Gossamer Commons

From Comixpedia

Gossamer Commons is a webcomic written by Eric Burns and origonaly drawn by Greg Holkan. It is now drawn by Peter Venables, but Greg Holkan remains involved in the creative process. It was first published on the 21st of March, 2005, and is hosted by Talk About Comics. It follows the lives of Keith Onzeker and those close to him - by choice or by duty - which change after he sees a fairy in its true form.

[edit] Setting

The world of Gossamer Commons differs from ours primarily in the existence of magic. In it, there are magical and supernatural races, including the fairies. Fairies live in their own land but can travel to our own. When fairies interact with humans they normally do so while wearing a glamour, a magical illusion. An adult human will die after seeing a fairy's true form. This death does not happen because of fairy magic, but as part of the natural magic of the universe. Another race that inhabits the world are the Greek Gods and Goddesses, who typically don't mix with faerie or humans.[2]

[edit] Major Characters

[edit] Keith Onzeker

Keith Onzeker is the protagonist of the webcomic and has been marked for death after seeing a young fairy in her natural form. However, because he then helped the fairy even though he knew he had been marked for death, he was given a boon, to be granted before he dies. He chose, for his boon, to be inspired to write an enduring piece of literature that will one day be considered a classic. As a result, Malachite must now keep Keith alive until he writes the piece of fiction.

[edit] Malachite

Malachite is a fairy who holds the position of Lieutenant of the Barony of the Lower Finger Lakes Region. He has been charged with ensuring that Keith Onzeker is granted his boon, and also with executing Keith cleanly (if the universe is left to do it, the end result tends to be messy). Though devoted to the Law, Malachite is furious that Keith had to be marked for death in the first place, and wishes that Garrison would stop Sonata from wandering around unglamoured. Malachite is a Redcap, making it his duty - "by birth and caste and breed", Mercy explains - to kill humans when necessary.

[edit] Trudy Glick

A childhood friend of Keith's, Trudy is an itinerant jazz clarinetist. Homeless (or as she puts it, "housefree by choice"), she occasionally forms relationships with men based solely on wanting somewhere warm to sleep, just one of the habits that annoys Keith. Trudy knows about Keith's impending doom, and tried (but failed) to convince Keith not to write his magnus opus and thus cheat death. Trudy is Jewish, and thus by fae law no fairy may interact with her.

[edit] Sonata

The juvenile daughter of Garrison, Baron of the Lower Finger Lakes Region, Sonata was the fairy who, unglamoured, marked Keith for death. Her father seems unwilling to rein her in or discipline her in any way, and Keith is not the first human to have been doomed in her wanderings through the mortal world. Sonata appears unaware that she is causing any harm. She speaks in musical notes.

[edit] Minor Characters

[edit] Mercy

Mercy is a Corrigan, a caste of fairies that understands and empathises with humanity (though she is decidedly cold-hearted concerning the fate of individual humans). She has the power to divine human potential (among other things), and informs Malachite, much to his disappointment, that Keith Onzeker is indeed capable of writing his novel. She seems to hold some as-yet-unspecified authority within the fairy world - Malachite refers to her having a "patron" who protects her.

[edit] Jack

Keith's gargantuan roommate, Jack intimidates even Malachite (at least when glamoured). Yet to have an important role in the comic.

[edit] See Also

• Eric Burns
• Greg Holkan
• Websnark
• Unfettered by Talent (Eric Burns's first webcomic)

[edit] External Links

• The Gossamer Commons Website
• The Gossamer Commons Forum