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Digger #1
Digger, Volume One
"Digger is a story about a wombat. More specifically, it is a story about a particularly no-nonsense wombat who finds herself stuck on the wrong end of a one-way tunnel in a strange land where nonsense seems to be the specialty. Now with the help of a talking statue of a god, an outcast hyena, a shadow-being of undeterminate origin, and an oracular slug she seeks to find out where she is and how to go about getting back to her Warren"--Publisher's web site.
132 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
16 people are currently reading
2222 people want to read
About the author
Ursula Vernon
75 books1,489 followersUrsula Vernon, aka T. Kingfisher, is an author and illustrator. She has written over fifteen books for children, at least a dozen novels for adults, an epic webcomic called “Digger” and various short stories and other odds and ends.
Ursula grew up in Oregon and Arizona, studied anthropology at Macalester College in Minnesota, and stayed there for ten years, until she finally learned to drive in deep snow and was obligated to leave the state.
Having moved across the country several times, she eventually settled in Pittsboro, North Carolina, where she works full-time as an artist and creator of oddities. She lives with her husband and his chickens.
Her work has been nominated for the Eisner, World Fantasy, and longlisted for the British Science Fiction Awards. It has garnered a number of Webcomics Choice Awards, the Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story, the Mythopoeic Award for Children’s Literature, the Nebula for Best Short Story, the Sequoyah Award, and many others.
Ursula grew up in Oregon and Arizona, studied anthropology at Macalester College in Minnesota, and stayed there for ten years, until she finally learned to drive in deep snow and was obligated to leave the state.
Having moved across the country several times, she eventually settled in Pittsboro, North Carolina, where she works full-time as an artist and creator of oddities. She lives with her husband and his chickens.
Her work has been nominated for the Eisner, World Fantasy, and longlisted for the British Science Fiction Awards. It has garnered a number of Webcomics Choice Awards, the Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story, the Mythopoeic Award for Children’s Literature, the Nebula for Best Short Story, the Sequoyah Award, and many others.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 115 reviews
January 6, 2008
Ursula Vernon has won several awards for the art of her comic, "Digger." She uses shadow and light beautifully, in a story that's--well, actually all about shadow and light.
Vernon's writing is smart and witty, and it's pretty clear she's been a gamer at some point in her life.
Digger is a stubborn, hardworking, sarcastic, intelligent, er...wombat who loses her way underground, digging herself further and further from the familiar earth of home and into a dangerously unfamiliar world where she finds herself taking advice from a living statue of Ganesh, becoming part of a barbaric tribe of hyenas, and taking under her wing a naive young shadow creature who is capable of horrific things, but is constantly asking child-like questions about right and wrong.
Meanwhile, evil things begin stirring far below in the earth, and Digger determines that, while she's searching for a way home, she might as well get to the bottom of these dangerous and seemingly magic events in a logical and levelheaded way.
Because that's what wombats *do*.
_________________________
Digger can be found online at the graphicsmash.com website. The first 286 pages are free, as are weekly updates.
Vernon's writing is smart and witty, and it's pretty clear she's been a gamer at some point in her life.
Digger is a stubborn, hardworking, sarcastic, intelligent, er...wombat who loses her way underground, digging herself further and further from the familiar earth of home and into a dangerously unfamiliar world where she finds herself taking advice from a living statue of Ganesh, becoming part of a barbaric tribe of hyenas, and taking under her wing a naive young shadow creature who is capable of horrific things, but is constantly asking child-like questions about right and wrong.
Meanwhile, evil things begin stirring far below in the earth, and Digger determines that, while she's searching for a way home, she might as well get to the bottom of these dangerous and seemingly magic events in a logical and levelheaded way.
Because that's what wombats *do*.
_________________________
Digger can be found online at the graphicsmash.com website. The first 286 pages are free, as are weekly updates.
July 26, 2012
I read DIGGER as it was originally being published as a web-comic: 2 pages a week for 5 or so years. It was a wonderful read then, and I've been really looking forward to reading it all straight through now, just to see how well it works.
Holy crap, does it work. I mean, knowing how it ends, and seeing how stuff in the very first pages ties in to things hundreds of pages later (and I *know* Ursula didn't mean to do that, because she started Digger on a lark and was all like O.O when people Kept. Wanting. More.) is just wonderful. Rediscovering all the clever, funny, outrageous, bizarre bits that I'd forgotten is hugely enjoyable. I really can't recommend this story highly enough. I think you'll love it.
Holy crap, does it work. I mean, knowing how it ends, and seeing how stuff in the very first pages ties in to things hundreds of pages later (and I *know* Ursula didn't mean to do that, because she started Digger on a lark and was all like O.O when people Kept. Wanting. More.) is just wonderful. Rediscovering all the clever, funny, outrageous, bizarre bits that I'd forgotten is hugely enjoyable. I really can't recommend this story highly enough. I think you'll love it.
December 28, 2019
Nice fantasy story. I need to get back to it someday to find out where it was leading.
[I can't actually remember whether I read this last year or this year. But I need more books towards my challenge!]
[I can't actually remember whether I read this last year or this year. But I need more books towards my challenge!]
June 7, 2016
A webcomic turned compendium. . . not the complete story.
It opens with our wombat heroine Digger in a confused state. Bad earth does that, she explains; a period where she thought she was a small rock named Ed was easy, actually. She hits upon a cave area where she hears voices talking of killing her. And finally staggers to a place where she can gather her wits. Being lost, she digs in the only direction bound to go somewhere: up.
It lands her in the middle of a temple. After a chat with the statue of Ganesh (not the god, the statue), Digger tries to go home by figuring out where she is, especially when the statue determines that the hole does not go into the ground under the temple, and Digger's digging proves it by plowing a tunnel right through where it would be if it was.
This involves a nineteen-year-old hag, cave paintings, a question-asking shadow, a leech with a prophecy or two, two attempts to eat Digger, someone whose name was eaten, bandits, and more.
It opens with our wombat heroine Digger in a confused state. Bad earth does that, she explains; a period where she thought she was a small rock named Ed was easy, actually. She hits upon a cave area where she hears voices talking of killing her. And finally staggers to a place where she can gather her wits. Being lost, she digs in the only direction bound to go somewhere: up.
It lands her in the middle of a temple. After a chat with the statue of Ganesh (not the god, the statue), Digger tries to go home by figuring out where she is, especially when the statue determines that the hole does not go into the ground under the temple, and Digger's digging proves it by plowing a tunnel right through where it would be if it was.
This involves a nineteen-year-old hag, cave paintings, a question-asking shadow, a leech with a prophecy or two, two attempts to eat Digger, someone whose name was eaten, bandits, and more.
March 3, 2008
The protagonist is feisty, brash and with a razor sharp wit. Plus, she's a wombat.
What more does it need?
How about prophetic snails, talking statues, vampire vegetables, Ed and an adorable shadow-child all told with a very Pratchet-esque style.
It's very hard to dislike this book.
What more does it need?
How about prophetic snails, talking statues, vampire vegetables, Ed and an adorable shadow-child all told with a very Pratchet-esque style.
It's very hard to dislike this book.
February 11, 2023
4.5 stars
Super adorable. Kind without being twee. It definitely made me want to read the rest of the series.
Super adorable. Kind without being twee. It definitely made me want to read the rest of the series.
August 2, 2007
Digger, a sensible young wombat who’s just starting out on her own, gets lost while digging a tunnel near her warren. When she comes up through the floor of a temple for Ganesh and the statue of the god at the altar starts talking to her, she knows something very weird has happened. She has come to an unfamiliar country full of magic, legend, and strange ritual, where no one has ever seen a wombat before, but everyone is very interested in the arrival of one. To make matters worse, Digger learns she did not get lost at all—she was guided to this place by an unknown intelligence that has cut off her escape route, the tunnel she came in by. Ganesh believes Digger is destined to do something important in this land, but he doesn’t know (or won’t say) what.
A highly entertaining, intelligent adventure story with roots in myth and folklore from around the world. Digger is a tough, no nonsense but compassionate heroine supported by a large cast of intriguing, well-drawn secondary characters, including an unfortunate hyena who’s been exiled from his clan; a mad priest who has visions of a vengeful goddess; and a psychic slug who reads tree leaves. The art is top notch, done in atmospheric black and white which captures the alternating spooky and humorous tone of the story well. Originally started as a webcomic at GraphicSmash.com, where excerpts from the story can be read.
A highly entertaining, intelligent adventure story with roots in myth and folklore from around the world. Digger is a tough, no nonsense but compassionate heroine supported by a large cast of intriguing, well-drawn secondary characters, including an unfortunate hyena who’s been exiled from his clan; a mad priest who has visions of a vengeful goddess; and a psychic slug who reads tree leaves. The art is top notch, done in atmospheric black and white which captures the alternating spooky and humorous tone of the story well. Originally started as a webcomic at GraphicSmash.com, where excerpts from the story can be read.
June 24, 2012
I didn't want to like this. At times it is soooo cutesy. But in the end, it made me laugh, and it was definitely creative, between the vest-wearing kick-ass female wombat Digger, her shadow friend, god statues, and a mystery. I only read the first volume to evaluate for the Hugo nominations but I'm planning to finish it (although I won't choose it to win.)
November 18, 2008
SO CUTE. And creepy, in this very distant soft way. Much love.
January 10, 2018
I'm adoring this series so far, wow. And I never would have even known about it had I not literally gone to Australia and come back with a wombat obsession after petting one at the zoo and seeing two in the wild during a night safari. It was during my gushing visit to my cover artist upon my return home that she said "Hang on, I have something to lend you." Being an Ursula Vernon fan already, but I guess not a very awake one, I was excited from the start.
So what is this? Elevator-pitch-wise... it's a little bit like Alice in Wonderland, only "Alice" is an adult and also happens to be a vest-wearing wombat. Digger, as she's called, got muddled underground when she hit a pocket of bad gas underground and tunneled for days without knowing where she was. When she emerges into the surface, she's in... basically Wonderland, only the strange characters she encounters seem more creative to me than Carroll's: a hyaena who has no name because his name has been eaten, a little shadow beast that "hatched from a dead bird" and doesn't know what they are, and a precognitive slug who has magical powers because of a semantic mistake on the part of a long-ago magician. Who else will we meet in future volumes as she tries to figure out where she is and get home? I'm looking forward to it!
I love Digger's sassy, matter-of-fact way of speaking, sometimes compassionate, sometimes sarcastic, sometimes just calmly logical, depending on what's called for. Her down to earth commentary -- God almighty that's not an intentional pun but now that I've typed it I'm keeping it -- helps ground the story in an understandable realm so that it never floats off into that confusing, world-building-heavy sort of thing that keeps me personally from enjoying some fantasy worlds. (To explain my pun: wombats are geology experts in this universe, since they spend so much time underground.)
One notable thing I want to point out is how *cool* the gendering is in this comic -- so far, anyway. Digger doesn't have, like, gigantic eyelashes, extra fur on her head, or anything else that would code her as "female". Her only clothing is a vest, and while there's a brief suggestion of curves where my body has breasts, they look kinda like pecs and that's probably not where a wombat's teats are anyway. So despite my feminism, it didn't occur to me that she was female until something in the dialogue made it unmistakable. (She's narrating in first person to the reader.) In fact, she throws out a random comment along the lines of "any wombat would do so and so if she so and so other thing" and my eye caught on it because it's so unusual for a character to specifically use 'she' in a hypothetical, and when that happened it was the first time I even thought maybe Vernon was being subversive by having a male character use 'she' for a hypothetical because she wanted wombats to be progressive, or something. Nope, Digger's a lady!
Anyway, I just think that's really neat because so rarely are female characters allowed to just be, without it being a whole bunch of coding and performative whatnot. I think it leads to better female characters and also greater diversity of female characters.
Content warning that a statue of Ganesh is a significant supporting character and as I am not from that tradition I can't speak to the accuracy of the depiction. I also regret that I am unable to provide trigger warnings for this because I did not take notes, but I do remember Digger surviving a violent attack (not a gendered or sexual one in any way.) She kicked ass, by the way.
So what is this? Elevator-pitch-wise... it's a little bit like Alice in Wonderland, only "Alice" is an adult and also happens to be a vest-wearing wombat. Digger, as she's called, got muddled underground when she hit a pocket of bad gas underground and tunneled for days without knowing where she was. When she emerges into the surface, she's in... basically Wonderland, only the strange characters she encounters seem more creative to me than Carroll's: a hyaena who has no name because his name has been eaten, a little shadow beast that "hatched from a dead bird" and doesn't know what they are, and a precognitive slug who has magical powers because of a semantic mistake on the part of a long-ago magician. Who else will we meet in future volumes as she tries to figure out where she is and get home? I'm looking forward to it!
I love Digger's sassy, matter-of-fact way of speaking, sometimes compassionate, sometimes sarcastic, sometimes just calmly logical, depending on what's called for. Her down to earth commentary -- God almighty that's not an intentional pun but now that I've typed it I'm keeping it -- helps ground the story in an understandable realm so that it never floats off into that confusing, world-building-heavy sort of thing that keeps me personally from enjoying some fantasy worlds. (To explain my pun: wombats are geology experts in this universe, since they spend so much time underground.)
One notable thing I want to point out is how *cool* the gendering is in this comic -- so far, anyway. Digger doesn't have, like, gigantic eyelashes, extra fur on her head, or anything else that would code her as "female". Her only clothing is a vest, and while there's a brief suggestion of curves where my body has breasts, they look kinda like pecs and that's probably not where a wombat's teats are anyway. So despite my feminism, it didn't occur to me that she was female until something in the dialogue made it unmistakable. (She's narrating in first person to the reader.) In fact, she throws out a random comment along the lines of "any wombat would do so and so if she so and so other thing" and my eye caught on it because it's so unusual for a character to specifically use 'she' in a hypothetical, and when that happened it was the first time I even thought maybe Vernon was being subversive by having a male character use 'she' for a hypothetical because she wanted wombats to be progressive, or something. Nope, Digger's a lady!
Anyway, I just think that's really neat because so rarely are female characters allowed to just be, without it being a whole bunch of coding and performative whatnot. I think it leads to better female characters and also greater diversity of female characters.
Content warning that a statue of Ganesh is a significant supporting character and as I am not from that tradition I can't speak to the accuracy of the depiction. I also regret that I am unable to provide trigger warnings for this because I did not take notes, but I do remember Digger surviving a violent attack (not a gendered or sexual one in any way.) She kicked ass, by the way.
May 15, 2022
I've read the first two chapters in the web. Was intrigued because I saw it described as a mixture between Celebus and Bone with a little bit of Terry Pratchett, which like, come on, is a winner premise.
Unfortunately, I did not find it...intriguing? The world didn't resonate with me as much as Bone did.
The main character’s passivity swings between the charming and the annoying, because at some point it feels like I have to do all of the work to remain engaged here. Unlike Bone, there's not a sense of "entering" a unique land, it's more of a... surreal type of dream-world where the author throws whatever is in her mind.
And that's good! But it's just not taking those ideas right, they feel too much in the loose this early on.
It's overall a cool idea and I bet I would have loved it if I read it in its entirety... but I'm just not in the mood for it right now! You can't please everyone, but please, do check it out, it's got good ideas.
Unfortunately, I did not find it...intriguing? The world didn't resonate with me as much as Bone did.
The main character’s passivity swings between the charming and the annoying, because at some point it feels like I have to do all of the work to remain engaged here. Unlike Bone, there's not a sense of "entering" a unique land, it's more of a... surreal type of dream-world where the author throws whatever is in her mind.
And that's good! But it's just not taking those ideas right, they feel too much in the loose this early on.
It's overall a cool idea and I bet I would have loved it if I read it in its entirety... but I'm just not in the mood for it right now! You can't please everyone, but please, do check it out, it's got good ideas.
April 5, 2024
Behold! A hidden gem!
("Digger is a story about a wombat. More specifically, it is a story about a particularly no-nonsense wombat who finds herself stuck on the wrong end of a one-way tunnel in a strange land where nonsense seems to be the specialty. Now with the help of a talking statue of a god, an outcast hyena, a shadow-being of undeterminate origin, and an oracular slug she seeks to find out where she is and how to go about getting back to her Warren"--Publisher's web site.) ~ Blurb from Goodreads
The shadowchild was pretty interesting. So the shadowchild The way that the shadowchild is characterized was a cool nod to how everyone and everything has a shadow and it set up the mystery surrounding them in a great way.
The struggles of Digger were conveyed very well. Digger's main goal is to get home. However, because the tunnel she was digging has been tampered with by magic, she's been forced to dig around aimlessly, to the point where she's exhausted enough to have vivid hallucinations. Because the reader gets a clear picture of her goal and all the trials and tribulations she has to go through, it was really easy to side with her and want to see her achieve her goal.
I liked the use of maps here. It was an unconventional, yet clever way to try and help Digger find a way home, whether that's finding maps of other nearby wombat warrens or cross referencing maps from the past to get one's bearings. By using maps, it can open up a myriad of possible leads, even if they're not all winners.
The way this entry built the world was great. It gives the reader just enough information to help them understand each concept and character, but still leaves room for further exploration in future entries.
Honestly, the only real issue I had with it was the art style at times. On occasion, there will be a panel that resembles a rough sketch that was skipped over during the polishing phase and I think a little more time dedicated to cleaning them up would've been helpful.
Overall, Digger Volume One was a wonderful introduction to the series and I can confidently say I'm looking forward to the next installment.
Overall Grade: A
("Digger is a story about a wombat. More specifically, it is a story about a particularly no-nonsense wombat who finds herself stuck on the wrong end of a one-way tunnel in a strange land where nonsense seems to be the specialty. Now with the help of a talking statue of a god, an outcast hyena, a shadow-being of undeterminate origin, and an oracular slug she seeks to find out where she is and how to go about getting back to her Warren"--Publisher's web site.) ~ Blurb from Goodreads
The shadowchild was pretty interesting. So the shadowchild The way that the shadowchild is characterized was a cool nod to how everyone and everything has a shadow and it set up the mystery surrounding them in a great way.
The struggles of Digger were conveyed very well. Digger's main goal is to get home. However, because the tunnel she was digging has been tampered with by magic, she's been forced to dig around aimlessly, to the point where she's exhausted enough to have vivid hallucinations. Because the reader gets a clear picture of her goal and all the trials and tribulations she has to go through, it was really easy to side with her and want to see her achieve her goal.
I liked the use of maps here. It was an unconventional, yet clever way to try and help Digger find a way home, whether that's finding maps of other nearby wombat warrens or cross referencing maps from the past to get one's bearings. By using maps, it can open up a myriad of possible leads, even if they're not all winners.
The way this entry built the world was great. It gives the reader just enough information to help them understand each concept and character, but still leaves room for further exploration in future entries.
Honestly, the only real issue I had with it was the art style at times. On occasion, there will be a panel that resembles a rough sketch that was skipped over during the polishing phase and I think a little more time dedicated to cleaning them up would've been helpful.
Overall, Digger Volume One was a wonderful introduction to the series and I can confidently say I'm looking forward to the next installment.
Overall Grade: A
October 12, 2024
Ten stars
August 26, 2022
The first volume of this collection of comics includes the first two chapters of Digger and ends on a cliffhanger. Given that I was just starting to get into it, from what felt to me to be a very slow start, I'm not quite sure how I feel about this.
Don't get me wrong, there were parts that I did enjoy. The main character is a very witty and surprisingly insightful character as she moves around the world, outside of her comfort zone and meeting more friends than enemies. Of these, the only one that really sticks around for the longest period is the shadow child. This is a shadowy blob that turns into a monster whenever either of them are threatened.
Because of the randomly wandering about element of this as Digger attempts to find her way home, it has a very middle book of The Lord of the Rings feeling, where not a lot happens beyond these interactions with various characters.
The god-statue Ganesh is more or less the patron of the story, and is very much for Digger finding her way home... without actually being all that helpful about how that's going to happen, only that there is a 'bigger plan'. The people who worship this god-statue are somewhere between useless and actively hindering for a lot of it and there isn't really enough separation between characters for me to pull any out as well characterised.
Despite some good philosophical moments, I'm not really sure I'll pick up the second volume of this as I'm not particularly invested in where things go from here, or even whether Digger now has a milk poppy addiction after healing from the wound that happened at the end.
Don't get me wrong, there were parts that I did enjoy. The main character is a very witty and surprisingly insightful character as she moves around the world, outside of her comfort zone and meeting more friends than enemies. Of these, the only one that really sticks around for the longest period is the shadow child. This is a shadowy blob that turns into a monster whenever either of them are threatened.
Because of the randomly wandering about element of this as Digger attempts to find her way home, it has a very middle book of The Lord of the Rings feeling, where not a lot happens beyond these interactions with various characters.
The god-statue Ganesh is more or less the patron of the story, and is very much for Digger finding her way home... without actually being all that helpful about how that's going to happen, only that there is a 'bigger plan'. The people who worship this god-statue are somewhere between useless and actively hindering for a lot of it and there isn't really enough separation between characters for me to pull any out as well characterised.
Despite some good philosophical moments, I'm not really sure I'll pick up the second volume of this as I'm not particularly invested in where things go from here, or even whether Digger now has a milk poppy addiction after healing from the wound that happened at the end.
October 26, 2011
A graphic novel about a wombat who gets caught up in an epic quest to deal with a dead god -- yes, it is as weird as it sounds, but stick with it and you shall be rewarded. Prerequisites: a sense of whimsy and sentiment, both.
The thing about Vernon is that she's a storyteller with heart and fidelity. She may introduce seemingly bizarro elements, like an oracular slug (!), but if you trust her, all the way through tangled tunnels and into and out of a god's temple and down chasms and past the shadows, she will deliver. After the first "what the heck?" reaction (and I get the sense that she enjoys eliciting that response), you will learn that the strange new element truly has a place in the story, and a personality, and it will fit seamlessly into the plot she's woven so far, and the personality is truly wonderful and will win you over. Yes, I ended up liking the oracular slug (!). (I can't mention it without an exclamatory point.)
And this story could stand on its own even if it weren't populated by various critters, but it wouldn't be as fun. And I love how this series can make me laugh and grin like a maniac on one page, then in another series of panels bring me near to tears.
And yes, the art's pretty awesome too. But I absolutely fell in love with the characters, not with how they looked.
The thing about Vernon is that she's a storyteller with heart and fidelity. She may introduce seemingly bizarro elements, like an oracular slug (!), but if you trust her, all the way through tangled tunnels and into and out of a god's temple and down chasms and past the shadows, she will deliver. After the first "what the heck?" reaction (and I get the sense that she enjoys eliciting that response), you will learn that the strange new element truly has a place in the story, and a personality, and it will fit seamlessly into the plot she's woven so far, and the personality is truly wonderful and will win you over. Yes, I ended up liking the oracular slug (!). (I can't mention it without an exclamatory point.)
And this story could stand on its own even if it weren't populated by various critters, but it wouldn't be as fun. And I love how this series can make me laugh and grin like a maniac on one page, then in another series of panels bring me near to tears.
And yes, the art's pretty awesome too. But I absolutely fell in love with the characters, not with how they looked.
October 10, 2018
I love this so much. One of the best books I've read in a while. It was almost...relaxing? I'm not sure if that's the right word, but I felt very chill and content while reading this first volume. It's definitely meant for adults, so it wasn't "easy reading" so much as it was exactly what I want in a before-bed book. It read like a Hero's Journey, with almost philosophical ponderings, various fantastic characters met along the way, prophesies, and magic. There is so very much more going on outside of what I just mentioned, but it's tough to do this one justice. I'll have to stop and say that it's just incredible fun and wholly satisfying. I can't wait to read more. This truly is a masterpiece. I'll be saving up to buy the Omnibus now!
This started as a webcomic, by the way, and it's still available in its entirety online! Link to Digger Page 1. You just have to click "Next" to see each page (obviously, but in case it wasn't obvious).
A few panels I loved:
This started as a webcomic, by the way, and it's still available in its entirety online! Link to Digger Page 1. You just have to click "Next" to see each page (obviously, but in case it wasn't obvious).
A few panels I loved:
June 11, 2007
Firstly, the art is some of the best black and white stuff out there. Characterful and really making use of monochrome.
Secondly, it's about a relentless pragmatic wombat named Digger-of-unnecessarily-convoluted-tunnels, which is just excellent all on it's own.
Thirdly, the supporting cast includes oracular slugs and a statue of Ganesh and hyenas.
Fourthly, it's well written and interesting and has great characters -Digger is someone you just want to invite home for a cup of tea and a chat.
Fifthly, two words. Vampire. Pumpkins.
Sixthly, it's creepy and funny and nice in exactly the right combination.
Seventhly, (and I'll stop there just because it's getting ridiculous) it's a good read and you really do want to find out what happens next.
Secondly, it's about a relentless pragmatic wombat named Digger-of-unnecessarily-convoluted-tunnels, which is just excellent all on it's own.
Thirdly, the supporting cast includes oracular slugs and a statue of Ganesh and hyenas.
Fourthly, it's well written and interesting and has great characters -Digger is someone you just want to invite home for a cup of tea and a chat.
Fifthly, two words. Vampire. Pumpkins.
Sixthly, it's creepy and funny and nice in exactly the right combination.
Seventhly, (and I'll stop there just because it's getting ridiculous) it's a good read and you really do want to find out what happens next.
May 26, 2020
I love Digger so much. I never knew I needed a smart, practical, suspicious female wombat as my guide to a world of living gods, dead gods, magic and building. But she's the best.
My favorite thing about this series so far is the worldbuilding, which has room for deeply strange creatures like Shadowchild ("Am I an experience?" "You have no idea.") alongside the grounded creativity of Digger, the faith of the statue's acolytes and the mystery of holes that may start in one world and end in another... by accident or on purpose?
The scruffy black-and-white artwork only enhances all of this, giving weight to light and darkness, solidity to earth and soil, and texture to fur and stone.
I think I'm going to plow through all these volumes this week.
My favorite thing about this series so far is the worldbuilding, which has room for deeply strange creatures like Shadowchild ("Am I an experience?" "You have no idea.") alongside the grounded creativity of Digger, the faith of the statue's acolytes and the mystery of holes that may start in one world and end in another... by accident or on purpose?
The scruffy black-and-white artwork only enhances all of this, giving weight to light and darkness, solidity to earth and soil, and texture to fur and stone.
I think I'm going to plow through all these volumes this week.
June 12, 2010
This is my new favorite author! I was very excited to be able to carry her books at Horizon. I have been making myself not devour them all at once, but to savor them one at a time. Deliciously quirky! This is my first foray into graphic novels. A friend got me hooked on this series online, and I decided that I liked it so much I would get it in for the store. While I like reading the series online and seeing her other artwork, it was so nice to be able to buy a hard copy. Support your favorite artists!
April 1, 2024
Digger of Unnecessarily Convoluted Tunnels, “Digger” if you’re not being formal, is a wombat. In her world, wombats are an intelligent bipedal species which otherwise resemble Earth’s wombats. Digger’s primary job is being a tunneler, but when we meet her, she no longer remembers where her tunnel was headed. As far as she can make out, she hit a patch of “bad earth” that’s disoriented her and given her short-term amnesia. Now that she’s come to her senses, though, she does know up from down, and if you dig “up” far enough, you will eventually reach the surface.
Digger finds herself in a temple, talking to a statue of Ganesh, the god of compassion. The statue is home to a fragment of the god, but is not the god itself, so is somewhat limited. Digger’s people are not unfamiliar with the concept of gods, as they run into them buried underground all the time, but do not worship them and usually avoid interacting with them. Wombats are a practical people who do not trust magic.
Still, Ganesh is a reasonable person, for a god-haunted statue. Digger quickly establishes that wombats are not native to this area, and Ganesh has no idea where it is relative to her homeland. As night will fall soon, Ganesh suggests visiting the nearby village. A storm comes up, and Digger takes refuge in what she hopes is an empty cave. And this is the beginning of her adventures.
Ursula Vernon was, in 2007, primarily an illustrator who’d done a few pages of story as a lark to test out her wombat design (based on watching Steve Irwin interact with one). This came to the attention of T. Campbell, who was editor of the webcomic anthology site Graphic Smash. He encouraged her to turn it into a full series, which ran some 800 pages and won a Hugo award in 2012. Having discovered that people like her art and writing, she’s had several children’s books published under “Ursula Vernon” and books aimed at adults (dark fantasy and horror, mostly) as “T. Kingfisher”.
In this first volume, Digger explores the surroundings of the temple, meeting a hyena-person she nicknames “Ed” as his original name was eaten, the mysterious Shadowchild who doesn’t know what it is, and Ed’s former tribemates, who are anthropophagous. (But are also willing to eat wombats; they’re not picky.)
Returning to the temple, Digger meets Jhalm, captain of the Veiled, the servants of the gods. Jhalm is a suspicious sort who’s most interested in punishing the wicked, and Digger instinctively distrusts him.
An acolyte, unnamed at this point, explains the origin of the temple, a story Digger doesn’t quite believe. But Second Librarian Vo is a more affable fellow. He’s a learned man, quite elderly, and had previously thought wombats were mythical creatures. But he’s gathered all the information in the temple library on the subject and is willing to help Digger look.
Nothing in the initial search, but dwarven maps might be more helpful as they love drawing maps of their locations, and one might include the abandoned dwarfholt near Digger’s home warren. The apprentices will look into it.
Trying to find the village again, Digger meets Shadowchild again (the temple is dangerous for it) and they run into an oracular slug. After a digression that establishes exactly why there’s an oracular slug, it delivers two obscure prophecies to Digger. It also gives some non-magical and practical advice on where the village is and that it might not be safe.
The village is not safe, being under attack. Digger initially doesn’t want to take sides, but there’s a veiled woman huddling in the middle of the street who is not attacking anyone and not in a mind to do anything but pray. When Digger attempts to help the woman to a safer place, she is attacked by bandits. She takes out several of them, but a crossbow bolt finds a vulnerable spot.
Digger wakes up three days later in the hut of the local hag (healer), who’s new at the job, but nineteen is not too young to be a hag.
There’s quite a few mysteries being set up, and several characters who might be important later. As is the nature of webcomics, certain events were planned years in advance, while others were a matter of putting in dots to be connected later once the author thought of a connection. (Or just left as worldbuilding details.)
Digger is a good protagonist. She has a large dose of common sense, but is also a decent person, which means that sometimes she doesn’t do the safest thing. She’s very knowledgeable in her fields of expertise, but knows that she’s not in a place where she can refuse to learn new things, and asks obvious questions. Digger’s also a distinctive but relatively easy to draw character design, important when the artist is going to have to draw her over and over and over.
The art is charming, and I can see a gradual improvement over the course of this first volume.
Since there’s a bit of space left at the end of the volume (and not to split up chapters), there’s also a short story, “No Unicorns in Heaven” which explains the backstory of the statue that Ganesh inhabits.
As of this writing, the webcomic is still available online at https://diggercomic.com but buying the physical volumes (or the massive omnibus) ensures that you’ll be able to read them if you lose your internet connection and puts some money in the creator’s pocket.
Recommended to fantasy fans who enjoy talking animals–I’d say late teens on up, not so much for “content warning” as for a generally more grown-up sense of pace.
Digger finds herself in a temple, talking to a statue of Ganesh, the god of compassion. The statue is home to a fragment of the god, but is not the god itself, so is somewhat limited. Digger’s people are not unfamiliar with the concept of gods, as they run into them buried underground all the time, but do not worship them and usually avoid interacting with them. Wombats are a practical people who do not trust magic.
Still, Ganesh is a reasonable person, for a god-haunted statue. Digger quickly establishes that wombats are not native to this area, and Ganesh has no idea where it is relative to her homeland. As night will fall soon, Ganesh suggests visiting the nearby village. A storm comes up, and Digger takes refuge in what she hopes is an empty cave. And this is the beginning of her adventures.
Ursula Vernon was, in 2007, primarily an illustrator who’d done a few pages of story as a lark to test out her wombat design (based on watching Steve Irwin interact with one). This came to the attention of T. Campbell, who was editor of the webcomic anthology site Graphic Smash. He encouraged her to turn it into a full series, which ran some 800 pages and won a Hugo award in 2012. Having discovered that people like her art and writing, she’s had several children’s books published under “Ursula Vernon” and books aimed at adults (dark fantasy and horror, mostly) as “T. Kingfisher”.
In this first volume, Digger explores the surroundings of the temple, meeting a hyena-person she nicknames “Ed” as his original name was eaten, the mysterious Shadowchild who doesn’t know what it is, and Ed’s former tribemates, who are anthropophagous. (But are also willing to eat wombats; they’re not picky.)
Returning to the temple, Digger meets Jhalm, captain of the Veiled, the servants of the gods. Jhalm is a suspicious sort who’s most interested in punishing the wicked, and Digger instinctively distrusts him.
An acolyte, unnamed at this point, explains the origin of the temple, a story Digger doesn’t quite believe. But Second Librarian Vo is a more affable fellow. He’s a learned man, quite elderly, and had previously thought wombats were mythical creatures. But he’s gathered all the information in the temple library on the subject and is willing to help Digger look.
Nothing in the initial search, but dwarven maps might be more helpful as they love drawing maps of their locations, and one might include the abandoned dwarfholt near Digger’s home warren. The apprentices will look into it.
Trying to find the village again, Digger meets Shadowchild again (the temple is dangerous for it) and they run into an oracular slug. After a digression that establishes exactly why there’s an oracular slug, it delivers two obscure prophecies to Digger. It also gives some non-magical and practical advice on where the village is and that it might not be safe.
The village is not safe, being under attack. Digger initially doesn’t want to take sides, but there’s a veiled woman huddling in the middle of the street who is not attacking anyone and not in a mind to do anything but pray. When Digger attempts to help the woman to a safer place, she is attacked by bandits. She takes out several of them, but a crossbow bolt finds a vulnerable spot.
Digger wakes up three days later in the hut of the local hag (healer), who’s new at the job, but nineteen is not too young to be a hag.
There’s quite a few mysteries being set up, and several characters who might be important later. As is the nature of webcomics, certain events were planned years in advance, while others were a matter of putting in dots to be connected later once the author thought of a connection. (Or just left as worldbuilding details.)
Digger is a good protagonist. She has a large dose of common sense, but is also a decent person, which means that sometimes she doesn’t do the safest thing. She’s very knowledgeable in her fields of expertise, but knows that she’s not in a place where she can refuse to learn new things, and asks obvious questions. Digger’s also a distinctive but relatively easy to draw character design, important when the artist is going to have to draw her over and over and over.
The art is charming, and I can see a gradual improvement over the course of this first volume.
Since there’s a bit of space left at the end of the volume (and not to split up chapters), there’s also a short story, “No Unicorns in Heaven” which explains the backstory of the statue that Ganesh inhabits.
As of this writing, the webcomic is still available online at https://diggercomic.com but buying the physical volumes (or the massive omnibus) ensures that you’ll be able to read them if you lose your internet connection and puts some money in the creator’s pocket.
Recommended to fantasy fans who enjoy talking animals–I’d say late teens on up, not so much for “content warning” as for a generally more grown-up sense of pace.
December 7, 2011
I read Digger all at once, having found it after it was finished. I am in awe of the storytelling ability in this comic. The artwork is enjoyable and give creedence to the phrase 'a picture is worth a thousand words'. Sometimes the expressions on these characters's faces just speak volumes.
These are real, heartbreaking characters and I love that we got to travel with them for a little while.
These are real, heartbreaking characters and I love that we got to travel with them for a little while.
July 27, 2011
Over the course of a few days I plowed through the whole series, all 759 pages of it, here: www.diggercomic.com.
This is fantastic stuff. You just can't beat level-headed warrior wombats wading hip-deep in the wilds of anthropology, mythology, and ethics. Inventive, joyous, tragic. And the artwork is lovely.
This is fantastic stuff. You just can't beat level-headed warrior wombats wading hip-deep in the wilds of anthropology, mythology, and ethics. Inventive, joyous, tragic. And the artwork is lovely.
September 8, 2012
frankly i'm blown away. hadn't even heard of this until a friend mentioned it earlier this week. an adventure story in the tradition of the hobbit, full of sardonic humor, oracle slugs, and the troubles of a destiny that's about right things rather than written things.
or some other equally obscure way of describing several hundred pages of fine drawing, story-telling, and fun.
or some other equally obscure way of describing several hundred pages of fine drawing, story-telling, and fun.
September 5, 2017
I simply can not say enough good things about Digger. Please read it. Oh! And you can do so for free because it's a still-ongoing webcomic found at http://www.diggercomic.com/ Always SFW, because humans can't understand Wombat curses.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
November 16, 2007
...just read it. Seriously. How can anyone argue that a book with vampiric vegetables, underground-bounds elder gods, and wayward wombats isn't an instant classic?
December 22, 2011
A really fun, quick read with a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor. The art style compliments the quirky cast of characters well; who'd have thought a story about a wombat would be so enjoyable?
September 16, 2012
Awesome storyline! Yes, it's a comic about a wombat. But by the time it ends, you want her running the world; we'd all be happier!
September 2, 2016
I read this on line.
I will buy it, and treasure it, as a book.
And re-read it.
I will buy it, and treasure it, as a book.
And re-read it.
January 7, 2017
What an odd, odd book...
If this were in prose form, I'd keep reading. But I'm not a huge fan of graphic novels, nor of reading on LCD screens, so I'll probably stop here.
If this were in prose form, I'd keep reading. But I'm not a huge fan of graphic novels, nor of reading on LCD screens, so I'll probably stop here.
August 9, 2018
A fun and quirky graphic novel fantasy involving… a wombat.
First Line:
What Dazzled: This is a fantasy world unlike any other I’ve encountered. I’m not sure if it takes place somewhere in Asia or even what time period it is. That’s kind of the fun of this story. You have to keep reading to put more pieces of the puzzle together.
What Fizzled: What’s weird is even though there were all those interesting characters, I found myself saying, nothing is happening. The whole plot is Digger being lost, either by old magic long forgotten or a natural phenomena. She wants to go home and is trying to find her way there or anyone who can help her get there. That’s the entire plot. I’d recommend this to readers who enjoy character driven stories.
Jots and Thoughts: Ursula Vernon is also the author of the Harriet the Invincible and Dragonbreath graphic novel series, which are geared towards elementary aged kids unlike Digger whose audience is adults. I think teens would also enjoy Digger.
First Line:
I’ve been digging for a long time, p.5.In Volume One we are introduced to a lost wombat named Digger. She’s not entirely sure how she became lost, but just knows that she is. From there we meet the God Ganesh, a hyena whose name was eaten, a shadow child, a library friendly to rats, an oracular slug, and a hag. Vernon has given readers a host of characters to get to know and find out how they interconnect. Will Digger figure out how to get back to her wombat village?
What Dazzled: This is a fantasy world unlike any other I’ve encountered. I’m not sure if it takes place somewhere in Asia or even what time period it is. That’s kind of the fun of this story. You have to keep reading to put more pieces of the puzzle together.
What Fizzled: What’s weird is even though there were all those interesting characters, I found myself saying, nothing is happening. The whole plot is Digger being lost, either by old magic long forgotten or a natural phenomena. She wants to go home and is trying to find her way there or anyone who can help her get there. That’s the entire plot. I’d recommend this to readers who enjoy character driven stories.
Jots and Thoughts: Ursula Vernon is also the author of the Harriet the Invincible and Dragonbreath graphic novel series, which are geared towards elementary aged kids unlike Digger whose audience is adults. I think teens would also enjoy Digger.
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