If you are still getting familiar with WEBTOON, you can check out my WEBTOON Explained article first and then come back to read what WEBTOON has planned for 2023.
With the internet accessible to most people nowadays, web comics and web novels have become increasingly popular amongst children, adolescents, and adult readers across the globe. As a result, web series of all kinds have flourished thanks to the World Wide Web internationally. WEBTOON has grown as a to-go for webcomic readers and creators alike, expanding its IP and creator ecosystem to include great new content.
In the past few years, WEBTOON has been a source for numerous Netflix adaptations, such as “All of Us Are Dead,” “Hellbound,” “The Sound of Magic,” “Sweet Home,” and the newly launched animated series “Lookism.” Other WEBTOON animated adaptations include “Tower of God,” “Noblesse,” and “The God of High School,” which debuted via Crunchyroll. Wattpad WEBTOON has also announced that they are developing A. Rasen’s Gremoryland is a full-length film with Vertigo Entertainment. Since Gremoryland gave me Goosebumps HorrorLand vibes, I am incredibly excited about this film.
On January 19, 2023, WEBTOON, the world’s largest digital comics platform, announced several popular web novels will be adapted as webcomics within the year, allowing fans to enjoy their favorite web novels in an entirely new format. To produce these newly formatted series, WEBTOON has partnered with new generations of publishers, such as Aethon Books and MoonQuill, as well as incorporated popular titles from their Wattpad and YONDER platforms. According to WEBTOON, the web novel series that will be adapted first will be “The Primal Hunter” by Zogarth, “Paranoid Mage” by InadvisablyCompelled, “A Practical Guide to Evil” by Erratic Errata, “RE: Trailer Trasher” by FortySixtyFour, “Chasing Red” by Isabelle Ronin, and “Float” by Kate Marchant. Official launch dates for these series have yet to be announced, so it is highly recommended to stay tuned to WEBTOON announcements to find out more.
Here are some summaries of the soon-to-be adapted series for those unfamiliar with the titles listed. In “The Primal Hunter,” office worker and protagonist Jake and his co-workers are transported to a dangerous new dimension. While his co-workers barely survive, Jake thrives in this new world. In “Paranoid Mage,” thirty-year-older-old protagonist Callum Wells has seen inexplicable things all his life and has chosen to ignore such things to avoid the loony bin. Still, when it is revealed that he is a mage, Callum is forced to take on his new role and the unexpected challenges that come with it. In “RE: Trailer Trash,” forty-seven-year-old protagonist Tabitha Moore is transported back in time and finds herself thirteen again. Faced with the threat of reliving her terrible life as trailer trash, Tabitha is determined to turn her life around. In “A Practical Guide to Evil,” orphan Catherine Foundling tries to make her way through the world and teetering between good and evil. Is it possible for her to commit evil, so long as her intentions are good? In “Chasing Red,” college heartthrob Caleb Lockhart meets the ambitious but cynical Veronica Shafford, who refuses to be another campus conquest. As the two learn more about each, certain secrets threaten to tear them apart. In “Float,” seventeen-year-old Waverly Lyons finds herself flung from Fairbanks, Alaska, to Holden, Florida, by her parent’s divorce. From snow to sun, Waverly has to navigate her new environment and rising feelings for her new neighbor, Blake Hamilton. As a fantasy lover, I am excited about these upcoming series. But I am incredibly excited for RE: Trailer Trash because I love stories where the protagonist is flung back in time to undo their mistakes and get a second chance at life. If you like that trope, too, check out Marry My Husband. It is an awesome example of the protagonist embracing her new chance at life with a splash of revenge and romance!
Erratic Errata, creator of “A Practical Guide to Evil,” said that “comics were always what I figured to be the most likely adaptation of ‘A Practical Guide to Evil’ and in many ways the one that can stay the truest to the original books, so I’m very excited to be embarking on this project with WEBTOON!”
Recently, WEBTOON adapted Rebecca Sullivan’s popular Wattpad web novel Night Owls & Summer Skies, which focuses on the love story of seventeen-year-old Emma Lane and Vivian Black as they navigate Camp Mapplewood for the summer, into a WEBTOON Original. With over 750k views on Wattpad, Night Owls & Summer Skies has won plenty of hearts on the WEBTOON platform. Check out the series if you like classic campfire tales with a teen romance twist!
Another series receiving an Original upgrade will be Michiel Werbrouck and Hadi Bendakji’s Lord of Goblins series. Lord of Goblins debuted as a web novel via MoonQuill and was later adapted as a webcomic series on WEBTOON CANVAS. WEBTOON has further announced that Lord of Goblins will be amongst the series that will move up as a WEBTOON Original in 2023.
Jimmy Shi, CEO of Moonquil, said that “the MoonQuill team has had a great time adapting ‘Lord of Goblins’ into webcomic form, and it’s been a real treat for the team to see those who read the novel enjoying the story in a whole new format.”
New adventures await us, readers, so stay tuned!
Which series are you most excited about getting adapted? Comment down below.
When is UnOrdinary going to get adapted? That is my jam!
I’ve heard that fans have petitioned for UnOrdinary to be adapted into an animated series, but as far as I know, there is nothing in development yet.
Do it! It’s awesome!