Sorcery 101
A couple years ago I came across Sorcery 101, a dramatic comedy webcomic set in a modern fantasy setting. Unlike many of its peers (who often succumb to dramatic storytelling at the expense of the humor), S101 has managed to maintain a decent balance between its humor and dramatic elements. This is not to say that there is always a punch line at the end of every comic. However, cartoonist Kel McDonald has managed to remember the comedic roots of S101. Indeed, often McDonald manages to insert small moments of humor into dramatic scenes which help leaven darker aspects of the comic.
Part of this lies with the comic’s protagonist, Danny Gunn, who has a bit of a wry sense of humor and is rather laid back most of the time. While he can be a bit of a jerk and a chauvinist at times, Danny has also shown tremendous loyalty to his friends and those he cares for. This does tend to land him in trouble from time to time, and is also one of the main reasons Danny is learning sorcery; so he can be more of a help to his friends, who due to their very nature are often in the middle of matters supernatural.
It’s not exactly easy describing S101. It’s a world much like the real world, but also inhabited by the creatures of contemporary fantasy; werewolves and vampires exist alongside humanity, though humanity mostly believes that the supernatural isn’t real. Even the shooting of a werewolf on live television was brushed off by many to be a publicity stunt of some sort, and that the “werewolf” (who is actually the King of Lynnbria, one of the fictional kingdoms of the S101 world) is a nut job. It would be a mistake to lump S101 as some sort of clone of White Wolf’s World of Darkness roleplaying setting. While there are some similarities, these can also be found in the pages of dozens of other fantasy novels that WW lifted its setting from.
The supernatural aspects of S101 are an important part of the comic. All of the main cast possess some measure of supernatural abilities; Danny is studying sorcery (which also helps explain the very title of the comic). His best friend Brad is a werewolf, as is Brad’s daughter. Brad’s wife Ally is a mage, while Danny’s sorcery teacher is a vampire. And on down the line. Indeed, of all the cast only Danny’s girlfriend Melanie could be considered normal, and he met her at a store that sells magical supplies and books (though she herself doesn’t seem to study magic).
Just as important to the comic is the family aspect of the comic. Some of my favorite segments are when Danny is with Brad and Ally, or helping them with their daughter who is five, and at that wonderful age of embarrassing questions that parents don’t want to deal with, only moreso as she’s a werewolf and doesn’t understand why everyone doesn’t have tails and turn fuzzy on nights of the full moon. Actually, one entire storyline happened because of Rebecca and her not understanding why you don’t bite people or even that other people might not want to be a werewolf.
Sorcery 101 is part of McDonald’s Veiled Truths setting, and is the longest-running of her stories. Perhaps due to its longevity, I also consider it the best of her works. The interplay between her characters is quite enjoyable, and I particularly liked the glimpses of Brad and Ally’s relationship, as well as the growing romance between Danny and Melanie. McDonald manages to balance adult content and themes without being blatant; any nudity in the comic is concealed by panel cuts and strategically placed objects while remaining obvious as to what is going on. This respect for her audience goes beyond just the occasional adult content, with the story itself told intelligently and with the expectation that her readers don’t need to be told everything, while still showing enough to tell a good story.