Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Antibunny...



Comics which feature talking animals as the main characters always make me wonder what is going on in the creator's mind. Do they have an animal fetish? Is it difficult for them to draw humans, but easy to draw dogs, cats, bears, etc. who walk upright? Or do they just enjoy focusing on animals instead? Hm. Antibunny, created by Vincent Davis, features said talking creatures, this time bunnies, who live in a place called Gritty City. Updates come every Monday.

I've read many webcomics in my day, well, lately anyway, and I've come to observe that quite a few have this sterile, overly produced look to them. No mistakes, not even little ones like a line that goes slightly outside the panel, or a small coloring boo-boo, things that show that this is a hand-drawn piece of art. Nothing against comics done entirely on computer, I just like my pens and pencils. Antibunny, however, and from what I was able to read(after the first chapter it said "file not found" or something to that effect, and I went to today's comic and clicked back, and found the same message) is a bit UNDERproduced. It almost looks like an unfinished product. I don't think it's even inked, from what I can tell. That would definitely improve the art many times over. Also shading the entire comic with a pencil gives it a pretty sloppy look, not an artsy one. The art would look much cleaner inked and without all that unnecessary shading. A little darkness goes a long way! The characters themselves are likable enough, but could be a little more distinct. I guess all bunnies pretty much look alike though, right? Maybe throw in some other animals. A goose or crocodile or something could make things more interesting.

The writing is another thing that could use some work, as the story was pretty basic and didn't introduce me to the characters in a way that would make me want to read more. All I really got from it was that Pooky (the main character) is angry and hates everything, but why, I don't have a clue. Maybe because he's a bunny, and it's tough for them in the city. It needs to be clarified who he is and why he's there and what he does, etc. The storyline of chapter one wasn't really a story, but more of a couple of events that went nowhere. These could be some really interesting characters with a little more time taken on giving them personalities and some focus to the storylines. There is a nice setup here, now it needs to be followed through.

Antibunny has quite a few problems that could be worked out pretty easily with a few tweaks to the art and some filling out of the characters. With that being said, I WAS only able to read the first storyline and the last comic, and I know some people will object to my review on that basis. I wanted to review it because it's been on the backburner for some time. I did notice that the newest comic had some improvements in the art. Keep improving and maybe this will become a comic to look into.

I give this comic...

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at PhotobucketPhoto Sharing and Video Hosting at PhotobucketPhoto Sharing and Video Hosting at PhotobucketPhoto Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

1 comment:

Bengo said...

I think some of us draw animals for these reasons:

1. Humans are usually not cute and remind us of humans, which can be a bad thing.
2. To be honest, animals are easier to draw, with the exception of cows.
3. The qualities of the animal can serve to communicate things about the character, e.g. the cliche of the wise owl.