Full Reviews of Overcompensating

of Overcompensating by Jeffrey Rowland

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Art: It's like the best parts of childhood drawings, combined with some technical proficiency. The figures are soft and cartoonish, but at the same time, everything is clear and easy to understand. Quite good, in my opinion, and I'm afraid I don't have more to say about the art.

Story: Ain't much of one. This could, in some twisted alternate universe, be a journal comic. But when the God of the Internet (with its surprisingly human genitals) abducts Jeffrey and lectures him, you know it ain't real. You hope, anyway. You hope and pray, as you wake up in a cold sweat. There are occasional short plot arcs, such as Jeffrey's experiences as a zombie, but for the most part it's unconnected, individual comics.

Characters: However, that doesn't mean Jeffrey's the only character. The God of the Internet is my favorite one so far (though it's only appeared twice), but Weed Master P tickles me whenever he appears, and Jeffrey's girlfriend (who I don't know the name of) amuses as well. But Jeffrey himself really brings the funny stuff the most, and damn is it good.

Writing: At the end of the day, Overcompensating could come off as spacey. Disconnected, and kind of frustrating. But the reason it doesn't is that the writing sucks you in. Even when the comic isn't that funny individually, it somehow seems true and good. Maybe it's just so consistent to its style that you can't help but love it, because it doesn't feel like Rowland is trying to make us laugh-he's just telling us crazy stories he thought of. And honestly, if you can actually capture that feeling of "hilarious stuff we come up with at 1 AM," you're probably in good shape.

Overall: Easy to get into, pretty damn funny, and well drawn, with only a slight downturn due to how random it can be. 8 out of 10.

Review by Benor Mon Mar 07 2005 10:38 AM

Interesting choice.

It's the comic blog of Jeffrey Rowland, more famous in the webcomic world for drawing Wigu, which has sadly ended. Now he draws this comic and the Wigu spin-off Magical Adventures in Space.

Although it's supposedly a journal comic, reality is distorted very much. This is much more of a look into Rowland's mind than the outside world, and it uses his unique sense of humor. It's hard for me to describe, but I could best say that he treats his fantasies with common sense and looks at the absurdities of life from an equally absurdist perspective. I can't really say much else, just that I like it.

The art is simple but charming, showing base emotions without overdramatizing. Good use of color and photshop.

And that's that.

Unfortunately, even though it's a charming comic, it does not contain a lot of substance and doesn't leave a lasting impression. It's good for the occasional quick laugh, but not much else, like Wigu without the continuous story.

Review by Cobra Tue Feb 15 2005 08:57 AM

It's hard to explain why I like this.

Normally, I hate autobiographical comics. The fact is that most people who feel the need to put their lives on paper just aren't interesting enough to produce anything readable. Which is why it's such a relief that Jeffrey Rowland's take on the genre is only linked to reality insofar as there is a real person called Jeffrey Rowland.

It seems like a dumping ground for rants and those weird thoughts you get now and again. So you'll get a strip about what would happen if cats ran financial institutions, for instance, or one in which Jeffrey plans terrorist acts against people who cancelled his favourite show. The Jeffrey of the comics lives in a mansion and drives a flying car. The whole thing is very self-indulgent, but that is its beauty. It's so over the top in its wish fulfilment that it overleaps egotism and lands firmly in absurdity territory, with a knowing wink at the reader.

The art, too, is simple and bold. This adds to the absurdity- there's something unutterably hilarious about someone who's very angry but forced to express themselves through child's-drawing features.

Overall, this is not a strip that will necessarily grab you, but it doesn't try to be clever and it doesn't require a huge amount of backstory knowledge. Basically, it's fun and it's funny, but you won't know why.

Review by The Hooded Falcon Wed Nov 23 2005 09:31 PM

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