Welcome back to The Webcomics Weekly!
Yeah that’s right. Only three more weeks until we hit 100! What’ll we do then? Will we reboot? Will we beat the rebirth “Batman” era to 100? Only time will tell. I think we can do it. It’ll be a tight race. And speaking of comics — I’m a genius at transitions, ain’t I? — we have a few for you this week. From our returning regulars of “Trekker,” “Order of the Stick” and “A Better Place” to a returning non-regular “Punderworld” to newbie “Catermarina.” Say hello and stick around! We’ll see you in 7.
A Better Place
‘Over Here’ – ‘All Those Layers Deep’
Updates: Thursdays
By Harrodeleted
Reviewed by Elias Rosner
A breather between the carnage at the City of Cups and Hannah’s current situation, Bogosian takes this time to fill us in on the situation brewing at the City of Swords, which has been hinted at and talked about in the descriptions over that last 20 or so pages. He also does a clever bit of world building that, upon reflection, is rather horrifying. Hannah, like most humans, child, teenaged, adult or otherwise, cannot comprehend 6 billion people. Sure, she may have a general idea that it’s a huge number but it’s not an easily graspable one, let alone each person being unique and horrifically complex.
Combine that with the early journal entries Hannah made that establish how her power works — she can only create objects based on her imagination, how she thinks and object looks, tastes, feels, smells, etc., and how she tried to create new people but that failed so instead she wrote over existing ones — and this confession in ‘The Black Towers’ is terrifying. She’s got most of the world’s former population locked away in pods because she simply cannot handle that many minds. What’s more, Empress Computer is willing to destroy millions of them, to contain Hannah in ‘All Those Layers Deep,’ commenting “[Accidents happen! By this point in time they’d all be dead anyways!]”
This brings Hannah’s shortcomings back into sharp contrast with her powers. Again, her limitations are not in her power but instead in her mindset. She remains frozen as a child, with a child’s comprehension of the world. It is warped by power and the horrors of the adult world she came into conflict with early on, yes, but her comprehension has not matured since then, and the cracks continue to widen.
While I love what these pages accomplish, I think this chunk is the first real weak chunk we’ve had in a while. It’s not a problem of too much or even too little exposition but instead an aimless feel. The conversation between the two drones in the tower doesn’t offer much and the fight at the City of Swords feels like a diversion rather than a break. The pages remain gorgeous and well constructed, and the transition between scenes is natural and informative, but the story itself is being complicated in less clear ways than before and it’s getting to a point where information overload is possible. It seems we’re about to get some good character moments with Hannah, shying away from the minutia of what’s outside our focal characters’ plots, so really it’s a minor issue but it remains a hiccup.
Catermarina
Episode 1-4
Updates: Varies
By Mima Jiyu
Reviewed by Jason Jeffords Jr
I say it at the end of each month, but where the hell did the month go? Nonetheless, it was probably spent reading all of those Webcomics, right? Right? That is what you’ve been doing, I hope. Well, if you haven’t check out this new one I found, and yes, you guessed it, I found it on Twitter!
“Catermarina” starts off with a simple premise, that of a wish gone awry. Not much else is given during the four episodes, but not much is needed as the story seems to be character-driven. I’m all here for that, sometimes it’s nice to kick back and read a fun romp with fun characters, and that’s what this story seems to be about. Granted we haven’t learned much of the characters, but we know Catermarina and her friend that’s a bunny are transported to the “Genie World” due to the Genie being out of practice. Luckily they still have two wishes left, but it seems we won’t get there anytime soon. The characters work quite well, as one of the best parts of the series so far is Jiyu’s humor. Damn, do they have amazing timing in the panels for the humor.
Continued belowHowever, what really caught my attention was the art throughout.
Jiyu includes drawn art, but in some cases, they use vastly different styles. The first is a GIF for a panel of Catermarina shrinking. I haven’t seen this in a webcomic yet, but damn is that awesome, I wouldn’t mind seeing more of it. However, the use of varied media doesn’t stop there as they also include 3D renders of the cart that the Genie is in and the cityscape. Jiyu makes the city with 3D renders that look like it came from a PS3 game, it may sound absurd, but I absolutely loved it. Honestly, that’s such a unique use of art blending and something I would love to see more, especially because it helps your webcomic stand apart.
“Catermarina” is just fun, if you want something to just kick back and read it should be right up your alley.
Order of the Stick
Pages 241 – 245
Updates: Varies
By Rich Burlew
Reviewed by Gustavo S. Lodi
“Order of the Stick” is back to much stronger form this time around, as it moves partially away from the gender jokes that plagued some of last week’s entry. While some of it still persisted, it is done in a much more contained, and in-characters way, putting under the light of one of the character’s worst habits.
In a more general way, the story revolves around the topics of ambition and corruption, and while still told in a very tongue-in-cheek and comic way, it does hit some of the right nerves, as all good comedy does.
One particular aspect of the strip that attracts little comments usually, that of the visual representation of the stick figures and backgrounds, is worthy of praise this time around. There is one page that utilizes panel layout and narrative flow in a creative way, despite relying on some actual arrows to force eye movement in one sense. While that is hardly convenient, it does work for the desire the series creator was going for.
Some of the ongoing sub-plots fo this strip carry on, especially that of how the noble, holier-than-thou parading clashes with the dubious personalities and moral integrity of the order. It remains entertaining, but it is getting closer to a desired closure, not to outstay its welcome.
Punderworld
Episode 9-12 Part 1 ‘Drunk Driving’
Schedule: Bi-Weekly-ish
By Linda Sejic
Reviewed by Michael Mazzacane
It felt like a good time to check back in with “Punderworld.” While I read the strips leading up to ‘Drunk Driving,’ that is the strip which will be my primary focus. It provides a useful example of how the vertical scrolling format can achieve an action aesthetic in ways normally formatted comic pages cannot. The difference is such that whenever Top Cow puts out a collection of “Punderworld” it is a segment I will want revisit first.
Persephone a little drunk and let down by a lack of Hades, who is spectorly, following her, has gone wandering through the woods and come across one of Zeus’ discarded chariots, he leaves them around like Marvel leaves WarMachine armor. The previous strips are actually a nice exercise in dramatic irony and comedy by Sejic as both gods have a conversation with each other, by themselves. One things leads to another and you have the titular ‘Drunk Driving,’ though, it appears a sober person wouldn’t be able to handle the chariot either.
The vertical scrolling format pays off on the first image as the reader has to scroll through an image of the chariot taking off and dragging Persephone behind it. Scrolling literally creates a feeling of motion which works with the bit of speed lines and a delightful onomatopoeia “shoom” that makes the image feel longer than it likely is. The chariot is racing around and the whole thing is a bit of a geographic mess. Imagine “A Whole New World” but none pristine views. The messiness is to the strips advantage as it forces Sejic to operate in basically perspectives: wide angle long shots and close ups. The wide angle view gives the reader a basic sense but the close ups disorient everything and help to reinforce the lack of union between Hades and Persephone. That is, until, they finally touch hands! The importance of which is reinforced quickly by a follow up close up of Persephone with her flowers in bloom.
Continued belowOnce they are together in the chariot cab, Sejic cuts down on the panel count and instead puts together a series of essentially scrolling splash pages as they try to work out how to land this thing. These sequences work as quasi-panels as they have the chariot dart in and out of frame.
‘Drunk Driving’ part 1 is one of the best examples of how to do action in this format and what that format can do that others might not be able to.
Trekker
Pages: Book 9 “Thicker Than Blood” Part 1 Pages 1-8
Schedule: Mondays
By Ron Randall(story and breakdowns),
Lettered by Steve Haynie
Reviewed by Michael Mazzacane
After a color special, “Trekker” returns to its roots with a black, white, and gray strip for “Dark Horse Presents,” ‘Thicker Than Blood.’ This shift in publishing format means some modification in pace and production, obviously, but the core of Randall’s storytelling remains the same. The first page of ‘Thicker Than Blood’ would fit as the opening page to one of the monthly issues. Randall smartly uses perspective place the reader in the perspective of a hunter, someone chasing after old Gleary, through the abandoned remains of a partially built power plant. A setting with a history and mood Randall exposits in three brief word balloons. With the final two thirds of the page being used to for a money shot of the hunter: Mercy. Without color just black ink a grey zip a tone background and white bursting through like a spotlight she actually looks somewhat monstrous.
This chunk of ‘Thicker Than Blood’ does look different compared to previous black and white “Trekker” strips. As Randall discusses in a brief blog post here, he gave himself a challenge to only use one shade of grey in this strip. I had noted in previous early strips that the amount of screen toning Randall describes it as about being an exercise in “control.”
If you think Daniel Warren Johnson or Babs Tarr use a lot of its digital equivalent these days in their work, go back and look at those early strips. They are at once “complicated if not cluttered” in Randall’s words but also surprisingly clear and textured. Reducing things down to one level of grey, with variation created through layering it on top, reduces the amount of visual noise. It does not however make the strip boring to look at. There is still a variety and texture that is created that gives the comic a weathered look, without all the extraneous layers of tone.
Reducing the palette down in this way also highlights the plainly good character acting Randall achieves with Mercy. Since her adventures off world, a sort of designation that works well for a strip setting, Mercy has been in a bit of a funk. As a reader now I know what that is, but the “what” doesn’t really matter to the reader who only seen this strip. They have to know or feel that funk and Randall captures it with a single panel on the fifth page. The only real close up of the strip for Mercy the only time the reader gets in close to really get a look at her.
‘Thicker Than Blood’ also promises to pay off a plot point that has been simmering away in the pages for several iterations.
