Webcomic Book Club Full Reviews of Return to Sender by Vera Brosgol

Art: "Return" had some very nice art. The characters had a touch of the cartoonish to them, and I liked the visual designs-and the backgrounds. Lots of detail, but without being overwhelming. There was some trouble with perspective, though...and considering the two 'monsters' that we got to see, I have a feeling that the artist has more practice with inhuman figures. Story: So far, there isn't much of one. I am intrigued by the mysterious mail slot, and what it caused with the first letter....as well as the interest that outside forces are showing. But the characters are in the dark, and so are we. Characters: A big flaw for "Return". I like Colette and Often, and Often seems pretty realistic in one way-when a demon appears on his doorstep, he tries to rationalize what he's seeing in many ways. None of which fit. However, beyond the fact that they know each other, the two don't have any hint of history or information-except for gender, that is. Why would Often want a new place to live, for example? This seems like an intentional gap than the creator forgetting it, but it's still an important factor. Writing: The writing is decent. I think that things alternate between 'whacky' and 'surreal' too easily, especially since Colette has little rhyme or reason to her actions. And time tends to pass without much comment, which annoys me...especially in regards to buying the apartment and moving in. But the pace keeps the story from slowing down, and "Return" did something that few others comics have-detail the working lives of a character without making it important or distracting. Overall: "Return" needs one thing: time. It hasn't had enough to really build the story, and this review may not apply when we get to see more. But for now, I give "Return" a 6 out of 10. It's got good elements, and it's an enjoyable read-if a short one. Review by Benor Sun Jan 25 2004 02:41 PM

Art: Ah, the art! I particularly like the hands and facial expressions, and the way the artist uses only blue and manages to make it look good is also impressive to me. The backgrounds, the people, the weird demonic things...all drawn well. To me, the art is probably the strongest factor to this webcomic. Characters: Well, there's a fair number of these, but a good number of them are shortly lived, and most of them, thus far, merely exist to further the tale. As such, there only two people that I count as true characters...the two main characters, who are, thus far...rather confusing. First of all, they both have their stereotypes. The guy is the straight-man. The one designated to freak out as weird things happen to him. You know the type. The girl is the weirdo. All the weird stuff happening rolls off her back like a water off of the metaphorical duck's back. Neither are quite realistic...yet they have their own charm, though I suppose it depends on the reader. Story: Well, it's still early. Thus far, only the mysterious and strange things have started happening, and hopefully we'll get around to some exposition sooner or later. The impression one gets is of chaos and randomness...yet I'm personlly hoping for things to start pulling together to make some sense. Overall: I like Return to Sender. The art is good, and I'm curious to see what happens next. The characters seem to be a bit static thus far, but hopefully that will change in the not-tto-distant future. As many have pointed out, it's still early in its development, but I hold out hopes for the future of Return to Sender. Taking into account its early stage of development...Return to Sender nets itself a 7/10. Review by Luthorne Sat Jan 24 2004 06:29 PM

"Welcome to another round of Salen Reads Too Many Comics. This week's comic review is 'Return to Sender'. Its the comic about a guy, a totally crazy female costar, and a wierd apartment that recieves mysterious letters." "How mysterious can they be? Very, seeing as those letters have our duo doing things that just seem very odd... That and the letters come out of a mail slot thats a wall and the other side of the mailslot is bricked over. Mysterious indeed!" Artwork: "The artwork is nifty. Its very manga/anime-ish. Don't ask for specific ones, but its pretty cool. The comic itself is shaded in various shades of blue to black, so while its not really a color comic, it doesn't seem as annoying as black and white either. So woo!" Characters: "Lets see, you have our main character, a newspaper editor type who seems to just want to go along with his life, and then you have Collete, our female main character, who's sort of like a modern day version of Ed from Cowboy Bebop, only with a larger vocabulary. Thats my impression anyways... Oh, and then you have the jay random people that these two interact with, from hobos, to pigeons, to small kids who have their heads caved in by meteorites, and some demons too! Did I mention that it all seems really wierd that all these folks are in the same comic and stuff?" Writing: "The comic is an... uh... interesting read. I can't really complain about it, other than sometimes some of the dialogue was a bit hard to read because of the font size, but this is probably because the comic is still near the beginning of its life. Its a good excuse anyways." Plot: "This is the main problem with RtS. Its just damn hard to tell WHY things are going on. As mentioned before (by others as well as myself), the comic is just doesn't have enough material yet to really help the comic seem to make some sort of sense currently. I'm sure with some more comics under its belt, it'll be MUCH easier to understand the comic. Right now, it just seems to be randomly wandering about." Overall: "Well, its sort of a cool comic, and I could see reading this, just to see where the heck the comic is going. Sure, it currently seems to have the plot engine idling as it cruises along as a slow 5 miles an hour, but hopefully things will at least liven up a bit and maybe some of the reasons things are happening in the comic will come to light." "But, maybe not. The comic isn't really that developed in its setting and plot, so it could go a lot of different places. This is one of those comics its probably just best to check out once in a while, until its fully cooked." Score: 6 cooking references out of 10. Worth reading if only to get up to speed, then check back once in a while to see if its getting better. Review by Salen Stormwing Fri Jan 23 2004 06:36 AM

I think "Return to Sender" is an enjoyable comic with a lot of potential. The artwork is nicely done, especially the expressions. I love the expressions. There's a lot conveyed without words. The characters -especially the over the top Collette- seem anime-ish in personality, which also appeals to me. The comic isn't very far along, so a lot of the plot is still a mystery. You can formulate a lot of questions about where the letters are coming from, who the demons are and what the heck is going on??, but this early in a story, I enjoy a lot of questions. While I won't be checking weekly for updates on this, I will check in every few months to read the updates. Review by Karol Luis Thu Jan 22 2004 11:09 AM

A review of Return to Sender by Kajamir the Giant To chime in with the others, this webcomic is a little too young in it's existence to review adequately. Just not much has been written and what does exist, seems only vaguely following a storyline. Most of what's currently in Return to Sender is a nearly random cartoonish exchange that doesn't equate to anything worth the time it takes to read it. As a lead in for what is assumably a much longer story yet to be shown, I'm not terribly excited by it. Return to Sender spends too much time being zany for the hell of it. It has two main characters: one, a copy editor who behaves as a straight laced guy to, second, Collete, an age indeterminate figurative walking cartoon of a woman and reason why sugar should be exempt to the american diet. The story has some focus on the editor's new house which apparently attracts demons who can't enter it and meanwhile sends him letters for some reason. Later, he begins spontaneously having a nosebleed and the two of them go to the bad part of town, eventually following a hobo 'just because'. At this time, there doesn't seem much reason for anything. However, given the zany random nature of Return to Sender, I don't imagine such things will wind up in a well tied and interesting manner unless the comic shifts gears hard from being as cartoonish as it is. I regard the writing going off in a flaccid starting direction. Return to Sender does a bit better with the art. Characters are drawn in a style that's an appealing mix of sharp lined manga and Jhonen Vasquez. A frequent and pleasant use of light blue is liberally implemented, making it easy on the eyes. Characters are fairly interesting looking for being what they are. However, it's not enough to save this comic unless you can appreciate it only for a superficial and zany basis. Return to Sender is again, probably too short for a proper review, but where it appears to be going, I wouldn't recommend it all. Seemingly aimless, it doesn't hold any direction well enough for me to follow what happens to the characters. I give Return to Sender a 2 of 10 stars. Review by Kajamir the Giant Thu Jan 22 2004 10:28 AM

The artwork in Return to Sender is beautiful. The faint powder bluish hues are have a calming effect and the characters are well drawn and pretty well defined. Beyond that, I do not think that Return to Sender was a very good webcomic. Perhaps it is because it's still in its infancy. The two main characters of Return to Sender are flat, uninteresting and generally stereotypical or cliche. I don't like the way they respond to situations (it's hardly realistic) or the way they go about doing things. I have no idea what their relationship is, or why they even have a relationship. The storyline... well, there's very little to work with at the moment, and it doesn't come across very effectively. I don't understand what's going on half the time and there's violence that occurs without a reason. The plot has lost me, it's so jumbled, I don't know what's going on, and I don't see how the actions relate to each other. I understand the need for violence in a comic strip that takes place during a war time or even the violence in Jack. I do not understand the violence in Return to Sender, it jsut seems to be there just for the "heck of it". Basically, I find Return to Sender a rather shoddy work. I give it a 1 out of 10. The one being for the artwork, because beyond that, there is no storyline at all. Review by Catty Dewclaw Thu Jan 22 2004 02:47 AM

Review of: Return to Sender Art: Return to Sender has always been one of my favourites when it comes to art. I love how Vera shades with a nice light blue, and how she creates texture with simple cross-hatching. The style is very unqiue in my opinion, and you can tell which character is which. This problem occurs in many webcomics, but this one comes off clean. I really can't think of any flaws at the moment about the art; the backgrounds are detailed, the characters emotions are quite clear, etc. In my opinion, I think Vera puts a fair amount of work to her comic. Story: Now this is where the flaws come from. The story is sometimes not too clear, and the random events sort of leave you in a jumble. This sometimes can be a real hassle for people like me, and I think that RtS would improve if it used a script. However, the comic is still in its developing process (only two chapters) and I can't exactly critisize about the plotline. The humour is good though, and the dialogue seems well. Overall: As said earlier, I'd like to come back to Return to Sender in a year and read all of the pages. I think reading return to sender in one setting is better than reading the pages in a jumble from updates. 8/10 Review by sallyatestars Wed Jan 21 2004 06:47 PM

Summary This is one of those webcomics I feel we are reviewing way too early in its development. Not enough has happened yet to really comment on it effectively. The best thing I can compare it to is a French New Wave movie from the 1960's...but with monsters. It's mostly interested in exploring the nuances of the quirky relationship between a young male copy editor (Often) and his zany free-spirit female friend (Colette). The plot may be a supernatural mystery/thriller, but thus far it is hasn't really come into any kind of coherent focus. I don't want to describe too much about what happens, as the strange surprises are part of the appeal. Artwork Though a bit sketchy, the artwork was distinctive and assured. It may not be the kind of style I get particularly excited about but it was pleasant and suitable for the story. Colette was very nicely designed and just watching her array of her expressions and poses was a great pleasure. The backgrounds had an appropriate amount of detail to be effective. The compositions and blue shading all worked well for me. It's definitely a good example of visual storytelling. Story The story moved along swiftly with minimal dialogue and each panel propelling it forward. Though it has piqued my interest, none of the random fantastic events really tied together yet and it runs the risk of losing me in a sea of disjointed randomness. Characters The look of the characters and the visual depiction of their relationship was far more effective than the actual dialogue, which wasn't particularly sharp. I was actually rather confused by the relationship between Often and Colette. I didn't quite "get it". Maybe I wasn't supposed to. They were friends that had some sort of a past (perhaps romantic?). But some of the over-the-top stuff in their fighting didn't ring true to me--like Often tying and gagging Colette and leaving her bound up. Maybe I'm just not appreciating the incident with the right sense of humor or sexual open-mindedness. I think one difficulty I had connecting with the characters is that they didn't react to the fantastic events in any way similar to how I would or anyone I know would. So they came off a bit alien to me. Overall I'd really like to revisit this comic in about a year when there's more material. It has a nice look, intriguing elements, and really tells its story visually, but it has yet to come into narrative focus. Review by The Phantom Critic Tue Jan 20 2004 02:06 PM

Sorry if this is a random and unhelpful review... I'm so glad that this comic is up this week. It's a personal favorite of mine, and not just because I have a twisted obsession with Colette. She makes me happy ^_^ But how could anyone not like a comic with exploding pedestrians? *splat* I love dark comedy. But the absolute best thing about this comic is the facial expressions. I have never seen another comic that can say so much without dialogue. I live for body language. Review by Tamar Sun Jan 18 2004 07:57 PM

Offsite Review Summaries

"There are mysteries aplenty in this little strip. What is the story behind the visitations? Why would this be happening in this particular apartment? Who is the little old lady next door, and who was the previous tenant? How did that tenant really die? Whose voice is it in that dark panel in the second page? Every page and every update seem to present an additional question, and answers are few and far between." more... Read Full Review by A.G. Hopkins at The Webcomics Examiner Wed Dec 08 2004

"The whole point of each "issue" of Return to Sender seems to be a slow but steady build-up of suspense — leading up to a shocking event! The pace can seem a little slow at first (it seems much less slow if you re-read a series of pages, rather than just one page per updated), but that is when Colette's sly humor asserts itself." more... Read Full Review by Jiffy Burke at Sequential Tart Sun Feb 01 2004

"The first thing that pops out at the reader is Return to Sender's spectacular art. It's blue. Very blue. But it's a subtle sort of blue that flavors the comic without overpowering it." more... Read Full Review by Justin at Comixpedia Sun Mar 16 2003

Visitor Reviews & Comments

Jesus Alexds, I think every reviewer here prefaced their views with, "this is a young comic" and most of them seem rather interested in watching how it will develop. If anything I think they were very concise on the reasons they liked the comic and have given mostly positive reviews; only two of the reviews were negative and even those included some mention of the infancy of this comic. Please give these people a break. Review by Walpurgisborn Sun Sep 19 2004 11:04 AM

In reply to big blue Kajamir's lack of understanding about Often's nosebleed. Its inffered that he gets afflicted with it as punishment for not trying to deliver the letter to the hobo. Like Alex above said find 'the time to take note of details.' I personally find RTS's slick and zany stylings a refreshing and sophisticated change from so many dreay comics that trudge panel by panel, agonisingly dragging out relationships like a slow low budget soap opera. Emmerdale anyone? Review by Dhillon Sat Jul 24 2004 08:47 PM

Geez... 1 out of 10? Seems a little harsh. People who dislike random quirkiness may be put off by this webcomic, but I found it hilarious. As mentioned, the art is beautiful and there are real unique sylistic traits that are very aesthetically pleasing. The story is much more coherent if you read it all in one sitting; what little of the story there is. Not to say that it's shallow or one-noted, but there is little more than a basic plot premise so far and it hasn't progressed enough to reveal anything. The characters complement each other beautifully. I can't understand that one reviewer's complaint that they were 'stereotypical'... I'd say more 'archetypical' (the straight man and the goofy best friend). Vera's style lends some freshness to the roles and the characters are always consistent in their amusing reactions to the situation (by the way, who cares if their reactions were 'realistic'? They're fictional comic characters!). One thing I'd reccomend is clearer exposition, although careful reading will result in everything making infinitely more sense (that and reading everything at one go). Overall, 8/10. It's refreshing and amusing, and it looks like it's going somewhere, even if it takes its sweet time gtting there. Review by Animagess Fri Jul 09 2004 02:09 AM

Well, I only find one porpouse on this webcomic: to entertain with funny or ever surreal stuff. That's it. I don't think the author wanted an 'oh-so good' story... mostly is random stuff and that's quite good to me. BUT, there's the detail with the letter and all... at least it encouraged me to keep on reading (although the humor itself it's good enough for me). Why do you review something that you think is still too young? I think you should review based on the aparent 'point' of it: nonesense. ...and Colette is one of my favorite female characters ever :P Review by Orestes Sat Jun 19 2004 12:01 AM

I'm beginning to realize that you reviewers are shit. If you don't know how to read or appreciate a comic, then what the hell are you doing reviewing them? "I don't understand what's going on half the time..." Jesus. Go back to school. The comics are really not the ones with the problem. Review by Alexds Thu May 13 2004 07:01 AM

Those that have complained of the randomness of the comic have simply not taken the time to take note of details. Perhaps they should read it again, because it is certainly worth it. With a little attention, the comic, characters, relationships-- everything starts to make sense, and one can even guess and ponder as to what is really behind all the strangeness. It's a witty, brilliant work, both in writing and art. I recommend it more than any other webcomic I have yet read. Review by Alex Tue May 11 2004 06:55 PM

In a lot of ways, its similar to the Courtney Crumrin series. It tends to falter based on how often it's updated, but whats there is pretty damn good. 7 out of 10 Review by User1066 Tue Apr 13 2004 07:29 PM

Summary Reviews for this title | Submit a title for review | Title Index