Saturday 25 April 2009

When it Raines...

Ho-lee moo-cats, kids. I had quite the eventful week. The work is done, on Earth as it is in Dallas. And by that I mean I finally wrote my thesis. 4/20 came and went. Admit it, show of hands, who went out for Hitler’s birthday? (Seriously, look it up). Anyway, my brain is still a-tingling after all that study, so I’ve got a great new comic lined up for you that takes a nice light-hearted approach to the provoking of the thoughts. But first, more talking. Sorry. The other day my faith in the human race was restored. In these times of economic woe, hardship and general stupidity of mankind, a kind lady let me off paying for something when I realised I forgot my money. I could’ve sworn I’d had cash in my wallet, and I offered to run to the ATM and back so I could pay, but she had none of it. I literally couldn’t believe people do that anymore. I wish her all the best (not that she’s reading).

Raine Dog is a new webcomic by Dana Claire Simpson (of “Ozy and Millie” and “I Drew This” fame), though this comic is quite a bit different. The comic is structured in a ‘graphic novel’ fashion (which she says herself was the original plan for the story), though the artwork makes it look and feel more like a webcomic (which is awesomes). Having only started in January, with weekly updates until recently, this comic has a veteran feel (Veteran? Vet? Get it? Cos the main character is a dog? I’m so funny). And rightly so! Dana’s been doing comics since before I even owned a computer. That’s a fact!

What the heck are we dealing with chief? I’ll tell thee. Raine is the main character. She’s a dog in the big city, living a comfortable lifestyle that she seems well adjusted to. We’re treated (another pun!) to the views and ideas she has on this life, how society and the world in general acts in her presence. In the meantime, we also get Raine’s self narrated retrospective flashbacks of her childhood, or puppyhood, or whatever you’d call it. Amazingly, my spell checker is recognising “puppyhood” as a word. That’s so cool. She talks about some of the trials and tribulation of growing up, as well as the trials and tribulations of her city life. So what? Huh? That’s an old idea, it’s been done, right? Well, son, let me tell you this, it is not an “old” idea, it is a classic. And son? This is what one would term a “fresh perspective”, but not only that, it’s very well executed. Personally, I find myself enthralled with the story, it leaves me at the end feeling satisfied but wanting more. Kinda like sex, or eating a pack of M&Ms. It’s not without humour either, which is used to break up any heavy stuff that is dangerously close to hampering the point of the story.

The artwork is cartoony, but sophisticated. It’s smooth, can be somewhat minimalist, and compliments the tone of the plot nicely. What more can I say? Though the overall format is of a graphic novel, the artwork, as I said, is not. It makes for an interesting combination, and is used to great effect getting the story across.

Should I make another pun or are we good? We’re good.

So give Raine Dog a bone and give it a read, it’s a great comic! I’m giving it 4 outta 5 paw-things, chief.
It updates twice a week, Tuesdays and Fridays, and makes for a good read if you like clever outlooks on life (see the taster down below, chief!)


In the meantime, have a good week.
Peace and chicken grease

Coyote Trax

3 comments:

Lifon said...

Epic review for an epic comic, Trax. Sorry my usual comment's so late this time, but y'know how it is, been busy.

Coyote Trax said...

Lifon, you are nothing short of a good man. :D

Anonymous said...

Oh my god.

You're serious. You're actually serious.

Did you actually read this comic? Did you not see how the author manages to take what would appear to be an actual message (In this case, intolerance represented through talking animals) and runs it straight into the ground with an absolutely stunning combination of ham-fisted writing, logical errors and the general giant fucking problems of "Pets are People" argument.

And you consider this good?

The only conclusion I can come to is that you've never actually read a real book before. A lifetime of reading whatever any talentless hack with a modem can crap out has destroyed your ability to discern garbage from actual quality material. I don't think it's an exaggeration to liken that to losing your ability to tell good from evil.

But it's not bad enough that you've managed to effectively crush your own moral compass. You had to then write about it on a blog. The poor innocents who come here will take your advice and they will suffer for it. They could have been happy never knowing this site existed.

They could have been HAPPIER.

In closing, Kindly GTFO my internet.