Webcomics Weekly #58: Myths Busted and Substitutes (10/22/19 Edition)

The Webcomics Weekly is back in your life. This week continuing coverage of “Agents of the Realm” and “Verse.” Meanwhile “Clink” gets Mythbusted and Gustavo finds multiple “The Substitutes.”

This batch of pages happened to be a really nice grouping of this chapter and a bit of the previous ones recurring motif of normal collegesness being interrupted by the supernatural duties of being an Agent. This is both used for dramatic and comedic effect. While this is a scenario readers have seen before, the inclusion of two new people helps to reveal the unsustainability of this Magical Girl life if people aren’t in on it. Luckily that is taken care of by the end of this batch.

That really nice human moment between Norah and Paige continues as we learn about the financial constraints and GPA requirements that help to drive Paige. These couple of pages are just a really sweet moment, and it is interrupted by the always louder than you think it will be vibration of a cell phone. Louis does a good job of making it a jarring interruption and the subsequent puzzlement as Jade seems to have gotten Norah’s phone number. Which leads to the always great, lie filled, awkward “gotta go do a thing” moment. This sort of intrusion is a bit of tonal whiplash but with how Louis setup Paige’s attitude and drive, it supports the comedy and makes the moment better (or worse depending on your point of view.)

Louis use of paneling and repeated imagery does a great job of creating the carefree, aloof, energy that Adele has. While Norah hurriedly and loudly runs through the museum, Adele couldn’t be bothered to notice until Norah rushes back in need of her partner and that “thing” they do. Dedicating a page to a “that thing” gag is maybe a bit much, but helps to underline how odd the whole thing is.

Kendall and Paige’s reaction to both their partners just dumping them is about what you’d expect. Despite having some more human, less steely driven moments earlier, Paige is here to work and doesn’t take kindly to Kendall’s want to gossip. Paige’s dynamic in this group is going to be great, I can feel the perpetual heavy sighs already.

After Norah’s initial transformation there isn’t much justification for showing another transformation sequence. It is still something you have to do, in this batch Louis uses them as end of page cliff hangers with the physical transformation found in the gap between a turn of the page. It’s great use of using what readers already know to help the storytelling. Using them in this way allows for an effective dramatic reveal of Paige decked out in her Agents gear – funny how all of Norah’s friends end up getting pulled in an chosen for this. There is a lot of plainly effective and smart comic book storytelling choices going on in this sequence that pack a variety of tones and sensibilities into a small number of pages.

Friend who dutifully read week to week, you’re not reading this wrong, there are, in fact, two different comics called “Clink.” This week, I had a look at the sword and sorcery one, reminiscent of the tone and visuals of “Asterix” or “Groo.” “Clink” is a breezy comic, at least here at the beginning, with a strong gag a page ethos and a newspaper comic pacing of jokes, although over somewhat more panels — more Sunday comic than weekday.

Simple but uniquely silhouetted characters populate the pages, with thick outlines and flat coloring with no shading, which gives the world a whimsical and cartoony look, perfect for the established tone. The same is true of the lettering, which is almost a character on its own. While I love the variety given to the lettering, which makes it jaunty and expressive, it can get hard to read. Not physically difficult but mentally it is hard to pick out the intonation and while by this point patterns are beginning to emerge, it isn’t quite there yet. However, I’d take this kind of fun lettering over a standard, boring typeface.

The other strength of the comic is the shifting between story arcs and single page gags. This happens midway through this set of updates. Of the bunch, ‘Myth Busted’ might be my favorite. It’s such a simple premise, fear of the dragons who always seem obsessed with gold for some reason, but Gonzales turns it on its head by first having these be dragons that eat the gold and then by delivering the punchline in a panel that begs a closer look because it’s great representation of the way Gonzales approaches the humor of the comic.

He decks out this “hidden” dragon with gloves, a helmet that just sits on his head, Groucho Marx glasses, and a ripped Waldo T-shirt. In the audience is a snowman and on his wing is a sticker that reads “Not a Wing” — and that’s just for the visuals! The cumulative effect of the panel, in conjunction with the actual punchline which I won’t spoil here, is one of an irreverent, jester-like comedy that pervades the comic and makes it a joy to read and experience.

(By the by, in the process of doing a bit of research for the comic, I came across the main website which is MUCH farther ahead and more traditionally formatted if you so desire.)

Returning to “The Substitutes” after a while is strangely connected to the feeling these characters are going through, after returning home from their short adventure in Valalith. The three main characters of the story discover that one of their bosses at the coffee place was the preceding “intruder” into that world. What follows is something of a guided instruction tour to what really happened.

For a series that mashes the real-life trapping of urban living, with the magical fantasy of a foreign world, “The Substitutes” spends a bit too much time on the former rather than the latter, making this set of updates a bit unbalanced. Sure, the dialogues on the “real world” and the interaction among all characters is strong as before, but it doesn’t really feel like the full package without the more outwardly components. True, the ending to this chapter is indeed magical and whimsical, but it does felt too little, too late.

Art remains very strong, with each character distinct personality and physical traits being well-conveyed. There is a lot of body language and movement lines to accentuate their mundane going about, and it really clicks to the way each of them behave. Where it mights comes short is on very few occasions, with backgrounds and setting details, that lack a certain depth to them. A sequence at a bar for instance, features a rack of bottles that look more like paintings than three-dimensional objects. Again, a minute observation into something that truly looks beautiful and magical, even within the more realistic scenarios.

All in all, “The Substitures” is worth the price of admission given the personality and interaction of its key characters, but it does overstay it’s welcome on the “mundane” world, rather than Valalith.

What’s one of the best ways to keep your audience engaged and wanting more? Stopping an important conversation midway of course! Is that a bad thing? No, especially when you only have to wait a few days.

Recently, Neitya learned a fair but from Lahel, that is before Beck turns the story to Isolf and Kidai fighting the newly arrived Vel. As bad as the wait is to learn more about the world, this pace break makes sense after the four pages of straight exposition. Although the conversation added a lot of world building, it’s hard to keep an audience occupied with pages upon pages of dialogue.

The short time spent with Isolf and Kidai is heartwarming, building upon their relationship while quickly explaining the time that has passed. Beck’s ability of playing with dialogue bubbles makes a return, as she uses the bubble shape to imply yelling. Instead of making the font bold the bubbles spike out, giving a tad bit more emotion. Although it may not be that crazy of a technique to use, it’s still cool that she used it. Sadly, the moment between the two is short, but loaded with everything a page needs: action, new information, drama, and maybe a little romantic tension.

Beck keeps the pace fast as she quickly transitions to how Fife is taking all of the recent events. As one could expect, not good. Neither are the ones surrounding him, as it was his friend that caused everything, and his inaction to help a multitude of times. Beck’s inclusion of the traumatic aftermath feels natural and nice to see how different people are reacting to what has happened, instead of just jumping forward, or not showing the aftermath. It all feels natural.

There is one problem with distance in paneling. In one panel shows Fife from the back, behind a work desk, working on a piece of armor. The next panel shows him from the front, while Beck focuses on a character speaking. Only problem is the distance between the desk, surrounding objects, and persons doesn’t seem consistent. Is this bad? No, but it does mess with your brain.

Beck loaded so much information and character development in just four pages while keeping the pace great, and audience engaged. This feat alone is great. But damn am I anxious to learn what all Lahel said!