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

webcomic Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on the internet, such as on a website or a mobile app. While many webcomics are published exclusively online, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or ...

written and drawn by Faith Erin Hicks 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 folklore, mythology, religion, occultism, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in Media (communication), media including f ...

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. The concept is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film, also written by Whedon, a ...

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

Bone A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, ...

'' 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 mur ...

'' 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 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 history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

-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, herbivore dung, or other vegetable sources in water. Once the water is drained through a fine mesh leaving th ...

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 ''New York Times'' column on webcomics ...

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 Internet Archive, an American nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California. Launched for public access in 2001, the service allows users to go "back in ...

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