At San Diego Comic-Con, WEBTOON creator Wendy Martin shared the inspiration behind her beloved and popular story, “Castle Swimmer.”
“Castle Swimmer” follows Kappa, a young merman who is born into the role of “Beacon.” The Beacon is said to provide hope for all people while fulfilling prophecies throughout different communities. However, this becomes more of a burden on him than he expected. Kappa meets Siren, a merman shark prince whose destiny is intertwined with the Beacon in death. However, the two boys set off on an adventure together to reject the lives laid out for them, falling in love in the process.
“Castle Swimmer” is a Beautiful Fantasy Story with Outstanding Queer Representation
During the interview, Wendy Martin thanks the original “Kingdom Hearts” game for the inspiration to create “Castle Swimmer.” She says, “It was originally inspired by the first Kingdom Hearts game. The part where you play the Little Mermaid section.”
When working on the initial concept, Wendy explains that her main characters, Kappa and Siren, had opposite personalities. Kappa became the “sassy one,” while Siren became the “more meek one.” The change felt natural and has given readers a dynamic that works perfectly.
Also, “Castle Swimmer” offers natural, queer representation. In a lot of stories, the identities of the characters are usually explained. The author or a character within the world will offer an explanation as to why they identify a certain way or come out during the story itself. In “Castle Swimmer,” this is not the case. The queer characters are who they are and are wholly accepted by those around them.
Wendy says:
I think that’s something I love about doing fantasy is you can, kind of, create. You can set what the culture and expectations are in the world. You don’t necessarily have to go off reflective of our own society. So you can just make a world where yeah, everyone’s gay. It’s super chill. Nobody really cares.
The Impact of a Fun Yet Important Story
Over the years, “Castle Swimmer” has spoken to readers around the world. For Wendy, this impact is much larger than she ever imagined it would be. She talks about how fans have told her how the story of Kappa and Siren has been with them since elementary school and now into their teenage and adult years.
Additionally, readers find courage from reading. Seeing themselves represented in a heartfelt character description and natural setting allowed them to understand who they are.
Several people have told me that it helped them with their own coming out, which is huge for me ’cause I was also a kid that was in the closet at one point. So that is always specifically something that… helping them with their sexuality or their identity in some way is always the most impactful to hear.
Wendy built the fantasy world of “Castle Swimmer” with herself in mind as the target audience. She was happy with whoever read it, no matter how wide the reach was. And with how popular it’s become, there is a large group of people who relate to the characters in some way. She continues, saying, “I was also, like, a gay kid growing up. It just happened… people in that same spot resonated with the story as well.”
Several people have come to Wendy, saying that “Castle Swimmer” inspired them to start their own webtoon. For her, this is an artist’s highest honor. And if anyone is wanting to create, Wendy’s advice is to just get started!
I think you can get trapped in this cycle of preparing… Just start making comics right away. That’s the quickest way to get good at creating comics is just start making them as soon as possible.
Read “Castle Swimmer” on the WEBTOON app. Volumes 1 and 2 are available as physical copies, with volume 3 coming in 2026.
