Internet troubles....

Don't you just hate it when your internet is crap? Or rather, the neighbors internet that you sorta piggyback off of doesn't work so well in your house, even with your laptop right up against the window? Yeah, me too. That's one reason it's been hard for me to do a review the last week and a half. Until we get our own, it's gonna be a little slowgoing here at the Asylum. Not to say I won't get a review up by the end of the week, but I can only get the internet to work for a few minutes at a time, so it takes quite a while to read an archive. With that said, I'll still be updating, but I just wanted to let you all know what's going on. I did just start a new job making more money, so maybe I'll have internet in the next month or two. I'll work hard to keep the reviews coming!

Oops!

Sorry no new review this week, on this site anyway. Heck, I barely got one sent to Comic Fencing! I did a short review of a few Zuda comics, so go there and check it out, as soon as it's up and I hope that's by tomorrow morning. I did manage to put up a new poll about Zuda here though. Also, since you came here and are most likely going to be looking for something else to read, why not go on over to my other site, Off Kilter Comics, and see what I'm up to over there? There's a crazy new Hulk strip up for your comic loving eyes. I WILL have a new review up in the next few days on the ole Asylum, so don't worry my faithful friends!

Of Noobs And Men..

Of Noobs And Men, created by Evan Hodgins and updated on Tuesdays and Fridays, is for all intents and purposes a gamer humor comic. Lots of game references and game company references and game ad references and game system references....games. The question is can it entertain someone who ISN'T a big game fan? Read on...

I've reviewed many a webcomic, and seen many artistic styles represented. With that being said I don't believe I even know WHAT style is being represented here, so I'll just say it's Evan Hodgins and leave it at that. Now, his "style" seems to be a junkfood and Nickelodean induced surrealistic hodgepodge of game scenery and photoshopped backgrounds of things on fire. You'll see distorted versions of characters from games such as Mario, Halo, Bioshock, etc. Sloppy art seems to be par for the course, but I can't tell if it's on purpose or if the artist just isn't very good. The coloring resembles paintings on a canvas, which at times looks pretty cool but at others just looks messy. The overall art does improve slightly as the comic goes on, but not enough for me to say it's really good. I would have to say mediocre at best.

The writing is what got to me. Too much game talk, even for a gamer comic! How much Warhawk info do we need? The writing style seems mostly to be: guy buys game; guy plays game; guy makes sometimes funny but usually confusing comic about said game. I really didn't care for the "Confused about this comic? Click here" underneath each update. If every single comic needs a detailed explanation, you've already sapped any humor from it. Funny should be simple, not complicated. On the one foray into superhero territory, the six part story falls flat on its face. It read like Evan just wanted to finish the story because he lost interest. Not a good sign for the comic. One glimmer of hope early on was the second comic. It was funny, and I didn't expect it after the horrid first one. If he had continued in that vein, there might have been a decent comic here, but as of right now things are looking bleak.

Of Noobs And Men will only appeal to hardcore gamers who don't mind weird haphazard art and confusing writing. So basically most gamers will like it. If you aren't part of that crowd I highly doubt you'll be interested in this one. Much work is needed to branch out and attract a decent sized following outside of the Xbox Ps3 Wii camp. I give this comic...

Site news....

Whew. FINALLY finished switching all of the comic review links over to the reviews of the comics. 52 comics reviewed so far. Wow. Who woulda thought I would still be doing this? So many comics and comic related sites fall to the wayside after maybe six months, but I'm still here plugging away, and have no intention of quitting anytime soon. Sure, I've had my ups and my many downs, but I love comics and always want to be a part of the community. Keep reading because there is plenty more to come, here and on my comic sites(links at bottom of site), as well as on the new reviewing venture Comic Fencing, AND on a project that I gave up but want to bring back soon. Thanks so much for reading, tell your friends, and see you later!

Happy Mothers Day!!!

I don't know how many actual Mothers read this, but I wanna give a shout out(yes, I said shout out)to all of you who struggle everyday, but struggle with love to raise your children the best you know how. Here's to you, the Mothers! Now go get some flowers!

Interview time!

It's certainly been awhile since a new interview has been conducted, but here we are with a brand new question and answer session with Joanne Wojtysiak of Gothbunnies! Also, beginning here, we're going to be having a self portrait of the person being interviewed! So without further yapping by me, here is the interview, followed by the portrait:
1. Thanks for allowing us the opportunity to prance around in your brain for a minute or two. First question: I know you answered a question similar to this in your about section, but for the readers who haven't checked out your comic yet, what does "goth" have to do with your "bunnies"?

...Almost exactly nothing. I tried to do a goth comic, I really did, but apart from wearing black, having that fetching monitor tan and an unholy attraction to Andrew Eldritch, I share no common features with goths. Too bad, because I rather like their style.

2. What was your main motivation for doing a webcomic?

Fame and fortune (ha ha!). Mostly, I just do little comics all the time as a matter of course, and when I got to University I also got free web space and access to a scanner. Eventually I decided I was going to finish a comic even if it killed me. And here I am, four years later, still not dead.

3. Do you listen to music while preparing strips? If so, what's in your cd/mp3/tape/8 track player?

Depends, really. This week I'm working through the Webcomics Weekly podcast archives, on most other weeks I listen to last.fm. Actually, I like listening to goth or darkwave music while I'm working. It's so droopy and inoffensive.

4. Describe the comic creating process you use.

I usually start by putting the writing off as much as possible, then do three or four pages of roughs in a total panic. Sometimes I do actual pencils and inks on real paper, but sometimes I load up a panel template into Photoshop CS and do a quick digital underscribble. I scan at 600 dpi (if there's anything to scan), threshold (to turn the file B&W), then spend three or four days making the inks nice and contributing to the decline of my tendons with copious hatching. I letter in Illustrator, shrink and publish. There's a tutorial on my web page for the curious.

5. Webcomic promotion is a funny thing. What's been the most successful way of attracting people to Gothbunnies?

Over the long term, I get the most hits from the various webcomic directories and listings I'm on: The Webcomics List, Onlinecomics.net, and the Belfry. I'm also
mirrored on Modern Tales and that gets as many hits as my main site. My third-biggest draw is hits from various forums I post on. Once in a while I get a plug from a bigger comic, but that doesn't usually result in lots of regular readers.

6. What would we never find you without?

My gleeful cynicism!

7. Name a webcomic you would like to attempt a guest comic for.

Hmmm. That's a tough one. Either Girly because it's so different from what I usually do, or Cigarro and Cerveja, because I secretly think that Cigarro and Max (of
Sam & Max)are related.

8. What would your webcomic artist/creator resume look like?

Knowing me, it would have doodles in the margins.

9. What's your drink(alcohol or no) of choice?

Tea! I quite like lapsang souchong, which is smoked and makes people wonder where the fire is. We're also starting to be known as "those people who need more teapots,
despite already owning half a dozen." The good news is that creamer jugs are great for storing extra pens and pencils.

10. Thank you so much for the opportunity to learn more about you, the person behind Gothbunnies. One last thing: here's your chance to plug your comic for the readers. Shoot!

Read Gothbunnies at http://www.skulkingninja.com ! If it had a motto, the motto
would be "Better than you'd expect."

Thanks bunches!
Joanne W.

Twitter!

If you look down under the PW ads you'll see that I have recently joined Twitter. So now you can read when updates are coming and how far into them I am, or what I ate for lunch! Okay, so maybe not the lunch part, but I'll be posting links to sites I like or pics I draw and things like that as well. Heck, just read it if you're bored. Anyway, back to the real world!

Review: Calamities of Nature...

Calamities of Nature, by one Tony Piro and updated on Mondays and Thursdays, is a humor/storyline based comic about four furry friends by the names of Aaron, Alp, Ferdinand, and Harold and their daily misadventures. What trouble will they get into next and what life lesson will they learn from it? Hey, that's not my question to answer. Let's get on with the review.

The artwork in Calamities was pretty darn appealing to me right off the bat. The softness of the lines and just plain niceness of the scenery and character designs was better than most comics I've encountered lately. It's got this friendly appeal that draws you in, not to mention plenty of attention to detail and very nice coloring work. The pages are all put together professionally and can easily translate to comic book form. The characters themselves are all fairly cute and would make great stuffed animals. Tony might take offense to that last line, but ah well. A nice little world he's created in his comic.

Mr. Piro has a way of writing a comic for adults and the younger webcomic reader that shows talent. There's enough silliness to satify the youngins, while also containing plenty of contemplation over worldly troubles, with intellectual humor sprinkled in to keep us old timers interested. I liked the overall balance between the two. For example, comics "Pathetic Apathetic" and "To The Point". Calamities can go from social and political commentary straight into a site gag strip involving a shark and a persons backside. "Biting" stuff! On a slightly negative note, I only had one concern. The storylines.

The storylines were a bit of a problem for me because some pages would have no joke at all, while it's perceived as a humor comic. I think it works best with one page punchlines, instead of a few pages of talky talk before getting to the funny. If Tony decides to go in a storyline direction that's fine, because I could very well imagine these characters going in a Bone-like direction, but one way or the other would work better, as opposed to straddling the fence.

Calamities of Nature does it's overall job very well. It entertains while attempting to bring a little intellectual stimulation to the table. You can have both and have a very satisfying meal. While the storylines could use a little tweaking to keep from being a bore, this is one comic deserving of wider recognition. Spend a little time with Aaron, Alp, and the rest of the gang and you might find it worth your while. I know I did.

I give Calamities of Nature...

(8/10 chimps)
(Calamities of Nature is kid-friendly!)