Welcome to Graphic Policy’s spotlight on webcomics, where we take a look at one of the many comics available online every Monday: Webcomics Weekly (but don’t be fooled by the “weekly” part of the title; the feature may happen more or less frequently than that). We’re defining webcomics as any comics published online for free consumption by the general public that doesn’t require a  subscription service.

This week we’re taking a look at Radio Silence. The strip is created by Vanessa Stefaniuk, who was kind enough to answer a few questions for us about the webcomic below.

Graphic Policy: In a nutshell, can you tell us what the strip’s about?

Vanessa Stefaniuk: Radio Silence is a coming-of-age tale of five musician friends trying to make it big in the music world. Their rise to fame will test their friendships, and will push them on a path of self discovery and self acceptance. It’s a fun, sometimes funny, sometimes dramatic slice of life type story with silly accents and the occasional rocking out like true rock stars. It will approach more serious tones as the story progresses, such as acceptance of sexuality, past abusive relationships coming back to haunt, and weighing family troubles. And then there’s a silly wizard hat and a Rihanna ringtone. We’ve got it all!

GP: How often do you update?

VS: Updates usually hit Tuesdays and Fridays.

GP: How long have you been producing the strip?

VS: Radio Silence was released in July 2015 with a big 10 prologue pages to try and get people hooked off the bat. Now we’re well into our first chapter half a year later!

GP: Where did the idea for the strip come from?

VS: Somewhere between watching a lot of band documentaries and reading the Wikipedia page for bands such as Badfinger, I became fascinated with the behind the scenes lives of these people we put up on pedestals. The idea developed with help from a friend who encouraged me and wrote the main story points alongside me, exploring this world of this British rock band and what chaos could ensue. Additionally, my brother studied music composition at McGill University, and I’m having fun collaborating with him with all the technical sides to this whole “band” thing!

Why it’s awesome: I’m from England, and one thing I’ve noticed in the ten years since I’ve been over this side of the pond is that when some people write an English character they tend to rely a little too much on the stereotypical verbiage of the English. Mate, cheers, bloke, you’ve all heard it (or read it) when a writer is trying to write an English character. Sometimes it’s okay, sometimes it’s bloody terrible, and once in awhile it’s natural.

Vanessa Stefaniuk‘s Radio Silence is one of those rare times when it felt utterly natural. Indeed it wasn’t until I asked her that I found out while she has visited England, and has family from her mum’s side there, she’s actually Canadian.

But beyond that, Radio Silence is a fantastically constructed story about a band’s rise to prominence; the characters remind me of friends I haven’t seen in years (since I left England, actually), they’re relatable, engaging and fallible. As the comic progresses you start to get a real sense of who they are, and you genuinely  pull for the band.

Honestly, this is a fantastic webcomic that you should keep up with.

Below you’ll find a selection of pages from the comic. Enjoy!

---

If you’d like to have your webcomic featured here, then drop us an email.