This webcomic was suggested to me by none other than the creator himself. There are several reasons to take a peak, some of which I will convey to you in webcomic review format:

The story of Scapula follows the mis-begotten adventures of a would-be villain, who is foiled by the universe as he attempts to make a name for himself in the seedy underworld of evil-doers. There’s something oh so entertaining about rooting for the underdog, when you know very well that the underdog in this scenario is actually really terrible (or at least trying to be). All of Scapulas evil associates have their own quirky personalities, which have developed nicely throughout the course of the archive.

I’m not quite sure why, but aesthetically, the strips remind me of newspaper cartoons of yesteryear, but with a slightly more web-friendly gleam. Not a bad thing by any means, and character expressions are usually over-the-top with detail. Scenes are well constructed, though there is a tendency towards lots of text, which can sometimes get in the way of the over-all presentation. One of my favorite aspects of this webcomic is the brief synopsis at the beginning and cliff-hanger style preview of the next strip. Plenty of nostalgic “tune in next week’s” to be found.

As with any webcomic, there are a few areas of possible improvement. As mentioned above, some panels employ a great deal of text. The ‘strategic non use’ of text does not seem to be employed much, and I think that might be something fun to experiment with. Also, the dialogue itself, while improved throughout the years, is sometimes on the simplistic end of the spectrum, heavily reliant on ‘yelling’ and dramatic outbursts. This certainly fits the characters personalities, but, it can be a little repetitive. Finally, while there is some panel variation, there certainly isn’t anything pushing the envelope and more variety might be appreciated by long-time readers.

With a story and characters this quirky, spending some time flipping through the archive would be time well spent.

You can read Scapula here: http://www.scapulacomic.com
Follow Scapula on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/DadaHyena
Like Scapula on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/scapulacomic

I have long been a fan of Robins work: LeyLines Comic, as you may remember from my review. As such, I am excited to reveal Robin’s deepest, darkest secrets (OK, not really) in my latest creator spotlight series installment.

When an irresponsible prince, his head-in-the-clouds sister, and their adopted brother are given a mission by a voiceless goddess, they will be forced to choose between saving their family and their own future.

Q: What prompted you to start a web comic?

I had stories I wanted to tell and share.  The internet provided the easiest way to connect an audience with my work.  My first webcomic project began in 2002, inspired in large part by creators like Faith Erin Hicks (Demonology 101, at that time, although she’s gone on to do lots of other fantastic work), Joe England (Zebra Girl), and Scott Kurtz (PVP).  I loved how free these creators were to deliver a tale and grow a readership without depending on any big company.  That independence really appealed to me, and still does.

Q: Which strip is your favorite?

I’d say my favorite pages is probably the very start of Chapter 6, with Kali looming over Tama with her gun, when he wakes up stranded in the desert.  I’m so happy with how the lighting and perspective came out, and I love the strong first impression it creates for Tama and Kali’s eventual friendship.  She’s so no-nonsense and he’s…well…almost completely nonsense.  I knew from that page on that I’d always have fun writing for the two of them.

Q: Plans for the future?

I like to tell people “I’m on the five year plan,” because the goal is to slowly transition into doing this full-time.  Hopefully, if all goes according to my plan, that will happen within five years.  Cory and I are working on the second title to publish under our company, Moko Press LLC, and hope to release that in 2014 or 2015.  As for my current story, Book Two of LeyLines is on its way as we speak (I got word from the printers that they were packing things up just last week!) and I’m hard at work for Book Three.  I’m also gradually expanding my convention list and hope to become a solid presence in that circuit in the years to come.  Beyond that, I’m also very excited to do more presentations at local schools, particularly for 4th grade and up, because I love being able to connect with kids.  They’re so creative, and I hope to help inspire them to cultivate those talents!  Whew!  That seems like a lot when I say it all.  Did I miss something?  Oh!  We’re also running storytelling competitions every year in the form of Original Character Tournaments.  We’re in the middle of our third and looking forward to our fourth next year.  Finally, I have “get some sleep” on my To Do list, but I’m not sure when I’ll have time for that.

Q: What other web comics do you read regularly and think others should too?

Right now my absolute favorite is probably Space Trawler (http://spacetrawler.com) by Chris Baldwin.  It’s inventive, hilarious, rueful, and has sharp pointy teeth that the creator’s not afraid to rip your heart out with.  You’re always at the edge of your seat, and sometimes it’s because you’re laughing so hard you’re about to fall out of your chair, and the rest of the time it’s because you’re not sure you can bear to wait until the next update.  Chris is also an absolute joy to interact with on social media.  He’s dynamic, helpful, and encouraging!

I’m quite fond of Shadowbinders (http://shadowbinders.keenspot.com) by Thom and Kambrea Pratt, Adrastus (http://adrastuscomic.com) by Liz Staley, Tamuran (http://www.tamurancomic.com) by Chezhnian Angelus and Erin Fitzgerald, and Snow By Night (http://www.snowbynight.com/) by Eric Menge.  They all have a very different focus, ranging from a steam-punk-dimension-hopping teen to classic fantasy to giant robots, but what’s common for all of them is great energy driven by passionate creators!

As you may remember from my review, I am a huge fan of Christian Henry and his webcomic Anyone for Rhubarb. I’m thrilled to be featuring him in this installment of the creator spotlight series.

“Anyone for Rhubarb?” is a weekly updated webcomic. It’s a so-called gag-a-week comic with the sole mission of making people smirk wildly. The humor is best described as somewhat absurd and typically downright non sequitur. The topics range widely from week to week. Sometimes pop culturally referential in nature, sometimes not so much.

Q: What prompted you to start a web comic?

A couple of reasons actually. I was in the process of trying to establish myself as an illustrator and it felt like a great way to showcase my abilities – perhaps even make a name for myself in a non-pushy fashion, as opposed to just bombarding people with unsolicited drawings. Not that I don’t do that as well. Secondly, it gave me a good reason, not to mention the motivation, to draw every day. Lastly, but perhaps most importantly, it’s been a lifelong dream of mine to make comics. With the internet right there, why not just do it?

I have a have a hard time choosing just one – mostly because there’s been a lot of variation in the strips I’ve done on “Anyone for Rhubarb?”. I’ve handpicked three.

As for shorter comics I would definitely highlight the strip “The Bigger the Better”. It’s also one of my first multi-panel comics. The timing is just right and the delivery is both natural and elegant. If only I could achieve that with every comic.

I also feel like mentioning “Built to Last“, which is another older strip. I like the way it tells this weird little story, equally funny and melancholic without any real end punch line per se, and somehow it still works. I’ve found this surprisingly hard to accomplish again later. It bugs me, because I think that’s really a type of comic I’d like to make more of. Also, all the sci-fi robot quotes were fun to sneak in. I remember being kind of disappointed that no one seemed to pick up on it.

Finally, “Tom and Will and Turtle“, one of my latest strips. It has so much absurdity and craziness, but still kinda makes sense in a weird way. Absurd ideas are not hard to get, but to install them with a sort of inner logic is not easy. Not for me at least. I think the Tom and Will comics do that very well.

I don’t have any huge plans. I hope to still be able to find the time to create comics, while maintaining a quality I’m happy with. It’s important for me to feel like I evolve as a comic artist and there must be time to experiment and push my comic skills in the process for that to happen. As it is now, there isn’t always that kind of time, but I can get by on “once and a while”.

I also hope to strengthen the sense of an “Anyone for Rhubarb?”-universe. Mainly by doing longer stories and having more recurring characters.

I read a lot – both as inspiration, but also just to keep up with what the people I know in web comics are doing. I don’t feel like mentioning any names, cause I’ll forget some. And people will cry. I will however mention The Digital Strips Podcast, as it is an awesome show. They even mentioned “Anyone for Rhubarb?” very favorably on a couple of occasions. That gives them double up on awesome.

So, when I asked the Twitterverse for a webcomic that was both funny, yet also story-line driven, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Deep within the pile of suggestions, was Registered Weapon.

This webcomic is certainly an interesting take on the age-old old cop, new cop crime-fighting genre. The main character (old cop) is paired with an advanced crime-fighting robot, which happens to be in the form of a cash register. I know, I know – at first, I thought this premise was absolutely preposterous, and nearly abandoned. I am happy to report, that I am glad I didn’t.

The story itself is clearly unique, and the quirks in both art style and writing are what make it so interesting. Normally, just due to personal preference, I shy away from black & white comics. However, panel variations were a-plenty, and there was liberal use of black ‘as a color’ to keep things interesting. Strips often have a sense of motion due to their arrangement, which really helps keep things moving, and encourages the reader to always be looking for the next panel.

Dialogue is fluid and a little kitchy. The interplay between the rough old-timer and his new zaney robot partner is generally light and fun, though at times it seems a little formulaic. But, there are all manner of small details (both visual and textual) that draws the reader in, and usually results in a chuckle or three. I wouldn’t say that there have been any strips that ended in uproarious laughter, but I have certainly been more than amused. My only true gripe is that I didn’t get through as many strips as I would have expected, because sometimes the strips are heavy on the text, as well as the small details.

If you’re looking for something different, with an interesting story and bemusement abound, look no further than Registered Weapon.

You can read the comic here: http://registered-weapon.com
You can follow this webcomic on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/rgstrdwpn
You can like Registered Weapon on Facebook here:  https://www.facebook.com/registeredweapon

There are way too many exceptional webcomics out there, and deciding on my own can be tough. Help me pick who to review next!

I don’t have children, and frankly, based on their depiction in many webcomics, I am not sure I want them. As such, any webcomic that chronicles a stay-at-home dad and his family oriented (mis) adventures that can consistently illicit true out loud laughing is worth noting. By The Fingernails is one such webcomic.

Perhaps the best part about the ‘jokes’ in this webcomic is that they aren’t really jokes at all. Each strip generally contains a funny truth or humorous observation about life as a parent, and the crazy situations they often find themselves in involving their children. And, without complicated prose or linguistic adornment, many strips lead you down the path to that humorous observation in a unique and entertaining way. I had trouble selecting just one favorite, so here are two: this one and that one.

Artistically the webcomic isn’t what I would call advanced. But, even though the panels are usually fairly ‘simple’ in terms of their art, they doesn’t necessarily mean they are ‘simple’ in their construction. In fact, I would absolutely love it if artist D.A. Schubert would step out of the box and do a few things differently. For starters, I think larger panels would help a lot- give the characters a little more breathing room. Second, there isn’t a great deal of panel variation, which is a damn shame because some of the intra-panel scenes are fairly complex, and it would add an additional element of depth of those scenes made use of varied panel layout/construction to paint a similar picture. None of that is to say the art isn’t good, but same-ness of the panels strip after strip can lead the reader to feel like they have seen the strip before, which is never a good first impression.

But, at the end of the day, the art is certainly not detracting from the humor, and you’re there for the hilarity, which is never in short supply. There is a certain ease in which the ‘jokes’ are delivered, which makes a jaunt through the archive a quick and rewarding experience.

You can read By The Fingernails here: http://bythefingernails.com
You can follow the artist on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/DASchubert
You can Like this webcomic on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/DASchubert.art 

I stumbled onto The Infected Webcomic by way of recommendation from a friend. I was immediately hooked by the interesting artwork, and decided to peer a little closer. Ultimately, I think this webcomic has potential, and with practice and refinement, is sure to win over legions of fans.

Clearly, the unique artistic style is the immediate main draw. There is something indescribably appealing about the chunky, un-refined, almost out-line-ey method that is used throughout that makes things interesting, whether the scene is complex or simple. Panels are usually well varied, with a nice mix of complex action scenes, detailed stills, and simplistic scenes meant for dialogue. Variation between panels is also an area for possible improvement; there are some layouts that are a little drab, or downright confusing, where dialogue doesn’t flow naturally from one panel to the next, because it isn’t clear where the eye is meant to go. My final observation is with regards to color; the strips employ a partial color, partial ‘monochromatic’ style that is certainly interesting, and lends itself well to the mystery that shrouds to the story-line.

Speaking of writing, the story itself has a fair bit of ambiguity, which is both intriguing and frustrating at the same time. I am all for a good mystery, but things start off in a somewhat disjointed way, with very little explanation of what is going on. The explanation that is given feels like it has holes in it, right from the very start. Things begin to become clearer as time goes on, but each time a question is answered, a new question pops up where you might not want there to be one. For example, new characters pop into the story, and the characters seem to know who they are, but there isn’t a lot of context provided to the reader. But, the pace is quick, and as you continue reading, the mystery gets deeper in mostly good ways.

I am excited to see where this webcomic takes things in the future, and is definitely worth checking out, especially if you like interesting artwork.

You can read The Infected Webcomic here: http://theinfectedwebcomic.smackjeeves.com/

At the suggestion of one Gary Cohen, I decided to check out Silk & Honey. When I landed on the page, and realized this would be a Western style webcomic, I almost ran away; that’s just not generally my thing. However, I stuck with it, and I am sure glad I did. The comic combines a western setting with a more monster/fantasy character-set, rich with lore and back-story that is teased or explained in each accompanying blog post.

Aesthetically, the comic is impressive. For a black & white webcomic, there is a surprising amount of character & scene detail in each panel, and I particular like the clever use of shadow throughout. Characters have exaggerated expressions that provide interesting symmetry to sometimes understated dialogue. When the characters ‘transform’ into their true non-human states, I couldn’t help but be impressed. There isn’t a great deal of panel variation, which is usually something I look for in a truly great webcomic, but, only when it helps (or the lack thereof detracts) from the over-all experience. In this case, I was undecided. I noticed the lack of variation, but wasn’t getting bored due to the action and quick pace, so perhaps things balanced themselves out. Even without a great deal of panel variation, there are some really clever scenes that fill the frame in interesting ways. One of my favorites was the smoke scene in this strip: http://silknhoney.departure-productions.com/2012/06/20/06202012/

The writing and pace of the webcomic is interesting. There are dribs and drabs of back-story, and “off-scene” action, without belaboring the point. Things move quick, then pause, then quick again, which was interesting and somewhat intriguing. The story-line develops quickly, but perhaps a little too quick. I feel like there is a lot of “something” that I don’t know, that the author assumes the audience will figure out. Perhaps that will come in time, but there were a few times I felt out of the loop.

Even if the Western setting isn’t normally your cup of tea, I would recommend reading through the archive, as you might find yourself surprised at how much you are enjoying things. Plus, you can get in while things are still relatively new as the webcomic started just under a year ago.

You can read Silk & Honey here: http://silknhoney.departure-productions.com
You can find Silk & Honey on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/indigoshift

I suppose it is somewhat fitting that after missing out on updating for a month due to work and traveling, that the review would be that of the most recent vote-for-review winner, Leylines Comic. As luck would have it, this is a webcomic I have been aware of for some time now, and had even started a review once or twice, but never finished. No particular reason why, just how the creative process worked out at the time.

LeyLines is a serial, chapter-based, continuous story-line webcomic. Entries are also usually vertical in terms of layout, much like a traditional comic. Something that will strike you right off the bat, is the incredible depth and back-story involved. And, one of my favorite features of the comic is the fact that Robin tends to follow each strip post with little tid-bits of knowledge related to what has been posted. For example, she might explain something about one of the deities referenced, post a guide to language used within the comic, or any number of other things that make the comic a more immersive experience.

The story itself is quite addicting. There is a high degree of intrigue and uncertainty right out of the gate, which helps draw you in before getting to more commonplace character development scenes. I will caution you; there are some strange dream sequences right in the very beginning of the story that don’t really make much sense, and frankly, don’t do much to further the story, but if you stick with things, you will be rewarded on the other end with the story picking back up. As things progress, two new questions arise for every question that gets answered, and you will find yourself rooting for some characters, and despising others. One of my favorite strips was this one; mixture of art styles, the action, the past mixed with the present – great strip.

Aesthetically, the comic has positives and negatives. Characters are certainly unique, as they are humanoid but not human, so there is a lot of interesting variation. There are also a few different race types, so there is a good mixture there too. There is definitely a positive progression from the first comic to present day, with a noticeable increase in detail, texturing, shadows and line work. In some ways, there is a decent bit of panel variation, but for some reason I wish the comic were wider. Maybe it is just me, but things feel a little narrow and constricted, and there isn’t as much panel variation as I think readers would appreciate, and that a wider comic might make more conducive. But, maybe that is just my inherent preference.

Minor quibbles aside, if the story strikes you as something you would be interested in from the very beginning you will have a fun trip through the entire archive. I know I did!

You can read Leylines Comic here: http://leylinescomic.com/
You can find creator Robin on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/RobinofLeyLines
You can like Leylines one Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Moko-Press/236829186351091 

I have long been a fan, so I am thrilled to spotlight Frank Jordan!

Company Man Comic is a little slice of life, gag a day, political, and pop culture based comic strip. It follows the lives of a group of friends as they navigate the waters of celebrity and absurdity. Their adventures are often silly and it makes you think. Heck, you might even learn a thing or two!

Q: What prompted you to start a web comic? The comic came about at a time when I wasn’t drawing on a daily basis, in fact, it had been 3 years since I had drawn anything. I was on a bus, headed to work when the bus came to a stop and I looked out the window and had seen three guys in their shirts and ties, playing Hacky Sack, and I wondered what their normal daily lives were like. I started writing the idea for the comic in the sketchbook that I always carry with me.