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Loading ...I Am The MAXX : Comic Review.
Big_Adam
As a few of you might have twigged, I love comics. It’s a rather new love for me but still I do really enjoy a good comic. One I picked up via the internet was “The Maxx” by Sam Kieth. I’ve had this comic on my drive for a while and never got round to reading it as I really hate reading loads of text on my computer screen. Typed text is okay but comic text doesn’t work.So I never got round to reading it.
A short while after I managed to find “The Maxx” on Youtube. So I sat down with some cereal and watched it. The series was made for MTV back when MTV used to actually play something other than reality shows, back when they played music! Anyway, watched the series and I’ll be damned if it wasn’t really good! It was up my street of weird and wonderful. So I set about trying to find the comic issues on eBay. The occasional one or two popped up but I wanted the full set and I prefer trade (collections of “X” number of comics) compared to single comics. Much searching and a few emails to Heroes4Sale I managed to procure a full new set of all six trade books (Thanks to Michael of Heroes4Sale!).
So, that long rambling brings me to my point, a review of “The Maxx” series of books. To start, lets have some back story to what “The Maxx” is, or more who he is. To make my ramblings simpler, here’s the sonopsis from Wikipedia.
The series follows the adventures of the titular hero in the real world and in an alternate reality, referred to as The Outback. In the real world the Maxx is a vagrant while in the Outback he is the protector of the Jungle Queen. The Jungle Queen is similar to the Maxx in that she also exists in the real world as Julie Winters, a freelance social worker who often bails the Maxx out of jail. While the Maxx is aware of the Outback, Julie is not, though it is integral to the story of both the Maxx and Julie.
(Hey! I either quote or ramble on for a crap load longer, you’re choice)
So, that’s the basics of it. The story goes on to follow both Maxx and Julie as they sort out both plains of existence (real and The Outback) all with the help/hindrance of Mr Gone (“a student of the mystic arts” as he puts it). Mr Gone is the main sort of bad guy for Maxx (Lex Luther to Superman). Later on his true self becomes apparent as he slowly becomes, well … less evil really. Let me breake all this down, or I’m going to be here forever with this review.
Story
The collection starts off well in the first three or so books. The first three books are a collaboration of Sam Kieth and Messner-Loebs. The story is well rounded and makes sence, some parts are a bit confusing but they do work. My problem is with the later three books where Julie has gone AWOL and Maxx is left with Sarah as they sort out Mr Gone stuff and Sarah works though her own stuff (as she’s not the main focus in the first three books really). My problem is with the Sarah story line, well … it’s bat-sh*t insane at some points and I got REALLY confused by the end of it, just because a lot of characters where introduced for the soul reason of (as far as I could see) fluff. Sarah grandfather is introduced but no one (not Maxx, Sarah or Gone) meet him and he’s gone (away, not dead) after a rather short time. Okay, the Sarah has its good bits such as meeting her own Maxx, the floating fairly pink IDZ’s and the Banana Slug (A massive yellow slug that spouts self help nonsense then chops people up). Although, with the end Sarah story comes the ending and of the entire story so it all gets nicely wrapped up, with each character having a nice little bit to show how it all ends for them.
Books/Story.
Then there’s book six. Book six has NOTHING to do with “The Maxx” series and is an entirely different animal altogether. It follows two sets of people; Dude and Mickey a couple who are attempting (and at time failing at times) to stay together while growing up in their 20-30’s. Then there’s the story/travel of Charley and Ira. Ira (just out from prison) somehow ends up on a trip with his Uncle Charley which consists of Charley attempting to teach Ira how to be man, hookers, dead bodies and teeth in a bumper. Think a sort of coming of age but with low riders, truckers and Rocky Horror Picture show. Although neither of these stories really fit in with The Maxx timeline I did like the one about Ira and his Uncle, it was nice and I just enjoyed it.
Art.
As normally, I’m swayed by pretty pictures of The Maxx series. At times the drawings are VERY crude and well … crappy but at other times their glorious to look at. It’s like the entire series was done at random times and 2.00am’s when ever the writer/artist could get a chance so the style is schizophrenic at times but is fairly solid throughout (check the pics for examples of good and bad).
Worth.
Hmmm, well. I really did enjoy reading the entire series of books. Problem is I had to go through the trouble of importing them and it did cost me a bit. Although I’ve paid more for my four Transmetropolitan books than I did for the entire The Maxx series so that comes into account. I’d say if you’ve seen the series (I’ll put links up then get told off) and possibly read one or two of the books from the internet (they float about, still recommend buying them over downloading) and you want something weird and wonderful to read then give them a shot. It’s not JTHM weird, as JTHM is weird and violent as I’d expect from JV. The Maxx is still weird and very good (was for me). So give it a look, maybe pick up a copy in a comic shop and have a flick through.
Score.
8/10
Videos -
Note, due to the way the series was made it is almost identical to the first few comics. Even the art looks like it was lifted from the comic. This wasn’t a cheap out tactic, Sam Kieth wrote a comic and he wanted it to retain it’s comic fell which is dose so wonderfully! So if you like these, you’ll probably like the comics themselves. That said, parts are heavily changed in order to make the series short and have an ending.
Oddly, the easiest place to find the series is YouTube as its only rarely seen on VHS on eBay now.
Not yet rated
Loading ...Watchmen, good but.
Big_Adam
A few days ago I finally got my hands on a copy of “Watchmen”. It’s one of the many comics I’ve seen but never read (seen random pages or pictures) and it’s always looked rather interesting so I finally dumped £20 on the internet and got myself a paperback trade copy and gave it a read.
If you’re wondering why “Watchmen” may sound familiar to you, it’s because it’s currently being turned into a film. So I’m using this opportunity to give a review of the book and say what I think the film is going to do wrong as Hollywood yet again rapes a good thing.
Before I go into detail about the book, first a little something about the author. Alan Moore is the guy who did “V for Vendetta” and a few other hefty comic strips. Not having read the “V for Vendetta” series I can’t comment but he wrote “Watchmen” to change the view of comics being childish. Considering “Watchmen” features sex, drinking and fights you can see he did well and the comic world of today formed. So he’s done some damn good work and “Watchmen” was some of his first.
Onto “Watchmen“, the books is set in a slightly in a parallel world around the 1980’s. The world has super heroes but more the Batman kind that the Superman kind. They are mostly average guys who wanted to do more so they don a silly outfit and fought crime. The heroes that exist are mostly just regular people in good fitness apart from Dr Manhattan or Jon (I’ll get to him later).
The story starts out with “The Comedian” (Edward Blake, pretty much a mercenary but with a mask. He started more as a super hero but over the years became much more hardcore due to wars and fighting) smashing into the pavement from his apartment and soon after (well, after the police) Rorschach shows up to do some investigations of his own. Rorschach (who is slightly insane and beats people to get answers while wearing his mask which is similar to Rorschach inkblot test hence his name) figure there must be some mask killer, taking out all the old heroes (as you find a few have died earlier on before the book) then begins his story of attempting to find the killer.
Now, this investigation story plods along but while it’s happening all the new characters (Night Owl or Hollis J. Mason) are bought in and very nicely their pasts are revealed, either by interaction of the characters in the story or via the use of newspaper and journal clipping at the end of chapters. It works really well for brining in new characters and ones of massive important (such as Jon) are given an extend origins somewhere in the book.
Example is Jon. Jon is a proper super hero, complete with a proper origin story. He came to be after a science accident where his body was ripped apart by light (if you see the trailer for the film they do show this) and many months later he puts himself together again and becomes Dr Manhattan or simply Jon. He can see atoms and move things around using his mind. Think Superman but FAR smarter and with psychic powers.
Anyway, basic story is a murder mystery but with one hell of a twist and that’s where my problem is. The story was going along lovely, the world was on the edge of war and … won’t say but it’s was getting really good.
Then the writer drops a bomb and the story (for me) goes bat shit insane and blobs on then ends. In the book the world has changed slightly thanks to Jon. He made electric cars and is basically a big scary walking bomb so no one messed with him and he changed the world technology somewhat. The problem is the story takes that fact and just goes a touch too far with it when the sudden idea of teleportation is introduced. Okay Jon is a giant man made of electricity who can teleport but then there’s a guy who made a machine to do it and … the story just lost it for me. Luckily that’s right at the end and ride getting there was good so I can let it go somewhat. It just gets a bit screwy at the end, it still works out. The insanity works with the story so it’s not so bad, don’t be put off by it.
So … the book. Well it’s pretty damn good and the artwork and character development is awesome. You do end up caring about everyone as they run around either trying to live or attempting to save people and being slightly slick about it (Night Owl saves a building full of people in his OwlShip which has a coffee maker on board! You homes gone but the guy who saved you gave you a nice coffee. That’s just slick). Comparison of artwork would be similar to Transmetropolitan even though “Watchmen” was done 20+ years ago. It’s really a nice bit of work and I can see why it’s so well respected and bigged up (couldn’t think of a better way of putting it) inside the comic and book world.
Well, enough about the book. Let’s talk about the film.
Film we got the guy who did 300 directing and from the look of the trailer it looks really slick. My only problem is the costume director seems to have jumped on the Batman wagon and made all the character either wear bugger all or wear silly plastic body suit things. The book is set in the 1980’s yet the character all look like they’ve just jumped out of the Batman film (rippling plastic chest pieces) which doesn’t sit right with me. There’s a few other thing too such as Jon’s “palace” but that’s no so much of a problem and at least Rorschach has a shape shifting mask (it’s explained in the comic that Rorschach mask is made from a weird fabric of silicone gel inside a skin. Like liquid jelly mouse mats you used to be able to get) so that should be good. My other problem is that it looks like they are going to try and stuff the entire book into one film. I’m not sure how well that’s going to work as there is allot to take in and it would be annoying if they skimmed some major plot point for the sake of being quick.
I’ll have to reserve my judgements on the film until I see it. Still, it dose look good so I’d probably see it anyway. The comic to film tend currently can’t put a foot wrong it seems.
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Loading ...Scud the Disposable Assassin: The Whole Shebang.
Big_Adam
Well, I finally got my hands on a copy of the newest and more then likely last Scud series book.
Cover Art taken from Rob Schrab’s Deviart.
I’m a big fan of Scud but I’d only read them via the wrongfulness of the internet. Owning a copy is different, you can pine over it allot more. Anyway, as I have a copy I’m going to review it … so ha.
Well, when I say review I’m going to go “This is good, now a last of bad bit” and leave it at that as I have some crappy ass uni work to do that I’m putting off doing for as long as possible.
Before that, some info about Scud. Scud is (simply put) a pre-packaged assassin available from any vending machine. You put in some cash, set his level (want the target dead or gone from the planet) and send him on his was. At the end of his job he explodes, no muss or fuss. Except for our Scud (and later on, you find out others) figure this out and instead of killing his target (later named Jeff during a mind fired moment) Scud shoots her limb off and leaves her in a hospital to go off and do other assassin jobs to pay for Jeff’s (check end pics for a picture of Jeff) bills. Along you way many MANY nutty characters are introduced such as Nathan Twist (a cowboy giraffe with a space ship for a head), Drywall (err … a collector for hell) and many others as Scud kick arse to pay his bills.
Have a look at my past recollection of the series from an old post or check Wiki.
Right, that’s done. The new Scud books.
When I say book, I really do mean BOOK. It’s a massive thing and could be used to take out a small dog. Its good sized but it dose contain all 24 Scud comics as well as the slight Drywall spin off about his creation. So, seeming as the Scud books are mostly out of print (bar the last 4 which are only recently finished) so it’s a good way to get the lot in one shot.
All the art work is as always brilliant with each panel nicely rendered and most of the pages either gloss or good high quality paper, it’s a good book really.
There are only two or three downsides to the whole book. For one, some of the art in the final issue is a little … easy for what I’ve seen of Rob Schrab. It’s not like there are pages, just one or two panels that are a touch to the side of simple for me. Problem two is just down to printing, I got a finger smudge on a page and went to rub it off and ink came with it. I died a little inside. Third thing, NO La Cosa Nostroid series! Although, the Drywall unzipped makes up for it and fills some big plot holes. Fourth thing, lack of colour. The old comics one or two had colour and some really nice cover art. In the book this is all gone, BUT! There are some extra coverarts as well as other comic artisit doing a few random scetches. So it levels out, maybe the hardback collectors edition has more, not sure.
Oh wait! One more thing. I always like artist comment. In Penny Arcade they do loads and in a few other (such as the works of Jhonen Vasquez) but there’s nothing more than a little intro. Doesn’t take away thing away from the book, I just like a few comments here and there.
Hmm, really not got much else to say, it’s really more for fans of the series. If you ever read a Scud and enjoyed it then buy the damn book. If you’ve not read one then go give it a look, see how you like it. It’s a brilliant mad thing of a series, it dose go a little off track near the end (with the magic horse) but still.
Anyway, Scud book. It’s good for fans. Other people should buy it too.
Now, random shots I took with my camera.
<<Jeff on the left. I love Jeff.
Rated: 100% (1 votes)
Loading ...On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness.
Big_Adam
“Four Gods move on the windowsill, where erst octad Gods did struggle and will. And if the Gods themselves haw die, what does that feature for you and I?”
The opening line to “On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness” the game/comic from the chaps of Penny Arcade. As I love this game I’ve decided to do a little review.
Game;
The basic of the game follows you (player) on a nice morning in New Arcadia (well, after you make you character fitting the Penny Arcade style). After some intro you start to rake (stay with me) which then results in your house being flattened.
From there, you and your trusty rake carve your way through Fruit Fuckers, Mimes, Hobo’s and a brilliant collection of freaks and weirdo’s along with Gabe and Tycho.
Game play;
The game play is a mix of quick real time and slight turn based fighting. You can just keep hammering attacks but if you wait they build up to a sort of “super” move of sorts. Most people seem to hate the old turn based system but it really works well in the OtRSPoD (no, I’m not writing “On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness” every time) it’s quick enough to be enjoyable and hectic enough to make you think. You can just hammer enemies with the basic attack or you can use various items (ranging from stupid to brilliant) to help. Just hammering enemies will only take you so far, you have to start to use tactic at some point (Xbox live Halo players need not apply). When not fighting you’re either questing or wondering about. You can skip some quests entirely (like the Hobo “quality” meat quest) but their all fairly fun and not too difficult.
Style;
The whole game is a sort of steam punk/Victorian/Penny Arcade mix and it’s all in a 3D/2D (for comic bit) style and it really looks rather good. It fit the style of Penny Arcade beautifully and because the whole game was made by Tycho and Gabe it all looks right. As you’re playing you recognise some characters and giggle like a school girl at the new ones (like the Professor of Urology who basically just pees … on everything. In a scientific way though). If you’re a fan of the comic you’ll love the style of it as it just works.
Music/Sounds;
Big problems with brining comics to life are voices. Look at Dilbert or even CAD when they became animated. In your head you always have an idea of how they sound to you. So, how dose Penny Arcade over come this problem? Simple, no one talks. Being a comic they stuck with the comic way of doing things, with speech bubbles. Not to say there’s no voice work. A slightly Lesley Phillips (hell, might even be him. Not sure) sounding narrator guides you along and stop the game being too stagnant from all the reading. Bar the narrator, the only other voice sounds you get are the odd evil laugh and song from a hobo bin man.
As for music, the game uses a nice set of orchestra sounds and song to give some gravitas to the situation in the game and give the game more death. Again, for the style of the game it really works well.
Graphics;
Graphically the game isn’t too demanding. Okay it’s some all singing, all dancing super graphics engine that make Crisis crumble. It’s a good solid looking game with some nice attack effects but the simple look compliments it. The environments never look dull. Everything looks good, turn it all up and enjoy it. Even the older computers can play it nicely.
System Specs;
Minimum:
OS: Windows® 2000/XP/Vista™ with latest updates
Processor: Pentium® III, AMD Athlon™ 1.0 GHz or better
Memory: 512 MB of available system memory
Graphics: ATI Radeon™ 9500 or better, NVIDIA GeForce™ FX 5200 or better, Intel® GMA 950 or better with 64 MB of video memory (shared or dedicated)*
Sound: OS-supported sound card
Hard Drive: 350 MB of available hard drive space (185 MB installed)
Input Devices: OS-supported keyboard and mouse
*All video cards require latest drivers supporting OpenGL®.
Recommended:
Processor: Pentium® IV, AMD Athlon™ 1.5 GHz or better
Memory: 768 MB of available system memory
Graphics: ATI Radeon™ or better, NVIDIA GeForce™ or better video card with 128 MB of video memory*
Sound: 16-bit stereo- or surround-capable sound card with latest drivers
Right, that’s enough about the game. Here are some good and bad points.
Good Points;
• Awesome story.
• Great Characters.
• It all works right. Just feels correct.
• Fruit Fuckers!
• “Pure” liquid (if you played it, you’ll know).
• Fights are more than mindless “hack at it” play.
Bad Points;
• Mimes, god damned mimes.
• Level system seemed to level up enemies as well. So the more hardcore you got, the harder they got.
• Semi-static camera. You gone 3D why keep the camera in one plain.
• Nope, that all I got.
Conclusion;
I really enjoyed OtRSPoD I still have yet to finish it (damn boss battles). I liked the silly script, the character banter, the fruit fuckers, the look, the fell of the game. It’s just a really well done game that keeps you happy while playing it. The only bit I really didn’t enjoy was a fight with some super mime thing, kept kicking my arse. Still, overall the game just works. I’m a big fan of Penny Arcade so this game worked for me; it hit all the right fan buttons for me.
So give it a shot. It’s cheap on Steam this weekend and there’s going to be more.
Go on, go and get it!
Media;
Not yet rated
Loading ...ZP Has A Go At CAD.
Big_Adam
If you know ZP (Zero Punctuation written, drawn and voiced by Ben “Yahtzee” Crowshaw) then you know how much Yahtzee tend to hate pretty much everything. This week he’s firing his meat gun (Transmetropolitan reference, whoop!) at web comics instead of games and he’s gone for a biggy of the bunch CAD.
Now CAD (Ctrl-Alt-Delete) is a fairy big web comic. Has it’s own line of crap you can buy, series, fans and books and (in my mind) probably second biggest to Penny Arcade in terms of money turnover (that’s just my thinking though). The guy who dose CAD, a Tim Buckley who can be easily called a “lazy hack” at times due to copy-paste comic style and MASSES of text. He always limits himself to 3-4 panels and at times he tries to force too much in and ends up with a crap load of text.
This has not escaped the glare of ZP.
So, ZP went after his web comic (and others but mostly CAD) to tell the world what’s wrong with it. You know something, he’s crappin’ right too.
I’ve read CAD for a while now; I’ve pretty much read every single one. It all started lovely in the early days. The art was a bit wobbly but not copy and pasted. Everything was his (Tim Buckley’s) and you knew that it was. In recent years though, he seems to have either gone insane or lost it in some other way.
Let’s start with the 1st problem. Copying crap. This has happened a few times in CAD and he doesn’t copy other comic writers stuff, no no. He doses the student thing and half’s the work by using Google. This has happened a few times but the one I remember is the Home Depot comic. Where he used a back round nicked directly from Google and pasted into a comic. I’m only a student but that’s plagiarism isn’t it? Just because it’s on the internet doesn’t make it free. If it where a smaller comic maker then it wouldn’t be an issue but, Tim sells copies of the comic via a book as well. So that’s not really on.
2nd problem for Tim is, well … for a while he went insane. He bought about a story arch where the main female character became pregnant. All well and fine, I’m all for character development. Then in the space of a few weeks she miscarried. Bang done, now the comic is almost running back to normal. Pardon? Hold on that’s a rather major thing to happen then vanish. Worse than that there was no really reason behind it either. It just sort of happened. Then it ended with barely a whimper from Tim. Most of the web comics I’ve read tend to be in two camps. Either their a weird sort of diary of the comic writer (see The Fart Party, The Devils Panties) but this had nothing to do with anything and then went. Seems a bit detrimental to the subject matter really.
Oh well, that’s my view on the matter. I really think I’ll stop reading CAD just because it’s gone so off track and gotten so crappy now. Stick with Penny Arcade. It’s the BEST gaming web comic on the planet and the writers are proper nice chaps setting up multiple charities. That and I’ve got comic books 1, 2 and 5.
Rated: 100% (1 votes)
Loading ...My New Comic - The Fart Party.
Big_Adam
I do like my comics. Both web and printed. Which is why I’ve taken to buying paper version of the web comics I love (like Megatokyo and Penny Arcade) also makes them easier to read (I hate reading masses of text on a screen).
After reading The Fart Party for some while I decided to buy the book. I love Julia Wertz’s work. It’s funny and real. It’s not fantasy, sci-fi. It’s Julia’s life in comic form with much swearing and beer!
Anyway, tried to buy the book and found the shop only took Visa. So after a few e-mail back and forth with Julia, I bought the book (as well as a sketch) direct.
Guess what came today?
WHOOP! My book and sketch! As an added bonus I got a cool little scribbly sketch (I do like the scribbly ones) inside the cover.
Awesome book, awesome sketch, awesome scribbly sketch!
So, my thanks to Julia for all the help while she was moving and what have you. Go visit her site.
Not yet rated
Loading ...Scud: The Disposable Assassin, it finally ends!
Big_Adam
Well, after 14 years Scud: The Disposable Assassin is finally coming to and end.
Which both sucks and is awesome at the same time. I really like the Scud line of comics by Rod Schrab. Their funny, quick, colourful and a joy to read. I found Scud at the arse end of the internet one day and had a peek at, thus starting my love affair with it.
It’s been a long time coming but the ending of the series is close. Very close in fact, so close it makes me a little sad. The Scud series could go on allot longer (it’s currently 23/24 issue long) but all good things come to an end.
So, to Mr Schrab I wish you all the best in your future comic creations. The scud series has been a lovely bit of my life. I wish for more excellent comics in the future.
I also hope the end is as good as the series. 
>> Full Scud Ending From Rob Here<<
Rated: 100% (1 votes)
Loading ...The Story Of Mary : Transmetropolitan
Big_Adam
I’ve just acquired Transmetropolitan.
It’s a comic book by Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson. It’s set slightly in the future in a very cyberpunk way and follows the tales of Spider Jerusalem.
I’ve not got much to say about it, bar it’s damn good but I’m up to chapter seven I think. Which is the story of Mary.
Mary, a woman whos head was frozen then bought back in the Transmetropolitan future of people spliced with aliens, robot and two headed cats. Well, two faces cats (really, two faces. Three eyes as well).
The story of Mary is rather harsh. She died and wanted to be bought back with her husband, who died un able to reach a cryo lab.
She’s bought back, in a basement, cold, wet and alone. A grubby staff member walks up and bluntly answer all her question then leads her out. Out side into a world she’s does not know where upon she goes into shock and passes out.
Waking up later in a cryo hostile she is given second hand cloths and a bed. That’s it.
It brings about an interesting point. At 1st the whole un-freezeing thing is going to be amazing but later on it’s going to be “just a job”. Taking a dead/frozen mind and sticking it in a new body. Hell most of it will automated with some chap there just to push a few buttons and make sure people don’t come out with three arses or something.
Just imagine it. I mean properly, not in a walk out the freezer sort of way. You last memory is of your death bed then BOOM! You’re alive in a new body that too tight, wet and in somewhere you’ve never been before. I think I’d freak the feck out and pass out. No one’s really going to care your there, you’re just another job who’s cash was spent years ago.
I just thought it was interesting is all. I got a massive head ache so that don’t help.
—————-
Now playing: The Who - Baba O’ Riley
via FoxyTunes
Not yet rated
Loading ...Scud : My new comic love.
Big_Adam
As many of you know I love a good comic, the weirder the better (hence my love for Jhonen Vasquez works and my Doktor Sleepless comics). So when I found my latest fav Scud: The Disposable Assassin by Rob Schrab I knew it was going to be fun.
Scud is about an assassin, a disposable one. In the future you can walk up to a machine. Pop in some change and get a robot to go kill someone. The story of Scud follows … well Scud but Scud Heart Breaker Model : 1373 on his first mission out the machine to kill Jeff. Now if a big yellow robot isn’t odd enough then Jeff will do it for you.
Jeff is a giant thing with arms for legs, a plug for a head, squid belted to her chest and mousetraps for hands.
Anywho, on Scud’s first mission he has to kill Jeff. Thats what he’s been told to do and like a good robot he goes off and gets on with the job. During which Scud finds out about the “disposable” part of his life. When his target is dead Scud will then explode. Which to Scud sucks a fair bit. So some quick thinking and four fingers later Jeff is placed in life support while Scud has to go and find work to pay for Jeff so Scud can live.
Still with me?
From this point on the story meets “Voodoo” Ben (Ben Franklin as a voodoo master of the undead), Drywall (a walking bag of zips who can pull just about anything out from himself), Hank Gritts (sorta Chuck Norris level of fame and following. Cowboy who never gives up) and a werewolf arm. There is a body to the wolf but that turns up later.
The story for all it’s twisted weirdness isn’t as dark as you would think. You would expect more of a JTHM slant to the story of a robot killing to keep someone alive but it’s very much a lighthearted story. Most of the people in the story who Scud sorts aren’t the nicest of chaps (like Nathan Twist, a giraffe with cowboy boots and a UFO for a head) so Scud very much becomes the hero of the story as opposed to an anti-hero.
So with the light and rather solid story (issue do follow from one to the other, all part of a larger arc to the story) each character in the story is well defined and written. Jeff for all her weirdness and only talking in pop culture references (lines from classic films like Bladerunner for starters) you can almost understand. Drywall doesn’t talk English, well in fact he talk a dialect that only things with no soul understand and is written as “>>>> >>> >>>> >>>” but you still understand him (mostly via Scud). Every one is well defined and it’s the little moments that make it. Such as Scuds off cuff comment when he gets a new arm that “requires feeding” so he says “I’ll rub a sandwich into it” or when he starts singing while sniping.
It all just works. And works well.
So, why do I bring this up now? Well Scud was writing back in 1999 when it just sort of ended. The story ended with it. No ending it just stopped dead at issue 20.
Now, Scud is coming back and due to the awesomeness of the comic I feel a need to promote it to the world as it is a damn good bit of comic writing.
The new issue are going to be out later this month as well as a massive book and I urge anyone with relative in the U.S.A. to try and nab a copy of the book or try getting a comic off ebay just to have a read of this gem of comic writing.
Well…thats about it really. Go find and read the damn comic.
So to entice you more, some random pages.
Rated: 80% (1 votes)
Loading ...I AM GEEK Changes Art Style.
Big_Adam
A while back I did a web comic review about “I AM GEEK” a hardcore geek webcomic.
Early IAG (I Am Geek) comics has a nice simple art style, a bit flat but the comedy bought it through. Then Benj Christensen tweaked them a little and gave the characters a little more depth and style to them.
And low, I looked upon it and it was good. Character has some definition and it look pretty much like IAG always had but better.
Now Benj Christensen has decided to go full bore and give them eyes and some proper definition. Well, the most noticeable is the eyes but the characters also have some shading to give them a bit more depth and everything is defined. Early comics didn’t even feature hands.
Now, being a miserable git and not liking change I’m not sure about it.
I mean it still looks IAG, very much so and I know Benj’s writing will be good to the series with obscure geek references but the change is a bit much. Then again it might grow on me after a while.
Oh well, have to see how it goes. I do hope it turns out well, I know it will or at lest I hope so.