Why Use This Blog?

For a medium that is relatively young, webcomic production is enormous. There are a lot of webcomics available, and they are easy to find. Google "Webcomic," and you'll hit about 5,000,000 sites that mention the word. Unfortunately, only a fraction of what is online is enjoyable to read. Finding the "good stuff" can be difficult and takes a considerable amount of time and patience.
This blog was created as a guide to finding good web comics. As a starting point for new readers, it features links to great comics and tips on how to search for the good comics on your own. I also review comics that I come across in my own search for the best that webcomics have to offer.

A note: this is not a guide to publishing a webcomic. I suggest reading the FAQ of a good webcomic artist for information about how-to, or visiting this tutorial.

Also, this is not a literary review of webcomics. For a literary review, see the Webcomics Examiner.

I now update on Sundays.

June 4, 2007

F@nboy$

Fanboys
Scott Dewitt
Gamer
PG

Fanboys is a solid comic. It really is. The writing is fun, and the art is a cartoony-manga style. The story centers around three friends who each lust after a particular console; Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo.

I like this comic. But I think that Fanboys suffers from a fate that comes upon many writings that fit into a genre: sameness. It is a typical gamer comic. There are the two friends, Lemmy and Paul, who mock each other and their preferred console. There are the girls, Sylvia and Kirstin, who proudly proclaim their gaming cred while shooing away men who would dare ogle at the rare specimen of female gamer. There is continuity in the storyline, and of course it centers around the main characters and their obsession with gaming. Every now and then the continuity is interrupted by a comic commenting on a particular game.

This structure is not old yet, at least I don't think so. But so many gaming comics run through these bases that I wish I could simply mash A and get the essential pl0t outline over-with.

HOWEVER, Fanboys is not a poor comic. Though it suffers from the sameness, it is nifty and cute. The writer is focusing a lot of his time on developing the characters and the plot continuity. Since the comic is quite new, it certainly has time to grow. Also, it is one of the few gamer comics I know of that does its best to stay clean. No swearing, no sexual innuendo.

Finally, the fact that Lemmy becomes a bloodthirsty kungfu master whenever he is told that his consol of choice is for kids makes me giggle. I know people like that.


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