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.

Is "meh" a word yet?

Ok, wow, so one or two things. First off, I’ve joined the gigantic attention-yearning foray that is Twitter. Really, it’s pretty much a big huge “LOOKEE HERE AT WHAT I AM SAYING!!1!ONE”. But here’s a CT-guarantee, folks! I’m gonna find you all good comic strips, every single day. And in a rare, double-whammy decision, I’ll disparage all the crap ones! Yes, I will! So follow me on twitter with all the other Twitts (the extra ‘t’ means it’s non-derogatory!). Secondly, I’ve been meaning to bestow some thanks. Many of you have “electronically” mailed me, thanking me no less! I love you all, but it is I that should be thanking you for your readership and keen interest in webcomics. Also, a very special thank-you to Lifon, who has commented on pretty much every post. You guys can learn something from him. Learn with your eyes.


Man oh man, I love pandas. So when I happened across Pandamonium!! I was pretty excited. There aren’t nearly enough Pandas out there in the webcomic world. Written by Jonathan and Hanna Velez, Pandamonium!! follows the tale of a Panda, his son and their sometimes pal Frank, the monkey and their life in the city zoo. Pandas, being the fuzziest of all the endangered species, are treated like kings. Endangered kings! So prep your eye-buds for some lazy-ass-panda-oriented humour, kids. Because that’s what this is. And having only started in December, there’s not much catching up to do!

Now this isn’t really a story-style comic, but there are a few related comics throughout. And there are some very nifty one-offs! Speaking honestly, the pure fact that they’re pandas is what makes this comic. It’s not something overly clever or witty but, by gum, there be panda bears! And a fair few of the strips within had me chortling (who says that anymore?). I’m not sure what I can really compare it to, it’s not spectacular. But… Pandas!

The obligatory paragraph on the artwork is here! There’s really not much to say. It’s mostly a simple black and white comic, with some of the one-off exceptions. The drawings are pretty… Hm… Is “meh” a word yet? Naw, it's ok and definitely getting better. Further, the pandas are cute and it all adds to the charm. And that’s what matters in the end, right? And Tin Man, you had a heart all along! And Scarecrow, so did you!

All in all, I’ll be following Pandamonium!!, and here’s why. It’s got potential. You know my motto, new webcomics are still finding their feet, their niche and their comfort zone artistically. I wish it the best! Here’s a taste of some of the good stuff.





I’d also like to add (as an addendum, yes) that all suggestions for review are welcome with open arms! Though I do generally review comics that are less than a year old. Long story short, check out Galaxion. It’s Sci-Fi and it’s awesome, and it’s been running since March ’07, so I won’t be reviewing it. Sorry! But you can expect Twitters about it! Or “tweets”. Or whatever they’re called.