Web Series Wednesday – Tragicomic

By starrymag | January 8, 2019

By: Spring Marie Cullen

 

 

WHAT? Tragicomic

 

BY: The Candle Wasters

 

 

WHY SHOULD I WATCH?

 

Tragicomic is the newest web series from New Zealand based creators The Candle Wasters. The series is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic tragedy Hamlet and is creatively coupled with a webcomic, forming a new and exciting way to consume the age old tale. The episodes and the comics are meant to be viewed together and I encourage watching and reading the show as it was intended to get the full experience.

 

The story follows Hannah Moore (Nova Moala-Knox) as she navigates through high school, her mother’s brand new relationship and countless secrets she believes her family is hiding from her. On the search for the truth about her father’s whereabouts, she discovers her family’s dark past and turns to her art as a way of processing her feelings. Both her desire to be a cartoonist and longing for answers fuel the series and the accompanying comics are meant to be drawn by Hannah herself. It puts a new spin on the medium, setting Tragicomic apart from other Shakespearean based web series.

 

As someone who’s watched a myriad of television shows where I wished I could take a look at the fictional creation the lead character was working on, I loved being able to see the detail of Hannah’s pages on my own. Sally Bollinger, who drew the majority of the comics, made every stroke count; the comics truly compliment the series and I was really impressed with how perfectly executed the idea was, including them paid off.

 

I don’t think I can pick my favorite episodes because they flowed together so nicely that I didn’t even realize how many I was going through! One of the things that stood out to me with each episode were the visuals at the beginning. Sometimes it was a cute animated version of the story and other times it was as simple as a single word on a whiteboard, but I found the opening shots especially appealing. The series as a whole is just really entertaining and anyone who’s a fan of different types of digital media, thought provoking family dramas or Shakespeare will appreciate Tragicomic.

 

There are some trigger warnings provided before the start of the series and I appreciate how candid they were about them, as some of the topics the series touched on were on the heavier side. It gets especially dark towards the later episodes, so I’d be sure to check out the trigger warnings before giving the series a watch to make sure you’re in the right headspace.

 

WHERE CAN I WATCH? Episodes and comics can be found here.

 

 

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