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What Did I Learn?

Webcomic Reviews by Delos Woodruff

Please note: This page is no longer updated.

New reviews are posted weekly on the blog page. These reviews are being slightyl updated and ported over to that blog to be republished every Wednesday. They are all scheduled to post and this page will remain until October 2009. You may wish to change your bookmarks.

Enker's Tale by Ben Warren

To get some understanding of what was going on, I checked out the background of the comic thus far... "Sigma has been defeated, and in the aftermath Zero has gone into stasis until such time as his connection to the deadly virus can be decoded. However in his absence things are gong to hell - Mavericks are spewing crime and violence throughout the city, and Megaman X is unable to cope with the loss of his best friend. Things are falling apart and if the Hunters don't rally soon then it could spell the end for everyone. Into this city of rage and despaire comes a figure a figure of the past, the last relic of a time long forgotten. Could he be the one thing that can turn the tide of battle, or will his presence doom them all?"

"wow - I'm the artist and author of Enker's Tale and I'm very thrilled to get reviewed."
-Ben Warren

There's some depth there. The character bios are written similarly and the first thing that jumped out at me was that there are no cardboard cutouts here. There are definite motives and a nice mix of personalities.

This comic is black and white with some very intruiging linework. I, personally, would feel a need to fill the spaces with texture and detail. But Enker works remarkably well without it. As a matter of fact, it really forces you to consider the motivations and dialogue of the characters. Getting back to the linework: It's very subtle in places yet there is a clear sense of the forms and motion of the characters. He doesn't always draw the end of the limb in motion, for example. However, you aren't left wondering what happened to it due to open, airy nature of the art. It's a neat trick.

The panel variety is nice, and the page background provides a great contrasting backdrop. It's just perfect for directing your eye back to the comic. The colors of the title pop without overwhelming the comic.

What did I learn? Enker reinforces that the characters and stories are what captures the audience's imagaination. What you leave out can be just as important as what you include. And it's not all bright colors and heavy line. Enker's Tale!

Previous Reviews

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About These Reviews

I love comics and I'm always looking at how I can improve my own work by examining other creators' works. It's such a wildly diverse field that it's not advisable to make sweeping generalizations and ignore special circumstances and subjects.

There's a lot we can learn from one another. And while there are many forums where you might discuss this, I haven't found any lengthy discussion on what we can do to make our comics more successful. There are a few good books on the subject but the aspiring webcomic creator is forced to learn by sheer brute force practice how to adapt his/her personal style to the medium. This is not as efficient as it could be.

Also, there are literally thousands of webcomics but only a handful of places where you can find decent, regular reviews. The focus of my reviews will be on trying to determine what is positive, successful and worth emulating about each comic. You might even get hooked on a given comic you read about here.

You may also wonder where the 'criticism' is and where the negative things about the comics are pointed out. As a matter of fact, I did mention some dissappointing issues with layout and such in my initial reviews. I quickly came to the realization that it's easy for any viewer to know what they like and what they don't. I don't need to call extra attention to the negative. I have, on a few occasions, emailed a webcomic author with a few ideas for improvements but there's no need to make that information public.

I'm not trying to sugarcoat anything, mind you. I just wish to have an open discussion about what good comics do. Hopefully, more voices will join in.

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