Super-Outpost-(4)7

I’ve come to gain a new appreciation for the webcomic artist these last 48 hours. Mostly because I’ve spent them drawing Monday’s Star Trax while listening to the Halfpixel crew bang on about comics, their webcomics, other webcomics, stuff related to and otherwise associated with webcomics and, of course, Brad Guigar’s insane-o-laugh. The take home message and, dare I say it, “pro-tip” from me is to take regular breaks to avoid cramp, because I just drew in from outta town and boy is my hand tired. 

Today’s comic review is of a pleasant story-piece by Istaerlus called “Out Post 7”. I’m not really a sci-fi “nut” per se, but I won’t deny that I’ve seen every episode of Star Trek and Stargate SG-1. Ok, so I am a nut, but at least it’s kept respectfully within the confines of two very good series. Now, if I haven’t already made this clear enough, ‘Out Post 7’ is set in an outpost in space. Please do not get confused with an outhouse in space, that’s an entirely different concept and not worth looking into (turns out alien faeces aren’t that different to ours anyway).

Two of the main influences at work with this webcomic are Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (set on a space station) and Babylon-5 (which I’ve never watched). Being the avid Trekston, I’ve recognised several Trek-related things (not least of which was a Ferengi ship) and promptly mentally chastised myself for being such a big fat nerd. The story follows the staff of this outpost as they get a mysterious new recruit called Ghost. The story pretty much pulls you in from the start and, while it’s still early days for the comic, I’m interested in seeing where it’s going. A word of warning to all you humour forward-slash gag-a-day comic followers, do not expect a punch-line in the final panel. This is a graphic novel type of story which involves humour at times, but that is not the main focus.

Everybody’s favourite part of the review, for reader and reviewee alike, is the art part. We like it because it rhymes. Also because we either get to gawk in horrification, point in humiliation or awe at… awesomification. Fortunately for all involved, it’s never really any of those. ‘Out Post 7’ has an art style that reminds me of what Galaxion might have looked like in its early days. It’s got a realism quality to the cartooning, and aliens’ design and what I call “futuristic effects” (like screens lighting up, etc.) are all well presented. 
Story comics should ideally be updated as often as possible to keep the reader hooked, but Out Post 7 adequately relays enough suspense for it to work weekly. The bonus of it being a weekly comic is the amount of time spent on the art and content. You won’t find yourself short-changed, son. 
Character facial expressions are most excellent in this comic. It’s a favourite thing of mine to see descriptive and in-depth expressions and Out Post 7 checks that box with gusto. My only critique is that the hands could do with some work. The trick? Practice, apparently. I’ve watched most of season one, but I’m still not getting any better. The shading, crosshatching and use of shadows is impressive, if a little excessive at times. Like I’ve mentioned already, the “futuristic effects” are exemplary. Honestly, I want to know the secret. Here’s an ample example for you to sample: 
As of today (Monday) there are 15 strips of Out Post 7 for you to sink your wet, gooey eyes into. This should really go without saying when talking about a new webcomic, but I still feel it has to be said. Ignore the detrimental little things like hand drawn speech bubbles and dialogue for the first couple of strips because it very quickly turns into a nice legible typed font with a neat bubble around it. I see this in a lot of new comics and it is in no way a reflection on the quality of the content… Unless the content is crap, obviously. That’s definitely not the case with Out Post 7 and I can see this comic moving from strength to strength in the coming months so it's definitely worth checking out. 
Catch it over on DrunkDuck every Monday at http://www.drunkduck.com/Out_Post_7

Bing bang boom, 3 outta 5 paw-things. 

See you next Monday! 

Peace, 
Coyote Trax

Pigs and Such

Hey! We update on Mondays now. Just sayin’. This week, I tragically attempted to sign up for Jobseeker’s Allowance. It’s not as bad (read: profitable) as Unemployment Benefit. But, guy, that Social Welfare office is so depressing! And it’s full of filthy, filthy immigrants. I tried cracking a joke and was met with the most soul-draining stare I’ve ever encountered in my 21 years of life and mooching. It was truly a harrowing experience. And I still haven’t gotten my money, consarnit. 

So how did I get over this awful, disheartening occurrence? Webcomics! What were you expecting me to say? Meditation? Don’t be absurd. This week’s new webcomic for your front eyes is called “The Pigs Ear” by Craig Munro (not with an ‘e’) which started back in May. I was taken with this comic for two reasons. One: It is set in a pub and, being Irish, I can thoroughly relate to that. 

The second reason is something that all new webcomic authors should take to heart, and that is to have an interesting premise for your story. It doesn’t have to be fancy or complicated like the start of a Hitchcock movie; it just has to be enough to give the casual reader a reason to come back. 'The Pigs Ear', as mentioned, is set in a pub. Not just any pub though, ladies and gentlemen, it is a magical pub! I’m kidding of course, that’s a stupid premise. The pub is set in one of those mythological lands where ogres roam the tennis courts and princesses scrounge for scraps in the local tabernacle. This makes for a lot of good story angles (read: crazy shenanigans) and a near-limitless set of potential characters. 

The primary setting is the local, where we have our main characters hanging out and drinking like Germans: more or less responsibly. The Barkeep (known only by his job title) maintains order in his domain… Sorry, takes orders in his domain. My bad. His regular is Cyril T. Wizard. Every bar has a regular. Y’know the guy who’s more ‘regular’ than the regulars? Better known as an alcoholic in some circles. Mr. Wizard drives, I’d guesstimate, about 60-70% of the humour overall. This is possibly the only thing I don’t like about the strip. He’s a winner, he never loses. Now I could sit here on my high horse and, smoking a pipe, combing my moustache and launch into a tirade about the evils of the “Mary-Sue” character (think Ethan from Ctrl+Alt+Del) where they represent the author and only good things happen to them. Well, I’m not going to berate the Mary-Sue idea today. For one, I’m not entirely certain it actually applies here. Secondly, Mary-Sues can be pretty good sources of humour and aren’t necessarily a bad thing. They’re just irritating. Like a fly that’s buzzing around while you’re eating dinner and it refuses to go out the window. Then it lands on the butter and starts lording it over you. I hate that fly. 

What in the heck was I talking about? That’s right, the humour. ‘The Pigs Ear’ has a nice general sort of humour despite the quasi-fantasy genre. Really anyone can read this, PG-13 as they say. I found the story arc about finding a bartender assistant most excellent, mostly because it doesn’t centre around Cyril. But that’s just me. You’ll find it twice as funny if you aren’t cursed with the ability to deconstruct a webcomic. Really, I ruin these things for myself because it is funny stuff

Moving briefly onto the artwork now and there isn’t much to say on it. Typical cartoonish style and the characters are reflected very nicely in their illustration. I’m very fond of the shading, it’s truly top notch. And I don’t say “top notch” very often or, indeed, at all. I’m impressed verily by it.
‘The Pigs Ear’ has found its feet as a comic. The characters are solid, the story is capable of growth, the artwork makes for a lovely read and the humour functions well enough to drive away the Social Welfare Office blues. What more could you ask for? A patented Trax rating? Well, if you insist. I give this puppy a 3.5 out of 5.
It’s worth your time and I can see it moving from strength to strength in the coming years. You can catch it every Thursday at www.pigsearonline.com. By the way, don’t type “pigsareonline” like what I did once. Pigs are online and they do disgusting, filthy things.

Join us next Monday for another thrilling instalment of Coyote Trax’s Webcomics Critique!

Peace.

Harry Potter and the Milking of Media

So this week I’ve been spreading the word about my new comic, Star Trax. Updates Mondays and Thursdays. God, I hope it doesn’t get reviewed. I’ll get some excuses ready just in case. Trying to advertise on a budget of feck all is tough though. It’s all about trollin’ forums and things with links. And Space Pirates. Everywhere I look there’s advertising for that new Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince: The Motion Film. I honestly couldn’t care. Sure, like many, I read some of the books. But then they became a mile long and dragged out for no reason. So I stopped. Also, I grew up. If I could get that kind of advertising… *eyes glaze over*…. Well! That’s where you kids come in. Advertise Star Trax and I will… Um… Be eternally grateful? I really can’t offer much else.

Man, so I’m a little late with this, but Good Ship Chronicles by Tauhid Bondia has now seemingly returned to regular updates. This means awesome space-based funnies for all involved! GSC is excellent from the get go, being well drawn and hilarious. It’s gonna be big. Bigger than it already is. I prophesied this.

And now on to today’s review. D. Long got in touch with his comic “Edmund Finney’s Quest to Find the Meaning of Life”. I read this right the way through immediately (I am unemployed after all) and I was taken with it. It’s the story of Edmund Finney, a writer and traveller who yearns for adventure… Though not as much now that he’s tasted it. This comic is a good read, and to accompany it there’s many a random strip. EFQtFtMoL (so much for abbreviation) started on March 8th (New-Webcomic and Give-Trax-a-Gift-Day eve) and maintains a solid style throughout. This is a story comic that’s worth hopping on board with now while it’s young. I mean, like, new, as in fresh? Don’t hop on the young. It’s frowned upon.

How is this comic written? The humour style is situational/observational. The various plot points drives the comedy stylings, with many of the main funnies coming from current affairs. It’s extremely well written. Occasionally we see what Edmund has written in his journal, as well as his thoughts, but we also get some good comic dialogue going. It’s written as one main story, with shorter arcs. I don't think we can mention the 'meaning of life' without touching on Monty Python. There are some slight elements of Pythonesque humour here and there, especially in the juxtaposition of the character and the scenarios he faces, but it's all entirely original and doesn't once allude to Python at all. As well as the main storyline, there are also semi-random updates not relating to the story. They’re mostly sketches or off-beat funnies that wouldn’t fit.

The artwork is very good. At first it reminded me of a similar style to a newspaper comic, but then I remembered that it was from the Horrible Histories books. Anyone not from Ireland or the UK probably has no idea what I mean. These are a series of history books aimed at teenage kids. The illustration (by Martin Brown) is comparable to D. Long’s style. Not the same, mind you, there’s a lot of differences. Mr Long’s work has quite a bit of detail, and the character design is very well done. Kinda sketchy, but it gives it a nice “down-home cookin’” feeling. And seeing his off-comic sketches in the random stuff proves exactly that. The overall black and white motif works very well with the content. Check out my favourite part here:

This comic is outstanding, in its humour and its drawing style. I’m giving it 4 out of 5 paw-things and I’ll be definitely keeping up with it.

Edmund Finney updates every Tuesday and Friday. It’s a great read, and is one to watch for the future. Seriously, if you don’t check it out, I’ll come after you.

Peace out.
Coyote Trax

Confrontation Has Varnished My Buns

Welp, college is finally over for me. I’m now officially in the ranks of the unemployed. A science degree is now officially as useless as an arts degree in this country. Anyone out there need a biologist? Or a spunky writer with everything to prove? No? Ball. Well, you know where to find me if you do.
Also, I got a couple of extra questions. Since I probably won’t do another of those question things for a while I’ll answer them now. First off, “Why don't you post your comic in keenspot or comicgenesis?” The answer: Because I don’t know any html. Yet. Secondly, “Will you ever change the appearance of this blog?” Again, don’t know html, when I do I’ll try and add something cool. In the meantime, I’m pretty happy with it. Thanks for the questions, now on to the webcomics. Also, Star Trax is starting up this Thursday (weather permitting) with “Captain’s Prologue”. More news on the site come Thursday.

This week, I have been mostly reading ‘The Book of Biff’ by Chris Hallbeck. Single panel funnies galore featuring the angry man himself, Biff! Check it out if you like that sort of noise. I sure as heck do.

Today I have a proper treat for you, son. Yes, you. Son! Today’s review is of the masterpiece collaboration between Chris Jones, James Ashby and Zach Weiner. Zach and Chris worked together before on Captain Excelsior which was just plain fantastic on all counts. Their new project, Snowflakes, which really got going in April, is nothing short of excellent. Following the story of several orphans in their nun-run orphanage high in the Andes Mountains, Snowflakes is a snow-bound, traction-packed misadventure for all involved. Adding the whole “orphan” angle into the mix, you have the only adoptions occurring at Christmas *suspense* when only the youngest or cutest get adopted *drama*.
There are quite a few main characters in the story, and executing all of their appearances is a tricky but beautifully done undertaking, a testament to the skill of both writers and artist. Here’s the 411 on the main cast. (So what if nobody says “411” anymore, I’m takin’ it back!)
Lusitania: Or just “Lu” for short. She’s the oldest (or is it eldest… Can you say “eldest” in reference to orphans? I thought it was a family thing. Am I typing this? Ball). Anyway, she’s 10, and is worried she won’t ever be picked for adoption. Ever!
Priti: Lu’s bestest friend who undertakes the impossible task of making Lu acceptable for adoption.
Wray: Tough as nails and thrice as sharp. She’s a lean, mean, tormenting machine.
Sloan: She seems pretty institutionalised. Who cares as long as she’s happy?
Glory: The fat kid. Kinda reminds me of a guy I went to school with, “Plimpton Waddams”.
Greg: Neeeeeeeeeeeeeerd.
Enzo: He’s new and he hears things. I wonder how…

So what’s the writing like? One word: supercalifornicationalistic. In several different words, it’s really good. James Ashby covers the story and plotting (and scheming, always scheming). I assume he has a pretty good idea of where this comic is going, because the story moves with such fluidity, knowing when and where to ease up and when to push on. Mr Zach Weiner, of Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal fame, scripts things up something fierce in Snowflakes, writing some excellent jokes that fit the characters’ personas to a tee. I should mention that Snowflakes is written as a PG comic, so, I dunno, if you’d rather your teenage son/daughter/pumpkin read something good and wholesome, this is the thing for them. Strap ‘em down, tape open their eyes and make ‘em read. They’ll thank you for it. But the real humour in the writing, I think, lies in the dichotomy between the characters’ dialogue and their ages.

If you’ve seen Captain Excelsior, Grumps or any of Chris’ other works, you’ll be familiar with his general style. “Snowflakes” is no different. He gives us his impeccably unique character style done in the most professional and proficient manner. Between the writing style and Chris’ art, the characters become very believable. I’ve always loved characters’ facial expressions and, I have to say, that Chris is my favourite artist in that regard. He can get so much emotion out in the funniest way possible without compromising the quality of the comic. Fantastic. Here’s a taster of what I’m yammering on about.

Well, I’ve conferred with the judges, and Snowflakes has won itself a 4.5 on the Trax scale.

Great writing, interesting storylines and fantastic artwork makes this comic what it is. And just between you and me, I think the division of labour gives each of them more room to be creative and push the boundaries of their collective awesomeness. And it is awesome. James Ashby, Chris Jones and Zach Weiner. The Trifecta of Funny. Snowflakes updates M/W/F, get ready to bookmark it. It’s too good to miss.

Peace out.
Coyote Trax

Webcomics are Like a Fine Wine.

Watching an old episode of the Trek, and I can’t help wondering how the new film is going to go. I’m excited about it. Very excited. Not THAT kind of excited, chief. That’s wrong. It could go either way, but then time travel is involved, so if it’s bad they can always cry “alternate timeline” and all will be well. Remember First Contact? All the crickets started chirping and then they learned of the old time travel paradox in films involving universes and things. Also: physics! So who knows, it will either be good time travel or bad time travel.
So, back to the webcomics. Recently I learned about a comic that’s been going for years, George. You may have read it, or know of it, but I only discovered it when I joined twitter (also: join twitter). I have to say, the artwork is cartoony but very professional, like a comic should be. The humour is very broad too so, unless you have some severe funny-dysfunction in your brain-sensor, you’re guaranteed a laugh.

Aside from that, I have a great new webcomic for you today, swine ‘flu be damned! Scott “Mighty Duck” Ferguson offers us “Nerf This” a humour-based comic with plenty of random laugh-me-ups and a small monster with teeth. It kicked off on the 12th of March, so there’s not much catching up to do there. And like all new comics, it starts a little slow, but not too slow thankfully and soon hits a decent calibre of humour. Here’s a quick run-down of the main characters:
Chase: The nerf-gun toting, Spiderman-obsessed owner of Monty, the Monster.
Monty: Small monster thing with wings owned by Chase. Likes to bite him and is afraid of Smurfs.
Tony: Chase’s good friend, acts as the straight man when Chase is around. Funny in his own right, too.
Steph: Tony’s girlfriend. Angry, angry lady. She acts as straight man for those ‘Tony and Steph’ moments. Or should that be “straight person”? I don’t know, political corectness was never my forté.

Ok, now let’s get down and dirty with this thing. The writing is pretty good, and the humour is overall decent with the frequent twist of hilarity. The first storyline, wherein many of the characters are introduced, is a little slow and is by far the least funny. Now that’s not saying it isn’t funny, but compare it to the next few storylines and you’ll see a drastic improvement in the humour. Literally, each story is funnier than the last. I guess the humour is best characterised as random and observational, with a little unrealistic realism thrown in for good measure. It makes for a good mix. Personally, I don’t get the character of Monty. Well, I do, but I don’t see the point in terms of long-term plot development. But if my eyes work like I think they do, I believe I saw him in the second instalment of “Scout Crossover”, also done by Mr Ferguson (and shall be reviewed with gusto once its had some time to mature, comics are like a fine wine in that respect... Well, they're like a wine... Well, they're like booze). So are we looking at a pan-webcomic marketing strategy or just one strange mans obsession with small winged monsters? We may never know.

Oblige my ears m’dears, and listen to my noodlings of the doodlings. What? I don’t even know. The artwork started off as black and white styled in a some-what conservative sketchy/cartoonish fashion. It has since started dabbling in colour (much like America in the mid-20th century) but still retains its sketchy charm. Not much else to say really. It’s of good quality and there's nary a bad word to say about it. Facial expressions could be made a little better I guess, but that might impinge on the unique style, which shouldn’t have to suffer needlessly.I’m gonna give Nerf This 3.5 out of 5 paw-things. I like it. It can be, and will be, funnier as time goes on. It updates M/W/F, and no doubt I’ll be keeping an eye on it as it goes on. And so can you! Teaser below (Matron!). And I’ll be watching Scout Crossover. Don’t think I won’t! Nothing gets past Coyote Tiberius Trax!

Peace.

As Existential Quandaries Go...

The sky is grey here and has been for a while now. It makes for a nice backdrop against which to write my thesis. Now I’m not used to all this thinking, but recently I’ve found myself reading more “thought-oriented” webcomics than usual. And thus I’ve brought some of the newer and more interesting ones here. Now, I realise these won’t have as much of the funny as you may be used to, but I also realise that funny isn’t everything (“It’s not?” you say, “No, chief!” I reply with gusto). Let this forever be remembered as the time I wrote intelligent reviews.
So sit back and engage your brain-sense processors, chief! Cos for the next couple of weeks you’re in for deep-thought treatment from the latest thinky-dink comics the interweb has to offer!

First up is James Finlay’s “The Republic of Here”. Having started literally only in late February, this comic is still wet behind the ears but shows an awful lot of promise. As mainstream comics go, this will probably never be one of them, though the definition of “mainstream” is getting blurrier by the month in webcomic terms. Nay, I would probably classify this as an “indie” comic. Such a thing may spark debate, so here’s why I think (know) I’m right. First off, its premise is not humour, it is philosophy. Secondly, the art style isn’t comic-like. It’s a unique blend of doodling and fair-trade coffee. And, as existential quandaries go, this is one of the stranger ones. So I dub it an indie comic.

So what’s it all about, chief? Well, at its most basic level, it deals with meaningless existence, and how each character comes to term with it. The main character is a robot, Irving (or 111001, as his robot friends call him) who is capable of thinking outside of 1’s and 0’s and dreams of the number 2. Upon waking up, he finds himself on a new plain of existence, reality or thought. We know not what it is. But here Irving meets the two other main characters, Oswald and Adeline. Both have similar stories to Irving, having been in a place where their existence was unreasonable, and they woke up one to find themselves “here”. (That’s where the comic draws its name from, son!) The story is essentially Irving coming to terms with this new existence. What was once purpose without meaning is now meaning without purpose. I have high hopes for this plot, but it does run the risk of getting real old real fast. I can’t wait to see how it goes.

Art-house magic! Since this is a comic about mundane drudgery and the overcoming thereof, we are treated to shades of melancholic grey, “here” being a lighter shade than Irving’s previous existence. The characters themselves are drawn in a more doodle-like fashion to convey a better sense of non-conformity to the normity. Also their names are written on their shirts. I don’t know why that is, nor can I offer a reason. It makes my job easier though *smileyface*. Interestingly, each character has its own speech-bubble font. I like this aspect. It’s a nice touch. At times there’s a very “Matrix” type look to it, what with loads of quasi-meaningless numbers floating around that are liable to take an eye out if people aren’t careful.

Overall, The Republic of Here is a decent and insightful comic. It might even make you think about your own life! Or not! Frankly that’s up to you, chief. To sum up, it’s a nice allegory for mankind’s mundane existence and how so few of us dream of things outside it. And if worse comes to worse, it could easily transcend the genre into humour! All they need to do is open a bar called “Cheers” on this empty plain of existence and throw a pregnant sassy waitress into the mix! Ahem… But I digress. Read The Republic of Here! I give it 3 out of 5 paw-prints or ‘Trax’ or something. Do you see?

Peace and chicken grease.

Coyote Trax

Happy Egg Day!

Hey kids, guess what?! Easter is here! It’s the time when Christians get together and celebrate their Lord and Saviour Jesus “The Chief” Christ getting pelted to death with chocolate eggs by rabbits while nailed to some two by fours. Needless to say, I’m neither a religious nor educated man, but I likes me some chocolate eggs.
[EDIT: You'll note I didn't go with a "Zombie Jesus" joke cos it's been done to death (excuse the pun). No maliciousness intended, chiefs, just trying to get a joke in.]


Anyway, since it's the holidays, I've no update for you. No, sir! I decided to make y'all a "filler". Yes!

I promise never to draw again. For reals this time! Happy Easter.

Peace and chicken grease.
- C.T.

Webcomics are neat.

Once upon a time I had a job. Really, I did. It was in what you “Americans” would call an “apartment store”… No, that’s not right. “Department store!” Though they’re a whole lot smaller here than what you may be used to. Long story short, I worked there and it sucked but I needed the money. At the time I recall thinking to myself “Dude, this would so make a great webcomic!” Of course, I never actually drew one. That’s how I do things. I suss them out verbally and don’t follow through. I’m a peach like that. Anywho, today’s comic brings back to life my dream of seeing a comic about people working in a department store! And I gotta say, there be funnies to be had, chief! Also, New England Webcomics Weekend is on this weekend in Massachusetts! It’s the first one ever, hopefully everyone going will have a great time. Webcomics are neat.

Surviving Retail by Chuck Egan started (sorta) in October, but the comic didn’t really get going ‘til December (all 2008, people). It’s about the intertwining lives of retail employees, the trials and tribulations that it entails, and essentially how to survive working in a large department store. Be it the co-workers antics or the customers complaints, this comic illustrates (quite well, I might add) life in Bird’s Department Store. (I know I ended two sentences with “department store”, so sue me.)

This is a very well written comic, with several key characters, each with their own little quirks. The humour itself is mostly situational with the rest coming from the characters’ own personas, which are starting to develop nicely along with as the strip progresses. It’s one of those real life comics (not to be confused with Real Life Comics by Greg Dean) in that we can all kinda relate to it. We’ve all been in a department store at one time or another, either working or shopping, so it’s easy enough to keep up with. Looking back a bit, it’s what I’d imagine “Friends” to be if it were set in a department store instead of a couple of apartments and a coffee shack.

Hit me up art-master! Done in black and white (no shading), the comic is pretty good. It gets a thumbs-up from me, at least. The characters are all drawn quite well, and if I were pushed to find a fault, well, I guess the facial expressions could be a little better. I don’t know, they can come across as a little faceless, but only in the literal sense. But it seems to work as it is, guy. To coin a paraphrase, “If somethin’ ain’t broken, then there’s no need to repair it.”

And that brings us to the end of tonight’s show. I’d like to thank Frank and the Frankettes for providing the music. And a special thanks to you, the audience. Oh, and a reminder that the New England Webcomics Weekend is on this weekend. Chuck himself will be there, check it out if you’re in the area. I’d go, but I’m not on that continent. Remember, you can follow Surviving Retail every M/W/F. Here’s a sample to roll over the credits. Goodnight everybody!

Practice makes perfect...

Whoops! I forgot to write this! Busy week involving labs, crabs and tonsillitis. And no crabs. Well here we be! Another week, another webcomic. Have you noticed the new title thingy? How could you not! Look at it up there, all shoddy and half-assed. I haven't actually had time to take it down to fix it. And no, I'm not a furry, that's not a "fursona" or whatever they call it: This is marketing, son! A marketing ploy. I’m pretty addicted to that Twitter thing. I demand you join it, if only to follow Wil Wheaton, he’s a funny guy. So I saw Watchmen last week. Good stuff, though there was a bit more quantum blue penis than I'm used to. Oh, and I’m sure y’all will be pleased to know that I’ve come across a treasure trove of comics in the last week or so too, so we’ll be plenty busy for the weeks to come. It figures, as soon as I start to tone down the blog a bit, I find more stuff to write about.

One of these new comics had me in stitches! That’s a pun, son. You’ll find out why right now. The Practice is a comic about two paramedics (not a bunch of lawyers, in case it crossed your mind). They drive around in an ambulance and get up to all sorts of crazy, medical-related doin’s! Sounds awewsome, doesn’t it? It gets better, one is a hardened, world weary, cynical medic and the other is the wide-eyed, naïve, newbie. Suffice to say, it’s got the makings of a great buddy-movie. Picture Dr Cox and JD from Scrubs as paramedics in comic form and you get the idea. The best part of it all is that it’s funny because it’s true. The Practice is written by Anna Bancroft, a real life medical person, who’s brain train took a left turn at sanity leaving only hilarity in its wake (must be all those long working hours and hospital fumes). She started it in mid-February (of this year) and it’s been going strong ever since.

This comic is exceptionally well written. It follows Rule One of writing in general: Write about what you know. And she knows her medical jiggery-pokery, let me tell you that much. And you don’t need to know fancy terminology for this, oh no sir! It’s not that kind of humour. It’s your basic run-of-the-mill cynical dude with his still-wet-behind-the-ears companion. “So what?” you say, “How is that new and exciting?” The real difference comes in the context. In this paramedic setting, there are new comedic doors open that people like you and I wouldn’t have even considered! It really is very well put together in that respect and I found a bit of a new appreciation for the old-school buddy comedy.

As far as comics go, there are many styles, most have a generic 3 or 4 panel thing with their content essentially making or breaking it. It’s nice to see something break the mold for a change. This is like, I don’t know, the art deco of comics. The characters look like they’re based off signs from a bathroom door (with some minor modifications) but that simplicity gives it a great sense of charm. Heck, Anna, if you’re reading this, you should get into the art business if whole medical thing goes down the tubes. Facial expressions are something I always look at. Here we’re only given the characters’ eyes, but more than enough emotion is conveyed across to the reader.

It truly is a unique perspective, elegant in its simplicity and side-splitting in its hilarity. And if I may paraphrase the site itself, it explains why they call it a medical “practice”. Fortunately for us all, practice makes perfect… But then nobody’s perfect… Who the hell is practising then? You know what, I’ve confused myself. The Practice updates pretty much daily, and you can follow Ms Bancroft’s musings on twitter. Oh, and here’s your taster, chief!

Boxes o' Foxes

As the longest week of my life draws to a close, things are shaping up to be pretty similar next week. In that regard, I regretfully have to inform you that there will be no Wednesday updates anymore. Oh, it was always a pipe dream, I could never keep up! That and we’re tearing through comics at a fierce rate these days, aren’t we? So from now on, let’s keep it simple. One comic, one update, one week. Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? Anywho, onwards and upwards with the review! I’ve alluded to reviewing this comic in the past, but now, John Connor, it is time!

Housepets! by Rick Griffin was cyberspace-worthy in June of ’08. This is not his first comic though, no. His first comic was In the New Age over on comicgenesis, his unique style still shining through. You can see the differences between In the New Age and Housepets! pretty easily. As you’ll see on the site, he’s been working on Housepets! for a while, developing his artistic talents to suit the characters (the great many there are), as well as working on the setting and the characters' personas for quite a long time beforehand. [Editor's Note: Rick tells me this was while he was waiting to get a tablet PC, but where some people would sit with their thumb up their ass doing nothing, he actually planned a fair bit. Good for you, Ricky!]. And by golly, it sure paid off! Wow, where do you begin with something this good? This comic ticks all the boxes that constitute a solid, funny, story-based strip. This is newspaper worthy. And not some cheap tabloid rag that’s used to wrap fish, no sir! But the fancy newspapers, that are read by the middle-class gentleman with a fountain-pen in one hand and a beer in the other. Housepets! primarily follows the tale of Grape and Peanut, the pet cat and dog (respectively) of the Sandwich family, as well as the various intertwining stories of the other pets in the neighbourhood. It’s like a sit-com about pets! Only better, ‘cos it doesn’t suck like a sit-com about pets would! Of course, all the little pets are anthropomorphisms of the actual animal, but I doubt it’s what you’d call a “Furry” comic. Those things are strange. It’s more like VG Cats in that respect, in that they’re animals, but can talk and act like people. Though in the Housepets! universe, the pets are treated more like kids than pets… Mostly.

The writing is great. I’ve seen better, I’ll admit, but the key component here is the artwork synergising with the writing. See how I use a fancy word? But man can’t live on words alone, there’s gotta be humour. Manys a sight gag, especially in the early comics and one-offs, will have you lol-ing with the best of them. The humour is pretty PG, and is kinda reminiscent of Calvin and Hobbes at times, which is always nice to see. I’m a firm believer in not having to revert to base humour such as cussin’ and the like, though it can work well, depending on what the comic is and how it’s delivered. Housepets! doesn’t really get the opportunity for awful language anyway, and uses situational and character driven humour to great effect. Which leads me nicely onto the characters themselves! There are quite a few, we’re introduced to all of them as stories progress, though combined with the uniqueness of their design, it’s easy enough to tell them apart. As I said before, Rick has been working on this long before starting it on the interwebs. He gets the characters and their various qualities across very naturally, and their development is equally impressive.

I should mention the artwork. Again: he’s been figuring this out for a while, not just in his head, but on the sketch pad too. It visibly shows. Like I said, there are differences between his old comic and this, notably in the characters' eyes. But the quality of his drawings are consistenly good. Looking at it, you’d think that Housepets! has been going for years, and it does take years for some artists to reach that level of comfort and consistency with their work. It’s truly wonderful to behold. The things I love most about this comic are the facial expressions. They’re very well done. And because we’re dealing with little kitties and doggies, we’re dealing with intense amounts of cuteness. I haven’t seen creatures this cute since I attended the Sixth Annual Miss Cute competition sponsored by Tiny Woodland Creatures Ltd. and The Boxes o’ Foxes Fine Fuzzy Faux Foot-Warmers collection. That’s why I fell in love with this comic anyway. I can’t not like the kitties. Kitties!

This may be one of the longest reviews I’ve written in a while now! I may keep them this long if I’m only doing the Saturday updates from here on out. In the meantime, check out Housepets! It’s too good to be missed. Really. Updates M/W/F and has a cuteness count of 8.3 on the Button Scale, that means each strip is 8.3 times cuter than a button! (If you’re still using the old (outdated) LOLcat Scale, it’s about a 14).
As always, here’s a taste (courtesy of the man himself) of what you’re missing out by not clicking the linky. Clicky it.

Being all critic-like!

Right now, I’m sitting here hopelessly distraught over my thesis project (apparently my laptop won’t read .stp files no matter how many viewers or converters I try) and not to mention the project itself has been going tits-up since X-mas when somebody left a fridge unplugged, leaving my teeny tiny yeast cells at the mercy of infectious fungi. Suffice to say I’m up Shizzle Creek without a… What to rappers sport these days… Bitches ‘n’ hoes, a gaudy chalice and a boombox! So I’ve been having a pretty damn crappy week, a week whose sheer shittyness runs into the next week, like some sort of diarrhea of epic failure. Ah well, what can I do?

Here’s what I did: I went done found me a comics! Drunk Elephant Comics by Max Riffner has helped me ease the pain. Mr. Riffner is a funny man. A really funny man. Even if you don’t like his comic (which is entirely unlikely) you should read his blog. Or, if you use alcohol to escape the more adverse aspects to your life, check out some of his drink recipies! Coming from the Land of Alcohol myself, this is something I can truly appreciate. Also: drink in moderation (I think there’s a few laws indicating that I have to say that).

So, Drunk Elephant consists of 3 main characters. Join Hank (he’s an alcoholic elephant, you know) and Marty (his newfound roommate and fellow alco) on their various escapades as they drink in their favourite bar with their much-beloved (much-breasted) bartender, Kacy (she has boobs). Going since September, this comic is partially story-based, with the rest comprising one-off funnies. Drink-related humour is the key here, folks and overall the humour is crude. But the best kind of crude. Like a hot nun wearing hotpants and slathered in unrefined oil. It is THAT crude. And it is THAT good. But in no way vulgar, son. Some people hear the word “crude” in regards comics and think “six-year-olds attempts to make a funny”. Those people couldn’t be more wrong (in this case, at least). In terms of realism… Well, it’s an alcoholic elephant, son, what do you think? Drunk Elephant can be a bit randomly bizarre, but you go along with it willingly because let's face it, if you're reading a comic about an elephant that enjoys a tipple, you expect a certain amount of it.

The artwork is proper. And I mean proper. The simple black and white flowing lines reflect the styles of humour nicely (look at me being all critic-like!). It reminds me a little of bars in the '40s, back when life itself was in black and white until they invented the colour TV. There are few, if any, complications in his style. Everything is short, sweet and to the point, and yet not entirely minimalist either, which is nice. Facial expressions - good (artists take note of how he comes up with them); hands - good (always a must, they're bastards to draw); backgrounds - quasi-existent but good when they're there (like I said, few complications, and backgrounds count as a complication in my book). Reminds me of the 3 panel black and white shorts of Chainsawsuit, too. Very nice.

And so we come to the final paragraph, wherein our world-weary child of the interwebs tries to summarise something he’s been trying to write about for the last two hours… I know, it took me two hours and what I wrote isn’t even entertaining. Fortunately, what I wrote about is. Go see Drunk Elephant. It’s a little beauty of a comic, and I’ll definitely be keeping up with it every Tuesday and Thursday, that’s for sure. And, with Max’s permission, here’s a little taste of things to come. Enjoy, folks.

The Most Useless Information Kiosk of All Time

Aside from Wikipedia, of course. Evel Knievel killed by ninjas? Factual. Between work and naps, I haven’t as much time as I’d like for comics. Weep for me. The other day, I was given a link to a few comics from some “peeps” from a forum. Yes, I am hip to the interweb jive. Really, I am. Anyway, there’s nothing I like to do more than tear through the archives of a particularly good comic. And today’s comic is quite possibly one of the most effectively ingenious comics out there right now.

Blank It has a simple premise, a classic love-hate buddy comic about two guys in a strange world that is, for all intents and purposes, nothing. Well, not entirely nothing, but you have to see it for yourself. Follow Lemmo and Aric as they try to make sense of their world, find hats, catch fire and read the most unnecessary information kiosk of all time. Drawn by Lemuel "Lemmo" "Lem" "Hot Soup" Pew (of Pure Pwnage and, most recently, Grinders) and written by Aric "Woefully Under-nicknamed" McKeown (of Ashfield fame), these two are an awesome force as a comedic duo. A dynamic duo, if you will. The two main characters are clearly based on the likenesses of Lem and Aric, and presumably a comic twisting of their actual personas. Having started way back in the summer of ’08, it’s clocked up over 70 comics and its story is now well underway. But it’s not too late to catch up, if I can do it, so can you. But not just yet! Finish reading me first. Please?

I usually like to break down the comic with respect to other, more famous comics to try and put it in some sort of perspective. Also, it makes my page more popular via the Googles (I say “more popular” but I’m just clinging to the vague hope someone might find me on the searchy majigger). But here, there is no comparison; it truly has its own sights and sounds. As far as the humour goes, and it goes pretty far, it's strange, but clever, a little random, but very witty. It’s hard to strike a balance with that kind of humour, VG Cats has done it well in the past, and I have to say Blank It does it even better. This comic is so well written, you could eat your own words off of it. Fancy!
The artwork is spectacular, to say the least. It’s very detailed; a professionally drawn cartoon-style that reflects the characters sentiments perfectly. Manys a time I’ve laughed my socks off at their facial expressions alone. “Heehee, look at him fly!” I said. Ah, good times. Lem’s style is fabulous though and if you’re an admirer of webcomic art, this is a must-add for your list.

How do you summarise a comic this good? One word, son: Awesome. It’s bloody hilarious, it’s fantastically drawn and it slew me when I first read it... and again the second time. Read it now, kids, it’s a winner. Updates Monday and Thursdays, sample panels below.

Of Mice, Not Pens

Now, I’m a man who likes to talk, usually without thinking first. This has landed me in a world of trouble on more than one occasion. There’s no “backspace” in real life conversation. Once you’ve said something, it’s pretty much a done deal. Sure you can pretend you were talking about something else, or act like you were temporarily possessed by the Demon Queen of Ragnor (I’ve no idea what I’m talking about either), but that’s not always going to work, and one of these days you’re gonna get rumbled, son. Long story short, don’t make pretend that a woman is pregnant when she says aloud that her blouse makes her look fat. That’s a life lesson. I make these mistakes so you don’t have to… And also they can be damn funny at the time.

Today’s comic is written and drawn by a bona fide sci-fi writer-guy, whom you may (or may not – I like to cover all the bases) have heard of. Joe Clifford Faust, author of several works including The Death of Honor, an excerpt of which I read was fantastically well-written, has for us a comic called The Home World. This story-based comic involves the tale of a man, his talking dog (yeah, talking) and their next-door neighbours, the stereotypical “Alien Greys” who have given themselves (ironically) stereotypical human names while they stay on Earth, so they can “blend in” while they try to act human. Of course, they make no effort other than this to disguise the fact that they’re aliens, which is a thick vein of comedy in itself!

The main characters are Garrett, the slightly slow, consistently naïve man whose sole purpose in life seems to be keeping his dog from getting into trouble. There’s a good bit of humour drawn from him, but Garrett is more of a humorous figure in himself than the jokes he tries to make. His dog, Speedy, is a constant source of funny throughout. He has a rapier sharp wit and is no stranger to trouble, seemingly enjoying making Garrett’s life difficult. It’s not hard to hide the fact you have a talking dog, especially with the Feds sneaking around looking for suspicious activity (haven’t they tried next-door?).

Artwork you say? Well, I wouldn’t call it art. And it barely qualifies as work at that. Only kidding, Ladies and Gentlemen! It is drawn using eazydraw on the Mac. Having seen manys a comic drawn of mice, not pens (do you see?), I can say that this one is pretty good. It’s still fairly obvious that it’s done with a mouse, but the style is just so that it steps a toe slightly out of convention in regards the "speech-bubbles". It's nice to see variation in this area, I find it to be a good indication of character.

I know I probably say this a lot, and it will eventually become my motto or some such, but I’d like to point out that this is a very new comic (only hitting strip #25 today) and has a long way to go in regards character development, artwork and finding a uniquely styled humour base. Right now, all in all, the humour of this comic is a solid, fundamental kind. Kinda reminds me of a 70s sit-com, though some people may not find it to their taste you should definitely check it out (I get the feeling it'll be a "you either love it or hate it" thing). The Home World. Be there, or be not. (Shakespeare said that… Ok, I paraphrased… Ok, but he did use “Be” and “not” in the same sentence, I know, I was there).

Surl's World

Did you know I take requests? Well, I do. Like some aging hippie musician, whose songs people have long forgotten, I play up to the audiences desires in order to feel loved. That and it’s the easiest way for me to know who’s new to the interweb scene. As such, I always welcome requests. Another point (technically you don’t have to read this paragraph, it’s usually nonsensical musings) is that webcomics come in all forms. They really do. And everyone has certain preferences. I like to think I have a wide taste, but that’s a lie. I don’t. But I do have to review comics that I find unfunny. Thankfully, today isn’t one of those days.


Today’s review is of Luke Surl’s untitled comic which, as you may have gathered already, has no name. You clever fellow. As I began reading this comic I recalled some of the major greats of observational comic humour. In Surl’s case, we are looking at major cacophony of semi-surreal observational humour styled as the likes of Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal, The Book of Biff and The Perry Bible Fellowship. If you like any one of those, you’re guaranteed a laugh from Surl’s World (That’s what I’m calling his comic now, mostly for ease of typing. I'm lazy like that).



It started way back in July of last year, way back when “recession” was a word heard, but never seen. The first few months are pretty hit and miss when it comes to hilarity, and the ones that are genuinely funnysome, are sometimes overwhelmed visually by the mediocre illustration. At the beginning, the artwork is a tad on the bad side of generic and the strips that weren’t up to his usual standard left me a little bemused. I saw the joke, I got the joke, but I didn’t laugh. Maybe my laughter valve was acting up again. More likely, the jokes were just poorly executed, a commonality shared among many beginning webcomics. It’s like there are just too many punchlines and sight gags floating around the creators mind and it shows that they don’t know what to do with them all, so ending up using some at the same time. As such, their delivery gets a little diluted.

Fear not, young Luke, for the Force is with you! Fast forward about six months and visible changes are pretty apparent in Surl’s World. In a nutshell, it gets funnier. The jokes are better executed. Heck, the jokes are just plain better. Why? I think, it’s because they’re more original and come across more naturally. It’s still observational humour, but it’s more original. It took a while, but this comic is slowly coming into its own. Bask in it, Luke! Bathe that comic in the unique glow of your own voice! Use the Force! The echoes of comics like Perry Bible Fellowship and SMBC are still there, but only insofar as similar styled witticisms being delivered. It’s nice to have a fresh perspective to such a fundamentally humorous observational style.
From an artistic point of view, as I said already, it starts off pretty crude and generic, but is quickly working its way up to a cleaner, more unique style. As of now, it’s decent, but not spectacular. Granted, the art style doesn’t carry a lot of weight in comics where the humour is clearly text-based, though it does help to carry off the joke. Bad art can, however, take away from a joke, even if said art is irrelevant. For example, the minimalist views of xkcd versus the signature simplistic styles of SMBC. Neither of them complicated, and both have a similar modus operandi.

I do suggest checking out Luke Surl’s comic. It’s good for a laugh or three, and there are many, many little gems throughout. Here’s a little taster so you can see for yourself. It updates M/W/F and I swear it is getting better by the day.

Satisfy your comic-buds!

Unique. This is a word I use infrequently. There’s a shopping chain here called “Unique”. Ironic, in that all the clothes-wear they have is pretty much the same. And if everyone shopped here, there’d be nothing unique about it. Which begs the age-old question: What the fuck? Anyway, today’s comic is truly unique. Not “unique like all the others” unique, but really it’s in a class of its own.
Serious Emotional Disturbances (SED) caught my attention immediately. I was hooked. It began back in February ’08, and follows the semi-autobiographical chronicle of 9 Bridges. That’s the artist’s name. A story about nine actual bridges would be pretty flimsy at best… Sure you could bring in bits about iron girders and concrete, or wood, even, if you’re into that sort of thing, you sick bastard. This comic is probably best compared to a saucy young nun/stripper that seduces obese rappers just for kicks. And by that I mean it’s so surreal, dark, hilariously bizarre and cleverly vulgar, it doesn’t fail to satisfy your comic-buds. For a primarily storyline based comic, it’s hardly a one-trick pony. Dotted with rants and other one-off escapades involving people in the author’s life, such as The Colorist, a mysterious paper-bag-masked individual, about who very little is known. Other characters include 9’s sister (who is sort-of invisible) and Chuckles, 9’s first friend in the town of Bumfuck (Seriously, read it for that alone). There are more, but character assassinations are costly. First I have to draw the assassin, then somehow get him into someone else’s comic without being caught. It’s tricky like that.
Style-wise, I have to say I’ve never seen anything like it; which is probably why I find it so compelling. I’ll always stress that a story-based comic must (MUST!) have good artwork to back it up, or the reader will pretty quickly lose interest. That’s a fact, mon ami. But SED does not disappoint. The style is individual from the start, quite detailed but still retains a simplistic, almost stick-figure-like innocence infused with what I can only describe as a face-painting style reminiscent of Native American tribes. Or maybe it just helps to tell the characters apart. What am I? An anthropologist?! Nay, I am not, and I shall do no such anthropologising. Even if you don’t find the content much to your taste, the artwork alone deserves very much merit. You have to see to believe. Recently, it seems to be finding a comfortable artistic niche and has never looked so good.
A summary you say? Alright fine. SED is surreal, unreal and at times, too real. Yes. Updates M/W/F (that’s Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays for those of you who don’t acronym like I acronym). Go see it with your eyes.

Webcomic for the Unimpressed

From time to time, when surfing the so-called ‘Internets’, browsing the old-reliable webcomics that I do, I very occasionally come across a little ad that catches my eye. “A webcomic for the unimpressed” it read! My attention was caught like a dolphin in a fishing net. I clicked. I was happy.
Rock, Paper, Cynic by Peter Chiykowski is one of those rare little gems that genuinely made me ‘lol’ out loud (as the those forum kids say nowadays). This comic had its beginnings in the margins of schoolhall notebooks. It has since shed the hurriedly-etched, back-of-the-lecture-hall environs wherein much fun was made from the gaping, flapping boredom of a tweed-coated toss-pot. Fortunately, it has lost none of the charm!
Clever and witty, it can be described easily (though insufficiently) as a cross between xkcd and Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal, but with far fewer math and graph jokes (for which I am eternally grateful). Artistically speaking, I can't say it's spectacular, but the content is the main focus here. Having only become web-borne on October 31st (be spooked), it’s still a fairly new comic finding its niche in a sea of… Well, a sea of everything really, that’s what the internet is. Fear not! Its voice shall sound through the din and 1337, to be heard by those who truly care. For this is no fetid carbon copy of a comic, but something neck twitchingly amusing, you'll be guffawing so hard. And that's not to mention its fanciful insights into silly putty.
Surreal, clever and, above all, cynical, this comic will provide a daily laugh and, if there truly is a god of webcomics, they will smile upon Rock, Paper, Cynic. Kids, go check it out. It’s the thing. Best of luck to them in the future. In the meantime, here's a taste of what I'm babbling on about.