Monthly Archives: November 2006

The comic Earthsong is in a bit of financial trouble. It seems that sales of its print compilation of the first Earthsong comic have done fairly poorly, and it’s unlikely that Seven Seas (the publishing company also behind the Inverloch graphic novel as well as Unearthly and several others) will publish the second volume unless sales increase. This apparently has put the continuation of Earthsong in question, so Lady Yates has asked her fans to help with sales. Her first graphic novel is available through Amazon.com for a little over $10, for a 160-page graphic novel. Hopefully fan support will be enough to get the next volume published, especially as more and more cartoonists contemplate using the web as a venue to establish a fanbase for their stories and sales of print compilations.

Speaking of fan-help, Tangents can use yours. Glych and I have been reworking Tangents, creating a Miscellaneous folder for fanfics and non-comic rants, and revising the Highlights section for Meta-reviews, Secants and “Best of” reviews. The thing is, I think my readers are better qualified to tell me which reviews are the best. Suggestions are welcome on the forum board thread set up for this. So far we’ve one suggestion for June of 2006; I’m hoping to have a “Best of” for each month Tangents has updated. (While there are a number of reviews in the first couple of months of Tangents, most months have significantly fewer reviews to choose from.) So please, take your favorite reviews and suggest them for the “Best of”!

Nightmares of the Past

(From Star Cross’d Destiny. Click on image to see it full-sized.)

One problem that can arise in comics is that of continuity. The longer a comic runs, the greater the risk of gaps in continuity cropping up. This problem actually first appeared in the world of print comics; there are numerous continuity flaws found in even fairly new print comics, both independent and mainstream. With long-running print comics, new writer and editors tend to disregard part of what came before when it doesn’t fit into their “vision” of how they see the comic.

I believe DC Comics was the first company to do a “cosmic reset” of their series (and have done this a couple of times in fact). Rather than work within the continuity established by previous writers and work within that framework and explain away discrepancies that arose with differing artistic interpretations of both characters and setting, The Powers That Be decided it would be easier just to erase what came before. Naturally, a number of fans were less than pleased by this.

When comics moved to the internet, this practice followed. In some ways, webcomics can suffer even more than regular print comics. Print comics have editors who can check on the continuity of ideas and help direct the path the comic takes. Webcomics don’t have the benefit of an editorial staff; they are often one-person shows, with the artist also being the writer, the letterer, the colorist, and editor. While there are fewer turnovers of creative staff with webcomics, this doesn’t lessen the fact that webcomics can start up plotlines that the artist regrets at a later time.

The reasons to “reset” the clock on webcomics tend to be more varied than those found in the print world. Oddly enough one such reason is because the cartoonist wishes to see their work in print. Panel2panel’s own No Stereotypes was restarted with the intent of publishing the completed work. Likewise, Earthsong is another comic where the beginning was redone with improved art and story in hopes of getting published. Other cartoonists decided to restart their work because they were unhappy with the story or art of their first comic. Indeed, my own webcomic was removed from the web partly because I intended on relaunching it with a revised storyline and better art. (Who knows? Maybe someday I’ll get around to doing it.)

Star Cross’d Destiny was restarted for several reasons. The cartoonist felt that the original webcomic was poorly done and was missing pertinent information for the story itself. I started reading SCD thanks to a banner ad at Comixpedia and had it had an interesting storyline that did indeed suffer from being a bit confusing. Problems with an update schedule due to some serious health problems of the cartoonist didn’t decrease the confusion as a page might languish for a while without an update to further explain what had happened. Finally, Blair decided to relaunch the comic, taking what had been learned from the first incarnation and using what worked while focusing more on the story and plot.

Unfortunately I didn’t save a copy of the original SCD, so I can’t point out what specifically has changed. However, SCD is based on a novel Blair wrote seven years ago, and has been rescripted, partly to help reduce any confusion caused by translating the written novel to a graphic format. Further, Blair is utilizing the webcomic as a means of advertising her print compilation of Star Cross’d Destiny. Much like Studio Foglio’s Girl Genius, SCD exists in print form, with the webcomic giving a taste to tempt fans to purchase the print run. Unlike GG, Blair is not putting out two “sets” of comic, one of pre-created work found in the print run, and the second of the “advanced” class for those who’ve bought the graphic novel with the first five chapters.

Fundamentally, SCD is the same as what had run in 2003. It’s a story about outsiders, about those who don’t fit into society and how society itself refuses to accept them because of their differences. The cast are a band of “heroes” and their past is akin to the origin stories found in superhero comics, except instead of being cape-wearing supermen, these are more ordinary youngsters who are trying to cope with “gifts” they have been cursed with due to some bizarre interdimensional attack from a parasitic universe (called the Betaverse) which resulted in some people vanishing, others dying, and resources stolen from the Earth.

(Of course, the usual questions arise. Why would an interdimensional force strike at the Earth? What is so special about this one world that couldn’t be found on an uninhabited planet? Of course, considering people were taken, it could be something about humanity itself that was considered essential for harvesting by those in the Betaverse. And no doubt we’ll learn those answers later in the comic.)

SCD is a story about outsiders, about those who don’t fit into society and how society doesn’t accept them due to their differences. Indeed, the protagonist of the first chapter, a 19-year-old orphan named Juno, is hunted by the police and the local mafia. Juno appears unwelcome even among the criminals and outcasts of society, and the only people who seem willing to accept her are those like her. Even there Juno is afraid of letting them get close lest they get hurt.

Of course, Juno has issues with some of her fellow outsiders. While Pike seems to be level-headed and the peace-maker of the group, there are definite sparks flying between Juno and the other two women, Sam and Sara. Her initial relationship with Shades (the sole guy of this band of misfits) is more up in the air. While she does smack Shades for his joke that they were cops, he is the one who asks Pike to stop the growing argument between Juno and Sam. Further, he follows Juno to see if she’s okay after their little disagreement.

Further clues to Juno’s relationship with the others can be found in the cast page. There we learn that Juno is actually friends with Sam (apparently you hurt those you care for the most). This brings an added dimension to the argument between Sam and Juno; Sam isn’t arguing with her because they dislike each other but because she is worried about her friend. “How many times have they had this argument?” A lot. Sam and Pike worry about her wellbeing. Pike (who’s actually a year older than Juno despite her youthful appearance) even offers her a place to stay.

(The cast page brings up another issue, one that a number of cartoonists struggle with. How much do you reveal about your characters in the cast page? How much background information do you reveal? If you show too much then you risk spoiling the story for those who went in the cast page to get a quick understanding about the character. But if you don’t have up-to-date information, then the cast page feels out of date and superfluous. Some sites get by this with a two-tiered cast page with a basic outline for first-time readers and something more in-depth for those who have read the entire comic, but that’s also a bit of extra work for the cartoonist.)

From what I’ve learned while digging around, each of the first five chapters is dedicated to a specific character. The first is Juno, who was orphaned when the Betaverse attack happened. The next chapter appears to be about Shades, undoubtedly helping to build not only his history but his own connections to Juno.

Indeed, while the story will be focusing in turn on each member of the cast, I suspect that we’ll be seeing these people through Juno’s eyes. The “prologue” strips are from her point of view, and she was the first character we encountered. More importantly, even as the second chapter unfolds our look at Shades is through Juno. It’s his concern for her that really starts out the chapter. Of course he claims he’s there because he’s bored, but his words prior to that, and his waking Juno from a nightmarish memory suggests otherwise. He’s her friend at the very least, and after her fight with Sam, he checked up on her. What’s more, it’s good storytelling; by focusing on Juno and telling Shades story through her, it helps keep the comic flowing rather than skipping incoherently as vaguely associated pieces are put together.

SCD joins a growing list of what could be coined “illustrated web-novels” found on the internet. Unlike their predecessors on the web, many of whom had vague beginnings that could feel disjointed and ill thought-out; these comics have a specific story to tell. SCD has established a firm beginning, and I suspect that as the story is fleshed out it will continue to build into a story that will fascinate and enthrall fans in years to come.

Robert A. Howard

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Sluggy Freelance has been full of surprises lately. I’d been actually thinking of writing up a tangent on recent Oasis-related events this week, but things have been coming to a head lately, and I figure it’s better to wait a little longer and see what else I can learn before writing up on it. I also feel rather bad for poor Oasis… because it seems fairly evident that she does love Torg, a love he doesn’t return (though she doesn’t quite seem aware of that fact yet). Of all the cast, she has ended up being the most innocent of them all, and while she appears only once in a blue moon, each appearance only adds to her mystique and charm. Pete’s definitely regained his stride; this story is among the best he’s done.

And speaking of superb storylines, Clan of the Cats has also been excelling of late. Few cartoonists would dare kill off the primary protagonist of the comic in the middle of an epic storyline and then send her to Hell to face her worse fears. Fewer could pull it off without it seeming trite and unrealistic. But Jamie has done well, with a sub-arc that has been disturbing without being over the top, and with Chelsea showing an inner strength that is sure to help her with what’s to come.

Thanksgiving Hostility

(From Stupidity in Magic. Click on image to see it full-sized.

Often comics seem to have certain themes to them. I’m not talking about “science fiction” or “fantasy” or “urban fantasy” or any other such setting. Instead, I’m talking on a more fundamental level. Certain comics seem to focus primarily on humor, or on a storyline, or the characters. Part of this has to do with the very nature of comics as literature. When a cartoonist is limited to what may amount to 12 panels of comic a week (or less; Hopscotch for one updates maybe once a week and consists of a single panel of art) it is difficult to delve into deep character growth, an epic multi-faceted plotline, and work in the world’s history without either taking forever for anything to happen (such as the comic Freefall) or bore a reader cold.

Comics often then focus initially on one or two aspects, slowly bringing other elements into the comic if possible. This leads to an apparent evolution of comics, with humor comics slowly developing storylines (indeed, a prime example of this in the print comic world would be the Bone series by Jeff Smith; early comics are whimsical and fun, with only a little foreshadowing of the truly epic nature of the work to come) and detailed interesting character development.

Stupidity in Magic is a good example of this. Initially the comic seemed to be an urban fantasy taking a glimpse at an Institute dedicated to teaching people magic and dealing with the mistakes some well-meaning pagans who just happen to make some rather inspired mistakes. Undoubtedly, SiM could have stuck with that theme, with the Institute working almost like magically-oriented “ghost busters” who clean up after other people’s gaffs. Instead, Taylor shifted focus more to the characters.

The cast is large and varied, with a mixture of human pagans, some of whom are responsible and intelligent and others are… airheads, to say the least. There are also gods and other divine figures that “hang around” (including Jesus Christ, who is depicted as good-natured, somewhat mischievous, and a bit of a rabble-rouser) which is part of the reason I refer to SiM as an urban fantasy.

Three of the mortal cast has been the focus of the comic for the longest time, playing the part of protagonists and heroes. Willow is a bit of a free spirit, showing that you can be whimsical and carefree and yet still be responsible and skilled. Indeed, part of her carefree nature might be because she does know what she’s doing, so she can afford to dance to her own beat without risking others through ignorance or doing something dangerous to others. If there is a little of the cartoonist in Willow, well, many writers put elements of themselves into their characters. Willow isn’t a Mary-Sue type character, but rather an aspect of the cartoonist, something that holds true of most characters when you get to the heart of their creation and their creators.

Olivia is the second of the trio of protagonists. She’s more serious and down-to-earth, and very opinionated but not in a bad way. Instead, Olivia bears that most unusual of curses: she is more often than not right. She doesn’t put herself above the others. Instead, she fights for that which she believes in, or who she believes in. And while Olivia may at times be a sounding box for Taylor’s own beliefs and philosophies, that doesn’t lessen the character at the least.

Larry is the third part of the triumvirate of protagonists. He’s fairly down-to-earth for a pagan, especially one “cursed” with an appearance reminiscent of Harry Potter of Rowling’s books (something that has been used for laughs in the comic itself; Larry likewise has a scar on his forehead, but that was gotten by falling on a stick as a kid if I’m remembering correctly). He’s also the romantic interest of/for Olivia, allowing Taylor to mingle in their growing relationship as part of the character-driven philosophy of the comic.

These three alone have done a good job of carrying a lot of the comic. Sure, there are times when we have “Jesus jokes” being told by Jesus himself (hey, if you can’t laugh at yourself, you’ll end up crying) or other one-shot bits, but the majority of story-arcs inevitably concern Olivia, Larry, and Willow in some measure. The remainder of the cast, introduced early on, have either been window dressing or part-time antagonists (such as the time Loo and Tir got involved in casting love spells on Jesus and Larry). Thus I was rather pleasantly surprised at the start of the recent Thanksgiving storyline to see the focus on two other characters, Stewart (a rather conservative and antagonistic evangelist) and Eliot, a gay pagan who I can’t recall being the focus of any actual stories in the past.

(I may be mistaken there, but my current lack of high-speed internet and restrictions on when I can use dial-up have put a significant cap on my ability to just browse through a comic. Thus we might have learned some of these bits about Eliot in the past. I just don’t remember them off-hand and can’t spend the time to look up the archives.)

Stewart has been used frequently as a minor antagonist. If he’s not being scandalized by Jesus walking around wearing a “I Kiss Boys” t-shirt, then he’s handing out Jack Chick comics (rather offensive little comics that if I’ve the concept right basically warn you that if you aren’t Christian and straight and follow exactly their precepts, you’re going to burn in Hell for all of eternity; I’ve been to funerals that were of the same general theme) or being such a pest to poor Jesus that the poor chap is using Willow’s help to hide from him. His encounter with Eliot starts on a similar antagonistic note, with Stewart asking if Eliot is still courting the devil and all that, and Eliot bemusedly asking Stewart if he’s still denying any opinion but his is valid. It’s after the initial round of insults are traded off that we are hit with the bombshell: Stewart tells Eliot that their mom expects Eliot home for Thanksgiving.

Yes, that’s right. Stewart is the brother of a heretical homosexual (technically, Eliot is a Christian mystic rather than Wiccan). And I’ve known of families like that; part Christian and part pagan, with the Christians often sure their loved ones will be roasting in Hell forever for the sin of not believing in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Oddly enough, I don’t usually hear the pagan saying the same about their Christian family members. (Not that the prejudice doesn’t exist in reverse. Some pagans are quite prejudiced about Christians, seeing the worse in a faith that embraces love and brotherhood. The truth is that there are good and bad people in all faiths, be it Christianity, the pagan paths, Islam, Judaism, and even Buddhism. This is why prejudice is a dangerous thing; by painting everyone with a broad brush, you risk alienating those who could be your friends.)

Further, it’s only Stewart who seems disapproving of Eliot. Their father warns Stewart that if he disrupts this Thanksgiving that Stewart wouldn’t live to regret it. This of course is an interesting glimpse at the family itself; for Stewart to be warned not to disrupt this Thanksgiving suggests he has disrupted holidays past. Eliot’s other brother and his parents approve of his lifestyle and beliefs. The only one with issues is Stewart himself.

What’s more, Stewart’s current issues (the fact that Eliot brought a “guest” to dinner, the mischievous and charming Ergi who likewise hasn’t been central to any past stories that I recall) can be laid on his own doorstep. If Stewart hadn’t insisted Eliot not bring a date then it’s probable he wouldn’t. The mere fact he brought it up not only led Eliot to ask Ergi, but was what convinced Ergi to come; Ergi even admits that he’d come even if he had had plans.

In a scene that is reminiscent of CRfH’s Blue visiting Dave’s family during the Holidays Too storyline, Ergi is the perfect gentleman. He’s charming, he’s witty, he doesn’t lash out at Stewart’s slanders but instead responds with amusement… in short, he’s the perfect gentleman. Thus we end up at Thanksgiving with Ergi asked to say grace, and he does so with style and panache. And it infuriates Stewart. How dare this… heathen show up and sully this household, and corrupt his family! How dare his brother even bring him, after Stewart went out of his way to tell him not to! How dare them do so and make Stewart out to look like a fool, perhaps?

Of course, Stewart was going to be made out to be a fool and idiot, no matter what. He’s the antagonist here, and I don’t recall him ever having a valid point. He’s not designed to be right, and as antagonist he can’t be allowed to grow, to mature out of this point of view. I mean, if our hateful evangelist were to realize he was wrong… who would go around antagonizing Jesus or pestering the pagans?

Which is a bit of a shame. SiM isn’t a plot-heavy comic. It often goes for the joke rather than focusing on story. The character growth has been focused on our protagonists (though Tir did show some signs of growth after the whole “love spell” nonsense; then again, she’s not a full-time antagonist but more of an incidental “type” character). It would be interesting to see Stewart mature a bit, to mellow perhaps. Indeed, it might be fascinating to see him subject to some of the hatred and prejudices of other hate-centered Christians who see his “accepting” his brother or the pagans as a violation of the faith itself.

But that might be hard to pull off with three panels an update, and with a comic that as often focuses on the humor of the moment as the characters and story.

Robert A. Howard

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