Webcomic Book Club Full Reviews of Ozy & Millie by David Craig Simpson

Ozy & Millie Review Premise As others mentioned, this is a webcomic very much in the tradition of daily newspaper strips ("Pogo", "Bloom County" and "Calvin and Hobbes" appear to be the most obvious influences). It tackles politics, philosophy, American pop culture, parent-child issues, and schoolyard social dynamics. Ozy and Millie are a pair of anthro-fox grade school kids--Ozy being low key and contemplative while Millie is outrageous and seeks attention. They age from 8-years old to 11(?) during the current span of the strip. However, their actual level of maturity varies greatly. Sometimes the gags are of the "Gee Mom, why do I have to clean up my room?" variety. But often the characters act more like high school kids obsessing over popularity, coolness and their status in the school hierarchy. And sometimes they are more like college students, engaging in a dorm room-like philosophy discussions on Immanual Kant and the nature of existence. But these maturity shifts somehow still work. You accept the fact that they serve (to a certain degree) as mouthpieces for the writer's own views. Cast "Ozy and Millie" has a terrific cast of characters. Simpson constantly finds new ways to explore their archetypal natures without seeming stale. My favorite two are Ozy's "seen it all", wise and caring dragon father (a really ideal dad) and the eager raccoon, Avery, who never tires of new schemes to make himself cool. The characters always seem to shine even when some of the material is a bit weak. Art The inking/line work for the first couple of years is a little scraggly and/or poorly scanned. But by mid-2000 the lines really have a nice, smooth appealing look that continues through today. You're not likely to see any knock-your-socks-off visuals, but the character designs are all solid, appealing and professionally executed. The colored pieces are especially nice. Timeliness vs. Being Dated Generally, my least favorite strips are those that deal with politics or pop culture references. While on the one hand there is a certain amount of fun revisiting key events from the past four years as filtered through the comic (Monica Lewinsky, the dot-com frenzy, hanging chads, 9-11, war in Afghanistan, reality TV, etc.), as others have noted, it makes the strips feel a little dated. The references that can make a strip like this extremely hip on a given day, also makes it far less appealing for someone like me coming along years later, absorbing the massive archives over a few days. I guess as a come-lately reviewer, I will always have a preference for longer form stories vs. strips that veer into the editorial cartoon genre. The pop culture reference humor usually didn't work for me, and not just because it was dated. Unfortunately, the strips seemed to rely on the mere mention of some derided celebrity's name (Regis Philbin, 'N Sync, Michael Bolton, Kathy Lee Gifford) to be the source of humor in and of itself. (Example) A Persistent Pet Peeve Time and again, Simpson undercuts the humor of his strips with added verbiage or an unnecessary final panel, over-explaining the point rather than just letting the punch lines actually punch. (Examples: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9) And then, in case a few readers still didn't get the point, there are strip descriptions at the bottom which often further underline and deaden the impact. It's not that I disliked the above strips, I just wanted them to be tighter. Favorite Strips Despite my criticisms, the strips I liked, I really liked. Here is a rough smattering of my "Ozy & Millie" greatest hits selection: International diplomacy http://www.ozyandmillie.org/1998/om19980119.html http://www.ozyandmillie.org/1998/om19980120.html Millie's ethically sound company http://www.ozyandmillie.org/1998/om19980911.html Millie's theatrics http://www.ozyandmillie.org/2001/om20011105.html Getting older http://www.ozyandmillie.org/2002/om20021127.html The dot com age (these may be dated, but they still worked for me) http://www.ozyandmillie.org/1998/om19980113.html http://www.ozyandmillie.org/1999/om19990802.html Practical applications of philosophy http://www.ozyandmillie.org/1999/om19991020.html http://www.ozyandmillie.org/2000/om20000809.html Other philosophical goodies http://www.ozyandmillie.org/2000/om20000903.html http://www.ozyandmillie.org/2001/om20010618.html http://www.ozyandmillie.org/2002/om20020502.html http://www.ozyandmillie.org/2002/om20020504.html http://www.ozyandmillie.org/2003/om20030320.html The punchline of this strip could apply to comics in general and I think serves as a splendid way to close this review: http://www.ozyandmillie.org/2000/om20000818.html Review by The Phantom Critic Sun Mar 30 2003 05:28 PM

when i read ozy and millie, i think back on the the day when i was 5 years old, and first found clavin ahd hobbes. i have always thought of calvin and hobbes as the best comic in the history of comics. re reading the old books, i still feel that deep connection swelling up inside of me, the land of imagination and greatness, with that being said, my revew will be very bias. so here goes. art clean and neat. very newspaper cartoonish. i like. no ambiguity about the characters, just clean and nice. story generally gag a day strips, but has the moderately long storylines. here it does have a definite watterston feel. even in the storyline strips, each comic holds its own. cast Ozy: similar in use to hobbes, the calming force in the duo, while also being an instigator sometimes. very neat character. Millie: very similar to Calvin, the instegator, the rebel, the wierd one. i can see millie coming up with the idea of calvinball. at the same time, liek calvin, millie is very smart. Stephan. a nerd, a geek, a dork, and proud of it. Ozy's Dad: another interesting character. one of the best characters in the strip as a whole. i just like him for some reason Ms. Mudd: very very much liek calvins mom. does the same things, acts the same way. even sometimes looks similar. but not in a copywright stealing way. just the average mom of a kid. Timulty: a little kid. very innocent, and very, dare i say it, funny. thats all i have time to do. overall i really do enjoy reading every new strip of ozy and millie, the Zen references, the calvin and Hobbes simlaritys, it is a strip that seems made for me. and so i loath to give it anythign but a 10 out of 10 purple striped rocks. Review by Zen l33t Fri Mar 28 2003 08:35 PM

After finally finishing the archives tonight, it is time for my illuminating (he just picked that word at random, folks) review of Ozy & Millie! Seriously, it was a good thing to run through the archives against-just to see how it had changed, if nothing else. The art has certainly changed over time-they have a good deal of detail, compared with the earlier versions. And while you can certainly tell the family resemblance between Millie and her mother, they are also not the same-if we ever see Millie as a grown-up, I expect she'll be significantly different in appearance. The humor has changed as well-and a good deal for the better, I think. Many of the references that popped up in the earlier strips were very topical. And while I understood what was said, the humor no longer fit. This still appears in the more recent strips, but to a smaller extent. The jokes are usually funny, but not much-the strip rarely strikes me, and many of the jokes are vaguely repetitive. The story arcs rarely operate on a large scale. They can stretch for some time, but unless you follow it closely, they seem to revert back to the daily gag strips. On the other hand, that fits very well with the characters, and I don't think a serious story arc would be that enjoyable. Overall, Ozy & Millie isn't really sharp in its humor, or striking with its characters/art. But I do like the fact that the artist is doing what he wants in there, and what happens seems natural to the characters-sometimes the weirdness pans out for them. Other times, it breaks down like a lot of kid plans do. So on that score, at least, it's VERY realistic. And as a side note....one thing to watch out for with anthro comics, in my opinion, is what roles species play. Ozy & Millie doesn't highlight this often, but it usually does it well to me. I give Ozy and Millie 7 out of 10. I think it could stand tighter writing for the jokes, and more experimentation-my big concern with it was how much it was like a newspaper comic (and on that note, I noted a LOT of Bloom County and Calvin & Hobbes similiarities with the early comics), and I'd like to see a little more experimentation. But it's a solid comic as it stands. Review by Benor Fri Mar 28 2003 06:41 PM

A review of Ozy & Millie by Kajamir the Giant O&M is a strip I would describe best as being 'quaint'. It's pleasant and nice to look at. The content is good, but not usually too reactive when read. The comic prides itself a bit on intellectualism, common wisdoms, and political mockery. It's good, but some of it has that 'been there, seen that' quality. In fact, I couldn't shake the sensation O&M is similar to Calvin and Hobbes. I wonder if the one picture of O&M dressed as Calvin and his tiger is more than coincidence. Plot wise, stories, perhaps better described as themes, typically run a week. You'll find them concerning simple conflicts from foolish administrators, schoolyard bullies, to the shallowness of people. O&M stories deal with a lot of common day problems presented in a formulaic humorous manner. I wouldn't doubt that O&M is well suited for newspaper syndication. Ozy and Millie themselves, while one is very calm and the other being random, respectively, they are a bit uneven in approach. Sometimes they behave very much as young children, playing with toys and so forth, while other times they're discussing things like adults several times their age. An instance when Millie is having a dream about a Newt Gingrich fairy strikes me as rather dated even from the year it was made, to just looking like a pointless reference now. Other characters are typically more believable as who they are. My favorite is Ozy's dad, a polite intellectual dragon anthro, whose milder quirker personality seems to easier befit his offbeat personality. Yet, I don't find it plausible an elementary school child would be jamming and singing Dylan, while the little girl fox yammers on about contemporary politics. Because they live in a slightly fantastical based world, watching them go on about real world issues with common humor strikes me as 'Do as I say, not as I do.' O&M has some nice art. It's crisp, cute without being naueseating, and concisive. I'm not left to wonder what any gender or object is. The text is clean, and rather error free. It looks like time was taken to make it look nice. It's possible the artist has reached a pinnacle of what can be achieved in that style, as I didn't pick up on any major art increases from the beginning to later. Again, this is a quaint little comic, one I'd expect to read in a newspaper. For the web, it lacks a certain edginess I've come to expect from comics online. The strips demonstrate seriousness while being basically a bit humorous, but this isn't so much the humor to make you laugh out loud. I would have really liked something stronger in the flavor that is O&M. I'll give this comic a 7 of 10. Originally, I planned to give it as high as 9.5, but as I read on, I felt like I was seeing the same things over and over by the second year. The strong comparitive feel didn't help out. Otherwise, Ozy & Millie is a pleasant little read, something enjoyable perhaps over morning breakfast spent online. Review by Kajamir the Giant Thu Mar 27 2003 09:38 PM

Erm... I hope I'm not intruding here. I would've joined earlier, but time constraints prevented me from any "excess" webcomic reading... ((says the boy who reads close to 40 updating on various schedules...)) Things seem to have slowed down, so I'll try to catch and keep up. ^_^;; A review of Ozy & Millie ~Xenix Well, I may be a bit biased, as I've been reading up on the exploits of this particular vulpine duo, but I'll do my best to analyze why I like them so. To begin with, the entire strip takes a stab at fads and the idea of some people being mindless drones. Extremist characterizations are thwarted with deft logic and precise wording by those less 'influenced' by the world at large. Granted, I feel that most of these characterizations are deliberately taken from the fringe edges of society and based at least partially on the author's bias. That doesn't necessarily make it any less fun to read, though. Everything from political commentary to intellectual/spiritual concepts to near-slapstick antics is sprinkled throughout the archives. Despite the rather eclectic nature, or perhaps because of it, this webcomic serves a broad spectrum of tastes. In example, I came across things during my first reading of the archive that only made sense after I re-read those same comics a few months later. Such a system pleases most of the people some of time, letting them know that if they tire of the slapstick comedy, something more sating to their palette will be coming along in but another day or two. Characters The characters, I find, are fairly well-developed, if a few of them do echo strongly of stereotypes. Of course, the characters could be intended to be such extreme "cookie cutter creations," and their presence lends to the overall effect. Story While lacking a world-spanning story, Ozy & Millie does have its occasional large story-arcs, while still keeping pace with modern events. Conclusion Ozy & Millie is a dynamic comic of satirical and slapstick humor; a lighter version of Non Sequitur, if you will. While all of the characters are unique in their own ways, I find a fair number of them to be almost too stereotypical for my tastes. Not enough to stop me from reading, but to a degree that I think they could use a tad more depth, but that's just me. I'll give this webcomic an 8 out of 10. Review by Xenix Tue Mar 25 2003 08:10 AM

Visitor Reviews & Comments

No mention of the (heavy) liberal bias in the (many) political strips? Odd. Review by Annon. Fri Feb 25 2005 07:42 AM

Hey, this comic was great in the 1990s when Bill Waterson did it! 0/10. Review by BIG JERKFACE Sun Dec 12 2004 04:12 PM

I don't see the big deal. Why are people bending over backwards for this? Review by No name Fri Jul 09 2004 10:33 AM

to me, its funny! in fact, i think I might be buyin this comic. every episode. every second. everywhere, anytime, anylace. what i think is that ozy and millie is the best online comic. out of 10, 10/10. its that good. i watch this every day i use this com. perfect charictars, drawings, oh by the way, i really need your fan art adress because i bet my dad i can make mine better, and since your the creator, i thought you could. ps. dont email me, just rite it on yer homepage because theres some damn error... if you still need it, its www.jakenquake@netzero.net Review by The Wolf Reaper Sat Jan 24 2004 05:40 PM

Overview: Ozy and Millie is a strip with the nerve to do something really special. It doesn't try to shock. It doesn't throw its characters into random confrontations in order to generate quick drama. It doesn't throw around romance with reckless abandon. It just tries its very best to be funny. Occasionally, it tries just a bit too hard, but most comics do that now and then. Occasionally, it gets preachy and even tiring. But it at least has some view to preach, and it generally doesn't get presumptuous about it. Occasionally, it gets pretentious. Good for it; I'm pretty tired of stuff that doesn't bother to even pretend to intelligence. Occasionally - occasionally - it doesn't get a laugh from me. Occasionally. Art: The art's evolved, as good art tends to, and it looks pretty good now. It's clean and sharp, with a real sense of space. The little details are all right, and the expressions of the characters are generally well-done. Is it Calvin and Hobbes? No, but it's good. Characters: Love them or leave them, I guess. Millie is a girl who loves her individuality, and expresses it with intelligence and inspired immaturity. Ozy is a quiet, meditative foil to Millie's antics. Llewellyn, Ozy's draconic father, is eccentric, charming, and often witty. Put them together, and you have three consistent characters who keep delivering the humor. Unfortunately, this consistency can be a flaw; as the comic itself points out in one strip, the characters always seem to end each plotline the exact way they started. It's ironic that a strip that pokes fun at the follies of mass media should fall into this sitcom trap. Ozy never loses his temper, Millie never quite grows up, and Gilligan never gets off the island. It's still better, though, than the soap opera whirlwind you get in some strips, where the original characters are so swamped in supposed development that they end up completely disfigured in a few years. Not improved - just ruined by too many romantic partner switchings and too many near-deaths and growth experiences. Plotlines: As the above statement about the characters implies, Ozy and Millie doesn't really stand on its plots. Neither did Calvin and Hobbes, though, so that's fine with me. Writing: The crux of the matter. Does D. C. Simpson quite capture the wit of Calvin and Hobbes, the strip he emulates most obviously, and does tribute to on more than one occasion? Of course not. Who could? But the writing is still solid and witty, nonetheless. When it's pithy, it hits home quickly and sharply. When it's silly, it's FUNNY silly, not stupid silly. When it's sort-of-serious, it does it well. Ozy and Millie isn't going to give us any moving death scenes. It's like "The Importance of Being Earnest" of webcomics. Frothy and light - just the way I like it. Rating: 9/10: Whatever its lapses, Ozy and Millie is my favorite webcomic. If D. C. Simpson is inspired by Bill Watterson, at least he's cribbing from the best. Review by John W. Wells Tue Sep 16 2003 03:45 AM

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