Title: Stagtown
Type: Webcomic
Year: 2021-2023
Country: United States
Genre: Horror
Status: Completed
Platform: Webtoon (read here)
Appropriate for 30+?: Yes
My rating: 4/5 stars
(Rating scale: 5/5 = masterpiece, 4/5 = quite good, 3/5 = mostly good, 2/5 = bleh, 1/5 = I regret ever being exposed to this series, 0/5 = affront to humanity)
I'm normally not a fan of the horror genre, but this one felt a bit like a classic episode of X-Files: creepy things happening in a small town that slowly accumulate into an page-turner (screen swiper?) of a thriller/mystery infused with a dose of action and a sprinkle of cryptid fantasy. This series is a bit less gory than most horror series, and contains basically no sexual content to speak of, so it's a good cross-generational series (it does have some body horror and scary moments, so I'd give it a 14+ rating). The art is mid-tier but professional and pleasantly old-school (no 3D models here!). The main cast are twenty-somethings but for the most part act like generic adults; I did not get a "young adult fiction" vibe from this one.
Overall I'd give the series a B (4/5 stars): not the most ground-breaking work of fiction out there, but plenty enjoyable with good pacing, multiple memorable moments, and a solid piece of work from start to finish. The series is a good length: long enough to wrap up the story in a satisfying way but not so long that it drags (many webtoons suffer from being too drawn out and/or not knowing when to wrap things up). If you have the stomach for some mild gore and scary moments, and appreciate a good fantasy mystery, I'd recommend this one for sure.
Summarized in a phrase: monster-of-the-week X-Files nostalgia in webcomic form
