I asked on the tapas forum for artists to send me their Romance Comics so I can pick my favorites out of the participants. Out of eleven Comics I picked my three favorites. So let’s dive into this list of underrated Webtoons, who all deserve more readers. I am very thankful that I get the opportunity to share these beautiful Comics and recommend you check them out.
Relationships aren’t black and white – 1. place
1.Lucid Memories
- Episodes: 33+
- Tags: Drama, LGBTQ
- Artist: meganebii
Official summary on Tapas: „Mason has lost all memories of his life. However, that begins to change when a mysterious man appears in his dreams and insists he play a series of gameshows to recover his memories. With his help, will Mason regain his identity, or is the dream man less truthful than he claims to be…?“
Underrated Webtoons – Short Review: This story really touched me. How meganebii doesn’t have at least 100.000 subscribers is beyond me. This comic is so well written and I could really feel the emotions of the characters because it is conveyed beautifully. Please don’t hesitate and go read this hidden masterpiece.
What I like about this massively underrated Webtoon:
The art
I love the color palette of „Lucid Memories“. (I am not an artist, so please bear with me) They use many brown and saturated tones which give the comic a pretty dark vibe. The background is also not simply white but always colored – which I love, because the transitions look beautiful. To sum it up: I think the art style is really unique and looks effortless. Do you want to read Manhwa with godlike art? Check out this list: Romance Manhwa with good art.
The storytelling
This story moves slowly. Even some very popular and well-known Webtoons don’t seem to get that right. I don’t want to get Information thrown at me but slowly know more and more about the characters by seeing them interact with each other – and „Lucid Memories“ does exactly that, while keeping the mystery alive. I really like the pacing so far.
The approach to feelings
How do you teach a person who has lost his memories and the feelings linked to it, what specific emotions feel like? That is one concept of “Lucid memories” and I feel like that is one of the many charms of this comic. August frequently challenges Mason to help him retrieve his memories and the first challenge was for him to cook something with tomatoes, eggs and LOVE. Mason doesn’t get it right the first time and I really like how the complexity of feelings is shown in this particular chapter, but also throughout the story.
Short interview with the creator – Underrated Comics – recommendation 1
Do you have a favorite Episode?
The episode I like the most is episode 18: Studious! I think it’s got a good blend of excitement, emotional tension, and reveals about Mason’s situation.
What do you love most about creating comics?
That’s so hard! I love so much about it. But I guess I’d say that comics/ creating stories is cathartic for me. It’s the way I best express my own complicated feelings and emotions on things.
You should read if you:
- don’t mind that Romance isn’t the main focus for now (there is only a bit of blushing and some hint of Romance at this point)
- like it when you can’t be exactly sure who the second male lead is supposed to be
- love reading a story where the characters have depth and you can’t put them into categories (for example the mother – she is so damn creepy…)
2. place: A sweet story about friendship
2.ILY Lily
- Episodes: 42+
- Tags: Romance, Drama
- Artist: Syvuiene
Official summary on Webtoons: „Callin has never really had a friend before until he meets a new student at his school! Will Callin stop being so moody and accept her friendship? Will the people in her life accept him? Will hot chocolates be made?! (spoiler: answer to question #3 is yes)“
Short Review: “ILY Lily” is a very sweet story with two charming main characters that try to navigate through their school life and complicated relationships. Although the comic covers serious issues like bullying it doesn’t get too overwhelming for the reader. The main characters communicate well and the relationships feel very real.
What I like about this Webtoon:
The female lead
The female lead is everything in “ILY Lily”. Lily has a very bubbly personality but keeps true to her values. I also love that she is drawn kind of chubby – finally some more protagonists with a different body type. Although she has pretty low self-esteem and lets her boyfriend walk all over her in the beginning, she becomes fierce when it comes to Callin. She really goes out of her way to protect him – even when it means she has to cut ties with her boyfriend and her best friend.
The character development
Callin starts off as an unapproachable loaner who doesn’t like to talk to anyone and convinces himself, that this is how it is supposed to be for him – until Lily comes into his life. He quickly changes his view of her and regrets his prejudices. I also love how he doesn’t turn away from their friendship at a specific point (I don’t want to go into detail as this would spoil you) but talks to her and tries to figure it out with Lily. I wish for Jayce and Ava to have some character development too, though.
Small little details
In the first chapter Callin does his math homework and there are many equations – Syvuiene took her time to make sure they are all correct (at least that’s what a comment said, I am not to be trusted with math). There are many small little details like this throughout the Comic, which I really like. From the cafe-owner mentioning mental health day to Lily often wearing different socks – these small additions are adding immensely to the charm of this Comic.
Underrated Webtoons: Short interview with the creator
Do you have a favorite Episode?
I think my favorite episode is episode 15. I had a lot of fun drawing it and I think it’s a cute character moment for Callin ^__^ but episode 31 is a close second.
What do you love most about creating comics?
My favorite thing about making comics has got to be reading all my comments every time I post. It’s like the light of my life. All my readers have been very sweet to me. I’m like eternally grateful for them. I also love talking to other comic artists. I’ve never met anyone irl who has the same interests as me so I love making friends and reading their comics 🙂 there’s a lot of webtoons that I love so much that I don’t think I would have found if I never published my own.
You should check it out if you:
- don’t mind when the female lead has another boyfriend at first
- like it, when the main couple becomes friends first before they develop feelings
- love it, when MCs are opposites: she is extroverted and bubbly and he is introverted and skeptical
Tension, sexuality and a complicated start
3.Solanaceae
- Episodes: 70+
- Tags: BL, Comedy, Fantasy
- Artist: DarkChibiShadow
Official summary on Tapas: „Sal, a thief, concocts a get rich quick scheme to try and make Battam, a witch, fall in love with him. But, upon learning him and his target share more in common than he originally thought, Sal starts experiencing feelings he’s never had before and must make a decision between money or the potential for love.“
Short Review: With this one I threw all my plans to keep this list smut-free out of the window – it was just too good not to put on the list. The art is beautiful the characters are very unique and I really like the dynamic of the main couple. BUT! „Solanaceae“ will get pretty sexual, it has warnings for: sexual themes, blood and body horror. The body horror thing kind of freaks me out, but for now, it is still pretty wholesome.
What I like about this Comic:
The character design and dynamic of the main couple
I have read many Comics but I have never seen a main couple like this. Battam is a witch who has blue hair, tattoos on his body, and strong views about the world. Sal on the other hand is a satyr who stays with Battam in order to squeeze some money out of him. This is how the story begins. But throughout the comic, they show different character traits that you wouldn’t expect from their appearance alone.
I especially love this panel because the characters do a complete 180 later in the story and their dynamic changes drastically after one specific event. This panel kind of foreshadows that.
The communication
Although Sal lies to Battam at first and tries to deceive him he admits his mistakes. Battam still tells him in detail how disappointed he is. Sometimes the amount of text feels overwhelming but I think this really contributes to the natural flow of their conversations. You really get the feeling of two beings actually communicating with each other and opening up about their feelings or past Trauma in a natural way. It feels like as a reader, you are part of the conversation. I also love how DarkChibiShadow creates tension.
The art
DarkChibiShadow creates beautiful panels. I really had a hard time choosing which panel to show you. They use very bright and colorful tones and even the backgrounds are always colored. I especially love how the magic is drawn. It glows and changes color depending on the feelings Battam has. DarkChibiShadow manages to convey complicated feelings through the beautiful art – without any words:
Underrated Comic: Short interview with the creator
Do you have a favorite Episode?
Since my comic isn’t a Webtoon, it’s hard to say what “episode” is best (since I’m actually working on chapters since this comic is also a book) but going off the labels here on Tapas, I would have to say (so far) I like Episode 16 ( Chapter 2, Pages 81 – 90 ) the best because I love showing off characters working through problems. And truthfully? I feel finances are woefully under-talked about in romance comics when in truth, money is a very big part of being in a relationship, whether that’s a good, bad, or neutral thing depends on the relationship. It won’t be the last time this subject comes up for Battam and Sal, either.
What do you love most about creating comics?
What I love most about creating comics is showing off emotions, character growth, character interaction, and honestly, I just really like drawing romantic and erotic scenes, I think they’re super fun. I’ve been able to find a lot of solidarity in other ace spectrum folks (I’m demisexual) who are looking for the same particular brand of erotica I am, and I’ve also been touched by folk’s who tell me my comics have helped them realize their own sexuality/gender or have helped them come out. Those are both always huge for me, and even though I make comics very much indulgently for myself, knowing they can touch someone’s life, even in just a very small way, makes me unbelievably happy. If my comics even just make someone smile in a day, then I think they are a success.
You should check it out if you:
- don’t mind reading a Webtoon with heavy Sub-Dom play (This will be exactly your cup of tea otherwise – it is executed very well)
- like to read a story, where they start off on the wrong foot, slowly become friends, and then get intimate
- love it when the main characters aren’t afraid to swear and are open about their sexual desires
