To solve a crime, a rebellious gay medium binds himself to the sinister spirit of a murdered hitman.
Spirit medium Blaze is a disaster at life but an expert at death. As a self-proclaimed “spirit therapist,” he’s ushered hundreds of souls into the light—without a single loss to the smoke.
But when he discovers Alastor, the vengeful ghost of a murdered hitman, he’s forced to bind himself to the spirit to contain him. Father Judd, Blaze’s unlikely ally and long-time crush, warns him that he’s toying with forces beyond his control—but Blaze is happy to risk his own soul if it means saving another.
The longer Alastor stays in the living realm, the deeper the smoke threatens to corrupt him. But as Blaze races against time to solve his murder, he learns that Alastor isn’t the only one looking for a new victim. To survive a diabolical scheme, Blaze will need to put his trust in a new kind of partner.
Details
Genre: Paranormal Fantasy, Mystery, LGBTQ+, Gay
Rating: Suitable for teens, but made for adults. (R-rated extras are available on Patreon)
Format: Vertical scroll webtoon
Into the Smoke is a paranormal fantasy webcomic with an LGBTQ+ cast. It’s a fun, sometimes-spicy, plot-driven story that includes queer relationships and gay romance.
Optimized for Mobile
As a vertical scroll webtoon, Into the Smoke is an ideal comic to read on your phone. But you can read it on any screen! For the best reading experience on desktop, I recommend adjusting the width of your browser window so each episode shows the maximum vertical height possible.
F.A.Q.
What is your update schedule?
Into the Smoke updates with a new episode every other Wednesday, with longer breaks between chapters. Each episode includes 20 or more panels, the equivalent of at least 4 traditional comic pages. Chapter 1 is 12 episodes, similar to about 70 comic pages.
You can sign up to receive new episode alerts by email here!
Is Into the Smoke a free webcomic?
Yes!
When chapter 1 is completed, I’ll offer a PDF for purchase, but the teen-rated public version will continue to be free.
But you can also pledge on Patreon to read the R-rated version, which I feel has the best storytelling impact and reflects my original, unaltered vision. You’d also be supporting the comic and helping me make the next episode!
Is Into the Smoke connected to any of your other comics?
Into the Smoke takes place on the surface one year before my other webcomic, Demon of the Underground. But you don’t need to read DOTU at all to understand ITS, or vice versa. (But if you’re looking for another comic to read while waiting for the next update, of course I recommend DOTU!)
About the Creator
I’m Bob, and I’m a freelance illustrator, webcomic creator, and author from the Chicago area. I like writing plot-driven stories about complex queer characters, and my favorite genres are urban fantasy, paranormal, mystery, and suspense. I’m also an animal lover. I’ve spent most of my life with ferrets and birds, and I can’t imagine being without them!
- bob (at) bob-artist.com
- Patreon
- Bob on Tumblr
- Bob on Bluesky
- Read my other webcomic!
- Portfolio
- Linktree
I make Into the Smoke using a variety of techniques and programs. I like to pencil in Procreate on my iPad, then I finish in Photoshop on desktop. I also use Blender and CSP for certain tasks. I do not use generative AI.
Ready to read the comic? Jump over to the episode list!
Want to Link to Into the Smoke? You can use the banner below, or find more options at the bottom of my Links page. Use the URL https://intothesmokecomic.com
