So between my months-long excursion into forum-rpg games and other distractions, I’m finally back into full-time writing. And between my three project-prospects–the fantasy lollercoaster, the very legitimate real-life paranormal dramedy, and the third Anatali novel—I’ve finally pulled the trigger, like for reals.

I will be writing and finishing The Mourning Song, my third Anatali novel.

It’s another prequel to Eternal, about yet another girl, and some familiar cast members, but there’s just something in there I really want to express and explore. It’s my dip into chick-lit girl-meets-big-city, mixed with a Perfect-Blue thriller. I’ve been waffling over this for over a year.

And sci-fi as a genre is half dead. And publishing itself is ‘dead’ like it’s been for ten years ^.^ And yet publishing exists and sci-fi is still popular among sci-fi fans. It’s just very hard for me to be ‘appealing’ to a genre that focuses on aliens, hard-core science, and extremely ‘visionary’ tales of what our future could/should be like. My setting is much more true to our current reality and the limits of resources. However, I don’t think I’ve exhausted what I can do with my setting, and I almost feel a sense of obligation to myself, and the characters, to give it the full effort I always felt it deserved.

And I barely shopped Anatali: Ragnarok. I simply felt it wasn’t getting the proper reception via my own skills at synopsis and ‘the first five pages.’ I really don’t have much talent at self-promotion, and I’ve never submitted once to an actual publisher. Instead I focus on the same 60 agents (most of whom have shut down unsolicited queries) and wait for something I create to garner any legitimate attention by virtue of its own merit.

At least no one can fault my patience.

But career writing is simply a product of writing for he love. I really don’t have much angst to add.

I just hope this time, the manuscript is ‘good enough’ and that my website can get a bit more polish, and that I won’t second guess sharing my work to the internets as a whole, or to family, or to the industry.

I really wish I had a magic-bullet theory about self-publishing, self-serializing via blogs, or some other manner of ‘I’m the exception to the industry.’ But I don’t. I would rather do it the slow way, whoring myself out to record-label-esque machine as a source of legitimacy and self-validation.

Even I, who knows very well that obscurity is worse than plagiarization, can’t fully make the entirety my work free, nor do I think I should, even if all I really want to do is share.

As much as the industry takes, it gives back. I really wouldn’t be so shy about pimping my efforts as long as it had legitimate backing. And for some reason I feel compelled to give other people the power over my legitimacy even though the arbitrary reasons for acceptance or denial are sorted via the spectrum of what’s best for the individual reading it.

Standard artist versus industry bullshit. I feel more bad that I never gave Ragnarok the chance to be wholly rejected than I do my insistence on playing the same game with a new novel (which will likely take another 9 months).

There’s nothing quite so powerless as a public artist that won’t be public.

One day I will come to understand that booze and a Digiorno is not ‘nutrition.’

This is not that day.

I’ll take a multi-vitamin to compensate.

This is a two-part sign off: one for my time as a webcommax creator, the other as a lol-official reviewer. I never took the creator aspect seriously despite the time and effort, and the reviewing was just reviewing—it was always other people’s choice whether or not I should be taken seriously at any of it. I was a hobbyist.

Writers don’t get much of a choice when it comes to creating. It’s rather compulsive, so the work pretty much spawns of its own power. We’re charged with refining it, and we are given the choice whether to present it. That’s an obstacle for some, but presenting my opinions has never been a source of anxiety or pride.

No one was more surprised than I when the hordes of shitty comikers beseeched my opinions and advice. I’m sure all were hoping for good press, many for praise alone, but I do trust that some of them were legitimately seeking honest critique because they actually take their work seriously. And no one was more surprised than I when the truly-established would react to my comments enough to privately discuss and seek advice on design and functionality. I’ve ended up with several gmail threads interacting with some names you might not expect.

I’m sure if I cared, I could have forced the issue more: pimped myself out to a wider audience, demanded more plugs, made a dedicated review site (a mirror would have been easy enough). But I still don’t believe the work actually merited the focus that could have given it a wider scope. That would have required commitment to a medium that I’m sincerely not a big fan of, and merely attached myself to (to repeat) as a hobbyist. My peripheral efforts were more spawned by community self-indulgence to see if I could repair some common mistakes that are quite easy to fix.

However, elevating shit into a state of mediocrity simply establishes new standards of shit and mediocrity. And even as the numbers of competent and/or artistically valid projects rise, the sheer number of subpar works maintains an overwhelming low standard.

So here’s my point:

While free, user-friendly tools and templates (comicpress) solve the common mistakes I preach about, webdesign and navigation, we’re left with the merit itself to criticize. These clumsy, redundant efforts, bolstered by templated polish, combined with over-zealous and over-ambitious project management, have summoned a new monster: The Age of Polished Enthusiastic Mediocrity.

Now you could argue that webcomics, for the most part, have always been shitty. This is true. However, when design tools were harder to come by, it was a lot easier to get a first-impression judgment on the inherent value and potential without wasting hours sorting through the half-assed archives of derivative projects.

There was always something I could say to help ‘the good ones,’ where the art was fine but the presentation sucked. I wanted to let these creators know how those fundamentals impacted their work, so the good ones would quit shooting themselves in the foot on design.

But now, the good ones don’t need me anymore; they have their shit together. It’s pretty difficult these days to whip together poor presentation. The shitty ones have access to the same tools as well. So I’m in the position where all I have to go on is the critique of art and writing–premise, plot, pacing.

Well, I’m not sure the effectiveness of repeating over and over these taglines:

Draw from life, your proportions suck. (Art)

This is cliché without even a hint of parody. (Premise)

No one likes Sprite/Furries/Photo/etc so expect resistance forever. (Genre)

Work on writing dialogue so it sounds as you’d speak it. (Dialogue)

Without design, there’s really not much advice to offer beyond those artistic devotions. The rest of my ‘critique’ simply becomes a review people can use to share with their fans or quote out of context. I’ve noticed this happening in my critiques; it makes them boring and pointless. Just another webcomic reviewer.

I’m really not interested in writing to make myself sound clever, to give people base encouragement, or telling people they suck without advice they can work with.

So as the main focus of this review project has been solved by the technology, you don’t need me to tell you why your work succeeds or fails anymore. If it’s not the presentation, it’s one of those four focuses I outlined. I’m sure you can figure out which, and if you can’t, my words won’t help.

It’s with pleasure and modesty I step down from my soapbox, no angst included.

As far as my own comics go, writing dry parody/satire was fun for a year. I’d always wanted to give it a whirl, so I did. The fact I had a growing, but by no means tiny, returning readership was a pleasant surprise. However, I’m pretty sure they don’t miss me beyond the porn and the blogging. Surviving to upgrade my font, bubbles, and to complete my major story arcs–it accomplished all I’d wanted. 250 strips is a lot, in my opinion.

So it’s with pleasure and modesty I step down as a webcommax creator, no angst included.

I’m sure I’ll find something else to work on. I’m sure you’ll find something else to read. Take care, and know my intentions were always for the best.

Happiness is an artistic trap. I’m sure you’ve heard this before.

We artsy-types operate best on suffering, which I don’t have much of at the moment. So when I’m silent, I’m happy. I’m just not that entertaining, which is pretty shitty for an artist with a supposed public voice.

And I have plenty to think about, and plenty to say, all unrelated from the emo aspects of life, but I really don’t get as motivated about anything unless my emotions are invested.

Since I left you, my dog died, Emma’s moving in with me, my dayjob is a clusterfuck while they’ve offered me two promotions, and I finally know how to play hold’em well enough not to lose my ass. There’s other shit too, new songs, new lulz, but I haven’t had the endurance to give context to every event.

Yet, still, I’m happy. I don’t feel secure, but I do feel happy.

I’d like to chat about gardening. I feel like railing against secondary education. I’m loving on relationships and hating on literary convention and webcomics.

I’m happy, but I’m not content, no, not by any means.

We refresh this again. I’m fired all-the-fuck-up now.

Hey guys, one more guest comic before I either pull the trigger on an extended DB hiatus, or get back on the horse after a one-month break.

This time we have a guest comic from Casual Notice, who’s been a long-time comment dropper around here. He didn’t qualify that his e-mail be made public, but I’ll go ahead and do it anyway since it’s better than I can come up with:

It’s probably too late to be included in your vacation series. Sorry. Life continues to be hectic, but I had a few free moments and always wanted to try my hand at Debasement-style porn dissection. Hopefully I didn’t do Raptor et al a disservice in my portrayal.

The sauce is a screen cap from the bishou–something (Japanese dating/sex sim) game, X-Change. It’s always fascinated me how much fantasy transsexualism is on the net. Try not to be too disturbed by the automatic mental image of millions of teenage boys shoving balloons up their shirt while reading “El Goonish Shive” and “The Wotch”.

You can thank friend and commenter, Kinmora, for spurring this update, and for moar blogging this week.

Webcomic hiatus or not, I am a blogger.

I’d say some bullshit like show your support/what-the-fuck-is-your-problem in comments, but I’ll just have to continue basing my activity on what I have to say.

Hey, this year’s 4/1 comes from a long-time buddy, Aaron from Tbowl!

I’m always appreciate the attention to detail that goes into guest art.

Kaoru’s Kimono and Cassie = <3

I’ll try not to drag this ‘hiatus’ out forever, but I have some people to thank for filling in the downtime to a bit less of a stretch.

DB guest commix and vacation photos this week.

———-

I’ve been thinking a lot about the inherent negativity of the internet. I really don’t think it’s good for me, or at least the way I’ve been playing at it during the last year. And that’s not to say I’m a hardcore troll, but beyond my better judgment, sometimes I react to bait and asshattery in a far more dynamic and intense way than I actually care about.

And it certainly isn’t the cloak of anonymity that bolsters my confidence (I’m a rare totally public internetter), and it isn’t mob mentality, and it isn’t always the lack of conscience that comes with doing shit for the lulz.

Basically, I wade into obviously bad or negative social situations, usually with a strong popularity disadvantage, and attempt to fuck with people or call-them-out on their hubris. If there’s one thing that invokes an insta-kneejerk from me, it’s undo pride and superiority complexes.

Thing is, I understand it’s impossible to dismantle someone’s internet social status by arguing, and it’s impossible to force public self-awareness, but I go at it anyway for the sake of going at it—just to let them know someone thinks they look like a douchebag.

Shit, I troll entire communities with my persistent presence. If they tell me I’m unwelcome, but they can’t ban me, that’s 100% incentive to be a thorn in their self-absorbed circle-jerk experience. It’s a challenge.

But this isn’t healthy behavior. Not for an adult.

It’s a waste of time, and all it proves is that I’m willing to waste my time interacting with people who would much rather see me gone. The moment I eventually move on, be it days or weeks later, I’m positive all they say or think, is ‘god, what a fucktard,’ or ‘thank god he’s gone.’

And when I’m on my turf, like here or Locution, I’m sure you’ll find I’m far less obnoxious, combative, and much more gracious of the people I interact with.

I think half of my penchant for belittling teenage internet deities is self-expression, and the other half is ‘justice.’

I simply need to realize that there is no justice on the internets, and that there’s better forms of self-expression than picking fights with kids (and adults) who truly enjoy drama for the sake of drama.

Slow updates are slow.

Going out of town for a week or so.

I have a couple guest comics ready to post from some good peoples in the downtime. I hope to get back on trak as of my return \o/

See ya soon!

In order to combat creative stagnation I now fully embrace gimmicks for the sake of base productivity!

Witness your offering: The Stickfigure Arc (Part 1 of X)

Effort doesn’t equal entertainment. Entertainment doesn’t equal effort.

Here we go: Grigs-B

Apparently I’ve ‘met’ some clever people on the internets over the years, because this bullshit is almost consistently entertaining.

Oh wait. I started at the end.

We’ll parse out the minimalist love-hate over time, as to not blow my load in the opening fucking rant:

While I do enjoy some Sprite and Photos, I can only name one Stickfigure I actually like, and that’s not even lol-true-stick–it’s just a simplistic black outline. So if you’re not Toothpaste for Dinner, and actually use ‘true-sticks,’ chances are that your webcomic is absolute and total shit.

No one will like it. No one will like you. Especially if you use a trackball or pencil.

No one will read it.

Now, I often make the case that quality of art is pointless compared to quality of writing. I mean, if a good joke was written without illustration it’d still be a funny script. However, stickfigure comics actually work backwards, where the absolute not-giving-a-fuck about art devolves any punchline back into some half-assed visual gag hybrid where no lulz can exist other than the smirk that survives after the cringe.

But…

Here we go again: Grigs-B

Art = Stick figures. Fuck it.

Premise/Plot = A shameless self-insertion that doesn’t glorify the creator. That’s a good start. A youth-culture-internet-savvy guy that writes real-life-inspired fantasy arcs about getting chased down by Adobe lawyers via movie-inspired parody. He writes about conversations he has with friends and family. It’s a comic-blog at default, and feels honestly infused with Grigs-B’s personal voice.

Like I said, a good start.

You can drunkenly stumble through six panels of random bullshit, and it’ll be entertaining to some people if it ‘feels’ real. This is the shit I get a hard~on for when I talk about a comic’s ‘voice.’ When you have daily comics rambling about some contrived topical fucktardary, that’s one thing. But there’s a reason we’ll visit weekly comics with subpar everything–and that’s interesting and unpredictable content.

I’m not so fucking ADD I need to check back with the same unfunny fucking daily comic to get my dose of unfunny illustration and banal observation. But with this one, it almost feels like instant payoff when it does update, whether or not the joke is really all that good.

Hidden within are some true and unique gems, like when Grigs-B interacts with his younger sister or cousins, who make our (likely) teenaged creator look like an old fart with their hyper-evolving lingo and jargon. It’s a relatable dynamic, and true to life.

I’m also a big fan of establish-to-payoff, in running gags. Running-gags are almost always forced, but decent pacing and presentation can make them seem unintentional, (aka natural). The art of self-referencing has become rather mechanical, so it’s nice to see a fresh use of ploy.

To be perfectly honest, I don’t think better art would help the presentation, and I don’t think any sort of evolved webdesign will make this one popular. Grigs-B is more or less dead in the water, but I’m sure a lot of webcomickers understand how that feels, and they still don’t give a fuck. Fact of the matter is, this is a 30+strip quick read-through, a window into fuck-your-mother youth-culture from an intelligent perspective, and it still doesn’t feel like it has really hit its stride.

I’d say some bullshit like “I’d like to see this one after another six months” but that’s not really the point with stickfigures, or with Grigs-B. The webcomic doesn’t presume to be anything, much less evolve into anything.

I guess there’s a certain charm in that, for me.

*giggle*

Sauce
Art Credits:
Character – Oh ya, 1 sec
H-Game (?) – Almost got it
Character Designer – Lies! No fucking clue.

Along with World Break, Dueling Analogs has been one of my webcomic whipping posts since this review project started. Both were flashy up-and-comers building their fanbases at the time (early 07’). My issue with WB was all about the ambiguous premise and writing quality, which has developed and been answered through consistent updates.

However, my specific issue with Dueling Analogs was with the project’s overall ‘attitude’ and the online persona of its creator, Steve Napierski. When I was politely approached by Steve via e-mail, I readily accepted the opportunity to discuss my ‘concerns,’ as they were stated in Summer 07.’

My reviews and perceptions have always been based as a reader/viewer, not a critic, and not with any pretense of ‘knowing the creator,’ so that’s the spirit in which my opinions are formed. For me, a webcomic creator’s persona is only apparent in what they give me. For DA, it’s the newsposts under every comic and possibly Harvey, DA’s 4th-wall-breaking cooldude, who may or may not be a self-insertion (we’ll clear that up later).

That’s what we have, unless we get into forums and shit, but at that point we’re fans, not general readers taking a webcomic at face-value.

So as a reader, it’s often hard to balance whether a creator is being simply sarcastic, self-congratulatory out of pride, enthusiastically humble, or ‘frontin’ a persona for the readers. My heart goes out to the humble. My ire is struck by the presumptuous. For me, DA has always strutted back-and-forth across the line dividing enthusiasm and smirking self-assurance.

Now we hear Steve’s side in a discussion-based interview:

Aarin — Being a new Gamer comic in 2005, how confident did you feel in your project within the genre at the onset, and how much of that changed as your readership developed?

Steve — It’s hard to tell what the future holds for any project at the starting gate. Most of the big webcomics are gaming comics or started out as gaming comics. Because of this it’s not an easy genre to be a part of. Your work is always being held under the microscope, scrutinized and compared to the ones that came before. Mainly Penny Arcade. When I first started out I tossed a lot of random stuff against the wall and waited to see what stuck. The moment I thought I knew what worked it quit sticking. I was more optimistic than confident of the comic’s success. Two years later, I still am.

Aarin — Optimism: sounds right. Artists (be they illustrators or writers) take a lot on faith, be it in themselves, or hoping against hope in their market. I’ve seen DA’s writing (jokes/lulz), art, format, and webdesign develop since I found it in 06’. What do you feel was your biggest obstacle—not during DA’s launch, but during its speed-up towards top-20 webcommax stardom?

Steve — Time is my biggest obstacle. I always know something more that I could be doing. But between my two webcomics and the real world there doesn’t ever seem to be enough time in the day. I love creating webcomics but they are a distant second to my wife and daughter on the priority scale. Most of the time I don’t even get started on the webcomics until after my wife goes to bed (at about 10) and on a good night I’ll be in bed by three. If I was doing this for a living, it wouldn’t be a big deal. Unfortunately, I do have a full-time job which cannot be neglected either. Nonetheless, that’s my problem. People don’t come to my sites to hear excuses of why I didn’t update. They come to be entertained.

Aarin — Speaking of entertainment and Dueling Analogues specifically, the only things that set most Gamer comics apart are the cast and reoccurring jokes. While many of your peers feature self-deprecation via alter egos (PA), violent slapstick (VGcats), or lovable idiots (Fanboy$), DA has Harvey. He’s confident, a gamer’s activist, and usually a pervert/asshole when it comes to women. As DA’s mouthpiece of sorts, what inspired the character and his unique voice?

Steve — Not sure I agree with the “pervert/asshole” comment. Harvey is the way guys act when females aren’t around. Cocky and arrogant. The character has opinions and he clearly voices them without hesitation. If I’m using Harvey to make a point then obviously I want to make a point. Saying something with kid gloves on might be more gentle, but its not more affective.

As far as Harvey’s origin, most Dueling Analogs comics are about and take place inside the games they are parodying. Some of the points I want to make take place outside of the game or require me to talk to the audience. From this necessity Harvey was born.

Aarin — I feel confident saying that Harvey’s attitude can marginalize some readers (wimmenz and the socially sensitive), and you’ll have that. You have a target audience, and I’m sure you’re used to criticism in general. But when it comes to your newsposts, you seem rather understated in comparison to Harvey, who I understand is just a character, but continues as the in-comic voice of DA.

So this is a question about online persona: What have you learned about sharing your newspost/blog voice, especially in contrast to the comic’s tone? This night-and-day is very apparent when you explain your strips via reference and links.

Steve — People who actually read the news posts have a better grasp of who I am, what I’m thinking and why. Those who just read the comics can only really formulate their opinions based upon that. Or at least that’s what I would like to believe. The reality is that people take things too literally and a good chunk of them do not understand satire. Those people usually don’t remain readers for very long.

Aarin — For most public art projects, rock stars to poets (yup, webcomic comedy included), dealing with success can be as difficult as dealing with failure, albeit in different ways. Do you see DA as successful, and how you been affected by its reception and popularity?

Steve — Dueling Analogs is the fourth webcomic I’ve worked on. With that said it is the most popular of the lot by a long shot. But when you compare it to some of the big name webcomics it’s still considerably small. Because I understand and acknowledge that I haven’t been affected that much. I pretty much keep to myself and keep the comic separate from my personal life. And since I still have a regular full-time job, nothing has really changed.

Aarin — People have a lot of personal goals in art, but outside of that, what do you personally consider the standards for having ‘made it’ in webcomics: full-time financial security, a ginormous number of return readers and high rankings, peer respect and awards? Everyone’s different, but how has that view changed since you started webcomics?

Steve — My end goal is to be able to create and entertain for a living. It really doesn’t matter if that’s accomplished with Dueling Analogs or with some future creation. That’s really my one true goal and pretty much always has been.

Aarin — I think that’s about it. Thanks for your time and sincerity.

Steve — Not a problem. I appreciate you taking the time to interview me.

**

And I do thank Steve for his time, as I would anyone, be they a 10-strip new kid or 1000-strip veteran.

Honestly, this discussion was more grounded and earnest than I expected, not knowing much about him—those expectations were developed through the comics’ and newsposts’ tones. In personal musing, I still wonder about a project’s private face versus the public face, but that’s not to say webcomickers are disingenuous by default.

And as the webcomics world has birthed its own celebrities, and as more creators rise into those ranks, these sorts of judgments will continue, based on face-value, personal interaction, hearsay, and lol-forum hijinks. If there’s to be any balance, it’s fair enough to give these guys a chance to answer their critics as well as their fans. It may not always be necessary, but when the opportunity arises, we can learn some stuff when we listen.

Fair enough. With DA and Steve, I’m satisfied.

Keep doing your thing, man.

Sorry for the dead week?

In any case, DB is back, and on a more regular schedule, enough to claim 3x a week.

The Lexicon is a new mode, though it may take some time to work with the material.

In any case, it all starts again from here.

It’s true.

Furry/Anthro Triple-Threat 08’ – Part 4 of 3 (LULZ)

So what did I get from this furry triple-threat?

All three were full-page sorts. Two were fantasy-anthro, characterized by humanish-yet-animal character designs—Macratlove was real-rats. Two were full color—Kaspall was B&W.

None of the three were sexualized, which is an important–perhaps the most important statement versus the furry/anthro stigma.

All three were quality storytelling using non-human characters.

That being said, I consider all genres a handicap, an audience limiter, with the only difference being how much your potential audience is limited (it’s easier to fight against fantasy-hate than furry-hate). And that’s my only point towards new webcomickers or those thinking about starting one. If your story can be told using ‘real’ people, there’s no need to corner yourself into a oft-reviled subgenre, unless you’re a closet furry, think animals are just more fun to draw and/or are a hobbyist that doesn’t give a fuck.

Simply put: public projects should keep in mind the public hate-level before they even begin to hit martyr, self-pity, or indignant pride mode. This happens a lot with any new gamer, photo, sprite…fuck, any webcomic; it’s just amplified against anthro.

Darc of CNH’S joking reply to my review pretty much says it all:

Damn it, Aarin. We were expecting a load of bad press so that we could whine how we’re being persecuted… sorry, I spelled that wrong. I mean fursecuted. Now what are we going to do for fun?

–the smart ones expect the hate as well.

That’s when you know a project and it’s creators are ‘fo realz,’ when they measure the expected feedback versus their own vision. I believe Code Name: Hunter and Kaspall felt that using anthros was the strongest way for them to build a modern fantasy. I expect Macratlove just wanted to have some fun—the only problem there being the current skill-level of the art. And while going furry/anthro may not always be the most marketable choice, it’s easy to see how the subgenre can support something like Macratlove, especially as Sophie develops, and how Kaspall should be that sort of cross-genre epic that fantasy fans enjoy so much.

All in all, there wasn’t any hint of hubris surrounding these projects, so for me, it’s easy props. They know people are going to come to blah-blah split-second misconceptions, and they trust that if people take a full-second’s glance, they’ll see the merit of the character design in storytelling and expression.

I may not always ‘get it,’ but I have come to accept it, and even respect it.

That’s what I got from this triple threat.

There’s a lot of fucking creepy furry comics out there. But in my mind, these three defend the genre.

Last week, the Webcomic Beacon discussed print comics and serialization. For me it was interesting hearing an experienced voice for Ka-blam and against lulu (self-publication companies). It seems I hear that more and more these days.

Around 45:00 I crash into Split Shift and Poly+Morfs, hating on one and loving the other. Lots of fun (for me).

I may do some kind of database or transcripts of these as the Beacon’s archives grow. While brief, these segments are legit reviews and opinions about what’s done right and wrong. I’ll chat to Fes about it, but when they hit 90 days old, I don’t feel reproducing transcripts here would be a conflict of interests (re: discouraging people from listening to netcast archives).

After all, my efforts are a free service to the community, and I want to hit as large an audience as possible.

Furry/Anthro Triple-Threat 08’ – Part 3 of 3

As you know, when I get fired up about a project, it ceases to be a critique, and becomes a review.

Fire three!

Here we go: Kaspall

By Lucy Lyall (European, if not British), Kaspall is the name of a fantasy ‘otherworld’ that exists as something of a hub between many other places, including our human world.

This is some of the strongest and interesting world-building I’ve seen in any SFF (sci-fi/fanstasy) project.

And the first fifty strips aren’t active exposition about history and politics, not the run-down on what makes Kaspall tick. Fuck, the world doesn’t even have a name until Strip 59. Up until then, it’s all character story and intrigue, which is the fucking perfect way to introduce your audience to a new world. Show me there’s humans and anthros living together and interacting. Show me there’s a language barrier. Show me there’s mysticism, teleportation-gating, a social-stratus between races, and a very delicate economy.

Lucy does all this without shoving a single word down my throat. Lucy does this by showing me the characters interact with eachother and the world around them. Often, this can be a double edged sword, but the 160-strip archives read so fast, so fluid, there’s really no excuse for missing a bit, much less feeling weighed down by too much exposition.

The art is full-page B&W, crass-hatched inks with solid outlines. The shading is schooled. The character design is stylized but anatomically correct. The architecture and props are clean. There’s lots to look at and most of it’s interesting. We even have a hand-lettered font, which is always fun, even though I don’t really care about that debate. The chacacters are expressive without being overly dramatized because:

Lucy doesn’t skimp on the dialogue.

In the ultra-rare combination of above-average art and talented writing, the character voice carries the burden that a lot of artists like to crutch-upon with the art: zomg-emo-face, bug-eyed-shock, and lol~teardrop.

No. Fuck that.

Tell your fucking story through your fucking characters like Kaspall and you won’t need to use ‘dynamic’ poses, LOUD FONTS, and that chibi bullshit that went passé in 2001.

Lest I ignore the plot, Kaspall builds from an off-worlder human and his friends dealing with light-hearted poverty, to some multi-layered local mystery involving serial murders, the cops, the local government, daydream-walking, teleport gates, all that shit. It’s really fun watching it develop, especially as more nuggets of Kaspall-the-world are revealed bit by bit.

As far as this triple-threat’s furry-theme goes, I barely noticed. And that’s not to say the cast is racially balanced or furry-lite. Kaspall is populated primarily by anthro characters of sometimes vague species. Each race has a unique scribbly language other than ‘D&D-common,’ and each has their own culture and social standards. This is what fantasy with anthros should feel like. It should feel believable and damn-near natural.

I recommend Kaspall to anyone who enjoys serial fantasy. It’s better than 95% of the big hitters and doesn’t get nearly enough props. The only problem might be the weekly update schedule and a rather middling webdesign, but anyone excited about quality serial SFF is probably used to that by now.

Sauce
Art Credits:
Model – Reon Kadena \o/
(or Leon–seems interchangeable)

And while these “Mii’s” seem like a lazy-writing excuse, there’s some weird behind-the-scenes lateral ‘research’ involved. This time it was about Indian pronstars (which Reon isn’t) which I didn’t know existed.

Enter now, lol~racist assumptions.

Indian culture is far more prudent and protective with their wimmenz than Western or general Asian cultures, and that is a fact. This is a massive country where even comparatively mild public sexuality, especially interracial, can start a mini-uproar from the religious government and mainstream populous—and I’m not just talking about the Richard Gere incident.

With a billion human populous, you’d think there would be more representation in pron, if not for white males, then those of their own ethnicity living abroad. And perhaps it is a cultural upbringing where there’s less room for exploitation, and inclination to be exploited. Or maybe that market just doesn’t exist on these ends of the internets. But for all the hubbub when an Indian starlet arises, you’d imagine they would fall somewhere higher than preggers, lactation, suffocation (with bags), and amputees.

Racial ‘fetishes’ are the easy ones.

I don’t get it.

Character voice seems to have changed a bit during the timeslip–Skulls especially.

I guess the new kid isn’t that new anymore.

Furry/Anthro Triple-Threat 08’ – Part 2 of 3

I wasn’t gunna preface this, but I think I need to.

Macratlove has the unfair distinction of being the newbie in this triple-threat. It’s under a year old and just around thirty trips as of this critique. But while I could easily give it allowances, I’ve said far worse things about far more polished projects (re: the eighteen-strip-old World Break comes to mind, as usual). New or old, if you make it public, I’m going to give it a firm hand, especially when you request the critique.

Fire two!

Here we go: Macratlove

Macrat is a play on ‘packrat’ with Macs (re: computers and stuff). Fair enough: some kind of gamer/geek comic, right? Well, no. MRL is self-described comic-blog that sometimes pimps Apple, but otherwise, the play on words is focused on the chosen species of characters: rats.

This one is like, super-furry.

Why rats, of all critters, I’m not sure, though P.S.I. features a lead rat as well, so I reckon there’s some common Rattus love among anthro creators. Them rodents be generally smart, bitchy, creative, and have sympathetic social and psychological traits when compared to humans. After all, lab rats are the most disposable peoples around for a reason.

Seems like MRL’s creator, Sophie Weeder, has been asked the ‘why rats’ question a lot, since in her FAQ she offers the terse answer: “I like rats. Plus everyone looks cuter in rat form.” Sophie then states she’s not a furry, herself.

Well, whatever. I personally don’t care except for my usual eyebrow-raising about the genres people choose to associate with… [long side-rant opted for the post-triple-threat finale.]

Onto MCL’s inherent merit: seventy percent of the jokes are funny!

It follows a close-to-linear storyline as our black-cloaked self-insertion, Sophie, lives a normal-human daily life, visits Hawaii, and returns to wintry Cincinnati (50 miles south of me–go Ohio pride). My main issue with the writing is one of effort, that Sophie takes six to twelve panels to tell a three-panel joke. I can’t quite make up my mind on whether the extended pacing is an attempt to build lulz, or is simply wasted time while clinging to a full-page format.

And to focus on the art, I’m not kidding anyone here: it looks like high-effort illustration from a new artist. It’s not that clean, it’s not that fluid, and for all the “everyone is cuter as rats,” the characters are often damn-unattractive. As for furry-haet: Gothbunnies, Kaspall, and other projects with practiced artists showcase streamlined, attractive quasi-humans. Even looking in from outside the genre, I’d like to see some consistency on whether MRL’s rats are clothed-or-unclothed, realistic/rattus-or-anthro/humanoid. This opens the debate into ‘what type of furry/anthro’ a project is. I’d say pick a furry-vision and stick with it, but…

I’m not getting into that pedantic bullshit ever again. With character designs, I don’t care about stylized interpretation versus realism. Fuck that. I merely express my reaction, as a reader.

Sophie’s frumpy real-rats-in-clothes don’t evoke any “aw, cute” sympathy from me, which can only mean that for all the facial expressiveness, there’s room for development. Maybe once the art looks less like work, and more like casual ‘I’ve-been-doing-this-for years’ I’ll be more inclined to smirk at the furious snarls and friendly smiles of rodents–and not cringe instead.

But this isn’t my shit-on-the-new-kid rant of the triple threat. I can give Miss Weeder due credit for an attractive color-themed webdesign, and for her wry wit. MRL tells half its jokes through endearing self-effacement, and the other half through blind-sided redirection (lead-up goes one way, unexpected result follows). When the full-page pacing is actually warranted, the format serves up an enjoyable delay for the snappy punchline.

The comedic timing is fine.

And I want to like Macratlove because of the writing. The comic-blog tone is legit, and when done with any amount of skill, the voice really hits home. However, this is a new project with underdeveloped art and a questionable choice in character design (think: ‘real’ rats < cute rats =/= normal peeps), and that’s a legitimate barrier for comics trying to develop a readership, even within a subgenre. If I hope for anything, it's that the /groan rat-puns are abandoned, that short jokes aren't stretched-out to fill the full-page format, and that the supposed 'cute' factor of Weeder's rats is someday realized.

MRL has become and will likely remain my prime example of ‘is the furry really necessary?” For any story without cross-species or fantasy aspects, I still wonder.

Emorat = lulz

And the debate rages and ranges on.

4-ball mode actually discovers its new identity in this strip, since I was wondering what to do with it. While Washermode has devolved from general intranet asshattery into memes, 4-ball will continue to focus on specific use of language, not just syntax systems and their value.