Today I am going to tell you about a comic that changed the way I thought about comics, narrative, illustration, and storytelling. This is one of the most beautiful comics on the web, created by a truly world-class writer and illustrator. The best part? It is abominable.
The Abominable Charles Christopher is lovingly penned by the über-talented Karl Kerschl, who’s resume includes both DC and Marvel Comics covers. Starring Charles Christopher, the silent and bumbling but sweet yeti who has been tasked with saving the creatures of the forest from mankind, ACC is a celebration of the simple beauty of nature. Charles is one of the most iconic and lovable characters ever created, made more amazing by the fact that he has never said a word.
The illustrations are simply gorgeous. Evocative and full of amazing textures, they are stand-alone pieces of art unto themselves. Kerchl’s art style is to draw complex and realistic animals, but to animate them with human-like expressions and actions to create a beautiful hybrid world. Kerschl’s writing definitely keeps pace with the art, and the creator is able to inscribe each of his characters with their own personalities, traits, and quirks. Dialogue is clean, fun and rarely forced or contrived. Several side stories intertwine with the main narrative to create a intricate, layered environment for the characters to move around in.
The comic is fun, with many of the side stories being zany and slapsticky, but ACC is also touching and tear-jerking at times. Without ruining the story for new readers, it will suffice to say that Kerschl has no problem tugging at your heart strings and putting his characters through the ringer. This is one time that I do not mind invoking the clichéd line, “You’ll laugh, you’ll cry” when you read this comic, and enjoy every minute of it. Go to!
P.S. – As a bonus, listen to anything by Joanna Newsom while reading this comic. The two go together better than peanut butter and chocolate. Or so I’d imagine, since I’m allergic to peanuts…
While both David and I love webcomics, even we have only so much time to explore and discover all that’s out there–the Internet’s a pretty big place! So, if you have ideas of webcomics we should be discussing, let us know: we’ve set up a forum to keep the discussion going.
