100. 100 official comics (not counting the stand-ins) have been posted to The Adventures of Captain Quail. I’m incredibly proud of this, but we are by no means done. I actually feel we’re just getting started. We plan to be doing this for as long as we can, and as long as you’re willing to come with us.

You may have seen the changes in the wind with our most recent comics. The Egg Surprise has a whole new design, and Captain Quail has a grand plan for his crew’s future. Though we are Earth-bound for this next episode the stars are always in reach for the Avian Federation. They will need Gabriel Quail again, and soon.

So let’s keep going, shall we? Enough about us. Its a Friday, and that means its time for the Webcomic O’ the Week! 

This week, I had a whole bunch of comics lined up to explore, but the first hit was the winner. Bird Boy, by Annie Szabla, grabbed me right from the start for much the same reasons Thunderbird did when I reviewed it last week. The work starts with a myth, a myth evocative of  ancient Central or South American civilizations, and then ties that myth into the story of Bali, Bird Boy’s central character. Bali is a young boy just at the cusp of trying to be an adult, and being blocked by the customs and prejudices of the tribe he lives in. If this sounds familiar, it is no accident. This story setup is so common because the trope is so powerful, powerful enough to be a myth in its own right. Bali ventures off, and almost immediately swept into the legend that Bird Boy starts with. I will refrain from more of the plot, but I will say the story of Bird Boy is one of the most engaging I’ve read recently. 

It doesn’t hurt, of course, that Bird Boy has simply incredible art: part Western, part chibi, and every aspect tinged with influence from ancient American civilizations. The art of Bird Boy, and the world that art creates, is immediately engrossing. The world seems complete, and well-thought-out, in a large part due to the thoroughness of artistic details. The site lists Bird Boy as a graphic novel, and I hope it gets published so I can buy it and read it all at once. For now, I hope you’ll join me in plowing through what’s on available now.

Thanks, and thanks in advance for the next 100,

Philip