Kidnapped By Gnomes...

I get the feeling that Kathy Peterson is really into politics. Kidnapped By Gnomes, updated Mondays and Thursdays, tells the ongoing tale of two gnomes named Ed and Wilson and their everyday struggles with tv gods, vacuum cleaners, and the American health care system. With topics like that, how can it not be good?

When it comes to the art, KBG (really close to KGB. Coincidence? Hmm...) has cute character designs and a nice simple flat coloring job, but not much in the way of backgrounds or anything else. Once and a while they wear a hat or lab coat, or even a sundress in one strip, but I get the feeling that maybe Kathy has a hard time with drawing things other than her main characters? I would really like to see more variety in the settings and art style, because a comic should be visually appealing just like it should be well written.

Speaking of the writing, it was a mixed bag for me. On the one hand you have the more whimsical outings, such as the vacuum chase strip, or the static electricity one. She writes quite a few funny easygoing comics. But then you have the political opinion strips. Those to me are an acquired taste, and dare I say it, come across pretty heavy handed. I'm not sure how many people would be willing to read through the archive when there is so much talk of liberals and conservatives and big words aplenty. Don't get me wrong, I vote in the Presidential elections and have my opinions, but I don't find politics particularly entertaining. I'm just looking to relax and read a good webcomic that takes me away from reality for a few minutes. Again, some will get it, and some won't. I truly think that if Kathy focused more on the lighter side of her humor the strips would excel. She's a good writer with a lot to say, I'm just not sure if a comic about Gnomes is the place to say it. Maybe another webcomic solely about the inadequacies of our faulty government?

Kidnapped By Gnomes graces us with cute characters and some witty barbs that give us some insight into Kathy Peterson's views on corporations, big government, your President(I didn't vote for him!) and the like, but I wish she would tone down the preachy dialog a bit and just have fun with it. If you want a little more meat out of your webcomics, then give it a read through. If you're looking for something a little more lighthearted and an easier read, you might want to look elsewhere. But hey, what do I know, this really could be the way all Gnomes are!

I give Kidnapped By Gnomes...