Twilight Lady – an Urban Fantasy webcomic by Blake JK Chen

I’ve listed below the 6 main storylines so far in this comic’s existence, with a quick (and by no means complete) run-through of notable events. Short tales like “Peace Time” have been left out, since it’s not exactly fair to compare an 8-page story to, say, the “Oblivion Symphony” arc which spanned 6 chapters and 150+ pages. I’ve included links to the archive page of each storyline for those who haven’t read them all, or who wish to refresh their memory.

Poll will run from now till June 15th. Without further ado, here are the candidates:

1) The Secret of Cass Corridor – We are introduced to the denizens of Cass Corridor, including Rona and Jen as they run into Jason Kane and his cronies in a dark alleyway. Rona has her first encounter with the Lady, who shows up and metes out her specific brand of justice on Kane and gang (and later, on a muscle-bound demon named Stag). MC Vlad gives Rona a drink which causes her to hallucinate. She meets Zorro, who reveals to her the Lady’s secret.

2) The Realm in the Middle – Our first real glimpse of Subrealm, that curious neighboring reality that’s often the catalyst of events in this series. The Lady takes Rona on an astral journey, introducing her to a certain former escape artist turned grey alien and helping her locate the ghost of her father, who is on a spiritual quest of his own.

3) The Disappeared – Our Lady comes to the aid of Fang, a channeler turned shape-shifter accused of murder. Featuring the first appearance of paranormal “threat” handlers P.T. Shaw and Doctor Marjorie Dreyfuss.

4) Oblivion Symphony – The Lady has to rescue a former warrior ally/protege from the clutches of the demon troll Belahm. Rona is introduced to the Nemsiiki art. Along the way, Perse and a bunch of astral voyagers get involved, and the quest takes our entire crew deep into Subrealm, to a place called Rwahle that’s bathed in orblight.

5) Angel of Death… Nemesis of Decay – Eleanor, the Lady’s ostensible arch-nemesis (now that’s a loaded term), unleashes her grand plan. The Lady and Eleanor have an epic face-to-face. (Or is that arm-to-arm?) The ever-nutty Doctor Dreyfuss returns in all her showtune-loving, death-defying glory. Jason also makes a comeback. All that, and zombies.

6) Dance of the Indwellers – The ghost of Kiko, a twelve-year-old boy, seeks the Lady out in a bid to avenge his murder. Francesc, the brooding leader of a goth-rock band, appears to be the prime suspect. Meanwhile, Jen meets Isabella, a retired songstress and amateur demonologist whose mansion houses a rather mysterious garden of unearthly delights. Things then get a bit… complicated.

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… “Dance of the Indwellers”? Feel free to comment on Chapter 3 specifically (since it’s probably freshest on your mind) or the storyline as a whole.

As many of you may have noticed from the banner that perpetually hovers above this site, Twilight Lady has been a proud member of the webcomic collective SpiderForest since 2009.

One of the unique things about this collective is that each comic that applies to join goes through a voting process involving every member who chooses to take part. Each voter assesses the quality of the work at hand and makes a decision whether or not to admit the comic.

These decisions are not made lightly. Having observed (and participated in) quite a view voting cycles now, it never ceases to amaze and impress me how much painstaking deliberation goes on, how much time and effort these folks put into reviewing each applicant. Lengthy debates are not uncommon, even the occasional fistfight (metaphorically speaking… thankfully these discussions largely take place online, as SF creators hail from all over the known universe).

Each voting round I take part in makes me grow ever more appreciative that Twilight Lady made the cut, all those cycles ago.

Without further ado, these are the latest inductees to SpiderForest:

Dark White – Caught in the middle of a kingdom and marriage divided, a prince discovers he could be the key to preventing civil war. A fantasy comic with a dark edge.

Footloose – Keti Jones, a half-human (plus quarter-nymph and quarter-werewolf) joins a dojo at the insistence of her faerie godmother. Not an easy premise to pull off, but creators Ally and Em possess genuine wit and a sharp imagination.

Gods of the Game – A DnD-type roleplaying game comes to life. Set in the year 1987, Jody Susskind infuses realistic period details and charming character nuances into this sword & sorcery fantasy.

LaSalle’s Legacy – A young ship captain follows in his father’s footsteps and discovers that, even in the cut-throat high seas, loyalty and camaraderie exist. A fun swashbuckler and moving coming-of-age tale.

LeyLines – Palace intrigue in a fantasy world setting. Robin Dempsey captures well the looming danger and dread that comes with political power, along with the fragility of emotional ties in such an environment. And she draws cool masks.

Silent Pirate – A shy kid is slingshotted by a bully onto a pirate ship. He ends up joining the pirates (natch). Like its protagonist, this comic doesn’t laugh out loud. Instead, it charms with gentle, surreal humor.

Spine – Espionage in a post-apocalyptic world. Violent and trippy, with cinematic artwork and a delightfully over-the-top battle sequence that’s interrupted by a rhino whale. Yes, a rhino whale.

Most of these comics are relatively new, with still-manageable archives. No better time to jump in…