It’s been a hard week out there, as if it hasn’t been a hard year already. I hope you’re all doing alright. We’ve got a couple reviews for you that may not be light but are here for you to enjoy when you can. We check in again with “Dr. Frost” and then give “The Wendybird” a first look.
All this and a resounding Stop AAPI Hate here from The Webcomics Weekly.
Dr. Frost
‘Tears of Princess Pyeong-Gang’ (6)-(Case Closed)
Updates: Saturdays
By Jongbeom Lee
Reviewed by Elias Rosner
If the first half of the case of the ‘Tears of Princess of Pyeong-Gang’ was a bit slow and unfocused, the second half is fast and laser focused on delivering to us the cause of Shiyun’s dependency and the repressed trauma she’s holding onto. I said last time that I wondered how the arc could sustain another five episodes and while I stand by that assessment – each chapter still feels a too short – the pacing between chapters & the associated cliffhangers are solid enough that I understand why those points were chosen as breaks. And I gotta say, those cliffhangers really got me, which considering this is my second time reading these chapters is impressive.
Reading these chapters of “Dr. Frost” was tough, however. It’s a heavy arc, as if they aren’t all, and while Lee does a bit of a bait and switch with the root cause of Shiyun’s dependency, as well as providing a few red herrings like the end of the hypnosis scene, the actual revelation is perhaps more traumatic. I’d be tempted to say it borders on the incredulous how much misery there is in her past but Lee absolutely sells it all. Plus, I really liked the change between what I thought was gonna be the resolution, a big fight with her father who is too overbearing, to a heart wrenching reaffirmation of her mom’s love, despite her both not being her biological mom and for having gotten the scar on her face from an accident caused by Shiyun.
I was tearing up during that ending conversation, the big emotions on the page being reflected within me. By these chapters, it’s clear Lee has a better grasp on how to balance out his figure work so that the dramatic moments hit hard without having to oversell it in the art. I was sold on the loving anger at Shiyun’s distress at that revelation and the emotional catharsis afterwards. Because Lee has done such a good job of laying a believable groundwork for the therapeutic practices & psychological theories at play, it’s easier to buy into the more over-the-top moments. Plus, any series that is able to talk frankly about hypnosis and then not make it complete bunk or the most magical cure in the world gets a thumbs up in my book.
Next time, an intermezzo that may be light and fast or slow and heavy. Or maybe both.
The Wendybird
Pages: Episodes 1-3
Schedule: Saturdays
Written by Susan Cheng and Erica Weiland
Illustrated by Laurica Andriantsarafara and Tomas Santiagos
Lettered by Camille Cruz
Reviewed by Michael Mazzacane
“The Wendybird” has a strong concept and solid writing and yet it didn’t really draw me in as a comic strip. This new version of Peter Pan myth begins in a meta direction, not unlike Hook but centered around female driven fan culture as the Wendy of the story is writing their version of the Peter Pans stories she heard from her mother. Peter is replaced with Petra and is actually in love with Captain Hook! Until one night she meets Peter Pan who has some ideas one what it takes for her stories to get out into the popular spaces (read: read by boys). The writing is overall solid and the first three episodes work well enough episodically.
I just wish it worked as a webcomic better. Laurica Andriantsarafar’s character designs are expressive. The background and design work are fine. The individual components in this series all seem fine, and yet I’m left with a feeling of boredom. The panel structure that puts it all together is the series clear weak link, there just isn’t any flow to the strips. Panels happen in a sequential order, but they do not cohere into a larger whole image. That sort of macro imagery happens only once at the top of the first episodes as you scroll into the image of Petra and Hook fighting it out, it’s the best overall image in the series so far. The following action sequence visually makes sense, they’re workable, it just lacks flow. A similar disconnect occurs during conversational sequences. Individual panels are expressive and engaging; they just don’t come together and flow.
The creative team do pull a nice trick of using black gutter space for reality and white space for Neverland.
The premise of “The Wendybird” is intriguing but maybe wait 6-8 weeks and see if the overall cohesion improves.
