The Webcomics Weekly is back in your life and we’re doing something a little different this time around, even as we keep with our title naming scheme. I decided I didn’t have enough to do and caught up on/completed all five of the Eisner nominees. Then, instead of reviewing something new, I thought it’d be fun to give my opinions on who I thought would win and who I thought should win. Anyway, if you want to know our full thoughts on the five nominees, I’ll link to them below.
OK. Onwards to awards!
And The Nominees Are…
Delilah Dirk: Practical Defense Against Piracy by Tony Cliff (Review)
The Mannamong by Michael Adam Lengyel (Review)
Deeply Dave by Grover (Review)
Spores by Joshua Barkman (Review)
Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe (Review)
Who Should Win?
This is a tougher question than I thought it would be. Each of the nominees are so wildly different, not just in tone and content but in presentation and utilization of a digital space. I think the weakest of the bunch is, sadly, “The Mannamong.” It’s not bad by any stretch but where the others excel in one area or another, “The Mannamong” is content to simply be OK to good across the board.
“Lore Olympus” continues to be the juggernaut webtoon that it is. Now in its fifth year and third season, Smythe’s retelling of ancient greek mythology has clear bonafides and is one I keep up with every week. Her style is well-established at this point yet still looks like little else out there. Since it was last nominated in 2019, the story has gotten considerably more complicated as more characters are introduced, which has honestly made following it difficult at times. A problem with many large-cast, long-running comics to be sure. I’m sure this contributed to the drag I felt at the end of season 2 during the trial as well.
“Delilah Dirk: Practical Defense Against Piracy” is the most traditional of all of the nominees, from the format to the look. Coming in page format, two pages at a time, “Practical Defense” feels like a seasoned comics artist serializing a new story, which makes sense. Cliff has been telling stories with these characters for quite a while.
What’s great about “Practical Defense” is its stand-alone nature. I jumped in and was immediately taken with Delilah and her problems, helped along by the playfulness of his art, which I really, really like. It’s expansive and solid, giving the adventure a clear sense of place, foreboding, and meaning. It’s not the most original story, for sure, but damn if it isn’t told well.
“Deeply Dave” is by far the most experimental, harkening back to the heyday of “Homestuck’s” multimedia approach to comics, though with a decidedly more focused, and short, story. At six(ish) chapters, it only takes a couple hours to read, if that. It’s funny, it’s got heart, and the scratchy, storyboard-esque style is the right fit for the story being told.
I really like “Deeply Dave.” It’s got a very specific kind of whimsy, inspired by video games like “Psychonauts,” “Cave Story,” and “Later, Alligator.” This is the comic, of the bunch, that utilizes its space and the uniqueness of the form best, playing with both the vertical and the horizontal to tell its story. It’s not content to be confined to the edges of a page or the simple allure of a stack of panels.
But I think I gotta give it to “Spores.” It’s amazing how well Barkman tells the story in just 31 episodes of 4(ish) panels each. It doesn’t go for the “it’ll make you laugh, it’ll make you cry” but it certainly does the former without being all humor, all the time. It’s a story set on the cusp of winter that captures the feeling of it – quiet, meditative, and occasionally broken by bouts of activity.
The art is well-practiced, as to be expected from the “False Knees” guy, who’s honed the juxtaposition between realistic nature drawings of animals and silly animal banter to a point. It’s just really cool to see him do a longer-form, semi-serious story about an alien spore that lets animals communicate with each other. Again, it’s a simple tale told well, and that’s sometimes the hardest thing to do.
Continued belowWho Will Win?
This is where I put on my conspiracy hat and say I think “Lore Olympus” will take home the prize. It’s the most high profile, it’s been nominated before, and it’s damn popular. It’s also doing enough different from everyone else to still feel unique, which is a damn difficult thing to do. Part of the reason I’m resistant is likely due to a perception of it being the incumbent and thus wanting to give a different comic a shot, which is silly and not a good criteria to judge on.
This doesn’t mean I don’t think it deserves a win. Smythe has been doing good work for a good long time and I’ll be happy to see it win, especially since it didn’t win back in 2019. But I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t be sad if “Deeply Dave” or “Spores” didn’t take home the Eisner.
What do you all think? I’m curious to know who agrees with my pick and my logic behind who will take home the award. Let us know in the comments and we’ll be back to our regularly scheduled webcomic bop next time around.
