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Erma (webtoon)

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Erma
Opening panel of Chapter 1 (WEBTOON Originals version)
Author(s)
  • Brandon J. Santiago
  • Donovan Tracy Gaiter
Illustrator(s)Brandon J. Santiago
WebsiteTapas, WEBTOON
Current status/scheduleOngoing, published online daily/weekly
Launch date
Syndicate(s)
Publisher(s)Outcast Studios
Genre(s)
Rating(s)9.80 Stars on WEBTOON

Erma is a fantasy-dark comedy slice of life webtoon created by Mexican artist Brandon J. Santiago. It follows the adventures and misadventures of the titular eight-year-old Erma Williams' experiences as a half-human, half-yōkai/ghost, tending to use her haunting abilities for everyday antics, whether for better or for worse, focusing on themes such as friendship and acceptance. Santiago initially published the webcomic on DeviantArt and Tumblr in May 2014, but has since released it on various services from January 2016, such as Tapas and WEBTOON. It is available in two languages, English and Spanish.[1] In January 2020, Comics Beat reported that with 64.5 million views and 74.9 thousand subscribers, Erma was the most-viewed webcomic on the Tapas syndicate in 2019.[2]

In October 2017, Santiago published a prequel graphic novel to the series titled Spirit's Bloom, as well as two anthology collections of Erma comics, in addition releasing a short film pilot 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, Meet Erma, was released in April 2020.[3]

Overview

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

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  • Erma Williams: The titular protagonist of the series, she is a half-human/half-yokai hybrid.
  • Emiko Williams: Erma's mother. Fourth child and third daughter of the Yureimoto clan. She is an Onryō
  • Samuel Willaims: Erma's father and novelist.
  • Amy: One of Erma's friends.
  • Felicia: Erma's current babysitter.
  • Terry: One of Erma's friends.
  • Silvia: One of Erma's friends.
  • Connor: One of Erma's friends, he has a crush on her and the feeling is mutual.
  • Siris: Erma's undead pet dog who is the reincarnation of Osiris.
  • Wallace: A demonic dummy who is the first major villain in the series.
  • The Invisible Man: The main antagonist of Spirit Bloom and a recurring character in the main series.
  • Sidney: A human-rat hybrid girl who becomes Erma's friend.
  • Miko: One of Erma's friends.
  • Nancy: Connor's Sister and Erma's former babysitter who was haunted by Erma.
  • Osamu Yureimoto: The patriarch of the Yureimoto clan and the father of Emiko, Fumiko, Yori, Rin, Kentaro, Ena, and Mayumi.
  • Amayu Yureimoto: Osamu's wife and the mother of Emiko, Fumiko, Yori, Rin, Kentaro, Ena, and Mayumi.
  • Yokai Trio: A pair of villainous yokais.
  • Yokai Kids: Bullied kids who want revenge against the Yureimoto clan.
  • Fumiko: The second child and the eldest daughter of the Yureimoto clan. She is a harionago.
  • Yori: The third child and the second daughter of the Yureimoto clan. She is a rokurokubi.
  • Rin: The fifth child and fourth daughter of the Yureimoto clan. She is a nurei-onna.
  • Kentaro: The first child and the only boy of the Yureimoto clan. He is an oni.
  • Ena: The sixth child and the fifth daughter of the Yureimoto clan. She is a nukekubi.
  • Mayumi: The seventh and the 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-warashis.

Development

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Santiago started creating and uploading Erma on DeviantArt and Tumblr in 2014. He was studying at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign 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 one-shot of Ju-On and The Ring published on May 28, 2014. Following the one-shot's positive reception on DeviantArt and it subsequently going viral across various social media platforms, Santiago decided to develop a series based on the original Erma one-shot, debuting on Tapas on January 3, 2016, and on WEBTOON on April 14, 2018.[4] 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, and that the surname of Erma title character Erma Williams was taken from the minor The Grudge 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 Tapas 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 WEBTOON.[3]

Bibliography

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Collections

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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.

Title Publication date ISBN / ASIN Synopsis Publisher
Erma #1 October 23, 2017 B076QCQPFT Erma is enjoying life in the suburbs, going to school, hanging out with friends, and spending time with the family, but she is a ghost. Outcast Comics, BJS Incorporated
Erma #2 B076QDT2K3
Tales of Outcast #1 March 13, 2019 B07PQVWDFP A new threat has come to the town of Blairwood. Outcast Studios
Tales of Outcast #2 April 29, 2019 B07R7XVLB6 Discovering that their souls are trapped in a video game, Erma brings herself into the world of the Labyrinth to rescue her friends.
Tales of Outcast #3 May 17, 2019 B07RZBJMV2 Erma and her friends try to find their way out of the Labyrinth with the mysterious creature hot on their trail.
Tales of Outcast #4 July 8, 2019 B07V488HPS With nowhere left to run, Erma, Terry, and Connor face off against the creature that has taken their friends and family in an attempt to escape the Labyrinth once and for all.
Tales of Outcast #5 July 17, 2019 B07VFQJC1D As Erma and her parents are on their trip in Japan, Felicia loses her dog, Siris, while on a walk in the park.
Tales of Outcast #6 March 13, 2020 B085X3W9NS The Warrior Unicorn Princess is the heir to a fallen kingdom, and takes to the battlefield in the name of love and friendship.
Tales of Outcast #7 B085X4DFP3 Warrior Unicorn Princess returns to her home, a kingdom corrupted by dark forces.
Tales of Outcast #8 B085X3NVDD The Night Detective investigates the disappearance of two teenagers.
Tales of Outcast #9 October 1, 2020 B08KHXK6WN The Night Detective is called in when a little girl's mother is trapped within their home. No one can get in except for him, but as he makes his way through the halls of the house, he uncovers something much more sinister.
Tales of Outcast #10 B08KJCZY6M During a daily walk, Siris learns of a missing dog and goes on a trek through the neighborhood to find the poor little canine.
Tales of Outcast #11 November 17, 2020 B08NTWX7LB Now that she has taken back her kingdom, Warrior Unicorn Princess heads to search for resources to rebuild it. This leads her to chase down a group of raiders deep within the darkened lands.

Graphic novel

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Title Publication date ISBN / ASIN Synopsis Publisher
Spirit's Bloom October 6, 2017 B0768FJ131 A prequel to the web comic series, introducing Erma's parents in their younger years and showing how they came to know one another.[5] Outcast Comics, BJS Incorporated

Novel

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Title Publication date ISBN / ASIN Synopsis Publisher
Yokai March 13, 2020 TBA What started as a simple family vacation turns into a journey of discovery and mystery. Outcast Studios

Picture book

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Title Publication date ISBN / ASIN Synopsis Publisher
Meet Erma March 13, 2020 B085X3R21W A day in the life of Erma. Outcast Studios

Other media

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Pilot (2017)

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No.TitleDirected byWritten byStoryboarded byMusic and sound effects byOriginal air dateProd.
code
1"Erma"Brandon SantiagoTracy Gaiter & Julia SantiagoKirsten CelanderDerek KoleckiOctober 30, 2017 (2017-10-30)TBA

On a windy night of "Meet Your Teacher Before School Starts" at Blairwood Elementary School, teacher Ms. Bierly notes that she has yet to meet one student, Erma Williams. A girl arrives, accompanied by supernatural phenomena, which Ms. Bierly attempts to flee from, only to find the exits locked. The girl offers her a red apple. As Bierly ponders the meaning of this, Sam Williams opens the classroom door looking for his daughter Erma, and identifies her as the girl in front of Bierly. Beckoning her to him to go home, Erma turns her head, revealing her normal pale face and inverted-coloured eyes.

Cast: Cecelia Negron as "The Teacher" (Ms. Bierly), with Derek Kolecki as "Erma's Dad" (Samuel "Sam" Williams)

An animation based on Erma was in development since 2015 after the release of Erma #2 via Brandon's Tumblr page.[6] 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 [wouldn't] be as many Halloween strips this month as last year".[7] Erma – Animated Short Film was uploaded to YouTube that month by Santiago, with a notification on Tapas describing the film as "a surprise for all of you", referring to fans of the Erma series.[8] The film was produced by Outcast Studios, and has received a positive reception.[3] 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 DeviantArt and Tumblr pages to announce the development of an ongoing Erma series prior to the series' original launch.[9]

Video game (2021)

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In August 2016, Santiago designed and released a videogame based on the Erma as a series of levels through Super Mario Maker, a game creation system developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. 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%.[10] Promotional art for the game features Mario encountering Erma as he's about to enter a Warp Pipe, 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.[11] An updated version of Erma's Well of Horror was later released to Super Mario Maker 2 upon its release in 2019. A point-and-click adventure game, Erma: The Game, was released for iOS and Mac in December 2021. The game follows Erma as she searches her neighborhood of Blairwood and her science project goes awry.[12]

Reception

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Brad Miska of Bloody Disgusting has described the quality of the series as being on par with, if not superior to, Calvin and Hobbes. Miska also cited Santiago as having been "working diligently" with Erma; Miska additionally mistook the character of Emiko Williams (née Yūreimoto) for Samara Morgan in his review, the character from whom the design for Erma was gotten (alongside Kayako Saeki).[13] 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"[14] as his favourite strip.[15]

Giallo Julian of Dread Central praised Erma as "just wholesome, feel-good content dipped in a nice coating of horror imagery… and you can bet your bloody guts that [one would] love every single bit of it. It's a celebration of the horror culture in the style of an old Peanuts comic strip", in particular praising its evolution from "one-shot stories establishing Erma [to] longer narratives, and [how] it begins to flesh out a creative world that [is] just a joy to see".[16]

Harry Situation of The Prose described Erma as an "[a]bsolutely 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 [to be] 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 "[t]here'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".[17]

Chase Magnett of BuzzFeed described the series overall as "[to] be read by people of all ages", describing its humour and artwork as "adorable". Regarding the series' content, Magnett referred to Erma as "contain[ing] practical information for everyday life", "teach[ing] kids that actions have consequences", and "laugh[ing] at the day-to-day concerns of parenthood", overall stating the series to have "something that everyone can relate to".[18] Deanna Destito of Comics Beat praised Santiago's depiction of the titular Erma Williams as a "ghoulish creeper [who] just wants to be like any other kid", complementing the series' contrast with such horror franchises as The Grudge, and describing the series overall as "quirky, cute, and even a little heartwarming".[19]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Subcultura: Erma en español". Subcultura. Archived from the original on October 31, 2017. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  2. ^ MacDonald, Heidi (January 15, 2020). "Sales Charts: The Top 10 most viewed comics on Tapas for 2019". Comics Beat. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "9gag: 'Erma', an Animated Short Film MTC". 9GAG. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  4. ^ Outcast Comics - Tapas.io
  5. ^ Spirit's Bloom – Best 90-Minute Comic & Graphic Novel Short Reads – Ranked #2, Top13Products.com, 2017, archived from the original on December 25, 2017, retrieved November 29, 2017
  6. ^ The Outcast, Brandon (November 27, 2015). "OUTCAST: #preview #erma". Tumblr.
  7. ^ The Outcast, Brandon (October 2, 2017). "SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT TIME! Hey everyone! Sorry". Tumblr.
  8. ^ Comics, OUTCAST (October 30, 2017). "A SPECIAL HALLOWEEN SURPRISE". Tapas.
  9. ^ Studios, Outcast (October 30, 2017). "Outcast Studios: Erma – Animated Short Film". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved October 30, 2017. This is the story of a little girl named Erma, who is enjoying life in the suburbs going to school, hanging out with friends, and even spending time with the family. What is the catch? She is a ghost.
  10. ^ "Super Mario Maker BOOKMARK – Expert: Erma's Well of Horror". Nintendo. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  11. ^ "BJS Incorporated – Expert: Erma's Well of Horror". DeviantArt. August 11, 2016. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  12. ^ Brandon Santiago. "ERMA THE GAME – Help us create Erma the videogame!". Outcast Studios. Retrieved August 13, 2016 – via Indiegogo.
  13. ^ Brad, Miska (February 2, 2015). "Meet Erma, the Daughter of The Rings' Samara, In This Ongoing Comic!". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
  14. ^ "Erma #1 – "Movie Night"". Tapas. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  15. ^ Barkan, Jonathan (April 21, 2015). "The Story of Erma, the Daughter of The Rings' Samara, Continues". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  16. ^ Julian, Giallo (October 21, 2020). "Cursed Pages: Top 6 Horror Comics for Newbies". Dread Central. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  17. ^ Situation, Harry. "Prose. Harry Situation Reviews... Erma". The Prose. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
  18. ^ Magnett, Chase. "15 Reasons Why "Erma" Web Comic Is Awesome". BuzzFeed. Retrieved January 10, 2018.[permanent dead link‍]
  19. ^ Destito, Deanna (June 8, 2020). "A Year of Free Comics: ERMA is creepy, cute, and just wants to be your friend". Comics Beat. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
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