Zuda Review: If You See the Hills

If You See the Hills by Sal Field

What's to Like
If You See the Hills represents a departure from most Zuda submissions in that it lies outside the expected genres that tend to dominate comics, both on the web and in print. Coming of age or bored teen angst stories not set in a superhero-verse are just not typical comics fare. In this submission, however, Sal Field elicits some real emotion for his characters, primarily with a few lines of poignant dialogue that deserve recognition. Screens 5 and 6 feature an exchange between Katja and Sasha about why she likes joining him on the roof, and he frustrates her by offering some sarcastic reponses. Their back-and-forth in this sequence, and especially her ultimate answer to her own question, is cute and very warm. Check it out.

What it Lacks
While there are the aforementioned endearing moments in this work, they are an exception as compared to the rest of the interaction that comprises this entire comic. The rest of the dialogue feels stale, even predictable as these teens gripe about parents and school and their crappy hometown and miscommunicate because of over-reliance on cell phones. The final little twist based on cell phones and intended to get a laugh from the reader ... it just isn't funny. Not even cutesy. Not even a little bit. All this adds up to a story that is very dry aside from a fuzzy two-screen success.

On to the art. For a comic built on a foundation of personal interaction and nuance, the characters are almost facially expressionless. Shifts in mood and situation are accompanied by adjusted looks from the characters that are so subtle or simply absent, that the reader is left relying almost totally on the words to determine how the characters feel. That's great if you're reading prose, but this is supposed to be a comic. The words and the pictures are supposed to be synergistic in their combination. In If You See the Hills, there are several instances in which the character images seem to have been copied and pasted from one panel to another, with little or, perhaps, NO changes. See screen 4, panels 3 and 6. See screen 3, ANY panels including Sasha - heck, any images of Sasha throughout the comic aside from screen 5, panel 2, wherein he actually closes one eye. If there were more attention paid to, and variety included in, the facial expressions of these characters, there would be less distraction due to the roughly crafted and, honestly, neglected backgrounds.

My Zuda Rating:
2 Stars. The extra Star is purely out of appreciation for the really thoughtful dialogue on screens 5 and 6. Otherwise, we'd be looking at uno.

My Vote?
Um, no. See above criticisms.

Zuda Review: Cards Kill

Cards Kill by Jason Chiu & Leah Liu

What's to Like:
Cards Kill is nice to look at. Really, it's easy to appreciate visually. The art has a dreamy, almost water-color aspect to it that made me stop and explore the panels. In particular, screen 1 and the last panel on screen 7 really offer layers of gorgeous, and even complex, images. True talent there, and that talent is also obvious in the color work, which I think is actually at the root of the artistic success in this submission. The color palette was beautifully manipulated as the setting changed from the barren, Voltron-esque environs of the set-up to the modern, mundane trappings of the neighborhood bar. The atmospheric adjustments that resulted were in no way obtrusive.

What it Lacks:
Let me qualify my comments-to-come with an acknowledgement that there appears to be a language translation issue with Cards Kill. Of course, I don't know this with any certainty, but the text and dialogue are so choppy and, honestly, awkward in this work, that it's the only conclusion I could come to. Naturally, this problem wreaks havoc with the pacing and general flow of the comic, making it hard to read and harder to enjoy. At the very least, an editor proficient in English would propel the work of these obviously gifted creators to a markedly higher plane. The idea behind the story is an interesting one, but it's virtually impossible to appreciate the concept because of the way it's communicated. Enough on that issue. It is what it is.

As for the actual story, it is irretrievably weighed down by the four screens of set-up for the card game in the middle of the submission. With only eight pages to make a case for a Zuda contract, a competitor has to make every single screen count, whether that's with slap-your-mama visuals or slap-your-knee one-liners or some combination thereof. In this reader's opinion, the best Zuda entries manipulate the Zuda widescreen format to effect set-up in a manner that is both concise and meaningful. Your try-out for the big leagues simply can not rely on a strategy that is one-half murky framing and one-half empty interaction. It just does not work.

My Zuda Rating:
2 Stars. A lot of potential in the art, but a story that is just not navigable.

My Vote?
Unh-uh. Not even close.

Zuda Review: Bow & Arrow Detective Agency

Bow & Arrow Detective Agency by George Gousis & Antonis Vavagiannis

What's to Like:

This entry is well-crafted and a fun read. It's technically sound in all aspects, with an art style consistent with the theme of the story. While the art does not suit my personal tastes, its quality is unquestioned. Of particular note are the layouts and coloring, both of which help bump Bow & Arrow Detective Agency into the upper echelon of this month's Zuda competition. These creators maximize the use of every square inch of every screen in their comic, effortlessly blending panel into next panel while constantly moving the camera in the reader's eye. The palette shifts with the setting and atmosphere, and it is impressively managed in each case.

The characters and their personalities are established quickly and with little work, primarily through their interactions with each other. The two main protagonists, Arrow and Bow, are distinct anachronisms with even more distinct personality quirks that simply stand up off the page. Bow's goofy sense of humor is easily the most memorable aspect of this strip, and, while cheesy, he got a couple of laugh-out-louds out of me. I especially liked the bit about the static electricity chair and itchy sweaters and rubbing balloons. It just cracked me up. The jokes tended to wear thin in a few instances, but it seemed this was the creators' intent, as Bow was clearly portrayed as an over-eager, obnoxious sort. Overall, the story itself held my interest, mostly to see what kind of line Bow would throw out there next.

What it Lacks:
The character of Bow tended to overshadow the other characters and to dominate the story in general, which, for me, resulted in paying less attention to the surrounding personalities and events. Any other flaws I might point out with Bow & Arrow Detective Agency would be more matters of personal preference than actual problems with the comic, because it's expertly pulled off. Nice job, guys.

My Zuda Rating:
4 Stars. It's great work, no doubt. Just not my particular brand of comic excitement.

My Vote?
No. There's one other comic in the August competition that I'd be more motivated to visit Zuda to read each week, but that's absolutely the only reason Bow & Arrow Detective Agency won't get my vote.

Zuda Review: Arctic

Arctic by Ghost

What's to Like:
Wow. Gorgeous comic art in this one, and utilized in skillful sequential fashion, with shifting perspective and scale. Terrific use of colors is ever-present, especially the contrast of the white setting with the other, physically smaller story visuals. I was really impressed with how the snow effects were used throughout. The panel layouts are nice and easy to follow, and there were plenty of well-timed, large panels to showcase the artist's talent and bring emphasis to critical story points. Well done! I found myself digi-thumbing through Arctic several times just appreciating the visuals.

What it Lacks:
It's pretty, but the story itself just didn't engage me. The amnesiac crash survivor who remembers THIS but doesn't remember THAT, all at the convenience of the author, is a tired theme for me. And the way the amnesia is represented in story terms was really over-done with regard to the sheer number of questions asked of the protagonist by himself. Seriously, it lasts for three full screens. One final gripe on this note - the reader is supposed to believe that the memory-impaired crash survivor doesn't remember what snow is, but he remembers the name of an alien species and the use of the term wreckage. Doesn't wash.

Also, the text was heavy-handed in terms of exposition, when the art was so well executed that some of the verbage could have been completely eliminated. For example, on screen 5, as our amnesiac protagonist cautiously approaches the starship wreckage, he thinks, "Maybe the wreckage will give me more clues." It's obvious from the beautifully crafted image in this panel that he is approaching the wreckage to find out what happened to him. It's a case of letting the art speak for itself, and the creator would do well here, and throughout this story, to recognize that he already places such thoughts in the readers' brains with his thoughtful, moody visuals without beating us over the head with words.

My Zuda Rating:
3 Stars. This creator knows how to draw comics and can probably craft a thought-provoking and fascinating story. The words and pictures just need to come into proper balance to tell the story with the intended mood. VERY close to being excellent. Keep at it.

My Vote?
No. I enjoy sci-fi on Zuda, in particular, but Absolute Magnitude is hands-down better this month.

Zuda Review: Antique Books

Antique Books by Scott Boyce

What's to Like:
Antique Books is an artistically pleasing comic that is technically sound in all aspects. I really enjoyed the line art and layouts. It's a very easy read and makes maximum use of the unique Zuda format. Even the lettering is remarkable. Here is a comic artist who understands composition and uses it to ultimate effect. And, hey, I love owls, and there were some pretty cool ones on that shelf. What can I say?

This work features expert use of both visual and textual storytelling aspects to establish the main character with her conflicts in her setting and even illustrates a couple of her ancillary relationships. And it's all done within the organic flow of events in these eight screens. Impressive balance of exposition and immersion - great work!

What it Lacks:
All that praise handed out, and I'm still forced to mention ... this is a comic that is essentially about boredom. Seriously. Boredom is the recurrent theme for the main character, and it quickly becomes an affliction for the story itself. Although I love the way this comic looks and reads, I found myself not caring at all if I ever read another screen to learn what might happen. That's not to say I wouldn't love to see other work by the same creator. The themes and plot of Antique Books just did not capture my interest.

My Zuda Rating:
3 Stars. High praise for the skills it took to create Antique Books, but I would love to see them applied to a more interesting story.

My Vote?
No way. The talent emanating from this work is for real, but I would never browse to Zuda just to read it. That's not a slight. Simply the truth.

Zuda Review: Absolute Magnitude

Absolute Magnitude by rbr, mmorazzo & chinadoll

WHAT'S TO LIKE:
Okay, I'm a sucker for hard sci-fi, so I admit my bias here. Let me start with the art - terrific comic lines and colors. The character work is impressive, and the sequentials work beautifully. THIS is comic art at work, and I love it. Screen 2 completely pulled me into this story and is the single most impressive screen of any Zuda entry I've seen so far for August (reminiscent of Moebius or Dave Gibbons, anyone?). I really enjoyed the shifting pallettes between the planet-side scene and the events aboard the ships in space.

As for the story, it's good, too, although it suffers from the 8-page dilemma - exposition versus immersion. These guys go for immersion, dropping the reader right into the action without a lot of heavy-handed explanation. The characters' relationships and motivations emerge in their actions and interactions, and the reader gets a brief chance to connect to a few of them via their individual voices as the story plays out. There's emotion and drama in these 8 pages, and I was left with anticipation of discovering where the events will lead and what the larger story entails.

WHAT IT LACKS:
The flip side of the 8-page dilemma is that, with immediate immersion in a Zuda competition entry, exposition is difficult to accomplish and often sacrificed. While I definitely got a feel for the characters and micro-situations explored in the 8-page submission for Absolute Magnitude, the story does suffer from a missing, larger understanding of the universe and events occurring within. To me, this is not much of a flaw. Given a choice, I'll take captivating immersion over droning exposition any day, but I would be remiss if I didn't point out the issue here.

MY ZUDA RATING:
4 Stars. Great comic art with shifting perspectives and fluid sequential progressions. Beautiful. Individualized characters with some relationships established in 8 pages of action.

MY VOTE?
More than likely. I still have a few entries to read or re-read, but Absolute Magnitude is gonna be tough to beat for me.

Zuda Review: A Stinking Corpse

A Stinking Corpse by Furman

WHAT'S TO LIKE:
This is a stunning visual piece. Each panel could stand on its own as a fine work of medieval art. I'm reminded of the images that awed me in TSR's old Dungeons & Dragons hardcovers in the 80's. The lines are intricate, and the human forms are pristine - damn shame about those dead daughters - wastes of shape. This comic is so pretty to look at, it seems almost tragic that some of the art is obstructed by the word balloons and boxes.

WHAT IT LACKS:
While the plot itself isn't bad - I mean, I love the idea of a zombie warrior fighting hordes of sword-wielding lycanthropes and taking on daughter-slaughtering druids - the final product doesn't feel much like a comic. There is very little sequential work from panel to panel, and I really feel these images would work best as illustrations for a narrative short story. Then, there's the dialogue - the protagonist speaks as though he is a modern, haughty teenager in a zombie-warrior's body ("Screw you"? Really?). Another case in which a fantastic artist seriously needs the second voice of a writer or, at the very least, an editor

One other gripe, and I'm admittedly nit-picking here, but the lettering really needs some attention. The words are set awkwardly in many bubbles, even aligned justified in oval balloons, and the shred-edged balloons used for the protagonist really are not well-designed and barely contain the words, especially on screen 8. in panel 3 of screen 7, these types of word balloons aren't even connected to the protagonist with tails in an apparent effort to spare the art of some really nicely drawn statues. I understand the motivation to leave all this beautiful work exposed, but, again, this is supposed to be a COMIC.

MY ZUDA RATING:
3 Stars - Gorgeous to the eye. Static to the brain. Obvious talent in need of script assistance.

MY VOTE?
Nope. Next!