Arts and Webcomics

Two more designs finished:

Princess Starra and SkyArrow.

Someday I'll be done these, I swear.

Someone once asked me what webcomics I thought were worth reading. To give me a break from yelling about Harper, I figure this would make a good topic - so over the next few blog entries, I'm going to be sharing the webcomics on my reading list, and giving mini-critiques explaining why I think each one is head and shoulders above the rest.

String Theory: This is billed as a supervillain's origin story. It's funny and cute, with a cartoonish style, with a nice blend of humour and drama (leaning heavily toward the humour side, admittedly). The first bits of the comic are in black-and-white, and colour elements are introduced in a thematically-appropriate manner as the story progresses. The writing is solid enough that I can even forgive the occasional spelling error.

Rice Boy: This is actually a trio of comics, two of which are finished, and all of which are easily among the best webcomics have to offer. The eponymous Rice Boy is the first story, with a very simplistic art style and a fantastically surreal setting; the story deals with themes of the nature of the divine, faith, and fate, and creator Evan Dahm's style really evolves throughout what turns out to be a truly epic story - one that strikes me as something like a cross between Bone and Alice in Wonderland.

Rice Boy is followed by a prequel of sorts, Order of Tales, which is a pen-and-ink romp involving bards, romance, evil overlords, and the importance of stories. It's not as good as Rice Boy, in my opinion, but it's still very, very good.

Lastly, Evan Dahm is currently working on Vattu. It's just gotten up and running - I'm unsure what the story's going to be about, or where it fits chronologically in his world setting, but even at first glance you can tell how far his art's come since the beginning days of Rice Boy.

Effort Comics: A frequently not-work-safe comic that's definitely not without its flaws. The scripting often comes across as awkwardly constructed, and the plotting moves at a snail's pace. As far as I've been able to tell after reading it for the better part of a year, the comic is about some twenty-something losers (mostly) who are trying to find out what they want in life, love, and everything else, set in a world where Toons are real. Kinda like, um... I dunno, Friends meets Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

Anyway, despite its flaws, the art style is what's kept me reading; the creator, who goes by the name of Ovens, has a very refined style that's pretty much pitch-perfect for her subject material. It has an energy and vibrancy that's clearly apparent even when her characters are sitting around talking (as they are frequently wont to do.)

Magellan: This is one of the webcomics that got me wanting to start my own. I've been reading it for years, and it's one of the very few decent superhero webcomics on the internets today. Made by creator Stephen Crowley and based in Crowley's home country of Australia, the webcomic follows the exploits of, generally, the students and faculty of Magellan Academy, specifically focusing on one Kaycee Jones, currently Magellan's only non-powered student. There's lots of swearing and very rarely the comic will have a bit of nudity, so it's not-work-safe but it's all very appropriate to the story.

The art is a bit rough around the edges, particularly when he's trying to portray action. What really got me reading the comic, and kept me around, is the world-building Crowley engages in. He doesn't really bother with infodumps, but you can tell lots of thought went into creating his world setting and all the characters that populate it. And he's got lots and lots of characters, very few of whom ever strike me as throwaway - I think he puts a lot of thought into who these people are, even when they're just in the background for a few panels.

Sadly, it's been on hiatus for a few months now, though it's got a huge archive of already-completed chapters and is set to start up again before too long.

That's all for now. See you next time.