Webcomics Weekly is back in your life. The column hits a major milestone, #52. If this were a certain numerically inclined publisher this is where I’d announce our big reboot (that isn’t a reboot retroactively) and a renumbering justified through a chronically late crossover. The Webcomics Weekly isn’t that way so we’ll keep the numbers going up! This week we have a bit of news with more awards nominations. The start of chapter 3 for “Agents of the Realm.” Gustavo returns to “Ryan Made Mistakes,” reading this strip isn’t one of them. Elias is in the search for “True Beauty” and romance in the very popular strip. AS well as the secret origins of “Sam and Fuzzy”
The Harvey Awards were announced, the prizes named after industry icon Harvey Kurtzman will be given out at New York Comic Con. They call webcomic “Digital Comic” and here are the nominees.
Digital Book of the Year
Check, Please by Ngozi Ukazu
Space Boy by Stephen McCranie: www.webtoons.com/en/drama/space-boy/list?title_no=400&page=1
The Contradictions by Sophie Yanow
The Nib edited by Matt Bors: www.thenib.com
Woman World by Aminder Dhaliwal
These are all good comics, especially “Woman World” which I first read as a book and didn’t realize was a webcomic.
Agents of the Realm
Pages 90-102 (Ch. 3)
Schedule: Tuesdays and Thursdays
By Mildred Louis
Reviewed by Michael Mazzacane
After fighting demon bears and spiders, you’d think there is nothing Norah and Adele can’t handle, but Mildred Louis introduces a new dreadful obstacle in their paths: partner projects! As far as obstacles go this is more a hang up for the socially conscious Norah than Adele, who quickly finds their partner (Kendal) and seem to hit it off fast. Norah’s first contact with her partner, Paige, not so much.
While Louis character acting is normally a standout, and early on in this strip it provides for some delightful moments, their use of paneling to represent the disconnected and abrupt nature of Norah and Paige’s partnership is what sells their sequence. First Louis works in Paige’s height, not in a short joke kind of way though formally it uses some of the same setups, by excluding Paige from panels. In her first page we don’t really see her as the tiniest top of her head. Norah and Paige’s physical disparity establishes their opposite personalities. Where Norah is carefree to lackadaisical, Paige is all business and she won’t take no for an answer when she drags/guilts Norah into joining her in the front row. Throughout Louis employs paneling that never puts the pair on equal footing, even when they are in the same panel their difference in height is emphasized as a point of tension. The insert panel of Paige’s lower leg as she walks down the stairs, literally putting her foot down, is this great little moment that sells her energy.
Meanwhile Adele and Kendal seem to become fast friends.
The early chunk of these pages is fairly nice bit of small talk between Adele and Norah. The former is adjusting to college life well enough, Norah meanwhile is on pins and needles after what the good Dr. Blackwater said about her sister. To paraphrase, she’s a baddie but it’s not really her. Louis does a nice job of contrasting body language in this sequence, in particular when the not so good Dr. Blackwater comes on the page. Norah’s first reaction is to freak out, Adele’s is to complement her hair (she is right the hair is nice.)
Throughout this batch of pages for “Agents of the Realm” chapter 3, Louis use of cartooning and paneling standout to make a lively sequence that is largely table setting. There isn’t much drama here but Louis hits the basics of comics craft so well they’re enjoyable and maybe even a bit more than the action sequences.
Ryan Made Mistakes
Pages 1.10-1.20
Updates: Every Monday
By Ryan Estrada
Reviewed by Gustavo S. Lodi
“Ryan Made Mistakes” is so charming, so simple, and honest, that readers would have a hard time not being attracted to it. Telling the story of author Ryan Estrada, in a semi-biographical fashion, this series ends its first chapter just as strong as it started.
Continued belowThe art style for this trip is surely cartoony, but it does one thing that most aspiring artists on this genre fail to understand: it is very consistent on its exaggerated forms and shapes. Often, webcomics told on this aesthetics come across as random in a way, shifting styles, proportions, and artistic liberties all the time. Not so here, where Ryan, his parents, and the entire supporting cast is displayed in a very coherent and uniform way.
Narratively, this is far from a coming of age tale, at least for now. Barely out of kindergarten, Ryan has to contend with some of the usual “challenges” of this age, plus the very unique ones that he invents for himself. With a very strong sense of humour, that doesn’t over-dominate the narrative, but add to it, it is a breeze of a read.
“Ryan Made Mistakes” continues to be a joy to experience: its visual style perfectly suited for the story at hand, consistently presented. It’s charming lead character and it’s often hilarious supporting cast, in a number of situations we could surely relate to. Do not miss it.
Sam & Fuzzy
Secret Origin of Bat Fuzzy, Guest Writer: Shannon Campbell, New Management, and Trade Secrets pt. 1-15
Updates: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays
By Sam Logan
Reviewed by Dexter Buschetelli
A brand new era begins for “Sam & Fuzzy.” No longer restrained by convoluted backstory and with the army of a thousand ninjas behind them, our boys press on to the adventure of fame itself. Of course, with fame comes problems. And a story like this should start in the middle of all that enticing new content before abruptly cutting itself off to give exposition about how we reached this plot point that we won’t revisit for several installments. Ain’t comics grand?
The ‘Secret Origin of Bat Fuzzy’ is a quick one-off where Fuzzy fantasizes about a superhero life that Sam quickly notes contains five different origins for existing characters. None of which are Spider-Man, but Fuzzy nonetheless webs his face. As a bridge between Volumes 1 and 2 it does exactly what it should, providing archetype introductions of our titular heroes with levity and little else.
Shannon Campbell’s guest spot seeks to further dissect not only Fuzzy but the decision to spend much of Volume 1 explaining his origins and his relationship with Hazel. I’ve previously been critical of that character arc and this installment seems to poke fun at them, with Fuzzy lamenting “back story, Sam. It’ll be the death of all of us…but, much more pressing, the death of me!”
‘New Management’ sees the more proper intro to this arc, or rather a more Tarantino-esque intro. The former ninja tracking down a video store patron brings us back to the comical roots of this series. After all, “Ghostbusters 2” is not something someone simply loses. This transitions well into a colleague re-recruiting him to the N-M-S, as we follow him to a rally led by Sam himself. This clearly is going to be anything but business-as-usual for any involved parties. This could be big. It could be the kind of thing they make a movie about someday. And, as Fuzzy tells us, the audience, “in that movie they’ll cut right from this moment to the part where everything goes to hell.”
Thus we find ourselves in ‘Trade Secrets.’ Isn’t storytelling fun, y’all? Whatever brings us to Sam & Fuzzy’s inevitable fame and, we can only assume, downfall has something to do with stationery, and a pig. I guess it’s a fig pig, whatever that is. Whatever it is seemingly has a genetically engineered creation of the fictional character that finds our heroes trapped in cocoons. Terrifying “Chogos” seem to be what await us in this season of “Sam & Fuzzy,” and I’m actually excited to be continuing on with this webcomic. It is a charming romp that, while flawed at times, always keeps me hooked.
True Beauty
Chapters 53-57
Updates: Wednesdays
By Yaongyi
Reviewed by Elias Rosner
Memes, romantic struggles, the tension between self-esteem, the beauty industry, and the pressures of society, and all the nuances therein, as well as some deeply serious dramatic turns, all are contained within “True Beauty,” a comic that once you start, you won’t want to put down. While I may be a little late to the party with “True Beauty” (every episode, including chapter 57, has effectively maxed out the like counter on the app,) that won’t stop me from telling y’all all about it. Don’t worry. This will be spoiler free, though I will be touching on broad events for context.
Continued belowIn these five most recent chapters, we continue the slow peeling back of Suho’s inner life through narration, flashbacks but most tellingly, through the little moments and actions that go uncommented upon by the narrative. The scene of Suho cooking, for example, or his openness and mirth during the family dinner are moments that may not mean or tell much out of context, but for the long-time readers, these moments elucidate more about who Suho is behind the cold exterior from when we first met him, what he holds dear, as well as the growth he’s gone through to get to this point and how far he still has to go.
The same is true of Jugyeong. There are moments of personal crisis throughout these chapters, most notably with a picture of middle school her and her overthinking Suho’s own overthinking, reflecting her still fragile self-esteem and the traumatic memories of that time in her life. However, she is more confident in herself now, as evidenced by Chapter 57 post-phone drop, though I stress more is not fully. This is one of the great strengths of Yaoyongi’s storytelling, coupled with an artstyle that is fashionable, expressive, and utilizes breaks in style to great comedic effect.
That said, “True Beauty” does often have a sheen to it that makes people look like they were slathered in baby-oil when more defined, a contrast that works sometimes to sell the humor when characters become more cartoonish, but it is distracting at times. The same is true of the word balloon placements and the quite large white spaces between panels in these updates, though the latter is more on the comic, the former is a Webtoons problem. Because of screen height, word balloons being at the bottom of the panels means the art can be off the screen before there is a chance to read what is being said, which can impact the flow of a chapter. The same is true of the large gaps between panels, which elongates scenes and makes the passage of time appear to be greater than it is at inopportune moments. Most of the time, though, it works to build tension or transitions scenes, such as midway through Chapter 57, but in that very same chapter, when Jugyeong is first arriving at the mall, there didn’t need to be so much space between the establishing shots.
But, in the end, those are minor gripes. The greater care and attention to the themes of the piece are the true draw and for those of you looking to get a new romance comic in your life, complete with stellar comedy and a hearty bit of (melo)drama, this is one worth checking out. (Shout out to Claire Napier & Matt Lune for suggesting this one.)
