fangirl melt.


"What You Wish For," by KnifeEdge [link]
It is New Year's Eve, Sarah's birthday.  Lingering doubts prompt her to make another wish...  


Phantom of the Opera

"Bury Me Standing," by morleigh13
[link] (FanFiction)
[link] (dA)
For years after Don Juan, Christine enjoys a comfortable life with her beloved husband, despite the continuing disapproval of his family.  But in one night, one family member destroys everything, turning Christine into a fugitive accused of murder...


X-Men

"Jus Ad Bellum," by seperis
[link]
Rogue enters an alternate universe--how would the world be different if she had died that night on the Statue of Liberty?  An intense, dark story about the limits of just war and the cycle of persecutor/victim.

REVIEWS

Insatiable Booksluts:  [link]
Three bloggers rave, rant, and/or raise their eyebrows at various book-related happenings.  They also host reading challenges -- with prizes!  

The Nostalgia Chick: [link]
Lindsay Ellis reviews movies and other pop culture phenomena from back in the day.

The Nostalgia Critic:  [link]
Doug Walker reviews movies and other pop culture phenomena from back in the day.



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