Today is a VERY special day. When I started this blog, I had a lot of
old reviews that needed to be covered and with each one I updated what I thought about the comic. These were quick and often just a double check if the comic was still around.
Today, I go back to that kind of thing, but only for the comics on the read list. Links will be updated and functional, and I'll try to say something interesting.
That said, there's a lot here and I've decided to split it into two different updates. Makes life a bit easier for me. So let's start with the first group.
Hiatus
Broodhollow - I keep hoping Kris Straub will get back to probably the only decent horror comic I've ever read. It does so many things well the fact that he just stopped is disappointing on so many levels. So it sits here, in Hiatus, hoping.
Commander Kitty - I'm not surprised this comic stopped updating, Scotty Arsenault, like all people, has to eat, and he makes more doing animation work than creating his comic. It's been over a year so you'd think I'd ship it to dead, again, but I can't do it yet. Yet.
Hark, A Vagrant! - Speaking of paying work, Kate Beaton always has something, and that means her webcomic suffers as a result. So keeping it here until she's ready to come back is a good idea.
Little Guardians - Little Guardian's annoys me. Not the comic itself, it's fine, but the way it's being handled. It's seems that it was created JUST to sell books. Nothing wrong with that, but they aren't making more comic pages in the interim. The comic stops dead everytime they spin up to print a book and hasn't had a proper update in, well, forever it seems. I leave it here, hoping there will actually BE a comic in the future, but I don't hold much hope.
Monthly
Dresden Codak - This used to be the comic with the best art I ever read. Now, not so much. Not that it's bad, hardly, but there is much better. Still, it's artistically a very beautiful comic. Milage on the story, however, will vary. It's often obtuse, overly pretentious and kind of silly all at the same time. It's followable, but still very strange. It also doesn't update quickly but at least each strip is packed enough to warrant it.
Eerie Cuties - Right now this and Magick Chicks have this Archie comics style going and I don't know if I like it or not. It's not bad, the stories are short and it's kind of funny, I just don't know if I LIKE it or not, especially compared to the previous versions of the comics. Could be worse.
Gone with the Blastwave - I swear this comic updates once every 6 months! It doesn't, really, it has a pateron where most strips go up first, then get released to the world. It is a fun comic, but it updates so slow and there's so little going on, I'm not sure why I bother following it.
Head Trip - Updates for this have been, infrequent at best. Still it does update, sometimes, though I wish it would do more, it was quite fun when it was going full speed. Ah well.
Lackadaisy - I love the look of this comic, the atmosphere, the characters, the story, the art, all of it, except the update schedule, which is reasonable given the high levels of art, but then I look at some of the other comics on this list and wonder why they can't come out faster. Great comic regardless.
Magick Chicks - See my comments about Eerie Cuties
Marry Me - Sporatic updates, probably beats every other comic on this list for that kind of thing. I think it's becuase it's part of a larger site that has 3 other comics, so I guess when they update, Marry Me doesn't. The comic remains one of the goofiest comics I read, bouncing through it's story line with the attention span of a kid with ADD. And still manages to be quite funny between all the weirdness. The update schedule really holds it back though, so it's hard to remember what was going on last time it updated.
Our Time in Eden - Hey, do you want to read probably one of the most depressing comics I have ever found? Here you go! Wow does it get dark (most recent page is REALLY dark), and yet I can't stop reading it. There HAS to be a light somewhere, and I guess I keep reading it for that. I like happy endings, or even heartaching endings, so I keep going with this one. The art is pretty damn good too.
Weekly
Ava's Demon - See my
review.
Bloodstain - This one has stalled out a bit but at least there's still bits of art going up. I liked the comic as it was running though and am waiting for the rest. Those art updates is why it's still in the weekly category. I do love how it connects to Sunstone in a weird way.
Bob the Angry Flower - Bob is still my go to for weekly humor. It usually manages to hit a nice nerve and give me a good chuckle, and is probably the most "political" cartoon I read any more. Still one of my favorites.
Brainslug - When I did my site maintenance, I was surprised how long I've been reading this comic. It still doesn't update as often as I would like, though. It's a fun comic that doesn't take itself too seriously and for that, it stays in Weekly, despite it updating less than so.
Cat and Girl - This comic hasn't changed, like at all. And I love it for being what it is. Honestly, I've been reading it so long I can't imagine not reading it regularly. Well, I mean I CAN, I have a whole series of
posts that says that, but that's only if I seriously limit myself. Otherwise, Cat and Girl will always be there.
Cerintha - I really enjoy this comic, the story is fun, the characters are interesting, and there's more than just enough humor to make the whole thing completely enjoyable. Updates are a little slow, but each strip is just strong enough to hold it up.
Chainsawsuit - Kris Straub's active comic is only KIND of active right now, which is why it's in Weekly now. I wish it updated more often as he's got enough of an absurd sense of humor that he pulls it off pretty well. Ah well, at least it updates occasionally.
Cosmic Dash - So this comic has an entire branch of itself that is a series of short written stories, not comic stories. This is annoying as it keeps the comic from updating with any regularity. When it moves, it's not bad, and my archive dive proved much more interesting than the actual regular updates. Hopefully they'll update a bit more, but I don't think it will.
Dead Winter - I do still like this comic, just wish it updated a bit more frequently, and I think this hurts the overall production. It has backed off the zombie thing, for now, but the deeper story that was being hinted at has kind of been put on a very back burner. It's fine, for now, but again, update a bit quicker please.
Dark White - Still just as dark as the original review. It has the same issue as Dead Winter and Cosmic Dash, it just doesn't update fast enough. Consistent weekly updates would help, really.
Deep Fried - Since Weapon Brown wrapped up, Deep Fried has been trying to find another hook. The parody Star Trek storyline looks interesting, but is still early, while the main Deep Fried comic is as it always was, and right now is getting a bit of the focus. Still worth reading.
Demon Candy - Updates have slowed down to a crawl, to the point that even the art stuff doesn't go up as frequently as it used to. Not sure if there's another site hosting, or if something else is going on, and that lack of updates have lessened my interest as a whole. Ah well.
Derelict - It's pretty much on hiatus. I mean, I SHOULD by all rights put it on hiatus, but truthfully I so enjoy this comic I don't want to forget it, which is what frequently happens with the monthly and hiatus strips. So it remains here until it returns. If it returns. I hope it returns.
Does Not Play Well with Others - Hasn't really changed much, and I like it for that. It's reliable in that way, even if it doesn't update with any regularity.
Exiern - I don't even know how many artists and comic runners this thing has had since I started reading it. It's like it gets passed around to whoever wants to take a crack at it this week. Hell, the current storyline doesn't even seem related to the original, or maybe it is and I just have forgotten a plot point. Either way, it's one of those edge case comics, not sure I really should keep reading it.
Footloose! (Cherry, Blackmarket Magic) - Footloose is currently on hiatus, Cherry updates as it always did, once in a while, and the main focus is Blackmarket magic, which I haven't reviewed because, well bad timing honestly. Still, I like all three comics, and I want to keep reading all of them.
Legend of Zelda: El Rey - It's almost over, and while it isn't going the way I kind of wanted, I like where it is going. Can't wait to see how it ends.
Licensed Heroes - It's still a fun little comic, and I enjoy it for what it is. Wish I could say more but it really doesn't need much more, it's still enjoyable.
Pole Dancing Adventures - Still the only blog comic I follow, and it's still something I'm following despite no interest in the subject. Says a great deal about how the comic manages to keep my attention despite that.
PopChormatic - It's still on pause while they deal with life issues, but I hope it'll return soonish. Early next year maybe? I hope.
Romantically Apocalyptic - Recently I've become convinced that I've been missing something here and I probably should go back and reread it. Still, it's one of the weirdest comics I read, and maybe I wasn't really missing anything, it just feels that way. Still worth reading for sure.
Ruderk and the Bear -This is a bit ahead of Exiern on the edge of dropping readership. It's okay, but just that, and doesn't update often enough to keep me really hooked. I wish I could like it better but I really am not.
String Theory - It's gone places I was not expecting, and I'm still not sure what to really make of it as it goes along. Some of my issues are the slow movement of the comic and forgetting who is who and what they did, aside from the main character for the most part. Not that it's bad, but I basically should just re-read the comic if I want to catch up.
Sunstone - For once, I'll drop the NSFW flag because, seriously, if you've been reading this blog, you should know this by now. The next volume (book?) of the comic has just started and thanks to the full run of the first storyline, it feels less like building and more refining the characters and story. Worth reading, go.
The Meek - Long wait for it to come back, and still be pretty interesting. It's still WAY too early in the plot to settle down completely and I'm waiting for the two paths to more seriously intersect. There's a lot of elements there, and I still enjoy it. There is another comic, but I haven't read it yet, likely worth it.
The Non-Adventures of Wonderella - Technically it doesn't get updated weekly, it's whenever the artist finds a funny joke to tell, which boosts the quality, and thanks to the nature of it, there's not much of a plot to follow so it works for it. Still worth reading.
Three Panel Soul - It has multiple storylines that run around, none deal with the others, and it's still quite enjoyable. It's simple, well drawn and fun. I can't say much more than that because it is good.
Trying Human - I like the main plot. I'm not super interested in some of the subplots. Right now it's in one of those subplots. Yeah. Still, when it's on the main one, I find it interesting and want to see more. Hope it comes back around soon.
Twokinds - It's an adventure comic. There's an adventure, there are adventures and they do adventure things. Half the cast are anthropomorphic animals, but they're just characters just as everyone else. I like it enough to keep reading, if not a bit more. Now things are coming back together and getting ready to push toward the grand confrontation (which may or may not be a climax). Should be fun.
Zebra Girl - This one is finally winding down and will be wrapping up sometime next year. It's completely worth going back and re-reading it, which I'll be doing soon. . .
Okay, next week, I finish this up. Until then kiddies.
