After searching through webtoons, I decided to view the story of Castle Swimmer by Wendy Lian Martin. I was drawn to this piece as it was under the fantasy label, which is a genre I typically enjoy, and the cover had the main character surrounded by a bunch of fish. I thought the fish were really cute and wanted to she more of the stylized artwork. I typically read books, not comic style literature and I was surprised by how much I enjoy this style of reading! It’s intriguing to speculate the authors intentions with the way she formats her comics and the small details in the background of each drawing. For instance in some scenes instead of making the one piece of the comic a single square, she will create a scene that extends beyond the page view so you must scroll to see it all. I believe this variety in style is intended to highlight profound scenes throughout the story. It also creates a sense of foreboding and transition. Wendy also uses color specifically to illuminate her main character “the beacon”. This story takes place underwater, as a result she uses a variety of blue and gray hues. The beacon however is a shiny bright gold, making him easily identifiable for the audience as well as other characters throughout the comic. Another aspect I greatly enjoy is that some block of scenes do not uses words in them at all, this style, instead of telling you something is about to happen, allows you to draw the connection by noticing the progression of differences between scenes. When I was first reading through I did not immediately notice this was the intention, and I skimmed through. When the next scene with words arrived, I was lost as to when the plot had progressed. It like when you space out as you’re reading a book, then check back in and have no idea what has happened.

Unlike written pieces, comics allow the scenes to be meticulously detailed without overwhelming the audience. In Castle Swimmer, Wendy leaves no detail out. Since the ocean is vast and we have just touched the surface of what it holds, there are many whimsical, fantastic ideas to be formed from the thought of what could be. In her drawings the highborn are decorated with specific clothing, weapons, or scrolls. She also incorporates objects of the sea and manipulates them to be fit for items we would find useful. An example is she features glowing jellyfish as a bed, and shells with sharp edges as weapons. Wendy also manufactures intricate creatures, and structures with specific correlations of features. For instance in the story, there is a race of shark mermaid people. These people have sharp pointy teeth, the iconic triangular back fin, and many bare scars. The place in which they live also share similar features, they live in jagged tooth shaped cities hanging from a sea cave. These caves are old and have seen better days so they too show damage.

https://www.webtoons.com/en/fantasy/castle-swimmer/list?title_no=1499&page=1