Newman's first print volume cover
Newman is an Urban Fantasy webcomic whose characters are various DND races. The main character, a gnome named Newman, works for the Creature Removal Department with a drow named Gwen, who happens to be the princess of the drow kingdom. The webcomic is largely an action comedy with romance, focusing on Newman and Gwen's adventures and relationship.
Gwen's culture surprises Newman when he learns that traditionally the husbands are their wives' slaves. Newman is drawn in as he ends up being marked, discovers that Gwen has mind-control powers over him, and gets a collar. He also sees the extent of servantship in Gwen's family and friends as he connects with them. Gwen (it appears) rarely uses her mind-control powers, however, often letting him know that she doesn't need mind control powers to get him to do what she wants, and their relationship is sincere.
In their day job, they destroy monsters in any local areas, small and big (generally posing a direct danger to the populace). Over time they face more and more nefarious monsters and unravel a plot that could destroy the world as they know it.
The series ran for five "seasons" on Webtoons, finally ending on July 2021. Josh says this isn't the end of the series, but newer installments will be shorter and run solely on Pateron for the foreseeable future.
Has nothing to do with Jerry's arch nemesis.
See also Jackie Rose, an adventure series from the same author.
Newman has the following tropes:
- Back from the Dead: Newman is killed during the fight against Cthulhu, Gwen and Lilian however manage to bring him back.
- Chekhov's Gun:
- The Abandoned Hospital arc had Newman get a rock stuck at the bottom of his shoe that he couldn't shake off. When Gwen gets possessed by a malevolent ghost who later knocks out and captures Newman. Newman uses the rock to make a magic rune on the ground that casts the ghost out of Gwen's body. Gwen does the rest.
- In the early part of the series, Newman is bitten by a werewolf and becomes a cute but deadly puppy type werewolf. Gwen's mom manages to suppress the transformation and it seems like that's the end of it. However later in the series, when the group are on mission to a desert city and have to fight a eldritch beast. Newman ends up losing a leg saving his friends. It looks like he's done for..until the damage kicks his transformation in, not only restoring his limb but making him an asset in fighting the beat.
- Culture Clash: Husband's are basically wives' slaves in Gwen's culture. Despite warnings from others, this still takes Newman off guard, and Newman runs into more and more surprises with this over time, such as when after getting engaged with Gwen he gets a collar.
- Dragged into Drag: Newman constantly finds himself dressed up in dresses or feminine clothing by Gwen. Her brother reveals that she wasn't allowed to have dolls as a child so this is more or less her compensating. Some of he bonus strips are even centered around this with suggestions from the fans.
- Forgotten First Meeting: When discussing how Kathryn and Darian first fell in love, it's revealed that Gwen had skipped out on the homecoming dance to do some delinquency. Robby aka Drudge Stryer tried to attack her again and Newman came to help her out. So as it turns out, Gwen already had a crush on him by that point. The reason Newman doesn't remember because the meeting was brief and, at the time, He was dating a pixie, Emilaine
- Happiness in Slavery: Darian, Gwen's brother, plays this to the hilt with Kathryn waiting on her hand and foot and has no problem with it. Though this is explained that his sisters likewise treated him as such when they were little, so he was already fairly conditioned to it. However, like Gwen and Newman, Kathryn and he genuinely do love each other. Newman starts coming around to this a bit too, though is reluctant on certain activities.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Lilian reveals to Gwen and Newman that there's a prophecy of Gwen dying due to the magic power in her that will take a toll on her body when fighting Cthulhu. It starts coming to pass during the battle against him, but Newman uses himself as her "wand" to conduct the power and vaporize Cthulhu, dying in the process. Don't worry though, he gets better.
- Halloween Episode: Season 1, Episode 18, the characters are dressed up and at a Halloween party in the drow kingdom. It does end up tying into the main story, however.
- Killer Rabbit: Newman's werewolf form, it looks cute but is extremely deadly. Gwen is barely able to hold him off when he first transforms.
- Mama Bear: Queen Lilian is definitely one to her kids. Heck even her kid's friends as Kathryn's abusive mother found out the hard way.
- Male Gaze: The series really loves lingering on Gwen's feet, be it barefoot or socked.
- Moment Killer: After a nice little talk, Newman states that, despite being annoyed with Gwen keeping secrets from him, that he does still love her....and then her mother pops out of nowhere and sticks him with a serum to suppress his werewolf transformation much to Gwen's annoyance.
- Pointy Ears: Near everyone has them seeing how a good chuck of the cast are gnomes, elves, dwarves, vampires, etc.
- Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Newman may be a gnome but the guy fairly strong.
- Running Gag: Someone calling out one of the Drow characters on something, to which they just offer a bewildered shrug in response.
- Shout-Out:
- One arc had Gwen and Kathryn forced to go to a cabin in other to work together. Inside they find a tape that says Play Me which turns out to be cursed.
- When Lilan's husband and Newman's dad meet each other and get into a wood chopping contest, they end it by going shirtless and flexing their muscles before shaking hands.
- Urban Fantasy: Newman's fantasy elements are based on DND, but it takes place in a world with modern technology (such as cars and cell phones) and architecture (including office buildings and housing).
- Religion of Evil: The cult that is trying to bring Cthulhu back.
- Time Skip: Shoots sevens years into the future after the birth of Newman and Gwen daughter, Lilly.
- Shapeshifting Heals Wounds: The titular character gets one of his legs blasted off when while pushing is friends out of the way of a monster's energy blast. He looks done for as he's bleeding out and goes into shock...until his werewolf transformation (which he got in an earlier story arc) triggers and saves him. When he comes out of it after everything is said and done, his leg is shown to have regenerated.
- Vampire Episode: A story arc had Newman and Gwen getting involved in a seemingly Fur Against Fang matter between the werewolves and the vampires. Though it's revealed it's a manufactured one. One of the vampires went rogue, rejecting the more foppish vampire ruler whom the duo befriend, and has been making more feral vampires so he can take over.
- Wacky Marriage Proposal: After Newman and Gwen defeat an eldritch beast and land on a beach. Newman decides to go ahead and pop the question. Though much to his surprise, Gwen does likewise...only with a slave collar (it a tradition of her race). After some awkwardness, they both claim "yes" to their proposals.
- Webcomic Print Collection made available through Kickstarter.
- Yet Another Christmas Carol: Season two had one that focuses on Lilian, Gwen's mother and queen of the Drow elves, as she isn't a fan of the holidays. A flashback reveals it was because her friend was killed by a homeless man she was trying to help. After going through the usual motions of the story, it takes a letter from said friend to get her back in the spirit.
- You Are Worth Hell: Newman is a little off put by the whole male slave nature of the Drow race but ultimately comes to put up with it as Gwen genuinely loves him and still treats him with dignity, with some occasions of teasing here and there.
