The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal by E.K. Weaver

And I love that Less Than Epic was the webcomic to teach me this lesson. There is literally no way something this slow-building, explicit, and character-based (rather than plot-based) would make it in mainstream print comics today. This is one of the first webcomics that made me truly love the genre for what it can do instead of what it was imitating. From characters to dialogue to the way she’s chosen to convey the story to her panel layouts, Weaver’s work is mindblowing. I am a huge fan of all the choices she’s made in this comic. They aren’t included unless plot happens or something is revealed, though, which was a fascinating choice on Weaver’s part. He then embarks on a cross-country road trip with a man named TJ that drove him home from the bar, trying to get to the East Coast in time for his sister’s graduation from college. And that’s the core cast right there, if the title wasn’t clear enough.Īmal comes out to his parents as gay and books it out of there. Weaver knows how to use dialogue-less panels to great effect. One of my favorite pages (contains mad spoilers) is nothing except Amal’s expression changing along with his thoughts. As for TJ- well, hes got his own reasons.

As it happens, Amal promised his sister hed be in Providence for her graduation the following week. The art starts out good and just keeps getting better. TJ claims that the two have made a drunken pact to travel from Berkeley, California to Providence, Rhode Island. She likes slow movies with a lot of character development and attention to detail, and those qualities show up in this comic in spades. I originally joined tumblr so I could learn more about Weaver’s process and it was fascinating. They are below the cut so I can rant forever. I have a lot of feelings about this webcomic. Everything is available for purchase, too. Currently, the site situation is a little complicated the original site is breaking down with too much traffic so she put up a mirror on smackjeeves. Weaver ended after quite a few years (over five I think–I was only around for the last three or so). The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal by E.

The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal

The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal by E.K. Weaver