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I'm going to borrow Benor's format here, since I think it works well.
Art:
Megatokyo (MT) is crisp, clean, and consistant. It's very simplistic and anime with a bit more detail on non-people elements, especially clothing. Especially women's clothing. When the artist uses color (such as in the gallery), its use is a treat to the eye.
Story:
MT fails here. The comic starts well enough with some drive, to not spoil the plot I'll simply sum it as an unfortunate set of cirumstance the main characters seek to overcome. Once on their way, they seem to meander, the comic falls into a day to day progression. I've nothing against a comic with no real definitive plot, but MT feels like it's trying to include a story without ever really getting anywhere. This day to day story is typically split between one of the main characters angsting over teenage romance, or the other being wacky and leet in some mindset that's amusing yet grating.
Characters:
The characters grounded in reality are easy to empathize with. The others exagerate quirks and add a comical element. Both are good, but neither evolve. What you see is what you get, and given a dozen comics you could predict any of their reactions to any scenario.
Extras:
The artist angsts a lot, so much that other webcomics really started to poke fun at it. Updates are fairly often, 3/week, but inconsistant depending on the artist's mood.
Overall:
MT never stuck to me. The motivation was wishy-washy, the alternating l33tness and fawning/angst wore thin. The art is nice, but not enough. The way the artist portrays the females also feels a little.. creepy? Stalker-ish? It's hard to define, but it is there. When I read the comic, I feel like I'm 'in on it', and that turns me off.
If you like a light anime romance and don't mind the details, MT may be for you. The comic is very popular, so you wouldn't be alone. Personally it'll never find a spot on my bookmarks. |
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Mon Mar 21 2005 02:15 AM |
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Question:
Well... if we want to debate the term, I'd say no, Jib Jab is not a 'web comic'. A comic consists of drawn panels in a sequence. When the sequence becomes chronological rather than physical, it would be considered an animation. Some presentations would fall into more of a grey area, but JibJab is not one of them.
Now, if the webcomic book club were to review 'web media' or some other term equating to the same thing, then it would be applicable.
Review:
It's funny, non-offensive political ribbing. There's no point, or slant, just a skit and a song. Instantly my mind reels back to the crudely done Monty Python skits done (30?) years ago. These are done better, the animation quite good considering the medium it uses. The tunes are catchy, the running gags not annoyingly overdone.
More likely this would appeal to an older audience that would 'get' the style, and care more about politics. Show this to your parents in their 30s or 40s (if applicable) and I bet they'll laugh.
The site itself is simplistic. There are ads but they are trying to market the videos while providing them for free. The videos themselves are several MB apiece, so dialup users may have it slow going. I'd certainly recommend anyone tempted to crack a political joke to watch an animation or two of JibJab.
(Rumple is hilarious) |
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Sun Mar 06 2005 02:34 AM |
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- Review of "A Miracle of Science", By Re
First Impression: The first thing that came to mind upon reading this comic was "Wow, the main characters look a lot like Gene Starwind and Melfina from the Outlaw Star anime." Okay, maybe a coincidence. The art was 'good', steady but not exceptional. The story seemed a little cheesy with the mad science. I honestly thought it'd be a low level superhero detective skit at first. Well, not a good start, but I kept going.
Art: Clean, simple, but oddly appealing. It's really no more or less detailed than typical comics, the panels are just larger. At first the comics are in black and white and eventually they slide into color, which is a nice touch in some ways, but makes the lack of even simple shading (most of the time) glaring when there are strong light sources in play. The special effects range from lame lens flares to decent transparencies, it's a mixed bag.
Character: Decent. The hero Benjamin and heroine Caprice are certainly distinctive, each person has a fairly firm set of strengths and vices they explore. But many things are left in the background as 'oh yeah, I have this background too, heh' which springs up as appropriate. Many other characters fall into the background, though Virgil, a mad scientist, and Beatriz, another of the same, seem to break the stereotype and develop a little depth off to the side.
Story: Mm, again, mixed opinions. Some elements of the plot grip me. I like the pacing of scenes, in that they don't drag or carry too quickly, but at the same time I often lost the focus of what was going on in the plot as a whole. Humor is rare and decent, but isn't meant as 'bust a gut' type jokes. Caprice and Benjamin slowly bond in a predictable but not bad way.
I like the little sci-fi bits. I really like the notions of variant social structures that are brought up. That, for me, was the highlight - how different societies in such a world can grow and work. My inner nerd wasn't appeased in such a way that Schlock Mercenary can fill, though. Nothing is explained beyond a little science babble, especially where the Martians are concerned.
Speaking of Martians, the constant 'Mars is awesome!!!' mentality present through the series was a turn-off. The heroine constantly pulls exceptional dues ex powers from nowhere to save the day or fix the problem. Nothing really grips when you know she can pull some power from mars to fix it, then everyone will marvel at how great it is. Good is small doses, but not as the main course.
Overall: Despite many minor points, I'll probably continue to follow this comic. The plot is enough to keen me interested, and no flaw is too glaring to destroy a decent overall effect. I'd give it a 6/10. |
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Sun Apr 25 2004 03:47 PM |
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- Review of 'The Jerk', by Re.
First Impression
The Jerk is certainly not a comic to look through in 30 seconds, shrug, and give up. If you want easy reading and a quick laugh go visit You Damn Kid, which is a great comic to itself. There is a deeper meaning to The Jerk that I only caught upon the 4th or 5th read through it. You really have to ponder the undercurrents at work and how they interact, like a riddle or koan. That said, it is probably best to discover on your own, as the reward is rich, but at the end of the review I'll explain what I saw for those looking.
Art
The art for The Jerk is simplistic. You have your basic geometrically shaped man with simple pencil shading walking around in what are very basic, mostly white environments. This seems very low-key and 'artsy' at first, but really comes into its own as appropriate as things tie together. Various sections and panels can be clicked for additional frames of smooth animation, key to the story of The Jerk. Even the panels, lines and out-of-frame additions all add a rich subtle blend to the mood of the story; the lines linking panels jarring, changing color, thickening, and swirling at appropriate emotional junctures. None of it is complicated, but it is all very clean.
What is this?
Spoilers ahead, stop reading if you want to 'get it' yourself. This is just my impression, mind you. To start, look at the text that links into the comic.
Quote:
The Jerk
A hypercomics experiment that uses Flash and image-maps in a long-form environment to tell a three-dimensional expanded narrative regarding the current state of online comics...(ooh, sounds arty...)
That in thought, you should read the comic as a whole. Do it twice, click on all the required parts. Now, read the story you find in the gallery in detail. Notice that it explains this man's life to 2005, a year from now. Keep the story open and look at the parallels between it and the comic. There are many links between the two, telling the story of this avatar and his dream.
Now it all starts to come together, why it's so cliché artsy, why there is a comparison between art in the hand and no hand in web comics, the period of introspection, the crude cartoon drawings compared to his 'keen' comment, the two wings appearing and taking his newfound heart away, and the dream ending in a panel unconnected to the others, in the future.
Overall
I found the Jerk a rewarding experience, time certainly not wasted. Deceptively simple, good for light expansive thought and something to say about web comics as a whole. I give it 8/10. |
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Fri Apr 09 2004 01:02 AM |
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I, personally, have nothing but praise for Kid Radd. Sure, we've all seen the zillion or so sprite comics out there, such as Bob and George, or Captain SNES, and some of them are actually funny. But the vast, vast majority are not. Miller takes a style of art normally attributed to hacks and ripoffs, and turns it to gold.
First of all, the sprites are his. Miller may borrow and modify sprites as often as not (Including 'Radd'), but his characters see more than simple palette swaps and two-way poses. They walk, talk, throw stuff, fire energy beams, and the story doesn't suffer to fit what he has. You can tell that if the story needs a new sprite, Miller will make a new sprite to suit it. More and more as the series goes on, Dan adds mini-animations to his comics, all are well done without glaring error.
The plot is rock solid. From day 1, there has been a defined sense of story, a progression on Radd's life. It does not wander at all, you never get the impression that Miller is at a loss and making filler comics to pass time and keep on a schedule. The humor is honest and not forced, every character having ample oppritunity to laugh at themselves as well as comical interaction between the characters, especially Radd and his sidekick Bogey. Between 'bouts of humor are serious issues, which flow smoothly and really get one into the mind of the 8-bit personas. My only complaint would be that the plot is occasionally predictable, certain elements become not how but when.
Add on the occasional fourth-wall-breaking interaction ('A WINNER IS NONE' 'A ass is you.'), a few classic midi animations as a special treat on occasion, a couple games (such as dress up Sheena), a complete lack of popups, a twist of '80s humor, an artist who doesn't angst or excuse himself, a steady schedule, and you have one of the best webcomics on the 'net, hands down. |
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Mon Mar 29 2004 11:58 PM |
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