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The Webcomics Weekly #80: @Home with a Vengeance (3/31/2020 Edition)

By | March 31st, 2020
Posted in Reviews | % Comments

Stuck at home with no new comics to read? Webcomics never stop, they’ve been made at home for years! The Webcomics Weekly continues the march to 100 by first getting to entry number 80. This week, Michael Mazzacane finishes volume 1 of “Agents of the Realm” and the latest “Trekker” story. Elias is really trying with “Cat’s Cafe.” Gustavo finds the return of “Tiger, Tiger” interesting with a new angle. Jason sees “The Otherknown” coming to a crossroads.

Agents of the Realm
Pages 250-260(Ch.5.5 – X)
Schedule: Tuesdays and Thursdays
By Mildred Louis
Reviewed by Michael Mazzacane

With the core narrative of volume 1 finished these final pair of interstitial chapters are there not so much to tease readers, as in hint and entice them to stick around, but to tease out the similarities between the two Blackwater sisters. The two Doctors Blackwater have been treated as mirrors of one another in this first volume. Their mirrored quality is the crux of these two 5 page chapters as each Doctor Blackwater reacts to the conclusion of the fifth chapter in opposite ways, that feature the same plot. The basic sequence of events for both chapter is Blackwater reacting to the end of Chapter 5, a second voice or person appears to offer help, help is sealed with a kiss/embrace. Despite their similarities these chapters couldn’t be more different from one another.

In our realm the not so good Doctor Blackwater, Ruby, reacts to Jordan joining the squad in a manner you would expect for someone who was previously seen punching glass. We finally get a hint as to her motivation for all this manipulation, she wants to bring someone back. Louis does a good job of not just showing the anger in Blackwater’s expression and body language but the fatigue of it all. She seems to be at her wits end. Which makes her all the more susceptible to the mysterious voice, revealed to be a Dark Magician-esque Lindi. She wants Blackwater to fully give into her and seals this pact with a kiss. What happens next dose not bode well for the Agents, the framing of the moment is interesting. It’s at once very typical of a power up sequence form manga or anime, and noticeably un-magical girl like, but also something Disney-esque about it. I think it is due to the use of purples, it is a vibrant color but also has a demonic quality.

Her sister Jade’s chapter couldn’t be more similar and yet so different. Once again Louis shows off strong figure work by getting across the exhaustion Jade feels, but also the counterbalancing mania to always be working and doing something to fix the thing she broke. How she broke things isn’t explained, but that isn’t the point, the point is the emotional weight she is putting on herself to fix it on her own. Like her sister that loner mentality isn’t sustainable, and unlike her sister she has people wanting to help her like the Agents and Sahar. Like her sister this moment is sealed in an embrace but without any of the magical powerups, instead it plays for a smaller but more impactful moment of genuine human interaction and support.

You could argue these chapters function similarly to a post-credit sequence, they are certainly epilogues in all but name. Unlike a typical post-credit sequence these are more than gags or ominous teases of the future. We get that, Lindi showing up isn’t a good sign etc., but the character work in both allows them to actually function as a scene.

Volume 1 is done, Volume 2 begins in two weeks

Cat’s Cafe
‘How to Wash Your Hands’ – ‘I Am Trying’ (Ep. 274-279)
Updates: Twice a Week
By Matt Tarpley
Reviewed by Elias Rosner

I know I’m breaking (almost) every rule we have for this column for revisiting comics but extraordinary times and all that. I wanted to highlight “Cat’s Cafe” because it’s the kind of comic I needed. It’s warm, it’s funny, and much like a real local cafe, coming back to Tarpley’s world is familiar. The cafe has always been a microcosm of a neighborhood. You see the regulars and even if you never speak to them, you start to glean bits of their problems, their hopes and their preferences. To enter your shop and to not see the poet making awful rhymes in the corner, that’s weird, but to hear that they finally cracked their latest sonnett and it’s actually pretty good — that’s magic. “Cat’s Cafe” is like that.

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These six comics run the gamut from cute PSA’s to more introspective pieces about the characters. ‘How to Wash your Hands’ is informative but it being Kiwi rather than Cat, we get a nice fifth panel twist that brings a little joy and a big laugh, something sorely needed with all the tense news. Humor is important in tough times but it’s also important to step back and be reminded that we’re all here together. . .even if we’re at a distance as in ‘How We Can Help.’ And making sure to leave room for the average, like in ‘Help Hyena Get to Duckie,’ and the ongoing, personal problems in ‘I Am Trying,’ is important too.

Tarpley’s characters have grown immensely since I covered them last, thanks to a greater confidence in his line-work and, I believe, a change in coloring style. It seems more vibrant in these pages and even though the style is flat, the limited shading gives the right amount of definition to the scenery and the characters. ‘DDOH Attack!’ is where I noticed this most, thanks to xItsybitstyx being just so damn cute. I needed these relentlessly positive pieces just as much as I needed the ones that lay bare the emotions and internal issues many of us struggle with. I needed the humor to balance out the sadness. I needed something warm, something familiar. Something like “Cat’s Cafe.”

The Otherknown
Chapter 2, Pages 14-21
Updates: Wednesday/Saturday
By Lora Merriman
Reviewed by, Jason Jeffords Jr

It’s been two weeks since our last “The Otherknown” update! Why does that time matter? Because in the previous update I had to sadly split the page count. Luckily, now we can do Chapter 2, Pages 14-21! Readers rejoice!

If I’m being honest, I’m proud of where I split these write-ups. The last ended quite nice, whereas Pages 14-21 contain all the same subject—Yulia, Reed’s mother. We don’t learn a lot of unknown information, but enough to keep teasing us for the future. This is done via a conversation between Jude and Alex/Mikhail, who was Yulia’s best friend. Yet these pages aren’t only about Yulia, as a huge crossroads for “The Otherknown” takes shape. One, I kind of figured would happen. Jude talks about sending Reed off the planet.

When Yulia gave birth to Reed, Jude didn’t want to see him as it would be harder for him to send him off. But, with the recent happenings, it only makes sense to send him out. Nonetheless, Merriman makes the decision hard and heartfelt. Per usual.

Merriman uses paneling and singular color backgrounds to great emotional effect. For panels, she distances them apart, helping show a focus on said panel. That, and helping show the emotion she is going for. On the color side, she keeps some panels white or other singular colors to emphasize what’s happening. This doesn’t happen all the time, but when she uses it, it works amazingly. Not only that, but she also uses a lot of tighter panels of the character’s faces to showcase emotion.

These eight pages showcase how great Merriman is at setting an emotion and kicking you in the guts with feelings. With such a hard choice happening in the future, I’m ever more excited to read on!

Side Note: As the emotional usage of art was what I wanted to focus on I didn’t get to mention Pages 20-21. On this two page spread, Merriman draws a gorgeous wallpaper worthy planet in space.

Tiger, Tiger
Pages 140-150
Updates: Weekly, multiple days
By Petra Erika Nordlund
Reviewed by Gustavo S. Lodi

It is always interesting to return to “Tiger, Tiger” and experience the new angles the narrative will take you. For such a played-out concept – that of piracy and swash-buckling adventure – it is executed in such a fresh way, with compelling characters going through relevant growth, that one cannot help but to become invested.

For these updates, writer and illustrator Erik Nordlund plays more within the ballpark of world building, especially that of the mythology woven into this world. More than that, it seems to connect such mythology to a broader threat to Ludovica and her crew. Even better, it also aligns with the seemingness pointless obsession and sub-plots surrounding sea sponges (yes, really!).

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Visually, Nordlund has a level of craft and attention that is remarkable. I have praised her attention to architecture in this column in the past, and it surely remains a highlight. Of note, as these pages were more introspective and dialogue-driven, her choreography for those discussions, from eye movement, facial and body expression are delivered just as nicely.

The adventure continues on a high note. This series is a blast to come back to.

Trekker
Pages: 14-27 Book 03 “The Trail to Scarmen’s Burn”
Schedule: Mondays
By Ron Randall(writing and art), Ken Bruzenak(lettering)
Reviewed by Michael Mazzacane

Ron Randall shows off some plainly effective page design for this action heavy second half to ‘The Trail to Scarmen’s Burn.’ As it turns out getting to the titular Burn isn’t the problem for Mercy, it is getting back alive that’ll be the problem. Over the back half of the book Mercy and Hiltz play a game of cat and mouse, who is the cat and who is the mouse changes by the page. That tense game of cat and mouse is where the page design comes through.

With not just who is “winning” but settings changing by the page each page tends to end on something of a cliffhanger. The tricky thing is constructing a page that ends with something that makes you want to turn the page that still feels dramatically satisfying. This is achieved through the use of panels to create a fluid sense of motion that is often interrupted by a sudden trap. On page 14 this happens in the bottom third of the page as the panels track Mercy’s ship until the final one and a rock suddenly appears. This crash is followed by a beautifully done page that continues to track Mercy as she is flung from her vehicle, clearly not wearing a seatbelt, attempts to land as best she can before instinctually pulling out her pistols. From there it becomes the game of cat and mouse and Hiltz and Mercy hunt one another.

Randall manages to add some shades to Mercy’s character throughout by cutting away to her friends talking about her. That creates a bit of a frame to view her through but the kindness they speak of is also shown in her actions. She stops to help the mortally wounded Sillca Blain even though it dosen’t do much – except prove to be the reason why she wins in the end. Action can be spectacular and entertaining on a visual level, but without a story to tell with those actions it can quickly devolve into hollow spectacle. Nearly 14 pages of constant action, ups and downs, can be a bit tiring, however, due to the emphasis on the little things Mercy does that sets her apart from Hiltz helps to stop everything from falling into nihilism.

‘The Trail to Scarmen’s Burn’ isn’t as socially relevant or world building as the previous book, but it continues the strong subtle character work that makes “Trekker” work as a comic and ongoing series.


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