The Webcomic Watchman

Sunday, May 25, 2008

CT Review #5: The Perfect Fantasy Webcomic

Review Here. This time around, I used Wayfarer's Moon as a way to talk about most "serious" or "epic" fantasy webcomics I've seen. But as it stands right now, Wayferer's Moon is possibly the most generic of generic fantasy comics in terms of plot. A shame, because the characters actually look kinda different, and the artwork is pretty freakin' good.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

I've updated some links on the sidebar with webcomic and non-webcomic stuff.

Also, Aarin is a quitter!

More reviews coming soon.

That is all.

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Review #45: [Your Fantasy Here!]

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:facepalm:

Title: Catalyst
Artist: Esther Chuah
Genre: Fantasy
Updates: Unknown
Link: http://catalyst.comicgenesis.com/

"Wait a minute," the patient wondered aloud, "aren't you just the receptionist boy?"

"Yeah, what's your point?"

"Shouldn't the doctor be reviewing me?"

"Lady, the doctor has been awfully busy as of late."

"Busy with other patients?"

After a beat, the receptionist responded, "Sure, whatever, let's go with that. So tell me, what's the problem?"

"Well, I had this dream where there's an evil empire, and there's a Chosen One, and they're in some sort of fantasy story where --"

The receptionist boy stuck out his hand, "I'm gonna have to stop you there."

"Why, because this sounds like the beginning of most other fantasy stories?"

"No, because it's time for my lunch break."

"But I still need a diagnosis!"

"Yeah, and I don't get paid for overtime." The receptionist boy grabbed his coat from from a nearby counter and started leaving the exam room. "I'm getting a burger, be back in fifteen."

"Is someone else going to help me?"

The receptionist boy left, then returned a second later. He tossed a small blue bottle at the patient. "Webcomic personified, meet Doctor NyQuil! With your insurance, this is about the best we can do for you."

"How is this going to help?"

"Hey, at least this way you'll have better luck at interpreting your dreams after you fall asleep. Now I'm getting a burger. See you in thirty."

"But you just said 15 minutes!" By that time, the door had slammed shut and the receptionist boy had left.

Alright, alright, time to get back to the serious reviewing...oh if only I could say that with a straight face.

So, Catalyst...yeah. It's like when they wrote this thing they should've put, "Evil Empire looking for self-proclaimed heroes to rise up against it. Animal companions a plus."

It stats out with some white-haired chick named Lady Elei beating up several redshirts from the Evil Empire because apparently she doesn't know her place in society. These men try to remind her, but apparently they weren't genre savvy enough to notice her unique costume. But before Elei is able to announce her evil schemes in a dialogue, the story warps over to some blind girl named Kailin who just happens to be a Chosen One. Though in this story it turns out that Chosen One duties are split between a few people: including a talking fox and possibly Elei (If you couldn't tell by the glowing markings on the arm).

Apparently, the only power the Chosen One has is either having somewhat lucid dreams or being able to speak with other species. It's kinda like if the Planeteers only had Ma-Ti around to summon Captain Planet while the rest of the team had to stand around and watch him on his journey of discovery despite having more practical skills themselves...actually, wasn't that like half the show? Crap, I'm getting off track here.

Oh yeah, the Chosen One is called a Catalyst. And both Kailin and Elei have hangers-on (a farmboy named Rune and a Redshirt named Daian who's afraid of horses).

Not much more I can say about this one. There's something about Elei wanting to rip off Kai's tattoo, and how the foxes are mad that mere humans are starting to use the same gift that a bottle of NyQuil and/or some "dream herb" can bring. But there doesn't really seem to be a story there, just an obtuse mythos without a coherent plot to draw newbies in.

On the artistry side, it seems to be pretty good. It's evolved from the strange anti-lens-flare effect of the sunlight from earlier, and the shading feels a little more natural. There are some other minor mistakes, like
some wasted space that just kinda hangs out there. Another nitpick I have happens during the epic action scene with bandits who attack the heroes just because they can, showing Mister Redshirt
furiously stabbing at a bleeding ghost or something.

Overall, if you feel like trudging through a 169 page archive (as of this post), you might find something to like. After all, that's the wonderful thing about nearly all webcomics: they're free to peruse at one's leisure with little cost except a small bit of bandwith. The art is actually kind of good, and the few action scenes in the comic are decent. However, there's just not much there to make this a "must-read" just yet.