Lilly MacKenzie and the Mines of Charybdis - Web Comic

How best to describe this. . . A beautiful Space fairing, Ginger, half Scottish, half African American beauty, who kicks some serious butt and hangs around with a vertically challenged, pink haired engineer of sorts, who appears to love her unconditionally but is happy just to be friends go on an adventure into deep space with possibility of no return. . . . Sounds good to me are you interested yet?

Writing
As the above suggests this story is pretty involved and hooks you from the very start and then rolls along at a nice pace allowing you to take in the scale and scope of the galaxy spanning storyline. The characterization through the story is just sublime. Cosmo is by far my favourite character so far although Lilly also really cool. Simon Fraser(The Creator) has a fantastic imagination and his attention to the fine details of the Science Fiction he has created just blow me away.

Art
Simon Fraser is both the writer and artist of this wonderful webcomic and his style is an absolute joy. It reminds me of Barry Windsor Smith with a slice of Brian Hitch or Alan Davis and a topping of Steve Dillon and Kevin McGuire. Now Simon has been around for a good few year working on Stuff for 2000AD, IDW and various other things. Be sure to check out his Nikolai Dante stuff.

Updates
Weekly

Links
Lilly MacKenzie and the Mines of Charybdis - Web Comic
Simon Fraser's Website
Act-i-vate
Nikolai Dante Semi-Official Website

10/10

Celadore - Web Comic

Sticking with Zuda for this one. This was another one I kinda missed. I remember reading the original eight pages and thinking that is was nice but do we really need a Buffy Junior. . . Turns out we do and Celadore is Buffy Junior and a whole lot more.

The Seemingly familiar story of a strong sexy female Vampire hunter begins as it should, with her fighting a couple of vamps, but before you know it the story flips over and gives us the mesmerizing adventures of a prepubescent vampire hunter with a supporting cast that has something for everyone.

Writing

Fast paced adventure that slows down every so often to let you catch your breath. We have vampires, Fairies, Monsters and much more. The first arc introduces us to the main characters and effortlessly presents their personalities, backgrounds and abilities without the usual flashback nonsense(I've been over it a few times and it still surprises me how quickly I became familiar with the cast). Some really interesting twists and turns make this comic one to watch. Writing this I've read about 120 pages and now look forward to reading it on a regular basis.

Art
This is a weird one. At first glance I thought "nah, not for me" then I thought "kinda suits the tone of the story" which lead me on to "this is actually pretty cool" and now I'm all "I should try and draw like this guy". The style of the art has a Saturday morning cartoon feel mixed with a bit of Mike Avon Oeming of "Powers" fame. Bright and colourful but dark and shadowy when needed.

Links

Celadore Webcomic (Flash Plug-in Required)

Creator's Blog

Zuda Comics

9/10

High Moon - Web Comic

Ok now, where to start with this one. High Moon , was one the first winner of Zuda's monthly competition. I initially never looked twice at as the original 8 pages never looked that good. How wrong was I? I took another look at it the other day and was absolutely blown away. I must be a bit slow on the uptake because i totally missed it.
Now on to my review. .
Werewolves . . . Check. Vampires . . . Check. Cowboys . . . Check. Three of my favourite film genres all wrapped up in a handy little flash webcomic along with Native American spirits/demons and some really strong characterisation and storrytelling make this one of my new fave webcomics. And should, in my opinion, become a new monthly printed comic under the vertigo label as it ould fit perfectly in that line.

The Writing
Really good, Twists and turns around the old wild west in ways remnicent of the Unforgiven movie mixed in with Buffy the Vampire slayer. Throw in a smattering of Steampunk, or a bit of wild wild west. . . . nah, scrap that i dont want to sour your conceptions of this great comic.

The Art
As I've said above I did not dig this when I first saw it but the art rally grows on you and suits the style of the story. Kinda reminds me of Dan Brereton of Nocturnal Fame, but with a smoother finish, not as angular as Brereton. Dark and brooding suits this perfect.

Updates
4 Pages a week on a 15 week schedule, Now also in printed format.

Links
High Moon Online Comic (Flash Plug-in Required)
Creator Blog
Zuda Comics

9.5/10

Monster Plus - Web Comic

Newsarama turned me on to Action Age Comics run by Chris Sims and Chad Bowers. Chris does the Super Invincible Blog and Chad is the creator of Doctor Impossible and Action Ace. Oh boy what a find. Here you have a couple of guy who obviously love the art form of comics and together have created some really cool online content for readers to devour.

Now on to Monster Plus. Action Age site says "Mark Darke thought he had it all under control, but his plans didn’t account for the return of a Mummified Werewolf Zombie Vampire Frankenstein Witch Doctor From Mars and his gang of teenage sidekicks!" I could not put it better.

The Writing
Vampires, Monsters, Aliens , Superheroes and a clone of Dracula as a teenager. That's just a few of the things that appear in the first few pages of the comic. The way the story flows kinda reminds me of Savage Dragon and the plethora of weird and wonderful characters does enhance the similarity. There is however no similarity to the Dragon in the actual story. I really like where this is going and plan to continue reading it.

The Art
One word to say about the art. Fun. Its not the best art I've seen in an online comic and its not the worst. Some of the anatomy of the characters is off and some of the panels look flat but for the most part the art is solid and does not detract from the story. Shows lots of potential for development. I can see Nathan Kroll becoming a major force in the comic industry if his art continues to develop.

Updates
Unknown

Links
Monster Plus Online Comic
Action Age Comics

7/10

Eye of the Gods - Web Comic

OK here's how the site describes it. Eye of the Gods is a psychological thriller about a man who's life spirals out of control when he is cursed with the ability of remote viewing.

Sean Black, an artist, has a surgery to clone his eyeballs and replace his existing eyes with the clones, restoring his failing vision. After the operation, he has a "dream" about a murder, only to discover that it really happened……But the death isn't being reported as a murder. When his curiosity gets the best of him, it sets off a chain of events that unravel his life.

The Writing
The above skit does describe the comic very well. I like the concept and i like where the story is going. I like the main characters and feel that the supporting cast add to the depth of the story. There is lots more going on that we are told and I'm stocking with it to see how it ends up. So far with over a hundred pages online this is good solid stuff.

The Art
I Like the art. The artists style is clean and simple the use of gray tones give some panels a sense of depth. My only moan about this is there are little or no backgrounds in many of the panels. This may have been intentional to move the story along quicker but I feel that maybe the artist could have spent a bit more time.

Updates
Mondays

Links
Eye of the Gods Online Comic
Optic House Website
Buy the Eye of the Gods Graphic Novel

8/10

From Death Til Now - Web Comic

Now where to start with this one. . . This is a great tlittle online comic that has me hooked and desperate for more. Basically George and Virgil who are lifelong friend now in the twighlight of life go on a fishing trip. Sounds pretty dull but its anything but. A wonderfully crafted story that draws you in immediately. I'm not gonna say anymore about the plot as I dont want to spoil it just check out the sample page on the right and you'll know its not gonna be a boring strip about two old guys fishing. The Only thing I'm not keen on is the use of Copperplate Gothic font in the logo and web header buts that's just me.

The Writing
The main characters are very realistic and believable. There are some really good flashback sequences that fill in the background info once the story gets going giving a greater understanding of character motivations and aims. Now here's a statement. The two main character George and Virgil are a better duo than Will Smith and Martin Laurence. Better than Mathau and Lemon. . . So far.

The Art
I Like the art. Nice and simple with a animated feel to it. You can see this easily being translated to an animated version. The style of the art is similar, in my opinion, to DJ Coffman of Flobots and Hero By Night Fame. Done beautifully in black and white this comics is a quality read.

Updates
Currently on Hiatus but will hopefully return soon. Over 90 pages to get you started though.

Links
From Death Til Now Online Comic
Michael E. Regina Studio Website

8.5/10