Archangel's Brief Webcomic Reviews

[Archangel]

You don't want me to review SMBU.

(j/k)

[Archangel]

Flipside
Rating: R (nudity, sexuality, graphic violence)
Art: A-
Updates: Monday/Wednesday/Friday

A story-driven comic set in a fairly normal medieval-fantasy world. Go back and read "Book 0" in the archives before you get into the other story arcs. The art is absolutely superb. The story follows a young man named Crest, who's trying to find a place for himself in life. The other two principal characters are two women: a somewhat shy knight named Bernadette, and a nymphomaniac jester (and all-around badass) named Maytag.

The comic involves a fair amount of violence, and a large measure of sexuality by virtue of Maytag. The plot also involves homosexuality, if that matters to you. I recommend it for ages 18-30.

Archangel's Official Crush: Regina [Added ex post facto 8/22/08 0830EST]

[Archangel]

Akaelae
Rating: PG (mild violence and mild sexuality)
Art: A-
Updates: Monday - Friday (I think)

This is a sci-fi anthro strip, one of a number by the same author. Collectively, these strips are known as The Cyantian Chronicles, after the world (Cyantia) where most of the stories take place. The world is futuristic, with a wide variety of anthropomorphic species and humans as well. There's only one human in Akaelae thus far, and he's decidedly unusual. The reason I don't recommend them as a group is simply that Akaelae is the only one of the strips I've enjoyed reading. Luckily, it's also the one that's currently updating. The art and story levels of the others vary, but none are good enough for a recommendation.

Akaelae's plot centers around a wealthy family of wolves by the same name, their friends, enemies, employees, etc. Most of the characters are a large group of kids who have a sort of cousins relationship despite the fact that not all of them are blood-related. There is romance, intrigue, politics, science, and so forth. The plot is pretty complex and only now moving past its initial phases, I think. The main difficulty is in understanding the world. Knowing a bit about lupine biology and sociology would probably help you understand. This is one of those anthro comics that takes things to their logical conclusion in terms of society and so forth. It's a very rich and detailed world, and rather cool to boot. Most of the technology is recognizable to us, but rather more advanced and called by different names.

Anyway, just go read it and see if you like it. I classify it more as science fiction than anything else, despite the fact that the characters are anthropomorphic. It is an excellent story.

Archangel's Official Crush: Quinn

[Archangel]

As you may notice, I've added a new bit to the bottom of some of the reviews: Archangel's Official Crush! It seems that I have a crush on one particular female character in nearly every comic I read. When there is one, I will tell you who she is at the end of the review.

[Archangel]

Ozy & Millie
Rating: G
Art: A
Updates: Monday through Friday

This is the sort of comic strip that one would expect to find in the newspaper, rather than on the Internet. Why it has never been syndicated I'll never know. Anyway, "Ozy and Millie" is an anthropomorphic comic about two elementary school children. Ozymandias is quiet, insightful, and extremely Zen (literally). Millicent is hyperactive, mischevious, and generally crazy. They're best friends, and they play off of each other very well. Since the beginning of the strip, Ozy's father and Millie's mother have also become major characters, and I actually find them even more entertaining than the two kids. Mr. Lewellyn is an independently wealthy Celtic red dragon with a magical couch. Ms. Mudd is a long-suffering, much-loving, and very perceptive lawyer. They're both single parents. Ozy's adopted, and Millie...well, it's a long and rather silly story. There are a number of other great characters as well.

In its early years the strip was rather political but grew away from that as time went on. It is still big on social satire in between the silliness.

Anyway, that's enough babbling from me. This strip should appeal to anybody from 8 to 80, as the saying goes. Click the link right now!

Archangel's Official Crush: Isolde

[Archangel]

Demonology 101
Rating: PG-13 (graphic violence)
Art: A-
Updates: Finished

Demonology 101 is a charming story "about high school and other forces of evil." The story centers around a girl of 16 years named Raven, who is a pretty normal kid in all respects--except that she is a demon. Home-schooled through 8th grade, Raven is fortunate enough to make two good (if somewhat crazy) friends on her first day of high school. Despite her demonic heritage, Raven is a genuinely good person, and struggles greatly to come to grips with both the world of demon-kind and with the world of high school--which bear striking similarity to one another. ^^ There are quite a number of adults in the story too, most notably Gabriel, Raven's (adoptive and human) father.

The comic spans five chapters and three separate short stories. All are well worth reading for anybody above the age of 14.

Archangel's Official Crush: Raven

[Archangel]

Since I'll be gone for a few days, I'm going to post a couple extra in advance.

[Archangel]

Super Savior Jesus Go!
Rating: PG (violence, mock-racism, blatant sacrilege)
Art: C
Updates: Tuesday/Thursday (supposedly)

Super Savior Jesus Go! is a delightfully blasphemous little comic which explores what might happen if Jesus decided to come poke around on Earth as a super hero. No second coming or anything (yet), just kicking a little ass, Jesus-style. And yes, if you are a Christian and can't take a joke about your faith you will be offended. If you can't tell the difference between real racism and joke racism you will be offended. If you do not have a rather black sense of humor you will be offended.

The updates are irregular, the art is crappy, and the taste is poor. Nonetheless, I love this strip because it's just so funny.

[Archangel]

Candi
Rating: PG-13 (sex, homosexuality)
Art: A-
Updates: Monday/Tuesday/Thursday/Friday

Many webcomic artists seem to be college students, which results in a lot of strips about college life. "Candi" by Starline Hodge, is one of the best. There's roughly a half-dozen protagonists, and they provide a great variety of character. There are story arcs, but no major, over-arching storyline. It's just life.

It's difficult to write a review for this comic, because while it does everything well, there's nothing about it that's unusual, really. Belay that: there's a flying, talking ferret. The setting is mostly real-life, though. I guess all I can say about "Candi" is that it's a great read, and Ms. Hodge is very reliable with her updates, which is unusual, believe it or not. The only artist I know who is more consistent and reliable is Jay Naylor (of Better Days).

[Archangel]

Goblins
Rating: R (graphic violence)
Art: A-
Updates: Saturday

Are you a "Dungeons & Dragons" fan? If you're not, you probably won't get this comic at all. If you are, then you'll be in danger of busting a lung from laughing. This is a long-running and well-known comic with a devoted fanbase. And there's good reason for all three characteristics.

The premise: ever wonder what the critters like goblins, orcs, and ogres were thinking when you play D&D? Well, here's your chance to find out! Inside jokes always make for great humor and the author, Tarol Hunt, is masterful at it. Look, if you're into D&D, just click the link if you haven't already.

[Archangel]

L33tpixelz
Rating: G
Art: B (sprites)
Updates: Dead

This comic hasn't actually updated for a couple of years, I think. The archives aren't dated, so it's hard to say exactly when it went belly-up. However, the existing archives are a scream, and are well worth reading. It should appeal the most to video gamers, but I think pretty much anyone will enjoy it.

Short summary of plot: an obsessive RPG player suffers a major concussion, and when he wakes up, he thinks he's the main character in a role-playing game. His first party member is a small potted cactus that keeps cracking "yo mama" jokes. Wacky antics ensue.

This is a sprite comic, much like "8-Bit Theatre," but the artist made his own from scratch, so it looks pretty good. Here's hoping that updates will resume one glorious day.

Archangel's Official Crush: Monica

[Archangel]

Megatokyo
Rating: PG
Art: A
Updates: Monday/Wednesday/Friday (supposedly)

Megatokyo is almost legend among webcomics, right up there with Penny Arcade and VG Cats. It's been going for over 1000 strips. The artist, Fred Gallagher -- aka "Piro" stars alongside his close friend "Largo" (real name unknown to me). Piro is well-known for his lack of self-esteem when it comes to his work. Ignore his emo-ness. His art rocks, and the strip itself is comparable with Better Days in terms of characters and plot (which is pretty damn good). In short, this strip is l33t.

Plot summary: Piro (the character) is a wannabe manga artist with a range of neuroses. Largo (the character) is Piro's best friend and is completely batshit insane. After Largo causes Lord-knows-what at E3, Piro decides it would be prudent to get him out of the country for a while. And where else would two anime nerds go but Japan? They land in Tokyo, where they are stranded by a lack of money. Piro finds a job at an anime store, which also yields low-grade housing for the pair. They meet a pair of Japanese girls: Kimiko, a shy aspiring voice actress and Erica, a very assertive former 'idol' who now avoids the public eye. A large cast of amazing characters backs up these four core protagonists. Wacky antics ensue.

Seriously, if you haven't heard of MT, you must be completely new to the 'Net. If you've never read it, you're missing out. This strip is a favorite target of haters, for two reasons:
1). It's been around for a long time, and it's very successful.
2). Piro is horrible about updating on time. I mean, the worst offender I know who can't be simply declared dead. Supposedly MT updates three times a week. In reality, we're lucky to get one. In my considered opinion, Piro should stop torturing himself and declare one update per week from now on. Frustration over looking for an update and being disappointed all the time is far worse than a slow update schedule. But hey, it's his comic.

Click the link if you haven't already, n00b.

Great Teacher Largo 43v3r!

Archangel's Official Crush: Yuki
(Seriously, who didn't see that coming?)

[Clovis15]

I have the first 5 collected graphic novels of that one.

[Archangel]

I will too... as soon as I have money! (Stop me if I've said this sort of thing before. )

[mammonman]

I refuse to read MT before the novels come out - it just isn't worth it...

[Wedge]

Piro has nothing on Scott from VGCats. Scott is the only webcomic guy I know who can still somehow have a successful site and show up at cons while having not updated in a month.

[Archangel]

Piro's always doing something, even if it's not the comic per se. As for Scott... I have no idea why he's never been stoned. Perhaps it's because VGCats isn't serial. I can't speak for anyone else, but the main reason I get bent out of shape when MT doesn't update is because I wanna see what happens!

[Wedge]

I used to be a fan, but I gave up caring years ago.

[Archangel]

Eh, give it another look. It's much easier to read as an archive.

[The Magus]

Demonology 101
Rating: PG-13 (graphic violence)
Art: A-
Updates: Finished

This. I just staryed reading through it yesterday. I just finished chapter 3 and read Sach's backstory chapter. This is a really well written story, and I'll admit it suprised me because it felt like (even the rewritten) had a asort of shakey start with the first eight or so pages, but it really picked up. The characters are just...interesting. They all start to feel very well developed and kept very fresh and never too cliche. I almost don't want to read the last two chapters, knowing it's all going to end so soon.