Comic Fury Webcomic Hosting - Entirely subjective reviews

A good critic knows when the difference between subjective and objective quality - the difference between "I don't like it" and "nobody likes it". A good critic can say "I don't like this due to personal taste, but I can recognize the qualities that make it a good thing". A good critic can be detached, scientific, objective.

Nuts to that. Sometimes, what you need is someone to say "I don't like your comic because I don't like ____ comics".

Yes, your black-and-white sprite manga transferring the native legends of the !Xoonake tribe into an exhaustively-researched science-fiction setting while simultaneously adding a subplot to expound on the virtues of your own brand of socialist libertarianism may be a work of art, beloved by both the people who like such things. That's fine by me - I might even be one of them.

But when you ask yourself "why don't more people read my comic?", the answer just might be "not many people like that entire genre".

That's where this thread comes in. I'll review your comic. And I won't even pretend to be objective about it. You want objectivity, there's plenty of other threads for that.

Unlike my 30 Second Reviews, I won't limit myself to just first impressions (even though I read many comics' entire archives in 30 Seconds), but, unlike my Brutally Honest Reviews, I won't try to read your entire comic unless I want to.

To soften the blow a bit, I will finish each review with two things: A letter grade (in the American style) summing up my subjective review, and another letter grade showing what I would have given it had I done an objective review. I won't actually say why (I try to keep reviews short, so I can do more of them), but I'm pretty sure most people would like to see an "Objectively: B+" after the "Subjectively: F".

So, bring 'em on.

Sure, what the hell, subjectively review away Link to comic...it is in my signature as well

I'll take one too. Link in signature.

Go ahead, review ZnS... I'd advise you to start on page 27 because I'm not very confident in whatever's before.

A review of Fathead would be lovely. :)

Do you review writing?

Snarf Convention. It's...in the signature link. If you don't mind!

I like the narration. It seems... poetic. I think I even caught it rhyming a few times.

Unfortunately, the dialog follows the same style, and comes out as forced, unnatural. Like an elementary-school play.

I also like the panel layouts. You've got a good grasp on that, better than I do, in any case.

But the art is weak. The anatomy is all wrong, the poses are lifeless, and the backgrounds are all uninteresting.

I read the entire archives (it's short), and I'm not going to keep following it. If, however, I were to hear you were partnering with a good artist on something, I'd probably at least check it out.

Subjective grade: C+
Objective grade: C+

Started reading, got very interested by it. I might do a more thorough review after I read the whole thing.

Overall, I like it. The art isn't mind-blowing, but a) it works to tell the story, b) there's no glaring flaws, and c) it's in color. I'm big on that last one, by the way - maybe one in ten of the comics I regularly read are black-and-white.

The writing is good. No further comments.

My only criticism for now is on the speech bubbles. The color is a good idea (I assume that once I read the whole thing from the start, I'll be better able to tell which color means which person), but the lack of arrows makes it hard to get into at first. And some of your fonts are a bit hard to read.

Subjective grade: A- (pending later review)
Objective grade: B

Weird. I'm normally a sucker for myth-based comics of any sort, but something's not clicking here.

Maybe it's how it doesn't have that legendary, epic feel. Classical mythology as sci-fi epic? I'm there. Classical mythology as Great American Novel? Who wouldn't? Classical mythology as sitcom/soap opera? Meh.

The art is... OK. They're well-drawn, but something about them seems... lifeless. Plastic. Especially earlier on.

Sorry, I'm just not into it.

Subjective grade: C
Objective grade: B+

I have taken your criticism into account, and will attempt to incorporate it whenever I'll give my comic a new kick-start. Thank you.

(I'll also try to make my art less stiff!)

I've read this before, for a previous review. To be fair, I did read several of the newest pages, and my opinion remains unchanged:

The jokes go nowhere. The art is simplistic without being iconic, like a newspaper comic. It's a gag-a-day. Pick one - it's reason enough for me to dislike it.

I don't like it. And to be perfectly fair to you, there's probably nothing you can do that would make me like it that wouldn't effectively be a brand-new comic. You'd have to change the entire premise, change the writing, change the art, and add an actual plot. It would be Fathead in name only, and I don't even like the name.

Subjective grade: D
Objective grade: B

Yes, as a matter of fact, I do.

what

What did I just read?

It's random. It's bizarre. It's most likely made on drugs. It's like Gunshow on LSD, and I'm pretty sure KC Green already drops acid on occasion.

Unfortunately, my logical programmer's brain is not suited for this sort of madness. I couldn't even make it through a single storyline.

Subjective grade: C-
Objective grade: B

Thanks for being honest, I totally accept that it's not for you. I've gotten quite a few marmite opinions on it.

I'm ready I think to have my confidence smashed like a kitten's skull on the Steinway:
http://thisisdouglas.thecomicseries.com/

Thanks. In real life I talk like I am in an awkward elementary-school play....seriously...so it is hard to make dialog not sound like that. But, I am working on it. The art as well. I view the comic as a learning process...reviews the same...and I have plenty of areas to improve.

I do not like the art. It's like... did you ever read Bob and George? Remember the awful "hand-drawn comics" sections? The ones so bad the author decided that even a sprite comic would look better?

Yeah. It reminds me of that. Except, I will concede, with better shading.

I also don't like the story. It's very plodding, slow. Nothing of note happened in any of the pages I read. Nothing. The writing is dull, primitive, even. Is English not your native language by any chance? You seem very limited in vocabulary and technical in grammar, like someone who isn't a natural conversational speaker.

You know what I do like? You've kept at it. You've been running for what, a year and a half? And never with a massive hiatus between updates? I can respect that.

Subjective grade: D
Objective grade: C+

I'd like you to review Amidst Destruction. Even if this is a subjective review, a few words of how to improve would be great. Link's in the sig.

I like the brutal honesty of your reviews. If you're still doing them, I'd love it if you took a look at Augustos. The link is in my signature.