''Demonology 101'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''D101'') is a

webcomic Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on a website or mobile app. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or comic books. Webcomics can be co ...

written and drawn by

Faith Erin Hicks Faith Erin Hicks is a Canadian cartoonist and animator living in Vancouver, British Columbia. She has created a number of graphic novels, both as sole creator (such as ''Zombies Calling!'' and ''Friends with Boys'') and as a collaborator (''Not ...

from August 1999 to June 2004. It tells the story of Raven, a 16-year-old

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, ani ...

being raised by a human in ordinary human society. Hicks' first public work gained attention as an early story-focused webcomic, and ran for 700 pages before being concluded.

Development

Hicks was inspired ''

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film of the same name, also written by W ...

'' in the creation of her first webcomic, alongside Jeff Smith's comic ''

Bone A bone is a Stiffness, rigid Organ (biology), organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red blood cell, red and white blood cells, store minerals, provid ...

'' and the ''

Gabriel Knight ''Gabriel Knight'' is a series of point-and-click adventure games released by Sierra On-Line in the 1990s created by Jane Jensen. The titular character is an author and book store owner in New Orleans who is investigating a strange series of murde ...

'' video game series. Hicks launched ''Demonology 101'' in August 1999 with its first episode. By 2003, the webcomic consisted of five self-contained stories. Hicks redrew the entirety of Episode 1 in 2002. ''Demonology 101'' is

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

-influenced, and nearly the entire webcomic is rendered in black-and-white with heavy grey shading. Hicks drew her webcomic on

printer paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distributed ...

she took from her parents. Hicks completed ''Demonology 101'' in 2004, after having created 700 pages. After the conclusion of Episode Five, Hicks also wrote two short character-based stories, as well as a flashback webcomic titled ''A Distant Faith''. Because there were relatively few story-focused webcomics available in the late 1990s and early 2000s, ''Demonology 101'' very quickly acquired a small readership anticipating its weekly update. Hicks was very critical of her own art, but later said that ''Demonology 101'' "was so important to me. ... it was all mine and that was wonderful."

Synopsis

''Demonology 101'' is centered on seemingly "normal" girl named Raven, who is actually a 16-year-old

who had been adopted by a human. Raised in isolation, Raven is eager to join the outside world and enrolls in high school. Although Raven is nominally the main character, the supporting cast is well-developed, adding depth to the world and highlighting the themes of the webcomic. The character Raven is mainly concerned with figuring out her own nature and fate, and ''Demonology 101'' largely explores these questions through her family ties and relationships. ''Demonology 101'' also explores the ideas of "good" and "evil" through its complex cast of characters.

Awards

''Demonology 101'' won two

Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards The Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards (WCCA) were annual awards in which established webcartoonists nominated and selected outstanding webcomics. The awards were held between 2001 and 2008, were mentioned in a ''The New York Times'' column on webcom ...

in 2004, in the categories "Outstanding Dramatic Comic" and "Outstanding Long Form Comic".

References

{{reflist

External links

''Demonology 101''
archived on the

Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and see ...

Faith Erin Hicks' website
2000s webcomics Fantasy webcomics Drama webcomics Canadian webcomics Coming-of-age webcomics Long-form webcomics Web Cartoonists' Choice Award winners 1999 webcomic debuts 1999 establishments in Canada Demons in comics Works about adoption