Today’s the last day of Asexual Awareness Week.  I don’t do many things for AAW, except this survey thing.  There’s a sample of AAW activities in this linkspam.

But today, I have a small bonus: webcomics with ace characters.  Although ace characters in fiction are in general quite sparse, webcomics have been an exception.  There are more webcomics with ace characters than I can keep track of!  This is great for me, because I am occasionally picky.

For a more complete list of webcomics with ace characters (including much more obscure examples), I recommend the LGBT webcomics list.  To avoid “archive binge”, I use Comic Rocket to bookmark pages and generate custom RSS feeds.

1. 14 Nights

[sexually explicit, completed]

What it’s about: Nikita has a hook for a hand.  Lucian is afraid of sex.  They make a deal that Lucian will try sexual acts over the course of two weeks.

Asexual presence: Asexuality is never explicitly mentioned, but is a very obvious interpretation of the story.

What I like: It’s very hard to find any material, fiction or nonfiction, that treats sex with asexual people in any detail.  This story does so flawlessly.  I do not in general relate to fictional characters, but somehow I feel this comic is my life, only with all the facts changed.  I am very fond of the black and white art.  I like m/m fiction.

What I don’t like: There are a few things that make this a hard sell to ace readers.  First, it’s sexually explicit.  Second, any spoiler-free description of the plot sounds disturbing to potential ace readers (but trust me, it’s fine).  Third, the asexuality is not explicit, which goes against common preference in the ace community.

2. Supernormal Step

[violence, ongoing]

What it’s about: Fiona finds herself pulled into an alternate reality where magic is commonplace, and being a superhero is just another line of work.  She becomes embroiled in a morally ambiguous political struggle, but really she just wants to find a way back home.

Asexual presence: Far into the story, Fiona identifies as aromantic asexual.  This does not have a big impact on the story, but neither is it a throwaway aspect of her character.

What I like: It’s silly and humorous, but the world building is still coherent.  The characters are full of contradictions.

What I don’t like: I think the action scenes often go on too long.  I am not really into action.

3. David Doesn’t Get It

[child abuse, completed]

What it’s about: This is a diary comic about David and his Vietnamese-American family.

Asexual presence: David is asexual.  So is his sister Miriam.

What I like: By virtue of being true, this has the best asexual representation in any webcomic I have ever seen.  There’s a good balance of asexuality sometimes impacting their lives, and sometimes being sidelined by other aspects of their lives.  I also really like that there are two asexual people who are very different from each other, with David being asocial, and Miriam being a fujoshi.

What I don’t like: It’s difficult to keep track of David’s many relatives.  There are a few comics in the archive which appear to be broken.

4. Ignition Zero

[completed]

What it’s about: Robbie moves to a new town to go to college and meet his friend Orson, whom he met on the internet.  It turns out that Orson’s fics weren’t entirely fantasy.

Asexual presence: Robbie and Orson are asexual, and in a relationship.

What I like: Lots of wonderful queer characters.  The watercolor art is lovely.  Two asexual characters is infinitely better than one.

What I don’t like: Rather than focusing on the problems that queer people face, the comic mostly provides models for positive interaction with queer people, and focuses on the fantasy story itself.  This is fine, but as a personal preference I like fiction which deals with queer issues more directly.

5. Sharp Zero

[violence, mild nudity, ongoing]

What it’s about: After a deadly encounter with a substance known as Sharp Zero, Elliot finds himself with super powers.  And now he finally gets to meet all the superheroes that he idolizes.

Asexual presence: According to Elliot’s friend, he is demisexual.  One of the minor characters is aromantic.  This appears to be mostly incidental.

What I like: The visual gags, and expressions, the absurd plot, it’s all very amusing.  I have a soft spot for BL.

What I don’t like: Like with Ignition Zero, it doesn’t focus on queer problems, but rather models positive interactions with queer people.  The artist has a habit of revising earlier pages, although the revisions are all improvements.

6. Shades of A

[sexually explicit, implied sexual coercion, completed]

What it’s about: A parody of 50 Shades of Gray, only now it’s about Anwar, who is asexual, and Chris, who is a transvestite.

Asexual presence: Anwar is asexual.

What I like: The characters are well-written, and directly addresses many of the common issues faced by several lesser-known queer identities.

What I don’t like: The way queer issues were addressed often felt didactic.  When characters face issues that I’m familiar with, it should make them more relatable, but instead I often thought, “Yeah, I already knew about that issue.”