Yee-Haw! (okay, I’m sorry)

So since I haven’t really read any comics in about three months I decided it wasn’t fair to just stick to comic book reviews. I don’t want to tell you to read something that I don’t personally read myself. Instead, I’ve turned this column into a review of good webcomics that I’m currently reading.  If you want your comic reviewed, you can e-mail me at Chuck [at] troubleticketcomic [dot] com… Reviews are divided into three categories: Comic (design and layout), Website (design and layout), and Community (that little “extra”), and rated on a 10 point scale, with Four points for the comic, and three each for the site and community. One last note… My reviews are strictly my own opinion, and meant as nothing more than constructive, positive criticism.

The first inaugural comic to this weekly column is a fresh bit of ingenuity called Fantasy Story. It’s written by a man named Ming, who is one of the most active twitter posters I’ve ever met, and a nice guy to boot.

Fantasy Story – a review by Johnathon “Chuck” Brock

Fantasy Story - Promotion Banner 4

COMIC (3.5)

- At it’s heart, Fantasy story is another in a long line of “unlikely hero + brave and adventurous friends + deep dark evil = awesome good times” style comics, but with a heartwarming feel to it. The artwork is simply amazing. It’s got a warmth to it, especially for a black and white comic, that I haven’t seen since I was a child reading the funnies in the daily paper. All of the artwork is hand drawn, from the word bubbles to the font itself, then scanned and presented in a way that I wish, on my best day, I was capable of. I will admit it was a little slow to start, but that’s easily forgiven, and I will explain why shortly…. or now. What sets Fantasy Story apart from the rest is that it’s an entirely fan driven storyline. Ming places metaphorical, and sometimes physical forks in the road so to speak, and then lets his readers vote on which path the story will take. It’s like reading one of those old choose your adventure novels, but much better.

WEBSITE (2.5)

- Ming is one of the few artists who has broken free from the basic comicpress mold, and developed quite a nice website for himself. His current site, located at http://blog.mingssecret.com/ has a very personal, if not chaotic layout. With it’s manila folder link buttons, and phrases like “Meanwhile” and “Elsewhere”, it looks like the cluttered desk of an announcer for an old DC comics cartoon, a-la Superfriends. He’s currently working on a new site design over at www.fantasystorycomic.com that’s just as nice, but I will admit, slightly more user friendly. I think the two, when added together, make up an excellent database for both the comic and the author.

COMMUNITY (3)

- This is an area where Ming shines over several other up and coming webcomic authors. First and foremost is his twitter feed, which acts as the voting ground for comic updates, and a general secondary blog. He’s easily reachable and quick to respond to twitter and e-mail, and has been extremely helpful with the development of my own comic. He’s a great resource to the webcomics community, and is quickly developing a good one of his own.

OVERALL (9 out of 10)

- In closing, there is no reason on Earth why you shouldn’t be reading Fantasy story, or shouldn’t be helping to shape it’s quickly growing universe. It’s an excellent comic, funny, and sentimental at times, with spectacular artwork, a great site layout, and one of the richest communities I’ve seen so far.

~Chuck