Gunnerkrigg Court is a science-fantasy webcomic created by Tom Siddell and launched in April 2005. It is updated online three days a week, and eight volumes of the still continuing comic have been published in print format by Archaia Studios Press and Titan Books (in the United Kingdom and Ireland). The comic has been critically acclaimed and has won numerous Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards, as well as receiving positive reviews for its artwork and storytelling.
The comic tells the story of Antimony Carver, a young girl who has just started attending a school at a strange and mysterious place called Gunnerkrigg Court, and the events that unfold around her as she becomes embroiled in political intrigues between Gunnerkrigg Court and the inhabitants of the Gillitie Wood, a forest outside the school. The comic's style and themes include elements from science, fantasy creatures, mythology from a variety of traditions, and alchemical symbols and theories; the literary style is heavily influenced by mystery fiction and manga.
Production Gunnerkrigg Court was first posted online on 4 April 2005,Gunnerkrigg Court archive. and was originally updated two days per week. The comic began updating three days per week on 25 December 2006. The end of the seventh chapter in May 2006 marked the end of the "first book,"See the author's comment on Chapter 7, Page 23, in which he identifies that chapter at the end of the first book. Bonus Page 7 , the last page in that chapter, was posted on 22 May 2006. which Siddell published through Lulu.com in 2007; that book is no longer in print. In August 2008, Tom Siddell explained that the comic had a standard "comic book format" which was useful when he had sufficient pages to print a hard copy. The first fourteen chapters of the webcomic were printed as the first Archaia Studios Press edition of 296 pages bound in a hardcover collection titled "Orientation". In 2012 Siddell announced that he had quit his regular job to work on the comic full-time. In addition to books and merchandising the comic is supported through crowdfunding via Patreon since July 2014.
In November 2021, Siddell announced that "Boom/Archaia will no longer be printing the Gunnerkrigg Court collections"Tom Siddell's 4 nov. 2021 post (Wayback Machine archive) on Twitter: "Sadly, it looks like Boom/Archaia will no long be printing the Gunnerkrigg Court collections. If anyone knows of a publisher looking for a Reuben Award winning all ages sci-fi fantasy with an eager audience, let me know!" and was looking for a publisher for volume 9+. ( Vol. 9 and the softcover of Vol. 8 are still unannounced.) In October 2023, Siddell announced that "Gunnerkrigg Court is back in print",Siddell, Tom (18 October 2023). "Chapter 91, Page 30". Gunnerkrigg Court. Retrieved 20 December 2023. with Dark Horse Comics printing the comic "brand new with new artwork right from the beginning". On his Patreon page, Siddell explained that "the changes I'm making are really minor and will not change the look of the comic. It's just a few lines here and there that I felt brought things closer to what I thought I was doing at the time."Siddell, Tom (24 October 2023). "Gunnerkrigg at Dark Horse!". Gunnerkrigg Court Patreon page. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
In May 2024, it was announced Dark Horse Comics will be publishing a limited-edition 1,000-copy hardcover edition of volume 1 in November.
Format The Gunnerkrigg Court webcomic is told in a series of episodic chapters such that each, while forming part of the overall storyline, also functions individually as a stand-alone story arc."Each of the chapters individually is sort of a self-contained thing, so if you were to just read one of them it wouldn't be like you had no idea what was going on." The themes and topics of the chapters vary widely: as one reviewer describes, "You are also not subjected to 400-plus pages of intricate plot movement. While there is an overall story arc, there are also lighter chapters that focus on unusual classes ... or small moments that build the main characters." Each chapter begins with a title page and ends with one or more "bonus pages," which are not integral to the main storyline but often offer ancillary details about the world of Gunnerkrigg Court or about minor characters. The chapters have varied in length from one page to more than eighty. Each page is drawn in traditional (A4; 210 × 297 mm) page formatSiddell: "All my pages are made in traditional page format form the start..." (p. 15). and divided arbitrarily into frames.See, for example, Chapter 19, Page 14 and Chapter 6, Page 5 for examples of different styles. At the bottom of the most recent page is a link to a comments thread for that page, in which readers may comment on and discuss that day's comic.
Influences Siddell has stated that he enjoyed reading Alfred Hitchcock & The Three Investigators as a child, and that it has heavily influenced the literary style of his comic. His artistic style is influenced by many artists, among which he cites as his favorites Jamie Hewlett, Yukito Kishiro, and Mike Mignola, as well as the manga Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and Dragon Ball.
One notable feature of the comic is the blending of mythological elements from many different cultural traditions, especially from the British Isles and Native American mythology.The comic contains characters such as the Black Dog and the Mallt-y-Nos of Welsh mythology, for example, as well as Muut (from Cahuilla) and Coyote (a legend shared by many Native American cultures). There are also characters based on Old French folklore, such as Reynard and Ysengrin. Siddell attributes this style to his experience as a child: "I moved about a lot when I was younger and had the opportunity to grow up hearing stories from different parts of the world and I've always been fascinated by them." In addition to mythology, Siddell makes heavy use of alchemical themes; for example, the main character is named Antimony, after a toxic chemical element,Woodruff: "Please note that there is an element named the same as the lead character Antimony. It is metal deathly toxic (like arsenic) and one of its poisoning symptoms is depression. The alchemical symbol for Antimony looks like an upside down version of the symbol for female, as well. There is more, but I'm pretty convinced that the name of the main character was no accident". (p. 12). and many pages feature artistic depictions of alchemical symbols.See, for example, Chapter 5, Page 12. The symbol for antimony appears frequently in Gunnerkrigg Court: the character Antimony wears a necklace shaped like that symbol, the character Reynardine has the symbol imprinted on his wolf body, and the symbol is used to mark the end of a chapter.
The artwork of Gunnerkrigg Court has been described as "stylized," with simple character designs."What he did was make an intentional choice to make his characters very cartoony." At least one reviewer, on the other hand, has noticed that the backgrounds, in contrast to the characters, are often very elaborate."His characters are really simple, and some of his backgrounds are really complicated." The comic has also been described as having a "rich" look in spite of its limited color palette,"I love his use of color, too, in particular, because he never has more than like ten colors on the average page, but it looks really really rich." and Siddell himself has stated that he first developed the idea for the comic using only a limited number of colors.Siddell: "I did another sketch right after that of the same girl and, wanting to color it but only having a very limited selection of marker pens, put her in an ugly school uniform with some crazy makeup." The pieces of artwork that Siddell has posted at the end of each printed book, entitled Treatise(s), demonstrate many such of Siddell's artistic and storytelling motifs: they integrate alchemical symbols, mythological figures, nature, and technology.
Synopsis
Setting
Gunnerkrigg Court is set somewhere in the United Kingdom or a country that resembles it. The titular institution functions as a boarding school, but also occupies a vast area, some of it seemingly uninhabited, some used as industrial or research facilities, and some occupied by students and staff. The Annan Waters separate the Court from Gillitie Wood, which is inhabited by "etheric" or magical creatures."The technological world of Gunnerkrigg Court and the mystical world of Gillitie Woods co-exist uneasily."Jones: "There was a great division which saw the Court and the Wood separated. Nature on one side. Technology on the other."Coyote: "With my mighty paw I scored the earth and so the court and the forest were divided!" Chief among them are Coyote and Ysengrin, along with populations of forest animals, elves, fairies, and others. At the time the story begins, both sides enforce a kind of truce and strict separation between the Court and Forest,Reynardine: "The people of the forest will be wanting answers! They detest all forms of technology. Why do you think there is such a divide between the Court and that damned place?!"Antimony: "As I was forbidden from setting foot off school grounds, I could not walk Shadow 2 to the Gillitie Wood myself. There was only one sensible resolution to this problem. I must construct a robotic walking device which will provide you with transit across the bridge!" although there is an established tradition of some forest creatures transferring into human bodies to attend the Court, and a few Court denizens – notably an ambassador called the medium – are allowed to enter the Forest.
Many characters suspect that the Court is much more than just a school.See Chapter 8, Page 27 (Antimony: "This isn't just a school, is it?") and Chapter 19, Page 8 of Gunnerkrigg Court. The school appears to actively recruit many talented or extraordinary students.The characters Zimmy and Gamma, for example, were approached before the opening of the main story by mysterious men who offered to take them to the school. See Siddell, Tom. Chapter 11, Page 11. Gunnerkrigg Court. As the story progresses, it is soon revealed that the school is inhabited by a wide variety of both supernatural creatures – many of which become characters involved in the story's plot – and ultra-modern technology.Tramountanas: "This place of higher learning has robots that run around alongside body-snatching demons, forest gods, and the odd mythical creature." One character explains that "the Court was founded on a union between technological and etheric design." Another describes it as "man's endeavor to become god." The house system described at the end of the first chapter is similar to that used by many UK schools, including the one the author attended;Siddell: "I used to be in Queslett North, the same class Carver is in, and the other House names at the Court are the same as they were in my old school" (p. 6). Siddell has even stated that the school in which Gunnerkrigg Court takes place is modeled after his own secondary school.Siddell: "The school side of the Court is very much based on my Secondary school, right down to the names of the houses and various other aspects" (p. 11).
Plot The main story of Gunnerkrigg Court revolves around Antimony "Annie" Carver, a student at the Court. Annie's parents, Surma and Anthony Carver, were also students there decades earlier, and Surma became the Court's medium to the Forest. Surma died after a long illness and Anthony disappeared, leaving Annie in the Court's care. Early in the comic, Annie befriends several supernatural beings, including a sentient shadow, a robot, and a ghost named Mort. Though initially not well liked by most of her fellow students, she becomes best friends with Katerina “Kat” Donlan, a classmate and robotics prodigy, and eventually also befriends older students Parley and Smitty.