The Webcomics Weekly #32: The Letter S edition (4/23/19 Edition)

Welcome back, one and all, to The Webcomics Weekly! This week it is web comics that begin with ‘S’ as we have coverage of “Speak of the Devil,” and “Sylvania,” along with continued coverage of “Sam and Fuzzy.” It all isn’t ‘S’ related with continued coverage of both “Blood Stain” and “Order of the Stick.”

In this batch of strips we get some important questions answered, a conclusion to Elly’s cleaning saga, and maybe some sympathy, or whatever pithy name you’d give to a rollercoaster of emotions, that is Vlad.

Where is “Blood Stain” set? Sure it’s on a cliffside that simultaneously looks like a nice bed and breakfast and mad science mansion, but where exactly? After running out on her sister, Elly needs an answer to get some of her things up there. The actual street address, 01 Fatal Accident St. in 7010 Godknowswhere, doesn’t exactly inspire confidence her sister will believe her. It is however a nice gag to end things on. Linda Sejic makes good use of panels within panels in these strips (66-68) as Elly and Serge have a chat and lay more ground for the series. There is one panel that’s 4-in-1 in strip 66 that is this nice little bit of character acting with Elly. Using the panels within panels also does a good job of visually separating Elly and Serge. The horizontal orientation of the strip makes panels cutting back and forth between them inevitably narrows the assumed space between them, using panels within panels creates a good amount of space and stretches things so it isn’t too quick a read.

Sejic gives Serge a perfect incredulous expression in strip 68 as he explains to Elly they have a cleaning lady on Thursdays. Vlad being Vlad, is a slob but that dosen’t mean Elly has to be.

Sejic’s character acting is in on full display in these final three strips as a tired and worn down Vlad returns from the university. Her framing as he both leaves the school, distant but expressive, and as he returns home, tight and more expressive, does a good job of narrating the weight he feels. Those grumpy faces becomes perplexed anger at his spotless lab makes things a real rollercoaster of emotions. The final “You” panel in 69 is the best cliff hanger this series has had.

Vlad’s anger is misdirected at Elly, he isn’t actually angry at her but she is something he can be angry and domineer. Yet the framing of it all as he admits how tired he is caught me off guard in how effective it is. You feel sorry for this mad scientist. It leaves everything in a very interesting space.

There are three plot points of note in these next five pages, so let’s take a look at what’s in store! First off, we have Durkon and Hilgya, still traveling the dungeon together as they seek to reunite with the party. And while Durkon does fail his Sense Motive check at first, the dwarves do end up, shall we say, “enjoying each other’s company.” After a good joke about how clerics can win by healing each other to the point where the monster gets tired and gives up, of course.

The best part of this scene, though, is how their gods react. Durkon is a cleric of Thor, while Hilgya is a cleric of Loki. Seeing the gods interrupt their eternal clash to be grossed out by their worshippers cavorting is pretty damn funny, to say the least. Loki looks significantly different than his Marvel comics counterpart, even though Thor still has the luscious golden locks of his mainstream version; since much later issues indicate that the appearance of the gods changes based on the perception of their worshippers, maybe one day we’ll see this version of Loki sport a look more like Hiddleston.

Next up, we have Roy’s conversation with his ghost dad. While it has plenty of the usual familial disappointment that pretty much all of us can recognize, it also drops an important bit of information: Roy’s dad has unfinished business with Xykon, and it falls to Roy to finish it. We see a brief flashback featuring a still-human Xykon, which instantly tells us all we need to know about the backstory there. It’s good storytelling, with no small amount of the strong character voices and lots of sarcastic insults from Roy’s dad.

Last but certainly not least, we are introduced to the greatest deity to ever grace the pages of webcomics: Banjo the clown, god of puppets. Banjo is a fantastic recurring joke, setting up future gags based on religion in D&D and in real life. (Plus, on a personal note, I carry around a Banjo the clown puppet whenever I cosplay Elan; you can immediately tell who reads “Order of the Stick” based off the number of people that praise Banjo, but that’s beside the point).

In short, another five pages of strong storytelling, good gags and plenty of witticisms.

Sam and Fuzzy
Skull Panda Shorts and Bitey’s Nemesis
Updates: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays
By Sam Logan
Reviewed by Dexter Buschetelli

“Sam & Fuzzy” takes a break this week–or rather it did in the month of July of 2009–while creator Sam Logan travels to San Diego Comic Con. In place of the usual shenanigans of our titular purveyors of Ninja Mafia Services we are treated to a guest spot by artist Rikk Estoban followed by a spin-off adventure featuring one of Sam Logan’s other creations.

‘Skull Panda Loves Fanfiction,’ ‘Skull Panda Fights Crime,’ and ‘Skull Panda Loves Anime’ are all excerpts from Estoban’s book “Skull Panda in Love.” These shorts are nothing short of bizarre. The art is adorably crude, a messy pop-culture pastiche that both references nerd culture without subtlety, but also seems to pay homage to artists like Jhonen Vasquez and Roman Dirge. ‘Skull Panda Loves Anime’ itself is a parody of Sailor Moon–with perhaps a dash of La Blue Girl–that hilariously sees one of its Sailor Scouts transform into Skull Panda only to eat her companion’s head. It’s fun, it’s weird, it’s somewhat horrifying. It’s Skull Panda, and I love it.

Following that Logan revisits his character Bitey the Shark with yet another sendup of classic cartoons and nostalgia. Bitey’s “X-Treme Adventures” play with the classic trope of a dark foil to the central protagonist. Darkshark manages to one-up Bitey with a gun that shoots swords and that may very well need to be all you need to know about this interlude. It’s the 90s all over again, and I can think of no better intermission before we return to the further adventures of “Sam & Fuzzy.”

“Speak of the Devil” tells the story of Sunday Blackburne, a private investigator in the fictional and fantasy-themed city of Eidolon. The series frames a very grounded aspect of fiction – that of the noir investigator – in the middle of an other-worldly setting, filled with inhuman creatures, beings and entities.

Series creator juggles those two elements well, and they fade into the background very quickly, during the initial chapters of “Speak of the Devil,” and throughout the latter entries of the story itself. Yes, the author pulls from these fantastic elements to keep it fresh, but at its core this is a tale of mystery and investigation, and of finding your value in the world, beyond family and friends.

There are some issues around pacing that do “Speak of the Devil” some harm, especially for readers starting from the beginning of the series. It is not unusual for a creative team to try to introduce a lot of elements too quickly, not allowing them to breathe, and, as a result, reducing the impact of each component individually. It does get gradually better as it moves forward and some of the mythology has already been defined.

On the drawing department, Lansford finds an unique balance between the realistic and the cartoony. While the situations these characters find themselves in are realistic, urban, and gritty, their own visuals seem to belong in a Saturday morning cartoon, told with a goth mentality. It works remarkably well, and work hand-in-hand with the overall tone of the series.

All in all, “Speak of the Devil” does a better job at telling its story as it does on introducing it. If the audience is able to get past the somewhat jumbled first pages, it will find a compelling, heartfelt story of someone find their place in the world… a fantastic world filled with crime, but still, a place in the world.

What do you get if you put Avatar: The Last Airbender and cross it with witches and a trip to Mars? Well, you get “Sylvania.”

Inviting you into a fantasy world, “Sylvania” skips much of the exposition that is normally found in these types of narratives, forgoing it in favor of letting the setting and the characters establish all that is necessary. We follow Willow, a young tree witch, and Rowan, their younger sibling, as they wrestle with change in the form of their older sister, Juniper, heading off to Mars. In the most recent episodes, we’re exposed to more of the world and the other tribes.

Kemper does a great job of making each tribe visually distinct and reflective of the culture they seem to stem from. While the faces of characters do blend together at time, especially those relegated to the crowd due to the simple approach Kemper takes to their line and figure work, this allows them to get more expressive in posing and to dedicate more time to expanding the lush environments. In fact, what’s most appealing about the comic is its soft, colored pencil look. It makes the world feel more magical, as if everything was glowing, and the construction of a world where magic, nature, and modern technology coexists in non-destructive ways helps set the narrative apart.

The story does take a while to move forwards, with a pacing that better fits binge-reading or issue by issue readings (it’s released on Comixology and other digital outlets as well.) However, the strong, meditative narrative beneath it all is worth the wait, and while it would be nice to have more each week, or with each update, what we have satisfies and soothes, making for a read I wouldn’t pass up.