Let's Play (comic)

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Let's Play
Let's Play banner art.jpg
Let's Play banner art
Author(s)Leeanne M. Krecic, also known as Mongie
Websitewww.webtoons.com/en/romance/letsplay/list?title_no=1218
Current status/scheduleUpdating weekly; season three began on July 6, 2021
Launch date2016
Publisher(s)Webtoon, Rocketship Entertainment
Genre(s)Romance
Rating(s)9.63 Stars on Webtoon

Let's Play is a romantic comedy webcomic published on Webtoon since 2016 by Leeanne M. Krecic, also known as Mongie. It follows the romantic and professional life of Sam Young, who is discovering romance as she works on her video game development career. Let's Play is published in print by Rocketship Entertainment.[1]

Let's Play has over 3.6 million subscribers on Webtoon and was nominated for an Eisner Award in 2019. In May 2021 it was announced that the comic would be adapted into a live-action television series by Allnighter.[2]

Premise[]

Let's Play is a romantic comedy. It follows Sam Young, a 20-something female software developer looking to get into video games, a passion she developed while sick in hospital. Sam's passion project, Ruminate, gets heavily criticized by a game reviewer going by “Marshall Law”, and his many fans review-bomb it. After this, Marshall Law becomes Sam's new next-door neighbor.[3][4]

Sam's father is the CEO of software company Young Technologies; he is overprotective of Sam and wants her to take over the company some day, but Sam would rather make video games. At the same time, Sam, who has never had a romantic relationship, starts to feel attraction. She considers dating an old friend, Link, though the two remain friends instead. She has romantic tension with Marshall Law, and becomes flirty with her manager at Young Technologies, Charles, who is teaching her to be more confident and business savvy. Charles also falls for Sam, despite her being his boss's daughter. Season 2 of the comic ended with Sam drunkenly trying to seduce Charles at his apartment.[4][5]

Let's Play explores and satirizes gaming culture and the male-dominated gaming industry.[3][6] Storylines cover depression, anxiety, and family.[7]

Publication[]

Let’s Play is created by Leeanne M. Krecic, who writes and illustrates the comic under the pen name Mongie.[3][4][7][8] Krecic has said that she created the comic "because I was looking for characters like me – die-hard gamers, heartfelt romantics, and young women with dreams of success on their own terms – but couldn't find them represented anywhere in the pop culture of the moment."[3]

The comic debuted on Webtoon in 2016[3] and updates weekly.[9] It finished season two in August 2020[7] and started season three in July 2021.[9] Krecic said in a tweet that the start of season three was delayed by contractual negotiations.[10]

Let's Play volume 1 was kickstarted for publication in 2019 by Rocketship Entertainment[11] and volume 2 was kickstarted in 2020.[12]

Reception[]

Readership figures[]

Forbes described Let's Play as "megapopular"; according to Webtoon it had 3.6 million subscribers as of May 2021,[3] and had received 145 million views by the end of 2019.[13] The comic has had two Kickstarter campaigns through publisher Rocketship Entertainment that in total raised nearly $USD1 million.[3] It has been one of the most popular series published by Webtoon.[7][13]

Forbes said that Let's Play was in a genre not well-served by "the traditional comics industry", and that works like Let's Play are "finding [their] way directly to a new generation of readers [through internet platforms], and [readers] are feeling seen and validated by those stories."[3]

Reviews[]

A writer for Forbes said that Let's Play "takes a light but thoughtful touch on a hot-button issue, playing up the romantic comedy elements in the manner of a Friends or New Girl aimed at the generation raised on YouTube and Twitch."[3] A writer for ComicBook.com said that Let's Play "deftly mixes Internet and gaming humor".[7] A writer for Bleeding Cool said, "Krecic's engaging story, which is both romantic and funny, works in tandem with her anime-inspired art style to make readers all for her cast of dynamic characters."[8]

In a review for Women Write About Comics, columnist Claire Napier called Let's Play "a responsible comic, and a compassionate one", noting the creator's personal experience in tech and on YouTube, and saying, "None of the characters exist to be hated or looked down on, and the founding premise, that joining a hate mob is being part of a harmful effect, is a necessary part of today’s discourse." However, Napier felt that the comic lacked structural tension, saying that it "introduces itself as tightly-reined enemies-to-lovers with a strong #online flavour, but quickly relaxes into a three, four, or five-pronged friendship-group/colleague soap loosely centred upon one floppy character." Napier called the art "basically frictionless – Questionable Content meets seasonal anime", adding that "every gamer in this comic either has a Men's Fitness cover body or a huge, buoyant rack on a tall thin frame". She said that the dialog was often "quite explainer-text, but this does allow for absolute clarity of theme." She concluded that it was not a comic she loved, but said it had "some clever jokes and visual gags and it is agreeably bawdy at times", and recommended it for those who like soap operas or have "ever stanned a real life let's player".[5]

Awards[]

Let's Play was nominated for an Eisner Award in 2019 for Best Webcomic.[7][14][15]

Proposed TV adaptation[]

In May 2021, studio Allnighter announced a development deal to adapt Let's Play into a live-action television series, with Krecic, Amanda Kruse, Dinesh Shamdasani, Hunter Gorinson, and Tom Akel serving as executive producers.[16][3] A columnist for Forbes said that this was "another sign that the serialized GenZ-friendly comics published on mobile platforms such as Webtoon are a rising force in the media industry".[3]

Publications[]

  • Krecic, Leeanne M. (October 26, 2021). Let's Play Volume 1. Rocketship Entertainment. ISBN 9781952126116.
  • Krecic, Leeanne M. (February 14, 2022). Let's Play Volume 2. Rocketship Entertainment. ISBN 9781952126123.

References[]

  1. ^ MacDonald, Heidi (2021-03-22). "Newsmaker Interview: Tom Akel on publishing webcomics with Rocketship". The Beat. Retrieved 2021-09-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ Salkowitz, Rob. "Hit RomCom Webtoon 'Let's Play' Is Getting A TV Adaptation". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-09-03.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Salkowitz, Rob (May 6, 2021). "Hit RomCom Webtoon 'Let's Play' Is Getting A TV Adaptation". Forbes.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ a b c Ramsburg, C. M. (July 16, 2021). "Let's Play & SubZero: Catch up on the Two Popular Series Returning to Webtoon". CBR. Retrieved 2021-07-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ^ a b Napier, Claire (2019-10-22). "Insta Made Me Read It: Scorching Romance and Let's Play". Women Write About Comics. Retrieved 2021-07-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ Johnston, Rich (2021-05-06). "Leeanne M. Krecic's Let's Play Webtoon Comic Now Live-Action TV Show". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved 2021-07-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ^ a b c d e f Hoffer, Christian (May 6, 2021). "Let's Play Webcomic to Be Adapted Into Television Show". ComicBook.com. Retrieved 2021-07-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ a b Dwyer, Theo (2020-08-13). "Eisner-Nominated Webcomic Let's Play Dominates On Kickstarter". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved 2021-07-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ^ a b "Let's Play". www.webtoons.com. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
  10. ^ Krecic, Leeanne M. (March 22, 2021). "I'm seeing a lot of wild speculation as to why Let's Play hasn't returned. When I say it isn't back due to contractual negotiations that's the full truth. Webtoon and I want to protect our own best interests and as a result, it can take longer to come to an agreement on things". Twitter. Retrieved 2021-07-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ Keith, Jed W. (2019-04-24). "Leeanne "Mongie" Krecic on Her LET'S PLAY Webcomic Kickstarter". Freaksugar. Retrieved 2021-09-03.
  12. ^ Keith, Jed W. (2020-09-02). "Leeanne "Mongie" Krecic on Her LET'S PLAY Volume 2 Kickstarter!". Freaksugar. Retrieved 2021-09-03.
  13. ^ a b MacDonald, Heidi (2020-01-17). "Sales Charts: The Top 30 comics on Webtoon in 2019". The Beat. Retrieved 2021-07-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. ^ McMillan, Graeme (2019-04-26). "Eisner Award Nominees Revealed". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2021-07-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  15. ^ McMillan, Graeme (2019-07-20). "Eisner Awards: The Complete Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2021-07-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. ^ Johnston, Rich (2021-05-06). "Leeanne M. Krecic's Let's Play Webtoon Comic Now Live-Action TV Show". Bleeding Cool News And Rumors. Retrieved 2021-09-03.

Further reading[]

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