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Claudia Witter

Lisa Tyler

English Composition 1101

29 September 2021

Webcomic Review: Wind Breaker

Reading books can sometimes feel overwhelming or dragged out, causing many to lose

interest. Though many may not know that there is a great alternative called webcomic. A

webcomic is a free comic that is found on an app like Line Webtoon or Tapas that contains

stories that have endless possibilities. They can be a fantasy with dragons and magical powers, a

sports comic that has realistic interpretations of actions, and of course all types of romance. After

I had lost my motivation to read books, I discovered webcomics. They soon became one of my

favorite things to do to pass time. Now I read hundreds of them throughout the week and one of

my favorites is called Windbreaker. Windbreaker perfectly displays what a sports webcomic

should look like. This comic includes an interesting plot, significant character details, exciting

cliffhangers, character designs, and finally, outstanding art.

An interesting storyline is necessary for having a great webcomic. Windbreaker may

seem simple with one main conflict throughout the story. Instead, it includes hundreds of small

conflicts that perfectly tie into the main plot of the story and even make it memorable. This

webcomic is based on a bike competition where everyone on team Hummingbird wants to win

for their own reasons. These reasons are explained in more detail whenever someone on the team

gets into a conflict related to their past and even sometimes their present. Not only this but the

webcomic is extremely realistic and even relatable. We may not be able to drift on a bike, but we
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can make a connection with our relationships in real life. Some may relate to the main character

Jay, whose mom is always pushing him to be the smartest. Although it is good that he excels in

academics, it affects his relationships with other people and even his own mother.

In addition to an eye-catching storyline, the character details are explained skillfully. The

author does this by creating smaller conflicts that branch off the main plot, also known as an arc.

Each character is created with a realistic backstory that goes deeper into details. Most of the

time, these details can help the reader understand why a character does certain things. In

Windbreaker, one of the main characters Minu, bikes to stay away from his home. We did not

understand this until later when it was explained that it is because he does not have a great

relationship with his father. It goes deeper than this and mentions that Minu once had a little

sister who tragically died in an accident. This accident caused his mother to be forced into

depression which in turn made his father divorce her. Even the characters’ backstories alone can

interest the reader into reading Windbreaker.

Some may argue that even with all the separate character arcs/backstories, some

characters are left in the dark. The comic mostly focuses on the main action and not the

supporting characters. For instance, we do not know much about one of the teammates named

June. Even though he is best friends with Minu and is always competing with the team, most of

the drama in the webcomic does not include him specifically. In this way, he is left out of most

of the story, and we do not know much information about him. This can be seen as a downside to

the comic but, this could also mean that he could have an arc of his own in the future since the

comic is not completed yet.

Windbreaker excelled in leaving the reader with lingering thoughts. At the end of every

episode, there was always something that makes the reader excited to read the next update. This
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is necessary due to the update schedule which is one episode per week (each episode has 100

panels). The cliffhangers often foreshadow the upcoming episode. This is like a television series

as they are something similar. One of the many examples in this webcomic is when Minu gets

into a car accident. The episode ended with the bright headlights blinding Minu as he stares in

shock after pushing Jay, the main character, out of the way. This left me astounded as I was

surprised that this happened to one of the teammates. It also made me anxious about what would

happen to Minu and if he could still bike with his friends.

The character design was outstanding. The characters perfectly match their personalities

just by how they look. The tiny details added like a small scar on someone’s forehead make for

its own story to be explained later. Certain placements of things may even make the reader

question what something is, especially if it is obvious. One of the characters has one red eye and

it was not till he was confronted with a conflict that we found out why he had it. It turns out that

he had been in a house fire with his mother as a kid. The story also elaborated and talked about

his mother’s burns on her face from the fire making the characters seem more realistic.

Lastly, but not least, the art was exceptionally realistic. Because a webcomic has multiple

pictures with words, the creator of this webtoon perfectly conveyed the movement of the bikes

whenever the team rode. It is clear how the bikes move although this is only shown in two or

three pictures. Jay, the main character, knows a respectable number of tricks with his bike

including drifting on sharp turns. His skills were displayed neatly every time he did something.

The author of this comic showed that they could put something that is frozen in time into motion.

To conclude, the webcomic Windbreaker is a very well-done webcomic. Its fascinating

plot and character details hook the reader onto the story. The thrilling cliffhangers leave the

readers with many questions and emotions. The character design sparks curiosity in the reader.
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And lastly, the substantial art makes the webcomic stand out to the reader as the bikes travel

across the panels. All these aspects make Windbreaker a great read. I would recommend

checking this comic out as it is almost reaching its finale!