Comics Rock

Chasing the Sunset

2007-11-22T15:36:00.000-08:00

So I've been offline for a while for a few reasons. Those reasons are for another post. I do want to get back into the game, not sure if I can, though, but I will try.

But enough talk about that. Let's talk about Chasing the Sunset.

As of now, Chasing the Sunset is reaching the high middle part of its overall story (if I'm reading right). The world has been defined, and the main characters are introduced and have been given a chance to grow, change, and build a group dynamic. The group has long since past the point of no return. For now they can only go forward.

Chasing the Sunset is about an elf named Leaf who decides to go on a quest searching for his long lost father who may or may not be dead. Joining him are Myhrad, a dragon who was friends with him from a very young age, Ayne, another elf who forces him to take her along, and Fieht, a pixie who has for some reason decided to follow them around.

At first when I was reading this comic, I was unsure what to think of it, which made me mostly bored trying to read it. Was it a normal fantasy story, was it trying to parody fantasies, or trying to subvert its conventions. It really looked at first like the comic was making an effort to poke fun at fantasies, but for some reason it wasn't working in that style. Later on a realized that the authors were more attempting to build their own world, which draws on fantasy conventions, but doesn't necessarily follow them. It's sometimes funny, sometimes sad, and sometimes just enjoyable. It could also be just because the writing got better. The jokes got better, and I started to enjoy the interactions between the characters. There is a huge difference in the comic between the earlier strips and the later ones, apparently both in story and art, although I can't tell as much with the art. The comics got bigger, and I guess sometimes the art looks better, but I suck at seeing things such as this, which is why I never review art.

One character who I've definitely changed my opinion about was Feiht (thief spelled backwards(most pixies have names based off this concept)). At the beginning, I found her incredibly annoying. She would go around, acting like a little kid, stealing things whenever she could. She said "Wheee!" way too often. All in all, she was just an incredibly one-dimension character. Now.. Well... Actually everything I said about her before still applies, but I look forward to it rather than hating it and wishing the character would die. One reason might be because the writing is better, and Feiht is more dynamic, and characters react to her better. Another reason is the author has had time to flesh out what pixies are. Understanding how they work and what their lives are like make the character more enjoyable. Pixies are immortal beings with very short memories. Either that or they just get bored of ideas and forget them. I'm not sure how it works. Part of the reason they can live so long is because of this ability to forget, and the ability to defy the laws of physics, but whatever. Anyway, pixies see the world as their playground and are constantly cause trouble for other people so they can have fun. They are especially attracted to anything shiny. One of the few ways for pixies to die is of boredom. That's basically pixies in a nutshell. There's a place on the site where you can read all about them. However, I do think Feiht is becoming stale again. There are only so many jokes you can make about such a narrow character, and I feel they are starting to run out.

As far as the other characters go, they're okay. Leaf is a little naive and often thinks up incredibly crazy schemes which usually require doing something incredibly dangerous and leave a lot to chance, but somehow still work, at least when he's allowed to try them. Myhrad is usually the voice of reason and very cynical. Ayne is the warrior of the group. (Amazon. Whatever) See also keeps Leaf in check, but sometimes acts before she thinks. There's really not much else to say about them (well, not without spoilers, anyway). They have good dialogue. They just don't do much to stand out.

All in all, Chasing the Sunset is a fun comic. The story is nicely paced, it improves drastically as it moves along, and it's on my reading list (though how long it'll be before I get back to that is anyone's guess. I'm still in the middle of the world's longest archive crawl). Give it a look. It should be worth it.

(Yeah, there aren't any pictures. I'll be posting pictureless reviews for a while until I find a better way to post pictures (or maybe someone who's willing to do it for me (yeah, right)). Imageshack just isn't very kind to me)

The Self-Importance of Webcomics Creators?

2007-01-20T11:03:00.000-08:00

(Pictures from Questionable Content, Anywhere But Here, The Whiteboard and Scary-Go-Round. Click on the pictures to see them within the context of the website. (Pictures will be added later. I just want to get this post up.))

It seems to be rather common among webcomics. Whether or not it's a detriment to character development, I'm not sure, but it's there. I'm talking about the tendency for all characters in a certain webcomic to have the same musical taste.

Now there are other examples of geekery as well. The fact that many people have great interest in a relatively small area of arts or activity is rather common, and extends to DnD, as well as the use of a particular computer system, the need for an optimized hardware, liking certain games, whatever. While it can be argued that most webcomics are about groups of friends, friends can still have differing tastes.

It's not just that they all like a certain form of music. Anyone from the outside that they happen to meet on the street also turns out to enjoy that music. Also, anyone who doesn't is somehow deficient.

I've listened to enough music to know that the music you listen has nothing to do with your intelligence, but it's there. People who don't like jazz are hicks. People who don't like indie are uncultured.

Furthermore, if anybody with any redeeming qualities comes along that doesn't like that form of music (or whatever the creator decides to like) they're easily converted. All you have to do is expose them to the music. They listen to one song, or play one game and they're hooked. They give up that stupid music they listened to before and embrace this new style, while the characters that were already in the comic don't change their tastes at all.

Another version of this is having all characters hate a certain kind of music the creator hates. Let's face it. The reason that certain types of music are popular is because a lot of people listen to it. Many of those people are intelligent people as well, even though the majority are idiots or jerks. (Actually the majority of people that listen to all music styles are idiots or jerks. It's just a way of life. There's no style that's immune from it.)

There's a very good reason for this, of course. Pick a stance which you are fervently against. Pick the side of abortion that you don't agree with, or any issue for that matter. Now try to form a good, well-thought out argument that supports that stance. Hard, isn't it? It's hard to see that the opposing viewpoint has any merit whatsoever, even when it does. Also, when you don't like a certain form of music on principle, there is nothing in the world that would force you to actually listen to it. Even if they strapped you to a chair, and blasted the music in your face, you wouldn't listen, you'd just sit there and hate it. Admit it, you would.

I'm a firm supporter of the belief that while there is a such thing as bad music, there's no such thing as a bad musical style. Every style is just a tool, what matters is how that tool is used. Musical works should be judged on their individual merit, not on some overarching generalizations. Let's face it. The majority of all forms of music is crap. That includes classical, jazz, indie, rhythm and blues, folk tunes, whatever. The majority is crap. Very little is superb. Some tunes that have survived forever didn't deserve to. Others have been lost that were absolutely amazing, for whatever reason. To believe that one style is the pinnacle of all music is close-minded.

Suicide For Hire

2006-11-28T06:57:00.000-08:00

(All pictures from Suicide for Hire by Rafael Medina. Click on the pictures to see them within the context of the website.)

So, I've decided that anytime I add a new comic to my reading list, I should justify adding it with a review. Of course, this is just a trick to get me to write more. I'm still not sure if I should do the same when I take them off. I've been reviewing what I read, and there are quite a few comics that are dangerously close to being kicked off my list. (Scary-Go-Round, for example). I'm not sure if that's me, though, or if I'll have much to say when I do. Mostly I just lose interest.

Anyways, the comic. It's about two high-schoolers who start a business where they help suicidal teenagers carry through with their death. It's an extremely dark comic to the point of being offensive to anyone who's had to deal with the loss.

It's also a furry comic. Like I've said before, I don't understand the stigma. Like many furry comics, though, the author tends to use his characters as a mouthpiece for his own moral views, and this comic is about as preachy as they come. However, most of the characters in the comic have gone right past morally ambiguous right into amoral, so there's a little bit of irony there.

The stories and characters are paper-thin, the jokes are okay, not too funny, but they get a chuckle every once in a while. The author has a tendency of putting self-deprecating comments in the margins, which really aren't needed. There's a lot of dialogue, and I mean a lot.

But for some reason, I still like it. I'm kind of confused about this, since it has all these faults. I think it appeals to my dark nature. I also like that pretty much everyone who uses the service does so for the most superficial reasons, and most of them try to back out at the last second. I went through the darkest time in my life during my identity crisis as well. I've contemplated and attempted suicide. Believe me, there's no reason to commit suicide except for selfish reasons. It's a selfish act. I think we all know that.

There are also many points in the comic where the words say one thing, but the pictures say something else. It's slightly amusing, and it happens enough to keep me satisfied.

The only worry I have for this comic is I'm not sure if the author can keep writing it for much longer. It seems only so long before he runs out of things to say. We'll see if that happens. It looks like he's expanding his focus a bit. There hasn't been a customer in a while now.

So, really, I don't know if I'd recommend this comic, but I'm going to keep on reading it. Maybe eventually I'll figure out why I like it so much, then I can tell you all.

By the way, I just added The Wotch to my reading list page. I've actually been reading it for a while, but didn't notice it wasn't there, but it is now because I put it there. Suicide for Hire also got a write-up.

9th Elsewhere

2006-11-05T21:45:00.000-08:00

(All pictures from 9th Elsewhere by Caroline "Carmen" Curtis. Click on the pictures to see them within the context of the website.)

9th Elsewhere is a comic that I found right near the beginning of my exposure to webcomics. I've always liked comics with stories and unique scenery, and this one delivers on that. What I like most about the comic is the whimsical nature of the story-telling, and while Carmen has gotten away from that a bit, making the story a little more serious, it's still there lurking in the background.

The comic is set in the dream world of a girl named Carmen. Carmen is an orphan who has spent most of her life being shuffled from parent to parent, which has made her quite depressed. Carmen is an aspiring writer, but has no confidence in her works. Enter Eiji, a muse set on helping her overcome her problems. They enter the dream world and then almost immediately get trapped there.

One of the strong points of 9th Elsewhere is the imagery, and the almost random nature of the environment. Since the begining of the comic, Carmen has moved through multiple contrasting scenes, and each place has certain images which sort of ingrain themselves. It's very interesting.

Because this comic is really just about one person, there's sort of a paucity of characters. Many minor roles come in for a few comics, but the main characters are basically Carmen, Eiji, and Dorian, another muse that entered Carmen's dreamscape. Despite this the story is rather complex, with lots of little details, any of which can be important. The fact that Ms. Curtis, the author seems to be having trouble updating is making it harder for me to keep up. The story's still worth reading, though, because it is a nice mix of humor and drama, it just makes it a little frustrating when you're waiting so long to see what happens next.

If any of this interests you, go ahead and read the comic. I don't think I'd classify 9th Elsewhere as a "must read," but it's very well done.

(Adventurers review probably coming two months from now. You know how it is)

NaDruWriNi

2006-11-04T16:03:00.000-08:00

Okay, just to let you know, I'm sober right now. I have everything set up, though. I've got a bottle of Skol vodka, which I plan to mix with a bunch of other beverages on my road to intoxication. Should be fun. I haven't planned anything in advance besides what I'll be drinking. I tend to become a little more talkative when under the influence, and because my inhibitions will be compromised, I'm sure that tonight, I'm going to put the first swear word on the site. Oh well. I plan on leaving all spelling and grammar errors in to add to the humor.

With that in mind, let's start drinking. I'll start writing again in a bit.

Okay I'm back, and so far I've found out that vodka kind of tastes like rubber, but you have to love that burn as it goes down. I've tried orange juice and coke so far. I think I like the coke better, but that's personal taste, I'm sure. After three glasses, it's just starting to take effect. Woo. There's the dizzyness. I stopped because I was starting to get full, but I'll be drinking more soon. I'm not quite drunk yet.

So, um, right. What should I talk about. I wonder if I can ruin my career as a teacher by doing this. I'm not driving so it should be fine. I think I'll get another drink.

Man this is going to be fun later. I can tell. I have my computer set up so that I can use it while sitting on my bed. It's kind of fun, though it makes getting to the computer a little difficult. I'm not exactly the neatest person in the world. as anyone who sees my room cna attst. Whever.

Anyway, I just got done with marching band season. I wasn't actually marching. I was working at a local band. It was quite a different xperience from actually marhing in the band. I never realized how mu[ch work goes into teaching.

The beggest probem is when you have an idea that hyou wanet to convey and the kids jsut aren't getting it. You try to drill in their heads again and agfain and it just doesn't stick. It's like working with .. I don't know what it's working like, but it is.

Music is a big part of my life, you know. I plan on making it into a carrere that's how much it menas to me. Think about it. Music controls your emotinos more tha tn antything else. I would say more athat any other forme of art.

Music can make you feel elation, sadness, confusion, whateveer you want it to feel., and you can find any music to hae;lp yoiu. I have a bunch of articles which I havce yet to find pictures for and and one of them is about music in webcomincs. Look for it. It's coming up, and I think it's reallyl good.

Even while I'm typing; this article, I"m listening to music. I've got a playlist going and I'm listeining to music about whatever. It's all styles too. Right now I'm listening to some sort of tromvone solo with piano. It's by Mark Lawrence. It' s cool. It's kind of slow ;and beatiful like.

Miusicisi good. It's about emotion, about the performers' connection to the audience. nnnnd i'm making a carreer abou it. I've even got another blog abotu music. I'm still building it, but it will be good eventually . It will tell you why I like music, and analyze pieces and talke about thepory and all those things musicians like.

But wait. MThis Blog isn't about music. It's about webcomiecs. Mabye I should talk abou tw3ebcomics as wll. well, I gell like I"m in a permanent archive crawl at the moment. I"m runing through so many archive sites, some of which include music sites, actually. I'm reading music blogs to get opinoinos and eventually I'll listien to music radio shows, but webcomics.

I like webcomics, don't get me wrong. I like 'em. They're a great way to pass the time, and they're free. You can find a webomic on basically any subject, and I like that. Webcomics wil never die, you hear me? They wont.

You know something I dont' like? Teh death of adventure games, you know like Kings Quest,a dn Space Quest, adn Monkey Island? Stuff like that. Adventure games are so much fun. If you haven't played any, I highly suggest tehat you do. They are fun , adn they require that you =thinnk and stuff, unlike those first person shooters =athat are so prominant. Adventure games are great, and they ared a pioint of culture. You should check them out, rreall;y,.

I also don't like how people have goteen away from classical music. Classical music is fun. It's exciteing and sad and interesting all in one. Rock is okay, but classical takes it to a whole 'nother level. There are many great composers todya . why don't they get noticed

That's probably my biggest pet peeve, a bunch of great acts adn ideas are disappearign because recored companys don't want to sell it. you know what I say to that? Bull sh;it there is a strong audience in eveery avenure. I think the internet has proven that. Sell classical music, please. I don'st want to go to a record store to see theat the classical section is just one small section with jazz music mixed in. There is too much music in both catergories to just take up one section. Andyone tthat thinks otherwise is just stupid.

It is possible to liek multiple forms fo music. I'm listening to NIN right now. I like them. I also liek classical and coutry and pop. you don't have to like just one form of music,yuou know. I think theres' this great rift betwenn the classical and pooular idioms and it doesn't have to be there. You can like both. Stop being so close-mindeed. IT doens't get you anywhere.

I'd hatr eto se e th;e king of music that I love just disap[ear. It's just not right. Classical music is cheap. Buy it up. I guarantee thaey''lll be quality recordings. I've found abslutely amazing bperformances for three doloars. Believe me, I'm a music major. It's otu there. Increase demand for classical music, please, and modern classical music as well. There is so much great stuff that happened ikn the last cneturyt I'd hate for it to just idsappear.

I know I haven't tallked a bout webcomics much. Webcomics are art too. It's just that music is closer to me. I'm a music major and I want a jobv. Please let me have a job, please. And chceck out my other blog at arakimusic.wordpress.com. It will grow. Trust me.

i'm done. Peace out.

Edit: this is the fist time I'ce actually been drunk. I've found it quite interaestting. Fist, I can't tell that I'm slurring my speachh, though I've asked someone, and he assures me that I have. Also, it's not lack of coordination that I have. rather it's lack of thought processes. Which makes it hard to type and to move, I admit. Very good. I'll see you in the moringng.

P. P. S. I'm afraid to get up for fear I should fall down.

What the..

2006-10-10T06:59:00.000-07:00

(image from Something Positive. Click to see within context.)

No, really. This is seriously messed up.

It's like we've come full circle. I know Davan is having a hard time, what with his mother dead, his dad with Alzheimer's , and some of his past loves betraying his trust and all, but did it really have to come to this?

Either Davan is completely vulnerable right now or he's just that willing to help out, which will have interesting ramifications in the future.

You know. Whatever. I'm done. Just enjoy the comic.

Finally

2006-10-06T06:46:00.000-07:00

Adventurers has come to an end. That means I can start working on my review. However, the archives on Adventurers are quite extensive, so it will take a while. Maybe I should work on a smaller review of 9th Elsewhere at the same time.

you know

2006-10-03T06:50:00.000-07:00

It's a lot easier to keep momentum going than to build it up again.

I'm back

2006-09-18T19:02:00.000-07:00

And I'm almost done catching up with all the comics I missed. A few oservations on what happened when I was gone.

Elf Only Inn is back! Thanks to yeafduff for pointing it out. I sense a little hypocrisy on Mary's part. She seems to be busting Charles for doing exactly what she just did. Does she think the guy's cute? That's my impression, anyway.

The murder plots at Something Positive lead to a cross-over. Who knew? I felt Milholland might have either done more with this, or made it a one shot. For a while Something Positive became dark for the sake of being dark. Although, come to think of it, that's probably how you can describe most of the archives.

Oasis is back, and she seems to be trying to find herself. Bun-Bun is plotting, too, but we already knew that.

Jack is becoming delightfully recursive. I know that intruducing new characters would probably be a dertiment to the comic, but it was hard to suspend my disbelief for this. Is this God's doing or is it just random? If it is coincidence, it's a little much. The current story arc looks to be very interesting, and would probably work as a stand-alone, if you're interested in Jack. At his worst, Hopkins is preachy and overdramtic. At his best, he's an amazing story-teller. Check it out.

King Luca is charged with murder, and Gav is immune to legal action. This can only lead to insanity.

One of these days, Mookie is going to have to kill off a likeable character permanently. Stunt and Bumper have returned. Oh, what will they reap.

A time warp has wiped out the first few months of the Bob and George archive. Apparently, this change is permanent, so if you're new to Bob and George, you're missing a few bad puns and two tries at a hand-drawn comic, although you're also missing the part where the characters are developed, too.

The return of Pizza Girl (or not). Jeph has decided to be a bastard by having a Pizza Girl look-alike walk into Coffee of Doom and be offered a job. So far she has appeared in two comics, but apparently she has a strong fan-base.

Also, reading through three pages of archives takes a long time.
(Links later. Sleep now.)

Sad News

2006-05-12T13:11:00.000-07:00

Well, I thought that I could update this site once finals were done, but there is too much to do, so I am going to be putting this blog on hiatus for a while.

Over the summer I am going to be marching with the Santa Clara Vanguard. This is my last chance to be with the organization and I am not going to give it up. If you would like, please come to a show near you. It will be worth it, I'm sure.

However, I won't have internet connection the entire summer. I will continue this blog once school starts again in August. Until then, adieux.

Review: 8 to one

2006-04-21T09:45:00.000-07:00

(All pictures from 8:1 by B. Duffy. Click on the pictures to see them within the context of the website.)

So I decided that to post more often, I would review my reading list, and everytime I decided to add a new comic to my reading list I would write a review explaining why it's added. Now That It's Finished Reviews still get first priority, followed by requested reviews. I just want to give myself a reason to write more often.

Anyways, the comic.

Eight to 1 is a semi-serious look into the lives of a couple of social outcasts. A little while in, they meet Lori, a shy girl who is a little unsure of herself. What follows is a drama where we watch them mess up their lives multiple times and just try to function socially.

The comic itself is still a little bit young. It's starting to show a little bit of age, and the characters have been around long enough to develop, but it still feels a little bit like it's introducing a situation. There are two artist characters that insist on talking to Charles (one of the main characters of the strip). I'm not quite sure what their purpose is yet. I can tell they're important and that they play a major role, but I'm not sure what it is. Are they a catalyst for change, are they going to boost Charles' confidence, or are they going to give him a reason to remain reclusive and separated from the other characters? I'm not sure.

Now this seems like a real depressing comic, and it is in a way. Story is a lot more important than humor, and the characters all have very real problems they have to deal with, but there is a little bit of humor added to the mix. The first comics, which are used to establish the characters of Charles and Mary, are mostly one-shot jokes. They aren't all good jokes. In fact, many of them fall flat. I don't think there's really any joke that's funny in the "ha-ha" sense. However, a little humor does help to take the edge off for some of the lower moments.

The biggest postitive for eight to one is its interesting characters. The comic may still feel young, but I feel I know enough about these people that I want to know what happens to them. Does Charles remove himself from his stupor? Does Mary find direction? Does Lori find her voice? I want to know, and I will continue reading so I can find out.

8 to 1 is worth reading. Don't expect to fall out of your chair laughing during the run. Read it for a nice character study of people who are afraid to interact with others.

A Look at the Artistic Side of Webcomics

2006-04-01T12:05:00.000-08:00

So I figured I should at least make some effort at taking art into consideration for comics and I figured the best way to do so would be to try drawing some art myself.

Now first, it should be known that I am not an artist. I never claimed to be an artist. The only art experience I have is art class in middle and elementary schools and random doodles I sometimes do when I'm supposed to be listening to lectures. I prefer drawing abstract because in my mind it takes less effort to make it look good. Sometimes I do cartoony things. Sometimes I try to draw more realistically I'm not going to try to guess how good I am at realistic drawings.

I do not even try to take art seriously. It's not for me. When I read comics, I read the words. I just gloss over the art, so those big splash pages that some comics like to use take less than a half second for me to read and take in. It appeals to me that much.

Still, I am reviewing comics, and half of comics is the art behind it, so I guess I should actually start paying attention to it. However, to properly review art, I have to actually know a few things about drawing properly. I decided to learn by teaching myself because that is much more effective than taking a class.

I've decided for my first picture I would draw a group shot of characters from the webcomics I read waving to the audience. Since this is just practice, I decided to forgo planning and just start drawing. I think I got everybody. Choo-Choo Bear might be on there twice, but hey, what can you do. I wanted to include him in the picture. He's a little bit easier to draw.

Here's the pencil for you.

(All characters belong to their creators.)

Now I understand my line may not be at "strong," or whatever you say, as someone who has been drawing for longer than I have. Just bear with me. I'm new.

I must admit, this is not how the drawing came out of the scanner. There were a few smudges on it, so I decided to clean it. To clean I used this little program called MS Paint and the eraser tool, as well as the white pencil. It was a little bit frustrating, but I persevered for my art.

So anyway, I heard somewhere that all true artists always ink their work. I also heard something about erasing the pencil lines, but I forgot when and how that was supposed to happen, so I just left the pencils under the ink. I hope you can forgive me.

My tool of choice was a Bic pen, since they were readily available. Afterward I did a little cleaning. The end result can be seen here.

Now the first thing that can be seen here is that the lines are much darker when you use a pen. However, cleaning the picture was a real pain. In fact, I didn't quite get all the cleaning done because I just gave up, so you can still see a few smudges where I just decided to leave it be.

So let's recap.

Advantages for pencils

Less work
Easy cleanup
Ability to correct errors

Advantages for pens

Darker lines
More defined shapes
Sense of professionalism

So it's three against three, which would suggest that neither is better than the other, although that professionalism might count for something. Then again, we're drawing webcomics. That's about as far away from professional as we can get.

I want to try one more thing before I end this article because I hear that shading can add a lot to your work. Shading, if I have it right, is filling in your outlines with either colors or blacks to add depth to your work. Depth sounds like a good thing. Three dimensionality is always good.

I decided to go with a simple shading. No cross-hatching, since I still don't quite know what cross hatching is. I decided to take my trusty Bic pen and fill in the out lines in the picutre. Really simple, and I think it will make the shapes really pop out of the picture, which is what I'm going for, right.

I decided not to clean this one because I was feeling lazy.

So there you go, a nice black and white drawing for your viewing pleasure, and this one doesn't look to bad with the smudges left in. I think it's the shading.

But really, let's look at what I've done objectively.

What we have here is basically a doodle, a bunch of random lines on a piece of paper that follows some sort of rules. It's not a great artistic acheivement. It probably has been done before and better. It's not really that interesting. There's no color. It really doesn't say much about anything.

But you know what? It's my doodle, and I think it's the coolest thing in the world. I still think it's the coolest thing knowing everything I wrote in the previous paragraph and knowing that I went through the process wrong at almost every step because it my doodle, and anyone who says otherwise, I just won't listen to. All hail the mighty doodle.

And that's why I don't review art.

Perry Bible Fellowship and the Nature of Dead Baby Jokes

2006-03-24T21:00:00.000-08:00

(All pictures from Perry Bible Fellowship by Nicholas Gurewitch. Click on the images to go to nowhere, really, since I can't figure out how to direct link to comics.)

This is probably a good comic to talk about right after my humor article. Perry Bible Fellowship is a three-panel gag strip. Many of the comics are completely without dialogue. Nearly every comic is some form of dark humor. It's a good comic, but before we get into, let's talk a bit about dead baby jokes.

Dead baby jokes are like the bottom of the humor barrel really. They're all simple one-liners. Most don't even have any form of wordplay. They get their humor mostly from being disgusting as possible.

In my experience it is never the first dead baby joke you laugh at. Dead baby jokes work and groups and they never come alone.

Picture this. You're with a bunch of friends goofing around, and decide to start telling jokes. It starts out innocently enough, but quickly moves to sex jokes or racist humor. Finally someone tells this gem:

"Hey, how do you make a baby crawl in circles."

Then a few people who have heard the joke many times before answer in unison:

"Nail his hand to the floor."

"How do you make him stop."

"Nail his other hand to the floor."

Usually there is a long silence after this, until one of the more sheltered members of your group decides to speak up.

"That's awful."

This, of course encourages someone else to tell another joke.

"What's the difference between a Porche and a pile of dead babies?

"I don't have a Porche in my garage."

This will start getting a few chuckles from the more jaded individuals of the group, then someone else will chime in.

"How do you get a baby in a fish bowl?"

"Blender."

"How do you get him out?"

"Nacho chips."

By then everyone who's heard a dead baby joke before will be in the spirit, and even the one person who spoke against the first joke will be grinning. Finally somebody gets really brave.

"Hey, how do you make a five-year-old cry twice?"

But I digress.

The point is dead baby jokes are jokes that work by building on top of each other until you basically have to laugh. Their brand of humor comes more from the delivery than the actual humor, which brings me to Perry Bible Fellowship.

Basically (and I mean at its simplest) Perry Bible Fellowship works as a much more sophisticated dead baby joke. It is a brand of dark humor, using the darkness of the subject matter to sell the joke more than such things as word-play. Almost every joke in the archive is really obvious. Most involve either sex or death.

The main difference between Perry Bible Fellowship and dead baby jokes is that there are quite a few Perry Bible Fellowship comics that are funny on their own. Still the entire site is a lot funnier if you just read straight through the archive.

An amazing aspect of the comic is how the author is able to convey the ideas he's representing with very few words. In fact, quite a few comics in the archives have no text of any kind. These visual comics usually have a more surreal feel. It's a mood in which Gurewitch excels.

Perry Bible Fellowship may not be for everyone, especially some of the more sensitive people out there. However, if you can deal with a little bit of depravity, or if you enjoy any of the picutres that accompany this review, it's worth a read. Like I say on my reading list, after a while you will reach a sort of zen state where every comic is just as funny as the last. Do check it out.

By the way, I want to keep this site PG rated for now, so any comments explaining how to make a five-year-old cry twice will be promptly deleted.

Questioning Ship's Existence

2006-03-23T04:35:00.000-08:00

(Picture from Count Your Sheep. Click on the picture to see it within the context of the website.)

If any of you see me walking around with a shirt that says "I exist" on the front, I just want you to know that I made that shirt long before this comic came up.

I'm going to put Count Your Sheep in the top five now.

Humor

2006-03-17T18:55:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I've discussed webcomics theory. Let's give it a try.

Humor is a tricky subject. Most webcomic creators feel that they have to include humor in their strip because that's what the reader expects. The word comic itself suggests a sort of humor. A person that's new to the world of webcomics would only have seen newspaper funnies before. They will grow to expect that sort of humor.

However, there is the danger that if you write a newspaper style strip, noone will want to read it because they already have the newspapers. It's safer to read newspaper strips, too because those people are working for money and are professionals, so of course they'll be better quality (in theory, not practice).

I personally don't think a comic strip needs to be humorous to be read. I actually think that sometimes humor can ruin a strip rather than help it. In webcomics especially, there needs to be a balance between story and humor. Both are aspects of writing used to provide interest to your audience. If you write the same as everyone else, noone will be interested. (and for those who say they are writing for themselves, you know it's not true. I have actively written for myself many times before, but I still responded to feedback. I was still hurt when people didn't like what I'd created. The very fact that you are placing the comic on the interenet means that you want people to see it, and even if you don't realize it, you are subconsciously affected by other people's opinions, even if the reaction is to go against their advice.) However, there needs to be some humor. Even the most serious dramas have some humor. The audience needs a break every once in a while. It just isn't as important as some people tend to think it is.

One of the large problems with writing about humor is that there are so many different styles, and many people tend to fall into just a few categories for kinds of humor they like. As you can probably see by the reading list, I have many tastes when it comes to humor. Even so, I tend to gravitate toward wordplay, especially those shameless bad puns, dark humor, and banter. Banter being a series of really small jokes told rapidly in order to give a mmuch larger effect, or talking in a different way or with a definite rhythm that sounds humorous. (e.g. alliteration, streams of rhyming words, phonetic word associations) for a good example of this, listen to A Prairie Home Companion (really, it's free), which actually features examples of wordplay and dark humor as well. I also enjoy purposefully faulty logic, which doesn't work unless people know you're being stupid on purpose. A step down from that, I enjoy non-sequiturs, situational humor, satire, irony and some slapstick, as long as it's good slapstick. Saturday Night Live and Mad T.V. do not have good slapstick. After that, it's kind of hit and miss whether or not I will like it.

The point is, humor differs from person to person. There is no joke that will make everyone laugh. Humor is culturally defined. It's personally defined. It's intellectually defined. It's defined by experience. Whenever you put a joke in a webcomic, you run the risk of people not getting it, or getting it, but not thinking it's funny. The best thing to do to appeal to the widest audience is to support your humor with something else that's good; whether it be great story, strong characters, or good art. It's very rare for a comic that focuses purely on humor to be good. Of course, some people would disagree with me on that.

However, I do feel that humor is important within a strip. Even the most serious dramas, if they're good, have a little humor to release the tension. Read Shakespeare. Even in King Lear, or Hamlet there are humorous scenes. There's a reason Shakespeare is still read today. How many other writers from the Renaissance do you know?

So humor is important. It releases tension. It adds a small level of realism. It endears the audience to certain characters. It even helps with catharsis a bit. Humor if used right can be very effective.

How do you write effective humor? That's hard, but there are a few things which I think might help.

Don't rely on one joke to carry the strip. Think about having multiple related punchlines, or a long flow of jokes rather than just one joke when everything else is build-up. Have you ever seen a stand-up comedian perform? A good one, I mean? They often tell long and involved stories that are meant to build up to one huge laugh at the end. However, they don't just have the one huge laugh by itself. Sprinkled throughout the story they use a bunch of smaller laughs to keep the audience interested as well as warm them up for the huge punchline at the end. Also, if the huge punchline fails, there's a better chance everyone in the audience will have laughed at one of the smaller jokes that led up to it.

Also, jokes have a compound effect (not sure if I used the right word there). That is, a series of jokes told in succession has a better effect than those same jokes told separately. I'll discuss that in a little more detail when I review Perry Bible Fellowship later.

Don't be afraid to have jokes or humor which people might miss. It's okay too add subtle humor, obscure references, or humorous moments or dialogue that takes place in the background or partially hidden. Even if most people miss the humor, if you have enough readers someone will catch it, and will mention it to other readers who will go back, notice it, and think the comic is that much better. Think about it, if you get enough people to read your comic, that's great. If you get enough to re-read the comic, your page-views will shoot through the roof. Try to shoot for those re-reads.

Don't try to please everyone with your humor. It's impossible. On the other side, it might be good if you have the resources to ask a few people you trust whether or not they find your jokes funny, especially if you are running a humor concentration comic. It's hard to be completely objective with your own work. Who knows, your collaborator might have a joke or suggestion that you like more than what you have now.

As always, my biggest suggestion is to draw inspiration from other sources. Read. A lot. Try to figure out what works and what doesn't for you because a humor style that you don't find funny probably won't translate when you try to emulate it. I'm not suggesting you steal from people outright. That's illegal, but you can always take lessons from those who came before you. You can also read to find ideas that don't work and avoid those.

Finally, if you're having trouble with your humor, you might want to make a comic that focuses more on characters or story. One thing that's great about webcomics is the different comics don't have to stand alone, and they don't have to be funny to be read. There are many serious and semi-serious comics on my reading list. I think it's the same for most people who read webcomics. Find a style that works. That's really what's most important.

Humor is important, but it's not as important as some people think it is. As with all tools of writing it needs to be used effectively in order to have a positive impact on the audience. Sometimes the way to have effective humor is to use it sparingly. Humor is a small aspect of webcomics writing and should not overpower the overall experience.

Built for Comfort

2006-03-14T17:00:00.000-08:00

(All images from Built for Comfort by Jamie McGarry. Click on the images to see them within the context of the website.)

I'd like to congratulate Built for Comfort for coming to the end of its run after 100 comics. This makes it a nice short read for.. Wait a minute. Forget I said that.

Built for Comfort is a humor comic which soon starts to focus on story that uses the author and his friends as characters. I'm not sure how closely this follows real life. It looks like the author makes no effort whatsoever to bring in elements of his own life, preferring instead to write fanciful stories about real people. It's actually a pretty decent comic.

The comic itself seems to be the followup of a previous comic called Lunch-Break Toons. However, you don't have to know much, or anything at all about that comic to get this one (if that makes sense). I was able to understand everything in the comic well enough without having any knowledge of what happened before.

The humor in the comic is kind of hit and miss for me. There are a few jokes which I got but didn't really find funny. There were also a few times I laughed out loud. For me, the humor seems to work best when McGarry starts to go toward the absurd. Other jokes that work are ones where the characters say something stupid, but it takes a beat for it to sink in.

The characters are okay. They're different enough to have their own personalities, and not so distracting that they take away from their surroundings. They seem to be consistent enough as well, although it's hard for me to believe it sometimes when the author insists his characters are not exaggerations of their real life counterparts.

The stories are interesting. The comic takes a while to find it's feet, and it gets a lot better as you make your way through the archve and story and humor start becoming more balanced. That could just be my preferences talking, though. McGarry tends to write stories that require a little suspension of belief, or maybe a lot. He also seems to rely on coincidence and last minute saves a little too often. Sometimes they look like they may be for humorous effect, but that might be something to watch out for.

Built for Comfort is a good comic. It could be better in a few spots, but it's worth reading.

And Stu Passes, In Much the Same Way as Mercutio, Except Without the Cursing

2006-02-26T10:00:00.000-08:00

(Picture from Sluggy Freelance. Click on the picture to see it within the context of the website.)

It seems that "Oceans Unmoving," Pete Abrams try at epic storytelling, is finally winding down. It was a long haul, and many people didn't like it, but it wasn't without its good points.

If you could ignore for a little bit the fact that the only regular from the Sluggyverse in that story was Bun Bun, what you had was a strong story with many twists and some pretty good character development as well.

I mean, to see Calix move from being a naive islander to vengeful first mate of the Bloody Bun to a sort of romantic lead to revolutionary to a man in his own right. All his changes made since. He was forced to change his outlook because of Bun Bun, and because of the situation around him, yet he still kept some of his core personality throughout the entire storyline.

Kada has changed a lot too over the course of the story. She's lost a little bit of her cockiness, and gained a little bit of maturity as well. Even the greys have evolved, changing from pure comic relief to characters with personality, and the caribs, well, the less said about the caribs the better. They're kind of like the Jar Jar Binks of this storyline.

However, I will say that Stu's death is a fitting death indeed. (Did I mention there would be spoilers in this review? Well, too late to warn you now.) As a purely humorous character who never lies even if it would probably be in his best interest to do so, he ends it all by telling a lie, and a pretty big one at that. Yes, this one got a laugh out of me. It's just so wrong and so unexpected. Makes for a good end to an okay character.

I'm going to put Sluggy Freelance in my top 5. Hopefully Abrams lives up to that in his next storyline.

F. A. Q.

2006-02-24T17:30:00.000-08:00

I think it's time, even though nobody's really asked me any questions, to put up a F. A. Q. Why? Well, because it's nice sometimes to be able to define oneself, and what this site is about. That and it helps fill the time between writing reviews. Let's start.

1. Who the [insert expletive here] are you?

Thanks for asking.

I'm Andrew Araki (pronouced "a rock key"). No I don't draw a comic, nor do I have any natural artistic talent to speak of. I'm a music major. I read comics in what little free time I have.

I also like being a critic, which is why I started this site. I was of course inspired by Eric Burns, but the real reason I thought starting this site was feasible was because of a blog called The Living Comic (which hasn't updated in a while (that proves I have longevity, people)). What I liked about The Living Comic was the fact that he didn't write comics, and didn't much seem to be part of the community, yet he still got noticed because his writing was good.

I didn't really expect to make much of an impact on the webcomics community. I just like writing in any form, and I decided to start this blog for fun. I was planning on once I had enough posts and I felt I was good enough to start commenting on other blogs to get noticed. That plan didn't quite go the way I thought it would, since Phil Kahn linked to me before I even considered making myself noticed. That led to a soon forgotten link on Comixpedia, and here I am today. I never expected to get as far into the community as I have, so I'm definitely satisfied with that.

2. What's this site about?

Comics Rock is a website about webcomics. I mostly focus on reviews, with Now That It's Finished Reviews getting first priority. I also review comics still running by request and on a whim. I also discuss comics theory every once in a while. The comics theory essays are more to give the audience a feel for my taste than to say what should and shouldn't be in a webcomic. Every once in a while during the lull between posts, I will do a comic one-shot, where I pick one comic, post the picture on my site, and talk about it as much as I feel it needs talking about.

3. Why did you choose a stupid name like "Comics Rock?"

Who says it's stupid? I understand that the name isn't a very searchable name. Put "comics rock" into google and by the third page you might find something that references my site. (Apparently, however, I'm the only Andrew Araki in the world.) I wasn't really thinking about that when I chose the name. Truth is, the name's a triple meaning. Really.

First meaning is the obvious "comics rock" in that comics are awesome.

Second there are quite a few cities or landmarks that have the word "rock" in their name. In that sense "comics rock" is a place that has something to do with comics. That's why the subtitle says what it says.

Finally, my nickname in high school, which I still go by sometimes today, was "Rock." The reason I was nicknamed that way has to do with my last name (see pronunciation in first question). So I can say, "My name's Rock and I review comics. I'm Comics Rock." It's a silly thing, I know, but I think it's cool.

4. Why don't you review art?

Because I'm not an artist.

Really, there's just too much about art and drawing that I don't know about. Cross-hatching, anatomy, brush strokes, perspective, whatever. I can't tell if art's good by objective standards, so I just don't try. There are enough blogs out there that pay good attention to art that I don't have to. Personally, as long as I can tell what's happening, I don't care. Pick your own style and stick with it.

5. How do I get on your top 5?

Simple. Impress me.

If I see a comic that's worth talking about because it's very good or a storyline turns out to be more than I thought it would, that comic goes into my top 5. The top 5 works on a rotation system, so a comic remains on the top 5 until five other comics have received that honor at which point it gets taken off.

6. How can I remain on your top 5?

Simple. Impress me twice.

A comic won't go through more than two rotations on the top 5. After that I'll take it off to give another comic a chance.

I also tend to avoid talking about a comic multiple times within a short period, so the second comic actually has to be a little better than the first to stay on.

If that happens I give the comic a buffer.

A buffer is defined as a substance which resists change (basically (it's actually a little more complicated than that).

What happens when a comic gets a buffer is it moves back down to the end of the top 5 and starts the rotation all over again.

Because of that it will remain in the top 5 longer.

7. Why aren't you reading [insert comic here]? It's awesome.

Well there could be many reasons.

I might not have heard of it, or I might have heard of it, but wasn't interested. A good way to get me to read a comic is to request a review. That's almost guaranteed to put me in an archive crawl.

I might have read it, but didn't like it. Even though I have varied tastes, I don't like everything. Somtimes you'll just have to accept that I don't like everything you do.

It might be too short. If I can't get a good feel for a comic, I'll usually wait until I can, then decide whether I like it or not. The shorter a comic is, the harder it is to get a feel for it. I might like it once the archive bulks up a bit, but for now I'm not sure.

That's all the questions I have for now. I'm going to be posting the permanent link for this post in the sidebar. If anyone else has any other questions, put them in the comments.

You Can Never Go Wrong with a Futurama Reference

2006-02-19T10:35:00.001-08:00

(Picture from Anywhere But Here by Jason Siebels. Click on the picture to see it within the context of the website.)

I've been meaning to update my top 5 for a while. Even though quite a few good strips come out during this lull, I was either uninspired to write or too wrapped up in something else to be able to do so.

Luckily I found this strip.

Anywhere But Here is an amazing comic. Jason Siebel is able to provide enough hope for the relationship between the one guy (who hasn't been named yet) and Chris while at the same time keeping the tension really high. Near the beginning they had a really rocky on-again, off-again relationship, mostly because of misunderstandings. Now they still don't quite understand each other, but they have stabilized, or so I thought.

So now the one thing that was the biggest causes of these tensions is coming out, the sexual frustration.

The Dude (as he is so called) has been driving Chris crazy by turning down her advances again and again (among other things, like forgetting to call). Now it seems he can't wait any longer.

I'm not sure how Chris is going to react to this. She just barely got used to the idea that he doesn't want to have sex with her until the time is right. This unexpected switch may be too much for her, or she may go along with it and it will be an absolutely amazing experience (or not).

Either way, this is a pretty hilarious strip. The buildup to lust escaping is quite good.

Top 5.

Updates and such.

2006-02-17T06:54:00.000-08:00

I just got done with an absolutely huge archive crawl which started last year. I read every comic that is on the Waiting List. This means that there are a few new comics in my reading list. Check it out. If you have trouble finding them, they are

Anywhere But Here

Darken

Faux Pas

Misfile

Penny and Aggie

and

Zap!

I will start reading the archives to Built for Comfort this weekend so I can review it. After that, I think I'll read Perry Bible Fellowship so I can write a little bit of a tongue-in-cheek review about that. After that, I'll decide when I get there.

Review: 8 1/2 by Eleven

2006-02-02T22:34:00.000-08:00

(All pictures from 8 1/2 by Eleven by Lucas Teodoro da Silva. Click on the pictures to see them within the context of the website.)

Since the author himself requested this review, I'm going to write it as if I'm adressing him rather than a reader that may or may not be interested in the comic. Hopefully everyone else will come out with something too.

Now, I know you want to make your comic as good as it can be, or at least better than it is now. Otherwise you wouldn't have asked for a review, so be warned. I'm going to be focusing more on what needs improving than what's good. I ask that you not take offense and view it as the constructive criticism I'm trying to make it. Thank you.

There's quite a bit of potential in the strip, or at least there's potential for you to become a good writer. You seem to know how to set up a good arc. Personally I think you could afford to go a little slower, but there could very well be people who will argue the other way. The premise, while not being the best premise in the world is a workable one, and if used right should give you lots of material. You decided to set the comic in a place you're familiar with, which is a good choice, and you obviously have a good feel of the area (though I haven't been there myself).

The characters need work, though. I don't know what it is, I just don't feel them. You seem to have their basic shell, but not their essense. I can't help you farther than that, but you might want to try to dig with your characters a little bit.

The one thing I would work on fixing the most, however, is the dialogue. The dialogue seems to be the weakest point of the strip. Now, I know the hardest part of writing is writing good dialogue, or making sure the rhythm works. How much you improve on this depends on how much work you're willing to put into it. A few pointers, though.

First, you don't need a joke in every strip when you're writing a story driven webcomic. There were a few times while reading the strip where you set up a mood nicely, but ruined it by trying to force humor in. If the moment is fighting against the joke, don't put it in. I mean, Randy Milholland of Something Positive is known for having a dark sense of humor, but when the moment is intense or heartfelt, he suppresses the humor, or ditches it altogether. He knows when it will or won't work. You have to decide that for yourself.

When I was reading through your strip, I was constantly reminded of Scary Go-Roun d. You have the same sort of non-sequitur/free association style of writing dialogue as well as a penchant for inventing English. I don't know if that was on purpose or not, but if you're going to imitate the style of another person in a public setting, make sure you can do it better than they can. If you in any way invite comparisons, people will compare. However, you can look at someone else's style, pick what you like and make your own. That has been done successfully by many artists.

So what can you do to improve? Read. A lot. And read critically. Go through the archives and write down what you like and dislike about the strips you are reading (focusing on dialogue of course). Read those two strips I suggested up there. Also read Dominic Deegan for ideas on how to use bad puns in your work. Read Queen of Wands or Questionable Content for silly dialogue based in reality. Read Mixed Myth. Robin Meyer also has a humor driven story strip that every once in a while sacrifices humor so the story can be told. Read strips that you don't like as much and try to figure out why you don't like them. Like any movies? Read their scripts. Find out what you like and don't like about them. Movies and comics are closely related. Above all, keep writing and don't stop assessing your work critically. Hope that helps. Good luck.

I just wanted to say

2006-01-29T22:34:00.000-08:00

http://www.comixpedia.org/index.php/List_of_Webcomic_Blogs

That's pretty awesome.

The next step would be having articles devoted to each and every one of these people (or, you know, adding more detail on that page. Some of the descriptions are rather lacking in content.)

Just finished reading the archives of 8 1/2 by Eleven. School's starting to pick up, though. I'll make every effort to work on the review when I can.

Alien Furries, Implied Nudity, and Sexual Humor

2006-01-23T19:54:00.000-08:00

(All pictures from Our Home Planet by GD. Click on them to see them within the context of the website. (warning, this site might not be for sensitive viewers. See the title of this post to know what you're in for. The comic has tons of all three.)

Now, you may be wondering why I would choose this particular comic to review. Well, I wanted a a comic that hasn't been reviewed that much and Our Home Planet seems to be pretty much unknown in the circles I hang out in. Where did I find it? I'm not sure. I think it was a review, actually, but a quick search on Google doesn't bring it up so I can't verify it. Also, I wanted to develop my reviewing style, and this is a good one for doing that since I classify it as a "not too good, not too bad" comic.

But anyways, the comic.

Our Home Planet is a humor comic with a story attached to it. The humor is mostly situational and character humor. Most of the jokes have something to do with sex. As for whether or not the humor is good, it depends on your tastes. Personally it was hit and miss for me. There were comics where I got the joke but didn't find it funny and others which I thought were rather good. This may turn out different for other people.

Even though the comic is rather humorous, there are very few hard punchlines. It consists mostly of soft humor, or humor where you aren't necessarily laughing at a specific line or action, but rather at the situation as a whole. Comics that end on a punchline are even more rare. Many end one panel or line after what can be a considered a true punchline.

The comic is a mix between regular comic updates and one panel by itself. Usually these single panel comics are without dialogue and seem to be to try to catch a moment in time. It's an interesting way of doing things. None of the single shots really add much to the story, but they don't really seem to take away either.

The story itself is rather interesting. Rika and Mai are enjoying a massage when they find out their masseuses are a pair of alien space pirates named 'Dbo who want to eat them (two sisters with a rather.. interesting relationship). After they are tied up, they are rescued by Pepito, a bounty hunter. The plan to capture the aliens fails, and Pepito is left with Rika and Mai, and a need to hide from the 'Dbos. Rika and Mai offer to smuggle him away. That plan fails, too however. The 'Dbos find Rika and Mai's apartment and try to kill Pepito. However, they also fail miserably and are captured and tied up by Rika and Mai. The rest of the story continues pretty much in that vein.

There is something interesting I've noticed about the story which I kind of like, though, but to talk about it, we have to take a short history of literature lesson and cover Greek tragedy and the concept of hubris. Hubris is a sense of pride which ultimately brings the hero down. The Greek playwrights took great joy in building a hero up and then beating him down at his point. Usually the downfall is the pride itself, but sometimes it's the intervention of fate.

Our Home Planet works in much the same way. Everytime someone starts acting prideful or thinking they have the upper hand, they're brought, whether it be through fate or their own bigheadedness. Believe me, the characters in this comic have plenty of excess pride to take advantage of. It's not Greek Tragedy, but I think it's cool that a concept that old can still be applied to literature today.

So recap. Our Home Planet is good, and shows enough promise for me to hope it might get better. I don't think it's ready to go on my reading list yet, but I'm still willing to check in every once in a while.

Now That it's Finished: Checkerboard Nightmare (oldschool)

2006-01-17T17:02:00.000-08:00

(All images from Checkerboard Nightmare by Kristopher Straub. Click on the pictures to see them within the context of the website.)

So Kris Straub was able to stop making Checkerboard Nightmare strips for a full two weeks after he finished, meaning that I was most of the way through the archive crawl when I found out Chex was back. Anyway, it looks like the entire strip has been revamped and a few rules have been added, so I'm going to pretend those new strips don't exist and give Checkerboard Nightmare its proper review.

I found out about Checkerboard Nightmare through a review on Webcomics Examiner. Since I already liked 1/0 I decided to give it a try. Checkerboard does work with fourth wall breaking like 1/0, but it does so in a completely different way.

The Concept

Checkerboard Nightmare is a satire strip. Kris Straub uses his characters to provide a commentary on the state of webcomics, and later entertainment in general. As a result the characters are fully aware of their existence and have no regards for continuity. One strip they could be doing one thing, the next they could do something completely different. Despite this, there are still some full storylines and an overall arc. Also despite not following continuity, the characters themselves remain quite consistent throughout the entire story.

Also since it is a satire strip, and is based on parody of a few popular comics, there are quite a few jokes within the archive where you have to know the context to get the humor, or which aren't funny if you don't know the context. This might pose a problem to a webcomic newcomer who decides to do an archive crawl. Checkerboard Nightmare is truly for the webcomic geeks.

The Story

The official idea behind the strip is that Checkerboard Nightmare(better known as Chex) is a comic character trying to increase the popularity of his strip besides a lack of talent. He does, however, have an at least passable knowledge of basic marketing and a willingness to exploit anyone and anything he can, even to the point of stealing ideas and styles from other artists. Ultimately, however, he fails in every scheme he comes up with.

Chex has done everything from breaking the fourth wall to breaking the fabric of space/time. His schemes constantly end up putting him in court. This forces Lyle to bail him out multiple times.

The one person who Checkerboard takes the most advantage of in the strip is Dot, a more successful character who stole his look (which he in turn stole from his next-door neighbor). Chex is not one to shy away from controversy and makes many enemies, which is ultimately what leads to the end of the strip.

As for the ending, well, with so many disparate storylines, it's hard to come to a satisfying conclusion. I can't think of a better ending, but it is definitely not the high point of the strip. Still it feels like an ending, so on with the review.

The Characters

As I said before, despite a lack of continuity, the characters are surprisingly consistent. The only thing that seems to change is they get smarter or dumber in order to make a joke work. It helps that the characters are caricature more than actually characters. The two-dimensionality of the characters is maintained for the most part throughout the entire strip. Each character does grow in their own way, though.

Checkerboard Nightmare

Chex is, of course the star of the strip. He's an optimistic, opportunistic webcomics character with an idealistic stance on life and a distorted view of reality. He is also blessed with a single-mindedness that goes way beyond what would normally be healthy. Chex has no problem stealing ideas from other cartoonists, especially when the stealing of those involve as little work as possible.

Chex is one of the more static characters of the strip. In fact there are many times within the strip where he realizes he's about to develop as a character and fights against it. I think, deep down Chex realizes that he will never achieve the fame he wants, and he also knows that if he ever grows he will come to realize it and give it up. So he fights, and he goes into a rage whenever things seem futile.

Chex is a stubborn person. He is so absorbed in himself that he sometimes doesn't notice his friends. He actually laughs at their pain a few times. He has no respect for property, intellectual or material. He bases his entire personality off the trends. He's arrogant and immature. And that's why he's such a great character.

Lyle

Of course, every comedic team needs a straight man. Lyle is the straight man for Checkerboard Nightmare. He's the person the audience can relate to, and the sounding board for Chex's schemes. He is the voice of reason and the lawyer who usually saves Chex whenever he gets in trouble. In short, he's the father from "Father Knows Best."

Though I've never really seen anything from that show.

That's not to say Lyle is completely devoid of personality or humor. In fact, his sense of humor is just fine. He has a wonderful sarcastic side which shows every once in a while, and he's very creative. He has to be when he's defending Chex all the time.

Amazingly, despite being rather fed up with all his shenanigans, Lyle is quite loyal to Chex. This may be because he's part of an organization dedicated to letting stupid people take over the world, but he still sticks with him and remains a friend until the end of the strip.

Lyle does, however, have a life outside of the strip. In fact, he's one of the few characters that do. Dot used to, but she keeps losing it because of Chex. Vaporware was built by Chex and is basically programmed to stay with him. Lyle has a family outside of the strip and is able to keep them through the entire run. (It seems to be a healthy family, too, or at least a relatively healthy family.)

Vaporware

A robot built by Checkerboard Nightmare himself with one goal: Come up with new and interesting ways to choke Lyle Zebulon. At least, that was his goal at first.

Vaporware is pretty much your stereotypical robot. Lacking emotions, sometimes trying to seem like he has some, bent on destroying humanity and running his robot minions. You know, typical stuff. He's also bitter because he feels like he's stuck in that niche, and doesn't like it, although he still enjoys choking Lyle every chance he gets (although, deep down, I think he actually cares about him (it's like those elementary school romances)).

Like Lyle, he serves as a source of sarcasm and cynicism within the strip. However, he tends to be a little more cruel than Lyle is. However, since he was built by Chex, there are many times where he's forced to do things because of his programming, even if he doesn't want to. However, he is in many ways his own robot, and is fully capable of reaping the benefits whenever they present themselves.

Dot

Dot is Chex's competition and friend. She's also the person who Chex screws over the most in his schemes.

Dot is your typical male-fantasy female comic character, submissive and kind to a fault. (that's what Straub says, at least) While she has sued Chex more times than I want to count, she's always willing to drop the charges, and even hope that somehow Chex will learn his lesson, which, of course, he doesn't, but it doesn't hurt to hope. Does it?

However, even though Dot is pretty much the only female character in the comic, she is not a romantic interest. Chex is too caught up in himself to really have a true romantic relationship (although he did try once) and Dot is only attracted to anthropomorphic animal characters, mainly cats, like Schrodinger.

However, Dot, unlike all the other secondary characters, still maintains a sense of naivety, which of course causes her to be proven wrong with almost every assumption she makes. She thinks her audience will accept her for who she is, but once they find out she dates a cat they throw her out. She thinks Chex will change and he keeps finding new ways to prove her wrong. She thinks there is still good in the world she lives in, and that there is good in Chex. Who knows, she might be right on that one. It's nice to have a chracter that's optimistic, but not suicidally optimistic (like Chex is), though.

Winona Ryder

Okay, Winona's not a true character in the comic, but you sure hear about her all the time. Chex has what I would call an unhealthy obsession with her, as evidenced by the comic that picture came from. She does turn out to be a deity at the end, though. I just thought it would be cool to have a gag character in there.

The Wrap up

You can't deny Checkerboard Nightmare's place in webcomics history, nor can you deny the impact Kris Straub is still having on webcomics today. This is a person with his foot firmly within the community. He's good friends with most of the major names, and I'm sure some of those people look up to him. Checkerboard Nightmare is just part of the influence he had, and even though there are many jokes that need context there's enough humor in there for it to be a fun read even if you don't get all the references. To tell you the truth, I don't get all of them either. I still like the comic, though.

Sorry about taking so long to write this. Writers block just hit me hard. The way I write, whenever I get writers block, it's like a wall comes crashing down right in front of me, and I can't get anything finished. Ideas don't come. Luckily when I'm inspired I tend to write a lot so it evens out.

You'd think these thing would get easier as I write more of them, but no. They're getting harder. I could use a break. I'm going to start work on my next review now. I don't know if I'm completely satisfied with this one, but it's done and I've said all I want to. Moving on.

Updates (because I'm not dead)

2006-01-02T23:34:00.000-08:00

I admit I have been slacking. I had intended to finish my review for Checkerboard Nightmare before winter break. Obviously, I failed. Miserably. The good news there is I'm currently doing character synopsies, so I'm more than half way finished. I'm going to start with that again very soon.

After Checkerboard Nighmare I have a review of Our Home Planet to write, followed by 8 1/2 by Eleven, since it was requested by the author, followed by in whatever order.

Built for Comfort

Coffee Acheivers

Sacred Pie, and

Sam and Fuzzy

I might provide links later if I feel like it.

Also once I get through the long archives crawl, I'll update my reading list. There are a few comics I haven't been reading before that I am reading now.

William G's blog is of the link list since he's no longers reviewing comics. No offense to William G himself.

Also on the agenda: Finish compositions for my recital in Spring 2007. Get back to writing for my movie review sites (yes, they're both fully written by me). School work. Practice for Phantom Regiment. Eat. Sleep. Other projects that I have set aside, since I intend to finish them all.

I might announce some of these projects on here because they may or may not be comic related. However, I'll only do that when I finish them.

You know, this payoff is almost worth the entire arc

2005-12-12T16:13:00.001-08:00

(picture from Jack. Click on the picture to see it within the context of the website. (Sensitive readers should not venture far from the links I provide in the column.))

I haven't been digging Jack recnetly for some reason. It just seemed lackluster to me, even though it features two characters I like a lot; Tedd and Dr. Sullivan.

I think one of the large problems here is the lack of moral conflict within the storyarc. There have been no large revelations. Mostly it's just been fighting and carnage. They're fighting aliens. Yay.

Then this strip comes along. They're all dead anyway, and a little humor is injected into the strip. Of course, to get this, you need to do a little bit of archive crawling. Such as the storylines here and here. The first is more pertinent, if you want to know. (Both stories should be relatively safe in terms of content, too.)

It's not top 5 worthy, but it is noteworthy.

(I'm actually working on a couple reviews right now. Expect them whenever as always. They will be finished when I'm satisfied. I also would like to build up a queue if possible. Please give suggestions. They can be your own comic, a comic you are considering, or one your like. It can be a comic in the reader list, the waiting list or neither. I'm not overloaded for comics yet. Suggest away.)

Check it out.

2005-12-06T16:27:00.000-08:00

I found an early experiment for trying to fuse music with comics here. Enjoy.

Cheesecake. Of Justice.

2005-12-04T13:02:00.000-08:00

(Picture from Angels 2200. Click on the picture to see it within the context of the website.)

This comic's actually pretty big if you've been reading Angels 2200 recently. It marks the return of humor for it's own sake to the comic. That doesn't mean there wasn't humor before, it's just that the humor was being used in conjunction with something more serious.

Over the past few months, the squad has been slowly falling apart. It was really starting to get nasty. Finally, they've gotten together and talked about it. I was expecting a very emotional moment, and then this happens.

Plus if you read the comic, you know the word cheesecake has a deeper meaning than just a healthy desert platter. (Although not much deeper than that) That's why Whiskey was so interested when it was said.

If you want to know my favorite part of the strip, though it's that bulliten board in the first panel. It just sets the mood so well.

Pointillism in Comic Form

2005-11-30T02:28:00.000-08:00

(Image from Pixel. Click on the picture to see it within the context of the website.)

Pixel is one of those great comics where a concept which seems like it would limit the author's ability actually serves as a big creative springboard. Really this comic is just about a bunch of dots, but the writing is so good you don't care.

Today's comic uses one of my favorite kinds of humor: the paradox, where a series of events builds to a conclusion that couldn't possibly be right. The idea that a civilization would write something in a language that doesn't exist yet is impossible. The fact that they would point this out in what they've written is outright ridiculous. It's like that old joke.

"Do you speak any English at all?"

"..No."

Top 5.

Sometimes the smallest thing can ruin a strip

2005-11-14T03:24:00.000-08:00

First news. After giving a few minutes thought to it, I decided there was no reason not to review Checkerboard Nightmare. That review will go up when I finish it.

But let's talk about newsposts for a bit.

There are many comics out there that I don't read because they are passable in quality, but the newsposts turn me off. Chugworth Academy is one such comic. I find the things he says in his posts to be inane, which makes me reflect on his talent as a comic artist/writer and the overall quality of the comic itself. The newspost is where a writer gets to state his mind. It's where you get to show what kind of person you are. You don't have to be the greatest writer ever, but at least have something that adds to the experience, or don't have a newspost at all. That works just as well.

There are a few things that turn me off in newsposts, and I've dropped many comics because of them.

1. Constantly complaining about the quality of the of your work

I know that some comic artists are using their comic to explore. I know that there are a lot of amateurs. I know that there are many times where you feel that you could have done better. Please don't mention it in the newspost, or if you must, try to refrain from saying flat out that your work sucks. You are trying to sell your comic, and you can't do that when you keep pointing out what's wrong with it. If you keep saying negative things about your comic, readers will think them as well.

You can: Mention that you wanted to do something but couldn't figure out how, especially if the reader can tell you're using that experience to improve your later work.

Pick a least favorite panel and explain why you don't like it. Then we can tell that you're not just bashing the comic but critiquing your own artwork. This seems a little bit less negative.

2. Constantly apologizing for missed updates.

In the past I wasn't that forgiving about missed updates. I've calmed down a bit about it now, and I'll take what I can get when it comes. I still don't like reading a comic where it seems every comic comes late. It looks unprofessional, and it looks like you don't care, since you obviously recognize the problem, but you do nothing to fix it. If you can't make updates, change the schedule until you can, or drop the schedule. I'd rather know updates will be sporadic than be promised updates and not have them delivered. Try finding another way to apologize to fans that doesn't make the apology permanent.

3. Never talking about the comic.

I don't read newsposts to hear about what games you got. I want insight toward the author as pertains to the comic. It doesn't have to be a lot, just say something that relates directly to the comic every once in a while. I'm perfectly fine with the newsposts at Questionable Content. Notice he only mentions the comic briefly before talking about news, but he still mentions the comic. If you aren't going to talk about the comic in your newsposts, then don't connect newsposts to individual comics. Give them their own space.

It felt good to say that. I needed to rant. Remeber, newsposts say something about they author they also show your professionalism. Keep that in mind while writing them.

All things

2005-11-11T06:53:00.000-08:00

Looks like Checkerboard Nightmare has come to an end I'm not sure, yet if I will give it the full review. It's not really a story comic even though it has story elements. I also don't know if I can find enough to give the full review. I'll let you know when I decide.

Toga! Toga!

2005-11-04T22:35:00.000-08:00

(picture from El Goonish Shive. Click on the picture to see it within the context of the website.)

I think a talk about this party is long overdue.

When Grace's birthday party was first proposed, I didn't think much of it. Seemed like a way for El Goonish Shive to go back to its roots, in a way. Kind of a nostalgic effect. Also there was a huge build up to the actual event that just got boring after a while.

I must say, though, now that the party has started I'm starting to like it.

The problem with trying to do a comic in an older style, especially in a comic that has evolved so much as this one, is that the characters have changed. They no longer can act like they used to. Elliot in particular was much different at the beginning of the run than now.

This works. It's a nice whimsical sequence of events after the dark story that came before it, and we still have character development. What I thought was a throwaway story has turned into an important plot point. Good job.

Top 5? Why not.

Do I think too much?

2005-10-24T23:56:00.000-07:00

Can’t have a commentary site without pretension

Many people have commented on the advantages of the web, whether it be artistic freedom, or certain ideas that wouldn’t work on the printed page (such as Scott McCloud’s "infinite canvas"). For the most part, people deigned not to follow these ideas, mostly because, while they were good ideas, they just weren’t practical, or didn’t work as well as people thought they would.

While there were some good comics out there, most were highly experimental, confusing, hard to navigate, and/or nice to look at, but lacking in substance. Also many of them were short, self-contained comics that got to the end of their story and stopped. Most serial artists continued with their four panel layouts and their long form comics because those work.

Then Aeire came along.

Now, I mention Queen of Wands for two reasons. One: Aeire used the infinite canvas in a way that supported her story, and also did it in a way that increased the effect of the writing. Two: She was mentioned positively for doing so multiple times by Eric Burns. There may have been other writers that got the infinite canvas to work, but I don’t know of any comics that got more positive attention than Queen of Wands. Might be because I came in so late. (I actually think Damonk had the best use of infinite canvas of all the expanded story comics I’ve seen.)
Anyway, many of the commentary sites I’ve read have said something about innovation in webcomics. Now it’s my turn.

Before I begin, I should say a few things to put this in perspective.

I am writing this right now on September 11th 2005. The reason that it has taken so long to go up is because I wanted to wait until I had readers who would comment on my site. That being said, it might be out of date.

I am not trying to be the next Scott McCloud. The ideas I put forth are going to be defined as semi-serious. Basically I’m just saying "what if?" I think they might be neat ideas, but I’m not saying anyone should do them, or even that they would improve comic art as a whole. When I say them, it might seem like that, though.

I am not, nor do I ever intend to be a webcomic artist. I am merely a fan. I am, however, an artist. I am a musician. I am learning to write art music. I think I have some understanding of how art works. My views on art and comics must also be fully understood. I am going to use many examples from music, and I might use some terms and people that you haven’t heard of. If you would like to know what some of these things are, I will gladly answer any questions in the comment section, and I will not think that anyone is stupid for asking, unless they start asking questions for the sole purpose of annoying me. Then you might have some trouble. Otherwise, it’s fine. Ask away.

As for innovation, I support it full-heartedly. As an artist and a writer, I know that if it weren’t for people coming up with new ideas, art would stagnate. To be a truly great creative mind, you have to write something that is your own, that noone else could write. My piano teacher once made the analogy "If you write a really great piece and it sounds exactly like Beethoven’s 5th, people aren’t going to want to listen to it. They already have Beethoven’s 5th." It’s the same with all forms of art.

I will say, however, that the innovators in different forms of art aren’t usually the ones that write good works. These are usually their successors. Many great artists are people that took whatever everyone else was doing and did it better. Shakespeare did not do anything original. Neither did Bach, Haydn, or Mozart. They wrote great works, but they all had someone before them who wrote good works in their style and proved it could be done.

Using a more recent example, Schoenberg invented many new ideas in music, including serialism and sprechstimme. However, I don’t listen to his pieces. I much prefer Alban Berg, who was a student of Schoenberg and took his ideas to make them work. John Cage is also very important, experimenting with aleatoric music and such, and he made it work, but John Cage’s works are only interesting if you know the theory behind them (and sometimes even then they’re not that good) George Crumb, Penderecki, and Lutoslowski made pieces I can actually listen to and enjoy. Terry Riley started the minimalist movement with In C, which is hard to listen to, mostly because it usually goes on for so long. However, he paved the way for John Adams and Phillip Glass.

The reason for this is simple. Most innovators and experimenters ask the questions, "will this work?" and "what can I do with this?" That is the very essence of experimentation. Most artists, once the form has been established, however, ask the question "How can I make this great?" Their pieces tend to be better because they are worried more about quality; they have ideas that would work in the style rather than trying to make the style work for them, and they learn from their predecessors what does and does not work.

Innovation is important, especially when art moves to a new medium. The new medium we have for all art right now is computers. Music is using computers to make sounds that can’t be made by acoustic instruments. People are drawing and writing on computers, and they’re using this thing called the internet to distribute their art.

Do I want to be an innovator? No. We’ve had enough innovation in the last century to last a while. I want to be one of the people to take these new ideas and prove that they can be used to make something just as good or better than the old ideas, and they can be used in conjunction with the old ideas as well. It seems to me that many other artists are taking this view as well.
One thing I like about the twentieth century is the merging of different art mediums. Many artists are blurring the lines between the different forms, genres and styles that are out there. This hasn’t happened in a long time. It used to be that there was a clear division between visual art, music, writing, dance, and theatre. The performance arts have always been closely connected, but even then there are clear divisions. Opera is music. Ballet is a dance. Broadway musical is theatre.

However, the lines are not that simple nowadays. (I could argue about the opera/musical distinction forever, but I will not) There are many musical pieces that require performers to act. Poetry, which before was only writing, is again becoming a performance art, and sometimes a visual art as well. Music has also been fused with pictures to add to the experience. One of the big changes that brought this about was the invention of motion pictures, which fused visual art, writing, and performance art into one cohesive unit.

Another form that fused two different categories was comics. These also started becoming popular sometime in the twentieth century (although technically they were around much longer). Comics joined visual art and writing together in a way that they complemented each other and increased the effect through combining the two.

This brings us to comic theory, and though I am not a creator, I do think some basic guidelines would help.

A comic’s main purpose is to tell a story. Anything that takes away from the story should not be used. Anything that might add to the story should be considered. Even joke comics like Perry Bible Fellowship have stories. The arc is just tighter than comics where the story spans over several strips. Comics are writing. This needs to be remembered. If the art’s good, but the story is lost, then the comic doesn’t work.

Art and writing should complement each other. This is pretty obvious. That doesn’t mean that the art needs to be good, or that the writing does either (it’s harder to get away with bad writing, though). It means that the whole should have at least as much effect as the individual parts. If the art and the writing are incongruous, the story falls apart.

It is the goal of every artistic endeavor to have its audience react. The audience is decided by the creator. It can be the creator itself, or a niche group. For the purposes of this essay, we’ll define the audience as "a group of people who read webcomics." So the final phrase is "It is the goal of every webcomic to have a group of people who read webcomics react." After telling the story, this is the second-most important goal. How they react is not always important. That they do react is.

These rules, I believe are three that can never be broken successfully. Now for those which can, even though it’s hard.

Occam’s razor can be applied to art as well. If there are two ways to say the exact same thing, then the simpler way will be the most effective. Now by simple, I don’t mean visual simplicity, I mean simple in terms of audience reaction. The fewer distractions there are, the better the audience will respond. This means the art can be quite complex, but it should be laid out simply. This is why many comics work. It is a simple design, and the simplest that can effectively tell the story.

So any innovations to the comic form must not affect the simplicity. Actually, they should make the comic simpler, and easier to understand. If a new technique does nothing but add to the complexity of the work, it is not an effective technique.

There are many comics on the web right now that are really complex and also impossible to understand. Some require you to click, and where you click decides the order of the story that is told. While that is effective in its own way, it doesn’t tell the story as well as it could.
The more control the artist has, the better his idea will come out (note, this is a universal he, meaning it is a pronoun that includes the female half of the population as well). Interactive works are appearing in all different mediums. The more interactive the work is, though, the more chance the audience will stray from the artist’s original intention. Nowadays in most music, the composer will dictate, the dynamics, tempo, phrase markings, articulation, playing style, tone, emotion, and anything else he can think of in his music. This is because for the piece to come out right, these need to be controlled. In every medium, the artist should try to control as much as possible, or at least what he believes is important. The audience is there to go on a ride, not to be the driver.

That out of the way, let’s get to some innovations.

I’m surprised how few comics take advantage of time to tell their story. I’m not talking about animation, because animations don’t count as comics. Artists can control the speed that their audience reads the strip, though, whether it be through using flash to separate the panels, or even controlling what loads when. One of the main advantages of online comics is time is actually a factor which can be taken advantage of for effect. See how these comics use time to their advantage to have a better effect on what their reader sees.

Flatwood.

Jack. (Twist, twist, twist) (Note: Dave Hopkins puts the words TTFN at the end of every story. This is a three strip short. To get to the strip I’m talking about, read the previous two. Warning: mature themes)

Both of these comics fit within the standard comic format, but they have taken advantage of both time and space to create a larger effect. The Flatwood strip uses a gradual reveal to control the pace in which the audience reads the strip. The Jack strip uses moving and changing panels to create a chaotic effect. Both work quite well.

I’m not talking about individual strips, though. I’m talking about archive reading.

If an artist can control time, then the best way to do so would be to control the load time of each strip, or only those strips which are important. It will have a larger impact on readers that are going through the archive for the first time, which is the first thing I do whenever I start reading a new comic. Since many comics are serial in nature, they would be able to take great effect of it using the time between strips to help the mood. Also as an artist, I know how fun it is to mess with your audience.

Say you have a strip which ends in a cliff-hanger. You can make the next strip take longer to load to increase the suspense, or if you have a full-color eye candy strip in a normally black and white comic, you can make it so that it jumps to that page the second the reader clicks the next button, increasing the shock of the reader and through that, the effect.

By controlling the time between strips, you are also controlling the pace the reader goes through the strips. Say that you have a serious section with a lot of information you want the reader to digest. Lengthen the time between strips will force the reader to read slower, and to think about the strips while reading it. If you feel are better when they are sped through, you can shorten the time, and hopefully the reader will follow along. The subconscious is an interesting thing. If something changes pace, person’s natural tendency is to change their pace along with it. You can get someone’s heart to beat faster by playing music and slowly changing the tempo so that it’s not noticeable to us. If many strips in a row are slow, the reader will slow down with them. If they are fast, the reader will speed up.

Well, it seems like a good idea to me.

I’m not sure if any comic artists do this yet. I know some flash comics control the time between panels, and it’s kind of the same idea as that, but just using normal comics. I'm not sure if we have or can make the technology to do that either. I am not technologically gifted nor do I pretend to be. Two comics in particular where I think this would work really well are Dominic Deegan and College Roomies From Hell. (Dominic Deegan because of the multitude of cliffhangers and the ebb and flow of high and low points, and College Roomies because we know Maritza is evil, and I think she’d like doing something like that).

That’s basically all the ideas I have for the moment. That entire essay was for the last three paragraphs. How do you like that?

Angels 2200 Review

2005-10-19T21:15:00.000-07:00

(All pictures from Angels 2200 by Nathaniel Savoi and Peter Haynes. Click on the images to see them within the context of the website (or as close as I can get).)

Apparently "soon" means "in a few weeks." Sorry about that. A lot of things were happening and school took priority over my online activities, but I'm back now, and hopefully for a while.

I started reading Angels 2200 cause I saw it on a list, and I think the description said something about lesbians. (sometimes we do things for the basest reasons) However, while there are lesbian overtones in the strip (since pretty much every character in the strip is female), but that's a relatively small part of the comic.

I've been reading Angels 2200 for a long time, and I have considered dropping it a few times in the past, but a quick read through the archives always reminds me why I keep reading. Angels 2200 appeals to me on many different levels.

First, there's the ability to see the creator evolve. This is one of the main reasons I read webcomics, so I can see something that starts on one level and slowly grows to a much higher level. Angels does this, both with art and writing. It starts as a humor comic with a sort of a story, then turns into a story comic with some humor. The switch is done in such a way that it's not distracting.

The characters become much more fleshed out as well. At the beginning of the comic, it seemed that the only one of the main characters with any talent was Kid (a naive French girl). However, as the comic started to move along each of the characters has shown themselves to be competent in their own way, and each of them are learning to rely on their natural talents to make up for those areas in which they are weaker.

Hammer has proven to be a good leader and a great strategist. Although her plans aren't always orthodox, they are rather clever. She has been able to organize two efforts within her squad to cause mayhem on the ship and has succeeded in both missions. Later in the comic that translates to how she runs things on the field.

Loser, Bubblegum, and quiets have also both demonstrated latent talents in secondary abilities, so at the same time you see the writer grow you can see the characters grow as a team. They still have some kinky to work out, but they are a lot better than they were at the beginning.

The story moves rather slowly, giving the audience time to rest between events. Peter Haynes has also proven he's not afraid to kill a major character. Reading through the comics leading to the character's death was a particularly poignant experience.

I'm not sure what I feel about the story so far. The story is not the strongest part of the strip. The strongest part is the characters and how they interact. It's not a lackluster story by any means, I just don't feel like there's that much story in the strip.

Angels 2200 is worth reading, especially if you like the technical aspect of sci fi works. Personally, I'd give it a 7.

You know, this really is quite genius

2005-10-03T03:47:00.000-07:00

I recently read through the archives of Unfettered by Talent based off a link in this one site called Websnark. I have to say, even though Eric Burns doesn't like it, you can definitely see his talents as a writer shining through, even in the short run that the comic has.

Read through the archives, and revel in the flowery prose which gives way to humor both subtle and blatant. This is a smart comic, and one to be especially proud of. If I could do work on this level I would be satisfied, but alas, I lack the literary faculties to produce such work. Luckily, you don't have to read my webcomics. We have people like Eric Burns doing the job for us.

I think I've finally decided on a comic to give a full review. That will be coming soon.

Whoa!

2005-09-27T18:27:00.000-07:00

(Picture from Something Positive. Click on the picture to see it within the context of the website.)

Just... Just.. Whoa. Wow.

Randy has changed the context of the strip in one panel many times before. He knows how to surprise his audience. This is part of the reason I like Something Positive.

Look at this strip. Just look at it. In the previous strips we've seen Monette start making comics. She was just very innocently cutting up old comics so she can write her own. She even asked permission first.

However, in her lack of foresight she cut up some of Fred's old comics as well. Some were priceless collectibles.

After worrying about it and trying to replace them, she finally tells Fred in this comic. It looks like it's going to be just another touching ending, then you see the last panel.

I mean.. Sorry there are no words to describe it. Just read the comic.

Something Positive is going in my top five, and I'm considering giving it a buffer as well, just for this one comic.

Don't know if this should be posted here, but

2005-09-26T05:14:00.000-07:00

I'm officially old enough to drink now. For some reason this fills me with a sense of dread. Don't know why yet, nor do I really care at the moment.

I think I'm going to review a webcomic that's still in progress. I haven't decided which one yet, so anyone that wants to make a suggestion feel free. It can be a comic already on my reading list, or any comic you like for that matter. I'll consider it. If you suggest a comic that I don't read right now, be prepared for a negative review, though.

I found out a few days ago that an author of one of the comics I reviewed found my site. Robin Meyer of Mixed Myth linked me in the Comic Genesis forums this fills me with warm gooeyness.

"SHHHK"...hee hee

2005-09-22T21:35:00.000-07:00

(Comic from Better Days. Click on the picture to see it withing the context of the website (warning, not safe for kids))

Man, when I saw this comic, it had me laughing uncontrollably for about half a minute. It's just so great.

Lucy dated Randy recently, and he did a few things that she wasn't happy about. (I won't say what, since I haven't decided what rating I want this site to have yet, but you can read all about it in the archives.)

Now that she's found there are no lasting repercussions, she's decided to get back at him. This comic has been set up pretty well. There is nothing really that surprising in it plot wise, but something about it is just so perfect. I don't know.

Maybe I'm just a big fan of implied violence. I'm sure the worst Lucy's going to do is cut his hair (or try to make him wet his pants). Still... so great.

Better Days is going in my top 5. Hopefully I won't send anyone too sensitive to the site.

Now That It's Finished: Queen of Wands

2005-09-20T11:00:00.000-07:00

(All pictures from Queen of Wands by Aeire. Click on the pictures to see them within the context of the website. All pictures link to the original run.)

I hope Aeire approves.

Yes, I know that Queen of Wands is still running, but the story proper has come to its conclusion. For those of you that have never heard of a site called Websnark, or who don't read comics at all, Queen of Wands is a comic by Aeire, sort of based on her life, which ended in February 2004. During it's run, Aeire built many multifaceted characters who interacted with each other in a interesting and realistic (if at times melodramatic) way. It is also a great comic to read to see how a writer/artist changes and improves over time, since Aeire experiments with many different techniques throughout the run, from layout changes to art style to storytelling, and by reading the archives we can watch a writer grow and change over time, and finally find her own style. There are many comics which are worth reading just for that.

Queen of Wands is now rerunning all the strips with commentary. It's worth reading just to hear the writer's opinion. I highly suggest you read this, especially if you become interested after reading my article.

The Concept

As I said before, this is a 'real life' comic. It starts off as a humor strip, and to some extent retains that humor later in its run. However, Queen of Wands is more about the story than anything else, and in the story it's more about backstory as well. At least it has more backstory than most comics I read. Queen of Wands works very well as a character study, dissecting everything that makes the chracters act the way they do.

Soon after deciding to focus on the story, Aeire also changed the format of the strip, going from a typical four panel layout to floating panels with a background which serves to help the flow between panels as well as set the mood. This added interest in the visual design and also allowed more free more for the words, making space less restrictive.

Yes, Aeire is wordy. Very wordy, in fact. There are a few pages that seem to have more words than pictures, but it's engaging. The large number of words do not take away from the visual effect, and it wouldn't hurt anyone to read more.

The infamous lightning path

Anyway, another prevalent idea in Queen of Wands is the return of ideas and conversations with different meanings. (Aeire mentions this several times in her commentary, and it's kind of fun to notice them) I didn't notice them the first time, but now that I see them, it holds the comic together that much better. It kind of reminds me of a sonata in a way. Since the comic is running again with commentary, we can possibly see that as the return of the main theme with variation. Yeah, I'm stretching, but Queen of Wands is very much like a sonata. It starts with one idea, goes through a development, and ends on a different version of the beginning idea. (I'm sure Aeire will mention it, but Kestral does the same thing in the last strip that she did in the first strip: wake up her roomates because she made pancakes.)

Story

Kestral is an ex-Wiccan who lives with her two roomates, Felix and Shannon. She also works at a tech-support job and eventually part-time at a toy store. There she meets Angela. The comic chronicles the lives of these characters up to the time that Kestral moves to Boston, and no, I don't ruin the comic in any way by saying that.

The charm of the story is such that I could probably tell you everything that happened over the course of the comic and not ruin the experience for you. This is because the greatness of the story is not in the story itself, but how it's told. The characters interact with each other in a wonderful way which seems very human and interesting at the same time.

There are many times when reading this comic when I just stopped and said "I was that guy" or "I knew that person." Even at the tender age of 20, I have lived through some of these problems. This alone lends to the greatness of the work. It's very familiar, and at the same time, the situations are so over the top you just have to laugh at them, even though you lived through them yourself.

The story also features the some of the tightest crossovers out there. Queen of Wands collaborates with Something Positive multiple times. Each time it makes sense with what's going on in both comics, and it also serves to advance the plot, which many crossovers fail to do.

The Characters

I'd say the strongest point about Queen of Wands is the characters themselves. Even though the comic focuses on Kestrel, this is a large ensemble cast, and although the characters are all similar in some way, they're different enough to hold interest. They'd have to be the same to hang out so much anyway. It's much more fun to be around someone with similar likes and interests (and intelligence levels) than someone completely different from you.

One thing that separates these characters from most of the characters in other webcomics is they are complex. None of the characters are run by one personality trait. They are all able to change, and to do things that might seem out of character anywhere else. In this comic it just serves to flesh out what was already there. Noone is completely innocent. Noone is always right, or always wrong. In effect, these are humans. They make mistakes even though they're always trying to do what they feel is right.

Kestrel

Kestrel is the central character of the strip. The story follows her around, and ends with her as well. Whenever she's not in people are discussing her. (I'll probably get trouble for saying that because there's one strip where that's not true, but.. eh)

Kestrel's personality is somewhat childish, somewhat naive. She is a very intelligent woman, but she hides it behind her love for toys and children's books and her slightly selfish nature.

Because of her nature, Kestrel also attracts lots of children. This proves an annoyance to her because she doesn't like the attention children give her, or children in general for that matter. Children have a tendency of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, and of making assumptions. Kestrel can't deal with them at this stage in her life.

Kestrel is also very much a character of whims. She'll say and do certain things without thinking of the consequences, and will speak her mind without worrying how she will be perceived. She is very much in the moment and easily distracted.

Other small things: interests include: Renfaires, hentai, Square role-playing games, and cats. She also really hates dealing with stupid people and bigots, which leads to the comic below, which I'm just putting in because I like it so much.

Shannon

Shannon is Kestrel's best friend and roomate. She's also married to Felix, whom Kestrel used to date. More on that in his section.

Shannon is the more level-headed of the three roomates. That doesn't mean that she can't go along with their schemes if she wants to. She has been through a lot during her life and has come out on the other end stronger. She also has a firm grip in the so called "real world" and is the most normal character out of the cast. Some of the funniest strips, however, are the ones where Shannon gets involved in the jokes and/or shows off her weird side.

(..um, ouch on both of those, as a guy for the first one, and just on principle for the second. I've heard corsets are rather uncomfortable.)

Shannon often treats both Felix and Kestrel as a mother would treat her children. She's always there to support them and to set them right if they stray. She's also rather protective of Kestrel and does everything she can to make sure her love life doesn't get too hard. (Sometimes she takes a little too much interest in Kestrel's love life.)

Shannon sets herself apart the most just by being a good friend. She's incredibly loyal and trustworthy, and always willing to listen to The problems of both Kestrel and Felix. She can get emotional at times, but also knows how to control those emotions. Basically she's just a realy good person to know.

Felix

Felix is one of two males who appear semi-regularly in the strip. He is, of course married to Shannon and living with her and Kestrel (if the grammar there is wrong, I don't care! You know what I mean).

Felix tends to be a little thickheaded and slow. It takes him a while to get things, especially when he just woke up. He, like Kestrel tends to not think about consequences at times, and gets wrapped up in his own thoughts quite a bit, becoming oblivious to the world around him. He also is more capable of being mean than the other people in the strip, and has done many things in his lifetime just to spite someone.

During the time in which the storyline takes place, Felix is a happy person. He is also avoiding responsibility. He has recently (some time before the comic started) dyed his hair blue, and although he has a job, it's still a low end job, which he doesn't seem to have much respect for besides the fact that he gets his paycheck there.

Considering this, it's amazing how many times Felix turns out to be the voice of reason in this comic. Despite being a little immature, he is very perceptive. He also seems to be the character with the most control over his emotions. He has been in many situations where he did stupid things because he let his emotions take control of his actions and has decided not to let that happen anymore.

Like Shannon, Felix cares a lot about Kestrel. He has a different way of helping her, though; namely forcing her into social situations. This doesn't always turn out the best for Kestrel, and sometimes makes things worse. Felix is very supportive, though, and knows to let Kestrel make her own decisions when she has to.

Angela

Angela embodies cuteness. She's short and perky, and enjoys taking advantage of these facts whenever possible. She's able to explode in fits of rage (in which her hair sticks out. I don't know how she does it.) She's also bi and polyamorous, if you wanted to know. Don't know what those two words have to do with her personality, but they're there.

Angela is friends with Kestrel (and kind of in love with her) and works with her in a toy store. Since she's short, it's really easy for her to deal with the kids. She and Kestrel bond through similar personalities and quickly become very close. Angela has a unique perspective on the world. She's a little bit more of a realist than Kestrel is while at the same time being just as childish, and as controlled by her emotions.

As much as she lets certain things get in her way, Angela does seem like a genuine person, one who says what they think and doesn't try to get what she wants in a round-a-bout way, most of the time. She does have her moments of weakness, which seem to come when she's afraid of losing someone in her life. At those times she's very much like a lost child. Angela's biggest problem is she doesn't know how to express her emotions.

Indeed, one of the main sources of conflict near the end of the comic comes from that one inability. When Kestrel annouces she's going to move, Angela doesn't like it, and she can't seem to tell Kestrel why that is. I'm not sure if she ever actually succeeds, although she gets close on multiple occasions.

Angela serves as a nice foil for Kestrel. She's a lot like her, except she's a lot more confident with who she is and where she's going. Kestrel's relationship with her helps to underline her growing maturity. While Angela remains very much rooted in her childhood, Kestrel moves beyond that.

Seamus

Seamus is the catalyst for a lot of the story that takes place in Queen of Wands. He is the primary love interest for Kestrel, and on top of that he seems to have an innate ability for saying exactly the wrong thing for a given situation.

While Seamus likes Kestrel, and is indeed attracted to her in some way, he is not ready for a relationship. He is still hung up on his ex, who from what we see of her seems like a nice enough person. He often sends mixed signals to Kestrel, though, which leaves her confused.

Seamus also suffers from foot-in-mouth syndrome, which causes many problems for him and the people around him (not the least of which was a little bit of animosity between Kestrel and Angela). This could be seen as kind of bastardly, but I just think he doesn't know when to shut up. He demonstrated this many times before it became a large problem. I'm not sure how Seamus comes off in the end, but I think a lot of fans lost respect for him in the later strips.

Seamus is a little less developed than Angela, Felix, Shannon or Kestrel, but that's just because he doesn't appear as often. He doesn't seem out of place in the world and he acts like a real purpose, even though of the most basic level he just serves one function. Seamus does a good job of rounding out the cast.

As I said, all the characters are complex and multifaceted. I could talk forever about them and still not do them justice. You have to read for yourself to truly appreciate how Aeire writes people.

The Wrap-up

Queen of Wands is a rather famous strip (probably most famous for causing a series of car accidents in other webcomics after it finished), and deservedly so. By the end of the run Aeire had become a master of her own style, and it shows. The characters are very deep and the story is quite interesting.

Good points

-Strong characters

-Engaging story

-Good humor

Negatives

-Some long and involved storylines. If you don't like those, it'll be hard to read.

-Wordy

- Quite a few filler strips, although with the overall structure of the comics, they fit. Also the filler and guest comics are usually high quality.

By the power in me, Queen of Wands goes in the Now That It's Finished Shrine. Congratulations, Aeire. I can't wait for your next project, whatever it might be.

What can I say. I'm a Romantic.

2005-09-08T15:37:00.000-07:00

(Picture from College Roomies from Hell. Click on the image to see it within the context of the website.)

Just to let you know, I don't plan on updating this often again. It just happens that two very good comics came up on the same day and I just had to talk about both.

The relationship between Dave and Margaret has been a turbulent one. It started with Dave's crush on Margaret, though Margaret saw him as more of a nuisance. Margaret has switched multiple times between returning Dave's affections and turning him away, and Dave has just gone along for the ride.

On the other side of the triangle, there's Blue. Blue has liked Dave from the start, and hasn't stopped liking him even though he hated her at first. After a while, Dave finally realized he liked her back, but there are problems with this relationship too, which I won't go into because they don't really have anything to do with this strip.

So Dave recently went over to Margaret's apartment to talk to her, and Margaret again started to show affection for him. The only difference this time is that Dave turned her down, something he wasn't able to do before. Margaret is losing her hold on Dave.

That leads to this comic. Dave has called Blue up at her home. They recently had a fight over the fact that she was rich, and Blue got angry and left. Here Dave is trying to win her back, and actually succeeds in doing so without messing up too much.

The thing that really sells me with this strip is the last panel. Look at him. He was absolutely miserable a few seconds earlier. It's pouring rain outside. He broke his best friend's telephone. The love of his life is trying to play games with him and he knows it. He's being forced to pretend that he's the gay lover of his roomate, but in spite of all of that, he's happy.

College Roomies From Hell is going in my top 5

Edit: By the way, September 9th's comic does not in any way change my opinion of this one.

I think this is the first time I've ever had two posts on the same day

2005-09-08T07:34:00.000-07:00

(Image from Order of the Stick. Click on the image to see it within the context of the website.)

This comic made me laugh multiple times. First, I love the old man stereotype, the guy who likes to brag non-stop telling mostly lies, but to combine that with role playing terminology brings it to a whole new level of absurdity.

There's really nothing wrong with this comic. The joke is hilarious and is set up very well. There are multiple jokes, which make laughing even easier as the comic goes along. The layout compliments the writing very well.

I also like the fact that you can fail a listening check intentionally. That's just great.

Order of the Stick is going in my top 5.

The Now That It's Finished Shrine

2005-09-08T06:06:00.000-07:00

This is one of the main reasons I decided to make this site. There are many comics on the internet that had a definite story, and once the story was finished, the author moved on to other projects. These comics are often forgotten. That's okay, I guess, but some of the best comics out there are those where the creators were able to make the commitment to see a story through to the end. In my mind it is important that these comics are remembered as well. Also some people who are new to comics might want to see these. A completed archive might be less intimidating than a work in progress. That is what these reviews are for.

To qualify for a now that it's finished review the comic has to be one that I enjoyed and has to come to a satisfying conclusion. A satisfying conclusion is defined as one that was planned ahead of time, and which resolves all major storylines. If a comic just stops, it is not a satisfying conclusion.

This is an Archive of all the comics that I have given the Now That It's Finished treatment. Links go to the articles, not to the actual comic. However, the link to the comic will always be at the top of the article.

In my opinion finishing the story is the greatest goal a webcomic can achieve. These are some of the webcomics that have reached that goal. Congratulations.

1/0: My first review for the site. There's a reason that this was the first. 1/0 is a great comic, and a must read for anyone who like webcomics, or is curious about them.

Checkerboard Nightmare: A satire comic that ended for a few weeks before coming back, but I wrote a review for it anyway.

Mixed Myth: A fantasy parody comic. This is the review where I introduced the format I will use on all other Now That It's Finished reviews.

Queen of Wands: A real life comic that built a pretty strong following, and for good reason. Still running with commentary as of the writing of this column.

More will come later.

Now That It's Finished: Mixed Myth

2005-08-29T07:00:00.000-07:00

(All pictures from Mixed Myth by Robin Meyer. Click on the pictures to see them within the context of the website.)

I'm usually very slow to make decisions, so comics will rarely put out something to win me over near the beginning. Mixed Myth is one of the few exceptions to that rule. I was completely involved five comics in, when I read the comic to the right. It's only gotten better since then. My biggest problem with the comic as a whole was the update schedule. Sometimes it would update many days in a row, other times it would be off for a few weeks. That made it very hard to know when to check. Now that it's finished, that's not a problem anymore.

The Concept

Mixed Myth has a very interesting way of approaching metahumor without actually breaking the fourth wall. For the most part, these characters live within their own world, although this comic does have the funniest breaking of the fourth wall I've ever seen. Mixed Myth takes place in a world that is run by the laws of Cynamatiks. The more you primp and show off and basically make a fool of yourself, the more magic you have and the stronger you are. The comic does a good job of explaining it here. All people follow these laws and accept them as truth. This allows the comic to make fun of certain movie and fantasy conventions, and adds an extra level of humor to the proceedings.

There are other movie ideas and terms that show up within the comic. The next significant one is the Plot Point. Plot Points are shrines or locations usually with stained glass windows in the middle of nowhere where things tend to happen. The characters of Mixed Myth come across several Plot Points on their journey and grow to hate them. Plot Points are usually found in caves with puzzles in between the point and the entrance.

Other place where terms show up are varied. Some standard story terms have become part of the vernacular. Others are spells. Still others are shown through the actions of the characters. The great thing about this is the terms actually play a signigicance on the story and meld seamlessly with the actions of the characters. Since these kind of things are just part of the world they live in, they don't seem out of place. Some of my favorite sections of the comic are when a term appears out of nowhere in a way that makes sense with the term used.

One other thing that comes out of these ideas is the way the author makes fun of cliches. There are many conventions an audience gets tired of seeing, whether because it's unrealistic, it requires the characters to act stupid, or it's used way too often. Even in this world where movie conventions are everyday, cliches are looked down upon. The main characters especially abhor the use of cliches and will often act out against anyone who tries to use one. Cliches are equated with lost Cynamatiks and should be avoided at all costs.

The concept is what I like most about Mixed Myth. It's very clever and it's used in a very interesting and expert way. It's definitely one of the main reasons I decided to keep on reading Mixed Myth, and to keep checking it after I stopped reading. Most of the humor comes from this one concept. However, it is backed by a good story and fun characters, which makes for an all round enjoyable experience.

The Story

The story starts off rather simple, then once things start happening, quickly gets complex. Keeva and Puck are traveling together. It's not really explained why they are doing so. They meet Tamit, who's a sphinx, and after Keeva impresses her with her creative answer to a classic riddle, Tamit decides to join the group. Soon they are attacked by elves. After that, the story starts becoming a little more complex.

The big problem with complex stories, especially in a webcomics format, where a little bit is told at a time, is that it's hard to follow. When every little detail might be important, sometimes there are too many details to remember or too much time between the details. Some of them will get lost with time, and the reader will be lost as well. That's not to say I don't like complex stories, it's just sometimes they are too complex and there's too much to remember, but that's what archives are for, and that's why some comics are a lot better once they are completely done.

One of the nice things the story does is it reveals things gradually. The audience isn't really told a lot about the characters near the beginning. They all have their little quirks so that they are different enough to provide variety, but not much is revealed. Some things the characters don't even know themselves. They keep secrets. They have traits that they don't want to reveal. It seems weird but the reader gets to know almost everything abou the world long before they know anything about the people that inhabit it. That's not to say that they explain the world in detail, but they do say everything you need to know.

I'm not going to go much farther into the story because it's kind of fun to read for yourself, and a lot of the elements will be discussed in the character section. I will say that I think the ending was kind of a downer compared to the rest of the story. It was nice and everything, it just didn't have the right feel to me. Also it was much more serious than anything that happened before it, but most of what happens before then is worth reading through.

The Characters

The characters of Mixed Myth are kind of a mixed bag. Diversity comes not so much from the way they speak and what they do, but more from what they are. In fact, each of the characters seems to have a similar knowledge of the way the world works (except for Tamit, but she's kind of an unique case). They don't really act much differently except for a few quirks. However, there are many times where one of them does something that only they could possibly do, and the characters are al important in some way or another, as will be seen when I do analyses for some of the more important characters.

Keeva

Keeva is the definite main character of the strip. She's one of the first characters to appear in the comic and is also the de facto leader of the group, and everyone seems to have some connection with her. There are also other things about her that make her one of the more important characters in the strip.

Keeva is a half-elf, half-goblin. Her father (the elf) left her at a very young age, so she was mostly raised by her mother. This means that she has more goblin tendecies than elf tendencies, although she looks like a green elf. (Her appetite, it seems, is not completely goblin, though). One unique characteristic of the character is her love for explosives and guns of any kind. She has a very strong affection for things that go boom.

Indeed, most of Keeva's personality is rather childish and happy-go-lucky. She tends to take many situations in stride and cares more about having fun than personal responsibility. Her relationship with her family is also that of a child rather than an adult, especially how she interacts with her mother. She also seems to focus more on what she wants than on the people around her. She likes immediate satisfaction, and will often play with things she doesn't understand, sometimes with disatrous results.

That's not to say she's unfazeable. If she couldn't be fazed, she wouldn't be a strong character at all, no no. There are many things that happen in the comic which are too much for even Keeva's optimistic personality. There are many forces conspiring against her and the group, and being the main character, most of the bad stuff happens to her. There's also the dark secret about her ancestry (doesn't every character need one of those. She has it doubly so being a half breed.) As she goes through the strip, self doubt starts to sneak in, and puts a damper on the celebration. In some ways, I guess it can be seen as a growing up strip for a character that doesn't want to grow up, who wants to remain a child. One more notable trait of Keeva is the fact that she will sometimes transform into another being. After this happens, she has no knowledge of what she does, but it makes for some amazing imagery. This of course is explained later in the comic.

Puck

Ah Puck. Not exactly loyal, not exactly useful, with a chemical dependency that would knock out a horse.. er. He follows Keeva around for whatever reason. It's never entirely explained. There's a quick explanation about how he gave her a ride, and made a deal with her so that she would get off, but that doesn't quite explain why he's still there, considering he's a free spirit and doesn't seem to take orders from Keeva if he doesn't want to. I guess he just grew to like Keeva enough to stay around.

Puck is very quick to show off his uselessness. He seems to have three interests: self preservation, beer, and women, not necessarily in that order. He'll often lose sight of everything else when there's a chance one of these needs will be fulfilled.

That's not to say he's completely useless, just mostly useless. Enough that near the beginning I was starting to think he was only there for comic relief. However, he has some uses. He proves rather early that he can fight. He's a horse, so he can carry things the others can't (although he'll complain about having to do so). He's also a Pooka, and apparently Pooka are good at tinkering, so with the machines the group encounters, he can usually intuitively figure out how to work them.

Puck has other uses which show up later in the comic, and which take advantage of his main personality. If Puck weren't around, then it's pretty possible the group wouldn't have finished their task.

Tamit

Tamit is an odd character. She alternates between knowing nothing and knowing certain details that she just shouldn't know considering what she knows, if that makes sense. Tamit is a sphinx and the oldest of the four main characters. So old, in fact, that she has to purge her memories every once in a while so she doesn't explode or something. At least that's what she says.

That's right. Tamit is our character with amnesia. I bet you were waiting for that one weren't you? This actually doesn't bother me as much as it should. Actually amnesia in general doesn't bother me as much as it should. I guess it's me, but this is handled in a slightly different way, although it is also used to provide dues ex machinae and the such.

Of all the characters, Tamit should have the most knowledge of the world around her, and in some cases she does, but because she keeps forgetting, she's also rather innocent. It is rather odd what she knows how to work and what she doesn't, whether she just figures it out through logic or she actually knows varies according to situation. Of course, like every other character this is explained later in the comic.

Aidan

Aidan rounds out the group of four adventurers. Of the four, he is the one that follows the laws of Cynamatiks the most. He is also the one with the most secrets that he knows about.

Aidan is a half selkie, half werewolf. Both species are shapeshifters, but they shift in slightly different ways. He needs to use his wolf skin to transform into a wolf. He is an able fighter in both forms, and seems to choose which form to use based on the situation.

He also is the one who is most aware of how their world works. He is able to make educated guesses about what's going on based on the Cynamatiks of the situation and solves many problems based off what he sees, although he doesn't often choose the best way to solve these problems.

Since Aidan is in many ways the most mature, of the group, he is also the character with the least development. Aidan himself doesn't really change that much. What changes is how much the reader knows about him at any given time. This makes him one of the less interesting characters in the strip.

Snookums

Snookums is the main villian of the strip, as villians go. He's more of an antagonist, really. Not many people in the strip do things for truly evil reasons. Most of the time it's just a misunderstanding or conflicting goals. Snookums (he doesn't like to be called by that name, but I think it fits him well) is really just afraid to die. He wants to go on living.

Snookums is in many ways a Romantic. He enjoys living life to the fullest and will often get distracted from more pressing goals in order to do something more sensual. This also means that for the most part, Snookums loves what he's doing. Just looking at his face, you can tell he's having fun. Life is a game to him, and he enjoys playing it.

That is not to say he doesn't have his more sinister aspects. He is quite powerful, and he knows how to manipulate people to do things which would be to his advantage. He is also, like most villians, very good at making escapes.

There's also this piddly little thing called world domination, which most people don't take kindly to. Yes, Snookums wants to control the world. He likes being in control of situations and owning the world would be the ultimate control. However, this is just because he himself feels controlled. All in all, when it's over, Snookums comes off as one of the most sympathetic and likable villians out there.

Suord

No, that's not a typo. That's how it's spelled. I've said before that a lot of the webcomics I read have mascots. Suord, I believe, is the mascot for Mixed Myth.

Everything about Suord, from his first entrance onward is a mix of cuteness and humor that works really well. I admit, I grew to love the Suord character, and spent quite a bit of time reading this comic wondering when he was going to make his next appearance.

Suord is, well, a sword, who acts like a dog, and decided to follow Keeva around and be one of her weapons. Suord is rather protective of Keeva and also has a deep connection to her. He also seems to be able to move of his own will, but has limitted mobility in some respects.

Suord does make a rather good weapon, but mostly he's around just to be cute. Oh, and he has a mysterious past that is revealed later in the strip, but I guess you figured that, right?

Wrap up

Mixed Myth was fun while I read it, and even better now that it's finished. There is a light-hearted quality that permeates the work and makes it very much worth reading.

Reasons to read.

-funny concept that's well used.

-interesting characters

-good sense of humor

Negative aspects

-some story elements seem to jump out of nowhere

-filler strips at inoportune times interupt the flow of the strip

By the the power vested in me I hereby induct Mixed Myth into the Now That It's Finished Archive. Congratulations on reaching the ultimate landmark, and good luck in all your future endevours.

P. S. As you can tell, I like long posts. This is just a personal preference, and only Now That It's finished posts will be this long. It's because of the character analysis. I'd like feedback, though.

The Waiting List

2005-08-28T11:39:00.000-07:00

This is a list of comics that either show promise but haven't proven to me that their worth reading regularly yet, comics that have gone on hiatus which I really like, or comics which I haven't read yet but resolve to read in the future. I will read my waiting list every few months, and update my reading list accordingly then. Also, after now, every time I read my waiting list, I will drop a few comics that I feel aren't for me. If someone suggests a comic to me, it will go to the waiting list.

Every time I go to the waiting list, I will review a comic that is chosen by my eventual audience (if people find me). I'll announce readings ahead of time. If you want a comic reviewed, ask, and there's a good chance I'll review it.

Comics marked with an asterisk (*) are comics that I know I will give a "Now that it's finished" review, or at least I will if they come to a satisfying conclusion.

8 1/2 by Eleven

Abby's Agency

Absurd Notions

Acid Keg

Adveturers*

Alpha Shade

Badly Drawn Kitties

Beaver and Steve

Belphegor

Black Rose

Bookwyrms

Boy on a Stick and Slither

Captain SNES*

Cascadia

Catharsis

Chick Tracts

Chugworth Academy

Circle Arcadia

Crap I Drew on My Lunch Break

The Cyantian Chronicles

Darkbolt

Demonology 101

Desert Rocks

The Devil's Panties

Dicebox

Digital Pimp

DMFA

Earthsong

Elf Only Inn

Falcon Twin (has nudity)

Felicity Flint, Agent from H.A.R.M.

Feyenne

Filgym Cycle

Fish Institution

Genoworks Saga

Girl vs. Pig

Goats

Goblins

The Gods of Arr-Kelann

Grand Blue Door

Gralen Cragg Hall

Greystone Inn

Haiku Circus

Hey Suburbia

HOUSD

How Not to Run a Comic

Instant Classic

It's Walky

Keaner.net

Konsekai: Swordwaltzer

Leisure Town

A Lesson is Learned but the Damage Irreversible

Living in Greytown

The Longest Sojourn

Lore Brand Comics

Magic Inkwell

Malakhim

Megatokyo

Metroid Third Derivative

Midnight Macabre

A Miracle of Science*

The Morning Improv

MS Paint Masterpieces

Nahast

Naoko Muragama: Video Game Champion (has nudity)

Naught Framed

Neko the Kitty

[nemesis]

Niego

No Angel

No Need For Bushido

No Room for Magic

Nowhere Girl

Orneryboy

Our Home Planet

Paradox Lost

Pastel Defender Heliotrope

Path of a Fallen Angel

Penny and Aggie

Pure

Real Life

Red String

Return to Sender

Sacred Pie*

Sexy Losers (has nudity)

Sink or Swim

She's a Nightmare

Shifters

Shigabooks

Shivae

Shortpacked

Sivine Blades

Skinny Panda

Slightly Scizophrenic

A Softer World

Sore Thumbs

S. S. D. D.

Star Bored

Star Crossed Destiny

Starslip Crisis

The Suburban Jungle

Superiosity

Terinu*

Todd and Penguin

Tsunami Channel

Two Lumps

Vinci and Arty

WIGU

Wish3

The Wotch

Tailsteak for President! (no, really)

2005-08-27T13:33:00.000-07:00

(Picture from tailsteak.com. Click on the picture to see it within the context of the website. )

I really enjoyed reading the tailsteak archive. I thought that switching between many different stories would get a little tired after a while, but each new story brings something fresh, and I don't remember anything that I thought was bad. (There are a few comics that miss, though).

The one arc that really endeared me to tailsteak.com was the TQ series. TQ hangs out with Righty and Lefty (abstractions of Right and Left wing politics) and has arguments with them. The great thing about TQ is he doesn't fall within the spectrum between right and left. He forms his own ideas outside of the spectrum. I tend to have an independant view of politics, so living in a two party system annoys me to no end because neither party reflects my views. It's nice to see that someone else recognizes theres more to the world than a line.

Tailsteak is going on my top five for this series as well as for having an overall excellent site.

Wow I'm actually getting things done

2005-08-26T22:12:00.000-07:00

I finished updating my reading list after reading a bunch of comics. Next will be to build a waiting list (which will consist of al the comics I read that are not on my reading list) and a Now That It's Finished Archive. Waiting List won't have blurbs, so that will make it a little easier. After that, more reviews. I have a few comics lined up to be reviewed, two which are done and get the full fledged "now that it's finished" review. I've also decided to change the format of the "now that it's finished" reviews so they look slicker. My regular reviews will have the format of my 1/0 review.

In other news squidi is now off my reading list because he decided to quit. I got all his archives saved on my hard drive. (Thanks for zipping them, by the way) I'm sad because I don't get to give him a now that it's finished review since the comic didn't come to a satisfying conclusion (i. e. the story reached it's end rather than stopping in the middle) so I'll just hold up a candle and say I really liked his work. I don't keep track of drama. in my opinion, if I like the creator's work, it doesn't matter what the creator is like, I'll keep reading his work. Apparently he made people mad. I'm not sure. He made a good webcomic, though. Reman Mythology is also off for the same reason and I'm sad for the same reason as well.

So now I need to try to get back into the swing of things

2005-08-25T08:03:00.000-07:00

(Picture from Ozy and Millie. Click on the image to see this picture within the context of the website.)

I really like jokes where you use faulty logic to take an idea well past its logical conclusion. There's something about the stupidity behind it, that anyone would even try to think that makes it that much more fun to read.

In this comic, Millie uses her logic to justify stealing from her mother. It seems very innocent here, but there are many people who have used this excuse to do much worse. David Simpson shows just how idiotic it is to assume faith by itself makes you superior to everyone else.

Ozy and Millie gets a buffer.

I'm lucky I don't hae any real readers yet

2005-08-19T18:24:00.000-07:00

I'm finally done reading through the archives of those many webcomics. Or at least mostly done. This took up most of my free time, so now I need to catch up on the rest of my comics, but I should be able to continue updating my site really soon. I'll update my reading list in a bit and also and a waiting list (which will consist of all the comics I read on the break) and a Now That It's Finished Archive.

Hope This Comes Out Right

2005-07-15T00:23:00.000-07:00

(Picture from Fuzzy Knights. Click on the picture to see it within the context of the website. Really. This is one picture in a series.)

There have been a few comics dealing with the recent terrorist attack on London (admittedly not as many as there were for 9/11, but it's still touching) this is by far my favorite of the ones I've seen. It does a good job of mixing humor and intelligence to give the message that terrorism just doesn't work. In fact, in most cases, it weakens the cause these people are fighting for.

There are many people out there that think they can get what they want by causing fear. That doesn't work in today's society. There are too many people out there. There is no threat that will get enough people in the world to agree with you for your cause to work. I understand that some people are unsatisfied with the way the world turned out. I am, too. But blowing things up is not going to convince people to change.

Good job Noah. You said it better than I ever could

Considering what's happened so far, a Lewis Carroll reference makes sense

2005-07-08T14:16:00.000-07:00

(From Fallen Angels Used Books. Click on the image to see it within the context of the website.)

I really like where this Sylvester story is going. He's proving to be a very interesting character, even if he is a little bit passive.

In this comcic he just got done beating up a couple of goblins or whatever with an umbrella. It was a neat fight because he was using classic fencing stances while doing it.

It's also obvious that Sylvester is very well read, as many novels are referenced within his story. The other stories didn't do this at all, I think. It's great to see that as each character takes the helm from the previous and picks up their story the style completely changes. I can't wait for Paula to get a turn. I'd like to see evidence that she's not as single minded as she seems.

For now, Fallen Angels Used Books is going to my top 5

She would need superpowers if she delivered pizza everytime someone ordered

2005-07-08T10:48:00.000-07:00

(picture from Questionable Content. click on the image to see it within the context of the website.)

Jeph Jacques does a good job of aping everyday conversation and coupling it with the wit we all think we have. In a way that makes his comic funnier because it seems so familiar even if we haven't been in some of the situations the characters get into. He also is good at taking weird situations and making them seem normal. Pintsize is a good example of this. After you get over the idea of a talking robot computer, you sort of except him as the real thing because everything in this world seems normal, even if it's not.

Look at this comic. It features a superhero ordering coffee. Pizza Girl has been in the comic before, but she was there for one panel then left. Here Faye is trying to figure out if she's for real, and not having an easy time doing so. The funny part of the comic is they're not treating it as anything out of the ordinary. It just normal.

I do like the idea that the enemy of Pizza Girl is Chinese Delivery man. It makes since. I wonder what he'd look like and what his powers would be.

That's it. This comic is going in my top 5.

Wait. It's already there.

In that case, Jeph Jacques gets a buffer.

A tasty tasty buffer.

Enjoy

No True Reviews for a While

2005-07-08T01:39:00.000-07:00

I really want this site to be a review site, where I take comics and break them apart over their entire run, but I won't be able to do full comic reviews for a while. The reason is I'm currently reading through the archives of many different comics in order to bolster my reading list as well as to find new comics to talk about. I'll still be talking about single comics though, and putting different comics in my top five. I'm planning to be very fickle with that. It's the equivalent of a biscuit on Websnark.

Because Pain is Funny, or Something

2005-07-04T14:06:00.000-07:00

(Image from Partially Clips. Click on the image to see it within the context of the website.)

I've become a big fan of comics that couple great writing with questionable art, or rather, no art at all. Partially Clips does this really well. It's intelligent humor, and sometimes you have to think about it. sometimes he misses, but when he hits, which is most of the time, it's great.

Take this comic for example. This is what Robert Balder does best. He takes a clip art and creates an absurd situation out of it, usually dark, but I like it that way. The archives are definitely worth a read.

I'm normally against filler art, but..

2005-07-04T12:38:00.000-07:00

(Image from Ozy and Millie. I can't find a link to this image, so you might have to just click on the link for the site to see it.)

This one just spoke to me. I saw the sign Millie was holding and I started giggling for quite some time afterward. This was in character for the strip, it featured a joke that was funny and it appeals to me on a base level.

That's it. This comic is going into my top 5.

Now That it's Finished: 1/0

2005-07-03T12:42:00.000-07:00

(All pictures from 1/0 by Mason Williams. Click on the pictures to see them within the context of the site. )

One of the things I want to do with this site is honor comics that had a definite end to their story and actually reached their goal. It's a hard thing to start a webcomic in the first place, and finishing it is something that's almost unheard of. Sadly, most comics when they finish are just left out there, forgotten. I want to remember these strips and the acheivement that the author made. I'll tend to be more lenient with my judging on the finshed strip. Mostly because I can't complain about missed updates.

1/0 is a comic strip experiment that started out simply enough, but soon grew into a complex world where many characters lived and interacted. The strip starts out with a creator named Tailsteak. What separates this strip from many others is that that characters talk to the creator and acknowledge his existence. Therefore there is no fourth wall. Although the characters started out as simple archetypes, they soon expanded into complex chracters with thoughts and emotions that seemed separate from the author.

The strip itself starts off rather tentatively. You can tell the author was trying to have fun. The first thing he does is openly steal a character from another strip. After talking to this character for a while, he decides an action needs to be taken.

He decides to declare war on another strip, with disastrous results. However, the time the strip really starts to pick up and becomes a force unto itself is with the introduction of Junior. Junior is an eyeball that came from one of the other characters named Ribby. He does everything he can to work against Tailsteak and succeeds quite a few times in annoying the author. A lot of comics seem to have mascots, personalities that you associate with the strip. Junior is the mascot for 1/0. Even though he's a one-dimensional character with a single joke, he makes the world work.

After Junior was introduced, other things started to fall into place. Other characters came quickly, a landscape was made, and characters started talking about their existence. This is where 1/0 gets interesting. All the characters know they are in a webcomic and have been created by this author, so the question of whether or not they truly exist is entirely debatable. There are many different viewpoints that come from the characters.

Also the fact that they all know they are in a comic leads to some very good jokes about their state of being. One such joke happens when they decide to explain what a comic is to one of their companions.

Tailsteak also deals with the concept of atheism by making it possible for characters to build a forth wall if they want to. When the forth wall is up, they can't talk to or hear Tailsteak, but the people around them can. The forth wall is shown to be up by a four in the corner of wherever the forth wall is. It was first put up as a gag, but then became a viable plot point.

After the world gets started, the characters then start building the world for themselves and try to figure out what the rules of the world they live in are. Since Tailsteak is the writer of the comic, he also has control over what the characters do. Even though he promises he won't do anything that's unexplainable, there's still the possibility that he can. The characters are very aware of that and mention it several times, to the point of protesting for consistent physics.

However, the characters do have some fun on their own. One example of the things they do is when they have an impressions contest to see who will get a hat. This, of courrse leads to other things, but it's fun to watch them make references to other comics.

1/0 is a fun comic and worth reading. It's finished so you can take as long as you want, and I still enjoyed it as I was reading it. That's it for this strip, I think. Hopefully, I'll get better at these.

Comics I'm reading

2005-06-29T01:39:00.000-07:00

Here's a list of comics which I read with some regularity. I'll try to keep this updated so it reflects what I'm actually reading.

8 to 1: by BDuffy. A comic that's brutally honest with its characters and situations. 8 to 1 is just starting, so I'm unsure where it's going to go, but it's written well enough that I'm willing to follow it where it wants to take me.

9th Elsewhere: by Caroline Curtis and Courtney Caryl. Carmen is stuck in her dreams and is being led by a muse named Eiji. Great art and story with a little bit of humor added in. At times it gets downright surreal, but it's easy to follow and fun to read.

Alien Dice: by Tiffany Ross. This is the first comic I started to read by Shivae. I sadly haven't read any of the rest of her stuff, but I plan to in the near future. It gets a little bit melodramatic at times, but it's a fun read. Every comic is told in prose underneathe the comic, so anything that's ambiguous or can't be drawn will be explained down ther. You don't need the writing to understand the comic, though.

Angels 2200: by Nathaiel Savio and Peter Haynes. An all-woman space station in space. Features some lesbian undertones and mature ideas so if you are turned off by that, you might not want to read. I was drawn in by the story and still read because the twists continue to amuse.

Antihero for Hire: by Mark Shallow. A different look at super heroes. This comic follows Nighthawk as he battles evil for money. I prefer this to Mark Shallows other comic, Adventurers because this one focuses a little more on the story than the humor, not that his humor isn't good. It just needs to be balanced out.

Anywhere But Here: by Jason Siebels. I love this comic. I don't think I can say enough good things about it. Just watching the relationship between these two main characters is amazing. These are two people with a very different idea of what love is trying to learn how to trust each other. Both have made horrible mistakes, but they're still together and becoming stable (as of this writing, of course). Anywhere But Here is also very good at using humor without getting distracted. The humor fits into the world. The world doesn't change to fit the humor.

Better Days: by Jay Naylor. This comic features very very mature situations. If you are easily offended, do not, under any circumstances read this comic. I don't have as many problems with furry comics as other people seem to. It's a style choice, nothing more, just like some people decide to draw in manga style, or use sprites and photographs. Better Days has very good characterization and interesting stories. It's worth reading, if you can take the maturity issue.

Bizarre Uprising: Vampires. What more do you need? I've been on and off with this comic for a while. Every time I think of quitting it, though, it does something to keep me drawn in. It has a sporadic update schedule, usually once a week, but I'm not sure if you can count on it even for that.

Bob and George: by David Anez. The original sprite comic, and still one of the best. David Anez uses his sprites to do something really unique, and I think he puts plot holes in on purpose just so he can explain them away later.

Bob the Angry Flower: by Stephen Notley. Bob the Angry Flower has a kind of sublime humor. Many times you will laugh, but you won't know what you're laughing at. The world of the comic is surreal, and it makes for some very interesting situations.

Checkerboard Nightmare: by Kristopher Straub. The webcomic satire site. Kris Straub uses this comic to make fun of current events. Some of the comics need an understanding of webcomic culture, but most of them can be appreciated even if you don't know the background.

Chopping Block: by Lee Adam Herold. Some really dark humor in this comic. Chopping Block is a gag-a-day comic about a serial killer named Butch. It's one of the few comics I like enough to keep reading even when the writer goes on long hiatuses.

College Roomies From Hell: by Maritza Campos. Okay, this is why you don't judge a comic by its beginnings because if I had to judge the this comic by the first month or year, even, I would have dropped it. College Roomies From Hell started out okay, and it has steadily improved from there. Now I don't know how I didn't notice the comic earlier. So there you go. Don't make snap judgements. Thanks for teaching me that, Maritza

Copper: by Kazu Kibuishi. I started reading this comiec because so many other people love it. I can see why. The art is amazing and it does a good job of telling it's story in a limited space. The only thing I don't care for is that it has jut one update a month. So if you're jonesing for comic updates, this is not the comic for you.

Count Your Sheep: By Adrian Ramos. Count Your Sheep has a wonderful innocence about it that retains its intelligence. A simple concept pulled off very well.

Daily Dinosaur Comics: by Ryan North. Ryan North has a really great sense of humor. Dialy Dinosaur comics uses the same pictures over and over again. Each comic looks like all theothers, but where the comic really shines is its writing. Ryan definitely knows how to work around his set limitations. Don't be turned off by the art. Give the comic a chance. You'll appreciate it, I'm sure.

Darken: by Kate Ashwin. The main characters of this comic are villians in the employ of Mephistopheles trying to take over the world, and you still sympathize with them. Despite the fact that they are villians the comic is just so cute you have to like them.

Dominic Deegan: by Michael Terracciano. If you like bad puns, like me, then this is the comic for you. What this comic excels at more than any others is the sure level of punnery going on in the pages. However, these puns are backed up by a very good story and characters, and are usually pertinent to the situation rather than added in.

Dungeon Crawl: by Nathan Sheaffer. Another comic I stopped reading for a while only to pick in up again a little later. Dungeon Crawl is just fun. It doesn't take a lot of thinking to enjoy the comic. It's not necessarily smart writing, but it gets the job done.

El Goonish Shive: by Dan Shive. This comic has improved a lot from the time it started, and you can tell how Dan Shive tied all the story elements together once he decided to start taking the comic seriously. His characters are getting more and more layered as he continues to write.

Empty Words: by Benjamin Rivers. Kind of depressing, but still good. A comic that's grounded in reality. Has a sporadic update schedule, but still worth reading in your free time.

Errant Story: by Micheal Poe, author of Exploitation Now, so you there are mature themes, sexuality and nudity. Be warned. However, unlike Exploitation Now, Errant Story has gone straight into telling a tale, rather than just doing gag-a-days. I like it. Poe shows an intelligence with his writing. I tried reading Exploitation Now, and I've never gotten past the first few strips, so I can't really compare them that well.

Fallen Angels Used Books: by John Fortman. The art of storytelling is a noble profession that seems to be becoming less and less useful. It's sad really. Fallen Angels Used Books tries to bring back this art. The stroy is told by the characters ad picked up by different characters as it goes on, giveing a different perspective and view.

Faux Pas: by Robert and Margaret (since that is all I can find of their names). I like Disney movies a lot, though I have no idea why I'm telling you this. Faux Pas takes place in a studio for animal actors. The a vixen named Cindy comes in from the wild and takes a shine to the actor fox named Randy. The comic then chronicals their relationship and their difficulties communicating with each other. This comic has a very good sense of humor.

Flatwood: by Zachary Parker. a very interesting comic. It hasn't been updating much recently, but I'll continue reading it. I want to see where it goes.

Flipside: by Brion Foulke. The story of a multiple personality who's just trying to make it in the world. This comic had me hooked almost from the start. I like the "clothes make the woman" theme behind the main character, and it held my interest very well. Worth reading.

Freefall: By Mark Stanley. A nice fun comic. It's also hard science fiction despite being kind of silly, which makes it that much more amazing.

Girl Genius 101: by Professors Phil & Kaja Foglio. This comic is recommended by many people online. I decided to read the old comics as they come. It's new to me, but I can see why so many people like it. It's well written and has an interesting idea behind it.

Gossamer Commons: By Eric Burns and Greg Holkan. You know, for someone who talks about bringing the funny all the time, he sure hasn't brought much. I don't care as much about humor as most people do. Gossamer Commons has everything I do care about, solid writing and an interesting storyline. Being a good critic doe not always translate into being a good writer, but Eric Burns seems to be doing an excellent job so far.

Inverloch: by Sarah Ellerton. Okay, first things first. My favorite genre of book was fantasy when I was young. I loved those stories set in other worlds. Occultatio at The Living Comic has panned Inverloch for being just a run of the mill fantasy. I, however, think it's a great story, maybe a little cutesy, but it feels right. It has good pacing and decent writing, and a nice set-up as well.

Irregular Webcomic: by David Morgan-Mar. This is sort of a breakthrough. This is the first comic I read steadily that uses photography as it's picture medium, and stands a god chance of being the only one ever. I noticed Irregular Webcomic a lot earlier, but dropped it for being substandard. Boy was I wrong. More bad snap judgements from me.

Jack: by David Hopkins. This is another comic that might offend your sensibilties, since it features furries in disturbing situations. The comic is set and hell, and is therfore very dark. Not for the weak of heart. It does have very good storytelling, though, and although it's based on Christian mythology and I'm an aethist, I can still enjoy it for having a message.

Kevin and Kell: by Bill Holbrook. A comic about a marriage between a rabbit and a wlf, and all the problems it causes. Kevin and Kell is good because it knows how to milk a storyline forever, but still keep you interested. I think the first storyline of the comic lasted two years (the birds). He still writes pretty well, though he may be losing his touch now.

The Last Days of FOXHOUND: by Chris Doucette. I started reading this, and I said "whatever." After a while it started getting a lot funnier. It skirts the edge of ridiculousness without losing its sense of purpose.

LinT: by Colby Purcell. Lint is one of those interesting comics. I like it so far, but I'm not sure why I'm still reading it. Still it's not bad enough to drop.

Lozers: by Erik Shoenek. It's funny cause it's true, except it's very exaggerated. I remember going through many things in this comic during high school. It hurts, but the comic makes up for it with the funny.

Marilith: by Sean Lindsay. I love the dynamics between the two main characters. Marilith is a continuation of an older comic, so you might want to read that first. you should be able to find the link on the main site. I was excited that the new comic showed up.

Misfile: by Chris Hazleton. So gender-switch comics are nothing new. Misfile stands out a bit in my mind because the characters are treated like real people. Ash really has to deal with being female, but not wanting to be. It's interesting to how how his life before the switch was changed because he was female.

The Noob: by Gianna Masetti. I have little to no knowledge of how online RPGs work. I've thought of joining a few, but never went through with actually doing so. However, I still find The Noob very funny. It's not hard to tell how the world is run. Everyone's caught up in their own ideals, and the most aware person is the one who knows nothing.

No Rest for the Wicked: by Andrea Peterson. I love comics that take familiar characters and put a twist on their story. No Rest for the Wicked is set in the world of fairy tales. It uses characters that you know to tell its own story.

Nukees: by Darren Bluel. This comic took a while to win me over, but once it did I've been hooked ever since. It has some very good writing, but it takes a while to start appreciating its genius.

Order of the Stick: by Rich Burlew. Another comic which doesn't make a good first impression, but is definitely good after you get over that first hump. I don't play Dungeons and Dragons, but I still find it hilarious.

Ozy and Millie: by David Simpson. I like cute. In small doses. Ozy and Millie is definitely cute. However, it's also very smart. I don't think David Simpson's slipping, as some do. i think he's still as funny as ever.

Partially Clips: by Robert Balder. I'm one of those people who doesn't pay attention to the artwork as much. Sometimes it's needed to tell the story, other times it's not. Partially clips uses clip art and puts jokes to it. It's very smart, and sometimes the joke misses, but when it hits, it's very good.

Penny and Aggie: by T Campbell and Gisele Lagace. Two girls who are enemies try to hold a civil battle of wits over control of the high school. Their competitiveness usually ends up hurting both of them. Penny is a stereotypical popular girl, except she has a brain, and actually uses it from time to time. Aggie is a rebel and an activist. Despite these surface differences the two girls actually have a lot more in common than they think.

Perry Bible Fellowship: by Nicholas Gurewitch. This comic is so great it takes you a while to know how great it truly is. Read it for a while, then you will start to get into a zone where everything the author puts out is hilarious.

Pixel: by Chris Dlugosz. The great thing about comics that limit themselves artistically is that the writing tends to be that much better. I tend to see comics as works of writing that are much more immediate (you'll notice in my reviews I'll tend to stray away from discussing the art (at least once I get a few reviews up)) so if the writing and story aren't there, the comic isn't worth it in my mind. Pixel is very intelligent and well written. Give it a shot.

Pokemon X: by Recon Dye. another sprite comic. This comic is also very fun, and smart. Maybe like Family Guy. It seems stupid until you actually think about what's being said.

PvP: by Scott Kurtz. A comic about geeks. This is a gag-a-day comic with some story as well. It's dedicated more to the joke that the story, but Kurtz's humor is good enough that he can pull it off.

Queen of Wands: by Aeire. The story is finished, but Aeire is now rerunning the entire series with commentary. I'm going to be doing a "now that it's finished review" for this comic soon.

Questionable Content: by Jeph Jacques. Good writing and fun situations. Questionable Content is based on the emo scene, but you don't have to get emo to understand the comic. It's worth reading. Definitely.

Reasoned Cognition: by Ryan Kolter. I like science. This comic, run by the Amorphous Ball of Light, answer questions from the readers, kind of like Straight Dope except with visuals to help you out.

Scary-Go-Round: by John Allison. This is a sort of on-again off-again comic for me. For now it's on. A very interesting way of writing, the way it can be funny without even really having a joke, and I like dark humor, so this is right up my alley (I will burn in Hell for that cliche).

Secret of Mana Theater: by Sprite Monkey. Don't know if this counts as a comic, but it updates every so often and I watch when it updates. Very good humor and a fine story as well.

Sinfest: by Tatsuo Ishida. A fellow Japanese writing a webcomic. That's not the reason I read it though. I'm only half Japanese. Sinfest bring a interesting perspective on the world, and on the headache that is interacting with the opposite sex. It's hard to make a bunch of flat representations of general ideas intersting, but this comic has no problem doing so.

Sluggy Freelance: by Pete Abrams. Keeper of the Nifty. Sluggy Freelance is a very funny comic. It also atarted as gag-a-day and then added more story as it went along. Had a lot of ups and downs, but still remains good.

Something Positive: by RKMilholland. May offend your sensibilities, but it makes up for that with very good writing. This is a comic with a mean streak that doesn't seem to be afraid of anything. It's very popular for a reason.

Striptease: by Chris Daily. Of all the comics on the list so far, this is the one I can least justify being on there. Let's just say that there's something about it that I like. I don't know what, but there's something.

Suicide for Hire: by Rafael Medina. A comic about a couple of anthropomorphized animals who kill people for money. The catch being the people they kill want to die anyway. It's dark and a little bit stupid, but fun.

Tailsteak.com: by Mason Williams. He is the same person who created 1/0 which is the first comic I reviewed for this site. It seems that Tailsteak has taken everything he learned from 1/0 and made it better. He is just a very insightful writer.

The Wotch: by Anne Onymous and Robin Ericson (pseudonyms, of course). A fun comic about a witch who's just learning how to use her powers. Most of the trouble whe gets in is her own fault. There's also a pretty good story throughout the comic, and the writers aren't afraid to experiment a little bit with their storytelling.

Zap: by Chris L. and Pascalle C. So I'm reading the archives and I realize that I am consistently amused by every strip in the first few months. After a while the story started and I had fun reading it. Definitely worth a look.

So there you have it. Next up, reviews. It will take a while to get the reviews up, so don't expect me to post every day. You'll see why when I post my first review.

Why I think I make a good reviewer

2005-06-27T00:46:00.000-07:00

There are many people that do, I know. However, I believe I have afew good reasons why I am a good reviewer by most peoples standards.

I think about what I write. What you see on the site will be well thought out and backed up by source information as much as possible. If you are using the site to decide what to read, then you need to know that I will give an honest opinion that you can trust.

I like multiple styles. I'm not stuck with one style. The comics I read (which I'll be sharing in my next post) come from many different styles and philosophies. There are comics that have bad art, comics that have the same art repeated, comics in a gag a day style, story comics, humorous, serious, manga, you name it. So I will be less likely to pan a comic just because it's not my style.

I write well. This is probably the most important. Most of the time, the syntax or spelling and punctuation errors will be slight, so you can read without being distracted by them.

I am able to put myself into a certain mindset easily, especially if that mindset is an emotional one. I can usually read comic as it was intended to be read rather than having one reading style I will adapt to the style I think best fits the comic.

I don't speculate. I assume nothing. The way I watch movies or read comics is to finish watching or reading and then think about what I've seen. If something hasn't happened yet, I try not to assume it will. I will be less affected by my preconceptions.

I can see the good as well as the bad. I don't think if something is good then everything about it is good. I don't think that if something is bad, then everything about it is bad. I can usually see both sides, and place myself on that spectrum where I see fit.

That is why I think I will be a good reviewer. It might be a little rough at first while I try to find my style, but once I settle into it, it should be fine.

Just to get started

2005-06-26T07:57:00.000-07:00

I've found that I really like writing reviews for anything and everything. I think it's the critical side of me. I know there are other sites out there that already do this, and probably do what I'm doing a lot better than I ever could, but what the hey. I don't think anyone will even find this site, so why do I have to worry. Since I read a lot of them, I decided to review webcomics. Hopefully we can get an alphabetical index on them. I'll start with comics that have already been finished and work my way to the one that are still going. I promise to read the entire archives before writing a review, and I will be as honest as possible