summercomfort (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
summercomfort) wrote2005-12-18 03:21 pm
summercomfort) wrote2005-12-18 03:21 pm
GAM
Ah GAM
So even though CGU is on GAM, I'm really at heart a subscriber.
A review of the various GAM comics follows:
In decending level of "ooo"-ness when it updates, which is dependent on shininess, amusement value, plot involvement, and pacing.
bold = old school but still updating.
italics = new and promising.
underline = cool b/c it's something that I could never do.
- Dicebox. (Jenn Manley Lee)
OMG so beautiful in every way. The characters, the plot, the worlds, everything. Everything's in full color, all the characters are distinctive in body type and facial features, the backgrounds are positively vibrate with a sense of reality. Has since moved to http://www.dicebox.net
- Bite Me! (Dylan Meconis).
Good times, naturally. Snappy dialogue, clear characterization. I'm sad there's no more, but at least there was a proper ending, and it was time that Dylan moved onto other things. Art: starts off decent and matures from there. Dylan + #2 pencil = :D
- Chasing Rainbows. (Svetlana)
Shoujo manga done right. If you like Fruba, you'd like this. Currently on hold as Svet irons out plot.
- The Stiff (Jason Thompson).
<3 Let's just say it totally made my week to get to draw a Halloween pinup for it. I like it mostly for the line art that I can never do, and for the oddness that is the comic. Especially when compared to all the other girly stuff on the site. Currently updating with something else as he plots out the next chapter.
- Kismet: Hunter's Moon. (Layla Lawlor)
At first I didn't like it b/c the art looked like it was done in Paint, but then it got better and and better as Layla learned the ways of the Tablet and the ways of Photoshop. (Although I still like her other comics where she sticks to pencil and other traditional media). The world is rich and very well-thought-out, supported by various side comics and stories. The Hunter's Moon plot is intricate and told at a steady pace, with plenty of weekly drama to sustain us. It has the feeling of Sci-Fi done properly. She's on WCN now, so at least there's an LJ feed for when she updates.
- Bold Riley (Leia Weathington).
<3 Hot girls kissing, but taken matter-of-factly. Pretty inking. Everything has patterns and texture, and most envy-inducing are the panel layouts, how the text *fits perfectly*
- Arcana Jayne: Palladium
Okay, I'll admit it, I didn't really like Hair of the Dog. The pacing on that was weird and the artist changes were always ... meh. But Tango was excellent and Palladium is quite awesome. A new artist that gets the fantasy/ethereal *just right*, and the story looks promising.
- Hold My Life (Dale Ingram).
Vector graphics made using flash. Each update consists of images on one side and a narration on the other, and the narrative device is "Penny's Blog". There are links to actual fictional webpages created for the purpose of the comic. People change outfits, which of course means less recycled graphics which means more laboring in Flash. These definitely take a ton of time. Plus it's stylish and so very different from the general GAM stuff. The story's decent.
- Return of the Mad Bun (Rachel Hartman)
I really like the tone of the writing. Whimsical. The art fits the story very well.
- DAR
- Lucas and Odessa. (Spike and Matt)
Okay, granted that they're technically still on GAM, but they haven't updated in forever. Art is style that I can never do, but is properly awesome. Spike can angry pouty fat chicks. And everything else, of course.
- Aki Alliance (Ryan Estrada). Stylin'. Mostly I admire the shininess and the mad Illustrator skillz. (Or maybe Photoshop?) One reason I admire it is that it's something I'll never be able to do. (Not in the "I'll never be that good" way, but in the "that's so different" way)
- Lil Mel and Sergio.
Wish the art was better and the story moved faster, but who am I to complain about story pacing? XD. I really liked the early days when Vera Brosgol did the art.
- By the Wayside (Leigh Dragoon)
This one's solid. As in the art is solid, the updates are solid, one-page-per-week deals, the story is solid, and everything about it is so professional. Plus there's free wallpapers and stuff.
- Sevenplains (Tintin Pantoja).
I really really liked the prologue. And everything was really beautiful in that hasty brushy way whilst she stuck to non-computer coloring. And there was such a sense of Story that needed to be told. I think Tintin had a hard time organizing everything and figuring out which order to tell things in. Having a RoV/Utena thing didn't hurt, either. Another one that was disrupted by the Great Server Crash. I think it's currently on hiatus on her own server.
- Wisdom of Moo (Adrian Ramos)
Very cute. Stopped right after a big plot point, so ... kinda wished it kept going. Each update would be so simple (it's strip format), but very effective. (I think his story moved faster than CGU. Well, most stories do.)
- Gypsy! (John Peters)
The story is very weird, and the art is inking that works! But the bodhi leaf is the wrong shape, which is like, major minus points for me. :(-
- Knights of the Shroud. (Matt)
Another solid comic, well researched, well drawn. It's got swords, blood, and hot chicks, so that's all sorts of plusses. Just as Kismet is so-very-sci-fi, KotS is so-very-fantasy, in the world-building lots-of-names sense. There's this funny thing, though, where Matt gets someone else to draw it when someone is narrating something, so the art style changes.
- All Undone. (Ariel Childers)
Wish it didn't stop just when the story was about to start. (Yet another one)
- Claviger
I like the grittiness of it, and I'm interested in seeing where it will go. Kinda reminds me of All Undone, though.
Things I regret not really getting into/understanding
- Hereville. I think it's about a Jewish girl who wanted to slay dragons?
- Carnation Grows Up. I think I'll like it more when it gets into plotty things.
- Donna Barr and her stuff
- Meek City
- The Return of Doctor Dragonwagon
Things that used to be on GAM that I miss:
- Inferno's Touch.
Sure, there were only 3 pages of it, but it was teh Swank. As far as I could tell, it had futuristic punk rock band on drugs or something. And Dante.
- I Was There and Just Returned. (Hope Larson)
It was also good, and stopped just when things were getting interesting.... :( (She'd gotten these 3 hairs to burn, but then she lost the 3rd one, and the last page was of the whirring of the ceiling fan). Art: Illustrator mad skillz.
So even though CGU is on GAM, I'm really at heart a subscriber.
A review of the various GAM comics follows:
In decending level of "ooo"-ness when it updates, which is dependent on shininess, amusement value, plot involvement, and pacing.
bold = old school but still updating.
italics = new and promising.
underline = cool b/c it's something that I could never do.
- Dicebox. (Jenn Manley Lee)
OMG so beautiful in every way. The characters, the plot, the worlds, everything. Everything's in full color, all the characters are distinctive in body type and facial features, the backgrounds are positively vibrate with a sense of reality. Has since moved to http://www.dicebox.net
- Bite Me! (Dylan Meconis).
Good times, naturally. Snappy dialogue, clear characterization. I'm sad there's no more, but at least there was a proper ending, and it was time that Dylan moved onto other things. Art: starts off decent and matures from there. Dylan + #2 pencil = :D
- Chasing Rainbows. (Svetlana)
Shoujo manga done right. If you like Fruba, you'd like this. Currently on hold as Svet irons out plot.
- The Stiff (Jason Thompson).
<3 Let's just say it totally made my week to get to draw a Halloween pinup for it. I like it mostly for the line art that I can never do, and for the oddness that is the comic. Especially when compared to all the other girly stuff on the site. Currently updating with something else as he plots out the next chapter.
- Kismet: Hunter's Moon. (Layla Lawlor)
At first I didn't like it b/c the art looked like it was done in Paint, but then it got better and and better as Layla learned the ways of the Tablet and the ways of Photoshop. (Although I still like her other comics where she sticks to pencil and other traditional media). The world is rich and very well-thought-out, supported by various side comics and stories. The Hunter's Moon plot is intricate and told at a steady pace, with plenty of weekly drama to sustain us. It has the feeling of Sci-Fi done properly. She's on WCN now, so at least there's an LJ feed for when she updates.
- Bold Riley (Leia Weathington).
<3 Hot girls kissing, but taken matter-of-factly. Pretty inking. Everything has patterns and texture, and most envy-inducing are the panel layouts, how the text *fits perfectly*
- Arcana Jayne: Palladium
Okay, I'll admit it, I didn't really like Hair of the Dog. The pacing on that was weird and the artist changes were always ... meh. But Tango was excellent and Palladium is quite awesome. A new artist that gets the fantasy/ethereal *just right*, and the story looks promising.
- Hold My Life (Dale Ingram).
Vector graphics made using flash. Each update consists of images on one side and a narration on the other, and the narrative device is "Penny's Blog". There are links to actual fictional webpages created for the purpose of the comic. People change outfits, which of course means less recycled graphics which means more laboring in Flash. These definitely take a ton of time. Plus it's stylish and so very different from the general GAM stuff. The story's decent.
- Return of the Mad Bun (Rachel Hartman)
I really like the tone of the writing. Whimsical. The art fits the story very well.
- DAR
- Lucas and Odessa. (Spike and Matt)
Okay, granted that they're technically still on GAM, but they haven't updated in forever. Art is style that I can never do, but is properly awesome. Spike can angry pouty fat chicks. And everything else, of course.
- Aki Alliance (Ryan Estrada). Stylin'. Mostly I admire the shininess and the mad Illustrator skillz. (Or maybe Photoshop?) One reason I admire it is that it's something I'll never be able to do. (Not in the "I'll never be that good" way, but in the "that's so different" way)
- Lil Mel and Sergio.
Wish the art was better and the story moved faster, but who am I to complain about story pacing? XD. I really liked the early days when Vera Brosgol did the art.
- By the Wayside (Leigh Dragoon)
This one's solid. As in the art is solid, the updates are solid, one-page-per-week deals, the story is solid, and everything about it is so professional. Plus there's free wallpapers and stuff.
- Sevenplains (Tintin Pantoja).
I really really liked the prologue. And everything was really beautiful in that hasty brushy way whilst she stuck to non-computer coloring. And there was such a sense of Story that needed to be told. I think Tintin had a hard time organizing everything and figuring out which order to tell things in. Having a RoV/Utena thing didn't hurt, either. Another one that was disrupted by the Great Server Crash. I think it's currently on hiatus on her own server.
- Wisdom of Moo (Adrian Ramos)
Very cute. Stopped right after a big plot point, so ... kinda wished it kept going. Each update would be so simple (it's strip format), but very effective. (I think his story moved faster than CGU. Well, most stories do.)
- Gypsy! (John Peters)
The story is very weird, and the art is inking that works! But the bodhi leaf is the wrong shape, which is like, major minus points for me. :(-
- Knights of the Shroud. (Matt)
Another solid comic, well researched, well drawn. It's got swords, blood, and hot chicks, so that's all sorts of plusses. Just as Kismet is so-very-sci-fi, KotS is so-very-fantasy, in the world-building lots-of-names sense. There's this funny thing, though, where Matt gets someone else to draw it when someone is narrating something, so the art style changes.
- All Undone. (Ariel Childers)
Wish it didn't stop just when the story was about to start. (Yet another one)
- Claviger
I like the grittiness of it, and I'm interested in seeing where it will go. Kinda reminds me of All Undone, though.
Things I regret not really getting into/understanding
- Hereville. I think it's about a Jewish girl who wanted to slay dragons?
- Carnation Grows Up. I think I'll like it more when it gets into plotty things.
- Donna Barr and her stuff
- Meek City
- The Return of Doctor Dragonwagon
Things that used to be on GAM that I miss:
- Inferno's Touch.
Sure, there were only 3 pages of it, but it was teh Swank. As far as I could tell, it had futuristic punk rock band on drugs or something. And Dante.
- I Was There and Just Returned. (Hope Larson)
It was also good, and stopped just when things were getting interesting.... :( (She'd gotten these 3 hairs to burn, but then she lost the 3rd one, and the last page was of the whirring of the ceiling fan). Art: Illustrator mad skillz.
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now I have to subscribe!!
(wow this is a lot) >I have a hard enough time keeping up with 4< but I will keep this in mind when bored on the internet =D
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And thanks!
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