Red Slime . NET

Simulated Comic Product
by Kevin
http://www.simulatedcomicproduct.com

There is a disturbing trend which stalks the webcomic world. It hides in the shadows until you're settled then jumps out and throws a cream pie filled with caterpillars down your pants. That's right, RANDOM COMICS. That glimmer of ignorant inspiration that makes people think they can be funny by putting a chef in a tutu and making him quote Star Wars. It happens a lot and it's usually awful.

Simulated Comic Product is random. Wait! Come back! It's okay, because SCP does things the right way. While it is haphazard in terms of setting and characters (there is no ongoing story or set cast), the writing itself is thankfully missing the "crazy because it's funny" mentality of other comics in the genre.

The comic is of the basic gag-a-day persuasion, and unfolds in something of a sketch comedy style. That is, each strip is stand-alone and requires no previous knowledge of the comic. The subject matter varies wildly and includes robots, ghosts, businessmen, a predeliction for men in animal suits, alien interrogators and Shakespeare. Kevin seems to have a good grasp on how to establish situations quickly so that we can get right into the material, which really makes this style work.

The jokes themselves are often quite funny, deriving their humour from absurdity in the tradition of works like Monty Python. A real strength of the comic is its ability to keep you guessing about where things are going. I did feel at times that good jokes were held back by some noticable issues with timing and delivery. Sometimes there is too much space after a punchline, or too little, and ocassionally I failed to laugh simply because of how the joke was worded. Perhaps Kevin could benefit from looking at more comedic references in this regard.

However, SCP is an interesting case as it isn't all about the jokes. On a regular basis the absurd nature seems to extend to more philosophical areas dealing with such things as mortality and love. This can jarr a little when you are browsing the archives and expecting a joke, but this quickly passes. The nature of the writing is such that this actually works very well, it seems like a natural movement from the off-the-wall jokes to these more esoteric strips. On top of which these pages are usually quite clever and encourage a bit of thought - which is rare for any webcomic, never mind a gag strip.

Despite some minor flaws, the art in SCP looks good and is very appropriate to the comic. The clean, colourful cel-shading style is practically a staple in webcomics at this point, but for a gag strip its simplicity is a boon. The characters are easy to distinguish and the setting is always made obvious - helped immensely by the use of establishing shots when necessary, such as a strip set in space. The style also feels very familiar, without being a copy of any of the big, known artists. There are some issues with line quality and anatomy, but it doesn't detract from the overall presentation. Kevin has improved substantially since the beginning of the comic, and seems to continue to forge ahead.

Looking at the layouts, they are nice and simple, with each page consisting of three or four panels arranged newspaper-strip-style. The difference in shots is appreciated, with plenty of closeups and alternate angle choices to break up the page. With all the talking head comics out there, it shouldn't be underestimated how much interest this variation adds for the reader. Word bubbles and font choice manage to avoid all the usual issues and are unobtrusive.

The SCP website is another basically functional job, and feels a little impersonal. I can't get a real feel for the author from it, and as the main blog is hidden behind a link there's a sense of distance which might prevent it from gaining a large fanbase.

In the end, despite a few flaws, Simulated Comic Product is a good read. It shows exactly how to use the concept of randomness in writing without going overboard, as well as actually managing to be funny! The less humour-focused strips are also a nice touch and provide a little depth. If you like gag strips then this is certainly for you, although some pages require slightly more thought than your average poop joke. With a little tweaking to the art and writing it could easily be something special.

ART		7/10
WRITING		8/10
LAYOUT		8/10
SITE DESIGN		6/10
CONCEPT		9/10
OVERALL		8/10

Bad Ass Muthas
By "Daveryan"
http://www.badassmuthas.com/


Have you ever watched one of those movies that wasn't the best film out there, but was just freaking bad ass? Well that's what this comic is like. Bad Ass Muthas, a comic with an incredibly fitting name, is good blend of anime and American action movie style neatly packaged in online form.

I've been following this comic for quite a while, but still have a hard time defining the setting. It contains a hodgepodge of just about everything. Demons, robots, anthromorphs, magic, guns, swords, small towns, mysterious forests, grimy cities, etc. Some of the characters don't even fall into any widely-known category. Yet given the nature of the comic, is all seems to fit. Coupled with political intrigue and high-crime, BAM looks like it has a promising world set up.

But here in lies a problem. Despite that the characters have already been to numerous places, and fought numerous battles, we really don't know that much about them or the setting. Sure, a few things have been hinted at. But that's all it ever is; hints. Sometimes that can be enough (no need to over explain, after all) but at over a year you find yourself wishing the action would slow down so that you could actually learn a thing or two.

See, that's what BAM is mostly comprised of, action. Characters roam from one fight scene to the next with very little interlude. Thus, despite numerous witty (or bad ass) remarks we get very little solid character development. It seems that the author is skipping the expository things so he can get to the "good stuff".

On that note, Ive got to hand it to Daveryan. His fight scenes are some of the best I've seen in webcomics. Not only are they creative (at one point a character runs his car into his enemy, jumps out before the impact, then dive bombs the guy), but the art is highly dynamic and beautifully stylised. BAM's many battles are true masterpieces. They flow from panel to panel and page to page, which is far too rare a trait in webcomics.

Where battles might flow, dialog in BAM is sometimes hard to follow. Of course, that is when anyone has something to say, instead of spouting trash-talk or one-liners. You can layout the visual half of a comic in a creative way, but speech still reads left to right, top to bottom.

The story, or what story we get thus far, is about a pair of criminals with incredible super powers (but most everyone has powers. It's why combat in BAM makes Spartans cry) who have trouble with the law. Pretty typical stuff, but fun. I'd go into more detail, but frankly, without giving away spoilers, there's not much more story.

Of course, BAM is relatively new, and updates slowly. Perhaps in time it will develop a solid plot. Perhaps not. For now, think of Bad Ass Muthas as that action movie you only watch for the violence.

ART		9/10
WRITING		5/10
LAYOUT		7/10
SITE DESIGN		8/10
CONCEPT		6/10
OVERALL		8/10

Kaspall
By Lucy Lyall
http://kaspall.xepher.net/archive.html

Kaspall is a fantasy story, set in a multiverse where even dreams can become real. Magic here is performed by wizards known as Psychomancers, who, if powerful enough, can alter the minds of other people. The comic gets its name from the city in which the story takes place, where most of the residents are anthromorphic animals (I won't use the term "furry" since the comic justifies in story why they are there).

At first glance there is neither one on-going plot in Kaspall nor a central main character. Instead, stories are played out in scenes, leaping back and forth between a 13-year-old boy who is being hunted by a shadows beasts; the police who are searching for a high-level psychomancer; a dead daydream world whose people have started returning; and the residents of Green Acre Street who are trying to adjust to their lives, college, and work. However, despite receiving as much screen time, the central plots seem to piece together around the thirteen year old boy, Alex Grey, who has been dropped mysteriously into the story since page two. Even after 150 pages, it's hard to discern how this puzzle of a comic fits together. In fact it still hasn't been explained what exactly happened to the boy in the Prologue.

The artist sticks to a simple black and white release; pencil to ink. Shading is well done and the overall page comes off as a polished work. Backgrounds are interesting to look at and simply help push that this world isn't exactly Earth. However, there was a time or two in reading the comic that character design issues came up; usually when some of the anthromorphic animals look too human when drawn straight on. They become humans with animal ears drawn on their heads. What does bother me more than these minor character design problems is the dialogue. There were times when word bubbles make it hard to decipher right away who is speaking, either due to placement on the page or because the bubbles themselves need to be differentiated for separate speakers (I noticed that this occurs on some pages, but not others). Sometimes I found it took several readings of certain pages to figure out who was actually talking.

Since the characters are not the main focus of the story, some of the cast fall into stereotypes. The ever-spunky room mate, the poor overworked man who has a horrible job and life, and the landlord who is the cliché of the bastard with the heart of gold are just a few examples. I hope that in the future pages, those characters get fleshed out a little more. Also, hopefully Lyall will develop the guide-newbie relationship between Alex Grey and Sam Goldbourne along the way, since the two humans were forced to share an apartment. On the lighter side of the writing, I favor the Psyc-scan scene where we venture into the mind of the guard and the fact that animal instincts are more apparent with the rabbit's way of life in the burrow is a plus. There are certainly some interesting ideas floating around inside the comic which are allowed to develop thanks to the constantly changing perspective.

The site itself is missing a few things. I would like to see more information on the about page such as a summary of how the world is structured with the psychomancers, a glossary of terms used in the story would help some confusion, as well as a map of places in Kaspall. Since the comic is based around a city, it would be nice to have more details like this. The rest of the site is simple design for function, other than the home page of the site, which could do with some touchups graphics wise and at least a link to the first page of the comic, rather than going through the archive to retrieve it.

I've enjoyed reading Kaspall and have decided to bookmark it for future reading. I'm hoping to see where the story will take us and how it will piece together in the end. However, I find myself split on recommending the comic. There have been so many negative things written about comics that use talking animals, one would feel wary about reading it. But Kaspall does use anthromorphic animals in a way which avoids the usual cliches and cringes. I recommend it. Even though some of the characters are a little undeveloped at the moment, that's not enough to keep the comic down. Truly, Kaspall is a wonderful tale about a magical city and its intriguing inhabitants.

ART		7/10
WRITING		5/10
LAYOUT		6/10
SITE DESIGN		5/10
CONCEPT		6/10
OVERALL		6/10

Life with Dragons
by 'J. Riley McCool'
http://www.drunkduck.com/Life_with_Dragons/index.php?p=132709

Life with Dragons is a fantasy that seems to be aimed at a younger audience. However, I could live to be a hundred and still have no idea what's going on in this comic. The tale begins when a vampire is given, as a pet, some sort of monster that kills anything it touches (yes, creatures that make anything near them stop being alive are great pets). As it turns out, the pet, who looks like a little kid, has some powerful magic about him. So in order to stop the bad guys from getting the kid, a group of vampires set out to take him to the lands of the dragons. Adventure ensues.

You know, that sounds like an alright plot. It's not the most original idea to grace the web, but most comics rely on the way the story is told, not the overall idea. Too bad the writer has little to no knowledge on how to tell a story. While reading Life with Dragons, you will get horribly confused trying to find out who is who and what's happening. It seems like McCool doesn't know either, as the story changes direction on a whim. Pacing is god-awful, the dialog makes little sense (and is full of spelling and grammatical errors), and the characters all act the same but for a few stereotypes. New storylines are introduced then abandoned like cheap toys. Hell, characters that got killed off in previous pages come back with no explanation whatsoever. It's like a puzzle was put together wrong with several pieces missing (possibly mistaken for candy and eaten).

The art is almost as confusing as the story. A character's design, or even the art style, can change from panel to panel, making remembering who's who a jarring task. Coloring and lining quality are poorly executed and the layout seems like it was thrown together at random. It doesn't help that many panels are copied and pasted from previous pages. Not only is that a no-no in the webcomic community, but when done so obviously and unprofessionally like in Life with Dragons it comes off as cheap.

In conclusion, don't read Life with Dragons. There are thousands of comics online. Even if you love fantasy, even if you love stories with dragons and/or vampires, even if you want to take up the challenge of figuring out what the hell's going on, please, for your own good, don't subject yourself to this poor excuse for a webcomic.

ART		2/10
WRITING		1/10
LAYOUT		2/10
SITE DESIGN		3/10
CONCEPT		4/10
OVERALL		2/10

Goblins
by 'Thunt'
http://goblinscomic.com/


Like many fantasy comics, Goblins is heavily influenced by the popular roleplaying game Dungeons and Dragons. Don't let that discourage you, though. In fact, it's one of the things that makes this comic what it is. The world doesn't just have races and classes from D&D, but its complex set of rules. Characters argue with each other about initiative, comment of the damage in dice dealt by certain weapons, and refer to the D&D Monster Manual when faced against a creature.

Yet this doesn't seem to, necessarily, take place within a game itself. Rather, Goblins is set in a realm where the rules of the game are the rules of the world. What makes this even more interesting is the majority of the protagonists are Goblins, a weak race often killed by low-level adventurers for nothing more than experience points. These characters strive to save their clan from becoming XP, and we see the world from the eyes of what many deem to be an evil race.

While a knowledge of the game rules enhances the experience, you don't need to know the game to enjoy the comic. The several lovable (and some downright detestable) characters in Goblins provide plenty. In fact, you may find yourself attached to various characters, even though some are on different sides and may very well end up in fights to the death at some point. However, the sheer number of fleshed out characters and complicated, interconnecting storylines can get overwhelming at times.

Art is of good quality. The style is cartoony, simple, and consistent, and all but the earliest pages are in color. Thunt does a wonderful job on facial expressions, too. Aside from Thunt's marketing campaign (which I will talk about) the website offers the basics (such as some extras in the form of desktops, fan art, a gallery of the artist's, links, and an active forum). Due to the number of characters, it would be nice if there could be a profiles page. Hell, seeing as the game is D&D we could even get some of their stats in this.

So everything is pretty fine and dandy then, right? Wrong! I do have one major gripe with Goblins, and that's what seems to be a poor choice of priorities of the creator's part. Goblins updates once a week (supposedly Saturdays, but most often later) with a plot advancing, flurry of pages. However, you can never count on when the updates will come, and that's annoying. Don't get me wrong. Jobs, family, school, etc should come before webcomic creation.

While some of the above might be Thunt's case, the update schedule of Goblins seems to be off at least partially due to a different reason. I like to call that reason 'profit'. In addition to the main comic, Thunt has a sort of mini-comic called Tempts Fate. In this a goblin (with the name Tempts Fate) is given a list of trials he must pass in order to unlock a Goblins desktop. In order to pass a task, which Thunt fully illustrates in comic form, a certain number on the donation meter must be met. So in other words, when people donate to Thunt, they gain some bonus comics and maybe a desktop. And you know what? That's a great idea. It really is.

However, having been a reader of Goblins before this Tempts came into play, it seems that these unreliable updates started around the same time as Tempts Fate. The extra comics are good for a chuckle now and then, but just don't measure up to the main comic. And the main comic seems to suffer for it (in reliability, not quality)

If you like Dungeons and Dragons you'll love Goblins. If you've never touched a core rule book in your life then the odds are good you'll still appreciate the comic. Just beware that updates are going to be a bit sporadic.

ART		6/10
WRITING		8/10
LAYOUT		7/10
SITE DESIGN		5/10
CONCEPT		9/10
OVERALL		7/10

Blue Zombie
By 'Esrix', 'GAH!' and 'JAKAL' (retired)
http://entity.comicgen.com/


Blue Zombie is a terrible comic, although you may not have actually noticed. It sneaks up on you. Like going to the dentist expecting a lecture about tooth decay and Dr Wong informs you that you have AIDS.

The comic centres around a girl "zombie" (more on the quotes in a minute) and her disfunctional cohorts. The requisite ever-so-crazy cast is there with a demon, a sorceress and her angry evil family, mystical bounty hunters complete with eye-patches, and talking objects just because. Basically they seem to have adventures of some sort between going shopping and playing video-games. If I sound vague on this then I've accurately captured how reading it made me feel - confused and misled.

Firstly, I'd like to get something out of my system. There are NO zombies in this comic. Characters referred to as such seem to be generic supernatural creatures which have been raised from the dead and grow claws randomly. One even sprouts wings when needed. They look like normal people, talk like normal people, emote, and wear nice clothes. In fact, the only time when you even remember they're supposed to be zombies is when they are setting up a joke about decapitation. Esrix has raped a classic horror concept until all that is left is a cutesy little pink-haired abomination, and I am filled with hate.

Anyway, the comic proper is your stock standard modern fantasy, placing a bunch of misfit supernaturals into the world we call home and observing the results. There are some original twists on the norm, some more successful than others (Hair made of feces? Who came up with that acid trip concept?), but overall you get the usual fare. It sounds great in theory but in practice it makes my brain bleed out my ears. There is absolutely no attempt to integrate the setting with the comic. The characters live in a house like any other house, they are all roommates for a mostly unspecified reason (big points on originality there). Sometimes demonic things turn up and people fight, but it all feels incredibly detached. The only normal people you see in the story are the next-door neighbours who are cookie-cutter sweet and wacky, and there is no real sense that anything happens in this universe that isn't painfully centered around our main cast. The whole comic is more devoid of life that was likely intended.

This is certainly not helped by the fact that it is BORING. I mentioned the stock plot, but Blue Zombie also manages to pack itself full of stock characters and disgustingly obvious dialogue which makes Star Wars look like Wordsworth. The resident demon (characterised by being a demon) enjoys cloaks and tormenting people, the little girl has deep emotional issues, the evil twin is evil, and the stupid guy (trademark) always does stupid things. Nothing surprising will ever happen because everyone has their neat little pocket of personality. Hell, one character actually refers to itself as the "Ultimate Evil", which is about the least impressive thing a villain ever did. It all fits together, though, as the others are busy uttering such gems as "...she was my ally in battling evil..." and "Kneel before their power!"

Of course the worst thing about Blue Zombie's writing by a huge margin is the comedy interludes. Their main problem is that they are completely unfunny. There are several running gags, including cookies and the usual webcomic obsession with slapstick, but nothing ever seems to hit the mark. One painful episode has the characters all going on blind dates for a reality TV show. A big impasse seems to be that they are going for character based humour much of the time, but failing miserably since they forgot to find any characters. Even worse, this sequence is actually made to lead into a serious discussion about love between two of the cast. Subtle as a brick.

Actually, its difficult to determine if the comedy or the drama is the intermission, as they both get equal airplay. This is one on the long list of comics that decides to mash gags and heavy drama together like a hooker mixes drinks. And subtle it isn't. One minute the characters are under seige by an evil force which wants them dead, the next they're decapitating each other in HILARIOUS ways for stealing cookies. It is nigh on impossible to take any of the real story seriously when it is slapped next to a bunch of cliche nerds having a Counterstrike party. This random storytelling and a total lack of well-written conclusions to arcs means the comic is very hard to follow and it actually becomes frustratingly painful to keep track of where you are and what is happening on each page.

As if the comic weren't hard enough to navigate, the archives are also full of filler comics, guest pages, and drawn out self-insertions to celebrate each year of the comic's existence. They break up what little flow remains and seem totally out of place. Ideally these should be removed from the archives and placed on a separate page.

Art-wise, Blue Zombie is much less offensive. The comic has a cute sort of cross between anime and Disney which is generally passable. Esrix has noticeably improved over the years and seems to continue to do so. The characters are reasonably well-defined visually, although there are quite a few instances where it is a trial to guess which person is which - not helped by his apparent obsession with hair and hair-styles, changing them rapidly. A huge faux pas was revealed to me on page 119, when you discover that the ash white character with dreadlocks is actually A NEGRO. Amazing. Of course we should have guessed with that culturally sensitive hair.

There are high points in the art, certainly, even though the past comics flip styles like they're on fire. The shading and various washes, particularly in recent pages, are very well done and even beautiful in some cases. On the occasion that there is no shading you can really see the difference. Unfortunately the shading hides a few glaring shortfalls in the artwork itself. There is very little structure to the characters and not much attention to detail. Most of the cast dress in blank, featureless t-shirts and pants, exacerbating the issue of telling them apart. Also of concern is that while almost everything - from backgrounds to anatomy - has improved since the beginning, the faces are almost identical. The slightly more realistic art of the rest of the comic is undermined badly when everyone looks like an emoticon. The most interesting part of the art is probably the fight scenes, which are quite well choreographed and drawn out for the most part. The rest of the visuals do a passable job, looking decent enough without doing anything overly special (although I enjoyed the eyeball-popping moment).

A quick mention of the site - dull. The layout of their website is functional but not interesting. My one real complaint is the lack of a proper archive page, as trying to scroll through a drop-down menu is tedious and irritating.

Unsurprisingly, I can't recommend this comic. The art does the job well enough without getting flashy. The idea is interesting enough, although not terribly original, but nothing interesting is ever done with it. The jokes are horrible and remove any remaining weight from the dramatic plot sequences, although alone they are riddled with cliches and bland developments. The characters are paper-thin, none of them standing out particularly despite the inclusion of "cool powers". Without some major overhauls Blue Zombie should be buried deep.

ART		5/10
WRITING		3/10
LAYOUT		4/10
SITE DESIGN		3/10
CONCEPT		4/10
OVERALL		4/10

 

Post Nuke
By Andreas Duller
http://www.postnukecomic.com/index.php
 

Post Nuke is a classic post-apocalyptic story.  Taking place after a nuclear war (I hope one could gather that from its title) the story follows that of a man and his dog who wander the wastes, scavenging goods to trade.  Throw in some other tidbits, such as the protagonist having a dead family/ descending into insanity/ being a general badass, an evil futuristic dictatorship, and mutants, and you’ve got yourself a rather common post-apocalyptic formula.  There are a few little twists in this plot to make it shine; including some psychological – and perhaps even psionic or extra-terrestrial aspects - and it shows signs of getting far more engaging in the future.

What Duller does well is give his setting a sense of realism rarely found in this genre.  People live in squalid, maddening conditions; they are willing to kill each other in order to gain only the smallest something.  What mutants we’ve seen thus far aren’t some impossibly evolved race, they’re miserable tumor-ridden wretches (though friendly mutants have been mentioned).  And the world seems to be more than an excuse to have people dress up all cool-like and hop on their Road Warrior super cars to go kill something; the conditions seem believable.  It’s clear that the author did his research, and that counts for a lot.

In terms of art, Post Nuke seems to have a unique situation going.  Most webcomic artists seem to be worse at backgrounds/ big machines than they are at drawing people.  Duller proves to be the opposite.  The technical art of Post Nuke is beautiful.  Guns, cars, tanks, equipment, etc, it all looks pretty top-notch most of the time.  On the other hand, while the people aren’t drawn poorly, they come off as stiff.  It’s almost as if the technical drawing style is also being employed in drawing the human body and face.  By no means should this comic go towards a more cartoon-like style, but it would benefit from more animated characters.   

On the other end of the spectrum, writing, Post Nuke again has its good and bad areas.  The plot is solid, characters make sense, and the protagonist’s mad rambling provides some dark humor in a mostly serious story.  Just beware of exposition, or the act of explaining something in large chunks of text rather than through action.  Once in a while the story breaks into a wall of words that can be hard to digest.

Post Nuke updates perhaps once or twice a month, and has no fixed time for when the new pages come.  Unlike many comics with similar situations, Duller does give constant progress reports, so that’s courteous.  The slow update schedule, in tandem with a somewhat complicated storyline, may be enough to force away a hardcore fan base.  Perhaps that’s why Post Nuke has little fan art and no forum.  It is certainly popular, given its standing, but it is my theory that most fans read it casually.

It is most certainly not for everyone, but if you like the post-apocalyptic setting then you should enjoy Post Nuke.  It’s not perfect, but this gritty futuristic action comic rarely fails to deliver realism and entertainment.

ART		7/10
WRITING		7/10
LAYOUT		6/10
SITE DESIGN		6/10
CONCEPT		6/10
OVERALL		7/10

This is a site for writing (and occasionally arting) about online and print comics. Contained within you'll find reviews, commentary, articles, opinion pieces, debates and tutorials related to the sequential art. Maybe even a post about how pretentious the phrase "sequential art" is!

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