Writer: Adam Ma
Artist: Colin Tan
A review by Anelise Farris
As someone who studies, teaches, reads, writes about, and basically breathes folklore, when I learned about the indie webcomic Folklore, I got super excited—and rightly so. Folklore is a unique blend of genres in that it is a horror-infused superhero story. Set in a distant, dysopian-esque future in which our heroes have become our enemies thanks to the release of a biological weapon, there is no choice left but to rid the heroes of their superpowers. This leaves the heroes purposeless, disfigured, and unsure of where to go from here. At its heart, Folklore is a story about stories and the way legends can weave together so well with history that one is left wondering what is true and what is fiction.
Adam Ma’s writing keeps the story moving at a smart pace, and the unique lettering and speech bubbles give a strong voice to the characters. This works especially well with Colin Tan’s art as it leans toward the more surreal and watercolor-like style. Personally, this is my favorite artistic style to be paired with sci-fi, horror, dystopias, folklore, etc., because it communicates so much about the story’s tone and underlying structure. And this is what makes Ma and Tan such a great team—doing what comics should do, creating one complex yet cohesive story through the combination of visual and text.
As an indie webcomic, Ma and Tan really count on reader support to continue doing what they love. They currently have 37 episodes, covering two issues, and they just released episode 38 last month: the cover of issue 3. Check out the webcomic here, and if you enjoy it, please consider donating to their Patreon account. Support an amazing project and get lots of cool perks in return (as if reading Folklore itself wasn’t enough!).
The Verdict
Read it! Folklore manages to weave all of my favorite genres together and deliver a beautifully illustrated, well-written story that, while dealing with a lot of genre conventions, effectively delivers something new. Check it out!
