Review: Sides (Zuda)

Sides

An exploration of a new frontier. Walter Grim and Love Morely wrestle with the natural dangers of this new world, while they discover its connection to their own world.

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I loved this story, but every time the hero of the story said anything it left me with the insatiable urge to grab him by the fucking neck and say "That's a little vague Spock!"

Sides features some of the best art in webcomics, period. The character designs are awesome. The deign of the lead character (Mr. Morely) alone was enough to make me like him in spite of his vague explanations (or lack there of)

The panel where he transitions from reality to whatever realm he ends up in (could you be a little more specific about that, Mr. Morely?) felt a little strange and out of place at first, but when you see the end result of the transition it doesn't bother you. 

I also liked the costume design and use of colors in the alternate dimension or realm or whatever the hell it is. The change made sense and the choice of colors worked.

The story was good despite the fact you're left with a lot of questions about what's going on... ok maybe it's not as confusing as I make it out to be, but I do it out of love. It's a really good story.

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Review: OPSEC (Zuda)

OPSEC

Violent protestors clash on the streets of Britain as the EU debates granting Turkey full membership. Join Tom Carter, deniable operator for MI5, on the trail of a terrorist attack.

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OPSEC is a darker version of James Bond/Jason Bourne. I love spy thrillers and this story doesn't disappoint.

This is another good example of how to do a Zuda entry right. Establish your characters, the situation and the get on with it. At this point, action helps a lot... and like I said, OPSEC doesn't disappoint.

I wanna start with the main character, Tom Carter. From the moment he's introduced we're given an ample amount of information about who he is and what he does. If I didn't like the character at this point, (which I did) the minute I saw him use stealth to subdue his target and subsequently bust into the next room, guns blazing, and take out the rest of his heathen enemies I was sold.

We don't really get a ton of details about the plot aside from the fact it's a spy story about an agent tracking down a terrorist cell. There's some side-story information thrown in early on in the story that helps set the mood for what's to come.

Despite not getting a ton of details, there is enough to build intrigue. You get a clear sense that the writer knows enough about what he's doing to give you an interesting story. I felt this way and I'm really hoping at this point that I'll get to see more of this comic.

The art is wonderful. It's realistic style meshes well with the darker, more realistic idea of what a secret agent really is (as opposed to what you might get from a James Bond movie) 

The colorist does a fantastic job of selling this. In fact, it probably plays the biggest role in giving the art that realistic feel.

Overall, the dynamic action scenes and intelligent story-telling are presented here in what I can only call a phenomenal webcomic.

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Review: Clandestino (Zuda)

Clandestino

Clandestino has been haunted since birth, while guided by an old mysterious Gypsy legend. Will he become the next Gypsy King?

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This action-packed story about a sharp-shooting gypsy is pretty hit and miss.

Hit and miss is a constant unintentional theme running throughout the 8 pages. Weather it's the shoddy dialogue or the stylized art... it's there at every turn.

The gritty art looks great at a distance... but not as good up close. There are a few places where the anatomy looks like it takes too many creative choices for the sake of style only to fall flat. It's not so bad that you cringe and have to look away fast before your eyes bleed, but it does make the characters look unattractive for the most part.

There are a few places where it seems to fit perfectly. The design of the main villain is awesome. He kinda looks like Clint Eastwood with a samurai sword, which sounds fucking awesome right? Well it looks fucking awesome too.

On the other hand, there are some character designs that leave you underwhelmed. I can't say "hit and miss" enough about this comic.

What Clandestino does do right is get across it's point in just 8 pages. I've said a thousand times that a lot of Zuda entries don't explain enough in eight pages to let the reade know what the hell is going on and more importantly, what they can expect from the rest of the story.

Clandestino does a fantastic job of telling you pretty much everything you need to know about the story. You get the backstory in narration throughout the non-stop action for 8 pages and in the end you're left with a clear idea of where the story is gonna go while at the same time leaving you wondering how it'll turn out.

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Review: Beertown B'hoys (Zuda)

Beertown B’hoys

Brooklyn, 1894. A group of waterfront throwaways rise through the ranks of the New York underworld lead by the man destined to become America’s first celebrity gangster.

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This is the first time I've ever seen a gangster webcomic that blended comedy, violence and character in such a well executed story.

There's a lot of over-the-top dialogue that's really funny. A store clerk being held up says "Sins of Moses!" and you can't help but laugh. The only negative is that in webcomic form - without the variations of tone and accent - the different supporting characters tend to lose their individual personalities. The two main characters, however, maintain clearly different personas. Enjoyable personas at that.

Beertown is drawn in a blocky cartoon style that's pretty damn unique. A lot of the caricatures are pretty much what you would expect for both an old school gangster story as well as the time period the story takes place in (1894) and the grayscale colors fit the story perfectly.

If you're looking for a fun, exciting old school gangster comic, look no further than Beertown. It has everything and then some.

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Review: Amber Hale, Supermodel (Zuda)

Amber Hale, Supermodel

In the future, Amber Hale embodies fame and glamour. But, lurking behind the limelight, a sinister organization’s pursuit to save humanity may take her soul.

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While I wouldn't call Amber Hale a "super" model, I would call this a pretty good webcomic.

I'll start with the art, because that's what stood out the most about this comic to me. For the most part it's a pretty common art style... a cartoon, western manga or whatever the hell they call it, thats what it is. It's not a bad thing. 

The character designs are pretty good, my favorite are the snake-eyes/clone-trooper looking guys (although a little generic) The design of Amber is good, but not my "cup of tea" I guess, while the character Kael was a complete failure to me. He looks kinda like a frontman for an 80s "hair band" and about as intimidating as one.

The story is a little difficult to understand given the lack of plot details. Kael is apparently running a secret operation doing experiments on pretty girls while the "clone army" guys are chasing them around trying to kill them.

I love that the story features a lot of action in the first eight pages, I just wish there were a few more clues to Kael's motivations or a hint as to why these guys in the tech suits are trying to kill them.

One thing about this comic that really struck me was the inverted word balloons. The bubbles are black with white letters. In most comics this would feel out of place but it seems to fit perfectly in this story.

Overall it's a "middle of the road" kind of comic that looks like a lot of fun as long as you're not expecting to read the greatest story ever written.

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Review: Zuda Roundup April '09

The Rise and Fall of the Penguin

This shocking exposé will reveal the truth behind the celebrity penguin and his not-so-family-oriented life.

Penguin is one fucking hilarious webcomic. I especially loved the scene of the Penguin snorting coke and fucking his groupies. 

The art, on the other hand, was less than spectacular.

The Kind You Don't Bring Home to Mother

You can think of it as a romantic comedy with a macabre twist, or a werewolf story without the werewolves.

This is a really good (and really funny) webcomic. I loved reading it... but it doesn't feel like it belongs on Zuda. It feels like a better fit for the Sunday papers.

Pirate Eye

Pirate turned detective, Smitty, PIRATE EYE, will solve any case for a HEFTY FEE. This latest case will test him, uncover an ancient mystery, and reveal his bloodline holds secrets, even from himself.

He's called a "Pirate Eye" because he's a pirate detective but all we see in the 8-page story is a detective dressed like a pirate. The Asian stereotypes turned me off too.

Cancer Troop 4

Galaxy Qubart is under attack by the parasitic JELLYS! But worry not my friends! CANCER TROOP 4 IS HERE TO EXTERMINATE ANY JELLYS INFECTING YOUR MOON, HARVEST WORLD OR EVEN YOUR OWN HOME!

Too many pretty colors, not enough... anything else. Maybe if this were a cartoon on Nickelodeon or something it might be different... as a webcomic I wasn't really impressed.

The Daemon Brethren: Advent of Chaos

When Alyra Daniels’ brother gets killed in front of her, her life changed. Now she has to face the ancient powerful group of beings, known as the Sins of Chaos.

Daemon Brethren is a decent story but I didn't like the way the "good guys" were able to figure out without any reasonable explanation that the "bad guy" of the story was "just a pawn." That and the over-use of airbrushes in the art were a turn off.

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Review: Spy6teen (Zuda)

Spy6teen

Cally Calhoon wants to be the model high school student, but that’s not easy when her after school job is with a secret government unit called The Quad! Hi-Spy espionage before the first bell rings!

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Spy6teen felt pretty average until I saw the twist at the end... It's still not the best comic of the month, but it's pretty damn good.

I love when comics blend character, action and plot and present it with some nice art. Spy6teen has all of that. The stylish art emphasizes the action almost perfectly. There's some great character designs in here as well.

The part that felt "average" (at least at first) was the writing. I was expecting a campier story, and to be honest it felt a little camp for the most part. But the solid blending of character, plot and action helped me to overlook all that. 

Overall, Spy6teen is a solid webcomic with a little bit of everything. It's definitely worth checking out and I wouldn't mind reading more, should it win this month's competition.

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Review: Myth (Zuda)

Myth

A tenacious orphan returns from a fallen kingdom of fantasy with a giant at his side. Together, the two set out to battle evil in both the realm of adults and the supernatural.

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What would happen if Sin City had a love child with Calvin and Hobbs? They'd have a little webcomic baby named 'Myth'

The artistic style of Myth looks like it was ripped straight from Calvin and Hobbs. On top of that, the main character is a young boy about Calvin's age. And judging by the synopsis and the last few pages, they've replaced Hobbs with a "giant." 

The twisted nature of the story about a boy abandoned by his parents only to be chained to a wall in an old couple's basement like a prisoner mixed with the black and white/greyscale art also reminded me of the Sin City movie (never read the comic.)

All of this is blended flawlessly into an amazing webcomic with plenty of action and plot. The pacing is smooth (and fast) with a couple of "holy fuck!" moments thrown in for good measure.

The overall for this comic is "nearly perfect." The fact that it's not my prefered genre didn't stop me from loving every page.

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Review: Mecha-Simian (Zuda)

Mecha-Simian

Last survivor of a war ravaged planet, last warrior of a dead race, trapped in a robotic replica of his own destroyed body, he is Mecha-Simian - cyborg monkey space-trooper!

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Mecha-Simian isn't bad for a cliche saturday morning cartoon presented in webcomic form...

I don't know what to say about the concept of this comic, except it's just silly. It's not bad and it's definitely interesting to read, but not enough to make me wanna come back to it. Again, I'm not necessarily saying the comic is bad.

The idea of a cyborg space-monkey flying around in his talking ship is kinda funny by itself. Unfortunately, the actual comic probably suffers from trying too hard to be funnier than it is. That's probably because of the approach of trying to be deliberately cliche.

The light-hearted hero battles dozens of droids, a mad scientist and a diabolical warlord, gets captured and manages to escape just in the nick of time thanks to the villain wasting time trying to give a speech...

What makes this comic a little better than others who have tried this is the art. What made me think of Saturday morning cartoons, more than anything, was the art. It's action-packed, dynamic and full of life. It's easily the best part of this comic.

Overall: I really wouldn't mind sitting down and reading through 50 or 60 pages of this comic as long as it was already there to read. But the idea of waiting for new installments doesn't sound like something I'd be interested in.

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Review: "Intergalactic Law: Grey Squad" (Zuda)

Intergalactic Law: Grey Squad

In a galaxy where corruption doesn’t retire, Detective Janet Moore arrives at her latest assignment: Grey Squad, a sleepy, out of the way precinct where aging cops are sent to end their careers.

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What have I always wanted from a webcomic space adventure, you ask? A drug dealing Space-Granny! ...seriously, this is one wacky fucking webcomic.

Intergalactic Law is filled with some very interesting characters. The lead character, Detective Moore, May be the only normal one... (That would be the cyborg female that was apparently bred for the sole purpose of being a cop.) 

The pacing of the story is a hybrid webcomic/comic strip. Each page can be read as a "gag-of-the-week" but there's also an over-arcing theme of a young hardliner detective being stationed in a precinct full of older cops nearing retirement. On top of that, every case seems to involve someone from the "retirement home" (see "drug dealing grannies")

It's not just the wild story that I like. The art is damn good. The more alien character designs go from simple near-human with blue skin to giant walking boars (or something similar) 

There are only two things that bothered me. The first was the lettering. It's cluttered and a little difficult to read in a few places. Secondly, we never get to see anything outside of the precinct's office area... I would've loved to see this crazy retirement community where all of these elderly criminals come from (AGAIN, see "drug dealing grannies") Neither complaint was big enough to have any real impact on my opinion of the comic though, I still loved it.

Intergalactic Law is overall a fantastic webcomic. Period. End of story.

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Review: Earthbuilders (Zuda)

Earthbuilders

Their mission is to make barren planets hospitable for mankind... but in a frozen colony called New Sapmi lays a mysterious force that not even the resourceful Earthbuilders are ready for.

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Looks like the April competition on Zuda has a lot of SciFi Space Adventures... and that's fine with me. 

The first one is Earthbuilders. This comic does almost everything right. It doesn't do it "the best" but it does do it right. At least, everything but the sphincter jokes. 

After seeing the starship on the first page I was kinda hoping to see some space battles. The ship and vehicle designs are pretty good. There's a familiar feel to them, but they also manage to stay unique enough that you aren't reminded of other scifi stories.

The other aspects of the art are just as good. There were a few places where the facial expressions bugged me, but other than that the comic looks really good.

The story itself does a great job of drawing you into the world (or in this case worlds?) these characters live in and a few of the characters even get a little backstory thrown in. You walk away with a good feel for what's going on. The fact that there's a little action thrown in is a plus.

The only complaint I had (aside from the completely unnecessary sphincter jokes) was the dialogue. It wasn't that it was over-the-top cliche, it's more that it just felt a little flat. It's fine when the characters say what they have to say to advance the story, but the "personality through dialogue" aspects felt a little forces.

Overall it's a fun story to read. It's deffinetly different for a space adventure, and not in a bad way. 

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