The Dreamland Chronicles

Summary:

Here we had a beloved format: Guy/Girl travels into some distant place and goes on fantastic adventures meeting interesting characters, all the while evolving into a great hero.

Overall Impression:

This is one of the cutest, and most addicting stories I am into on the web. It lacks the grit of many others out there, which is nice. Lately in life, I find myself not into what I call "High Fantasy" (Lord of the Rings, Wheel of Time, Dragonlance...) in favor of "younger" stories (Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Fablehaven). When you don't have all the violence and overwhelming political development, then you can actually just site back and enjoy the story!
On the technical side, the 3D style is not usually so beautifully rendered, but this one really immerses you into Dreamland. Also, the story is up to over 1200 pages!!! For a Webcomic, that's incredible. 
With lovable characters, and a familiar feel, this one is easy to fall into!

~Eddy

Creator: Scott Christian Sava

Story Type: Epic Adventure Story

Art Style: 3D Rendered

Genre: Fantasy, Adventure

Updates: 5 days a week!

 

http://www.thedreamlandchronicles.com

 

Dresden Codak

Summary:

From the Site:

Dresden Codak is a webcomic that is a "celebration of science, death and human folly." The comic presents stories that deal with elements of philosophy, science and technology, and/or psychology.

Overall Impression:

Its sites like this that make me say, “Kaya-waaa-huhhh???” I know that this blog is about well-polished professional comics, and I break that rule here as I don't really know what to make of this... But I feel like a monkey looking at an iPod Touch... I have NO clue what it is, but its shiny and pretty and I like it! Best I can make of it is that the main character is a cyborg chick who disappears into fantasy world (which may be actual alternate realities) and has misadventures with the rest of the cast. I will recommend this one cause its good to leave your brain in the land of what-the-hell?? once in a while to explore an artfully interesting comic such as this.

Thanks for reading!

~Eddy

Creator: Aaron Diaz

Story Type: Epic Comic Strip

Art Style: Modern Animated/ Cell-Shaded

Genre: Sci-Fi, Surreal

Updates: Sporadic

Links from the Artist: DC Twitter

Brat-Halla

Summary:

From the Site:

Brat-halla is a mythology webcomic about the Norse gods during their elementary school days. All-Father Odin and his wife Frigg constantly have their hands full with youngsters Thor (the super strong runt of the litter), Loki (the god of mischief who likes to play with dolls), Balder (the invulnerable pretty boy), Hod (the blind god of darkness and winter), Hermod (the hyper super speedster) and the rest of the Norse pantheon.

Overall Impression:

I would have to call this a “slice of life” comic, except with gods and monsters and Valkyries and stuff! I like that it goes into the Norse gods because you don't see that often enough. Instead you get millions of Greek god or Dungeons & Dragons clones, which I love, but the change is nice. The art is comic strip style with a nice gritty quality. The sarcastic humor is bound to appeal to anyone, weather you wield a mighty ax or not!

Thanks for reading!

~Eddy

Creators: Jeffery Stevenson (writer), Seth Damoose (art), Anthony Lee (color)

Story Type: Episodic Comedy

Art Style: Gritty Comic Strip/ Cell-Shaded

Genre: Slice of Life with Norse gods

Updates: Mondays

Links from the Artist: Brat-Halla on Facebook

Brat-Halla

Comedity

Summary:

From the Site:

Comedity is a pseudo-autobiographical comic about the adventures and lives of a bunch of college friends, internal personalities of the main character, and a penguin. For more information, I suggest you check out the comic itself.

Overall Impression:

Here is a comic that I like to see: It is interesting, and quirky! It is a typical slice of life sort of comic... Except it has ninjas, zombies, and the occational influx of multiple personalities! Also, I like the art, not just because it is well polished towards the end, but because it started out pretty crappy (sorry Garth), but evolved into Pro Quality work! This one has Ended, and Garth has continued in a similar vain (art wise) with “Finder's Keeper” - on which I will write in the future. If you want the crème de la crème, start near the end, but for the full Meal, start and the beginning!

Thanks for reading!

~Eddy

Artist: Garth Graham

Story Type: Surreal Life Journal

Art Style: American/ Cut-Style Colors

Genre: Surreal Slice of Life

Updates: Ended (no further Updates)

Comedity 2.0

Jump Leads

Summary:

Here we have 2 lovable bumblers, Meaney and Llewellyn. They are part of Lead Service, a self-appointed reality police who monitor the Multiverse. During a training mission (in which the captain is vaporized), our two heros attempt to return home but are thrown through the multiverse into unknown horrors! (like McDonald's!!!) They take on their new adventures as any brave souls in their positions would do (they run away a lot!), as they brave the Multiverse on their journey home.

Overall Impression:

This comic has definite personality. The art is cartoon-ish with a gritty quality that I like. The comedy has a nice taste of British with a splash of slapstick. Overall, a well rounded Sci Fi Humor flick!

Thanks for reading!

~Eddy

Comic Team: JjAR(art), Ben Paddon(writer), Andrew Taylor(writer), Paul Varley(writer), Daniel Albano(web)

Story Type: Episodic Comic Strip

Art Style: Comic Strip/ Cell Shaded

Genre: Sci Fi Humor

Updates: every other week

[ Jump Leads ] A British Sci-fi Comedy Webcomic

Comic Coloring

In this post, I will give a couple good links to neat little tutorials I found to be useful on Youtube.com. Today's topic: Coloring. It is not the beginning of a comic (more on that later), but I find that it is the most interesting as it is the place when a comic really comes to Life. As with any art style, there are many ways to do a thing to get the same or varied results. Here are two vids that illustrate 2 styles of coloring...

The Burn/Doge method: You flat color your line work, then "paint" by making parts of the flat colors into 3D shades by lightening and darkening. With a little color adjustment, this is a great method as it is quick and easy! (with some practice, ofcourse)




Next Method: Cuts and Gradients. This is the way many pros work. It takes some practice to get it right, but it has a striking appeal (hence why the pros use it!). This is not really a "cell-shading" approach, but it is similar in some ways.



Thanks for Reading!
~Eddy

The Dreamer

Summary:

From the Site:

Beatrice “Bea” Whaley seems to have it all; the seventeen year old high school senior is beautiful, wealthy and the star performer of the drama club. And with her uncle’s connections to Broadway theater, the future looks bright ahead of her. Little does she know that her future might actually be brighter behind her.

Bea begins having vivid dreams about a brave and handsome soldier named Alan Warren--a member of an elite group known as Knowlton’s Rangers that served during the Revolutionary War. Prone to keeping her head in the clouds, Bea welcomes her nightly adventures in 1776; filled with danger and romance they give her much to muse about the next day. But it is not long before Beatrice questions whether her dreams are simply dreams or something more. Each night they pick up exactly where the last one ended. And the senses--the smell of musket shots and cannons, the screams of soldiers in agony, and that kiss--are all far more real than any dream she can remember.

Overall Impression:

This story type is one of my time-tested favorites: The shift from our time/place into another world/ time. We find a beautiful teen girl is transported back into time through her dreams to find the love of her life in America's past. Its just that pesky Revolutionary War that makes things complicated! This is one of the rare "chick-flick" webcomics out there, and while I am a man's man in every way, I also find it has its charms. For the girls, this will appeal on many levels with story development and a hot blonde guy... For the guys... read this and take notes!

Thanks for reading!

~Eddy

Artist: Lora Innes

Story Type: Graphic Novel

Art Style: American/ Cell Shaded

Genre: Historical Romantic Adventure

Updates: Weekly: Fridays

Other Links by Artist: Lora's Deviantart Gallery and Facebook

The Dreamer

Terra

Summary:

From the Site:

Terra is a character-driven science fiction graphic novel set 300 years in the future. The story focuses on a resistance trying to end an oppressive interstellar war by assassinating the corrupt, remorseless individuals that stand in the way of peace in the galaxy.

Overall Impression:

I am a big fan of the Sci Fi/ Fantasy genres, but I find that the Sci Fi side is a bit light. This is a cool comic with a nice look. It also has a slightly Halo feel, which also being a game geek, appeals pretty well. As stated in the summary, this is a very character-driven story, so much talking (I'm shallow, so I like stuff being blowed up, but I recognize its better story telling to go into the characters' lives!). Give it a try if you're looking to hang up the sword in place of a blaster rifle for a while!

Thanks for reading!

~Eddy

Artist: Holly Laing

Story Type: Graphic Novel

Art Style: American Fusion/ Airbrushed

Genre: Sci Fi

Updates: Bi Weekly

Other Links from the Artist: Holly's Devianart Gallery

Terra: An Online Science Fiction Comic

Much the Miller's Son

Summary:
From the Site:
Much the Miller's Son is the story of a cowardly peasant who accidentally joins Robin Hood's infamous Merry Men. Much is about as unfit for swashbuckling adventures as humanly possible, but fate has conspired to make him an outlaw in the pitiless world of Medieval England. Pretty well the only bright spot in Much's life is the beautiful Maid Marion, a young political radical whose boyfriend is none other than Robin Hood himself. Much's ill-fated crush on Marion is just enough to keep him from bolting when the Merry Men hatch another of their near-suicidal adventures, like entering the Sheriff of Nottingham's archery contest (despite the fact that it's an obvious trap) or most recently, breaking into Nottingham castle to rob the vault right under the Sheriff's nose!


Overall Impression:
This is an off-color comedy strip that involves our long time hero Robin Hood, but is not about him. It is rather the story of a lovable little nobody who falls in love with Maid Marrian, and who fumbles through Sherwood adventures. I will stress that the humor is vulgar at times, but overall just slapstick. One thing I love about this comic is that when I read how it is written, the characters sound like they have that rough, old english accent like in a Robin Hood Movie (or more like Monty Python!). It is not usually full color (which is usually a hang up of mine) but it has the feel of the newspaper funnies I grew up with as a kid (but with a little nudity once in a while).

Thanks for reading!
~Eddy

Artist: Steve LeCouilliard
Story Type: Episodic Comedy
Art Style: Comic Strip
Genre: Historical Comedy/Satire
Updates: Weekly (with few exceptions)

Other Links by artist:

http://whadiwannablogfor.blogspot.com

http://fearlessfosdick.deviantart.com/

Atland

Summary:
Nailing down this comics overall story is a tough one, as expressed by Nate, the artist. It is a fun epic fantasy that follows the adventures of a band of misfit warriors. They fight their way through Ginormous creatures, evil demons, and lots of slimy situations. The comic is in its 2nd major story arc with some new characters, and an interesting starter that can take some of our old friends out into Atland with new misadventures!

Overall Impression:
Hands down, this is easily one of my favorite webcomics. At first, it was a little bloodier and off color than I usually go for (It is VERY PG-13), but it endeared itself to me throughout, and I have been reading it since shortly after it got started. One other feature I love about this comic is that you can see the progress of Nate's art style from beginning to now, and it is an interesting evolution. I also laugh because I think Nate has spent some quality time with his Playboy's, because the boobies on ALL the girls are very... Well... they are just VERY! Hit the link and go there now!


Thanks for reading!
~Eddy






Artist: Nate Piekos
Story Type: Episodic Comic Strip
Art Style: Unique Comic Strip/Cell Shaded
Genre: Epic Fantasy/Comedy
Updates: Thursdays

The Phoenix Requiem

Summary:
From the Site:
The Phoenix Requiem is a Victorian-inspired supernatural fantasy story about faith, love, death, and the things we believe in.

On a cold December night, a gentleman stumbles into the town of Esk, gunshot wounds leaving a trail of blood in the snow behind him. Despite making a full recovery at the hands of an inexperienced nurse - and deciding to make a new life for himself in the town - he is unable to escape the supernatural beings, both good and bad, that seem to follow him like shadows.

As they try to discover why, the nurse must question her beliefs and risk her own life in order to protect her family, her friends, and those that she loves.

Warning: Contains horror, violence, supernatural themes, drug use, and brief suggestive content. PG-13.

Overall Impression:
This is an all around well put-together comic: The coloring is what stands out most, as it is all painted in an airbrushed style (hard to do, and sharp!). The story is well put together with supernatural creatures and bonnets, and I am partial to the Victorian theme. The archive is vast (nearing 700 pages), so you can start at the beginning and have some good reading material for a long while, even though I am told the story will be drawing to a close soon. Sarah has several comics and creations that you can link to from the comic site. Definately on my 'Top Picks' List!

Thanks for reading!
~Eddy

Artist: Sarah Ellerton

Story Type: Graphic Novel
Art Style: Fully Painted Color Manga/Fusion
Genre: Fantasy, Horror
Updates: Weekly