(please note: All images used in this review are publicly available sample pages released by MTJ to promote their series. Since I am only using publicly available images, that means that not all pages are the ones that I feel best encapsulate the issues I’ll be discussing. However, I cannot show any images that MTJ Publishing hasn’t already released. Thanks for your understanding.)
The MTJ Publishing company is something of an anomaly when compared to the multitude of free online fetish art on sites like tumblr and deviantart. The fact that the company has managed to navigate its path since 1999 to become the undisputed leader and almost sole publisher of tickle fetish comics online, makes it worthy of great recognition. While there are numerous factors that I believe could be seen to contribute to this status, in my opinion the most important of these is the company’s ability to find new and unique talent for their publications. Over the years MTJ has published everything from short minimalistic self-contained stories to large sprawling, multi-series epics. However, I would argue that one of the first and most important of these early breakaway successes was unquestionably Annie the Amateur Pirate.
The basic premise for the Annie comics was a simple one: Annie is a young woman who is trying to forge a career as a pirate in the Caribbean while continuously finding herself in more and more improbably situations where she is tickled senseless. She is, as the first issue tells us ‘clumsy, cheeky, kindhearted’ and her story is told over the course of six (five comics plus one pin up) publications.
Over the course of this review I am going to briefly rank each of the comics from worst to best, based in part on my own preferences, before giving a more in depth analysis of the series overall. Please note that I am not claiming that any of these are bad books but one of them has to be the lowest on the list. Also, I am not talking about her appearance in the Great Tickle Trap. That is too much of a beast for me to get into right now. Therefore, without further ado, let us begin with the ranking.
Issue 3:
Issue three is definitely the weakest of the series. Trapped between two better art styles, this title is the only one to feature a hyper sketchy look. While others might like it, for me it is definitely less appealing than what came directly before and after. That being said Annie’s expressions are well drawn and TickleMantis’ writing is excellent as usual. It was the first issue in the series to introduce simultaneous foot and upper body tickling, as well as making Annie’s breasts more of an erroneous zone than a ticklish one. Personally, I dislike this change, but the book remains a decent one, if not quite as good as the other titles around it.
Issue 6: Tickle Wrecked
The reason this is where it is on the list is simple: It’s a pinup book. Given that this was the very last Annie related piece of media ever to be published, it is a tragedy that we didn’t get another proper book. Ordinarily, I would put this last on the list simply for being a pinup book. There are plenty of good pinup pieces for free on the internet, so a company has to do a lot more in order to justify making people pay for them. However, in my opinion, Darkharp’s art is so good it makes it worthwhile. This was some of her final work for the company and you can tell she’s at the top of her game. In the end, it really is only the fact that this is a pinup that lets this issue down from going higher on this list. Still great but simply surpassed.
Issue 2:
Issue 2 is a great issue, but it falls just short of the top half mostly due to personal preferences. The first two issues of the series had a slightly rougher art style than Issues 4-6. I prefer the later art style more so this and number one end up lower on the list. The reason this falls behind Issue 1 is that this issue is entirely feet focused, while Issue 1 displays upper body tickling. This is probably the most subjective of all the rankings but I like upper body tickling more so Issue 2 gets pulled down. Despite that, this has a lot of good foot tickling panels in it, including one page of feather tickling that has some of the most realistic drawings of feathers running between toes that I’ve ever seen. There is real attention to detail in this comic that can’t be ignored and at times the panels almost feel like they could have been life drawn. A very strong issue that only sneaks into the lower half due to my own bias’.
Issue 1:
This is a really strong opening issue of a series. Annie is definitely at her cheekiest here and the growing reddening of her face as the tickling continues is masterfully done, giving a real sense of the effect this is having on her as well as the passage of time. As stated before, this is entirely upper body tickling. There is also a lot of feather tickling and topless breast tickling, both of which are preferences of mine. While the dialogue can be a little weaker than later issues and the setup is very basic, the overall execution is incredibly strong. The only reason that it isn’t higher is once again the art style which, while still very impressive, just isn’t as good as the later issues. Overall, this book gives a good base for the later issues to draw upon, while also being very strong in its own right.
Issue 4:
This is the point where I feel the Annie comics transcended their competition. Issue 4 was the first comic after the series returned, following a two year hiatus. I will discuss the art style in more depth later but it, in my opinion, it is the very best MTJ has ever published. Legitimately, I hope that Darkharp is now working for Disney as one of their keyframe animators or story boarders because this art here is excellent. The intense expressions Annie has are really great and the desperation on her face might be at its best here. It’s another full body and feet story and I think it’s a very strong comic. Why isn’t it number 1? Part of it is because the last issue to talk about was so good, but the other is due to something kind of random. The thing tickling Annie in this issue, was an octopus. Now, I’m not against animals as ticklers, part of me wishes it was featured more in comics, but this octopus just… shows up and starts tickling her. Is it a spirit or some sort of mythical thing that’s had its home encroached on? Maybe, or it might just be a regular octopus with a tickling fetish. Now part of me doesn’t mind this too much, it’s a well written comic with great art but at the same time I keep asking myself why is it tickling her? In universe, it’s established that Annie is usually tickled for punishment or discipline but here it’s just an octopus who does it for no discernable reason. Again, this is a great comic, one of the best, and I don’t want to come across as obsessed with this octopus, but for a series that tried to put at least a little thought into an in world justification for why Annie keeps getting tickled, this issue is a slight break from the formula.
Issue 5:
Annie the Amateur Pirate Issue 5 is the best tickling comic ever written. From its art to it story to its pacing, it is one of the very best the tickling genre has to offer. This is also the longest comic of the series, coming in at 18 pages, and it doesn’t waste even one of them. But what makes this comic stand out more than any of the others is simply due to how graphic it is. Up until this point Annie had been tickled naked before but only her breasts had actually been touched in the past and her privates have never been shown in any great detail. Now, in this final issue, she gets tickled everywhere. To explain why this is such a big deal it is worth remembering that this comic was originally published back in 2012, before Bandito had begun experimenting so much with pussy tickling in his comics. While I certainly haven’t read even almost all of the comics from that era, I don’t think that anything like Annie #5 had ever been seen before, certainly not in such a realistic style and with so much detail. The artwork here was on point and there isn’t even a single frame where you can’t tell exactly what emotion Annie is feeling and why. While part of me certainly wishes that there was more, and that the final cliffhanger had a resolution, I also know that whatever followed would likely have to have been a step down.
In depth thoughts:
Characters:
The only real character that I feel the need to discuss is Annie herself. The titular character is a simple but well-established figure who has an occasional smart mouth but is otherwise well meaning. TickleMantis made the wise decision to underplay her snarkiness, which only arises at particular moments but is generally absent when she’d being tickled. I feel this helps to drive home that Annie is sufficiently tortured by her tickling that she doesn’t want to risk antagonizing her torturers more. Something that I actually only noticed while writing this review was how little the fact that her being an ‘Amateur’ or even a ‘pirate’ comes into the story. It’s only in the first issue that we see her attempt to commit an act of piracy which fails because she isn’t a professional. Otherwise, she’s just getting dragged into situations by others and then tickle tortured for it. I’m not complaining about it, these are some of my favorite tickle comics of all time, but it is interesting how little the title matters in the later books. The only time she does anything morally questionable after book 1 is when she poses as a goddess to a local tribe in Issue 5. But even then it’s mostly framed as a happy (then not so happy) coincidence that she is mistaken for a deity, and not due to her own scheming. This is fine but it lessens the potential angle that she deserved to be tickled for being a greedy munchkin. To be clear I know I’m overthinking this, but I do felt it interesting to point out. Her character design, tall with freckles and bright orange hair, is an instant classic and the expressions Darkharp gives her allows for a great deal of personality to come through.
Writing:
The five main Annie comics are all set within a firm timeline with the end of one comic leading on to the beginning of the next. The final pinup comic is set between the second last and last pages of issue 2 I think, although dialogue from that issue implies it hasn’t been long enough but… tickle comic logic. Overall, the narrative arc is good, although that is clearly not the focus of this series as much as it is in say Tickle Torture Academy. Most issues have enough story to get from point A to point Being tickled which is enough. Issues 3 and 4 are a little weaker in this regard, in my opinion, but for the most part it doesn’t matter. Whether it be by port officers, or her crew mates, or mermaids, tribes members… or even octopuses, the narrative usually does enough to justify what is happening. Darkharp and Ticklemantis wrote every issue of the series together and they clearly understood how to pace their narrative well and keep the story new with each issue. In fact, one of the very best things about this series, in my opinion, was their incredible technical skill at escalation. It would have been so easy to try to deliver everything in the first issue, like certain other franchises, but instead they chose to work slowly, with each comic adding something new. Foot tickling doesn’t even feature until issue 2. The first issue establishes armpit and breast tickling, issue 2 is exclusively foot tickling, issue three introduces both at once, four has animal and all over tickling from eight appendages, and five introduces pussy tickling and orgasm. Each issue builds on what came before it, creating a series that gets hotter with each installment. In some ways I feel that is why issue 5 is so strong: Because it’s the culmination of the whole main series. The dialogue is also really strong throughout the series, although it does noticeably improve as the story progresses. Don’t get me wrong, the first issue is above average when it comes to dialogue in tickle comics, especially at the time, but I feel that it does get better as the series progresses. Genuinely, her begging in issue 5 is some of the best out there.
Art:
Darkharp is my favorite tickle artist. I don’t mean to put down any of the other talented artists working in the industry, but in my opinion Darkharp is the best. It took me some time to figure out why this was, given that it isn’t like I don’t enjoy other artists, when it suddenly hit me while browsing some of her free one pieces, she’s done over the years. The image in question was of Anita and Cruella from 101 Dalmatians, showing Cruella tickle torturing Anita for her puppies. What struck me about the image was how good it was. It didn’t look like Disney characters drawn in Darkharp’s style. It looked like Disney characters. That’s when I realized that Darkharp’s style was basically the Disney style. The reason that Annie looks so good in her later comics is because she looks like a Disney character. This is why I say Darkharp is the best, because she can plausibly emulate the Disney look. It wouldn’t surprise me if she actually ended up working for them (on something more PG, of course). However, I mentioned that this was only the style she used for the last three comics in the series. The first three comics are a little different, a little rougher, a bit less defined. These comics are still great, it’s really only issue three that’s a little too sketchy for my taste, but it really is those last three issues that takes the art to a whole new level. One other thing that I will note about the artwork in every issue is they are all colored beautifully so that the characters stand out nicely. The shading is also done very well as are the speech bubble placements.
Editing:
This is an area that doesn’t usually get a lot of cover from reviewers, even of mainstream comics. The Annie comics were all edited by AnnieHall, with the exception of issue of issue five, which was done by ‘Colin’ and possibly issue 3 which has no editor credited. Each issue is edited well, with everything flowing together nicely. The only inconsistencies I have been able to spot on this most recent reread was in issue 1 where Annie constantly gains and then loses and then gains again a red headscarf that doesn’t seem to know whether it exists or not. There was also one panel from issue 4 where the octopus has nine tentacles. But these don’t really matter, and I don’t necessarily blame anyone for not catching these very minor inconsistences that no one is going to see if you aren’t looking for them.
Future:
The last Annie related piece of media was published in 2014. Since then there has been no public word on more will ever follow. Given that the last regular issue had ended on a cliffhanger, it seemed reasonable to assume that more had been planned at one time but had just never materialized. In preparation for this review, I actually reached out to TickleMantis to enquire where or not more comics had indeed been intended and he was kind enough to get back to me with an answer. Yes, more comics had been planned. Apparently, the idea had been to produce between eleven or twelve issue in total but ultimately, only the first five had ever been made. TickleMantis also mentioned that he would be keen to continue the series but was unable to do so without Darkharp’s permission. While he stated that this wasn’t impossible, he also noted that he would need to find a new artist who was capable of carrying on the series. While it would be quite a blow not to have Darkharp return, I would nevertheless be curious to see what more issues would entail. Since TickleMantis has already got the rest of the series planned out, I wont be making any plot suggestions in this section. However, when it comes to tickle artists with a proven track record, I will suggest one of the following as a hypothetical fit: Churin, Dr Random, Rearte or Giangiacomo. All very different artists but all highly, highly talented. Of course, this is only a fans suggestion with no influence in the industry, but any one of them would bring a different style that I think would help a new book stand out from the old issues. Just to be absolutely clear, any more issues seem very unlikely at this point. I’m just throwing out hopeful what if’s. One thing that I will say is that, if there are indeed no more Annie comics to be had, I would encourage TickleMantis to write them out in prose form instead. TickleMantis has more than established himself as a very competent prose writer and he occasionally releases stories on the TMF. Whether it be here or elsewhere writing the stories would offer a way to finally end Annie’s journey which remains unfinished. Given that this year actually marks the ten year anniversary of issue five’s publication, this could prove to be a way to conclude the ticklish adventure that first began all the way back in 2004.
Conclusion:
In the end, the Annie comics remain some of the best examples of tickle fetish comics ever written. From it’s simple but strong writing and setup, to its excellent art style and sense of escalation, the Annie comics have more than earned their high place among MTJ’s publications. For proof of this look no further than the fact that Annie still has her own tab on the company’s main page (Although this might also be because MTJ refuses to update its front page. Like, seriously, how does Vellicatrices Unlimited still have its own tab but Pepper Parker doesn’t?) In any case, Annie remains an enduring symbol of the tickle comics industry, not only of the era in which she was published, but of the genre as a whole. While it is impossible to know what the future holds, I suspect that the work that TickleMantis and Darkharp have done, has more than ensured that Annie’s legacy shall continue into the future.
Anyway, I know that all seems kind of a grandeous and formal way to end things. I tried to do this review more like an art review than a piece of fetish content. If you managed to get through the whole thing, do let me know what you think. I’m not sure when I’ll do the next one of these, but I already think I know what series I’ll cover. I won’t tell you which but let’s say, it’ll be secretly hysterical.
The MTJ Publishing company is something of an anomaly when compared to the multitude of free online fetish art on sites like tumblr and deviantart. The fact that the company has managed to navigate its path since 1999 to become the undisputed leader and almost sole publisher of tickle fetish comics online, makes it worthy of great recognition. While there are numerous factors that I believe could be seen to contribute to this status, in my opinion the most important of these is the company’s ability to find new and unique talent for their publications. Over the years MTJ has published everything from short minimalistic self-contained stories to large sprawling, multi-series epics. However, I would argue that one of the first and most important of these early breakaway successes was unquestionably Annie the Amateur Pirate.
The basic premise for the Annie comics was a simple one: Annie is a young woman who is trying to forge a career as a pirate in the Caribbean while continuously finding herself in more and more improbably situations where she is tickled senseless. She is, as the first issue tells us ‘clumsy, cheeky, kindhearted’ and her story is told over the course of six (five comics plus one pin up) publications.
Over the course of this review I am going to briefly rank each of the comics from worst to best, based in part on my own preferences, before giving a more in depth analysis of the series overall. Please note that I am not claiming that any of these are bad books but one of them has to be the lowest on the list. Also, I am not talking about her appearance in the Great Tickle Trap. That is too much of a beast for me to get into right now. Therefore, without further ado, let us begin with the ranking.
Issue 3:
Issue three is definitely the weakest of the series. Trapped between two better art styles, this title is the only one to feature a hyper sketchy look. While others might like it, for me it is definitely less appealing than what came directly before and after. That being said Annie’s expressions are well drawn and TickleMantis’ writing is excellent as usual. It was the first issue in the series to introduce simultaneous foot and upper body tickling, as well as making Annie’s breasts more of an erroneous zone than a ticklish one. Personally, I dislike this change, but the book remains a decent one, if not quite as good as the other titles around it.
Issue 6: Tickle Wrecked
The reason this is where it is on the list is simple: It’s a pinup book. Given that this was the very last Annie related piece of media ever to be published, it is a tragedy that we didn’t get another proper book. Ordinarily, I would put this last on the list simply for being a pinup book. There are plenty of good pinup pieces for free on the internet, so a company has to do a lot more in order to justify making people pay for them. However, in my opinion, Darkharp’s art is so good it makes it worthwhile. This was some of her final work for the company and you can tell she’s at the top of her game. In the end, it really is only the fact that this is a pinup that lets this issue down from going higher on this list. Still great but simply surpassed.
Issue 2:
Issue 2 is a great issue, but it falls just short of the top half mostly due to personal preferences. The first two issues of the series had a slightly rougher art style than Issues 4-6. I prefer the later art style more so this and number one end up lower on the list. The reason this falls behind Issue 1 is that this issue is entirely feet focused, while Issue 1 displays upper body tickling. This is probably the most subjective of all the rankings but I like upper body tickling more so Issue 2 gets pulled down. Despite that, this has a lot of good foot tickling panels in it, including one page of feather tickling that has some of the most realistic drawings of feathers running between toes that I’ve ever seen. There is real attention to detail in this comic that can’t be ignored and at times the panels almost feel like they could have been life drawn. A very strong issue that only sneaks into the lower half due to my own bias’.
Issue 1:
This is a really strong opening issue of a series. Annie is definitely at her cheekiest here and the growing reddening of her face as the tickling continues is masterfully done, giving a real sense of the effect this is having on her as well as the passage of time. As stated before, this is entirely upper body tickling. There is also a lot of feather tickling and topless breast tickling, both of which are preferences of mine. While the dialogue can be a little weaker than later issues and the setup is very basic, the overall execution is incredibly strong. The only reason that it isn’t higher is once again the art style which, while still very impressive, just isn’t as good as the later issues. Overall, this book gives a good base for the later issues to draw upon, while also being very strong in its own right.
Issue 4:
This is the point where I feel the Annie comics transcended their competition. Issue 4 was the first comic after the series returned, following a two year hiatus. I will discuss the art style in more depth later but it, in my opinion, it is the very best MTJ has ever published. Legitimately, I hope that Darkharp is now working for Disney as one of their keyframe animators or story boarders because this art here is excellent. The intense expressions Annie has are really great and the desperation on her face might be at its best here. It’s another full body and feet story and I think it’s a very strong comic. Why isn’t it number 1? Part of it is because the last issue to talk about was so good, but the other is due to something kind of random. The thing tickling Annie in this issue, was an octopus. Now, I’m not against animals as ticklers, part of me wishes it was featured more in comics, but this octopus just… shows up and starts tickling her. Is it a spirit or some sort of mythical thing that’s had its home encroached on? Maybe, or it might just be a regular octopus with a tickling fetish. Now part of me doesn’t mind this too much, it’s a well written comic with great art but at the same time I keep asking myself why is it tickling her? In universe, it’s established that Annie is usually tickled for punishment or discipline but here it’s just an octopus who does it for no discernable reason. Again, this is a great comic, one of the best, and I don’t want to come across as obsessed with this octopus, but for a series that tried to put at least a little thought into an in world justification for why Annie keeps getting tickled, this issue is a slight break from the formula.
Issue 5:
Annie the Amateur Pirate Issue 5 is the best tickling comic ever written. From its art to it story to its pacing, it is one of the very best the tickling genre has to offer. This is also the longest comic of the series, coming in at 18 pages, and it doesn’t waste even one of them. But what makes this comic stand out more than any of the others is simply due to how graphic it is. Up until this point Annie had been tickled naked before but only her breasts had actually been touched in the past and her privates have never been shown in any great detail. Now, in this final issue, she gets tickled everywhere. To explain why this is such a big deal it is worth remembering that this comic was originally published back in 2012, before Bandito had begun experimenting so much with pussy tickling in his comics. While I certainly haven’t read even almost all of the comics from that era, I don’t think that anything like Annie #5 had ever been seen before, certainly not in such a realistic style and with so much detail. The artwork here was on point and there isn’t even a single frame where you can’t tell exactly what emotion Annie is feeling and why. While part of me certainly wishes that there was more, and that the final cliffhanger had a resolution, I also know that whatever followed would likely have to have been a step down.
In depth thoughts:
Characters:
The only real character that I feel the need to discuss is Annie herself. The titular character is a simple but well-established figure who has an occasional smart mouth but is otherwise well meaning. TickleMantis made the wise decision to underplay her snarkiness, which only arises at particular moments but is generally absent when she’d being tickled. I feel this helps to drive home that Annie is sufficiently tortured by her tickling that she doesn’t want to risk antagonizing her torturers more. Something that I actually only noticed while writing this review was how little the fact that her being an ‘Amateur’ or even a ‘pirate’ comes into the story. It’s only in the first issue that we see her attempt to commit an act of piracy which fails because she isn’t a professional. Otherwise, she’s just getting dragged into situations by others and then tickle tortured for it. I’m not complaining about it, these are some of my favorite tickle comics of all time, but it is interesting how little the title matters in the later books. The only time she does anything morally questionable after book 1 is when she poses as a goddess to a local tribe in Issue 5. But even then it’s mostly framed as a happy (then not so happy) coincidence that she is mistaken for a deity, and not due to her own scheming. This is fine but it lessens the potential angle that she deserved to be tickled for being a greedy munchkin. To be clear I know I’m overthinking this, but I do felt it interesting to point out. Her character design, tall with freckles and bright orange hair, is an instant classic and the expressions Darkharp gives her allows for a great deal of personality to come through.
Writing:
The five main Annie comics are all set within a firm timeline with the end of one comic leading on to the beginning of the next. The final pinup comic is set between the second last and last pages of issue 2 I think, although dialogue from that issue implies it hasn’t been long enough but… tickle comic logic. Overall, the narrative arc is good, although that is clearly not the focus of this series as much as it is in say Tickle Torture Academy. Most issues have enough story to get from point A to point Being tickled which is enough. Issues 3 and 4 are a little weaker in this regard, in my opinion, but for the most part it doesn’t matter. Whether it be by port officers, or her crew mates, or mermaids, tribes members… or even octopuses, the narrative usually does enough to justify what is happening. Darkharp and Ticklemantis wrote every issue of the series together and they clearly understood how to pace their narrative well and keep the story new with each issue. In fact, one of the very best things about this series, in my opinion, was their incredible technical skill at escalation. It would have been so easy to try to deliver everything in the first issue, like certain other franchises, but instead they chose to work slowly, with each comic adding something new. Foot tickling doesn’t even feature until issue 2. The first issue establishes armpit and breast tickling, issue 2 is exclusively foot tickling, issue three introduces both at once, four has animal and all over tickling from eight appendages, and five introduces pussy tickling and orgasm. Each issue builds on what came before it, creating a series that gets hotter with each installment. In some ways I feel that is why issue 5 is so strong: Because it’s the culmination of the whole main series. The dialogue is also really strong throughout the series, although it does noticeably improve as the story progresses. Don’t get me wrong, the first issue is above average when it comes to dialogue in tickle comics, especially at the time, but I feel that it does get better as the series progresses. Genuinely, her begging in issue 5 is some of the best out there.
Art:
Darkharp is my favorite tickle artist. I don’t mean to put down any of the other talented artists working in the industry, but in my opinion Darkharp is the best. It took me some time to figure out why this was, given that it isn’t like I don’t enjoy other artists, when it suddenly hit me while browsing some of her free one pieces, she’s done over the years. The image in question was of Anita and Cruella from 101 Dalmatians, showing Cruella tickle torturing Anita for her puppies. What struck me about the image was how good it was. It didn’t look like Disney characters drawn in Darkharp’s style. It looked like Disney characters. That’s when I realized that Darkharp’s style was basically the Disney style. The reason that Annie looks so good in her later comics is because she looks like a Disney character. This is why I say Darkharp is the best, because she can plausibly emulate the Disney look. It wouldn’t surprise me if she actually ended up working for them (on something more PG, of course). However, I mentioned that this was only the style she used for the last three comics in the series. The first three comics are a little different, a little rougher, a bit less defined. These comics are still great, it’s really only issue three that’s a little too sketchy for my taste, but it really is those last three issues that takes the art to a whole new level. One other thing that I will note about the artwork in every issue is they are all colored beautifully so that the characters stand out nicely. The shading is also done very well as are the speech bubble placements.
Editing:
This is an area that doesn’t usually get a lot of cover from reviewers, even of mainstream comics. The Annie comics were all edited by AnnieHall, with the exception of issue of issue five, which was done by ‘Colin’ and possibly issue 3 which has no editor credited. Each issue is edited well, with everything flowing together nicely. The only inconsistencies I have been able to spot on this most recent reread was in issue 1 where Annie constantly gains and then loses and then gains again a red headscarf that doesn’t seem to know whether it exists or not. There was also one panel from issue 4 where the octopus has nine tentacles. But these don’t really matter, and I don’t necessarily blame anyone for not catching these very minor inconsistences that no one is going to see if you aren’t looking for them.
Future:
The last Annie related piece of media was published in 2014. Since then there has been no public word on more will ever follow. Given that the last regular issue had ended on a cliffhanger, it seemed reasonable to assume that more had been planned at one time but had just never materialized. In preparation for this review, I actually reached out to TickleMantis to enquire where or not more comics had indeed been intended and he was kind enough to get back to me with an answer. Yes, more comics had been planned. Apparently, the idea had been to produce between eleven or twelve issue in total but ultimately, only the first five had ever been made. TickleMantis also mentioned that he would be keen to continue the series but was unable to do so without Darkharp’s permission. While he stated that this wasn’t impossible, he also noted that he would need to find a new artist who was capable of carrying on the series. While it would be quite a blow not to have Darkharp return, I would nevertheless be curious to see what more issues would entail. Since TickleMantis has already got the rest of the series planned out, I wont be making any plot suggestions in this section. However, when it comes to tickle artists with a proven track record, I will suggest one of the following as a hypothetical fit: Churin, Dr Random, Rearte or Giangiacomo. All very different artists but all highly, highly talented. Of course, this is only a fans suggestion with no influence in the industry, but any one of them would bring a different style that I think would help a new book stand out from the old issues. Just to be absolutely clear, any more issues seem very unlikely at this point. I’m just throwing out hopeful what if’s. One thing that I will say is that, if there are indeed no more Annie comics to be had, I would encourage TickleMantis to write them out in prose form instead. TickleMantis has more than established himself as a very competent prose writer and he occasionally releases stories on the TMF. Whether it be here or elsewhere writing the stories would offer a way to finally end Annie’s journey which remains unfinished. Given that this year actually marks the ten year anniversary of issue five’s publication, this could prove to be a way to conclude the ticklish adventure that first began all the way back in 2004.
Conclusion:
In the end, the Annie comics remain some of the best examples of tickle fetish comics ever written. From it’s simple but strong writing and setup, to its excellent art style and sense of escalation, the Annie comics have more than earned their high place among MTJ’s publications. For proof of this look no further than the fact that Annie still has her own tab on the company’s main page (Although this might also be because MTJ refuses to update its front page. Like, seriously, how does Vellicatrices Unlimited still have its own tab but Pepper Parker doesn’t?) In any case, Annie remains an enduring symbol of the tickle comics industry, not only of the era in which she was published, but of the genre as a whole. While it is impossible to know what the future holds, I suspect that the work that TickleMantis and Darkharp have done, has more than ensured that Annie’s legacy shall continue into the future.
Anyway, I know that all seems kind of a grandeous and formal way to end things. I tried to do this review more like an art review than a piece of fetish content. If you managed to get through the whole thing, do let me know what you think. I’m not sure when I’ll do the next one of these, but I already think I know what series I’ll cover. I won’t tell you which but let’s say, it’ll be secretly hysterical.
