What Did I Learn?

Please note: This page is no longer updated.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.

Patrick Grey by Ben Stirling.

You can really only appreciate this after you read the strips, but here's what the creator has to say about the comic:
"Patrick Grey is the creation of Ben Stirling, a man with the most useless mish-mash of education available. Trained in both Interior Design and Animation, and stuck working as a menial book slave, Ben decided one day that all his frustration about going nowhere in life could be channeled into a comic strip. Thus he created the character of Patrick, who is nothing like him in any way, shape or form."

Patrick Grey is that person that we are on the inside before manners and politeness modify our responses to those around us. He says and does what he thinks (pretty much.) Of course, it would be a disservice to leave the discussion of character at that. There's more to Patrick Grey than I describe here - he's very likable.

The character design is extraordinary. Now, I'm not talking about the linework here... that's going to get its own paragraph. The temperments and personalities of each of the characters are very very solid. The interaction of these characters provides wonderful contrasts of their personality types. Plus, they each have a subtle, hidden side providing a wonderful depth of character. It gives them a sense of really being alive to the reader.

Now for the linework. The lines themselves are simple while still being expressive, but they are mainly meant to clarify your reading experience (in my opinion.) I would go so far as to say if there was more in-depth art, it might even detract from the focus on the characters. There's also a good visual contrast between the characters; some are taller or shorter with specific hairstyles and clothing. Well done.

The storylines are based on the sorts of things that happen in real life, so it's easy to connect with the characters. A very entertaining comic.

What did I learn? It pays to think out your designs. You have to bring out the subtle sides of your characters both visually and personally. And a comic's art does not have to be Mona Lisa quality (it might be) to be effective. Simpler can be better too. Importantly, make sure you vary your character's heights and widths, colors and details. What do you think about Patrick Grey?

Next week's review: Quirks.

Previous Reviews

Battlegate| Butterfly| Good Ship Chronicles| Evil, Inc.| 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

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.