Thursday, June 19, 2008

It's time for another review of the week in webcomics. I'm your guest host Daniel, filling in for Jackson while he's off doing family stuff and generally being lazy. So, without further ado, the week in short.

Over at Penny Arcade the site has been chosen as one of Time magazine's 50 best websites of 2008. Not only that, but the comic continues to amuse in a continuous recovery from a long lack of funny.

Speaking of lacking in funny, Ctrl-Alt-Del continues to pursue a rather unfunny storyline. While I understand his motivation in trying to bring a plot circle to a close, and can certainly see some logic in what he's done...still. Even if it is, as he says, a "gamer comic," about gamers rather than gaming, I see no reason to so drastically change the tone of the comic by introducing something so heavy to the plot.

Speaking of plot heaviness, Megatokyo is still around, and still confusing the hell out of me. As if the intricate plot wasn't hard enough to follow, the irregular schedule of updates for the past few months has made my understanding of the story (and I'll wager that of a lot of other readers) pretty lousy. Now I'm not going to lie: I love Megatokyo. It's the first webcomic I ever read (with the possible exception of VGCats), and although the plot is as intricate as that of any Dostoevsky novel, I stick with it. That being said...I'm glad it's on a side track right now, and I'm finally going to reread the last few chapters and find out what the hell's going on.

Octopus Pie continues to delve into Eve's relationships with her former friends, and naturally the best way to expose true feelings is to have it out in a huge laser tag battle.

Oh, and if you haven't been reading Gunnerkrigg Court, you should be. It's well written, well drawn, and just when I think that I've predicted the path of the story it always switches things up.

Another well drawn and well written webcomic is Girl Genius. I was turned on to this by a friend earlier this year, and I have to say, it's quite good.

Questionable Content is exploring Faye's insecurities again, which is typical, because she does have a lot of them. This last comic is a nightmare for clean freak Hannelore - in fact, lately she's been getting a lot of grief.

That about wraps up my foray into weekly webcomic review. Check these out too:

Misfile


Thinking Ape Blues


Flaky Pastry

See, wasn't that better than an SGD?

4 comments:

Jackson said...

Thanks for the guest hosting, Daniel! You did an excellent job to such a degree that I want to respond in depth to your various remarks on the webcomic news. But tomorrow is my cousin's wedding and I need to wake up early, so tonight it's time for sleeping...

David Ferrell said...

This is the part where I get to make fun of my brother for not reading Girl Genius (nevermind the fact that it's the only one I read consistantly). I applaud your taste Daniel. The world could certainly use more steampunk.

Jackson said...

Okay, Daniel! I have got a spare moment here on this vacation, so let's say some quick things in response! It's Actual Reply Time(tm)!

One: Octopus Pie is top-caliber cartooning. I don't even know how to describe the art style adequately. It's a perfect blend of loose wacky stylization and precisely-tuned craftsmanship.

Two: My opinion of Megatokyo is that it's a decent-to-good comic that owes much of its success to the anime craze. I stopped reading it regularly a couple months ago, due to the spotty updating. I wouldn't call the plot "intricate" so much as "chaotic"--much of its complication seems to result less from premeditated, well-planned plotting, and more from Gallagher trying to build an epic out of what was originally a make-it-up-as-you-go nerd-jokes comic. You have this weird towering thing that was built on a broad shallow foundation, and it sways in the wind, making a distant whistling noise as it looms over the face of webcomics. Still, weird towering things can be interesting to look at, so every now and then I tune in and catch up.

Three: I am really seriously trying to get into Girl Genius! Okay? It's hard to find time when you read too many webcomics already. Maybe if I stopped tuning in to the train wreck that is Ctrl-Alt-Del.

Four: Mmm, Gunnerkrigg Court. Recent comics feature robots. This delights me.

DanEcht said...

I largely agree with all that was said by all parties.