Ava's Demon

Writing and art done by Michelle Czajkowski 

Reviewed by Sammie Mifsud

Being a comic book lover, it is somewhat surprising that I never really stumbled upon any web comics that interested me, considering there are a vast amount out there. So, to put it lightly, I honestly had no idea where to start when looking for one. I did what any person would have done...I went to the Google search bar. I am not going to lie, I went through what seemed like hundreds of websites (it was probably only three). I finally came across a website called Topwebcomics and the name pretty much says it all. There was an abundance of really awesome looking comics and that is when I found myself looking at one called Ava's Demon. At first, I didn't really know how to feel about it. But once I started, I couldn't stop. 

Ava's Demon is a science fiction web comic created by Michelle Czajkowski. She not only is the author, but she also did all the art by herself. Which I think is pretty impressive. Ava's Demon is about a 15 year old girl named Ava. The title of the comic is pretty self explanatory. Ava has a demon attached to her, and the demon's name is Wrathia.  

Wrathia takes joy in manipulating Ava's actions, which causes her to have a tough time in school. Everything escalates pretty quickly from this point on when her school planet is completely destroyed. Luckily she escapes with two other students from her class; Maggie and Odin. 

        

Initially what brought me to this comic was the art style. For me, the art in a comic is what really sticks out. I fell in love with the characters and how they looked. Not only that, the colors are something to take note of. Ava's Demon is filled with a range of beautiful colors. One thing I noticed is that the colors become a huge part of the story. They connect to the characters and set the mood throughout. For example, when someone makes a pact with a demon, some of their physical appearances will change. Like their hair color, eye color, skin color, ect. They will change in a way that they appear to look more like the demon that they have made a pact with. Ava makes a pact with her demon Wrathia, which causes her hair, her eyes, and her skin to change to a more red color. Maggie too makes a pact with a demon named Tuls. Before she made the pact, it is said that she used to have brown hair. After the pact her hair changed to a green color and her skin will occasionally take on the appearance of bark, to match Tuls' nature like presence.

When I first went on the website it had a drawing of a book and when I hovered over the image with my cursor the words 'Start Reading' popped up on my screen. I then clicked on the image and it went straight into the comic. What I really like about Ava's Demon is that the author made it look like an actual book. Not only that, but it felt super interactive. At the end of each chapter there was a video that could be played. It was a summary of what happened, it had moving pictures and beautiful music.This is the video used in  Chapter One of Ava's Demon. 

Ava's Demon was like nothing I have ever experienced. I was not only reading the comic, it felt like I became a part of Ava's world. As cartoon like as the art style may be and as fictional as the story is, it felt so real. It may have had its sad moments but there was always something to lighten up the mood. This web comic was overall really enjoyable and fun to read and I honesty recommend it to anyone. 

For a 15 year old girl, Ava has quite a way with words