Walking on Broken Glass

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

Walking On Broken Glass is a webcomic created by Samantha Mathis and Caytlin Vilbrandt.

Walking On Broken Glass has been described as "A Supernatural Office Dramedy Romance about Murder". Which, while maybe not specifically accurate, does display the wide array of topics and ideas this comic embodies. It’s about a man dealing with a dark fate looming over his future, and his quest to make up for the wrongs of that future in the present. It’s about a woman with enough strength, determination, love and stubbornness to stand by his side through thick and thin. It’s about monsters. It’s about magic. It’s about werewolves! And witches! And vampires! (Oh my?)


Tropes used in Walking on Broken Glass include:
  • All There in the Manual: You may want to read the "About" and "Character" pages before the actual comic. They're rather subtle about the werewolf thing for a while.
    • There's also the "Ask WOBG Blog" which gives random bits of information about characters and setting.
  • Badass Normal: Kennedy. In a world filled with supernatural entities, she manages to impress a pack of werewolves despite not displaying any supernatural abilities. There are hints she might be More Than Meets the Eye. And sure enough...
  • Girl Friday: Kennedy Parker. Out of all the previous secretaries Nick has had, she's the only one that can motivate Nick Grey to stay healthy and organized. And she refuses to be fired.
  • Magic Pants: Clothing seeems to fade into the werewolves' body when they shift.
  • Masquerade: There seems to be one going on. For instance, the majority of employees at Nick Grey's company are human and have no idea that he and his friends are werewolves.
  • Our Monsters Are Different: Quite a few unusual monsters have appeared at different points in the story.
    • An honourable mention to the Shadow creatures, which were the first monsters to actually be seen for an extended period of time.
  • Our Werewolves Are Different: All the werewolves have two Elemental Powers. Which two varies from one werewolf to the next; when they awaken, their primary element shows itself most readily, as in this example.
    • Mr. Grey seems to be able to snipe with lightning. And form a bubble of invisibility around himself.
    • It's implied that other magical creatures are also aligned with pairs of elemental forces.
  • Urban Fantasy: The stories thus far have taken place in the modern world, mostly in a city setting. And there are some hints of Plausible Deniability.
  • UST: Between Nick and Kennedy. It seems to be nearing resolution in issue 4, but events at the beginning of the issue throw the entire chapter into question. As of issue 5, it's most definitely resolved.
  • The World of Darkness: The creators of the comic met during a play session. If you're a fan, you can see the game's influence and inspiration upon the comic.
  • This page contains a Last-Second Word Swap. "And three is..."