Ultra Publications Forums

Inspired by our resident movie and music master, I've decided to copy his format for webcomic reviews rather than write out huge long things and have LK have to post them and stuff. I'm probably going to do one a day or so until I run out of existing comics I like, then do them as I find them. Note that there will be a wide range of comics up here. Pick the ones that appeal to you.

Each comic is rated for content using the MPAA movie scale. (G, PG, PG-13, R)
These ratings are fairly subjective on my part. Treat them accordingly.

Each comic is also rated for the overall quality of its art, on an academic grading scale: A, A-, B+, B, et cetera. D- is the lowest possible mark. There is no such grade as an A+. These raings are completely and utterly subjective on my part, and reflect my personal taste. I am not a qualified art critic.

That's about it. Let the games begin!

[After much fucking around, Archangel finalized this post at 5:45pm on 8/18/08.]

The Mansion of E

Rating: G
Art: B
Updates: Daily

I figured I'd start with my favorite comic, The Mansion of E by Robert Cook. The art is relatively primitive, but I don't think it matters much. This story takes place in an unbelievably huge mansion--actually, in its "basement" and the surrounding woods, for the most part. "The Basement" is a huge subterranean world, where dwell any number of peculiar, sentient creatures.

The plot is hilarious, as well as very intricate; the comic's been going for over 5 years, and less than 48 hours have elapsed in-story. I guess a lot of activity is to be expected on "The Day That Changes Everything." The scalpsuckers and fleebs are incredibly cute.

I'm not going to try to summarize everything that's going on. Suffice it to say that it's very interesting and complex.

Complete and careful reading of the archives is absolutely mandatory if you want to understand what's going on. There are a huge number of characters to remember. Thankfully, when somebody appears who hasn't been seen for a while, a link is posted to help us remember.

In short, this comic should be an enjoyable read to just about anybody who's able to commit the time.

I would like to point out that plenty of PG-13 movies have sex implied, and therefore you description system is highly misleading as people expect those ratings - when they see them - to be analogues of where you stole them from (yes, technically stealing as they've trademarked that rating system such that it's illegal for anyone else to use its labels)

Hmm... good point. I usually just go with my gut rather than adhering to specific guidelines. I put those up on my original blog to stop the pestering emails. I guess I'll just take the descriptions off and let them speak for themselves.

And I have no problem stealing from those twits.

I really don't care about you stealing their rating system, but I do believe that an instant R for implied sex is ridiculous.

On reflection, I've decided to change to the ESRB's game rating system: E, T, M, and A. At least I understand those. >.<

Nevermind. Let's just restate the established fact that I'm an idiot and move on.

yeah, unless there is explicit sexual references and/or nudity, a film falls squarely into the PG-13 territory. And the level of violence that you can throw into PG-13 movies is pretty disgusting.

It's okay, AA, you're our idiot and we love you.

Clovis15 wrote:It's okay, AA, you're our idiot and we love you.

Gee, thanks.

8-Bit Theatre
Rating: PG-13 (stabbity violence)
Art: C (sprites)
Updates: Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday

8-Bit Theatre is one of the most famous comics on the Web, and for good reason. It's a story-driven comic, using sprites from old-school Final Fantasy. The archives are absolutely vast, so it should provide many hours of entertainment.

The plot centers around a party of misfit adventurers, who go around the world doing harm and causing havoc. There's Fighter, who's utterly clueless and thinks his companions are good guys. There's Thief, who will use any means he can think of to profit himself. There's Red Mage, who's obsessed with the "science" that makes their world work--the statistics of D&D, in other words. And lastly, there's Black Mage, the mysanthropic homicidal lunatic with ungodly spellcasting power. It makes for an interesting mix.

The humor is somewhat black, so only read this comic if you find the suffering of random civilians and so forth funny.

I quit reading 8-bit around the time (years ago) that each strip started being a novel in itself.

Yeah, it has arguably jumped the shark. However, there are good comics now and then, so I keep up with it.

That's another thing I haven't kept up with in awhile. It's got to be getting close to the end by now.

Not sure whether they even plan to end it.

Better Days
Rating: PG-13 (Violence, Sex)
Art: A
Updates: Monday/Friday

This is one of my personal favorites. Better Days is an anthropomorphic comic strip about fraternal twins, Fisk and Lucy Black. The story is very down-to-earth and realistic, which means that some really messed-up stuff happens from time to time. It's an excellent story though, and the characters are very believable and lovable (or hateable, as the case may be). I have a particular soft spot for Elizabeth. There are ups and downs, hilarious moments and tragic moments. It reads like a good novel. Fantastic artwork, too.

Be warned that the artist, Jay Naylor, also draws furry porn, available (for charge) on the same site. So don't go browsing elsewhere on the website if you don't want to see it. ^^

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

Joke about AA being a furry in 3... 2... 1...

Yes, thank you. I enjoy reading comics with anthro characters, but I wouldn't want to be one myself. I mean, I buzzed my hair short so I wouldn't have to take as much time cleaning it. Why would I want fur all over my body? Take me an hour to get it clean.

Oh my, so many good comics I want to share! I'm tempted to spam about a dozen at once, but I won't.

I'm still curious of your maybe someday review of my sprite comic (which lives again as of this past sunday) xD