Well, WEBTOON is a South Korean website that hosts a lot of series by independent authors. The “webtoon” as a comic form was born in the 2000s as digital publication of the manhwa, the Korean comics. At the beginning, manhwa weren’t known outside of South Korea, then their popularity grew at an international level mainly due to the fact that manhwa could be read on your phone. The LINE WEBTOON site allows the publication of manhwa and comics from all over the world. The “official” comics selected by the LW team are manhwa released in their native language and the official English translation. But any artist from all over the globe can submit their own comic on the WEBTOON CANVAS platform. If the comic or manwha gets really popular, it will be available on the WEBTOON TRANSLATE website to be translated on a voluntary basis (in most cases under review).
The following selection of comics and manhwa that I’m going to recommend can be read in English and in Spanish, Italian and other languages as well. I will indicate in each description the availability of the languages for each comic.
Yumi’s cells by Donggeon Lee (manhwa available in English, Spanish, Italian and many other languages on WEBTOON TRANSLATE) Genre: slice of life
The daily story of Yumi, an office worker, and the cells that live in her brain. In the manner of Once Upon a Time... Life and Inside Out, the cells have a personality and live adventures according to the events in Yumi’s life. Very cute and funny, this manhwa features a delightful and adorable graphic style.
Tales of the Unusual by Seongdae Oh (manhwa available in English, Spanish, Italian and many other languages on WEBTOON TRANSLATE) Genre: horror
A series of unusual, weird and mysterious stories, full of suspense. The greyscale coloring contributes to the terrifying atmosphere, and the stories present very interesting plot twists. This series is made of self-contained stories: this means that you can choose any story that appeals to you more and you won’t have continuity issues.
Salty Studio by omyo (manhwa available in English, Spanish, Italian and many other languages on WEBTOON TRANSLATE) Genre: romance
Togeun left his job at his father’s company in order to follow his dream of being an illustrator. At the high school reunion party Togeun begs Sonagi, a great illustrator, to teach him how to draw. They start working in the same apartment, creating the Salty Studio. Being passionate about art and an artist myself, I think this is a very charming manhwa thanks to its story and it’s soft colors.
10th Dimension Boys by Cutbu (manhwa available in English, Spanish, Italian and many other languages on WEBTOON TRANSLATE) Genre: comedy
Quoting author Cutbu’s words: “Short stories of boys in 10th dimensions.” Anthology of nonsense short stories featuring boys Songjo and Ganghan. Caution: the humor can be considered immature, and often references toilet humor, but if this is not a problem you can appreciate the absurd plot twists.
Scoob & Shag by Misterie Krew (comic available up to date only in English) Genre: comedy, horror
A fascinating comic, with a jokey beginning that evolves into a true story full of suspense, including a lot of cartoon characters that fans probably will easily recognize. Over the course of the story, the development of the drawing style is quite impressive, to the point of reminding of action manga pages.
Oddville by Bellatrixian (comic available up to date only in English) Genre: comedy
The daily adventures of Vincent, a freelance artist that moved in a very odd city, with supernatural citizens and an infernal roommate, literally. This is Oddville! It started very recently, but I believe it will become a successful series thanks to its humor.
Emmy the robot by Domcell (comic available up to date only in English) Genre: comedy, sci-fi
The robot nanny Emmy tries to understand how to adapt to the complicated and unpredictable world of humans and robots. Its charming style shares traits with the Disney movies of the 60s (such as One Hundred and One Dalmatians) and the Hanna Barbera cartoons from the same decade.
Luckily this will become a recurring event on the blog, recommending comic series or even animated series. What do you think? Happy reading!