Who says superheroes have to be filled with angst?
There are surprisingly few good webcomics about superheroes. I suppose on the one hand it is understandable – superheroes have been done. You’ve got as many as you can handle in the print world of comics, and it is hard to find a story that hasn’t been already written a dozen times before.
A few good ones do still manage to crop up – and the latest one I’ve stumbled across is Special School.
The name… yeah, leaves a bit to be desired. But the comic itself is good.
The premise of the comic, as one might surmise from the name, is that is about a handful of young, super-powered kids who are taking a government-sanctioned class training them to be heroes. So it is both a superhero strip and a college drama, and maybe that’s what works so well.
See, the characters have character. They are normal, fun-loving college kids – who just happen to have powers. The powers aren’t irrelevant, but don’t define them. They tend to reflect their personalities, sure – but they are themselves first, superheroes second, rather than the other way around.
At four panels a strip, gags and punchlines about, but that doesn’t stop the strip from developing a story – and generally doing so with ease. We’ve got one conflict after another within the first dozen strips. The ability to blend drama and humor without letting either take control is the sign of a very talented creator.
And, of course, he pays homage to the evil overlord list. Which gets him a free win in my book.
So check it out – Special School, by Andy Mason. Enjoy.
Dancing with the Devil
Ok – I’ll admit I was rather dubious when the latest PvP storyline seemed to be an arbitrary strike against those who weren’t entirely happy with Skull’s voice in the upcoming PvP animated shorts. Grinding the point into the ground… well, it seemed to be doing the very thing that Kris Straub spoke out against not long ago.
Kurtz wants to use a high-pitched voice for Skull. That’s how he views the character, it’s his property and his show, so no problem – that’s his call to make. Of course, he shouldn’t be angry at fans for giving their honest opinions on the topic – they are entirely able to feel however they want about it, and certainly free to not spend the relatively insane price of purchase if they don’t want to. Regardless of which side you are on, it’s not worth continuing to beat the topic to death – which is what I was afraid Kurtz was doing in this sequence.
But while the first strip or two seemed along those lines, I was pleased to realize that wasn’t entirely the case. Kurtz has taken the topic and run with it, with some very funny results. But more than that, I realized what was actually going on.
See, one of the worries about this just being a grudge-fest on Kurtz’s part is that it would be meaningless to the majority of readers. If they didn’t watch the animated PvP teaser – or if they did so, but didn’t pay any attention to the discussions that sprung up regarding it – some of the strips just would have neither point nor punchline.
But what Kurtz is doing is establishing Skull’s voice within the story. Readers generally have to invent within their own minds how each character sounds. Given that this is a character that clearly engenders all manner of different possible voices… Kurtz is putting his view of the character clearly in the story.
This way readers who have read through this arc won’t be as startled if they go on to watch the tv series. More than that, it allows Kurtz to flesh out details of the world that normally he can’t convey on paper.
So I’m ok with that. I’m hoping the storyline doesn’t feel the need to make any more low blows at those who originally imagined Skull’s voice different than Kurtz did, because attacking a loyal fanbase over such an irrelevant detail is… well, let’s just say that Kurtz has spoken out against other webcomic creators who have acted like that, and here is his chance to prove he is better than them.
In other news, given that I realize that I’ve had a lot of posts on the same strips of late, I’m making an on-the-spot, Third-Tuesday-Afternoon-of-January Resolution to spend the next few weeks focusing on new comics, or ones that have fallen by the wayside. So if Kurtz does descend into rampant villainry, or if the current Sluggy storyline proves to be as inane as it looks to be, you won’t hear about it from me!
I’m Back!
When Randy first introduced the little blue… thing… during some of the holiday filler at Something*Positive, I was officially horrified. Despite the desensitization of the modern age, I finally had found something in a webcomic that seriously made my skin crawl.
But it was just filler, right? I can live with that.
When he mentioned he had a way to work it in as a ongoing cast member, I again felt that feeling of absolute dread sinking into my stomach. S*P has some odd characters, but Choo-Choo Bear and Pepito – even Twitchy-Hug – managed to work within the confines of the strip. And I couldn’t for the life of me think of any possible way the blue thing could be worked in without entirely disrupting the strip. I pondered, with no avail, what possible bribe I could offer to keep this monstrosity from appearing.
I should have known better than to doubt. It’s in the strip… and it works perfectly.
Nothing Special
Starting off the new year sick has not been the best experience to me, and refreshed me on exactly why I dislike the common cold. Despite thinking I was just about over it, it decided to hit me for one last day of ‘fun’.
So no rants or insights today, I’m afraid. Instead, I’ll just share that my day was fortunately improved by the unexpected (at least by me) return of CRFH, along with noticing the eerie similarities between today’s Sam and Fuzzy and Something Positive strips. How about that, eh? Coincidence or conspiracy, the world may never know.
Second Looks
Websnark is back, in force. Websnark is the grand-daddy of webcomic blogs, but I’m pretty sure everyone already knows that. The esteemable Eric Burns has set a challenge for himself in 2007, and set out to accomplish a certain amount of writing by the end of the year. Towards this writing, he’ll be endeavering to post daily on Websnark.
I’m pretty pleased to see this for a number of reasons. One, my own webcomic blog was inspired largely by Websnark. Two, the final motivation for actually starting it was to give myself something to keep me actively writing day in and day out. And three – well, let’s face it, he writes some damn powerful stuff.
Already worth checking out is his final tribute to Narbonic, which says it better than I ever could.
I’m confident he doesn’t need the plug, but for those who weren’t aware of his resurgence, I figure it can’t hurt to mention it.
The Webcomicker is launching similarly forward with a hefty goal of a post for every single day in the year – and has brought back his webcomic, Birdsworth, as well.
While I don’t have any such lofty ambitions for my own blog, I do have some big ideas in store for the coming year. More will be revealed in time!
Moving on to other topics – I’ve got to give props to Questionable Content for some strips earlier this week. After suddenly (and skillfully) making Ellen into a villain a little while ago, he equally skillfully has rendered her human again. Despite being let-down by a lot of the other storylines in the strip of late, J.J. has done this little exchange extremely well, and I have to give him credit for that.
And finally, Scott Kurtz seems to be continuing his recent trend of stealing material from Tim Buckley, as he suddenly has his characters launching their own winter gaming holidays (complete with bizarre holiday outfit) in eerie similarity to Ctrl+Alt+Del’s Winter-een-mas.
Which, let me clarify, I don’t find despicable for its own sake. Stealing ideas you like from other sources is a long honored tradition in pretty much all forms of creative work, and there isn’t anything inherently wrong with that.
The problem is that Kurtz has spent so much time lambasting Ctrl+Alt+Del for just that – being a rip-off of PvP and Penny Arcade. Taking their ideas and somehow finding success with it. Kurtz has ripped into Buckley time and time again for this very thing. I simply find it rather… ironic that Kurtz is now doing the exact same thing. The plagiarism is fine – the hypocrisy, a little less so.
I’m sure Kurtz would give the same defense he gave when he launched the Animated PvP Series – namely that even if he was doing the same thing as Ctrl+Alt+Del, he was doing it better, funnier and with more quality than Buckley ever did. While I don’t believe that renders the hypocrisy null, I can’t deny the truth of it – I’ve generally flinched when I saw a new Winter-een-mass storyline, whereas this last week of PvP has been one of the funniest I have ever read.
So I can’t deny having enjoyed this storyline. I just hope that, after all this, Kurtz will at least ignore Buckley, rather than continue accusing him of ripping off other artists.
Oh, and a final disclaimer – I’m not saying all this in defense of Tim Buckley. Even if he’s behaved himself in recent drama this year, and regardless of his comic’s quality or lack thereof, his actions in the past have still rendered him, in my eyes, the vilest webcartoonist I know of.
Rather, I’m simply taken aback by Kurtz’s actions after his rants in the past. It seems a strange note on which to start the new year, but I suppose if Brent can do it, then so can he.
Happy New Year
A new year is here, and unsurprisingly, many changes come with it.
Some comics have ended, others have merely toyed with us, more than a few sport shiny new site designs, and while some comics are returning from hiatus, entirely new ones are beginning.
I hope everyone wrapped up 2006 successfully, everyone’s resolutions are working out well, and 2007 is off to a good start.
I’ll be back to regular updates on Friday.
Spoiler Warning!
Candi (by Starline X Hodge) (which is one of those officially awesome names) is one of my favorite comics out there.
It is yet another one of the ones that suprises me when I realize its been around for several years now, and how much plot has developed over time.
Lately the strip has been at absolutely the top of the game, and the county fair storyline (which it has been building up to for over a year) has left me laughing harder than I have in a long while. But despite all the laughs, I’ve got the sense some more intense moments are about to come to the fore.
It’s easy to overlook the more serious plot in Candi. We’re talking about a comic centered around a relatively care-free college student hanging out amidst your typical college crowd, with the occasional flying, intelligent ferret thrown in for good measure.
Now, college being college, that means that one can expect most conflicts to center around drama dealing with relationship, classes, etc.
The current storyline certainly has some, as all manner of badness is cropping up at the same time. Rebecca, who has started dating Jon, has already shown herself to be a bit jealous of Jon’s friends, and threatened when he isn’t devoting his time to her – so she’s off to the fair to make sure he doesn’t enjoy himself without her.
Meanwhile, we’ve got a slightly less down-to-earth plot, as the students’ faithful telepathic ferret Menjou is confronted by the deadly squirrel mafia, and has no one to turn to for aid.
Yeah, I never imagined I’d be writing a sentence like that either.
So we’ve got some pretty ordinary drama going on, and we’ve got some slightly surreal (and certainly silly) plot unfolding at the same time. So far, not too different than what one would expect from most webcomics.
Of course, we’ve also got the sinister reappearance of Andrew, the mildly creepy brother of Jessica. When he first appeared, recently released from a mental hospital, it was easy to give him the benefit of the doubt – he seemed earnest in seeking a second chance. Of course, it was also easy to see why Jessica wanted nothing to do with him… and that nothing good would come of that.
He may well be in collusion with the squirrels, he may well be running around in a ridiculous get-up – but that doesn’t make it any less scary that Jessica is being stalked by her psychotic and disturbed brother. This is a guy who tried to kill her when they were children. That’s not an entirely light subject, now is it?
And there’s the impressive part, the element that has me really excited about the current storyline in Candi. It’s not just that all these different conflicts are interwoven, from the ordinary to the absurd to the downright frightening – it’s that the strip is able to hold all of them at the same level without losing anything of itself.
Each of the different dramas fits equally well into the strip’s atmosphere without missing a beat. I don’t see that often, and unsurprisingly, it impresses me whenever I do. Candi certainly isn’t an exception.
The Future is Now
A little while back Kris Straud (the webcomic tactician behind Starslip Crisis) started Halfpixel.com, a site devoted to “disposable internet humor.” As far as I can tell, it is designed to give Kris a chance to experiment with spontaneous new comics without having to create a new site for each one – as well as all manner of other humor and thoughts as well.
And hey, that’s cool – it’s something between a webcomic artist’s blog and a new comic itself, and is both handy at peaking into his deranged mind and enjoying some random funny on the side.
But what makes the site really awesome is that you can use it too. Users can submit their own posts, and if he likes them, he puts them up. That’s wicked cool. I imagine there are a lot of funny people on the internet, and quite a few of them are part of the webcomic crowd. And quite a few of those don’t have the time to make their own daily comic – but will be able to produce some real gems on a site like this.
It gets even better, too. One of the funny little strips he came up with on the site is Time Friends. Each strip of Time Friends has the same art as the others, but with the joke and punchlines changed. Very similar to many other fixed-art webcomics out there, though few of those were quite as gag-oriented, and tended to thrive more on their own wordiness. (Which is not to say that is a bad thing.)
But Straub’s little strip was quick and easy. So easy that everyone could pop their own words in, and could make their own Time Friends strips. Heck, they didn’t even need to photoshop the strip (though plenty did), but simply post the four or so phrases the comic would consist of. And when Straub saw these goings on… well, at first he was less then pleased at seeing others honing in on his field. After some thought, however, his generous nature won out, and he not only accepted it, he embraced the idea with the Time Friends Maker.
Enjoy.
Weekly Round-up
I haven’t done one of these in a while, so here’s several tidbits of news or observations regarding developments in webcomics this week:
NEWS: Gunnerkrigg Court is moving to three days a week, starting next week. Voted as the Outstanding Newcomer in this year’s Webcartoonist Choice Awards, Gunnerkrigg Court has been living up to its potential, and having even more content from it is nothing but good news.
NEWS: Kismet: Hunter’s Moon has come to a close. When I first joined Girlamatic, this comic was one of the top discoveries that convinced me I made the right choice. Even though I’ve since unsubscribed from Girlamatic (primarily due to the sparsity of new content), I still made sure to follow this strip on it’s own site.
It’s a good strip that goes into unexpected places, and I’m eager to see the short stories that flesh out the backgrounds of the strip’s characters, as well as keep my eyes out for the sequel coming next year. Congratulations to Layla Lawlor on a strip well done.
NEWS: Drama has been at an all-time low in webcomics this year, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t there – and another scuffle has broken out in a debate between such long time stars as DJ Coffman, Joey Manley, and William G.
What really struck me about the entire debate was how… well, completely silly it was. I mean, not that I don’t normally find most flame-wars a tad ridiculous, but this one seemed to be entirely insults and misrepresentation for its own sake. When all an argument does is paint every single participant in a bad light… well, far be it from me to be the voice of reason, but I’m wondering when will some of these people realize that arbitrary mockery and debate is tarnishing their own reputation as much as the person they are trying to make look bad?
I just feel bad for Xavier Xerexes, since he had to deal with all the hullabaloo taking place on his site.
NEWS: Speaking, however, tangentially, about William G, he’s posted some preview art for his upcoming storyline (which arrives tomorrow, if I don’t have my wires crossed.) And let me tell you, that has to be the most horrifying thing I’ve seen all day.
RANT: Least I Could Do has been running a serious and intense storyline all week, which has been both heart-wrenching and an insight into Rayne’s character. I was really impressed with it, right up until today, when I wanted to reach into the computer and start punching people. (And, let me assure you, I’m usually a far more peaceful sort.)
Let’s talk about Rayne Summers.
Rayne Summers is an asshole. There’s no two ways about that – it’s basically the premise of the strip. And I’m ok with that – the strip is not only aware of this, but bases a significant majority of it’s humor off of this. Rayne’s a dick. He sleeps with women. He messes with his friends, and occasionally comes to their rescue. He’s shallow and self-centered, but charming enough to thrive despite this.
While I typically have a tendency to hate this sort of character (male Mary Sues who manage to miraculously come into dream jobs and have their way with the world without any real reason for it), Least I Could Do pulls it off well enough for me to stay interested, and even enjoy the strip. I tend to enjoy seeing Rayne get his comeuppance, of course, but I still laugh and read along in the storylines when (as is often the case), he comes out on top. (No pun intended.)
But this latest storyline left me intrigued. Rayne get’s his own little christmas spiritual visituation, in the vein of Scrooge before him. We all know where this starts, and we get to see Rayne in his past. We get to see exactly how Rayne became the asshole we know and love. And that was a great scene – it not only worked, it not only was enjoyable to read, but it genuinely was decent character development.
Next step: the present. Rayne waxes eloquent upon seeing the results of his actions, and professes how he never set out to hurt anyone, just to have a good time. And again… I can buy that. It might ring a little false, given some of his behavior in the past, but I can accept this attitude. And seeing him feeling remorse at his actions… not expected, but again – he pulls it off well. I can buy it.
Today, though, we get to find out that Rayne’s not really responsible, however. Apparently, the only women who he hurt are the ones that brought it on themselves.
Fuck. That.
Look, as I mentioned earlier, Rayne being an asshole has been core to the strip from the very beginning. He has treated women poorly on many, many occasions. Ok, that’s fine. (Well maybe not fine, but it’s basically acceptable within the context of the strip.)
But going on to then say, “Hey, just kidding, he’s actually not an ass – it’s their fault for sleeping with him and expecting something more out of it?” Once again: Fuck. That.
It’s a shame, because Rayne, as a character who was hurt in the past and chose to become a womanizing asshole, but is now regretting the harm he has caused, is an intriguing character. Rayne, as a character who remains infallible and bereft of the responsibility of his actions, is completely uninteresting. It not only doesn’t help to develop the character, it actively undermines what the last week of strips has been building up.
If all that was happening was losing out on Rayne’s character development, that would be one thing – but this is actively sending a pretty terrible message down the line. Oh, I know what you’re saying – why in the world shouldn’t I expect a strip like LICD to be sexist? Isn’t it sexist all the time?
Well no, it’s not. Characters in it are, sure. But you can tell when Rayne’s being a dick, that’s because he’s a dick. There is a difference between that and the strip itself saying, “Hey, it’s ok for a guy to be an ass, he’s only going to hurt girls who are asking for it.”
Maybe I’m reading things wrong. The storyline isn’t over, and we still have (assuming things stay true to form) Rayne’s future to look in on. But seeing the morale of the story – even if only for a single day – be that the only women Rayne hurt were the ones who brought it on themselves? After seeing countless examples throughout the strip where that just isn’t true?
Once more with fervor:
Fuck. That.
NEWS: Finally, since I’d rather not end things on a bad note, especially so close to the holidays… go check out the news over at Penny Arcade today. In addition to some very nice discussion on everyone’s favorite Cardboard Tube Samurai, it looks like Child’s Play will be going the distance and breaking the one million mark this year.
Go ahead, spend a few minutes grinning about that figure. I know I did. Anyway, I’ll be back next Wednesday – till then, enjoy the holidays!
Happy Birthday, Something Positive.
In the Comixpedia End of 2006 Roundtable, Something Positive’s Death of Faye storyline was mentioned as one of the top webcomic storylines this past year.Mike had a kid.
Jason and Aubrey got married.
And we saw the Fall of Kharisma which I discussed on a handful of occasions.
All those things right there – that’s enough to make a good year. That’s a ton of change. That’s a ton of development – some development’s more meaningful than others.
But Randy, apparently, isn’t so easily satisfied.
He traditionally ends each year of Something Positive with a significant moment. The first three years ended with darkness and depression. Year four ended with a ray of hope.
Year five is ending with a very intense moment, yes – but it isn’t like all the other endings. It’s not actually outright good or bad. Once you get past the sheer shock of it, ask yourself – what exactly does this mean for Davan?
Remember, we’re talking about Davan, who has been drifting through life since the strip began. He has gone from one relationship to another, most ending badly – and even the ones that didn’t end badly still ended. His latest relationship has been casual sex with Kim (which seems pretty clearly to be nothing more than that). He is moving back home to Texas out of a sense of familial obligation.
And now he has a kid.
More than that – he now has had a kid for the past three years, one that has been growing up without him. That’s a bit to take in, yeah? I’m sure Donna had her reasons (whether good ones or not), and I’m sure that Davan is likely to not hold the lapse against her – and feel that sense of familial obligation weighing down on him once again.
Still, speculation about Donna’s situation and how much Davan will interact in his son’s life… well, we’ll see where that goes. I’m not going to hazard too many guesses without knowing enough about Donna (though it seems likely she will need Davan’s help, though seems unlikely to demand – or possibly even ask – for it.)
But you know who this really leaves me wondering about?
PeeJee.
A year ago, PeeJee was alone and filled with despair. We’ve all been there – though she was lucky enough to have a friend to show up and remind her that she was loved.
A year later, and she’s alone again.
Well, not alone. She’s got Choo-Choo Bear. She’s not confined to a hospital, and has friends she can visit nearby.
But she doesn’t have Davan.
Does she love Davan? Well, duh – they’ve been friends for years. The two of them, and Aubrey, are bound by ties as close as they get.
But does she love Davan?
That’s a hard question. He’s been there for her through thick and thin, more than any other. He moved to Boston for her sake, and now she’s moving back to Texas for him.
And look at how many of their friends have paired off or left the picture in the last few years… Aubrey and Jason, Monette… even Mike has found a family.
Family. Back to that word again. A general perusal of S*P would indicate that Davan would probably be the last man to want kids, to have to deal with children, to be a ‘father figure.’
But… Davan’s a decent guy, at heart. Angry, bitter, and fed up with the stupidity of the world? Sure, more often than not. But you can’t forget that he was raised by the best. You think that with the example of his parents, there’s even the slightest chance that Davan wouldn’t make a good father?
Now he has a son… and we still haven’t determined just how fully PeeJee cares for him. Her own family… oh, it’s a good one, but while Davan’s family in many ways was a haven against the bitterness the world instilled in him, her own presented it’s own share of turmoil. And let’s not forget that her track record with relationships seems even worse than Davan’s. He at least had Branwen. I don’t know if PeeJee’s ever had someone get truly close to her.
Except for Aubrey, who has now gotten married.
And except for Davan, who is off in Texas, and suddenly has a son.
Regardless of how she loves him or not, PeeJee suddenly is very much in danger of being alone. Well and truly alone. She isn’t at her darkest moment, like she was a year ago. She is simply sitting there, in the middle of her life… and she’s still alone.
You know how earlier I said that the ending of Year Five of S*P was different from the others, because it wasn’t actually outright good or bad, just momentous? Yeah, not quite true.
I’ve got the sneaking suspicion it will be good for some people… and potentially very bad for certain others. We’ll find out next year.
I know that I’ll be watching.
Damn Good Comics 