There are a lot of comics with talking animals. This one takes the idea one step further. Picture today’s world, except that humans left the planet and the animals have taken advantage of our absence. One of the crucial things to know is that the natural predator and prey relationship still exists

Kevin is the six foot tall rabbit and Kell is his wife, a wolf. No, not everyone approves of this taboo marriage but they make it work. And there are a number of other immediate characters including a rabbit-wolf hybrid, a wolf boy and the hedgehog who was raised as a porcupine. You’ll be tickled to know that these are just Kevin and Kell’s children. There are also clones, wolves in sheep’s clothing and even some who have gone through “predator to prey reassignment surgery.” You’ll excuse me if I don’t go into specifics due to the sheer amount of history and interaction these characters have had. Invariably, I would have missed something that should have been metioned and I doubt I could condense the well written About page down to anything less. For those who might enjoy background information about the comic and how it is made, you can also read the unofficial faq.

What I will tell you is that there is a nice mix of topics including family strife, daily living and societal mores. I found all of it well done and interesting to follow. It’s all done in bite sized chunks so despite there being a large archive it was fun to read. I was pretty impatient waiting for each comic to load up, actually.

I am especially fond of comics that follow their own world-rules to their logical conclusions. If, for example, we were divided into predator and prey groups: we would have social rules about who is considered food and what they can do about it. You might expect this to have an obvious solution but it is not quite as simple as that. Interestingly, they all feel it’s cheating to use weapons like guns - that’s why they have fangs or camoflage ability, after all. But then that leads to how society defines crimes like murder? Is a wolf eating deer murder? Sometimes when we switch out the details of real life with other elements we find that our personal views on things need further examination. I find that sort of thing interesting.

But I digress from the overall lighthearted tone of Kevin & Kell. Most strips revolve around the different approaches that animals would take as opposed to humans. If everything in the garden is edible, then the weeds could be likened to snacks or special treats. Then there is also the (unofficially titled) Great Bird Conspiracy, Carnivore University, the Herd Thinning corporation and other animal-twists that I found very amusing as well.

The art has great lines with very dynamic qualities. You really get the sense of movement when a character jumps or drops something. Even the little carnivorous bunny always seems to be chewing on a bone, not just holding it in her mouth. The color adds a lot of visual and emotional depth to the comic as well.

Overall, Kevin & Kell is a well done and very entertaining.

Rating:

Kevin & Kell
http://www.kevinandkell.com
by Bill Holbrook
review by Delos
(No Ratings Yet)

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I’ve been presented with something of a unique opportunity here at Comic Fencing. After reviewing a long string of smaller, newer online comics, I’ve been asked to review one which is culturally significant to the online comic format. Oh-ho. I know I’m supposed to review the comic, but no one said I couldn’t include a commentary on webcomics as a medium, right? (Doesn’t ask Delos about it.)

8-Bit Theatre launched in March of 2001. I started reading in September of 2001. It was my first year of college, and those were the good old days when RPG World was at it’s peak; Inverloch was young, fresh, and exciting, and not yet bogged down with the stereotypical characters that later joined the cast; and TimeScapes actually existed. 8-bit’s popularity had suddenly and randomly taken off; I’m not sure how. Sprite comics were not exactly a new thing anymore, but to many, I suppose the idea still seemed fresh and original because thousands more would be added to the hundred that already existed at the time. (No, I will not try to get exact figures on any of that. This is completely from memory and I don’t need to feel any older.)

8-Bit Theatre, mostly by Brian Clevinger, started out as a side-project for funsies. He took the sprites from the original Final Fantasy and set out to make a comic spoofing old 8-bit games. Sure, the art would just be lame and copy paste and the whole thing would have to rely on his witty writing, but he was a witty writer and could make funny jokes, right? So no problem. At some point (about strip 20), he must have realized that this would make his comic absolutely no different from just about every other crappy sprite comic out there. So, fortunately for the known world, he changed his game-plan.

First of all, instead of spoofing 8-bit games, the comic shifted to be about the characters. Completely tongue-in-cheek characters at that. He stuck with the initial setting and story (the first Final Fantasy) but now the tone moved to mock not early video games, but pretty much anything Clevinger liked. Read that: 80s and 90s geek culture. Now, there are strengths and weaknesses to this gimmick. The strengths being that this is the 2000s and geeks from the 80s and 90s have moved on and would happily use a chuckle over their old obsessions. The weakness is that this is not only a highly specific core audience, but a dated one - the comic is unlikely to appeal to younger readers. Fortunately for Clevinger, almost every nerd who played video games, Dungeons & Dragons, and read the Amazing Spiderman in the 80s and 90s now has a computer and uses the internet. And has probably read his comic.

Even more fortunately for Clevinger, 8-Bit does have appeal beyond that. And that’s because, darnit, he is a witty writer. A dry sense of pacing, a high-style sense of wording, combined with a willingness to not only touch but cuddle with the lowest subjects make his voice pretty unique.

The premise is fairly clever. The world is that of Final Fantasy, and the characters are the player classes from Final Fantasy, and several supporting characters (Sara, Garland, Bikke, Sarda, Bahamut) are straight from the game, but with added personality. Final Fantasy is probably the oldest, driest, most washed-up unidimensional game in which you make a party of “heroes” and follow a series of quests in which you are destined to save the world from some form of doom. Notably, it was also the very first of such games to use the party format. The very first of the story RPGs. I guess we should cut it some slack. 8-bit adds a twist to the un-likely hero story. The four Light Warriors for this version of the classic game are the least qualified or inclined people on the planet to save the planet. They are the most pathetic, horrible, unidimensional characters you will ever come to love. And they are:

Fighter: Loves swords, whether hitting things with them or otherwise. Has the intellectual capacity and ideals of a kindergartener.

Black Mage: Loves wanton destruction, the more evil the better. Is fortunately not very good at it. Thinks he’s smarter than the other characters and therefore thinks they’re not on to his constant plots to betray and murder them in horrible ways.

Thief: The kleptomaniacal elvin prince who supposedly can collect royalties on the use of fine print. While his schemes to collect wealth are usually no less bizarre than the other characters’ plans for anything, they generally tend to work. He’s the only Light Warrior who has any semblance of intelligence, and he has an ego the size of the planet he’s so busy not saving. Naturally, to counter-balance this, his failures are by far the most embarrassing.

Red Mage: Thinks this is all a game, and he’s the best power-gamer out there. Usually manages to make no sense at all with an equal chance of this working out well for him or working out completely horribly. Also, wishes he was a girl.

These and the supporting characters are completely static, such to the point that they are most frustrating. This is, in fact, one of Clevinger’s favorite jokes. Hundreds of story-lines start to lead to the development or reform of these characters, only to anti-climatically have them revert right back to their old selves, often worse than ever. Recurring jokes, much? Yeah, all of them are. How else do you fill up over 1000 text-heavy comic strips? But the recurring element is part of the beauty of the gags. He spaces them out enough that you forget about them for a while, only to bring them back in such a way as you know you should have seen it coming. Ackbar, for example, is a recurring con-man who sells the characters…not what they need to proceed. Black Belt, for example, was also a recurring joke. The only competent warrior in the entire cast, he would randomly appear to defeat the current boss threat, and just as easily disappear. You see, he has the gift of getting lost in paranormal space, rather than the usual gift of appearing in the nick of time that heroes have. Some of the recurring jokes mature over time. For example, Fighter begins the story in a quest for the Armor of Invincibilty. About strip 200, he finds it. And it will return… Also, early plot holes in the comic were explained away by “a wizard did it.” Come episode 421, we are introduced to Sarda, the wizard that did it. And this is just a handful of jokes to give you an idea.

What I’d like to know is how he manages to pull off such a steady level of humor so consistantly… It’s just not fair that all people were not created equal.

Oh dear, I’ve yet to mention the art. Yes, oddly enough, in this sprite comic the art is good. Clevinger’s secret? He’s not actually using sprites from Final Fantasy. A lot of the sprites used in the comic are direct replicas of the ones in the original games, but many more have been created to give the characters extra poses and expressions. (Also, the four “real” Light Warriors are replicas of sprites created for the playstaton remake of the original game.) Furthermore, a lot of original sprites were also created - all of this reportedly created by Kevin Sigmund. Clevinger’s girlfriend Lydia Tyree occasionally produces fully original art for the comic. Clevinger puts it altogether with clipart or google found images for backgrounds and visual reinforcements. While not an amazing or refined piece of art, the 8-Bit comics are certainly functional and support the text-laden pages. I feel comfortable calling this “comic art.”

I imagine the end is near, for 8-bit. I mean, they finally have all four orbs and are at the final castle. All we need now is the final boss fight. And after seven years, I imagine Clevinger can’t wait. I expect he’s always resented this little hobby of his. It was all good fun until it completely overshadowed his beloved brainchild and reason for launching the site: Nuklear Age. When he finally did finish getting his tongue-in-cheek superhero novel together, it…really didn’t do so well, while 8-bit continued to shine. Many conventions will fly him in from Florida and put him up at a hotel just so he can reassure fans that Black Mage will always like to kill people. Poor guy. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel for you, Clevinger. It’s called Atomic Robo. Even if it didn’t get you an Eisner, it’s also doing pretty well.

In closing, 8-Bit Theatre is NOT for all audiences, but after over 1000 installations, it’s still fabulous at what it does. Everything Clevinger does in this comic is horrible and awful, but you love it, and you love him for it.

Rating:
“8-Bit Theatre”
http://www.nuklearpower.com/
By Brian Clevinger

review by Sly Eagle

(2 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

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8-bit has (at this time) over one thousand comics. That can be a bit intimidating to new readers but don’t let it worry you. You can jump in pretty much anywhere and run with it.

Here’s what you should probably know; don’t take this comic seriously. Secondly, the FAQ explains that the essence of the storyline is the standard video game plot: “the good guys go beat the bad guys.” 8-bit more or less follows this easy to grasp concept although I do have a bit of an issue with one little thing. I have a hard time telling exactly who all the good guys are in the cast. Sure, a couple of them are better than the others but I didn’t see any truly good guys.

The four main characters are the predestined Light Warriors, “who are the least-enabled (or inclined) to save the world.” I found that very amusing and it certainly adds a unique spin on the video game comic idea. Who are these four characters? I did not have time to read and digest every comic, so I relied on wikipedia to give me a basic idea about them.

Starting with Black Mage Evilwizardington, who hates everyone on the planet, wields destructive magic and has a split conscience of evil and is atrociously evil. His goals are to acquire more power and kill off his fellow Lightwarriors. Nice, huh? He is so evil and selfish that the description doesn’t really do him justice.

Fighter McWarrior (picture shows two costumes) heals quickly even from lethal injuries and is a very skilled swordsman. He is trained to use more than two swords at once but actually has sword-chucks which he uses to stunning effect. Naturally, he has a sword fixation and a heroic streak which allows him to ignore his “best friend in the world” Black Mage - who specifically likes to use Fighter as a “meat shield” out of pure contempt.

Thief is an kleptomaniac elf who serves as the leader, due to his penchant for trickery and legal contracts. He talked Fighter into signing over the leadership of the Light Warriors to him. He doesn’t usually fight unless it’s an ambush, though his ninja class gives him some martial skills. He tends to rely on his wits, cunning and his ability to steal anything not nailed down or on fire.

Red Mage is a delusional character who acts like he’s a powergaming roleplayer. Adding to that, he is unafraid to modify his character sheet and even ‘forgets to write down’ lethal damage - and thus surviving. He often creates overcomplicated plans which surprisingly do work out sometimes despite obvious flaws. No matter, Red Mage prides himself on being versatile and thinks his plans as always foolproof.

There are other characters and enemies - all of which have a variety of facets to them. The characters are what make this strip. 8-bit is full of wisecracking comments that are pretty hilarious; especially if you used to play eight-bit games with your smack talking friends. Here’s an example where Black Mage tries to get the Dark Warriors (dire enemies of the Light Warriors) to hire him.

Practically every comic was amusing on its own but I had a very hard time piecing an overall storyline together from them. There were short “mission” story arcs, of course, but the main story of “good guys go beat the bad guys” serves as a backdrop more than anything else. This can be a feature or a failure, depending on your preference for story.

Overall, this is a gag comic with a little 8-bit nostalgia, great dialog and a catchy sprite cast. Lack of time and the lack of overall story made it difficult for me to push through the archive, but your opinion may vary.

Rating:

8-bit Theater
http://www.nuklearpower.com/latest.php
by Brian Clevenger
review by Delos
(1 votes, average: 3 out of 5)

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This comic reminded me of a few guys I know. Guys that are not in college (be it by completion or not attending) and living with their mommas while they still haven’t found a real job. They’re looking, they say, and if you ever saw them say so without their faces towards a screen with a remote, controller, or keyboard at hand, you might believe them.

They’re not real nerds. Nerds fixate. Nerds connect to a fandom or genre and devote their lives to it. These guys don’t have the attention span for something like that. They just latch on to whatever’s in front of them at the moment. Unless, perhaps, it’s either not pop culture or it’s R Kelly.

I think, if they read this comic, they’d enjoy it immensely. They’d probably prattle on about how good it was…long after you’ve given them every polite hint you know of that you have no idea what they’re talking about and you’d rather not fix that.

Fortunately, they are not reviewing this comic. Unfortunately, I am.

Intelligence Cleaner Agency, by D. Bethel (I’m presuming there’s only one actual person behind this comic), is one of those Big Idea comics that seems to fall just short of coming together. The Big Idea is that the ICA is the secret agency whose job is cleaning up after those pesky other secret agencies who should have a hard time keeping themselves secret due to a penchant for blowing things up. The website goes for the “immersive” experience by having the comments be from the main characters point of view and the whole set-up brought to you by the conceit that due to the Patriot Act, the ICA is being forced to make their files public and has chosen to do so through a comic. No, it doesn’t quite add up, and that, unfortunately, is the real theme of ICA. The characters have “dossiers” and the storylines are broken up into “declassifications. While this all gives the site and comic its own identity, it never manages to seal the deal, leaving most of the big ideas floating in the weight of their own merit and never tying the package together. It doesn’t help that the site itself is cluttered and confusing.

In the same vein, the stories tend to be half-baked and never quite pull together. We follow Agent Eben07 and his partner Ninja Dan (seems the surefire way to make your story more appealing is to add a Japanese character - failing any real idea of what makes a character Japanese, a “ninja” will do) on a series of missions to clean things up. For the most part, we have to accept the unexplained or elaborated upon mission as the plot device to keep the story moving (or, even more cynically, as the excuse to have a “story” in the first place). They are occasionally joined with the token female agent Janester who is, uh, very token. It has entered my mind that these missions may perhaps be references to movies I’ve not seen and video games I’ve not played. I’m going to assume there are jokes here, and that since I’m not up on James Bond or Metal Gear Solid, I just don’t see them. However, I have seen Raiders of the Lost Ark, and the storyline involving that did not amuse me in the least, even though I got the references. A reference for reference’s sake won’t get a chuckle out of me. I suppose the spontaneity, rather than the applicability, is supposed to be funny. But because it absolutely is not applicable, my brain draws a big old “Does Not Compute” and I proceed to stare blearily at the inanity of it rather than balling up in stitches like my br–I mean, those guys I know would.

What I can glean from the story is that the ICA was founded by Eben07’s ancester Abel, a man who is easily and unexplicably 300 years old and who has recently left the organization. Abel wants Eben07 to help him “clean up the ICA.” The rest doesn’t seem to relate. Perhaps the intelligence was cleaned out.

The art did not fit the tone of the comic. I’m not sure why, but it felt disjointed to me. Maybe this was because while the story was so random and spastic, the artwork was a decent example of action cartooning. Not a great example of comicing, though. Don’t expect anything exciting from the layouts other than some where the order is hard to follow. This is plainly PS7, maybe CS. It suffers from a couple PS quirks, actually. One, the panel lines tend to be blurry - good old stroke on the center line with, I’ll guess 3 pixels. I’d suggest stroking inside or outside. For some reason, that seems to clean up the blurriness once you compress the file. Same thing with the bubble lines - try using 2 pixels instead of 1. That one plagued me for a year. The other problem is the over-sharp font. I’m not sure what’s causing that, as it doesn’t happen on about half of the comics. Both these things should be fixed to match the linework. All things told, I have no major problems with the art, but I’m not feeling inspired by it either.

As a final thought, I have to wonder why Eben07’s weapon of choice is a plunger-gun. A mop would be so much better.

I’m going to give this one 2.5 stars because I know there’s an audience for it and I know it probably delivers for them. May God bless and keep them both far away from me.

(A final note for clarification: The Geek knows a great many little things. The Nerd knows one thing that is Great to him.)

Rating:
“Intelligence Cleaner Agency”
http://www.eben07.com/
By D. Bethel

review by Sly Eagle

(3 votes, average: 3.33 out of 5)

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