The internet has made it extremely easy for creators to self publish and with this capability many artists have turned to creating webcomics. Most are free to read, while some artist do ask for readers to consider donat- ing to a patreon, and span a wide variety of genres and art styles. One of my favorites is Weird Sisters by Nat Roze, weirdsisterscomic.tumblr.com. It combines a clever, fun and intriguing plot with a bright and bold art style.
Weird Sisters follows three main characters — Juli, Dez and Beth — in their fall semester at college. Beth is seeking to rush Psi Xi Kappa, the sorority Juli and Dez are both members of and while she’s hit it off with Juli, Beth and Dez might just kill each other yet. Oh, and their sorority is also a coven of witches and definitely deeply involved in a rivalry with another sorority/coven on campus. If that weren’t enough Juli is dealing with relationship drama, Beth is trying to help her friends with a prophecy involving their soccer team and Dez is trying to get their friend Ophelia out of a trance she’s stuck in.
While their problems seem to range from the mundane to the magical it’s the characters that I believe truly makes the comic. Every single one of them is a Shakespeare character. Juli is Juliet, the only person she claims she’ll ever love is her cat Romeo. Although she recently struck up a friendship with a boy of the same name. Beth was formerly known as Macbeth and she’s trying to help Max and Banquo secure their places as soccer captains over Duncan King. Cleopatra is president of Psi Xi Kappa, Laertes keeps asking Dez about his sister Ophelia, Rosalind is president of the rival sorority and broke both Juli and Romeo’s hearts and she’s who they bonded over.
While all come from well known stories and make nods to those origins, including a scene in which Beth claims a dagger is calling out to her to buy it, the combination of so many different characters and original plot ensures that this is a twist on Shakespeare that has yet to be seen. Perfect for us college kids who grew up reading Harry Potter and are looking for a little more magic in our lives, Weird Sisters is a study break must read. At the very least your life can’t possibly be more tragic than theirs.
