200th Wild Webcomic Review

Hey guess what?

IT'S THE 200TH WILD WEBCOMIC REVIEW!

Yes, that's right, I got to 200 before the end of January.  Amazing isn't it?  Well we're here now, some, uh, 8 years after I started this mess.  Okay, so it doesn't sound like I do a lot of these, but think of it this way:  I have a life.  Anyway, let's get going.

196.  Gunshow - It starts a bit slow, but by the end it reminds me of Hark, A Vagrant mixed with Ren and Stimpy.  A LOT of Ren and Stimpy.  There's a fun charm to the comic, and while it isn't super witty like a lot of comics, it is funny.  Some of the humor is a bit off center though, and if you're not a touch into it (like me) then you might not much care for it.

197.  So Damn Bright - Another of those post-college life comics that seem to be growing in number.  It's not bad, if rather young.  The humor is presented as that kind of dry wit you find in the less zany comics and it has a few moments.  I think the only down side is that it's updated only once a week and the style of comic might not get along with that schedule, but since it isn't seriously story dependent, it might not hurt it too much.  I'll be keeping an eye on this for a while.

198.  Back On Earth - And ANOTHER post-college life comic.  No, I don't go actively seeking these things, though this comic has been on my read list for a little while.  The comic actually revolves around the strangest creature I've ever encountered:  A seminary graduate geek.  Unique, I'd say, as I can't recall ever seeing one before (well, not in comics anyway).  The result of this combo is someone who is religious without being an absolute jerk about it.  Of course, after that point, there's the zany that comes with these kinds of comics and that pretty much supports the comic.  It's actually rather enjoyable and very funny at times.  Worth reading.

199.  Finder's Keepers - After all the complaining I did in the last new review set about Alpha Luna and Abandon:  First Vampire, it's rather a shock to find a comic that does all that stuff right.  Finder's Keepers manages to 1)  Give the backstory, 2)  setup the initial characterizations, 3) set up their relationships with each other 4)  keep the action going and 5)  contribute to the overall story all within the first 10 pages.  Damn impressive I'd say.  It's good too, fun and interesting, keeping you in the story without smacking you around with heavy, overblown exposition or explanation.  I do enjoy it and recommend it to just about anyone.

Okay, time for comic 200.  So what comic gets this honor?  How about one that's been on my Future Read list for a long, long time.

200.  Lizzy - And by "a long time" I mean a few years.  I found it through a ad link but decided to hold off reading it because it's done in flash.  I mean, in ALL flash, and as I said in my Flashing article, I typically keep flash turned off on my browser.  So I put it aside to read later.  Later is here and after reading the "non-flash" version of the strip (it's available) I decided I was missing something in the greater comic, so I actually went back and reread the entire strip in flash.  Totally worth it.  Where the other comics in the Flashing article use flash a little bit, Lizzy goes all out.  It's all built on a static comic base, but each strip is interactive on some level, there are animations, sound effects and visual effects that are only possible using flash.  All of this actually helps moves the story forward and keep everything together.  The story is a bit of a trip to follow, but once you get into it, it all makes sense, and the interactive elements actually give you more hints about what's going on.  The art is a bit strange, but almost fitting and natural, and there are homages galore throughout the strip to, well, lots of pop-culture stuff from the A-Team to Hellraiser.  I'm actually ashamed I put the strip off this long, but I'm into it now and I don't plan on going anywhere for a while.

And that's it, the 200th review.  Even better, all 5 strips will get a spot on the read list, which is something that I like to happen because reading bad webcomics sucks.  So how long until 300?  Well, I think the world will end before then, but you never know.  Until next time kiddies.