Fri May 16, 2008 08:41
A little play on words about the study and practice of art.
What makes a good webcomic? What kinds of things are webcomic creators doing? What has been successful? Since I couldn't find any site that talked about these things, I created this one. I hope we can learn from each other so we can all make better comics. There is a new review every Thursday.
Webcomic Reviews by Delos Woodruff
5-8-8
Madscott
by S.R. Gallatin
Madscott starts out as black and white line drawings but switches over to color in early 2008. A month later it switches back and for a good reason. Even though it looks good, the artist doesn't want to rely on color to carry the comic. The line drawings are not especially detailed but that's not the charm of the strip. I'll come back to that after I talk about some of the details that support it.
I like the font. It's a perfect fit for the strip because it gives the impression of scrawled handwriting yet it is very readable. It also gives this off-balance feel to the speech, which makes the characters seem a little wacky. Nothing seems all that odd. I always expect more from the cats, but I don't know why. It's intruiging.
He also draws the characters from other comics or movies he likes. This is a bit of homage, a little bit of fun and a little cross promotion. There's no rhyme or reason and the small story arcs are sometimes interrupted by one of these characters. It's a little puzzle, too. It's not always spelled out for you who this character is and they come from a wide variety of media.
Watch out for the art zombie. You've been warned.
There are a lot of references to the artist being a father and this is something I can relate to. He does, also, talk to cats like they can understand him and he dresses like a flying squirrel for fun. I'm a little concerned. Of course, if the artist does work fourteen hour days in tech support and then does his comic - then that explains it all. Except that I am now educated as to how to identify Unicorn feces. You can be too, if you just read about ten strips in from the start. You just never know what the topic will be next.
This is the first webcomic I've seen which makes missing updates a part of the entertainment. It's well handled and flows right along, which not many other webcomics can boast.
All of these things provide a comic which refuses to take itself seriously. It can't even be pigeon holed into a category. It's pure creative whim and this is the charm of Madscott. This is getting rarer and rarer today as comics become the focus of ever intensive scrutiny as a business.
What did I learn?
Never be satisfied and keep working to improve your comic. Have fun with it, no matter what. Don't let it become all business. Madscott is just something to enjoy.
Madscott| Jefbot| Chronicle| Sheldon| Stardrop| Theater Hopper| Knave| Lullaby| High Moon| Metadawn| Dead Days| PC Weenies| Ask Maridee | Tiny Folk | Gordian Algebra | Starslip Crisis | The Front | Coffee Time Comics | Patches | Little Creature | The Horrible Pirates | Serenity Tales | Crashlander | Girl Genius | This Is Me | Handle With Care | SuperFogeys | Copper | Eskimo Dave | Real Life | Chateau Wonderful | Count Your Sheep | Breakpoint City | Eeekeemo | Boxcar Astronaut | Zip and Li'l Bit | Wally & Osborne | Jump Leads | Dr. Sheep and the Aardvark | Station V3 | Dresden Codak | Lab Ratz | Toyzville | The Boids | Cow and Buffalo | Casey and Scotty | Just Outside | The Pretentious History of Everything | Tia's World | Quirks | Patrick Grey | For What It's Worth | The Sixth Dimension | Max and the Gorilla Goon Squad | Rainbow Orchid | Neko and Neko | Lions, Tigers and Bears | Spacequint | Lessons In Fire Safety | Corrupt Hardware | Enker's Tale | The Surreal Adventures of Edgar Allan Poo | A Rusty Life | You'll Have That | From the Margin | Jitterati | Mission Statement|
5-12-8
Promote Your Webcomic
All webcomic artists want to promote their work. That's a given. What we have been lacking is an online place to learn how to promote. How much should you spend on advertising? What else can you do to get a bigger audience? What resources exist for us to take advantage of?
It's new, but there is now such a place. Its' mission is to collect all these resources together so we can all benefit. So, go. Check out how to promote your webcomic and then suggest a resource in the appropriate heading.
5-11-8
Lord of the Trees
Things may have finally just gotten better.
Well, of course, the boys are in full scale retreat and Dark Jay has declared himself Lord of the Trees. None of that is good, per se.
The good part is that DJ is finally done monologing.
5-8-8
Madscottby S.R. Gallatin
Madscott starts out as black and white line drawings but switches over to color in early 2008. A month later it switches back and for a good reason. Even though it looks good, the artist doesn't want to rely on color to carry the comic. The line drawings are not especially detailed but that's not the charm of the strip. I'll come back to that after I talk about some of the details that support it. See the rest of the review right here.
