I’m back from Thanksgiving break, and I must say the travel was surprising light. My fiancée strongly insisted that we arrive at the airport a full two hours before departure, which is normally a good policy during holidays, yet we discovered that we breezed through the security gates in typically fifteen minutes or less. Bizarro.

Followers of the “Webcomic Overlook” from my Rooktopia site may be a little miffed (but probably not) that I’m not reviewing a strip (Thinkin’ Lincoln) that I had originally scheduled for #21. There’s a simple reason: I’m still about 80 strips away from finishing it. Barring distraction via “shiny object,” it’ll be up for The Webcomic Overlook #22.

Instead, I’ll be reviewing a webcomic that has the good fortune of possessing one of the world’s most alluring titles. Have you ever fell in love with something simply because of its name? You may know absolutely nothing about the subject in question, yet the name itself carried such an intriguing aura that it’s impossible to resist. I for example, am the proud owner of an Albuquerque Isotopes T-shirt. I know absolutely nothing about the minor league baseball team except that it’s name comes from a Simpsons episode. Lyrical, original, and odd names are primarily to blame with my obsessions with Zooey Deschanel; Marky Mark Wahlberg; Amy Winehouse; Calvin “Megatron” Johnson; Stone Temple Pilots; the word “Fergalicious”; The Great Muta; Ukiah, CA; The People’s Elbow; and the movie Live Free Or Die Hard. (And, don’t tell anyone, but I bought a house in my current hometown because the town itself had such a kickass name.)

Which brings us to the title of today’s Webcomic Overlook. How could anyone go wrong with a webcomic called The Adventures of Dr. McNinja? Judges, give this title a trophy made of pure awesome!

According to creator Chris Hastings, “Dr. McNinja” was born in the inky black tarpit that is the SomethingAwful forums. Or, more specifically, the character was created during the frequent drawing fights that erupt there. I assume these aesthetic duels went something like a recent bout where forum goons drew unflattering yet hilarious depictions of other goons. Anyway, the character is the illustrative representation of Hastings’ forum name, Dr. McNinja.

Another interesting fun fact: Hastings came very close to calling himself Dr. McNugget. And thus, in an alternate universe, there’s a webcomic called “The Adventures of Dr. McNugget” … which, come to think of it, is just as awesome of a title. Judges, give the alternate universe webcomic a trophy of pure nega-awesome!

As you might have guessed, Dr. McNinja is half-doctor, half-ninja. (He is all man, though; he is only divided in an occupational sense.) He spends half his day treating patients, and the other half doing backflips. He is also somewhat of a town superhero, having gained the privilege to dispense all sorts of vigilante justice as long as he gets back to his office and declares “Base.” The webcomic is also a story of a man alienated from his family. Although Dr. McNinja wants to balance his life between the medical and ninjitsu fields, his parents, Dan and Mitzi, are disappointed that he’s not trying to be the best ninja in the world.

And before you ask… yes, Dr. McNinja battles his share of robots, pirates, zombies, and other ninjas. Would he be a ninja if he didn’t?

“Dr. McNinja” thrives on absurdity. This is nothing unique — a lot of webcomics are circuses of shenanigans. However, this webcomic feels like playing with toys straight out of the toybox from your childhood. Remember when you had your GI Joes taking on your rubber Godzilla toy, or when your AT-AT hunted down your Winnie the Pooh piggy bank? The experiences may not have been the same, but I’ll bet guns to butter that you once did something similar. How about the simpler pleasures? I remember when I was younger, I’d chase my brother and sister with a small black comb. That comb was the Moustache, and if I tagged my siblings on the upper lip they would transform into a Moustache Man. There was much frolicking and merriment. I know that this is an odd digression, but at a young age, I tapped into the same puerile thought process that brought us the Dr. McNinja plot where a thick moustache give a secondary character extraordinary abilities. (Oddly enough, I believe the same obsession with moustaches surfaces in an episode of the thematically similar Tick cartoon series. Is moustache humor an essential component of absurdist parody humor? Discuss!)

There’s a huge challenge, though, when you bandy about ridiculous concepts like gorilla secretaries, Paul Bunyan’s disease, and crazed velociraptors. How do you tie everything together in a cohesive plot without sacrificing the freshness of its trademark absurdity? Hastings tries his best, and, for the most part, he succeeds. The two-part “D.A.R.E. To Resist Ninja Drugs and Ninja Violence” story, for example. The readers are rewarded with a fun, action-packed story that offers a lot of surprising twists and turns. It’s one of the best paced action webcomics I’ve read. The story, though, doesn’t doesn’t the reader of some of the best flights of fancy: a Ben Franklin clone, the two aspects of Dr. McNinja facing Death, and butt punching.

However, the subsequent stories — “Revenge of the Hundred Dead Ninja,” “I Could Tell You That Story So I Could Tell You This One,” and “Spooky Stuff” — seem to struggle a little bit. Just a little bit. Maybe I’m just not a big fan of zombie stories, no matter how inevitable that concept is for a webcomic entitled “The Adventures of Dr. McNinja.” But there are other issues beyond my personal bias. For the first time since the first story, “Dr. McNinja vs. McDonald’s,” the story seemed to drag. The mystery of how the zombies came about is fundementally intriguing, yet it’s hampered by endless zombie fights and Dr. McNinja’s moping. I like Dr. McNinja best when he’s gleefully hacking away at the bad guys, not when he’s paralyzed stiff by the memory of his mentor. That’s like my AT-AT bawling his eyes out because he blew up Winnie into a million pieces.

In fact, there were times where I felt the webcomic page didn’t have a punchline. Plot development is fine and all, but “McNinja” is still primarily a comedy webcomic. The absurdity seemed too random as well, if that makes any sense. For example, this arc introduces an astronaut-turned-mayor who installed spacesuits in every house because it was a preventative measure against zombie attacks. It might just me, but that’s stretching the tomfoolery a little thin.

However, there have also been plenty of bright spots. The Thriller dance sequence, for example, is one of the most memorable moments in the strip thus far. Oddly, some of the best plot developments have to deal with a character I could care less about. Gordito is Dr. McNinja’s Boy Wonder sidekick and the the strip’s Mexican stereotype. I suppose he’s a handy plot convenience to give Dr. McNinja someone to talk to, especially since the other two residents of the office are a nonspeaking gorilla and a velociraptor. Yet I always found Gordito to be rather bland and one-dimensional. Also, kids with moustaches are pretty creepy, and should probably be used only as one-shot gags.

Gordito, though, has had some memorable sequences — flashbacks, robot bear attacks, poisonings, and whatnot — while staying at the ninja cave, home of Dr. McNinja’s parents. In fact, the absence of the McNinja clan from the main “Dr. McNinja” plot may be a large factor as to why the story feels slow. After al, Dan McNinja played a huge role in the “D.A.R.E.” story. The members of the McNinja clan are interesting characters themselves, and I admit there’s a special place in my heart for the doctor’s wigger bro, Dark Smoke Puncher.

The black-and-white artwork is reminiscent of “Shonen Jump”-style manga. Well, except for the fact that, unlike actual manga, the characters don’t all look like bug-eyed pre-teen girls. (Yes… even the boys.) There are some scenes that would like right at home in a Japanese horror manga. Ninja characters are shrouded in crisp lines of permanent shadow. I have to give a lot of credit to the inker here; the shadows do a great job making the figures seem three-dimensional.

The pacing is likewise similar. Action sequences are stretched over several pages to better illustrate the motions of the characters. And generally, they’re excellent. Character poses look natural, and Hastings does a great job portraying kinetic motion. These lengthy fight sessions may seem like an unnecessary waste of space for traditional American comic book readers and infuriating for webcomic readers who prefer timely plot developments with each installment. I like it, though. Hastings has developed his own style, and he seems to have gotten the general pulse of how to successfully write a manga-style webcomic without looking like a huge otaku or sacrificing his uniquely Western sensibilities.

Overall, I enjoyed reading “The Adventures of Dr. McNinja,” and I’m fairly pleased that Hastings has managed to create so many fun stories out of his forum name. Although the comic is less racuous than at its start, it’s still a giddy thrill ride. And it makes me wish that I’d picked a more creative alias than the name of some dead Mexican luchador.

Final Note: I don’t usually comment on guest strips. “Dr. McNinja” has some nifty ones from some of my favorite webcomic creators. There’s one from John Allison of Scary Go Round. Another by Jeph Jacques of Questionable Content. And yet another by Ryan Estrada of Aki Alliance. And a whole lot more! “The Adventures of Dr. McNinja” … the webcomic creators’ choice!

(That’s not too far off from the truth. “The Adventures of Dr. McNinja” did win the 2007 Web Cartoonist’s Choice Award for Outstanding Superhero/Action Comic.)

Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)