Monster Pop! (exclamation point required) is a Slice of Life webcomic by Maya Kern
following the adventures of Genevieve "George" Tinsley, a college freshman and cyclops, and her friends.The first chapter begins with her in high school, and the only other main characters are her best friend Franny, and her crush, Ben. The second chapter begins after a Time Skip as George is now starting her first day of college, and the comic goes from there. She attends Unity University, an integrated monster/human school, along with friends Franny, Percy, Marina, and Sasha.
The comic can be found here, and the the author's main site,tumblr,and twitter can all be found in the links page, along with some of her other sites, including character blogs!
This webcomic provides examples of:
- All Love Is Unrequited: Sasha likes George, who's in love with Marina, who has a crush on Franny, who's in a relationship with Percy. It's complicated.
- All There in the Manual: You can learn a lot from reading George and Franny's blogs.
- Alone in a Crowd: George, when Franny abandons her to find Percy at a college party.
- Alternate Universe: One where monsters are actually real and attend schools and things like that.
- Be Yourself: George advises Marina to be proud of the things she likes.
- Bland-Name Product: Mentions are made of Zilda, Sailor Noon, and Slithering Heights.
- Blind Without 'Em: Inverted. Marina loses her sunglasses and is immediately helpless—not because she can't see, but because she's a gorgon, and will petrify anyone she looks at!
- Cannot Spit It Out: George and Marina about their obvious feelings for one another.
- Casanova Wannabe: Chandler, a background skelebro, who hits on George on numerous occassions and wears sleazy T-Shirts like this one.
- Color-Coded for Your Convenience: The cast page lists the character's affiliated colors.
- Creator Cameo: Early in Chapter 2, Maya Kern's name is among those called out at the beginning of class, and she later appears as a monster during the trip to the pho house in Chapter 3.
- Cry into Chest: George cries into Marina's chest.
- Cute Witch: Franny at her introduction, until we learn her magic is actually due to her mom being a Celestial, making her only half-human and not, as was implied in the beginning, a human with magic powers.
- Day in the Life: Mostly about the character's day to day lives and the drama they themselves create.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: The first chapter features a significantly different art style than the second or third, and George is in high school, not college. Also, the only other main characters beside her in that chapter are her best friend, Franny, and Ben, as the rest of the characters are introduced in college.
- Friend Versus Lover: A bit between George and Percy. However, it's not that she doesn't like Percy, she just wishes Franny would spend more time with her.
- Gosh Dang It to Heck!: No one really swears in the comic. "Frick" and "Flick" are some of George's substitutes.
- JerkAss: Ben. He's perfectly okay with George in her human disguise, but her actual form disgusts him.
Ben: M-monster!!!
- Leave the Two Lovebirds Alone: George does this a few times when Franny and Percy get rather absorbed in each other.
- Loony Friends Improve Your Personality: George's weird attributes tend to make the lives of those around her better.
- Love Dodecahedron: Sasha likes George, who's in love with Marina, who actually has a crush on Franny, who's in a relationship with Percy.
- Make-Out Kids: Franny and Percy, to the point where Franny starts neglecting her friendship with George.
- Mystical White Hair: Franny has long, beautiful white hair and eyelashes despite being black-coded. Justified in that it's a sign of her half-Celestial heritage.
- Oblivious to Love: George can't tell that Sasha has feelings for her.
- Second Episode Introduction: All of the supporting characters are introduced in the second chapter.
- Ship Sinking: Chapter 4 ends with one, with Marina turning down George and them deciding to be Just Friends.
- Shout-Out:
- Near the end of Chapter 2, a community-radio application form identifies Ingrid Michaelson as George's favorite musician.
- Posters for Adventure Time, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Sailor Moon, and Steven Universe are seen in Marina's dorm room.
- Slice of Life: Apart from the monsters, the comic just seems to be a tale of growing up and making your way through college.
- Sliding Scale of Plot Versus Characters: Leans heavily on the character side, focusing more on characters defining their quirks and personalities, as well as their relationships.
- Sliding Scale of Silliness vs. Seriousness: Much more silly than it is serious, though it does have a few moments of drama.
- Superpowerful Genetics: Franny has the same powers as her Celestial mother, if weaker and less refined. Subverted with her younger brothers, who are Muggle Bornof Mages.
- Tomboy with a Girly Streak: George. She has a very feminine name, but insists on being called George and wears her hair short. She does seem to like wearing cute clothes and accessories, though.
- Verbal Tic: George has a tendency to call people nerds.
- Whole Episode Flashback: The first chapter is told mainly in flashbacks, with George sitting at her computer blogging about the experience.
- You Are Not Alone: Marina tells George that she wants to be there for her.
