| Comic: Filibuster Cartoons |
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The webcomic “revolution” has had a hard time reaching out from the gaming niche and no where has this been more pronounced than the political genre. However, Filibuster is a notable exception to the rule and is by far the best conservative comic available. I may disagree with some of his stances (his most famous comic regarding the Dutch cartoon controversy is a ridiculous misstatement of the situation), but he is consistently funny and *gasp* fairly ba$lanced on a lot of issues (he even attacks his own party when it violates its own tenants *double gasp). Recommended.
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| Comic: I drew this |
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| Not a particularly good comic unless you’re pretty far to the left and like being catered to or the far right and like feeling persecuted (sadly that‘s a pretty large market). Uses the disturbingly popular trend of making his point against a straw man, often going as far as not having a straw man at all, but rather having a caricature of a conservative political figure confirm his opinion. Besides that the comic really isn’t funny that often. If you want far left political cartoons there are plenty of funnier ones available. Ozy and Millie is a much better work. |
| Comic: Winger |
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| Boring and preachy. I checked this out because I had read his earlier work, Elf Life, and conservative comics are a bit of a rarity. However, his newest work incorporates the weak story lines of his first work and is injected with conservative messages that aren’t so much offensive as incredibly boring as he’s flogging horses that have been dead for quite sometime. Having read two of his works I’m also very bored with his representation of his two lead female protagonists. Overly violent, fundamentally divided, huge mood swings, rarely capable of expressing themselves beyond shrillness, and having a craving for weak male leads. I remember he once praised his first female character as a true woman, but really it just looks like a collection of stereotypes to me (except the last one, which is just an annoying cliché in nearly all stories). Elf Life fell under the weight of its schizophrenic story arc as the creator tried to incorporate every genre into it. Even in this shallow political incarnation I see similar forebodings as the characters are all related back to Elf Life under some ridiculous pretense. So if you ever wished that Elf Life got rid of all but the most ridiculous aspects of its story and incorporated tired conservative rhetoric boy have I got a webcomic for you. |
| Comic: Winger |
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| Boring and preachy. I checked this out because I had read his earlier work, Elf Life, and conservative comics are a bit of a rarity. However, his newest work incorporates the weak story lines of his first work and is injected with conservative messages that aren’t so much offensive as incredibly boring as he’s flogging horses that have been dead for quite sometime. Having read two of his works I’m also very bored with his representation of his two lead female protagonists. Overly violent, fundamentally divided, huge mood swings, rarely capable of expressing themselves beyond shrillness, and having a craving for weak male leads. I remember he once praised his first female character as a true woman, but really it just looks like a collection of stereotypes to me (except the last one, which is just an annoying cliché in nearly all stories). Elf Life fell under the weight of its schizophrenic story arc as the creator tried to incorporate every genre into it. Even in this shallow political incarnation I see similar forebodings as the characters are all related back to Elf Life under some ridiculous pretense. So if you ever wished that Elf Life got rid of all but the most ridiculous aspects of its story and incorporated tired conservative rhetoric boy have I got a webcomic for you. |
| Comic: Power Puff Girls Doujinshi |
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I think that criticizing something simply because it’s a doujinshi or because it incorporates PPG and other children’s cartoon characters is pretty silly; I mean that is the whole basis of the comic.
I find the art simply stunning, easily the highest quality around. The work and detail put into every panel is very impressive. I was also pleased with the amount of research and detail that goes into the strip. Minor characters and various series in-jokes constantly crop up and show that the artist is truly a fan of these cartoons., which I have always found to be the most enjoyable aspect of doujinshi.
However, the comic also suffers from many of the same weaknesses. The story is altered to make the characters more adult, but in the cliché manner of giving them sexual interests and tragic backgrounds. I don’t really understand why almost every character in the strip needs a romantic interest and the respective ages of the characters make me a bit uneasy at times (the fact that the site has an ad for a distributor of pedophilic doujinshi does little to ease my fears). Overall, it’s a features amazing art and a plot which perhaps could be best described as a blend of DBZ with love interests spliced in (and I’m not writing that as words of praise).
3 stars. I do find his interlude project Grim Tales much more artistically creative so far and while it’s still in its larval form I do see a lot of potential. |
| Comic: Ctrl+Alt+Delete |
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| So let me understand this. The comic's jokes are suppossed to be bad, tired, and dry and that makes it funny? Sure. After you're done licking CAD's boots maybe you should check out something like Girly which is actually stupid AND funny. |
| Comic: Calvin and Hobbes |
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Hail to the King!
Not the measuring bar for the industry, Watterson set it way too high. |
| Comic: Dueling Analogs |
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Sorry, but we already have a gaming comic with a severe lack of funny in the top 10 (CAD).
Better luck next time. |
| Comic: Real Life Comics |
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| Just like real life, just more boring. The review by neoncs was ten times funnier than anything the artist has managed. Very dissapointing considering the art is pretty nice (considering the rampant cut/paste, but hey if we give Kurtz a pass...). I'd go on, but I feel like I spent more time writing up this review than the artist spent time coming up with a script. |
| Comic: Ctrl+Alt+Delete |
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Alright, I’ve never been a big fan of Ctrl Alt Del, but I decided to go back and read the entire archives… and… well I still think it’s stunningly mediocre. Yet the popularity of this comic made me go back and read a few more, just to want to see where the intrigue is since even with crappy webcomics I can usually see where the attraction is (like people feeling pity for the creator of Megatokyo and eliciting kind of protection instinct, kind of like protecting the artwork of a mentally handicapped younger brother, in fact I think it’s exactly like that), but not with Ctrl Alt Del, nor could I pinpoint why I didn’t care for it. I’ve noticed a lot of people complaining about something intangibly missing from the comic (I mean the charge of being derivative is pretty lacking since a majority of webcomics are, most notably pvponline which was one of the more prominent comics to level the charge).
Then I figured it out. Some of the strips are very funny, like this one http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/co mic.php?d=20051228 were truly hilarious. Cracked me up. A majority of the strips were too wrapped up in continuity to be funny and then there were the rest of the strips that felt lacking. Strips like this one: http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/co mic.php?d=20051223 There are so many strips like this one, strips that have a great premise, but lack the witty last panel to really elevate the serious. In the case of this comic the first two set up panels are great, but the last one, the one you expect the big pay off, is completely lacking. That’s when it hit me; Ctrl Alt Del is probably the worst of the major comics utilizing the last frame. 3 stars.
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| Comic: Order of the Stick, The |
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I’m a bit surprised this comic is so high up the list, but then again I see Fallen around this ranking pretty often and Ctrl Alt Del is perennially at the top so yeah guess it’s just the aberrant preferences of the locals,
Far from a bad comic, but a lot of it is old hat with most characters having better counter parts in other (lower ranked in some cases) webcomics. It just feels like an amalgamation of 8 Bit Theater, Nodwick, Errant Story, and the defunct RPG World. Having read the entire archives there are some exceptionally funny strips, but most of them are a bit bland.
The art is also a bit lacking as well. I’m not ripping the artist for choosing the stick figure format, but the format imo lacks some of the charm that would make the art truly enjoyable. That and while there has been artistic improvement over the course of the comic is has been pretty minimal.
Overall, it’s an okay read, but it lacks anything truly creative and charming to set it apart from its more polished contemporaries. 3 stars. |
| Comic: Mac Hall |
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Used to be one of my favorite webcomics, but the updates have really dried up (7 in 3 months). Kind of confused how this webcomic is still up so high, then again I don't know how ctrl alt del is on the top so whatever.
The comic is consistantly funny and it has been moving increasingly away from text based jokes. It's also one of the beautiful comics around, but again the updates are incredibly sparse and if you don't like one comic you might not see another for +2 weeks. |
| Comic: MegaTokyo |
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"If you don't like it, simply don't read it."
It's funny how everytime you critique something that's people's response. I think Fred some strange power to summon irrational fanboy defenders. The scale is 1-5 for a reason people. If you like the webcomic say why, if you don't do the same. If you can't handle seeing something less that glowing in reference how about not reading the response? |
| Comic: Penny And Aggie |
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| A webcomic aimed primarily at girls with no gaming references? Yeah it feels out of place to me too, but it’s an interesting work. It’s premise is a bit tried out (“popular girl” versus “nerdy/artistic girl”) and sometimes it falls into clichés with both characters sometimes playing into their stereotypes for a storyline. Aggie’s father is in particular an annoying character. That aside, Penny and Aggie are both interesting and compelling characters, particularly when bouncing off of each other. The art is also pretty good. Recommended. |
| Comic: Penny And Aggie |
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| A webcomic aimed primarily at girls with no gaming references? Yeah it feels out of place to me too, but it’s an interesting work. It’s premise is a bit tried out (“popular girl” versus “nerdy/artistic girl”) and sometimes it falls into clichés with both characters sometimes forgetting their stereotypes for a storyline. Aggie’s father is in particular an annoying character. That aside, Penny and Aggie are both interesting and compelling characters, particularly when bouncing off of each other. The art is also pretty good. Recommended. |
| Comic: Wapsi Square |
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| I love the original feel of Wapsi’s art. It just looks so different compared to the other webcomics out there. He also creates refreshingly vibrant optimistic and vibrant characters seemingly at whim with just a few comics (as seen in the Yoga story arc). I’m also a big fan of his art style for the dramatic flash backs for his more melodramatic story arcs. I wouldn’t want every artist to draw like Wapsi, but I think the webcomic scene would be less enjoyable without it. That said, not all of the story arcs work for me. I’m not a fan of Tepoztecal and I’m only lukewarm about Monica, but this is still great webcomic and a must read for those who read a lot of webcomics and are looking for some variety. |
| Comic: Sinfest |
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| The fact that Sinfest couldn’t get syndication represents the serious shortcomings of industry. This was pretty brilliant and creative stuff, particularly at its inception. The humor falls within a certain style, but don’t all webcomics? I gave it 5 stars because no webcomic out there had a funnier two to three year stretch than Sinfest. Unfortunately nothing is funny forever and the comic feels a bit dry. I agree that maybe it’s time for Tatsuya to try something different, but I don’t think he gets nearly the props he deserves. Much love. |
| Comic: PVP Online |
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It’s consistently updated daily and has pretty solid art, though at times Kurt severely abuses the cut/paste option. The storyline moves forward at a reasonable rate. He has been called the most professionally savvy webcomic artist on the web and I would have to agree. The organization of his products and the sheer number of references he can call in is impressive (though the name dropping does become old). So why three stars? It’s bland, painfully bland. It’s ironic that Kurt has trumpeted his comic as a “kick in the pants” to the funny paper comics when his has all the same weaknesses. It’s painfully formulaic and tries to pander to a specific demographic while remaining as vanilla as possible in order to appeal to as a wide a range of the public as possible and in the end creates something not particularly interesting for anyone. If I wanted a business strategy for creating a successful webcomic I wouldn’t hesitate to ask him; it’s just too bad that not much of his business aptitude translates into artistic creativity.
His rants, nonsensical as they sometimes are (I mean suddenly ranting against WWII games as disrespectful) can at least be amusing in the amount of flak they create. Whether he does this for publicity or not I don’t know, but I wouldn’t put it past him. |
| Comic: Something Positive |
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I’m surprised that this comic isn’t a lot higher. I mean it’s arguably the best of the daily updated webcomics. Tight art, original characters, and a refreshingly intelligent story. A few people have complained about the dialog, but how many webcomics out there can create constant humor without resorting to slapstick violence? (Not that I don’t appreciate slapstick violence, I just like a little variety). That said the comic isn’t perfect. It’s very formulaic in that the beginning panels move the story forward and the last panel has a witty cynicism. Considering that all webcomics fall into some kind of formula this is hardly a big detraction, but it is more noticeable within a comic that thrives on intelligent banter. The storylines, as people have pointed out, can also be repetitive and again while every webcomic falls into this it is more noticeable in somethingpositive due to it being so story driven.
That said, it is still a top notch webcomic and worthy of five stars. |
| Comic: Chugworth Academy |
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| I'd like to give it a lower rating due to the ridiculous amount of "fan service", but the art is pretty great. I do find it hilarious that he panders this site as near porn then complains when morons send him emails wanting full nudity of various characters. The writing is also subpar. That said it updates regularly and the art ranks among the best so 3 seems fair. |
| Comic: Questionable Content |
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| A pretty good offering. The art is top notch and has continued to expand and improve, which is always nice to see. The jokes, while rarely hilarious, are usually fairly funny and witty. My main gripe with the comic is the absurd dragging out of the romantic tension between the two main characters. It reminds me of a lot of bad Animes (and webcomics for that matter) that can never move beyond the whole romantic struggle. Lets face it, clichéd dating teasers are a lot easier to write around and the transition from “loser in love” to a mutual relationship is pretty difficult, but this has been going on since the comics inception over two years ago. That and pintsize and his cheap gags are pretty damn annoying as I imagine the author is aware of considering how rarely the character is used nowadays. |
| Comic: MegaTokyo |
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"Wilmo The Bear
Saw someone complaining about the update being slow? Once a day is not fast for you??
This is the best webcomic Ever! "
This is an accurate sampling of 90% of MT fans: obsessed and preteen. I must have missed all those daily updates. Not to get into it again, but as an earlier person said: it has degenerated from an amusing parody into a pretty inane imitation. Melodrama has never moved forward so slow or in such poor quality. |
| Comic: MegaTokyo |
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Easily the most overrated webcomic out there, is there really a second?
I really don’t see how people can say that the art is beautiful, I mean there are no shortage of cites out there that far outclass it in artistic merit. I guess some people go for the “sketchy” look, personally I’d take Underpower if that’s your thing. Megatokyo also has to win the award for the least improving artistic abilities. I guess you can be generous and call it consistency, but I see all the major artists making noticeable improvements in style over the lifespan of their work (even Kurtz), and MegaTokyo continues to plod along.
The story is, of course, anemic. As people have pointed out the character Largo is a thin shell of his former self and he really carried that strip. Gallagher's Piro needs a strong foil to make his effeminate whining tolerable. Gallagher's attempt at telling a story through multiple characters just makes a bad situation worse. None of them are compelling and have no chance at becoming so due to the erratic pace of the story. For a story with so many points of view to have a chance at success you would need daily updates, but as we all know if there is anything more maddening than the story of MegaTokyo, it is the inconsistency of updates.
Overall a very poor offering for a full time artist. |
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