Why does every critical recommendation have to be a comic I'm sick of hearing about?
Here are some that get very little press, and despite my best efforts have not been crushed with fans. Maybe you know me better now and will trust me more. Maybe you'll read one and tell me whether I was right or wrong.
Ugly Girl - High school is tough, to the point where it mutilates your face. Strong improvements to the art as the strip progresses. People in pain, but never sappy.
RedMask - A graphic novel of the post-apocalyptic sort is neither grim nor giddy. The video game style art (I mean that in the good way, with 3D and detailed landscapes) creates a compelling atmosphere and the irritability of the main character gives a constant sensation of looming catastrophe. The best sci-fi graphic novel I have read.
2nd Shift - Despite the name, this is what we call a "day job" story. An awful place, an awful boss, and colleagues who are disturbed and unnerving. You're working a double shift. A pretty, and rather weird, girl is hired. Then strange things start happening.
I'm going to limit this list to three. I hope you like them, but I'd be pleased if some of you don't and you come back to argue. Lately I don't want to review anything because I doubt that my tastes overlap with most people's, and I want to get one more batch of opinions before I decide whether to put down the reviewer pen and stick to research.
7 comments:
Aw. Shucks! Thank you.
Hey, all three of these links are broken. They all have "http://www.blogger.com/" at the start of the URLs instead of just "http://".
Thanks for alerting me. The links are fixed now.
"Lately I don't want to review anything because I doubt that my tastes overlap with most people's..."
I was just going over the same sorts of ideas about reviewing. My tastes, I've come to realize, are just not like what I consider to be the 'average joe's."
However, that's a fallacy. There is no average joe at all. Were I a betting person, I'd bet that average joe would like the Star Wars movies because of how popular they are.
Surprisingly, I know lots of people who don't like Star Wars and even some who've never seen a single one of the movies. They're regular, movie going people with a variety of interests. There's not an average joe even among Star Wars fans.
I feel much better about reviewing after reading El Santo's post about star ratings and then Ebert's article at the Tribune. Reviews are not really about the reviewer's tastes - that's just one data point for your readers.
Reviewing is hard work and sometimes it's hard to know if you're making that connection to readers. Don't worry, you are.
Hi there! So I read through all three comics - gotta say I REALLY like Ugly Girl! That one is just tons of fun. Not a big fan of 2nd Shift currently, but I think there are some good ideas there that could develop into something I'd really enjoy. And RedMask - wow. An all-around interesting concept and very well executed.
In any case - I figure, if you want to do some reviews, do some reviews! I like hearing other people's opinions anyway, even if they differ from my own, plus hey - I just got introduced to three comics I doubt I'd ever have found on my own. Your reviews benefit me as a reader. ^.^
I think it's the hardest work for the least return in webcomic blogging. That's why I read reviews and comment when I can.
One problem I have is I encounter some very new comics that are not very good. Because of the whole free internet thing, I try to be supportive and encouraging and in a case like Elderly Apple, learning what the dude is saying made 100% difference in my opinion of his work.
So if I go to a medium level comic, do I hold it to higher standards? Should I hold a superstar to higher standards yet? How do you all manage that?
Amanda, I appreciate your honesty on 2nd Shift. I'm glad, too, that you see the potential there. The comic's still young so I like to think there's a lot of room to grow. Thanks!
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