Review #8: ...AAAAAAAAAAAAH!

[Note to both of you reading this: the Doctor finally found another webcomic he decided to review. However, whilst digging through the archives of this comic, the strain of randomness he found was so intense that his brain temporarily imploded. I, Dr. Ben-Jamin, a.k.a. the subconscious mind of Dr. Haus, shall be taking over the reviewing duties until we can get his conscious mind back in working order]

Title: The Avatar
Artist: James Firkins
Collective: None
Genre: Comedy...I think
Updates: Mon-Wed-Fri
Link: http://www.the-avatar.com



If it weren't for a certain Flash animation that appeared on Newgrounds, neither I nor many people would have heard of this comic at all. But I did see the Flash cartoon that Mr. Firkins finished in honor of making 200 strips of this...masterpiece.

This cartoon has a little bit of everything: its own political news network, athiests, ominous people, terrorist plane hijacking, nuclear toast, and the list goes on...

The real kicker of this comic is this fellow, "Sir Godfrey of Boullion." He seems to play the lovable retard of the comic, though it is unknown whether any of the characters really like him or not. Seriously, just try reading multiple strips featuring this character. It made Dr. Haus' brain implode, the sheer random retardedness of Godfrey will cause the same reaction within your own skull.

Hell, the entire comic has almost reached Family Guy portions of randomness in its attempt to make the audience laugh, except Family Guy does it better.

Art: 2.5/5 (Meh, nothing special, though earlier strips are a little hard on the eyes)
Story: 1.5/5 (Wait...there's a storyline? +.5 points because one might be starting as of this review.)
Humor: ?/5 (see Final Thoughts)
Action: 2/5 (nothing really exciting action-wise, except as a means of slapstick humor)
Characters: 2.5/5 (With a few exceptions, Mr. Firkins doesn't bother to give these characters unique traits).
Overall (not an average): 2.5/10
Evil Stuff: Plenty of cartoon violence, one bloody scene, humor might make brain implode.
Final Thoughts: Dr. Haus was slightly amused when he cruised through the first few strips, but then The Avatar's particular brand of humor took a turn for the worse when he saw that the comic had trouble deciding whether to go along the one-shot gag route (like Joe and Monkey [Review #1]) or making a few storylines and throwing in jokes derived from the plot (like The Adventures of Dr. McNinja [to be reviewed]). Instead, you, the reader, get the worst of both worlds. The good Doctor recommends that you do not read this unless you are heavily intoxicated or you think that Family Guy is too complicated for you.

Let us all hope that Dr. Haus will eventually recover soon.

"WHY THE HELL HAVE YOU NOT UPDATED?"

Calm down, dear fellow, and let me explain something.

Whilst the Doctor does dabble in the webcomic world, he prefers to concentrate on looking for a paying job to replace his last one when vampires broke into the local blood bank and framed him for the crime. Also, he has been involved in editing/writing for other projects, most of which do not pay but he is obligated to do for various reasons.

Ergo, the webcomic reviews will keep coming, but unless you feel like paying me or my morale shoots up unexpectedly, don't expect this thing to update with much consistency.

If you want to read a non-illustrated "progressive novel" by yours truly that tries to update at least 2-3 times a week, go here.

Review #7: Generic Name, Serious Strip

Title: Neotopia
Artist: David Coacci
Collective: None
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Updates: Almost weekly
Link: http://www.davidcoacci.com/neotopia/index.html



This guy's only pumped out 36 strips, but it only took a third of that time until the "neo-elf" started slicing and dicing through an automatic turret and plenty of guards in a way that makes your jaw drop all the way to the floor in amazement.

Though Neotopia is a bit of a generic name, I'm willing to look past it as Mr. Coacci has built one hell of a strip with a solid foundation (provided you're willing to read some of the background material he wrote up). I just couldn't pass up the sight of seeing an elf in a Sam Fisher-esque suit.

Speaking of sights, the artwork in this strip is just fucking awesome. Fully-colored panels all touched up with some computer-generated animation, the quality is so good you'd almost think this was like a "cine-manga" that they sell in bookstores.

I can't really say much more about this strip. In the first few strips, we are introduced to Allen Gatehold, a mercenary who carries a big freakin' sword for reasons unknown, and the unnamed "neo-elf" who is slicing and dicing through people to retrieve information, though her client and her purpose are not yet revealed. However, if you have enough patience to wait through the strips when more of the story will be revealed, then this is a very good comic.

Art: 5/5 (Best...Artwork...Ever)
Story: 2/5 (Still too vague, but needs more time)
Humor: 1/5 (Not much to be found)
Action: 5/5 (Oh, Hell yes)
Characters: 2/5 (See story)
Overall (not an average): 6.5/10
Evil Stuff: Claims to be "for Mature readers," but I haven't seen much to warrant that label yet. There is some cursing and a little blood and guts spilling out during the action sequences, but there may be mature stuff coming down the pike. Who knows?
Final Thoughts: As it stands, the comic ain't much but some kick-ass action sequences. However, it has a solid foundation, and plenty of room to blossom into something truly awesome.