As “Dr. Frost” continues its slow build up to the end, we’ve got two newcomers for you all to check out. Or not, as the case may be with “Counting Sheep” and “Fray.” Not much of an intro, I know, but I’m rushing to get this done before I have to wake up at 4:30am tomorrow. Brain’s running at 1/4 capacity and dropping.
Find out what made us like, or dislike, our respective comics in the latest issue of The Webcomics Weekly.
Counting Sheep
Episodes 1-3
Updates Mondays
By A.Rasen
Reviewed by Mel Lake
Let me start by saying this: don’t read “Counting Sheep” right before bed, especially if you easily get nightmares! This is a horror comic with a few issues, but the scary imagery is legit scary, even when it’s on the silly side. The whole premise is that the character’s dreams have been infected by some type of centipede-like entity, which makes them sleepwalk as the manifestation of their fears hunts them down.
There are some things that make “Counting Sheep” less effective as a comic, though. The dialogue is awkward, with characters sprouting their entire life history and explaining relationships in a way no one would in real life. Some of the conclusions they reach, while valid, seem rushed and I’m not sure how the characters realistically got from point A to point B solely from the information at their disposal. It makes the story move quickly, which I usually appreciate, but in this case, I think the story might be better served by letting the creepy atmosphere simmer more.
The artwork by A. Rasen is what makes or breaks this strip, though, and it’s great. The backgrounds are beautiful and much more realistic than what I usually see in Webtoons, and the character’s faces have a realistic and expressive quality to them, as well. They look like real people, not cartoons, which makes the few moments of true horror stand out in an effective way. Even the monsters, while slightly generic, are drawn in such a way as to really scare. They also don’t show up too often, so you don’t get accustomed to them.
Whether “Counting Sheep” can keep up the scares is really down to its plot and characters, though, and so far, that’s the weaker side of the strip. It’s so gorgeously drawn, though, that I’m sure readers will find something to give them nightmares about.
Dr. Frost
‘Blind Spot’ (9) – ‘Eggshell’ (1)
Updates: Saturdays
By Jongbeom Lee
Reviewed by Elias Rosner
‘Blind Spot’ ends, closing a chapter of intrigue and the promise of revelations on a murder, a mistake, and a man in pain. It’s a hard chapter to read even knowing what was coming and is the perfect escalation of the plot. Lee’s use of gutter space is what I want to focus on this time. The distance between panels in Dr. Frost is pretty sizeable, usually only allowing for one panel on screen at a time with plenty of headroom, even while scrolling. There isn’t much utilization of a shifting background to tie everything together, which chops up the action of Dr. Frost into discrete chunks instead of a flowing tapestry.
This works especially well during the lead-up to Mr. Cho’s murder at the hands of Moon’s underling, and letting small shifts in gutter length extend and detach time from the usual fast pace of a webtoon. In this case, the moment that caught my eye was the actual murder scene. As Yonghui realizes what’s about to happen to him, Lee increases the gutters so there’s a moment of nothing on the screen and then a small sound effect “splurt” before a longer nothing leading up to the establishing shots of a convenience store on fire and Changgyu looking on in horror. It’s far more effective than showing anything and conveys the subjective bending and stretching of time for the characters.
I also really love how Lee uses this as an opportunity to give us a bit more of a glimpse behind the curtain of Moon’s calm veneer. He remains a big mystery but his reaction to the murder of Yonghui is fascinating. He’s such a control freak that this unsanctioned murder sends him flying into a cold rage, providing an opportunity to also see a bit of the past without much context. It is frustrating that we don’t really know more about Moon’s plan, just speculation, but the rest of the comics remains so interesting that I can’t fault it.
Continued belowAs for ‘Eggshell,’ it’s a fine start to an arc but it’s mostly exposition and as such, I don’t have much to talk about. It does confirm that Changgyu has disappeared and Frost’s departure has affected Seonga more than she’s letting on, so that will be interesting to follow-up on hopefully sooner rather than later. I’m sure I’ll have more to discuss once the next two chapters drop.
Fray
Episodes 1-4
Schedule: Mondays
By GO100
Reviewed by Michael Mazzacane
“Fray” has a lot of potential but doesn’t make a great case for itself in this opening quartet of strips. “Fray” is a world overrun by demons and the precious few knights who, thanks to miracles, are able to fight them. It’s all very “Demon Slayer” esque, except the Slayer Corps are celebrities in this series. If this all sounds generic, that is because it is. The writer/artist team working under the name GO100 positioned a story of sisterhood in the middle of this. There is protagonist Magpie, the girl who wants to be a knight and her older sister Merry, the Suited Knight. While other aspects of these episodes don’t work as well the core dynamic and relationship between them is effective.
The biggest issue with “Fray” is that it doesn’t feel like it was composed for a vertical strip. The artists don’t take advantage of the unique potential of the format for action and that results in a somewhat incomprehensible set piece in the first episode. The action is building towards this comedic moment of failure and it just misses the punchline visually. There isn’t anything excessive about the panel of Magpie’s failure and that it is set up by dialogue first further undercuts it. Which is all a shame because one of the aspects in this strip’s favor is the art. Individual panels look excellent as it morphs between this cartoon representational style and action that is closer to abstraction with pointillism and speed lines galore.
I haven’t mentioned the big hook of the series, that Magpie made a deal with a demon to have a fire that consumes all. This is explored in the prologue strip that is surrealist and excellent but other than a major – but brief – sequence a few strips later the costs of this deal and what it really means haven’t been foregrounded. There is potentially interesting commentary and story to be had from this setup. I just have no clue what direction it’s going to go.
“Fray” throws you into the middle of it and expects you to swim. That’s a gutsy move but isn’t the best at hooking new readers. Maybe this will turn into something down the road but for now it’s an interesting curiosity but not a must read.
