Comic Aurora
How to make perfect character dynamics
Introduction:
Comic Aurora started out as a web comic created by Red back on April 10, 2019. Since then it has completed over 25 chapters of its story about a world filled with Gods, monsters, and magic. It has also been picked up by Andrews McMeel Publishing for its first two volumes! Since its been published I have had so much fun to see some of my favorite panels from the webcomic printed on the page! They did a very good job making it vibrant and as colorful as it should be! If you don’t want to read it online then please pick up a physical copy from your local library or bookstore. I know that if you like what you’ve read here previously you’ll like what Comic Aurora has to offer.
Comic Aurora takes place in a world where mortal belief shapes the world’s natural elemental magic to create Gods. City Gods, Nature Gods, Gods that embody a people, profession, or widely held belief. A City God named Vash is kidnapped by an immortal witch and his city is destroyed. All that is left behind is his most recent incarnation, who mysteriously develops his own soul and takes on the name Kendal. Kendal makes a group of friends with secrets and mysterious powers of their own to save Vash and hopefully free the souls of his ruined city so they can rest in peace. It is such a compelling story and with character interactions that feel natural and earned.
The God Vash of the City of Vash
What’s Inspirational About Comic Aurora:
From the art to the worldbuilding and characters this comic is extremely charming and exciting!
The best part of the comic, however, is how flushed out the characters are. Red, the comic’s creator, does an excellent job of giving her characters personality and drive. Each of her characters are unique and it is so fun to watch them interact and work together.
Kendal is Vash’s incarnation that developed his own soul and being. Kendal still has a large amount of empathy and a huge hero complex. He is constantly putting himself in danger because he knows that he is stronger and more durable than everyone else around him. He also understands how Gods work on a fundamental level and is normally the one to interact with the local Gods on the group’s behalf. Even if he is ignorant of how to act outside of his godly duties.
Alinua is a cursed Life Mage that should’ve been taken by the sickness when she was a child. She has had very limited interactions with others because she didn’t want to kill others with her magical sickness. She is a healer, and has a great well of compassion when she sees others suffering like she did. She is also one of the first people to seek out justice and to break things. As well as one of the first people to recognize when she’s wrong. She balances out Kendal and his reckless heroism.
Erin is the Elemental Magus with an ego the size of a country. He familiar with magic on a scholarly level. He is also a member of the upper-class of this world and familiar with the world’s politics. He plays as a fantastic contrast to Alinua’s wild magic and Kendal’s world of Godly power. He’s overconfidence is also just peak comedy as he tries to be the smartest person in the room and is consistently met with impossible situations and threats that Kendal and Alinua attract.
These three characters work so well together because each of these characters cover for each other’s blind spots. It is such a fantastic dynamic to witness and to see each of these characters bounce off of and care for each other. This trio is fantastic, and the character dynamics only get better as the comic continues on.
Later we are introduced to Tess, Falst, and Dainix. These three are established in Vol 2 of the comic and add so much to the character dynamics. Helping expand our understanding of the world and what’s possible. They provide unique perspectives that wouldn’t have been possible without them.
Falst is a Ferin and is very street smart. Having grown up as a Catperson he faced a lot of persecution because of it. Like Alinua he grew up outside of society but instead of being a health risk he was more of an outcast and a criminal. So his ability to sneak, fight, and steal are all very valuable assets to the team. He contrasts Erin and his highborn privilege while also being a good emotional balance to Kendal and Alinua’s compassionate and caring natures. Falst is extremely loyal though, so as soon as he decides he likes you he will stick to you like glue. But only for tactical reasons of course.
Tess is Erin’s adopted sister and is a magical brawler. She is apart of magical humanoids that naturally channel magic so like Alinua she doesn’t share Erin’s scholarly knowledge. What she brings to the team however is intuitive knowledge and the foundation of already knowing who she is and what she wants. Unlike the rest of the characters in the group grappling with new powers, identities, or trauma she is the emotional bedrock of the team keeping them grounded. She’s uncomplicated so far but awesome!
Dainix is a scared monster hunter in his homeland but left because he has ''a demon’ living inside of him. He is traveling away from his home to find away to deal with this inner demon. He brings a real sense of tactics and enhances their team work by knowing how a team actually works when fighting monsters. So, his knowledge, gadgets and fighting styles are a great addition to the team. Plus we get to indirectly learn about his home land and expand the world even more.
Red does a great job of letting these characters interact, bicker, and work together. It really is incredible work to see each of these characters strengths and flaws work in tandem to make epic moments of storytelling and personal growth. I cannot recommend that you check out this comic yourself! It is worth it to see this story, characters, and art style evolve.
Red has a YouTube channel where she breaks down tropes and sifts out character architypes and why they work so well. You can also see in her videos as her art slowly gets better and better. It is especially cool to see how it improves in the comic as well. It is outright gorgeous and a testament to how just getting started, research, and consistent practice pays off.
On Tumblr Red has refused to diminish her characters to simple tropes but she did write a very interesting post making arguments for each of them . It is a very interesting piece of character analysis to see her do this. I recommend checking out this post if you want to see how make fluid, yet consistent characters.
Final Thoughts:
I love this webcomic. If you haven’t read it I highly recommend that you do! It is certainty worth it! It has a fantastic group of characters that I have fallen in love with and that I adore seeing bicker, talk, and work together. It really is a master class in character work and writing. I think that if you like the found family trope, fantasy, or comics in general you will like this comic. It is definitely worth checking out!
I love this story and I am excited to keep up with it!
If you are interested in following Red’s process for developing Comic Aurora here are some of her YouTube Videos where she talks about it. Overly Sarcastic Productions is also a fantastic place if you want to learn more about history, story tropes, folklore, & Myths! Check them out here!
If you want to know more of my thoughts on Comic Aurora here is the first Article I wrote about it!
Looking for more Inspiration? Continue Here:
Comic Aurora is a webcomic that recently got published in 2 volumes as a YA Graphic Novel! Here we discuss its fantastic characters and how they interact and balance each other out beautifully.