Les Normaux (web comic)

Hello my dears! You’ve got Glamour and today I have another series from Tapastic that has caught my eye! The series called Les Normaux. It takes place in a magical version of Paris where they study magic like one would study science because it is as common place there as having say a genie for a husband or a ghost for a roommate. Now just in case you’ve been checking out my twitch you’ll notice my monster murder lately has been at an all-time high. So how could this merit anything more than a sword or some other creature specific solution? Well answer is simple; it’s a slice of life sort of comic where they have the creatures or those with magical abilities are the most human. Now out of the cheese and let’s talk about the actual characters shall we?

There is a plethora or characters observed as couple and alone. However, for the sake of time and not rattling on until the metaphorical cows come home, I’m going to cut it down to my favorite couples as couples and as individuals. So first off we’ll talk about Sebastien and Elia. After Seb arrives in Paris to study magic, on one of his first nights out on the town he ends up kissing a sexy vamp, only to find out he lives in the building he just moved into! Elia the sexy vampire in question has no idea what to do while trying to evade the hot guy he kissed the night before, but ends up relenting. They are a charming couple with a couple of interesting occurrences meeting family members, taking off to other countries for modeling jobs, youtube celebrities, and of course a creature of pure terror….Pierre the RABBIT!! Beware when hungry… Jokes aside the couple aspect is interesting since they take their time to get to know each other after the initial kiss. Things are pretty easy until you realize you don’t hear too much about Sebby’s parents until you discover they don’t really accept their son for who or what he is. My heart went out to him a little when I read that panel because at the same time I know how that feels to be put out like that by loved ones. However, fret not Sebastien (as evidenced by the comic) and myself are alike in having wonderful support system. Luckily Elia is part of that system for Sebastien and his family is pretty great even with his tinier tumbles.

Second couple is Ronnie and Drew. She is a female werewolf that came to the rescue of a mute male of the Stein variety. They get along swimmingly even though he can’t talk so she secretly learns sign language while he gathers his courage wondering what a girl like her could want with him? Oh yes Drew it is SUCH A MYSTERY why Ronnie could be head over heels with a sweet guy that volunteers at animal shelters and cares for injured birds in his spare time. He’s a sweet guy and a great example of how people that are mute or deaf (or any other difference in ability) can be like everyone else with every up and down that comes with the package. Of course Ronnie is not without her faults but with Drew and her family, with her, everything seems alright.

Now of note the two couples are related due to Ronnie working at the same show with Elia just to make a note of that. Which in the grand scale of things is sort of interesting with all the personalities they pack into magical Paris along with all of the pop culture references from Batman to the Titanic (‘Oh Jack!’). They leave me giggling especially with the mention of Sebastien eating gross stuff in front of a camera for millions on youtube. Everything is decidedly modern in origin but manages a really warm look (the backdrop) and rustic styled art to put it all together.

All in all I love the mix of everything that this comic has to offer so I’m happy to call it Hatter Approved! Especially since it shows the complexity of everyday life. My only regret is I can’t figure out a way to better articulate just how much I love this series! Although what I can do is point you to the links below to the tapastic and patreon for this series! If you come to love it as much as I do be sure to support this artist so they can make more!! If you’re too broke for patreon check out the tipping function on the tapastic app! (Watch annoying little adds then toss the coins at the artists!) Well for now I bid thee goodnight my dears Hatter out!

Tapastic
Patreon

Les Miserables (manga)

Hello my darlings you’ve got Glamour on day 7 of the big 15!! Today I’m covering a manga version of Les Miserables. I’ve had a slight fascination with plays and classics reimagined in manga and or anime format. To that end I remembered a manga I picked up a while ago. Now let’s get going shall we?

His name was Jean Valjean and her name was Fantine…. They started their stories apart but in the way the world treated them was the same. They were outcasts that ‘normal people’ wouldn’t want anything to do with. In desperate times Fantine needed money to care for her daughter but no one would give an unwed mother a job while No one would give Jean Valjean, former prisoner, food or a place to rest. After Jean was given a new lease on life Fantine tried to do the same after entrusting her daughter to what she thought were good people.

Throughout the story I always favored Jean Valjean versus the usual emphasis they would place upon Fantine and her daughter Cosette. Jean Valjean was a man who went mad from his mistakes in desperate times but also gave his all to protect a daughter he took under his wing. Meanwhile Cosette did not have a lot of mental development since there was more of an emphasis on her suffering at the hands of her ‘caregivers’. The story did somewhat hit on the history and the original play and I found it for the most part highly accurate versus let’s say Romeo and Juliet versus its manga/anime version Romeo X Juliet.

The artwork was not particularly interesting aside from the contrast from poorer conditions to better ones. One such condition may be the changes underwent by Fantine when she lost her teeth, her hair, and her dignity. All in all I very much enjoyed the book and the fact it didn’t deviate a lot from the other versions of Le Miserables I’ve seen. I also like that this like Romeo X Juliet (although more accurate than Romeo X Juliet) invites newer generations to witness the classics. Especially with the emphasis on true suffering because let’s face it…. ‘Newer’ generations are oblivious to what true suffering is or what true strength is. I don’t know everything about either one but one small book is a good start. With that my darlings don’t be like Javert at the end of the book/play/story and good night my dears this Hatter is out!!