''Erma'' is a

comedy horror Comedy horror (also called horror comedy) is a literary, television and film genre that combines elements of comedy and horror fiction. Comedy horror has been described as having three types: "black comedy, parody and spoof." Comedy horror can a ...

webtoon Webtoons () are a type of episodic digital comics that originated in South Korea usually meant to be read on smartphones A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allo ...

and

animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...

web series A web series (also known as webseries, short-form series, and web show) is a series of short scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet (i.e. World Wide Web), which first emerged in the late 1 ...

created by Mexican artist Brandon J. Santiago. It follows the adventures and misadventures of the titular initially six-year-old Erma Williams' experiences as a

half One half is the multiplicative inverse of 2. It is an irreducible fraction with a numerator of 1 and a denominator of 2. It often appears in mathematical equations, recipes and measurements. As a word One half is one of the few fractions w ...

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...

, half-

yōkai are a class of supernatural entities and Spirit (supernatural entity) , spirits in Japanese folklore. The kanji representation of the word comprises two characters that both mean "suspicious, doubtful", and while the Japanese name is simply ...

ghost In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

, tending to use her haunting abilities for everyday antics, whether for better or for worse, focusing on themes such as

friendship Friendship is a Interpersonal relationship, relationship of mutual affection between people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an "acquaintance" or an "association", such as a classmate, neighbor, coworker, or colleague. Althoug ...

and

acceptance Acceptance in psychology is a person's recognition and assent to the finality of a situation without attempting to change or protest it. This plays out at both the individual and societal level as people experience change. Types of acceptanc ...

. Santiago initially published the webcomic on

DeviantArt DeviantArt (formerly styled as deviantART and thus abbreviated as dA) is an American online community that features artwork, videography, photography, and literature, launched on August 7, 2000, by Mathew Stephens, Scott Jarkoff and Angelo Sotir ...

and

Tumblr Tumblr (pronounced "tumbler") is a microblogging and Social networking service, social networking website founded by David Karp in 2007 and is owned by American company Automattic. The service allows users to post multimedia and other content ...

in May 2014, but has since released it on various services from January 2016, such as

Tapas Tapas () are appetisers or snacks in Spanish cuisine. They can be combined to make a full meal and are served cold (such as mixed olives and cheese) or hot (such as , which are battered, fried baby squid; or , spicy potatoes). In some bars ...

and

WEBTOON Webtoons () are a type of episodic digital comics that originated in South Korea usually meant to be read on smartphones A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allo ...

. It is available in two languages, English and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

. In January 2020, ''

Comics Beat Heidi MacDonald (born November 15) is an American writer and editor of comic books based in New York City. She runs the comics industry news blog '' The Beat''. Career MacDonald is a former editor for DC Comics' Vertigo imprint and '' Disney A ...

'' reported that with 64.5 million views and 74.9 thousand subscribers, ''Erma'' was the most-viewed webcomic on the Tapas syndicate in 2019. In October 2017, Santiago published a

prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term ...

graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...

to the series titled ''Spirit's Bloom'', as well as two

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...

collections of ''Erma'' comics, in addition releasing a

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

of ''Erma'' produced by Outcast Studios. A print collection, ''Tales of Outcast'', was released in March 2019. Other works include the stand-alone ''Night Detective'', ''Siris'', and ''Warrior Unicorn Princess'', and ''Yokai'', an in-universe novel. A

picture book A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The ima ...

, ''Meet Erma'', was released in April 2020. An ''Erma'' animated series began releasing to

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

from July 2024 to present.

Overview

''Erma'' follows the adventures and misadventures of Erma Williams, a child who lives in the

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

s of the fictional town Blairwood and has supernatural abilities. Santiago also focuses on Erma's supernatural life and friendships with her best friends, Amy, Terry and Connor, as well as her babysitter Felicia and fellow ''Warrior Unicorn Princess'' fan Sidney. She also deals with her maternal family issues and other people that threaten her and her loved ones. ''Spirit's Bloom'' is a prequel graphic novel that focuses on Erma's parents Sam and Emiko in their younger years and how they met and fall in love as well as Erma's birth. ''Tales of the Outcast'' is an anthology series that focuses on other notable characters from Erma's world in small side stores.

Characters

* Erma Williams: The titular

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

of the series. She is a half-human/half- yokai hybrid and daughter of Sam and Emiko. * Emiko Yureimoto-Williams: Erma's mother, Sam's wife and the fourth child and third daughter of the Yureimoto clan. She is an

Onryō In Japanese traditional beliefs and literature, are a type of ghost () believed to be capable of causing harm in the world of the living, injuring or killing enemies, or even causing natural disasters to exact Revenge, vengeance to "redres ...

. * Samuel "Sam" Williams: Erma's father, Emiko's husband, Pamela's son and novelist. * Siris: Erma's undead pet dog who is the reincarnation of

Osiris Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wikt:wsjr, wsjr'') was the ancient Egyptian deities, god of fertility, agriculture, the Ancient Egyptian religion#Afterlife, afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He was ...

. * Amy Thorn: Erma's best friend and one of her close friends. She is Alice's older sister, and daughter of Barbara and Henry. * Felicia: Erma's current babysitter, who took over Nancy's job after Nancy was haunted by Erma's pranks, to look after her when Sam and Emiko left. She also looked after Amy when her parents are away. In the ''Yokai District'' story arc, she looks after Siris when Erma and her parents travel to Japan. * Terry: One of Erma's friends, who does pulling pranks, but only to be backfired. * Connor: One of Erma's friends, he has a crush on her and the feeling is mutual. * Sylvia: One of Erma's friends. * Sidney: A human-rat hybrid girl who becomes Erma's friend and was formerly a hall monitor at Blairwood Elementary School in ''The Rats in the School Walls''. * Jordan: One of Erma's friends. * Miko: One of Erma's friends. * Wittle Wallace: A demonic dummy who is the first major villain in the series. * The Invisible Man: The main

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain.oni An ( ) is a kind of ''yōkai'', demon, orc, ogre, or troll in Japanese folklore. They are believed to live in caves or deep in the mountains or in hell. Oni are known for their superhuman strength and have been associated with powers like th ...

. ** Fumiko: The second child and the first and eldest daughter of the Yureimoto clan. She is a harionago. ** Yori: The third child and the second daughter of the Yureimoto clan, and mother of Mitsu and Momo. She is a

rokurokubi ''Rokurokubi'' (ろくろ首, 轆轤首) is a type of Japanese ''yōkai'' (apparition). They look almost completely like humans with some differences. There is a type whose neck stretches and another whose head detaches and flies around freely ...

. ** Rin: The fifth child and fourth daughter of the Yureimoto clan. She is a nurei-onna. ** Ena: The sixth child and the fifth daughter of the Yureimoto clan. She is a nukekubi. ** Mayumi: The seventh child and the sixth and youngest daughter of the Yureimoto clan. She is a noppera-bo. ** Mitsu & Momo: The daughters of Yori, granddaughters of Osamu and Amayu, and Erma's mischievous cousins. They are

zashiki-warashi , sometimes also called , are spirit-like beings told about mostly in the Iwate Prefecture. They are said to be yokai that live in parlors or storage rooms, and that perform pranks, and that people who see one would be visited with good fortune. T ...

s. ** Haru Kappa: A loyal servant to the Yureimoto clan, who is personally assigned to Fumiko. He is a

kappa Kappa (; uppercase Κ, lowercase κ or cursive ; , ''káppa'') is the tenth letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the voiceless velar plosive sound in Ancient and Modern Greek. In the system of Greek numerals, has a value of 20. It was d ...

. ** Kenji Cyclops: A loyal servant to the Yureimoto clan, who is personally assigned to Ena. He is a

Hitotsume-kozō ''Hitotsume-kozō'' (一つ目小僧) are a ''Yōkai'' (supernatural apparition) of Japan that take on the appearance of a bald-headed child with one eye in the center of its forehead similar to a cyclops. Summary They generally do not cause an ...

. ** Yuyu: A yokai woman and family servant to the Yureimoto clan, who makes really good tea. * Toru, Kiko and Mei: A trio of evil yokai and main antagonists of the ''Yokai District'' arc. Toru is a tall and muscular

oni An ( ) is a kind of ''yōkai'', demon, orc, ogre, or troll in Japanese folklore. They are believed to live in caves or deep in the mountains or in hell. Oni are known for their superhuman strength and have been associated with powers like th ...

who carries a

kanabō The , or 'metal club') is a spiked or studded two-handed war club used in feudal Japan by samurai. Other related weapons of this type are the ''nyoibō'', ''konsaibō'', , and ''ararebō''.Mol, Serge (2003). ''Classical weaponry of Japan: spec ...

in hand, and the only male member of the gang, Kiko is a

yuki-onna is a spirit or yōkai in Japanese folklore that is often depicted in Japanese literature, films, or animation. She may also go by such names as ''yuki-musume'', cited by (雪娘, "snow daughter"), ''yukihime'' (雪姫, "snow princess"), ''yuki- ...

with the ability to freeze using her ice powers, and Mei is a slender female taka onna with long sharp nails, who is the leader of the gang. In the end, the trio were now turned into small figurines after the now enraged, horrifying demonic Erma crushed and defeated them with her huge pillars of hair. * Yokai Kids: A group of bullied yokai children lived in Japan who wanted revenge against the Yureimoto clan after being terrorized by Mitsu and Momo, but to no avail, they were completely backfired and ended up terrorized in defeat by Erma when she's gone enraged in her horrifying demonic form. They are the secondary antagonists of the ''Yokai District'' arc. * Akari: A yokai woman, who had some connections with the Yureimoto Clan. She is a Jorōgumo. * The Night Detective: An elderly man and enigmatic detective who specializes in paranormal activity. He is the protagonist of the ''Tales of Outcast'' webcomics series.

Development

Santiago started creating and uploading ''Erma'' on

and

in 2014. He was studying at the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...

at the time, from which he graduated in 2018 to work on the webcomic full-time. The concept of the series originated from a short

parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...

one-shot One shot may refer to: Film and television * One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so * ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake * ''One Shot'', a ...

of ''Ju-On'' and ''The Ring'' published on May 28, 2014. Following the one-shot's positive reception on

and it subsequently

going viral Viral phenomena or viral sensations are objects or patterns that are able to replicate themselves or convert other objects into copies of themselves when these objects are exposed to them. Analogous to the way in which viruses propagate, the te ...

across various social media platforms, Santiago decided to develop a series based on the original ''Erma'' one-shot, debuting on

on January 3, 2016, and on

on April 14, 2018. The series has received universal acclaim for its originality, creativity, and humor. The name of the series was taken from the minor '' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' character

Irma Langinstein The following is a list of characters in the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' franchise. Overview This table shows the recurring characters and the actors who have appeared in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles throughout the franchise. * A dark g ...

, and that the surname of ''Erma''

title character The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piëce. The title o ...

Erma Williams was taken from the minor ''

The Grudge ''The Grudge'' is a 2004 American supernatural horror film directed by Takashi Shimizu, written by Stephen Susco, and produced by Sam Raimi, Robert Tapert, and Takashige Ichise. A remake of Shimizu's 2002 Japanese horror film '' Ju-On: The ...

'' character Emma Williams. In October 2017, Santiago developed and released an animated short film based on the comic in conjunction with the company Outcast Studios, run by Donovan Tracy Gaiter and Julia Santiago. Santiago has stated regarding the initial decision to exclusively release the strip on

that "''Erma'' should at least be on one main website where it would be easy for anyone, fan or newcomer, to come together, and be able to read all of the comics in chronological order, with a more organized list"; despite this, the comic was later released on

Bibliography

Collections

Several print collections and a graphic novel have been published. ''Erma'' #1 covered various strips from 2014-2015 alongside original strips, while ''Erma'' #2 featured solely original strips. ''Spirit's Bloom'', a graphic novel set before the events of ''Erma'', detailing how Erma's parents met as well as expanding the series' mythology, was released in 2017. A third collection, ''Tales of Outcast'', featuring the writing of Donovan Tracy and art of Erik Lervold and Kirsten Celander, was released in 2019.

Graphic novel

Novel

Picture book

Other media

Pilot (2017)

An animation based on ''Erma'' was in development since 2015 after the release of ''Erma'' #2 via Brandon's

page. Santiago revealed that he had a "secret" project in development in addition to ''Erma'' #3 in October 2017, which he cited as the reason "there ouldn'tbe as many Halloween strips this month as last year". ''Erma – Animated Short Film'' was uploaded to

that month by Santiago, with a notification on

describing the film as "a surprise for all of you", referring to fans of the ''Erma'' series. The film was produced by Outcast Studios, and has received a positive reception. The film is set prior to the first ''Erma'' strip, detailing how Erma's teacher Ms. Bierly met Erma. The short partially adapts "Coming Soon", a stand-alone comic released to Santiago's

and

pages to announce the development of an ongoing ''Erma'' series prior to the series' original launch.

Web series (2024–present)

Video game (2025)

In August 2016, Santiago designed and released a videogame based on the ''Erma'' as a series of levels through ''

Super Mario Maker is a 2015 platform game and game creation system developed and published by Nintendo. An entry in the ''Super Mario'' series, the game allowed players to create, play, and share courses based on previous ''Super Mario'' titles including ''Sup ...

'', a

game creation system A game creation system (GCS) is a consumer-targeted game engine and a set of specialized design tools, and sometimes also a light scripting language, engineered for the rapid iteration of user-derived video games. Unlike more developer-oriented g ...

developed and published by

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...

for the

Wii U The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4. The W ...

and

Nintendo 3DS The is a foldable dual-screen handheld game console produced by Nintendo. Announced in March 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS, the console was released originally on February 26, 2011 and went through various revisions in its lifetime, ...

. The game, titled ''Erma's Well of Horror'', contains several images of Erma composed of darkness and clouds, and has a completion rate of 4.94%. Promotional art for the game features

Mario Mario (; ) is a Character (arts), character created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the star of the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise, a recurring character in the ''Donkey Kong'' franchise, and the mascot of the Ja ...

encountering Erma as he's about to enter a

Warp Pipe (also known as and is a platform game series created by Nintendo starring their mascot, Mario. It is the central series of the greater Mario (franchise), ''Mario'' franchise. At least one ''Super Mario'' game has been released for every ma ...

, shocked by her appearance. Santiago has stated that the game was specifically designed for readers of the ''Erma'' webcomic, as compensation for a temporary delay in the release of the following strip that existed at the time. An updated version of ''Erma's Well of Horror'' was later released to ''

Super Mario Maker 2 is a 2019 platform game and game creation system developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the sequel to '' Super Mario Maker'' and was released worldwide on June 28, 2019. The gameplay is largely retained from that o ...

'' upon its release in 2019. A

point-and-click adventure game An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an Interactive storytelling, interactive story, driven by exploration and/or Puzzle video game, puzzle-solving. The Video game genres, genre's focus ...

, ''Erma: The Game'', intended for release on

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

and

Mac Mac or MAC may refer to: Common meanings * Mac (computer), a line of personal computers made by Apple Inc. * Mackintosh, a raincoat made of rubberized cloth * Mac, a prefix to surnames derived from Gaelic languages * McIntosh (apple), a Canadi ...

devices, had begun development by March 2019, and is still in development as of January 2025. The game follows Erma as she searches her neighborhood of Blairwood and her science project goes awry.

Reception

Brad Miska Brad Miska is an American film producer and founder of Bloody Disgusting, a horror genre website known for covering horror films, video games, comics, and music. His films include the ''V/H/S'' franchise, '' Under the Bed'', '' A Horrible Way to ...

of ''

Bloody Disgusting Bloody Disgusting is an American independent multi-media company, which began as a horror genre-focused news website specializing in information services that covered various horror media. The company expanded into other media including podcast ...

'' has described the quality of the series as being on par with, if not superior to, ''

Calvin and Hobbes ''Calvin and Hobbes'' is a daily American comic strip created by cartoonist Bill Watterson that was Print syndication, syndicated from November 18, 1985, to December 31, 1995. Commonly described as "the last great newspaper comic", ''Calvin a ...

''. Miska also cited Santiago as having been "working diligently" with ''Erma''; Miska additionally mistook the character of Emiko Williams (née Yūreimoto) for

Samara Morgan is a fictional character and the main antagonist of Koji Suzuki (writer), Koji Suzuki's Ring (novel series), ''Ring'' novel series and its The Ring (franchise), eponymous film series. Her backstory varies between continuities, but all depict her ...

in his review, the character from whom the design for Erma was gotten (alongside

Kayako Saeki is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the ''Ju-On'' and ''The Grudge'' horror franchises. Kayako's fictional history alternates slightly between continuities, but all depict her as the very attractive yet unfortunately vengeful ...

). In a follow-up review to that of Miska's for ''Bloody Disgusting'', Jonathan Barkan described ''Erma'' as "adorable" and "innocent", expressing fondness the series' "squeal-inducing" moments and citing "Movie Night" as his favourite strip. Giallo Julian of ''

Dread Central Dread Central is an American website founded in 2006 that is dedicated to horror news, interviews, and reviews. It covers horror films, comics, novels, and toys. Dread Central has won the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award for Best Website f ...

'' praised ''Erma'' as "just wholesome, feel-good content dipped in a nice coating of horror imagery… and you can bet your bloody guts that ne wouldlove every single bit of it. It's a celebration of the horror culture in the style of an old ''

Peanuts ''Peanuts'' (briefly subtitled ''featuring Good ol' Charlie Brown'') is a print syndication, syndicated daily strip, daily and Sunday strip, Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run ext ...

'' comic strip", in particular praising its evolution from "one-shot stories establishing Erma olonger narratives, and owit begins to flesh out a creative world that sjust a joy to see". Harry Situation of ''The Prose'' described ''Erma'' as an " solutely fun read", calling the series "by far one of the best comic strips I've ever read", citing his love for Santiago's method of characterization of the main characters, finding "the rest of the characters

o be O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), ...

just as likable too", describing the characters of Sam and Emiko Williams as "the most lovable couple ever". Regarding the series' artwork, Situation described it as "incredible", saying " ere's so much attention to detail that it's mind-blowing. I love the expressions people give in the comic whenever Erma does something freaky. Their drawn faces and reactions are just priceless. Even Erma's expressions are entertaining. While she doesn't talk throughout the series, Brandon found a way to let her mood and thoughts let the readers know what she's saying, and this method is brilliant. Also, it's nice to spot some cameos and easter eggs of classic horror movies in each comic strip". Chase Magnett of ''

BuzzFeed BuzzFeed, Inc. is an American Internet mass media, media, news and entertainment company with a focus on digital media. Based in New York City, BuzzFeed was founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John Seward Johnson III, John S. Johnson III to ...

'' described the series overall as " obe read by people of all ages", describing its humour and artwork as "adorable". Regarding the series' content, Magnett referred to ''Erma'' as "contain ngpractical information for everyday life", "teach ngkids that actions have consequences", and "laugh ngat the day-to-day concerns of parenthood", overall stating the series to have "something that everyone can relate to". Deanna Destito of ''

'' praised Santiago's depiction of the titular Erma Williams as a "ghoulish creeper hojust wants to be like any other kid", complementing the series' contrast with such horror franchises as ''

'', and describing the series overall as "quirky, cute, and even a little heartwarming".

References

External links

* *
''Erma''
on

''Erma''
on

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