WEB COMIC O' THE WEEK!!
 Thursday May 31, 2007


By Mohammad "Hawk" Haque and Ananth Pangariya

I know I often say that comics are awesome and amazing and whatnot…but Applegeeks truly is.  Hawk and Ananth are truly brilliant.  While both the art and the writing style have changed since the beginning, it still manages to be an amazing comic.

Let's start with the brains behind the stuff.  Mohammad "Hawk" Haque does all the artwork while Ananth Pangariya does the writing.  Hawk also maintains the website.  His style, to me, appears to be a cross between western comics like Spiderman and Batman and Japanese manga and anime.  He definitely has his own distinct style.  He is also gifted in coloring.  Some of the pages are absolutely breath taking.  He occasionally does the color for other artists, including a poster for Megatokyo, Ctrl+Alt+Del, and Penny Arcade.  He's also done a few short graphic stores with other Ananth.  He seems like a pretty busy guy.  Ananth is the guy that makes the pretty pictures mean something (aka, the writer).  He also writes other comics scripts when he has some spare minutes.  Mostly, the comic is pretty silly, but occasionally, Ananth really shows what he's made of and writes some pretty deep and serious stuff.  He gives the comic heart and soul.

The comic, like many others, is about a group of friends and their zany adventures in the world in which they live.  The main characters are Hawk (I think he's loosely based off of the artist), Jayce (maybe off of Ananth?), Alice, Gina, and Eve.  There are supporting characters, but for the sake of everyone's sanity, we're just going to stick to those.  Hawk and Jayce are best friends.  They've been friends for years and are the exact opposite of each other.  Hawk is a crazy, Mac obsessed inventor genius, while Jayce is the calm rational half.  He tends to think before he acts when Hawk just jumps in with both feet.  Alice is Jayce's girlfriend and so far seems pretty normal.  Gina is a free spirit, usually doing whatever she wants, regardless of what others think.  Eve is probably my favorite character.  She started out as a girlfriend that Hawk built out of Apple tech.  Something happened and she ended up with her own personality and quirks, which have gotten the gang into quite a bit of trouble.  At one point, she accidentally blew up a Mac store.  Each one of the characters has their own story and their own personality.  They are all different and unique and seem like they could possibly be real people.  I think that Ananth did a brilliant job writing them.

While the characters themselves are great, a good comic also needs compelling story line.  In the beginning, Applegeeks somewhat confused me because they had this amazing art, but no obvious story line.  The cast had backstories and there'd be the occasional short storyline, but it seemed like they were just waiting for something major to happen.  Each page seemed to stand alone.  However, with the introduction of Eve, story lines have become more solid and recognizable.  Recently, Eve was stolen and taken to Japan, where the gang had to go and rescue her.  This resulted in some of the characters' personalities changing in reaction to events. It will be interesting to see where the comic goes from there.

The Applegeeks site is pretty standard.  They have buttons along the top like home, blog, archive, creators, and cast, among others.  On the side is where the reader can find little bars saying how completed is the next comic.  It's kind of interesting to see how fast the team works.  Under the main comic is another comic called Applegeeks Lite.  It has the same characters in a four panel format that isn't anywhere near as detailed as the main comic.  They usually have a cheesy joke and it's basically just for laughs.  Under that, they have the rants, which is just a little blurb that Hawk and Ananth write with each comic.

All in all, I like this comic.  I know I've said it before, but it's definitely worth a read.  The characters are solid, the story lines are gripping, and the art is totally awesome.  Even if you know nothing about Apple, it's still a great comic.

Random quote: Did you just mix up ass and show?

WEB COMIC O' THE WEEK!!
 Thursday May 24, 2007

By Tatsuya Ishida

If you're easily offended or have no sense of humor, then this comic really isn't for you.  But if you aren't offended by political, religious, racial, and sexual humor and you enjoy laughing at these things…you're good to go.  This comic is, for the most part, genuinely funny.  It can also be pretty thought provoking and at times, moving. 

While the comic doesn't have a central plot, it does, like newspaper comics, have many little mini-story lines, the longest one being Loverboy, at 43 strips long.  Otherwise, they're usually about ten or less strips long.  Despite the fact that there isn't a core story line, there are reoccurring sets, like open mic night.  The characters go up and spout the "spoken word," usually political or religious related poetry that's relatively deep. 

Even though the comic doesn't have a central plot, it does have a main group of characters.  Slick and 'Nique (short for Monique) are the two central human characters, with Squigley (a pig) being a sort of sidekick.  Minor characters include Criminy, Li'l Evil, Seymour, Percy, Pooch, Ariel, and Ezekiel.  God, the Devil, and an eastern Dragon God guy are also pretty important characters.  God isn't much more than a hand in the sky, but he does have fun with puppets, usually making fun of the Devil.  The Devil even has his own "Sell Your Soul" booth.  It's all very classy.  Slick is anywhere between 13 and 25 with a classic "short guy" complex.  He's always acting macho and "pimp" in attempts to woo some lady, usually 'Nique (turns out, he's secretly in love with her).  Monique is a teenagerish girl that can never decide between guys and usually ends up alone and complaining.  She uses her looks to get attention, but sometimes feels shame for doing so.  She's probably my favorite character.  When she's not pining over a guy, she's oddly feministic.  If she needs something done, she'll do it. it's great.  Squig is a pig.  He's a drunken frat boy that is almost constantly degrading women and trying to give advice to anyone that'll listen.  The characters, although stereotypical, are actually pretty relatable.  Everyone knows a girl like 'Nique, or went to school with someone like Squigley. It's actually pretty cool.

I usually mention something about the artist, but honestly, I don't know much about Tatsuya Ishida. He doesn't have an "about me" section, or an FAQ…unless it's all in the forum…that I never go to.  However, on the main page, he does have a little rant that he calls The Resistance.  He talks about himself and pretty much any random topic. The archives of those are actually pretty entertaining.

The site itself isn't that impressive.  Yeah, there is the standard stuff, like links to the archive, the forum, the store, and contact info, but other than that, it's kind of sparse.  There isn't a FAQ, there isn't a cast list and the archive is in a basic monthly calendar style.  He doesn't even have any banners for his own comic, which makes me sad.  I like banners.  However, the page is a rather lovely shade of purple.

The comic is vulgar, rude, and actually kind of deep.  The characters are stereotypical and pretty one sided, but somehow keep the reader guessing.  Pretty much, I like this one. It makes me think and sometimes go "Yeah! You go girl!" and whatnot.  I love it. Go read! Woo!

Random Quote: "The world is my bitch."

WEB COMIC O' THE WEEK!!
 Sunday May 13, 2007


By David A J Berner and Harsho Mohan Chattoraj

There was a time when superheroes always came to save the day.  They were dependable, memorable, and always wore tights.  But what happens after? What happens to the superheroes in a world that no longer needs them? Or what happens in a world that didn't know they existed in the first place? Shades is the answer to this.  Set in the United Kingdom in the late 1990's, this comic centers on Stanley Miller and his grandson, Sunil, trying to figure out why they're being chased by masked men.  It's quite possibly the only superhero comic where the main characters aren't super.

Shades is hosted on Broken Voice Comics, which is also host to other great comics like The Spires, Hunted, and others.  Berner is not only author of Shades and The Spires, but is also sole proprietor of Broken Voice Comics, BVC, and BVC Enterprises.  He is an amazing artist, as well as one busy man!  He doesn't work alone, of course.  He works with many other artists, including Chattoraj on Shades.

The comic is truly unlike most anything out there.  Stanley Miller is a retired tailor who, apparently, used to make costumes for Britain's super heroes "back in the day" (meaning World War Two).  After some masked men play catch and release with him one night, he decides to find all his old friends and warn them that someone might be after them.  He takes his grandson, Sunil with him pretty much by choice.  His daughter dropped him off, despite his protests.  So far, we've only met three of his former colleagues (and one possible villain), but I'm sure that there will be many more coming.  I'm also sure that they will each have their own unique abilities and will add a special something to the story. 

The art in Shades is absolutely fantastic.  It's reminiscent of the Golden Age of comics (1930s through the 1950s) when people weren't as cartoonish as they are today.  It has a slightly realistic feel to it while remaining obviously drawn.  At some points, I almost expect a bright orange bubble with the word "Blam!" in it.  The closest they get is an earth shattering "Kabooomm" in one frame.  Chattoraj is an amazing artist and I can't image any one else doing the art for this comic. 

The writing is also amazing.  The characters are deep and complex, with motives that keep the reader guessing.  They aren't as transparent as some that I've seen.  It's refreshing to not know what someone's going to do next, or where next surprise is coming from.  The story line is well thought out and it's obvious that it's not just thrown together the night before an update.  Berner is a very talented writer and while he's done many other comics on BVC, I think that Shades is my favorite of his.

While Shades is only a few chapters long, I really enjoy where it's going.  I'm honestly looking forward to the updates every Wednesday.  According the Berner, there's going to be updates "for a long, long time to come!"

Random Quote: (on British super heroes) "If there were any, they'd be a lot more discreet that the Americans."

Random WEB COMIC O' THE WEEK!!
 Tuesday May 10, 2007

WARNING: If you don't like the idea of two men in love, stop right here and read something else.

By K.Sandra Fuhr

Many years ago, I was roaming around a little site called Elfwood.  I came across a gallery that had some art I really liked and a link to this comic.  So I read it.  It had some links to other comics, and I read those.  Six years later, I read well over 100 webcomics throughout the course of a week.  Basically what I'm trying to say is that Boy Meets Boy is the very first webcomic I ever read.  It got me absolutely hooked.  I'm forever grateful.

Unfortunately, BMB ended January 10, 2004.  It had a good run of a little over three years, and in that time, the characters grew and developed.  They went on zany adventures and had many heartfelt moments.  The characters aren't all that developed, either.  BMB developed an almost rabid fan base that calls this site home.  It has fan art, fan fiction, and a bunch of other fan stuff that I would talk about but that isn't the point of this review!

Boy Meets Boy is about two men, Mikhael and Harley, and their adventures through the world in which they live.  Mik is a 26 artist that's independently wealthy (he won the lottery) and madly in love with Harley, who is a 20 year old member to a little band called Boy Band.  The other members of the band are Skids (Giovanni DiAngelo), Cyanide Torres, and the only girl, Rasheequa.  There's Mik's jealous ex-boyfriend, Tybalt, landlady Tabitha (who just happens to be Evil Incarnate), her boyfriend Allen, almost couple Fox and Collin, and Ronnie.  There are love triangles, love circles, hate triangles, and just about every other shape you could imagine.  The way Fuhr writes it is extremely entertaining.

I could easily keep gushing about how great this comic is, but it would get really boring really fast (especially since this is a random update).  Basically, it's a great comic that spawned an awesome sequel.  You should read it because the art is fantastic and the story line is amazing.  It's absolutely brilliant.

Random Quote: "Wheee! I'm naked!"

WEB COMIC O' THE WEEK!!
thursday, april 26, 2007


by Jennie Breeden

There are some web comics about fairies and there are some about pirates.  There are even some with monkeys, Jesus, lesbians, and men in skirts. This comic…has all of these.  Devils Panties is a semi-biographical comic based on the life of a 12 year old trapped in a 20something's body.  Jen is known to say, "Just because I'm grown up doesn't mean I have to act like it."  Breeden both writes and draws this comic and bases it on her everyday life, including conventions, family gatherings, clubbing, and critters.  Now, not everything about this comic is biographical.  As awesome as it would be, I highly doubt that Legolas would survive very long in a closet or a car trunk. 

Aside from Legolas and Jen, there is a bounty of awesome characters that fill this world with crazy hijinks.  There's her boyfriend, Will, her entire family (including Jailbait.  She seems like fun), his entire family (including his mother who once said "You have babies now"), Jesus (who spends most of his time smoking pot and complaining about people), Devil, and her shoulder friends.  There's also people with their own websites, such as The Pirate, Christi, and Blue Beard.  There's also the occasional cameo by David Mack and Seth Green, along with a few other web artists.  There also her Fairy God Mother that bought her a …toy…one night, The Broad, Karl, DJ, Aili, and various other Pirates.

Just because this comic is based in reality, it doesn't mean that crazy and weird stuff doesn't happen.  There's an entire story line based on her running around a convention with a leaf blower and chasing around men in kilts. You can buy the calendar in the store (along with a lot of other really cool stuff.  I want the playing cards).  She also has various club antics with her ever so much fun fashion choices.  "Clubbing with Jennie" has been added to my "things to do before the cold grips of death" list.  There's also many many quotes that one can apply to real life, including some great pickup lines like "Can I touch you inappropriately?" and "Are you busy?" (…no?) "Want to get busy?"  Breeden doesn't just draw comics, though.  She's also very talented with watercolors and every Sunday she posts a watercolor piece instead of a comic.  It's awesome.

I love this comic.  It makes me want to go out clubbing and jump on people.  It also makes me wish I had a better job that paid me more so I could go to lots of conventions.  They look like fun.  Read this comic.  You won't regret it.  In fact…it'll probably make your life better.  It's just that awesome.

Random Quote: "No! I like hippos!"

Web Comic O' The Week!
Thursday, April 19, 2007


by R*K* Milholland

Ah, slice o' life.  Not every comic can be about fairies and ponies, yanno.  This comic started out back in December of '01 and was based on Milholland's life.  Then it morphed into what it is today.  After almost six years, the art hasn't been the only thing that changed.  New characters have been added, characters have moved or died, or just dropped off the face of the planet.  Each update brings something new.

While S*P isn't always funny, it has some pretty deep and realistic story lines that can be easily related to.  The lives of the characters aren't filled with fantastic storylines and gaping plot holes, which is a nice break from some web comics out there.  While it's relatively realistic, there is an occasional stretch in believability, the main one being Choo-Choo Bear.  He's a 25-year-old pink cat without any bones.  While it's a stretch…it's a pretty awesome stretch.  Anything that surrounds the pink blob of huggability is pretty out-there. 

This comic deals with a lot of real-life issues, the most recent one being the past suicide of a close friend.  They've had psycho girlfriends, disabling accidents, death, and the occasional flaming girl (she was actually on fire.  But it's okay.  She was annoying).  If you're looking for a comic that will sometimes remind you of your own life and friends, this one's pretty good.

This is a very sarcastic website.  Well…it's as sarcastic as a website can be.  It has the basics: about, cast, archive, art, f.a.q, stuff…it even comes complete with a livejournal and store where you can buy S*P stuff.  The archive goes by date and each comic has a title.  If you're looking for a certain comic and you know the original post date, you're good.  If you have no idea and you're looking for "that one where that one chick did that thing…yanno?" yeah you're screwed.  But it's okay.  Just go through and read them all.  They won't bite…I think.  The "Stuff" section is pretty fun as well.  It has random shit (no seriously.  The stuff is called "random shit." Don't believe me?  Go look!), wallpapers, and even songs that readers have made.  Kinda weird, but whatever.  Great site.  It's kind of dark, so after hours of reading though the archive (there's a lot of comics there.  It'll take a while), your eyes won't be screaming at you.  Which is a good thing.

This webcomic makes me giggle.  This webcomic also made me almost cry at one point.  It's also made me pump a fist in the air and go "YES!" (I got funny looks for that one).  S*P has such a wide range of everything (kinda like life. Whoa.) that it's been interesting for almost six years, which, with today's average attention span, is pretty hard to do.  It's most definitely worth a read through. 

Random quote: "It burns like hygiene!"

alright! i've decided that every week i'm gonna do a little blogy mcblogster on a webcomic. i figured hey! i read alot...so i might as well share the knowledge! for my limited fan base but eh whatever. so...without any further ado...i give you...
WEB COMIC O' THE WEEK!!
thursday, april 12, 2007


by Ryan Sohmer and Lar Desouza

Now, this is possibly one of my top comics.  I absolutly love this one. It's been on the web since 2003 and Sohmer's been the writer since the beginning.  They've been a little less constant with artists, with  Trevor Adams being the first,  Chad WM Porter being the second, and Desouza being the most recent.  He's also probably my favorite artist.

The comic has many brilliant characters, the main ones being Rayne, Mick, Issa, John, and Noel (the cast page is great for matching faces to names, but not many of the listed characters have descriptions. Rayne's, for some reason...is in Latin. I think). They also have Llama, Urchin, SFAB (which stands for...well...go read the comic and find out), Little Vader, Aragorn Jr., and Hitler Six, just to name a few of the interesting ones. 

LICD is filled with various adventures and near-constant humor.  At one point, Rayne and his niece Ashley go to space camp and managed to break some expensive equipment and make mortal enemies (Rayne shows him up later. Oh. It's brilliant and whenever I read that storyline...I squeal. With glee. Oh yes).  At another point, Mick, Noel, and Rayne go to a party at a girl's college dorm and Mick ends up dressed up as the Pillbury Doughboy and Rayne ends up hitting a guy with a chair.  It's pretty awesome.

The site itself is very well put together.  In the archive section, a reader can not only go by month, but by story line and even do a comic search by keyword, character, or main plot of a strip.  There's also a forum (which I've never actually been to...), an IRC chat, wallpapers, "Ask Rayne", avatars, and eventually an animated series. 

All in all, I love this comic.  It's funny, witty, and sometimes vulgar.  It's pretty much all sides of awesome.  So I suggest going and reading this comic from the very beginning.  If you jump right in, you'll miss some really great stuff.  There's even a "save my place" feature where you can clicky and...um...save your place as you're reading through the archive.  So yes. Go read! And rejoice.
Remember:
Velcro pants are awesome!