Webcomic Book Club Full Reviews of Hutch Owen - Public Relations! by Tom Hart

It isn't bad, per se, but it really isn't my cup of tea. I could deal with the comic better if it wasn't so... pushy. There's the ranting, the seemingly blatant anti-commercialism, and the 'ugly' artwork. It all screams that there has to be something more than what is on the surface; that there is some hidden meaning buried deep between the lines of dialogue and ink. If it is there, I can't find it, and it's not for want of trying. I've heard other people go on about how great this cartoonist is and how wonderful his work is, so I tried extra-hard to see what there was in his work that was so appealing. Now, this is just a small sampling of his work, but if it's representative of that work, I don't think I'll be reading anymore. I'm willing to take the small sample size into account, though. "Hutch Owen - Public Relations!" by itself receives a 1 out of 10. Taken as just part of a greater comic whole that we haven't reviewed, however, it receives a 4 out of 10. Nice, but not my cup of tea. Review by Xenix Sun Nov 16 2003 08:32 AM

Hutch Owen was...bland. It was not offensive to me, or hard to get through. But once I finished, there was nothing left behind. Art: Hutch Owen is weak in its art; I think a lot of it comes from the artist's particular style, but that doesn't make it good in this case. If it was used for a more humorous story, I might find it more interesting. Characters: I don't know whether I've just missed other Hutch Owen comics, but the characters aren't that interesting. Hutch seems to be a vehicle for diatribes, while Blumer seems like a nice person, without a personality-until he suddenly erupts, for no clear reason. It's hard to pay attention, and the opening segment has characters we don't see again... Story: The opening segments of Hutch Owen are rather nonsensical, but they begin to form into a plot. To be fair, the concept is something I liked, and so far Hutch Owen is carrying it well. Writing: However, describing it is another matter entirely. A lot of Hutch Owen is buried under the weight of its rants and speeches, trying to make us favor one side or the other. Hutch Owen himself constantly talks about how corrupt the system is, and how he's the only one who seems to see this...I almost tuned him out near the end, and I'm not sure what will make him go off. Overall: I got nothing from Hutch Owen. It didn't take anything away, fortunately, so it's not a comic to specifically avoid. But I can't recommend it, and I really hope the diatribes start to go away...the plot, at least, could be a good comic. 1 out of 10. Review by Benor Sat Nov 15 2003 10:36 PM

A review of Hutch Owen - Public Relations! by Kajamir the Giant For the most part, I'm siding with Salen and Phantom Critic on this one. Hutch Owen, or at least this instance of him, is very short and doesn't offer very much. Upon hearing there's apparently more Hutch Owen strips out there, I can't help but think there's a lot missing here considering I've never heard of this cartoon strip. Hutch Owen isn't particularly explained, it just exists as what it is in this strip with little of anything offered beyond social system commentary/'rants'. By itself and under these considerations, this webcomic was very unenjoyable. Not abhorrent as Get Your War On, but just boring and non-engaging. Based on that, I can only say with certainty is Hutch Owen does nothing at all to grab new readers to it's side. Certainly not a plus from the vantage point of promoting Modern Tales as a pay site. Or at least by a review here. The story... well, what is there? There's a backdrop about bums being used for a marketing scheme and something about ghosts... I think. With less than a hundred pages and very little explained thus far, I can't reliably comment on much in accuracy. Basically, there's a strange bit going on with emotive ghosts seeming to arise when they suffer according to the social system at hand, and everything else is the main character 'ranting' about social injustices while employed as a shill by a exploitive company he despises. There's nothing really new offered thus far in the dialogue. Hutch holds to the stereotypical idealism against injustice and argues with people who don't really seem to care what he thinks. Further, that he argues with his boss rather arrogantly, one must wonder why he's still held in employment. The art is pretty weak. It just looks disenchanting. Maybe it's just how the style is, but it's rather unaesthetically pleasing. Chances are the creator doesn't see himself as a visual artist. If that's the case, I can forgive this, but I don't know many who hold such an opinion and keep drawing for any length. There's so little to say here. I don't hate this comic. But it lacks any sort of edge or attempt to make me feel strongly about it. Given what I have to work with here, it's just so very dull and uninteresting. There's nothing to grab a new reader at all. Maybe it has something more to offer someone already familiar with Hutch Owen. In any event, I give Hutch Owen a mere .5 of 10 stars. Review by Kajamir the Giant Sat Nov 15 2003 09:19 PM

It was probably unwise to review this week's title, as it is still so early in its story. This review is based solely on the first 79 pages of "Hutch Owen- Public Relations!" and not any other Hutch Owen comics. In "Public Relations!", the disenfranchised protagonist (a 'bum' in non-PC speak), Hutch Owen, is reluctantly participating in a corporate scheme to uplift the homeless by having authentic homeless people as part of some big PR campaign. Hutch's insecure buddy, Blumer, is gung ho for the project, because it makes him feel valued. But Hutch is disgusted with it, and rants to the organizer Jules about everything that's wrong with the concept. Jules' sister Martha, who initiated the project, appears to have abandoned it for more one-on-one philanthropy. There's also golf balls and ghosts flying around whose significance have yet to be fully revealed. Maybe this all will tie together in an impressive way. It's too early to judge, but the 79 pages thus far provided little in the way of entertainment or insights (certainly no laughs), so I doubt I'll be around for the conclusion. I'm not sure if this comic is meant to be funny or not. Hutch spouts his anti-commercialism philosophy (as much of a trope for independent comics as superheroes are to mainstream), and I think he's intended to be seen as the angry young man who tells it like it is. Hutch's speeches certainly come off didactic. But I may be reading them wrong. Perhaps Hutch's views are meant to be seen as trite, and we should laugh at his naiveté. Unfortunately, whatever we're meant to think of Hutch's views, there was no ambiguity about the blandness of the character. I don't mind the anti-system philosophizing, as long as the protagonist is funny or has something fresh to offer with his or her observations. When Peter Bagge's Buddy or Crumb's alter-ego grumble about yuppies, it's usually funny, because they have targeted some interesting trait that caught their attention and proceed to skewer it. And the specificity of the observation reminds us again about the broader absurdities of American life. Voi là -- comedy! But Hutch Owen's speeches are all generalities about generalities. Maybe the premise alone of a company enlisting bums for PR is supposed to be such a wicked absurdity that no further laughs are required. The creator is an award-winning cartoonist who has apparently been selling Hutch Owen comics for ten years, so this material must be connecting to someone out there. I'm hoping one of the other reviewers actually liked this strip so they can explain to me what I'm missing. Maybe I just didn't take the right comic strip theory classes or something. Review by The Phantom Critic Sat Nov 15 2003 04:58 PM

Art: The art, as it has been noted, is crude. Frankly, I didn't care for it at all, regardless of the possible intent of the author for using it. To me, it was unappealing, if functional, and definitely not something that would inspire me to continue reading. Story: Well, it is in its earlier stages of development...but, well, it doesn't really seem like it's going anywhere. For the most part, it seems like a rather pointless monologue on society...and there are better out there. If someone's going to start discussing society's problems...I like to be at least entertained. Characters: Well, there's not a whole heck of a lot of character development going on here, to be honest. The characters are rather unrealistic for the most part, which is, I suppose, the author's point... Overall: I had to force myself to finish reading this. Perhaps it'll eventually go somewhere or get interesting...but thus far, I remain unimpressed. It failed to entertain or otherwise keep my interest, and for that, it nets itself a 1/10. Review by Luthorne Thu Nov 13 2003 08:42 PM

"Dook. Its that time again. Its another 'Salen Reads Too Many Web Comics For His Own Good' Review. In this review, I cover Hutch Owen - Public Relations!." "Ok, time to start this review. To best describe the comic, its a combination of social satire on society, marketing, advertising, business, and life in general, in the form of a rant. And not just one rant. In this comic, you get drawn out rants on society, the evils of corporations, the oppression of the downtrodden..." "And you know what? I honestly did NOT enjoy the comic. It comes off without anything to keep one entertained at all. Unless your concept of entertainment is listening to someone drone on about the rights and wrongs of society and how things work. It gets to the point where I honestly think that CNN or Fox News is more entertaining to listen to." "I actually TRIED to enjoy this comic. I did. I read this comic TWICE on the idea I had missed something totally obvious while reading the comic, and that was the reason I wasn't enjoying reading the comic. The first time I read it, and I was on comic 50, and I realized not once had I enjoyed what I had been presented. So I went back and read the whole thing... again." "I guess I should go over specifics though. Graphically, the comic's artistic style is crude, rough, and a bit distorted. Considering that the artist is a cartoonist by profession and has been drawing Hutch Owen for so long, I can only assume this is totally deliberate to present a 'crude' world of 'reality' where things aren't pretty. And perhaps in that case, I can say it does a damn good job of it. But your average reader is gunna probably be turned off by the style. Even the lettering is a pain to read as while you can usually make out whats being said, again the lettering is 'crude', seeming to match the art." "Plotwise, its not much of a plot as much as seemingly a huge rant on society. I'm sure that at some point when more comics come out, some things like the 'ghost', and the whole deal with using homeless and marketing thing will be explained a bit more, but frankly, anyone who's reading the comic that long probably deserves a mental endurance medal or something." "Characters, there are quite a few, some of which seem to be tossed at you out of the blue, and never explained, not that I really want to know after reading what I did. About the only time you ever get to really see the character behind the characters is when they're ranting. And rant... and rant... and rant. Everyone else on screen seems to be there to just show the total banality of life, just to make the rantings seem true." "Writing, this mostly involves a four letter word that starts with R. Thats right... Rant. *groan* You know, between the rants, and the mindless insanity of the whole setting of the comic, reading the comic is painful. Some times it felt like I had no CLUE what was going on, and perhaps thats why I'm not the person that should be reading this comic. I'm sure to someone out there, this comic's writing is full of deep information on society and why I should think more deeply into what the comic is talking about. Perhaps a small section of quote from comic 59 best explains my feelings." Hutch: "Do You Even Know What I'm Talking About?!" Jules: "No." "That pretty much sums it up for me." "Overall, I think if I really wanted to read something that points out stuff about society, politics, and life in general... I'll go read Ozy & Millie, watch the news on CNN or Fox, or a myriad of things that aren't this comic. I really tried to find something good to say about this comic. I did. I wanted say something nice about this comic. But I didn't. I've read comics that I didn't especially enjoy, and still do read them. I didn't like the stuff I read, but I still read them. I can't do that with this comic. If I want to listen to folks being pissed off and ranting about stuff, I'm sure I could watch a comedian and perhaps sometime in the 30 minutes of watching the comedian, I might get some small enjoyment from it." "But this comic wasn't written for me. I'm sure someone out there, probably much deeper in thought will love this comic. But I am not that person." Ferret Shiny Rating: 1 Shiny Out of 10, and thats only because I realized that the art is drawn that was on purpose. Review by Salen Stormwing Wed Nov 12 2003 05:22 AM

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