Boss, way behind everyone else
Merchant Band is a fantasy-adventure webcomic by Mahyuddin Zin a.k.a. Mayu Zane revolving around a magical artifacts merchant named Boss and his friends, who are going on a journey east to help an amnesiac girl left inside a cursed cabin.
Their journey becomes more complicated when a tyrant declares war on Boss's merchant guild, and now they've all become involved in a civil war between a princess and a self-made king.
The webcomic is free to read over on Webtoon
that gets updated every Monday.
Merchant Band has a paid version which includes bonus pages, available only to patrons at Mayu Zane's Patreon page.
Merchant Band contains examples of:
- Amnesiac Hero: Amira, who was found by Boss locked up inside a house surrounded by cursed scarecrows.
- Battle Couple: Bridget and Leif, Boss's two bodyguards who are also married to each other. It was a package deal.
- Benevolent Boss: Boss himself, who makes a genuine effort to keep his workers paid and treated well.
- Big Bad: 'King' Sekh, who murdered his father and brother to get the throne and keeps sending assassins to hunt down members of the Guild of Ethical Merchants.
- Carry a Big Stick: Bridget's weapon of choice is a steel mace.
- Cat Folk: Feralyn people, like Bridget and Leif.
- Civil War: Ah-Seba, the country where Boss and his group are going, is embroiled in civil war.
- Did We Just Have Tea with Cthulhu?: Bridget and Leif meet The Visitor in issue 5, a being from another world who grants gifts to those who meet them.
- Dream Land: The Nightmare Edge, accessible only by sleeping in a dark cave, is a physical location made up of nightmares.
- Fantastic Racism: Jungle Clanners like Mazri are often assumed to be liars and cheaters by other races.
- Fictional Currency: Oneros and Meras, two different currencies used by merchants.
- Fingerless Hands: Boss, whose hands are completely round.
- Fun Size: Boss, which is a common trait among his species.
- Guys Smash, Girls Shoot: Inverted with Bridget and Leif, as Leif is an archer-mage who prefers fighting long distance, and Bridget prefers to fight up close with her mace.
- Happily Married: The two bodyguards Bridget and Leif are in a very happy and stable marriage. Mazri and her husband Riva were this too, until Riva was executed.
- Half-Human Hybrid: Plentiful, since Interspecies Romance is fairly common.
- Intrepid Merchant: Boss's occupation. He buys and sells magical artifacts, which function as useful tools/home appliances. He also explores ruins to find more artifacts to sell.
- Love Letter: How Bridget and Leif first met; she wrote a love letter to him after watching him dance at a royal feast.
- Mage Marksman: Leif, who is trained in using a bow and fire magic.
- Magical Eye: Amira's orb-eye allows her to control her Orb Stallion though she can't see out of it.
- Magitek: There are mechanical vehicles and automatons powered by magic, such as Amira's Orb Stallion.
- Mechanical Horse: Amira's Orb Stallion, which pulls her wagon.
- Non-Action Guy: Boss is almost useless in a fight, which is why he hired two bodyguards.
- Non-Idle Rich: Lord Junk, governor of Junkton is very rich and lives in a castle. He is also the very active protector of his town, training others to fight well like him.
- One Head Taller: Bridget is about one head taller than her husband.
- Playing with Fire: Leif, a fire mage who can imbue his arrows with flames.
- Scary Scarecrows: The cabin Amira was trapped in was surrounded by scarecrows covered in curses, all of them facing towards the cabin.
- Suffer the Slings: Amira uses a simple sling as a weapon, complete with a purse full of rocks.
- The Evil Prince: Sekh, who murdered his father and brother in an attempt to take control of Ah-Seba, which kick-starts the civil war.
- Tiny Guy, Huge Girl: Leif and Bridget. Though Leif isn't that much shorter than his wife, she has much more muscle.
