Webcomic Book Club Full Reviews of Something Positive by RK Milholland

This is the third time writing this reveiw, as the bloody comp keeps crashing on me, so lets hope this one works. Art: The art is very nice, i enjoy how colourful it almost always is, ahs a lot of background which is nice to see, as i think a lot of daily comics dont have that as much. A nice vareity on the chars, you can tell almost all of them apart with ease. Loved the cat, drawn beutifully in so many diffrent situations. Chars: Not your average lot, for the most part a bunch of moody sex obbssesed, violent people. Who for some reason are just wonderful. I found them enduring and rooting for them no matter how much trouble they managed to get themselves into. And a wide variety as well. Loved the cat, wonderful little bugger, so many diffrent possibilities. Story uhhh Intresting stories, usually broken into parts that ran for a few days, but most of them refered back to themselves in later events. Very strange humour at work here, from abortion, to goth, to gaming, to Canadian trap door alligators, this has it all. All tonuge in cheek as they make musicals involving scantly clad devils, hunt lions with air guns, date, game, whatever, they always manage to please. Loved the cat, seen often only in bit parts, playing a dish rag or a pillow, but does manage some majo roles as well, well done. Page Design: Not bad page design, the archive was easier to use than most, showing the dates, as well as title. Basic black which seems to fit well with the comic. Loved the cat, hey i had it in every other catagory Overall 8.5/10 Funny people, weird situations, good writing, good art, good read. Loved the cat. Review by Jordin The Learned Thu Jul 24 2003 05:05 PM

There is a rich vein of black humor in Something Positive. Whether you like it or not, it's there to find, and that's exactly why it's up for review in my opinion. Personally, I enjoy it. Art: SP has never been great on art, but it's consistent-and evolving. Backrounds are a mainstay, and usually only removed for stylistic purposes. I think it fits the comic well, though I'd like to see more detail at times. Characters: The dark heart of SP lies in its characters. Davan's withering cynicism, Aubrey and PJ's rather senseless destruction, Choo Choo Bear's....well, disturbing lack of bones....it's all the source for the humor. While they may be striking out at the world, these are not judgements from on high-whether they like the idea or not, these characters are a part of that same world, and cause problems as well. Many of them, in fact. Plot: While interpersonal relationships don't just fade away, most of SP's plot archs are short, and often don't show much impact until another, similar arch starts. Writing: One of the main strengths of SP, along with its characters. The writing is very strong, in some ways-characters have their own voice, and never did I feel that one of them was speaking for SP's creator. On the other hand, almost everyone says quite a bit. And while large word bubbles aren't a problem from time to time, sometimes it can be hard to plow through it all, and believe every character speaks so much. Overall: I enjoy Something Positive a lot, and will probably continue to do so. However, it's not for everyone-and that's not because it's too shocking. But the mood is consistently dark, and as some have pointed out, it's not as funny when you have to actually deal with people like these characters. I still give it 8 out of 10, though. And I promise...the next review will be for Strings of Fate, and ON TIME. Review by Benor Thu Jul 24 2003 10:42 AM

A review of Something Positive by Kajamir the Giant I became aware of this particular webcomic about a year ago, when it was noticed and ran in vogue with several friends of mine. I decided to see what the story with it was and after about a hundred comics or so, stopped reading, departing with a negative impression. I like black humor actually. Some of my favorite films are by Oliver Stone. But I like it sophisticated and capable of being clever. I don't think I'd deem SP's version being that way. Rather, as Catty mentioned, it seems more bent on being inflammatory, and in my belief, spiteful. One of the reasons I think I couldn't get into this, is because I could see my world around me being not unlike Something Positive. Cynical sarcastic young people, stuck in their own misery and spewing bile at each other in frustration. Humor comes from the hurting of others, and the threats are readily spoken, but empty promises. Poetic as that might be for a modern day tragedy, it doesn't amuse me. The level of hate and cruelty in Something Positive is a turn off for me. I personally know some people that enjoy the melo/drama others bring. To my ears, a broken record plays over and over. SP seems like a sign of the times, but not something terribly imaginative. I'll give this. The art for SP isn't too shabby. Fair color usage is apparent, women can be made to look sexy while cartoonish, it's usually apparent who's who. Choo Choo Bear is undeniably adorable too. I can't really fault the designs either. They work for what they represent. Other webcomics we've reviewed have much better art, but again, it's adequate here. If anything, it reminds me a bit of and seems similar to Penny Arcade's appearance. However, reading about the whiny main male character, his bitchy worthless female friends, the assorted ho-hum side characters, I just couldn't care. They're so incredibly obnoxious and spiteful, I couldn't and didn't want to connect with them. I recall mentioning to my friends it would have been more interesting to watch a sniper go at them after a while. By their constant attitude problems, I'm surprised each of them didn't have more enemies. The depressing complaints of the main character, the male bashing from the girls, was a large turn off. SP seems to be a comic about the most annoying of people. Short and to the point, I give a Something Positive a 3.5 of 10 stars. I don't care for this kind of content. If I want it, I'll listen to the people around me. Seeing it in comic form doesn't do anything for this giant. It's a popular comic, so it must hold appeal to others for some reason, but I can't personally recommend it. Maybe it's more of interest to people who don't live around these characterizations in real life. Review by Kajamir the Giant Mon Jul 14 2003 09:36 PM

*Ahem* I apologise for not being around the past review, but I happened to be busy looking for a new apartment which (unfortunately), I was unable to find due to my landlord kicking me out at an inopportune time. That aside, let's get on with my review. Black humour abounds in Something Positive and the archives are a real good read. The artwork is medium in terms of complexity - I find it impressive that this artist actually bothers to draw his backgrounds. Something Positive is quite inflammatory - which is not a good thing. Oddly enough, though, I find it hilarious to read. It's funny and the storylines are told in an intelligent and quirky manner. This is certainly a series for a thinker to read (or a severely irritated person, it matters not). Although the archives are a great read, I find that the latest comics (that have a lot of bashing on Christianity) are a bit over the top. I think it's because I'm a devout Christian. In any case, Something Positive is something fascinating that I don't think should be given a miss. I give it a 7+1 outta 10 for being a solid and fascinating comic - but had to take away points for it's unfortunate inflammatory nature. The +1 is for the squishy cat. Things with cats in them get high points in my book. A good read. Go see it. *Prods everyone* Review by Catty Dewclaw Mon Jul 14 2003 03:47 AM

Art: The art is fairly good, nothing spectacular, but it suits the mood of the strip fairly well. I did notice the expressions were all rather similar, as were the poses, for the most part. Six out of ten Acclaimed Accents Story: The story...it's not so much the content, but the way it's told...the story itself is not, perhaps, the most impressive, but it's filled with some of the blackest humor the world has ever known... Eight out of ten Scribbled Scones Characters: Like the story, the characters are not the most impressive, nor are they deep characters who slowly develop as they go along...but they are evil, in so many ways. From apathetically evil to violently evil to just plain evil. Like the story, they are blacker than sin, and absolutely hilarious...if you like black humor. Eight out of ten Chromatic Crystals Overall: The story, art, and characters are perhaps not the most impressive, but the cynicism, petty evils, and dark absurdity makes up for it. For all those that love black humor, the blacker the better, this is your comic. Seven out of ten Octarine Opposites. Review by Luthorne Sun Jul 13 2003 04:09 PM

I love it... Many good comidians make jokes based on friends and famaly and there are a few good comics with a similar bent. This looks like one of them. The down side is a lot of "character develupment" happends outside the comic in real life so you don't really get to see how or why personalitys and addatudes change. Most "real life based" comics actually explain addatude changes and share real life changing moments and usually the personalitys don't change often enough to make much of a diffrence. The transformation from "You dumped this lump of cat on me?" to "Who's my favoret wepon.." just happends. Your expected to accept it. But when you give up on contenuity you see the jokes keep comming. I sware Choo Choo is a little Nashi kitty. Pink shape shifter attack cat delux. Woohoo. The authors and friends are quite evil and that alone will keep me comming back. I've found my own kind. I want a shape shifting choo choo wepon kitty dam it. Review by Jeffery McLean Sun Jul 13 2003 03:23 PM

Offsite Review Summaries

"R. K. Milholland has created one of the most entertaining web comics online right now. He has done this through excellent character development, precise comedic timing, a cynical attitude and a craftsman's attention to detail in his art. The strip is not for everyone. It can be offensive, cynical, and textually graphic. Language is not filtered at all, and so the strip is not suitable for children. If you enjoy cynicism, dislike stupidity or self-righteousness, or if you simply wish you could express yourself with a baseball bat rather than a snarky letter to the editor, you'll enjoy this." more... Read Full Review by A.G. Hopkins at The Webcomics Examiner Mon Jul 12 2004

"While originally a part-time project of the artist, Milholland now does the strip full-time. Issuing a heated tirade on 14 May 2004 against readers complaining about typos, grammatical errors, and the irregular updates, he challenged the readership at large to match what was then his yearly salary, $22,000, if they wanted him to draw the comic full-time. The goal was met by June 10, and Milholland gave his former employer the standard two weeks' notice of termination." more... Read Full Review by Wikipedia contributors at Wikipedia Fri Apr 23 2004

"Milholland knows what's funny — but he doesn't always know how to deliver. A lot of the strips have stilted dialogue and jokes that are really awkward. It's not that they're hard to get — they're not. They're just not told very well." more... Read Full Review by Rebecca Henely at Sequential Tart Thu Apr 01 2004

Visitor Reviews & Comments

I love it. People who complain about the "evil" of the characters have not read the entire series. The depth of these characters is especially nice, because even the worst and most annoying of them (Mike, Olly) have multiple facets. If I had read the reviews the reviews here before I read something positive, I probably would never had looked at the comic. The humor is QUITE adult and quite misanthropic, but the characters always come off as very human. Review by Kage Chikara Mon Jan 31 2005 01:40 PM

Art: The art isn't cutting edge, but it works. Story: I've fallen in love with the characters on Something Positive and can't wait to see what they're going to do next. As others have said, its not for people who don't know how to laugh at themselves or others. Review by Lara Fri Jan 14 2005 07:39 AM

Something Positive is a Web comic full of dark, dark humor, warped and twisted situations, sexual innuendo, violence, cynicisim and one boneless cat. Those who can't laugh at themselves or the people around them probably won't enjoy it. Those prone to taking themselves, their religion, or their sexuality too seriously may be offended by it. Those prone to bathing too infrequently and lacking even basic social skills may find themselves targeted by it. But for the rest of us, it's a funny, funny comic. Review by cr0wgrrl Fri Jul 23 2004 03:30 PM

Cuts dangerously close to the bone at times for the reader...and that's a good thing for the open-minded. There are no sacred cows spared in S*P. One strip will point out the hypocracy of fundamentalist Christians, the next will skewer the self-righteousness of Wiccans. If you cry "Victim" too often in your life, then don't read this strip. A fine meld of absurdity and realism and despite the insane situations at times, the characters themselves still stay grounded and sound natural. Yeah, even the boneless pink pudding cat, Choo-Choo Bear. Review by Cygnia Thu Jul 15 2004 01:16 PM

Well i wouldn't exactly call it a literary success, how ever it was better than the dribble i was forced to read and was later shocked to see published, called, "Kilroy Was Here". Written by S. Mara However both stories seem to have they're own charm. Review by G.Willicers Mon Apr 12 2004 10:58 AM

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