Starting Fresh: GC Webtoon Picks for January 2022

It’s a new year — and that means new Webtoons recommendations from the team at GateCrashers. Are you a Webtoons reader? If you aren’t, we want to point you in the direction of the Webtoons app, a platform we believe is the easiest place to start if you want to begin reading webcomics. Whether this is day one of your journey or you’re a pro scrolling late into the night, the Crashers are adamant that these are three comics you need to be reading.

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Death Rescheduled

By Snailords
Platform: WebToons
Genre: Thriller
Submitted by Luke W. Henderson // @LukeWHendersonM

The third series by prolific WebToons creator Snailord, Death: Rescheduled, is a stunningly beautiful comic with an intense premise. Set in a world where once a year, a citizen is legally allowed to declare their intent to kill someone, this story explores ideas of violence and justice in this type of society. The main character, Kreyul, is considered a “penny” (because he wants change…), as he is against the policy and finds loopholes to save victims from being killed while fighting against a society that is extremely in favor of the “death law” continuing. Beyond this story, this webtoon was one of the first to make me stop for multiple seconds just to appreciate the gorgeous art. Snailord’s work is bright and colorful and they have a tremendous talent for making flowing, atmospheric backgrounds. There are many moments when it feels like their art is physically glowing. Death: Rescheduled is still in its early episodes, so be sure to jump in before you miss out!

The Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn

By Tri Vuong
Platform: Webtoons
Genre: Fantasy
Submitted by Sheri L. Williams // @AuthorSheri

If there is one thing you should know about me, it’s that I am an unabashed Mike Mignola fan. So, when I stumbled upon The Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn, a story with strong Mignola vibes, I was instantly interested. My interest was not misplaced. Oscar Zahn is creepy and funny and everything I love about webcomics. It’s pretty much the perfect length, at 100 episodes, and it never gets stale or boring. Oscar Zahn is a paranormal investigator without a body, but with enough sass to get things done. I laughed and I gasped and I sped through the whole thing in a few days. It’s one of my favorite webcomics, and I come back to it whenever I need a serotonin boost.

Witch Creek Road

By Garth Matthams & Kenan Halilovic
Platform: Webtoons
Genre: Horror
Submitted by Chuck Marsh // @Gdex86

A bunch of teenagers go into the woods to the ominously named location for a night of drinking, partying, and fornication and while you might think you know how this story ends that’s only the beginning. Witch Creek Road written by Garth Matthams, art by Kenan Halilovic, colors by colorfactory and Ania Jarmolowska, and edited Dayna Broder, is a 4 season webtoon right up the alley for people who think Halloween should start right after Labor Day. The first season wears on it’s sleeves the debt to the slasher genre where a disposable cast of pretty teens are slowly and gruesomely killed bit by bit but unlike the Friday the 13ths and Halloween our trio of goth girl killers don’t become the stars of the comic but become more of the connective tissue that binds together the expanding story that goes from slasher origins to an Evil Dead mixed with cosmic horror. No, it is our group of partying teens and those who live in their wake that drive the story. The heart of the series is how they react to their world being shattered and the choices they make about how they will die and what portions of their humanity they will be willing to give up to “survive.” The art from Halilovic helps with the presentation, giving things a CW feel.

Due to the highly serialized nature of the series, it’s recommended you make like a creature of the curves and experience in a linear way, but if one happens to feel the need to be more of the angles and jump around in time, Season 1 Episode 18 is a tidy little one shot showing what the comic can do with only a tiny bit of gore. Season 3’s two-part opener, “Tales from the Recently Deceased,” expands the lore of the series while reiterating how horrible the wolves must be for people who cross their paths. Lastly, the season 4 opener, “The Shark,” is a one-shot that expands the pantheon of terror to a surprising and familiar place. Having recently ended, all 94 episodes are currently available without use of Webtoons’ Daily Pass system and makes it a
quick weekend read.

Trigger Warning for the Series: It is not shy with the gore being explicitly drawn. And the backstory of one of the main recurring characters heavily involves bullying