From: Nuclear Delight

Though I’m sure having punches thrown in every panel is enough for some people, sometimes the story just has to slow down. These are some solid suggestions to keep your art from looking like a newspaper comic strip. I think I would even add one: if the characters are talking a room, choose something else that’s interesting in that room to focus on for a panel. Keep the conversation going on off-panel. Not all re-establishing shots have to be wide-angle.

Then there are our opinions about superheroes. Adam is content to shun the idea of enhanced humanoids solving crimes and punching each other in the face, but I personally disagree. Even if I find that most of the current writers for the subgenre have all gone insane and focus more on half-baked stories about rape and flimsy crossover nonsense, the idea of a masked freako swinging in and slapping baddies across the teeth appeals to me.

I just wish that people would remember that these stories are supposed to be fun.

Thankfully, we have the internet at our disposal. Free from the pressure of editors and sales figures, artists and writers can take their ideas to the mean streets of the World Wide Web without fear. The end result is often a disaster, but this article isn’t about the disasters. This is about The Adventures of Superhero Girl by Faith Erin Hicks and The Non-Adventures of Wonderella by Justin Pierce.

I think these comics stand out because they understand the silliness of superheroics and express it differently. Superhero Girl, for example, is a slice of life story with capes and masks. Superhero comics today are guilty of trying to be more ‘realistic,’ a term that’s now synonymous with ‘gritty and sad.’ Realism doesn’t always have to be bleak, though. You know what else is realistic? Taking home a stray cat, looking for a job, going to parties, reconciling with your brother; life has its ups and downs, and focusing on the downs is a sign of insanity.

Not Pictured: Pride

Then there’s Wonderella, which wins points with me because it’s weird. With a far more sardonic sense of humour, Pierce’s comic jabs at the idea of a world populated by super-powered costumed vigilantes. This is particularly seen with the title character being amoral, insensitive, and incredibly apathetic towards the worries of the world. Wonderella doesn’t want to save the world; she just wants a footbath and a hard drink served to her by a monkey butler. It’s like taking Garth Ennis and Darrick Robertson’s The Boys and repurposing it as a gag strip.

Once again, smut saves the universe

Let’s talk art styles. Just as modern superhero comics’ artists aptly portray their flashy and melodramatic tales of wonder, Hicks and Pierce do the same justice to their works. Superhero Girl has a very elastic and charming style that channels the carefree essence of the story. Wonderella, meanwhile, has a very static and simple look which won’t win points with everyone, but I find that it conveys strangeness of the comic well and is better for it.

So there you have it, two superhero webcomics that will hopefully whet your appetites. Hopefully these will entertain you while the mainstream comics industry prints out another seven million pictures of a pastel-coloured dominatrix angrily gnashing his or her teeth.

I actually did have this kind of flash of realization this morning. Though it was more about the fact that my cup holder is the perfect size to hold my blueberry muffin.

From DeviantArt.

The fellow who runs this page took a look at my Blogspot account (promotepromote) and
had inkling that I know something about webcomics. I apparently do, if my Bookmarks in
Firefox are any indication. Hence, he’s called me in to do monthly contributions to this particular
sector on the internet.

Let’s get this ball rolling. Allow me to tell you about an online comic I happen to have a
positive albeit strenuous relationship with, a comic that latched itself to my heart from page one
and gives me warm and fuzzy feelings inside while also draining me of all my blood on random
occasions. This is Gunnerkrigg Court.

Artist-writer Tom Siddel’s story tells of a young red-head named Antimony Carver
attending the titular Gunnerkrigg Court, an academic fortress where mad science and dark magic
roam freely. The school lies on the edge of an enchanted forest, colonies of robots stomp the
halls, and ancient spirits and gods fraternize with the locals freely.

What’s that? Sounds standard? I haven’t told you about the clockwork birds or the
haunted bridge or the laser cows. And now I won’t, not until you learn some manners, young
man.

I’m going to come right out and rain on this parade before I let the sunshine in. My
problem with G.C. (abbreviations ahoy) is that the writing has developed a tendency to trip over
itself and fall down a cliff named Exposition into a mud pile named Melodrama. This bothers me
because it’s a path I’ve seen other webcomics go down before, where the focus of humour and
quirkiness gets replaced with characters speaking woodenly and awkwardly about their feelings
and painful pasts.

Balls to that, I say. I remember the days when Gunnerkrigg was all about this:

Nowadays, though, I’m seeing more of this:

It burns my ass. Tone shifts only work well if they feel organic, like if there was an
intention to do so. I’m not sure how far ahead Tom’s planned, but I do hope this was part of the
plan. Otherwise it just feels like I’ve been here before.

I’m being mean. I enjoy Gunnerkrigg Court. The characters are fun and some of them
develop really well, and the stories that don’t mutate into Melrose Place meets American Gods
are a joy to read. As bog-standard as the idea of “a weird school” goes, G.C. is separate from
its contemporaries in terms of tone. Even when the writing takes a left turn, it doesn’t always
remove the reader from this elaborate and bizarre world.

On top of that, Tom Siddel’s quirky-gothic aesthetic is unique, and his art style has
grown. Characters no longer look like they evolved from a cubist painting; depth and dimension
is given, while also keeping its weirdness and cartoony feel.

I can criticize the way the comic twists and turns now and then until I’m red in the
fingers, but I can’t do it for long. Gunnerkrigg Court is fun; it’s strange, it’s cute, and any
reservations I have are immediately blown aside by the presence of Doctor Disaster.

See you next time.

• From May Contain Content.

• From The Cutting Room.

The movie it was based on I can still watch—I even own a copy—but seeing a piece of an episode on Teletoon Retro made my skin crawl. Here’s the comparison: in the movie Beetlejuice was the antagonist, and a crass, foul-mouthed, perverted one at that. In the cartoon, as the protagonist he’s not just toned down, he’s neutered. The movie’s colour palette was surreal and moody, while the cartoon made the afterlife look like a circus. And the supporting characters; can someone explain to me how giving Beetlejuice a French skeleton and a dancing spider as neighbours was supposed to make things funnier. And then, in what seemed to be a staple of early 90s humour, there were the puns. So many puns I even remember my 12-year-old self getting annoyed.

I think I kept watching at the time because of the opening credits. Now there was an amazing sequence. Even though I think it was tricking me into thinking the show was better. I mean, look at this:

Luckily for me, fanart exists and I can fool myself into thinking the body of the cartoon doesn’t matter.

• From CyrusZeal and ElectroCereal.

• From Marshmallow-kid.

• From FASSLAYER.

• From Astrozerk04.

• From xxslave1xx.

• From daborien.

• From CountANDRA.

• From Aleoo-Whiter.

• From DemonTainted.

• From pyromaniac.

• From tabbykat.

• From Pirate-Cashoo.

Truly theirs is an epic battle.

• From Comical Concept.

Is it blasphemous of me to express a desire to see a female Doctor?

• From Bob Canada’s BlogWorld via TDW Geeks.

This morning, Marvel put out the first installment of Captain America: First Vengeance, the comic tie-in to their upcoming Captain America movie. It follows on the heels of the movie’s trailer, broadcast during last night’s Super Bowl. (Thanks to Big Shiny Robot for pointing me to both.)

I find myself less than impressed. Some of it has to do with Marvel’s ultimate American patriot. Not all of us are American, so the prospect of another American-focussed WWII movie doesn’t make me want to rush to the theatres. But the thing I really didn’t like is Marvel’s white-washing of history. Instead of having Cap fight against Hitler’s Nazis—like he did in the comic book—Marvel decides the conquering of Europe was led by their go-to mysterious terrorist organization, Hydra.

Why Hydra? What was wrong with Nazis? The only excuse I can think of is Marvel wanting to release this movie in Germany and thinking that by changing the antagonists, German sensibilities will no longer be offended. Except, as can be seen in the comic, Hydra soldiers are still speaking German.

All that aside, there are also problems with how Marvel is handling the movie tie-in. I’m heartened by their decision to not just write a straight adaptation of the film, but eight mini-issues? Seven of which must be purchased through their iPad app? The free comic was only 12 pages long. I just wonder how many fans are going to want to pay $14 for what amounts to movie advertising. I suppose we’ll see what happens.

Captain America: The First Avenger comes out 22 July, 2011.

I’m always up for promoting Canadian artists. Hark! A Vagrant is an eclectic mix of literary, historical, and real life humour. Not all at the same time though.

A lot of the jokes seem to end one panel away from the punchline but, I swear, it makes them funnier. Must be why Miss Kate Beaton is up for the Shuster Award this year.

• From Hark, a vagrant: 294.

I’m a big fan of absurd humour. But what seals the deal is the woodblock printing style used. Bully!

• From Root Hog Records.

• From jana007.