Created by self-made illustrator Maya Kern, Monster Pop is a lively webcomic that features lovely color palettes, original musical interludes from the creator herself on ukulele, and quirky characters that feel as if they could be found on any college campus. The overall plot centers around the protagonist George, an enthusiastic and well-meaning yet naive cyclops who starts at Unity University with her best friend Franny among a lively, larger group of characters.
The webcomic uses its media form to expand the reading experience with music, and the illustrations themselves fluctuate over a period of time. Comparing the beginning style with the end may appear a little jarring at first, but the transition between them is essentially seamless and doesn’t affect the story experience.
In fact, it has a unique opportunity of showing the artistic development of a young creator in a more forgiving format that is easily accessible.
As the name suggests, a majority of the characters are at least part monster, and the people of this world approach this as a racial trait. Just as many people of color face stigma in our universe, the characters in Monster Pop find themselves in situations where they are judged or looked down on for their background.
The story also takes modern approaches to characters with a very diverse cast. Being a freelance illustrator, Kern creates and acknowledges her LGBTQ+ characters in a natural way, drawing experience from her own life to approach her comic with.
Of course, Monster Pop doesn’t just primarily focus on these elements, and the main arc of the story revolves around the shortcomings and struggles that people face in coming-of-age moments while still keeping its lighthearted day-to-day feeling. It is a webcomic I have been reading for around four years now, and don’t intend of stopping soon!
http://monsterpop.mayakern.com/
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