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The Webcomics Weekly #9: Spooky Scary Polar Bears (11/6/18)

By | November 6th, 2018
Posted in Reviews | % Comments

The month of Halloween has come and gone. The leaves of Autumn begin to fall. The weather turns cold and brisk while our shadows grow long. The spookiest month of the year may be over. . .but that doesn’t mean the frights have to stop. Welcome back to The Webcomics Weekly! Have your heart warmed and your bones chilled with these six comics from out there in the web.

Bad Machinery
October 28, 2009 – November 9, 2009
Updates: Completed
By John Allison
Reviewed by Bodhi

“I think someone’s trying to sabotage Tackleford City FC!” – Sonny

Hello and welcome to our next meeting with the Tackleford gang in “Bad Machinery” where it takes straight-arrow Sonny to finally say out loud that what has been plain to us readers for a while: something is truly rotten in Tackleford.

This time the focus is mainly on two of our friends: Linton and Lottie. Linton is attending a soccer game with his dad, the police superintendent and John Allison deftly shows us that fear of every father–trying to connect with his son over the gulf of generation gap–through Linton’s usage of choice (and some pretty squirm-inducing) snarks.

We also get to have a peek in Lottie’s life where Allison has his usual fun with the posters in her room and engages in some mild slapstick.

Allison’s choice to use vertical panels to showcase the biggest action sequence in these updates is perfect except I have a quibble about the science aspect: there should have been fire and flames. That aside, I’m yet to find another artist who can hit notes of visual gags the way Allison does simply through the drawing of eyes. Watch the panel where Linton’s dad says, “Son.”

Bad Luck has squarely struck in “Bad Machinery” and when we return the gang will do some sleuthing. Except maybe not the kind you are expecting.

Lost Nightmare
Pages 2.11 – 2.20
Updates: Completed
By Julia K. (a.k.a. Miyuli)
Reviewed by Gustavo S. Lodi

In an update mostly wrapped in shadows, “Lost Nightmare” was very effective in continuing to play with reader’s preconceived notions of good and evil, of light and darkness. And as Ink progresses on his journey from nightmare to dream, the audience learns more about the world around him.

Since the beginning of this series, Julia K has used very iconic character visuals to quickly define them. . .and to throw the series’s audience for a loop. In this update, Ink is found exclusively deep in the woods surrounding the Boogeyman’s castle, in the company of a monstrous Beast. With a design that leans into the gigantic, with broad strokes to reinforce its strength, the artist is able to hide away its more dual nature, one than changes with the phases of the moon.

If visual elements are used to play with the notions of good and evil, dialogue and other narrative elements are also used to keep that balance off. Characters’ names (the Beast, the Hunter) are likely benefactors of Ink during his adventure, while other “heroes” of lore may play far more adversarial roles. It is Ink’s naivety that guides the plot forward, on what ends up being a very unique utilization of moral compass: it is only by remaining innocent that Ink continues to be free of prejudice and crystallized notions of right and wrong and, therefore, able to navigate the dangers around him.

“Lost Nightmare” continues to impress: while the artist’s style continues to be as beautiful as ever, it is the way characters and plot are moving forward is strengthening the series as it progresses. At this stage, readers should be expecting reveals and confrontations to pan out in a certain way, but if this series has shown anything, it is that it tends to throw expectations out of the window.

Shadow Pirates
Chapter 7
Updates: Mondays
Story, art direction, and colors by Sean Galloway
Written by Ian Hopps
Illustrated by Leonel Castellani
Reviewed by Robbie Pleasant

“Shadow Pirates” is a webcomic that combines a few different story and fantasy elements into one. While there are clear Asian influences on its designs, particularly in regards to the characters’ outfits and names, it also throws in some science fiction and talking animals, all with an art style that looks like frames out of a Don Bluth film. Overall, though, it works nicely.

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There are a few things that one notices immediately upon reading it. As a webcomic, the entire issues is placed on one page, and you scroll down to read it. It reads almost like an unfurling scroll in this way, with most “pages” being a single large panel at a time, only occasionally split into smaller or shorter panels. The artwork has clear cartoon influences, which is no surprise considering Sean Galloway is the lead character designed for a few comic-based cartoons and Leonel Castellani has worked for Disney and Warner Bros. Yet with the Disney-styled designs, each page still has a dotted look to it like an older comic book.

The designs themselves are very solid. The large features and varying shapes of the characters make them easy to identify and stand out from each other, even when we’re not counting the ones that are animals (that’s not a plot point, some people are just anthropomorphic animals. You know how it is). Everyone is expressive, with wide eyes and mouths that look as though they’d be smoothly animated if this weren’t a comic. Yet one thing that I had to notice was how literally every single character has a distinctly redder nose than the rest of their faces, with such a solid line dividing where the face ends and nose begins that it looks like one could detach them. (The nose thing is my only real issue with the art, the rest looks fantastic with the cartoon style.)

As far as the story goes, it’s progressed nicely from issue to issue, leading us to this point. We get a little world-building and backstory, which is always a plus, with a decent character moment or two. Most issues alternate between two to three groups of characters, giving us a look at the protagonists and antagonists between the moments where their paths cross.

In this case, we mostly learn about Old San Diego and the Yakooza. It tells us more about the world the comic is set in, and gives us some history for the characters, so it serves its purpose nicely. Having it explained in flashbacks but cutting back to a journey through an old cave as its being narrated keeps things interesting, rather than just being all narration or all flashback, so the chapter goes by smoothly and quickly.

I’m still not sure why the good guys are called “Shadow Pirates,” though.

The Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn
Chapters 17-20
Updates: Wednesdays
By Tri Vuong
Flattened by Christine Dao
Reviewed by Elias Rosner

Act 2 continues in full force as Oscar and Charlie fight off a veritable army of red-eyed tank creatures. While mostly focused on action in these chapters, it is the smaller moments that are the strongest parts. The action is good, don’t get me wrong, but four chapters of fisticuffs and fighting can only remain so interesting for so long. It has to either be exceptional or be broken up by other beats or tones. Vuong does this via Oscar’s humorous exclamations, Charlie’s visions of his sister, and the chapter 19 respite wherein Charlie starts to realize that something strange is afoot.

These chapters are also the creepiest that the ‘Last Soldier of Somme’ has been. Charlene, Charlie’s sister, when she appears, seems to be made of clay, without eyes, without life. She is a comforting presence for Charlie but for us, she is a larger piece to the mystery. As for the tankmen, they slowly lose their forms after each defeat, becoming more and more abstract with each wide-shot. One panel in chapter 19 captures this perfectly. It starts with a lone spectre atop a tank, vaguely person shaped and as you scroll down the page, the vague shapes grow more and more numerous and more and more defined, until at the bottom, they are right up against the screen, as if they were standing directly in front of you.

Perhaps that is what I like most about “The Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn;” the ever-present mystery coupled with enough humor to offset the unsettling but not grotesque imagery. There may have been more action this time than I like but it was well done action and served to move the story closer to answering some of the burning mysteries at play.

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Also, Oscar’s mustache continues to be a highlight. Look at that smile!

Tu and Ted
Episodes 43-47
Updates: Roughly once a month
By Chow Hon Lam and Roey Li
Reviewed by Dexter Buschetelli

“Ted and Tu” is cute. That’s not the most eloquent or insightful way to start a review but it simply is. Created by Chow Hon Lam, the guy who draws those cartoons of superheroes doing everyday activities with his buddy Roey Li, this strip is without dialogue, or even much to say. That is not to say it isn’t clever, or effective.

Whether it is the titular characters skateboarding down a ramp that turns out to be the tail of a giant pig, animals diving from what turns out to be the off-panel head of a giraffe, or what at first appears to be a panda bear pulling off his jack-o-lantern mask that turns out to be…well there’s just a bone stump left; these strips have unexpected endings, which is by design.

There’s a simplicity here in both the content and the art itself which is executed with finesse. Like a much cuter and more light-hearted “Farside”, “Ted and Tu” revels in turning your expectations on their heads. Farcical but sweet, absurdist but endearing, this is a series anyone can enjoy. There’s no politics here, no action or spectacle, no personal connection or relatable angst or personal drama, yet the strip will suck you in and leave you wanting more.

Lam and Li have created something here deserving of envy from any creator by doing so much with so little. The negative space in the lack of backgrounds could swallow you whole, but this comic does nothing but the series leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy inside, like a hot toddy on a cold winter day. In a world where so many projects seek weight, “Ted and Lu” thrives on being light to a point of almost weightlessness, and it is a joy to read. . .or. . .y’know. . .just look at I guess.

Unknown Caller
Episodes 1-3
Schedule: Completed. . .for now
By Various
Reviewed by Michael Mazzacane

“Unknown Caller” is a horror anthology that uses light AR tech to try and create a more interactive webcomic, which means you can’t read it through the website. The AR implementation is overall successful in that it worked, but perhaps not the most terrifying experience. The most effective AR fueled scare of this trio of strips is found in ‘Room 201’ due to it’s recreation of an effect found The Haunted Mansion at the various Disneyland parks. Using the phone to make something more interactive, and inherently more digital, a reading experience has some novelty to it. It pushed these strips to be something more than the typical web comic, which has mostly just digitized the normal physical reading experience.

Perhaps the most horrifying experience is the somewhat deceitful, were it not for the LINE logo, push notifications they’ve been sending me at spooky moments at night.

The three strips, ‘Room 201,’ ‘There’s no such thing as ghosts,’ and ‘Somi’s Ghosts,’ besides all dealing with haunting, create horror through isolation. With the vertical orientation of a phone and relative screen size, there isn’t much room for big group shots. Everyone in these strips is isolated in some way and that separation opens them up to supernatural connections.

As comics ‘Room 201’ is the overall best, with the art team presenting strong panels set against a creeping darkness that is slowly revealed (implied) to be jet black hair. The colorist gives everything a washed out hazy quality which is fitting for the anti-nostalgia retrospective narration to the events in ‘Room 201.’

‘There’s no such thing as ghosts,’ has good moments but felt disjointed for large portions of the strip with the use of oversized gutters. There is one sequence that involves a phone overtaking the screen that is artistically effective and an insightful commentary on how that device seems to control the user.

‘Somi’s Ghosts’ had all the problems of the previous strip with none of the moments of quality. Horang’s art, on its own, is fine if a bit stiff. It just lacks the flow of a comic and read more like a vertical assemblage of images culled from a visual novel.

“Unknown Caller” has a excellent strip in ‘Room 201’ and a pair of middling experiences in the other two. As a bit of seasonal content it mostly works in the horror department. The usage of AR and the phone as a larger part of the reading experience were a bit hokey at times but point towards new different ways to consider “reading” a webcomic.


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