Nahast: Lands of Strife calls itself a d20 compatible webcomic.

Now then, exactly what does that mean? For those not in the know,  the d20 system is what is used as the rules basis for Dungeons and Dragons, as well as many other roleplaying games. From this, one might expect a comic like Commissioned (Fantasy RPG Arc) or Order of the Stick, with a plot in a fantasy world where you can clearly see the game mechanics functioning behind the scenes.

But for Nahast… no, not so much. Oh, you can see the influence of gaming in the details and development of the strip – but Nahast isn’t a world defined by rules as much as defined by story. Sure, the site has an entire page devoted to translating the world into rules one can use for gaming in that setting – but the rules are defined by the tale being told, and not the other way around.

What it draws from the gaming background is an intense attention to detail – it is a setting with a fully fledged mythology, and a fantastic wealth of creatures and gods, countries and politics. Tons of information laid out on the website to help familiarize readers with the world – and a supremely important cast page. Each person met has their own unique story, whether great or small – and everyone has the potential to be a hero in their own right.

Nahast is a world in full, and we can feel the weight of that with every page of the story.

The main story itself updates approximately once a week, with nicely drawn full color pages. Occasionally something else will work its way in – a retelling of the most important myth of the land, in a different but surprisingly effective style. Or a map of the entirety of Nahast. Or occasionally a written story itself, giving us the background of characters in a fashion that won’t take months upon months to reveal.

Like I said, this guy is all about the world-building, and occasionally busts out everything but the kitchen sink.

Now, I won’t claim the comic is perfect. The art is consistently solid… but there are moments of shakiness. For a story set in a fantasy environment – and one featuring characters who do often speak in a formal manner – it can be disorienting to have characters abruptly saying “my bad,” or to come across similarly out of place language. The website has a ton of nice features, but also seems curiously neglected in the last few years, with the archives featuring a great breakdown by scenes and storyline… that was last updated several years ago. And with updates to the story itself only coming once a week, the plot can be exceptionally slow-moving.

On the other hand, I’ve been reading the comic for several years now, with it consistently being one of my favorites regardless of all the above, so that might say something too.

Now, I appreciate the lush environment of a fully fleshed-out world, and the stability it gives the story itself. I enjoy the story the seems to be coming together in the background, and the skill with which things seem to be woven together. The art has moments where it works, in every way, absolutely perfectly. But what really draws me in time after time… is the characterization.

The main protaganists are what I tend to think of as ideal heroes for a story such as this – each of them exceptionally capable, possessed of unique powers and abilities, and important enough to stand on their own despite needing to come together as a team for the usual reasons – fulfill prophecies, stop evil, save the world.

The secondary characters that have been stealing the show away from that crew are the Hawk Maidens – a pack of young girls training to be warriors and scholars, who each have their own tales to tell. Stubbornly individual – both in appearance and personality – we haven’t even been thoroughly introduced to all of them, and each one manages to be as interesting a character as the last.

And of course, we have the main focus of the comic itself, which the story can’t seem to escape no matter how hard it tries – Derrexi Tzelan. Derrexi is… not very good at calligraphy. She is, however, quite capable when needed. Despite the philosophy of her thoughts, and the formality she is capable of in the setting requiring it, she clearly has a soul of mischief within.

I need to remember to mention this comic as an example whenever people are looking for strips with strong female leads, as she is as perfect an example as I can think of. Capable and self-reliant while remaining deeply human in her thoughts, she’s one of the strongest characters in webcomics period.

Nahast has politics and schemes that span an empire, prophecies and hidden dragons from the dawn of time, action-packed fights with demonspawn serving nefarious purposes, and the tales of a band of young women growing up and learning to walk their own paths in life.

If that doesn’t sell you on it, nothing will.

Weregeek has a very cool logo. This makes me happy.

This is hardly the most important thing for a comic – but it shouldn’t be underestimated. The only reason I’m writing this review is because of that logo. The only reason I even took a look at that comic is because the logo caught my eye.

There are other ways to attract attention, of course – word of mouth, crossovers, guest art, etc.

But being able to catch someone’s attention with a shiny little picture is important. I was browsing the Comic Genesis site last week, simply taking a look around – and of all the different strips whose logos where emblazened at the top of the page, Weregeek had the only one to catch my eye.

So, take note: Having an engaging logo? That’s a good thing.

Of course, once you’ve gotten a reader’s attention, you need to make sure they stay a reader. And that requires more than a single striking image – that requires a combination of any number of skills.

Fortunately, Alina Pete, creator of the strip, seems to have that end of things well under control. Weregeeks is a good comic, and off to a hell of a good start.

The archives make for a quick read – it has only been running for just about four months. Fortunately, there is enough in there to sink your teeth into – it has updates solidly running thrice weekly, which is just about the right pace to keep the story moving.

And move it does. The tale centers around our ‘hero’, Mark, an ordinary guy that is being drawn into the world of dorkdom. Unfortunately, on his own… well, he’s a pretty boring fellow to start with. We don’t see him before he felt the pull of the geek, nor what it is that actually drew him into these hobbies, aside from the so-called “gaming moon” that the tale unfolds beneath. For the first few pages we simply watch him run around, fleeing a mysterious hunter, while he comes to terms with him emerging geekiness.

It isn’t bad, but it is clear that the story hasn’t quite found its center yet, and we haven’t yet gotten any real attachment to Mark himself. We’ve got some amusing mysteries to ponder (the idea of a Weregeek itself, the mysterious hunter), and enough punchlines (including some real winners) to keep us going… which is good, because it doesn’t take long for it to get to the good stuff.

I’ve got to give credit where credit is due – the comic made me feel like an idiot, and that’s what made me a fan. If that doesn’t make sense, let me rephrase – it managed to pull a complete bait and switch on me, as Mark stumbles into a lair of vampires, and is faced with horror at being brought into their undying ranks… and I managed to get just as suckered into it as him, despite the obvious silliness of it all, and was just as relieved to discover it was just a bunch of kids playing a game.

Oh, it wasn’t the most subtle of plot twists. It might not even deserve the name at all – the signs are pretty clear from the start as to what is going on, especially to anyone who has actually sat around at a LARP itself. But I fell for it hook, line, and sinker, which tells me that the story is being woven tightly enough to keep me from questioning it.

So note number two: Sometimes, if you can pull off making the reader feel like an idiot without actually making the trick burn, you just might have impressed a new fan.

From there, the story really hits its stride, as the rest of the cast and crew is firmly in the picture, and suddenly having half a dozen characters makes for a lot more dynamics and a lot more fun. The character interactions and personalities reminds me of one of my favorite old school webcomics, Fans! – and, rest assured, that is a damn fine thing.  

So, good art, good story, consistent updates and solid characterization – and the strip is only just getting off the ground. I’d say the strip is only going to get better from here, and I certainly plan to be along for the ride.

And that, my friends, is why I’m glad that Weregeek happens to have a very cool – and very noticeable – logo.

I’ve talked before about reader-driven webcomics, and recently discovered a new one: Turtle vs. Bunny, drawn by the infamous Joe Dunn.

As before, the best bet for running one of these things successfully seems to be in leaving the general direction in the hands of the readers, but the specifics of the strip firmly under the control of the creators of the comic. (You know, the ones who actually know what they’re doing.)

Turtle vs. Bunny itself is rather brilliant. The premise is simple – Turtle and Bunny are in a race to the finish. Each week, readers determine which of them comes out ahead, and presumably which one will be the final victor. Also: Guns, cannons, axes, jetpacks.

Points are tallied up both by normal voting, as well as by purchasing merchandise for one side or the other, advertising for one side or the other, etc. I like that it isn’t just a straight up money tally, and that everyone can basically have a hand in the score.

The racers are hitting the halfway mark to the finish line, so there’s only a month or two more of the series to go. It’s not the most uproariously laugh-out-loud strip, nor one filled with any sort of ground-breaking plot – it’s simply clever and fun, and I’d like to think that’s really all it needs to be.

Over a year and a half ago KeenSpace, the little brother of the much more noted KeenSpot, had a slick little overhaul, re-emerging as Comic Genesis, with a fancy new site to go along with its spiffy new name.

And… since then, not much. I’ve barely heard Comic Genesis mentioned at all – which, if you think about it, is both good and bad.

Keenspace has never had the best rep of the online communities. Despite being a free hosting site where basically anyone could get a start hosting thier webcomic, people tended to look down upon it. The service they offered helped kickstart any number of now well-known strips, but it also meant they had literally thousands of… less than spectacular strips.

(Which is to say, you couldn’t pay people to read them.) It was a grand new revolution, and everyone and their dog was posting their brand new sprite comic / catgirl manga / superhero comic doodled in their notes during homeroom. There was a lot of trash on there, and people got the idea that every strip on the site was just as bad. Countless crashes and technical difficulties didn’t help the reputation, nor the fact that any comic that made a name for itself tended to immediately get ‘promoted’ to the big boys – KeenSpot.

But… that was then, and this is now. Changing the name to Comic Genesis accomplished one of their goals – it dropped some of the stigma attached to the previous name. Of course, with no one talking about how bad the place was… that also meant no one was really talking about the place at all, and I think that is something of a shame.

These days, Comic Genesis is quite a bit nicer. Their new site makes for easier navigation, though the sheer number of comics can still be daunting. They’ve got their free comic book days to help show off some of their top talent. Site downtime? I haven’t noticed any problems in at least a year, if not several. Other sites have had their share of troubles, but Comic Genesis has been stable as a rock.

So it struck me that now would be a good time to take note of some of their best comics. Because they certainly have more than a few that deserve a closer look, and the site itself deserves recognition for hosting them. So here is what we’re gonna see – the Best of Comic Genesis. Expect it to be a recurring feature, every Monday, unless something else grabs my attention and demands a post instead.

And let’s begin with… Cat Legend.

What is Cat Legend? Aside from one of my favorite strips, that is?

It’s visually exciting, for one. I mean, just take a look – full color pages with detailed backgrounds, dynamic layouts and simply gorgeous character designs. “Pretty” doesn’t do this comic justice – it is outright enjoyable to simply look at the pictures, and there are precious few comics for which that is true.

Oh, it doesn’t start out quite so polished – but that is one of the glorious things about webcomics. Seeing the evolution of a strip, seeing someone learning from the experience, seeing something new and amateur become skilled and professional.

It isn’t any surprise that after over three years of updates the artist, Katrina Santoro, has really come into her own.

What else is Cat Legend? Complex, and that is both the story’s biggest strength and it’s greatest weakness.

It advertises itself as an epic comic, and this is true. Less than a month into the archives, a reader already comes face to face with the political motivations that are driving the most powerful beings in a world on the brink of disaster.

Quite the premise, eh? But despite the momentous events going on in the world, the focus of the story is centered primarily on our young band of heroes, and it is their story that proves most interesting. The protagonists are all children in their own way – even the ones a century old. They all have secrets, often ones even they don’t know the truth of. Seeing them develop has been the central theme of the story thus far, and I can’t complain – each character seems to have a story of their own, and one worth hearing.

The complications that arise in the story aren’t based in the epic nature of the tale itself, which takes place largely offscreen (though not always.) Nor is it due to the sizable cast of characters – these days, each character has their own personal font, which is a useful tool once one gets used to it.

The problem is when Act II begins… and jumps 500 years into the future. Then, in the guise of a recounting of the past, we return to the original story where we began… and the shifting back and forth can prove a slightly disorienting experience. Add in the guest sidestory following one character who had a different path to travel than the rest of the gang… and keeping track of all the different threads can prove a touch difficult.

Of course, there are worse problems for a comic to have than having too many stories to tell.

Cat Legend is an epic tale about faeries embroiled in civil war, imprisonment and subjugation, and the potential demise of magic in its entirety. It is also a story about family and friendship, memories and truth, stories and dreams. The epic story may shape the tale, but it is the personal touches that bring it to life, and that leave the reader wanting to see the trials and adventures of this somewhat misfit band of heroes.

For all that the comic has been running for quite a few years, it certainly doesn’t seem close to finishing. There seems to be any number of plot turns and twists yet down the road, along with unfinished stories of both the past and present.

But again – that’s not a bad thing. Sure, the story leaves me wanting more at every turn – but as long as the ride is pleasant, I’m more than happy to enjoy the trip. I’m eager to see how the tale turns out – both the epic events going on around them, as well as the developments of the characters themselves – but I’m just as eager to enjoy every strip as it comes.

And that’s just part of what makes Cat Legend a damn good comic.

I mentioned Home on the Strange last week (which is already moving in directions that I, at least, certainly didn’t see coming), and I mentioned The Ferrett, the writer of the strip.

In addition to scripting out each installment of the feature, he has a rather entertaining blog of his own – which happens to feature weekly webcomic reviews. His goal, primarily, is to focus on some of the strips that aren’t directly in the spotlight, and which deserve some solid attention. Unsurprisingly, that’s a goal I can easily agree with.

Especially as this introduced me to Yet Another Fantasy Gamer Comic, which really is anything but.

The Ferrett’s review does a good job of covering what makes the strip stand out – the vibrancy of the art, the unrepentant fun that manifests throughout, the skill with which a world full of characters and plot is interwoven without ever leaving readers lost or confused.

But that isn’t really why I wanted to talk about the comic today.

It is, hands-down, definitely a good strip, for all the reasons mentioned above and probably a few more. But what really impressed me was the resolution to the latest little round of plot. (Spoilers ahead, so now would be a good time to go and read through from the beginning.)

The comic began following the tale of Bob the Beholder and Gren Razortooth, a beholder and a goblin who happened to fall in life. Antics ensued, and the strip went from there, developing an immense and fascinating cast. Some characters have popped in and out, and some have had more focus given to them then others… and then along came Glon, just over a hundred strips down the road.

And from that point on, Glon became the star of the show. Oh, the other characters were there, but he was the central figure. He had his quest, even though it wasn’t what he thought it was. He lost family and he gained family, and it was his actions, however indirectly, that led to the massive fight that took center-stage these past few weeks, with nearly the entirety of the cast involved in a epic battle. Other characters had their time in the spotlight, sure, but it was almost all revolving around him.

And then he died. After being the primary character for more than half of the strip’s run, his show is over. Characters grieved… and moved on.

We’re back with Bob and Gren in their underground home sweet home. The strip has come full circle. We have had, essentially, the entire story of this one character’s life, and how that life changed those close to him, and affected countless others far and wide.

And Rich Morris, the strip’s creator, is somehow able to have the intensity and impact of all that sit side by side with the same silly humor, day after day, and somehow make it all work perfectly.

That’s why Yet Another Fantasy Gamer Comic is such a damn good comic.

I have something of a confession to make – when it first started, a bit over a year ago, I didn’t like Home on the Strange.

Or rather… I just didn’t get it. It didn’t click for me. I went there on day one, sent via Websnark, and was surprised to find that it just left me shrugging.

(Ironically, I went on to check out the words of the strip’s writer, the Ferret, and was impressed by them.)

But the strip itself… nothing. I kept up with it for a few weeks – after all, it would be downright foolish to judge it by a single strip. And it didn’t grab me, and I eventually just stopped reading.

A couple months later, I saw notice of it… somewhere… and decided to take another look, and quickly went through the archives. And was promptly blown out of my shoes.

I was trying to figure out what exactly had changed, and realized only one thing – the strip had had enough time to start actually developing. Character interaction, full-on plotlines, drama – all the good stuff.

Let us make one thing clear – Home on the Strange is a sterling example of an almost perfectly designed webcomic. Clean site design, die-hard update schedule, connects to all manner of audiences (albeit almost all of them geeky), and has a great mix of humor and plot.

The early humor? For me, it didn’t work. But once it had the plot rolling… bam! Snagged me without a chance of escape.

It isn’t because I only like story-heavy comics, because I enjoy plenty of strips that run on nothing more than humor. But with Home on the Strange, the humor alone wasn’t enough to pull me in – and one instance where I was sad that I had first come upon it while it was starting out, rather than later, once it had built up what it needed to draw me in.

Which goes to show that it doesn’t hurt to hedge your bets. Home on the Strange was very carefully constructed to appeal to a multitude of people. Not that there is anything wrong with that – it isn’t any less good for being planned out that way!

In any case, as time moved one, I became a devoted reader of the strip. The last few arcs have been especially compelling – they focus on the relationship of Izzy and Tanner, whose relationship has been one of the central developments through the strip’s run thus far. A relationship that, ever since it began, has teetered precariously on the edge of disaster.

When Izzy was confronted by an attempted seduction by Seth, local GM (as well as an incredibly wealthy womanizer), things didn’t look good. But instead, his attempt helped her take a closer look at her relationship with Tanner, and head home, intent on making their relationship a real thing.

When she got home, however, things didn’t look so good…

…and the storyline was then followed up by a retelling of what was happening to Tanner while Izzy was away. This involved getting drunk, and inviting over his ex-girlfriend, which would have been a bad idea at the best of times.

But in Monday’s strip, he seemed to have his own epiphany. And here is where I give credit to the artist Roni as well, because that strip floored me with its simple change of posture. I thought it was all going to work out, having somehow forgotten the horrible scene that had to somehow transpire by the end of the night.

The battle clearly isn’t over yet. I’m hoping – really hoping – that everything works out in the end, because these two arcs have really matured Izzy and Tanner an incredible amount… but the creators of the strip like to toy with us mere readers, and the ending could go any which way. Right now I find myself checking this strip first thing on every day it updates, and I’m confident that will stay the case until the arc is done.

And in the end, I’m just glad I had a second chance to discover it.

Longevity can be a dangerous thing.

The majority of webcomics are still in their youth, these days, but we have started to get more and more passing the decade mark. Which isn’t a sign of old age, persay – but it does occasionally make me worry. How long until we have gag comics that go the way of Garfield, reduced to a formula and devoid of all real humor? How long can a story run before wandering over its own tail in complex plot after plot, needing to hit the reset button over and over again in the fashion of so many comic-book superheroes?

There are a lot of comics I have faith in to avoid such fates – but the more solid the world of webcomics becomes, the longer it survives and evolves, the more likely that many of my favorite strips see similar dilemmas to those that plague the newspaper strip and comic book industries.

Which is why it is often a relief to see a story that has a beginning, a middle, and an end, and enters into the game fully aware of this fact.

Empty Words is one such strip.

Empty Words is a beautifully illustrated story that deals with some very heart-wrenching issues, and more importantly, some very realistic people dealing with those issues. And as of last week, the story has come to an end.

There aren’t many characters in the story. There aren’t many locations. The plot itself is driven almost entirely, intensely, by the people in the story and their interactions with each other.

Which seems perfectly appropriate, given the topics the comic is about. Loneliness. Family. Relationships.

The art is striking, and despite the almost hollow eyes of the characters, they convey a very real – very powerful – sense of life. The story adds that realism as well, with people and moments that connect the characters to a larger life, outside of what we see. They have a past, and seeing bits of those details helps ground the story in a much larger world than what we are shown.

Some pages have many words, and some have nearly none at all. Both have their place in telling the tale of Audrey, a young woman who works in a caretaking home for the elderly, and Greg, a journalist in search of a story.

As I said above, it is a very powerful story. At it’s heart, it deals with the connections between people, both those they yearn for and those they try to run away from. Along the way it touches on motivations, infallibility… Life. Death.

Serious stuff, but it manages to deal with it without ever feeling forced, without ever feeling fake.

It took three and a half years for Ben Rivers to tell this story.

I’d say it was worth every minute of it.

As a reader of what is, in all honesty, far too many webcomics, I tend to find myself often trying to share my favorite strips with my friends. Occasionally I manage to spread a winner like xkcd through the whole crowd – occasionally I’ll ramble on about Cigarro and Cerveja, and everyone will just smile and nod.

It was something of a surprise when one of my friends gave me a taste of my own medicine, and told me – repeatedly – to read Storm Corps.

I’m ashamed to say I didn’t listen to her for months.

Partly because I already read – as previously established – far too many webcomics. I’m doing my best to keep my list manageable – adding another to the pile is just asking for trouble.

But nonetheless, I keep stumbling across ones that I just can’t say no too, and trying to find the time in the day to keep track of them all.

Hence, when I finally got around to taking a look at Storm Corps, I resigned myself to yet another addition to the list.

Storm Corps is science fiction that I can get behind. It has just the right amount of action and deliberation, it is filled with its own nifty brands of sci-fi tech, and it has interesting – and mysterious – otherwordly happenings shrouded behind it all.

The art is gorgeous (I’m a sucker for pretty much anything fully colored and developed.) The characters are distinct, the premise is great.

Most of all, it leaves me wanting more. The second major story arc has just kicked off, and I’m even more desperate to find out what is going on. There is a ton of things currently up in the air, I’ve got no idea what is going on behind the curtain, and I’m loving every moment of it. That’s a very nice trick to pull off.

If you like a good story and good art, and a fair share of almost psuedo-mystical science fiction, check it out. And hey, if you feel up to it – tell your friends, too.