Similar works

[Siilk]

I'm reading GKC again and again, but I just can't get enough of it. And so I am started to look for books/comics/manga/anime/movies/anything else similar to our beloved Gunnerkrigg but, alas, with almost no success. Anyone here could name something like that?

[todd]

Yesterday I checked out of the library three books in a graphic novel series by Ted Naifeh, called "Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things", "Courtney Crumrin and the Coven of Mystics", and "Courtney Crumrin in the Twilight Kingdom". I've seen a fourth book in the series in bookstores, but the library doesn't have it.

Courtney's a young girl, apparently around the same age as Annie, who's moved with her parents into an old house in a creepy-looking town to stay with her great-uncle who turns out to be a sorcerer; the town itself is at the edge of a forest that is home to goblins and has a secret entrance to the fairy world, home to old-style fairy-folk of an almost alien nature. It has some strong echoes of "Gunnerkrigg Court" - a brave and resourceful young girl confronting a strange and often nightmarish world, while dealing with the problems of growing up - but is much darker in tone (as is Courtney herself - she's much more vengeful than Annie is - and, also unlike Annie, has no close human friends like Kat).

[imaginaryfriend]

Welcome to the forums Siilk!

I suggest you check out the anime Haibane Renmei. It is very different in premise and plot but has something of a similar mysterious tone. There's also Tweeny Witches (Japanese title Maho Shojotai Arusu). Don't be put off by the name, it's pretty good for all ages. It is more about exploring the richly-detailed fantasy world than mysteries per se but the underlying themes are compelling. My niece loves it.

Some other anime I can think of that might interest you include Key the Metal Idol, Aria, Ergo Proxy, and Witch Hunter Robin. The latter two of those are action-oriented shows where the mystery takes a distant backseat but I mention them because they have a very distinct visual art style. They may be too violent for younger viewers. Aria in its various forms is a veeeeery slow show but it's visually beautiful and slightly mysterious if you can stick with it long enough to notice the subtleties.

Key the Metal Idol is difficult to describe. The conventional wisdom is that it's a retelling of the Pinocchio story but as the show progresses you discover that's completely off base. It's a magical girl show, a critique of the Japanese entertainment industry, a murder mystery, a spooky Blade Runner take-off, and several other strange things. What it isn't is a child's' story, though the first few episodes can deceive. They are brutal with some of the cutesy anime characters at the end of the show.

Know that the links I've provided here are to official sites (most in Japanese) but you can check out a lot of the art there. For more info try Wiki or Animeinfo but beware spoilers.

[Siilk]

Dec 3, 2009 11:52:44 GMT todd said:

Yesterday I checked out of the library three books in a graphic novel series by Ted Naifeh, called "Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things", "Courtney Crumrin and the Coven of Mystics", and "Courtney Crumrin in the Twilight Kingdom". I've seen a fourth book in the series in bookstores, but the library doesn't have it.

Courtney's a young girl, apparently around the same age as Annie, who's moved with her parents into an old house in a creepy-looking town to stay with her great-uncle who turns out to be a sorcerer; the town itself is at the edge of a forest that is home to goblins and has a secret entrance to the fairy world, home to old-style fairy-folk of an almost alien nature. It has some strong echoes of "Gunnerkrigg Court" - a brave and resourceful young girl confronting a strange and often nightmarish world, while dealing with the problems of growing up - but is much darker in tone (as is Courtney herself - she's much more vengeful than Annie is - and, also unlike Annie, has no close human friends like Kat).

Thanks todd, I'll give it a try.

[Siilk]

Dec 3, 2009 13:12:39 GMT imaginaryfriend said:

Welcome to the forums Siilk!

I suggest you check out the anime Haibane Renmei. It is very different in premise and plot but has something of a similar mysterious tone. There's also Tweeny Witches (Japanese title Maho Shojotai Arusu). Don't be put off by the name, it's pretty good for all ages. It is more about exploring the richly-detailed fantasy world than mysteries per se but the underlying themes are compelling. My niece loves it.

Some other anime I can think of that might interest you include Key the Metal Idol, Aria, Ergo Proxy, and Witch Hunter Robin. The latter two of those are action-oriented shows where the mystery takes a distant backseat but I mention them because they have a very distinct visual art style. They may be too violent for younger viewers. Aria in its various forms is a veeeeery slow show but it's visually beautiful and slightly mysterious if you can stick with it long enough to notice the subtleties.

Key the Metal Idol is difficult to describe. The conventional wisdom is that it's a retelling of the Pinocchio story but as the show progresses you discover that's completely off base. It's a magical girl show, a critique of the Japanese entertainment industry, a murder mystery, a spooky Blade Runner take-off, and several other strange things. What it isn't is a child's' story, though the first few episodes can deceive. They are brutal with some of the cutesy anime characters at the end of the show.

Know that the links I've provided here are to official sites (most in Japanese) but you can check out a lot of the art there. For more info try Wiki or Animeinfo but beware spoilers.

Hello, Imaginary. Having been quite an otaku, the only one I haven't seen is Key the Metal Idol. As for the rest: Haibane, a masterpiece IMO, really have anathmosphere, similar to Gunnerkriegg. Maho shoujotai too sahre some similarities and is beautifully drawn (4C knows what they are doing ^_^), but it's plot somehow fails to capture my attention. Ergo Proxy and Aria are good, but I'm not sure they have much in common with GKC. And WHR is just boring. ^_~

Anyway, thanks for suggestions.

[Mesías]

You should check any work from Neil Gaiman, though I haven't read any of his books(though I've herad that those are good), his comics tend to be quite awesome. I can reccomend you The Sandman, Books of Magic, his run on Hellblazer, amongst other comics.

[chiparoo]

Oh Man Courtney Crumin and the Night Things. I love those comics alot. You're right- they did stand out to me as having a GKC sort of feel when I read them.
As I also love the Gaiman's Sandman series a ton. Word of warning: for newcomers to the DC universe, that first trade paperback is difficult to get into. Read it, and keep going- the comic becomes heartbreakingly amazing as the series moves on.
When it comes to other comics, I think GKC really stands out in quality, in mystery and in tone. It's a unique thing. Although perhaps I can recommend www.girlgeniusonline.com/ if you have not yet read it: not crazy similar, but it IS alot of fun and there is alot of crossover of fans between Girl Genius and GKC.

[broommaster2000]

Not sure if it applies, but I like Full Metal Alchemist, both the manga and the second anime series, which is called Brotherhood. There's "magic" in it and steampunk. So it'll do in my book.

[Mezzaphor]

There's an entire thread about Gunnerkrigg-ish music. So I won't waste space repeating my music recommendations here.

The Hellboy comicbooks have a similar visual style, mainly in the cool architecture and the excellent use of color and darkness. (Tom has cited Mike Mignola as one of his artistic influences.) The interior of Eglamore's office would not have looked out of place in B.P.R.D. headquarters. The plots also feature supernatural mysteries and a mish-mash of world mythologies; though unlike Annie, Hellboy tends to solve his mysteries by punching things.

Dec 3, 2009 17:24:04 GMT chiparoo said:

When it comes to other comics, I think GKC really stands out in quality, in mystery and in tone. It's a unique thing. Although perhaps I can recommend www.girlgeniusonline.com/ if you have not yet read it: not crazy similar, but it IS alot of fun and there is alot of crossover of fans between Girl Genius and GKC.

Not to mention that one or both of the Foglios are fans as well.

[Fuin]

Hector Plasm is similar in theme to Hellboy, though it generally tries to stay more faithful to the myths than the latter.

[cripplerking]

If you want a similar atmosphere in a video game, I suggest Ico.

[Siilk]

Dec 3, 2009 18:28:54 GMT broommaster2000 said:

Not sure if it applies, but I like Full Metal Alchemist, both the manga and the second anime series, which is called Brotherhood. There's "magic" in it and steampunk. So it'll do in my book.

Hello, broommaster.
Indeed, FMA, both first and second series (and manga, of course) are great. And yes, I can see some similarities with GKC, although mainly in setting.

[Siilk]

Dec 4, 2009 0:18:19 GMT cripplerking said:

If you want a similar atmosphere in a video game, I suggest Ico.

Hello, cripplerking.
Heard much good about Ico, but never thought about it as something GKC-like before. Thanks.

[Siilk]

Dec 3, 2009 17:24:04 GMT chiparoo said:

Oh Man Courtney Crumin and the Night Things. I love those comics alot. You're right- they did stand out to me as having a GKC sort of feel when I read them.
As I also love the Gaiman's Sandman series a ton. Word of warning: for newcomers to the DC universe, that first trade paperback is difficult to get into. Read it, and keep going- the comic becomes heartbreakingly amazing as the series moves on.
When it comes to other comics, I think GKC really stands out in quality, in mystery and in tone. It's a unique thing. Although perhaps I can recommend www.girlgeniusonline.com/ if you have not yet read it: not crazy similar, but it IS alot of fun and there is alot of crossover of fans between Girl Genius and GKC.

Hello, chiparoo.

Looked through Girl Genius, and I think I already love it! I have seen GG volumes on amazone as "items, bought with GKC", but never thought it was also a webcomic all along. Thank you very much!

[imaginaryfriend]

Dec 3, 2009 14:01:38 GMT Siilk said:

And WHR is just boring. ^_~

Yeah the "mystery" in Witch Hunter Robin was pretty obvious from the beginning but I have a soft spot for that show; my first girlfriend in college looked/dressed lots like Robin.

How about Kurau Phantom Memory or Shingu Secret of the Stellar Wars? They have little to nothing to do with GC except that they're all-age atmospheric anime with some mystery involved; possibly GC fans would like them.

(edit) How did I forget Serial Experiments: lain?(/edit)

Dec 3, 2009 17:24:04 GMT chiparoo said:

When it comes to other comics, I think GKC really stands out in quality, in mystery and in tone. It's a unique thing. Although perhaps I can recommend www.girlgeniusonline.com/ if you have not yet read it: not crazy similar, but it IS alot of fun and there is alot of crossover of fans between Girl Genius and GKC.

Agreed on the uniqueness of Gunnergrigg Court. There just isn't a lot in English comics or animation that comes close. Even the color use is distinctive.

I'm also a fan of Phil Foglio but I've read a number of objections to his work on this forum. I suppose his stuff may be hard for people who aren't classic tabletop RPG players to access sometimes, like people who've never worked in an office often don't get Dilbert. It's also got a lot of fanservice and that turns some people off.

I also like Foglio's Buck Godot comic books which are now all available for reading online free. Another fun webcomic is Pete Abrams' Sluggy Freelance.

[Ulysses]

Dec 3, 2009 16:03:12 GMT Mesías said:

You should check any work from Neil Gaiman, though I haven't read any of his books(though I've herad that those are good), his comics tend to be quite awesome.

Of the books I think Neverwhere is most like Gunnerkrigg. If you can deal with minotaurs that are actually quite nice, robots with more personality than sense, and gods and demi-gods dropping in all over the place, then you should be fine with Neverwhere. It's mostly set in London, but a London where all the place-names are literal. Blackfriars actually has monks that wear black, Knightsbridge is an actual bridge permanently shrouded in night etc. Everything is twisty.

Dec 4, 2009 4:38:03 GMT imaginaryfriend said:

How about Kurau Phantom Memory or Shingu Secret of the Stellar Wars?

I have the first 2 discs of Kurau, it's pretty good. I'm having big trouble finding the rest of the series though.

[imaginaryfriend]

Dec 4, 2009 17:48:09 GMT Ulysses said:

I have the first 2 discs of Kurau, it's pretty good. I'm having big trouble finding the rest of the series though.

Rightstuf still has all the Kurau dvds here in the bargain bin.

[strainofthought]

So, a few weeks ago I was checking for an update at Girly, which is a webcomic by Josh Lesnick I have followed for a long time which is very good but not really for kids (on account of sexiness) and only superficially similar to Gunnerkrigg Court, when I decided to have another go through the excellent, illustrated links section Lesnick has created at the bottom of his front page and see if there was anything I hadn't visited yet.

That was how I discovered Dawn Of Time, a very good webcomic by Michael Stearns which is totally suitable for kids (especially on account of dinosaurs) and does bear more than just a passing resemblance to Gunnerkrigg Court. So I eventually read through the archive and started following the M-W-F updates, and at the start of last week the comic began a one-week break and started that break by posting a guest comic that I found pretty good, done by some guy named Nick Daniel.

Stearns explained in the blog that Nick Daniel has a webcomic called 70-seas whose excellence, kid-friendliness, and Gunnerkrigg-Court-similaritiness I have yet to determine, because I have not yet had the energy to plumb its archive. However, Stearns added that Daniel has short stories on his site set in the same story world, and specifically mentioned two of them as being very good and so I checked them out and one of them was God Dog, about a God who is a Dog who is a God, and I found it extraordinarily delightful. It is not unfriendly to children in principle, but they will probably not get it at all. It is in some ways very very much like Gunnerkrigg Court.

I liked God Dog so much that I returned to re-read it today, and scanning some of the comments under each page I saw a reference to some of the characters being recycled from another, unnamed work. Hungering for more God Dog goodness in any form, I searched out Nick Daniel's portfolio site and began to sift through it in hopes of seeing something promising; thus I did at last discover:

SPARKY THE INFERNAL

...an outstandingly fantastic (and unfortunately rather violent) 44-page comic-on-the-web which is so EXACTLY like Gunnerkrigg court while simultaneously being its own totally original thing that I felt compelled to immediately visit this forum (which I haven't posted in for months) and tell you all about it. (After changing my avatar to an image of Sparky, of course.) But then I got here and I was like, "this is kind of off-topic and it's going to sound like spam, where do I put it?" and then I saw that someone had recently created a thread asking specifically for what I wanted to post.

And that, folks, is Serendipity (TM) in action.

[Siilk]

Dec 6, 2009 22:52:32 GMT strainofthought said:

So, a few weeks ago I was checking for an update at Girly, which is a webcomic by Josh Lesnick I have followed for a long time which is very good but not really for kids (on account of sexiness) and only superficially similar to Gunnerkrigg Court, when I decided to have another go through the excellent, illustrated links section Lesnick has created at the bottom of his front page and see if there was anything I hadn't visited yet.

That was how I discovered Dawn Of Time, a very good webcomic by Michael Stearns which is totally suitable for kids (especially on account of dinosaurs) and does bear more than just a passing resemblance to Gunnerkrigg Court. So I eventually read through the archive and started following the M-W-F updates, and at the start of last week the comic began a one-week break and started that break by posting a guest comic that I found pretty good, done by some guy named Nick Daniel.

Stearns explained in the blog that Nick Daniel has a webcomic called 70-seas whose excellence, kid-friendliness, and Gunnerkrigg-Court-similaritiness I have yet to determine, because I have not yet had the energy to plumb its archive. However, Stearns added that Daniel has short stories on his site set in the same story world, and specifically mentioned two of them as being very good and so I checked them out and one of them was God Dog, about a God who is a Dog who is a God, and I found it extraordinarily delightful. It is not unfriendly to children in principle, but they will probably not get it at all. It is in some ways very very much like Gunnerkrigg Court.

I liked God Dog so much that I returned to re-read it today, and scanning some of the comments under each page I saw a reference to some of the characters being recycled from another, unnamed work. Hungering for more God Dog goodness in any form, I searched out Nick Daniel's portfolio site and began to sift through it in hopes of seeing something promising; thus I did at last discover:

SPARKY THE INFERNAL

...an outstandingly fantastic (and unfortunately rather violent) 44-page comic-on-the-web which is so EXACTLY like Gunnerkrigg court while simultaneously being its own totally original thing that I felt compelled to immediately visit this forum (which I haven't posted in for months) and tell you all about it. (After changing my avatar to an image of Sparky, of course.) But then I got here and I was like, "this is kind of off-topic and it's going to sound like spam, where do I put it?" and then I saw that someone had recently created a thread asking specifically for what I wanted to post.

And that, folks, is Serendipity (TM) in action.

Hello, strainofthought.
Thanks for info, Nick Daniel's works are very promising, to say the least.

[Siilk]

Anybody here seen this page of Girl Genius? Looks like GKC is a little more well-known, than we thought. ^_^

[strainofthought]

Two additional webcomics I should mention as being similar to Gunnerkrigg Court are Saijiki Stories and No Rest For The Wicked.

Saijiki Stories takes place in an unusual sort of eastern European rural fantasy setting where many old folktales are a practical everyday reality. The protagonist is an upbeat young girl living on a farm who doesn't shy away from strange things in the least. Artist Leanne Opaskar has taken the additional creative step of breaking the comic up into seasons, and giving each season its own title and website. The series opened up with Autumnside and is now nearing the end of Winterside.

No Rest For The Wicked is a "fractured fairy tales" story that tries to roll the works of Charles Perrault, Hans Christian Andersen, and the Brothers Grimm together into one coherent setting. The mood is dark, somber, and very mysterious, and it has a central character dynamic very similar to GC's Renard-Antimony-Kat. While Puss-In-Boots in Renard's spot and Red Cap taking the place of Kat won't come as any surprise, a perpetually insomniac version of the princess from "The Princess and the Pea" puts on a very unlikely but fascinating performance in Antimony's role. (The big difference from GC is that instead of the leader being the traumatized one, in this setup it's Red Cap.) Unfortunately artist Andrea L. Peterson has suffered burnout on the project and updates have become very irregular. There is a mailing list for new updates, among several other tracking options.

EDIT: Fleshed out the descriptions a bit at chiparoo's request.

[chiparoo]

Strainofthought: You keep saying that these webcomics "bear a passing resemblance to" or is "EXACTLY like" Gunnerkrigg Court, but how? In what way? I am unsure how they relate.

Dec 9, 2009 4:09:16 GMT Siilk said:

Anybody here seen this page of Girl Genius? Looks like GKC is a little more well-known, than we thought. ^_^

Yes! It's commonplace (and awesome) to have webcomics paying homage to other webcomics (Like Tom did for Achewood and Starslip on This page.)
The Girl Genius page you linked is a fabulous example of that- man, one of my favorites. XD ALL those signs are webcomics, as well as the ones on the next page. From left to right they are:
Girls with Sling Shots (the flier on the tree)
Wapsi Square
Gunnerkrigg Court (of course)
Something Positive
Dominic Deegan
The Devil's Panties
Buck Godot (That's Phoglio's other comic)

(then, on the next page)
Order of the Stick
Namir Deiter (This is the only one I had to actually look up, haha)
Digger
Freefall
Shortpacked!
Questionable Content
Lackadaisy
Bob the Angry Flower

Hmmm... the only one of these I had not heard of before was Namir Deiter. I should read that one.

So, I complied this list for my own sake (and pleasure) more then anything else. But the point is that this is a case of successful webcomics supporting (and referencing) other webcomics, more then an indicator of gkc being more or less notable.
(Especially since a couple of these comics are a tad obscure)
I think one of the larger indicator's of gkc's growing audience (and general well-knowing-ness) is it's appearance in Game Informer.
And the fact that Neil Gaiman is quoted as saying that gkc is his favorite webcomic on the back of Orientation
That's huge.

[chiparoo]

Oh! Also! To be more ON TOPIC.
My last post reminded me of another comic that might fit the bill.
If you're looking for an air of mystery, the matter-of-fact involvement of Deities, and shadow children, Digger has it for you. It has some similarities that way to GKC.
Though, Digger has more of a focus on theology. The story begins with the main character discussing the possibility of a one-way hole with the Hindu god Ganesh, and later on finds herself trying to teach a child shadow demon the difference between right and wrong.
It's a lot of fun mostly because of the main character, who is very no-nonsense when it comes to magic and gods and such, but keeps finding herself in these situations wherein she has to deal with shadow demons and the traditions of hyena matriarchies and such.
It's a good read, I recommend it.

[imaginaryfriend]

There are no robots or technology in it but Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea book series is pretty good in the fantasy and magic realm. Be warned: The cable movie of the same name was awful and the anime movie had little/nothing to do with the original novels.

[Mezzaphor]

Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis. Like Basil's story from ch 2, it's an inverted retelling of a Greek myth (in this case, the story of Cupid and Psyche, from the perspective of one of Psyche's wicked sisters). And it has a certain thematic similarity to the latest chapter of GC.

[diagonalproof]

Princess Tutu is a little similar. There's a mysterious school with a mysterious past and a mysterious outside world. And deadpan humor. Less focus on mythology and more on Grimm fairy tales and classic ballet stories.

edit: it's an anime.