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Blindsprings
Blindsprings is an all ages comic, featuring magic, secret societies and hidden gateways to fantastic places. The comic should appeal to anyone who loves Ghibli or Disney animated movies!
This webcomic can be found at:
http://www.blindsprings.com/
This webcomic can be found at:
http://www.blindsprings.com/
Webcomic
First published October 3, 2013
14 people are currently reading
197 people want to read
About the author
Kadi Fedoruk
5 books6 followersKadi Fedoruk is a Vancouver-based artist, fascinated by folklore and passionate about animation and magical girls. Kadi especially enjoys young adult literature and hopes to empower readers with enchanting tales and backgrounds that are way too detailed.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
February 21, 2024
De très jolis dessins avec de belles couleurs, l'histoire est accessible pour tous les âges et l'intrigue est bien mise en place à la fin du premier tome. L'univers se développe doucement, et l'histoire est intéressante !
July 21, 2016
Does it count as "read" if it's an ongoing webcomic that I'm now caught up on? I think it does, since I've finished "book one"...
Either way, really good story here, I love the diversity included, and the artwork is amazing. Plus it's free to read online! Everyone do it!
Either way, really good story here, I love the diversity included, and the artwork is amazing. Plus it's free to read online! Everyone do it!
July 16, 2019
I've been following this titan of a webcomic since it was first announced. It's been an absolute treat to watch Miss Fedoruk grow from a Gaia Online artist to a successful author/illustrator. Usually, I find that webcomics, which are meant to merge writing and art to tell a story, usually suffer from one or the other: weak writing and fantastic art, or fantastic writing and weak art. Blindsprings is one of the rare exceptions, that finds itself both beautifully written and drawn.
One thing I really have to appreciate is the author's commitment to representation. The world of Blindsprings is richly diverse and colorful, featuring a large cast of multiple ethnicities, sexualities, gender identities, and socioeconomic means, which is great to see.
Admittedly, there were some pages and events I had to revisit a couple times in order to fully grasp, as there are so many intertwined story-lines within story-lines and character connections, that reading the online version (updates on a weekly basis) over a course of many years forces you to lose track of things sometimes. I do wish the author was able to keep committed to her update schedule, and I really hope she doesn't abandon this comic; we've only just come back a few months ago from a year-long hiatus, and updates have paused again. Regardless, this series is absolutely worth the read, the artwork is some of the absolute best I've seen in a webcomic, and the characters are wonderful!
One thing I really have to appreciate is the author's commitment to representation. The world of Blindsprings is richly diverse and colorful, featuring a large cast of multiple ethnicities, sexualities, gender identities, and socioeconomic means, which is great to see.
Admittedly, there were some pages and events I had to revisit a couple times in order to fully grasp, as there are so many intertwined story-lines within story-lines and character connections, that reading the online version (updates on a weekly basis) over a course of many years forces you to lose track of things sometimes. I do wish the author was able to keep committed to her update schedule, and I really hope she doesn't abandon this comic; we've only just come back a few months ago from a year-long hiatus, and updates have paused again. Regardless, this series is absolutely worth the read, the artwork is some of the absolute best I've seen in a webcomic, and the characters are wonderful!
October 30, 2017
I love everything about this book. I had the pleasure to be a supporter of its Kickstarter campaign and refused to read any further until I get the printed version at my home. It was a good decision.
The worldbuilding is interesting, the characters are adorable, the artwork is gorgeous. Damn, I wish I could draw like that when I grow up...Well, anytime soon, I hope.
I enjoyed all the pages, I wanted to keep reading.
Thank you so much, Kadi! Can't wait for the next chapters.
The worldbuilding is interesting, the characters are adorable, the artwork is gorgeous. Damn, I wish I could draw like that when I grow up...Well, anytime soon, I hope.
I enjoyed all the pages, I wanted to keep reading.
Thank you so much, Kadi! Can't wait for the next chapters.
October 14, 2018
Le style de dessin est vraiment très très beau mais l'histoire est beaucoup trop fouillis. Le lecteur y avance à tatons, on passe du coq à l'âne et il n'y a très peu d. exposition à l'histoire du monde dans lequel évoluent les personnages. Dommage, car le concept était intéressant !
May 20, 2017
3 1/2 stars
October 23, 2017
OMG it's the most amazing webcomic I've come across and this first hard cover book is just gorgeous!
I can't wait for the next one.
I can't wait for the next one.
August 28, 2018
Came for the art and stayed for the worldbuilding and the story.
March 28, 2023
An incredible story with beautiful artstyle!!
September 12, 2017
I started reading this series on hivemind and bought the book through kickstarter as i love the idea that modern magic is alchemy based and fear reigns of natural magicians or orphics. A well thought out series that is beautifully illustrated and written with a great story plot. Need volume 2.
November 7, 2022
The art, background work, character design, and color choices are great in this comic but ultimately some questionable plot choices hamper its intended messaging, in my opinion (spoilers below)
Essentially, one of the biggest struggles in the story is between "academic" magic (which here denotes a kind of hermeticist philosophy towards magic, largely scientific and executed through diagrams and seals) and "Orphic" magic (which is a more spiritual/animist philosophy)
All well and good so far, but the issues start to really make themselves known through the comic's questionable choice to approach this conflict by way of, like. racial/cultural/class politics. Orphic magic is hereditary and sealed by Academist officials immediately upon discovery due to a past history of Orphic oppression and rule. Now, because Orphic magic is more like what we'd think of as an invisible hereditary mutation as opposed to something with a pure ethnic/cultural through-line, this does muddy the waters on any kind of pure 1:1 real world comparison (which is probably for the best, honestly).
This has... uncomfortable implications.
See, Academic magic in this setting exists partially as a force of environment-destroying capitalist excess after its use in toppling Orphic rule, which would be fine as a plot point were it not for the fact that
1) As we said, Orphic magic is hereditary, which means non-Orphic people are relegated to a lower natural caste from the start pretty much no matter what, and
2) Orphic magic (and its continued use) is revealed to be fundamentally necessary to not only the continued existence of magic in the setting PERIOD, but also things like the natural growth of plant life.
To make matters worse, the main sympathetic Academic mage is later revealed to be part-Orphic, and this itself is revealed to be why he's a genius at Academic magic. Academic magic IS Orphic magic in this setting, twisted to its own ends. In simpler terms, that means Academic mages can't win in the field of magic no matter WHAT they do, which is rather bleak considering the possible feats and utility of the stuff.
The points I'm trying to arrive at here is that this comic has a lot of muddying of metaphors in a way that puts me in mind of an author who really liked an assortment of worldbuilding elements but wasn't overly concerned with how those things would interact with each other.
The spirits the Orphics serve are given superficially creepy moments, but at the end of the day Orphic magic is what's keeping the world turning so it's better than a purely Academic system by default, which means a caste system is going to be built in to the world of the comic, and THAT muddies the HEAVY indigenous coding Orphics have because, well, exploited indigenous populations tend to be that way because of greed, colonialism, and plain old human evil. Not because they were formerly the upper class in heterogeneous society.
It's not that I think these elements were added in bad faith, or are even really a reflection of the author's politics in any meaningful way. The art, dialogue, and character quirks remain enjoyable. But there's the foundations of the comic lie on some pretty swampy ground, and I'd be lying if I said it doesn't hamper the experience for me.
Essentially, one of the biggest struggles in the story is between "academic" magic (which here denotes a kind of hermeticist philosophy towards magic, largely scientific and executed through diagrams and seals) and "Orphic" magic (which is a more spiritual/animist philosophy)
All well and good so far, but the issues start to really make themselves known through the comic's questionable choice to approach this conflict by way of, like. racial/cultural/class politics. Orphic magic is hereditary and sealed by Academist officials immediately upon discovery due to a past history of Orphic oppression and rule. Now, because Orphic magic is more like what we'd think of as an invisible hereditary mutation as opposed to something with a pure ethnic/cultural through-line, this does muddy the waters on any kind of pure 1:1 real world comparison (which is probably for the best, honestly).
This has... uncomfortable implications.
See, Academic magic in this setting exists partially as a force of environment-destroying capitalist excess after its use in toppling Orphic rule, which would be fine as a plot point were it not for the fact that
1) As we said, Orphic magic is hereditary, which means non-Orphic people are relegated to a lower natural caste from the start pretty much no matter what, and
2) Orphic magic (and its continued use) is revealed to be fundamentally necessary to not only the continued existence of magic in the setting PERIOD, but also things like the natural growth of plant life.
To make matters worse, the main sympathetic Academic mage is later revealed to be part-Orphic, and this itself is revealed to be why he's a genius at Academic magic. Academic magic IS Orphic magic in this setting, twisted to its own ends. In simpler terms, that means Academic mages can't win in the field of magic no matter WHAT they do, which is rather bleak considering the possible feats and utility of the stuff.
The points I'm trying to arrive at here is that this comic has a lot of muddying of metaphors in a way that puts me in mind of an author who really liked an assortment of worldbuilding elements but wasn't overly concerned with how those things would interact with each other.
The spirits the Orphics serve are given superficially creepy moments, but at the end of the day Orphic magic is what's keeping the world turning so it's better than a purely Academic system by default, which means a caste system is going to be built in to the world of the comic, and THAT muddies the HEAVY indigenous coding Orphics have because, well, exploited indigenous populations tend to be that way because of greed, colonialism, and plain old human evil. Not because they were formerly the upper class in heterogeneous society.
It's not that I think these elements were added in bad faith, or are even really a reflection of the author's politics in any meaningful way. The art, dialogue, and character quirks remain enjoyable. But there's the foundations of the comic lie on some pretty swampy ground, and I'd be lying if I said it doesn't hamper the experience for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 13, 2018
Aux premières planches feuilletées, c’est la surprise. Je m’attendais à un autre type de dessin, et pas à du comics aussi vif de couleurs. Surprise mitigée sachant que les comics tiennent rarement mon intérêt sur la longueur, la faute au graphisme qui ne sait pas me séduire totalement.
Les premières pages ouvrent sur un univers oscillant entre conte de fées et cauchemars. On suit la petite Tamaura qui gambade en forêt, accompagnée d’une licorne, et bien souvent de diverses ombres sournoises lui chuchotant qu’elle ne peut en aucun cas les abandonner. De ces esprits persifleurs, on pense immédiatement aux oeuvres cinématographiques de Miyazaki, où les esprits peuvent être bienfaiteurs comme porteurs de dangers.
La paix bascule à la venue d’un jeune garçon nommé Harris, avec qui Tamaura s’entend immédiatement - voilà un camarade de jeu! Un camarade qui s’enfuit bien rapidement, retourne à son monde, celui des Hommes. Le suivre ? Briser le pacte qui l’a lie à la forêt ?
Une plongée dans un nouveau monde.
L’autre monde, c'est cet autre côté du miroir où le temps n’a pas attendu Tamaura pour s’écouler. Un monde présentant un autre versant, une réalité dure, froide. L'onirisme n'est plus. De la foule qui arpente les rues, elle est adulte, sévère. Il n’est plus question de liberté, de gambader, d’afficher sa joie. Ce monde se divise en deux factions, les Orphiques (sorciers alliés des esprits) et les Académiques (sorciers que l’on pourrait résumer vulgairement à alchimistes). Un univers où les lois des alchimistes piétinent l’ordre naturel, barricadent la magie ‘’blanche’’ des orphiques. Une lutte entre vieux monde, et nouveau qui tente de s’imposer, de balayer les anciennes croyances pour les remplacer par la science.
Je regrette juste l'accumulation des actions, ce qui empêche un peu de respirer entre chaque planche. Mais ce premier tome reste une belle découverte, à voir la suite !
Les premières pages ouvrent sur un univers oscillant entre conte de fées et cauchemars. On suit la petite Tamaura qui gambade en forêt, accompagnée d’une licorne, et bien souvent de diverses ombres sournoises lui chuchotant qu’elle ne peut en aucun cas les abandonner. De ces esprits persifleurs, on pense immédiatement aux oeuvres cinématographiques de Miyazaki, où les esprits peuvent être bienfaiteurs comme porteurs de dangers.
La paix bascule à la venue d’un jeune garçon nommé Harris, avec qui Tamaura s’entend immédiatement - voilà un camarade de jeu! Un camarade qui s’enfuit bien rapidement, retourne à son monde, celui des Hommes. Le suivre ? Briser le pacte qui l’a lie à la forêt ?
Une plongée dans un nouveau monde.
L’autre monde, c'est cet autre côté du miroir où le temps n’a pas attendu Tamaura pour s’écouler. Un monde présentant un autre versant, une réalité dure, froide. L'onirisme n'est plus. De la foule qui arpente les rues, elle est adulte, sévère. Il n’est plus question de liberté, de gambader, d’afficher sa joie. Ce monde se divise en deux factions, les Orphiques (sorciers alliés des esprits) et les Académiques (sorciers que l’on pourrait résumer vulgairement à alchimistes). Un univers où les lois des alchimistes piétinent l’ordre naturel, barricadent la magie ‘’blanche’’ des orphiques. Une lutte entre vieux monde, et nouveau qui tente de s’imposer, de balayer les anciennes croyances pour les remplacer par la science.
Je regrette juste l'accumulation des actions, ce qui empêche un peu de respirer entre chaque planche. Mais ce premier tome reste une belle découverte, à voir la suite !
November 30, 2015
The story is an ongoing web comic, so I haven't finished, but it's one of my favorites. I don't think I've ever seen more beautiful illustrations, and the setting and plot are just so cool! It's a must read.
July 27, 2015
More up to date than finished!
Loved the story! :)
Loved the story! :)
Read
April 15, 2016SO, SO GOOD!
The illustrations were out of this world, the story intriguing and the world building so freaking amazing!
I just saw this is being printed via kickstarter, yay!
The illustrations were out of this world, the story intriguing and the world building so freaking amazing!
I just saw this is being printed via kickstarter, yay!
October 31, 2023
Good art but a very confusing storyline.
April 5, 2017
Amazing and really really beautiful webcomic!! :)
Thefirst 5 chapters are collected in the printed book one.
Thefirst 5 chapters are collected in the printed book one.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews