Category Archives: all ages webcomic

The Webcomic Overlook #170: Malaak: Angel of Peace

Posted on by
6

Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound! Look up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Malaak: Angel of Peace!

*cue heroic sounding music*

Yes, it’s Malaak, strange visitor from deep in the forests who came to the city with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal women! And who, disguised as a student at a great metropolitan university, fights a never ending battle for truth, justice, and the Lebanese way!

Malaak was created by Joumana Medlej, a Lebanese illustrator. She has done drawings for children’s books, specifically a Lebanese heritage series. In her FAQ, she descibes Malaak as “Lebanon’s first and only superhero or adventure full-length series.” This comic is similarly aimed at readers who are typically younger than the current American fanboy crowd … that is, younger than 30, at least.

Continue reading →

The Webcomic Overlook #167: Yehuda Moon And The Kickstand Cyclery

Posted on by
16

Winter ended two months ago. In Seattle, that means that it rains less than it normally does. (Like, six days a week instead of seven.) Around the time between spring and fall, I get a little eco-conscious, take my bike out of the corner of the garage, and try to bike to work for at least three out of the five work days. I was riding an old Diamondback earlier this year, one that I’d modified for road use.

On my way to work one day, I had to stop at a red light where I had to turn left. Trying to show some courtesy to the cars behind me, I pulled off to the side of the road to let them pass, after which I would follow from behind. Wouldn’t you know it, as soon as I’d pulled off to the side of the road, the guy driving the car behind me pulled right next, honked the horn angrily, and then flipped the bird before peeling off.

Now, if you’ve ever ridding a bike on city streets, I’m sure that, at this point, you’re nodding your head and commiserating.

There is no love lost between cyclists and auto drivers here in the fair city of Seattle. Mayor McGinn in an active advocate of biking, and it’s been causing friction on all sides. A recent hiring for a bike advocacy position caused a huge stir in the media. A recent piece in the Seattle PI on replacing storm grates hazardous to cyclists drew several angry comments that the money could have been put to better use if the Mayor wasn’t such a … if you pardon the expression … such a cyclist.

And then there’s the democratic response. There are plenty of blogs out there that defend the pro-cycling position. What you might not know is there’s a cycling webcomic out there, too. Today, I’m reviewing Rick Smith’s “slice of cycling life” webcomic, Yehuda Moon and the Kickstand Cyclery.

Continue reading →

One Punch Reviews #45: Ninjasaur

Posted on by
5

In elementary school, we learned that the stegosaurus had two brains. One peanut-sized brain in its head … and one in its butt. This little piece of trivia may be the thing that keeps the stegosaurus from joining ranks of the dinosaur elites like Tyrannosaurus Rex, velociraptor, and the enchantingly named sauroposeidon. It doesn’t matter if the stegosaurus has spiky tail and that ridge of pentagon-shaped plates that paleontologists can’t seem to determine if they’re for armor or for prehistoric sunbathing. That whole brain in the butt thing is a hard thing to live down.

But what if a stegosaurus were equipped with a spiky tail, the double-row of backplates … and a ninja sword? Yeah, who’s the butt brain now? This fantastical scenario is explored in Jason Horn’s webcomic, Ninjasaur.


Continue reading →

The Webcomic Overlook #162: Max Overacts

Posted on by
6

Once upon a time, Zuda Comics, DC Comics’ dalliance with a new digital paradigm, was shaping up to be an awards season powerhouse. It had built up a heck of a momentum in 2009. Bayou took home a few Glyph Awards, and High Moon took home a Harvey Award. Sadly, the imprint came to an end last year, which means that one of the awards that the Speech Bubble Loading Screen Brand will never be able to claim will be the Eisner Award.

Zuda, though, will be in the 2011 Eisner Awards in spirit. Caanan Grall — who, with such a colorful name, should probably consider taking up a career in adventure/archaeology — was once a Zuda writer. In fact, his 180 page comic Celadore was the last Zuda book published; it was the at the printers when the division came to an end.

Mr. Grall scores an Eisner nomination with his most recent effort: the gag-a-day comic strip called Max Overacts. It’s about a young boy named Max who — surprise, surprise! — overacts.

Continue reading →

The Webcomic Overlook #161: The Bean

Posted on by
7

I’ve always been fascinated about the very concept of a comic book awards ceremony. As a young El Santo, I remember watching Bob, a sitcom where Bob Newhart was a struggling comic book superhero artist. Heck, I even bought Marvel’s very short lived spin-off series, Mad-Dog, based on the comic character that Bob Newhart’s character created. Wish I’d held on to that comic, which had a retro-60′s version of Mad-Dog and his grittier, Wolverine-like reboot. According to some price guides, a near mint version can be worth as much as a whole $3.00! That’s more than double what I paid for it! I’d be living the high life…. ordering something from the McDonald’s dollar menu…. maybe scoring a sweet roll of Scotch tape…. but alas, it was not meant to be.

One of the episodes was about Bob going to a comic book awards show … with special guest stars Jim Lee and Jack FRIGGIN’ KIRBY. (This was long before Stan Lee would plant his mug in literally everything. Actually seeing comic book artists on TV was a super-rare occurence.) They depicted it as a fairly low-key affair, where everything was held in a small hall and family and friends were gathered around little round tables. Still, I remember thinking myself, “Boy, wouldn’t it be swell if that were to ever make it big time?”

Flash forward to 2011 and … well, we’re still taking baby steps getting there. I mean, can anyone, even comic fans, honestly say they remember an Eisner winner from last year? However, I think we’re probably in better shape than in 1992. At least the Eisners are held within the hustle and bustle of the San Diego Comic Con, where comics are at the forefront (theoretically) and the winners are announced to some sort of comic-loving public.

Besides, it’s fun to talk about, which is why I review the candidates for Best Digital Comic every year. Even if an Eisner win is, in the grand scheme of things, somewhat meaningless, at least a handful of webcomics got a little extra exposure than they typically do.

First up on the menu is something legume flavored: Travis Hanson’s fantasy comic, The Bean.

Continue reading →

The Webcomic Overlook #155: Axe Cop

Posted on by
16

While it’s rare, there are times a webcomic becomes so popular that its fame eclipses any and all critical analysis. Around this time last year, Axe Cop was one such comic. The comic is famously written by a then 5-year-old kid, Malachai Nicolle, and illustrated by his older brother Ethan. Axe Cop went online in the waning days of the last decade (December of 2009). In the days that followed, it rocked the internet like a hurricane.

The initial reaction was overwhelmingly positive… sometimes, too positive. If you dared to mutter a bad thing about it, you incurred the wrath of rabid pro-Axe Cop fans, who — like a bunch of pre-teen girls reacting to Esperanza Spalding’s Grammy win — would label you as a bitter contrarian or a big meanie-head for picking on a sweet, innocent kid. (I should note that creator Ethan Nicolle was not one of them; from what I’ve seen, he’s far more receptive and accepting of criticism.)

But, as we all know, good times only last so long. Let’s face it, every single person who read Axe Cop thought, “Amusing, but no way this doesn’t get annoying after a while.” Eventually, the whole “playa hata” syndrome set in. Sentiment swung the other way a bit. People who liked Axe Cop were derided for being suckered into a cheap gimmick, and that the whole “child writer” thing was just a timid excuse for tiresome “random” jokes. So it goes.


Continue reading →

The Webcomic Overlook #152: ReMIND

Posted on by
20


Most of us remember Shel Silverstein as the author and the illustrator of The Giving Tree. It’s the book that convinced millions of children that the boy was a jerk for using up the whole tree without giving anything in return, only to realize that, when they got older, they were in fact the little boy and the tree represented their parents. His simple little tale was simultaneously rewarding and traumatic, and likely launched more than one graduate level humanities theses.

However, most people don’t remember Shel Silverstein as also being a songwriter. I know it totally blew my mind when I found out that Johnny Cash’s hit song, “A Boy Named Sue,” was written by none other than Shel Silverstein. I mean, seriously, THE Shel Silverstein? Aw, hell naw! But it’s true: ol’ Shel wrote the whimsical lyrics to the song that made the denizens of Folsom Prison squeal in delight.

While we sometimes think that songwriting and the illustrated arts are two different creatures, there is an anthropological link. They are, after all, based on two of the most ancient artistic traditions. Hell, cavemen probably embellished their wall-drawn adventures with some bomb-ass tribal chants. So, when the Let’s Be Friends Again guys say that they’re forming an alliance with nerd rapper Adam War Rock, it sorta makes sense once you overcome the initial skepticism.

In his FAQ, Jason Brubaker mentions that his webcom- … I’m sorry, online graphic novel reMIND started as funny song. It would be interesting to hear that song, especially since it probably had something to do with steampunk inventions, anthropomorphic cats, and a secret race of lizard people. Not something Johnny Cash would sing to win over hardened criminals, but fun nonetheless.

Continue reading →