Some might think that comics with stick figures must be one dimensional in terms of the art, writing and stories. After all, all of it must match the art, right? The backgrounds need to be empty of detail and everything must be kept simple simple simple. That’s just what you’d expect from a stick figure comic.

Not always. Haven’t we all seen lavishly drafted comics with no real story to hold them together? Aren’t they a bit disappointing? Isn’t this a lot of questions? (That last one was just to see if you’re paying attention.)

My first impression of Amazing Superteam is Lego Star Wars meets Challenge of the Superfriends. It’s pretty rockin’. The humor and basic storylines do match the art and the writing is very clever. They have the kinds of conversations and do the kinds of things that comic fans crack jokes about. I found it hilarious. Of course, I’m not sure I would follow it from week to week and enjoy it as much because I like some bigger chunks of story development in each update. For me, Superteam is a good comic to check back in on every few weeks.

If you’re a comic lover like I am, you can see all the cast on the characters page and they are obviously knock offs on some well known superheroes. Specifically, I think they are well done knock offs.

If you fancy yourself an artist, go ahead and draw a few popular superheroes from DC or Marvel as stick figures. Okay, you probably have some guys with capes but after you do more than a few of them they all begin to look the same. Now try to draw Aquaman or Lex Luthor and then compare yours to the Superteam version. Not as easy as it might seem to make them each unique and recognizable, is it? The point is that even though it looks simple, drawing fun stick figure characters isn’t easy. Give the stick figures some props.

That said, Amazing Superteam is full of cliche hero plots and it is meant to be that way. You will not find stories that are groundbreaking works full of emotion. This comic is a witty parody of all those fun things we enjoy about superhero comics. The storytelling style and the art go hand in hand, complementing each other nicely. What gives it a zing is the subtle twinges in the writing and the snappy dialog.

This is one of the best stick figure and superhero parody comics available, so it gets five stars as an excellent example of its kind(s) of comic. Rating:

Superteam
http://www.drunkduck.com/Amazing_Superteam/index.php?p=243422
by Bongotezz
review by Delos
(2 votes, average: 3 out of 5)

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What do you need to know first about the ICA? It’s a spy comic focusing around an agent named Eben07. You will immediately get the basic concept once you pronounce his name properly: ebb-in-oh-seven.

According to the new readers page, the Intelligence Cleaner Agency is mandated to to cover up, clean up and otherwise eradicate any evidence of “ultra-secret covert operation.” However, the Patriot Act requires that the secret archives of the ICA be realeased to the public. Since the law does not mandate a particular venue of information release, Agent Eben07 had the idea to portray it as a cartoon. Thus the law is satisfied and while still letting the ICA keep most of their secrets.

Here’s an important bit to remember from the readers page: “Comics are called declassifications and are set in “operations” which could be considered chapters, but are more like individual stories that sometimes intertwine.” Knowing that helps you understand the operations summary page at the beginning of each chapter. You’ll see an official ICA Operations Declassification Release Form - complete with a “Compliant with FOIA” statement. That’s an amusing detail. The summaries are nicely done for those of us reading the archives. We can get a sense of what to expect yet it’s written cryptically so if you want the juicy details you’ll have to read the comic.

Another amusing detail is found on the What We Do page. Among other questions (some of whose answers are deleted due to security reasons,) it is asked why the comic follows Agent Eben07. The answer is “Eben07 is the ACA (Assigned Cleaner Agent) for one of the most elite operatives of the British intelligence services. Due to his high profile assignment and recommendations for the declassification to be a “cartoon” his codename has also become synonymous with the declassification process.”

Naturally, there is a dossier page for those that wish to assess the character of the operatives. The two main operatives featured are Eben07 and Ninja Dan. Eben07 has specialties involving getting hit with tranquilizer datrs, cultures of the Middle East and Eastern Europe with a deep appreciation for “all things Soviet.” Ninja Dan has flashing swords, a stoic attitude, ninja skills and a baseball cap pulled down over his eyes. We also find their Operations Supervisor Clancy Ryan Ford, supernatural expert Janester and Research & Development specialist Emoticon.

If you read the Dossiers, you’ll see the term “waste management” quite a lot. It threw me at first, but I suppose that’s what “cleaners” do - they manage the waste. It therefore occurred to me that they are actually managing wasted intelligence, and I found that amusing in the context of the strip.

So what do Eben07 and Ninja Dan do? They use their skills, gear and gadgets to accomplish the mission of the ICA. One of my favorite (archived) operations is where the ICA has to undo something that Dr. Jones has done. In it, we learn about the ever nefarious Smithsonian organization and their desire to uncover secrets. The ICA cannot allow that - their whole purpose is to keep things secret. In later operations, Smithsonian operatives return to work their mischief.

The current operation “took agents Eben07 and Ninja Dan on a train ride via the Orient Express where they were assigned to clean a covert operation regarding Eben07’s Assigned Secret Agent. Eben07 fell incapacitated and Ninja Dan was left to sort out the conspiracy and revive his partner.” Each ICA agent has their ASA (Assigned Secret Agent) that they specifically clean up for as part of their general mission parameters. Unfortunately, Eben07 fell victim to the perils of Russian Literature and lapsed into a coma during the train ride to the mission. Ninja Dan is in the process of finding someone to revive Eben07 at the moment. Knowing that everyone who appears in the comic has a good chance of showing back up leads me to expect to see these … unknown gypsies … will appear in a later storyline. Eben07 is good spy-spoof fun. I give it five stars as an excellent example of its kind of comic. Rating:

I also liked all the little custom details on the website. Aside from what I’ve already mentioned, you see “operation navigation” instead of story archives and “security clearance required” instead of meta (where you log in, get the rss feeds, etc.) I also like the new title image. Note: They have just switched over to a wordpress install, so some features (like the villain’s dossier’s) are not yet up to date. It is much easier to use the website now than Eben07’s previous design, so get reading.

Intelligence Cleaner Agency
by (restricted information not available for the public)
http://www.eben07.com
review by Delos
(3 votes, average: 4.33 out of 5)

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Adorable. Funny. Touching. Authentic.

I’m not sure I need to write a longer review than that. “School Spirit” is all of these things. It’s a web-comic I will gladly introduce my nephew to as soon as I get the chance. He’s the same age as the main characters (and quite a bit like Cody in terms of personality, although he’s likely to think otherwise, but beyond that I think the comic is also age-appropriate. My nephew and his friends are at that age where they’re still silly and goofy but are becoming aware of the world around them. The most recent storyline, about Grace’s grandfather developing Alzheimer’s, reminded me of how supportive my nephew and his classmates are of a friend of theirs who is battling cancer. Grace, Caspar and Cody’s attempts to help Principal Kelly with his memory is similar to the things my nephew and his friends do to support Liam.

Of course, this Alzheimer’s storyline appears when the comic numbers almost 700 pages of archives. By this point, we’ve had plenty of time to get to know these kids and their teachers, and to watch their friendships and rivalries develop. What a long way the comic has come from that first strip when we met Casper as he boarded the bus for his first day at a new school. In the best storytelling tradition, Casper is just as new to this school and peer group as we are, so we get to meet the other characters along with him.

What’s unusual about this school’s spirit is that there are several of them … a whole cemetery’s worth of them. Only Cody and Casper can see them: Wendy, the girl their own age. Old Bill, the groundskeeper. The Soldier. They set up quite a few recurring jokes, like the one about there being a difference between ghosts and spirits. Or the one about Casper believing in friendly ghosts. They add a nice dynamic to the story, taking it occasionally out of the realistic classroom setting.

Believe it or not, “School Spirit” is also a great educational tool – for learning Australia’s history as well as it’s slang. I’m sure some of these terms will be peppering my classes for the forseeable future.

The art quickly settles into a style which is recognizable – cartoony but consistent. Vivid coloring helps keep the eye’s attention as well.

Definitely full marks on this one! Rating:

Daniel VanderWerff’s “School Spirit”
http://www.schoolspirit.com
reviewed by Anthony R. Cardno
(2 votes, average: 4.5 out of 5)

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The Night Owls is a Zuda instant winner and has published sixty two screens (pages) so far. As is normal, I sometimes had to stop and pick up reading the next day and I liked how the Zuda site automatically remembered where I left off in my reading. There is a concise comic summary on the site but since you have to take the time to find, open and read it, I’ll provide it here:

“‘The Night Owls‘ is a Detective Agency set in New York City in the 1920s and specializing in cases that involve the supernatural. Professor Ernest Baxter is the brains of the operation, utilizing his vast knowledge of all things weird to right the wrongs that leave ordinary police baffled! He’s a bit of a bookworm, and allergic to sunlight, but his inquisitive nature has led to the downfall of many of New York’s deadliest demons! Of course, he couldn’t have done it without Mindy Markus. She’s a feisty flapper that’s put the hurt on a lot of nocturnal nasties! Don’t try to tell her she can’t fight the forces of evil because she’s just a girl, unless you’re looking for a face full of feminine fist, that is! Then there’s Roscoe, the Gargoyle. He’s a tough little bruiser from the Bronx, more at home at the dinner table than on a church roof. Together, they solve the crimes that no one else can solve! When you suspect your wife is a werewolf, when you’re haunted by a petulant poltergeist, or caught in the trap of a vicious vampire, your best chance of survival is the Night Owls!”

This is a very good description of the Night Owls and I doubt I could do better. It even lets you in on the Professor’s allergic condition which helps you to make immediate sense of the comic’s name. And that line about “face full of feminine fist” always makes chuckle - it is absolutely true. Don’t mess with Mindy. Night Owls should probably come with a warning: Roscoe will eat any small or pet animal you might have, so don’t leave yours alone when he’s around.

Night Owls is made up of pulpish mini story arcs all woven into a larger, evolving story. While each comic stands on its own, earlier storyline details come back into the spotlight and it creates a “I know what’s going on with that” feeling as you read the comic. For example, when people start losing their faces, you know exactly who is involved and what needs to be done about it.

This mini arc blending accomplishes three things. The first is that it constantly rewards the fans of the comic with easter egg reminders of inside information. The second is that it builds an entire world a little bit at a time. In turn, that makes Night Owls a comic that’s easy to digest and catch up on. Thirdly, the smaller arcs contribute to a larger storyline and you begin to focus more on the three main characters rather than the monsters and set pieces; they become story color.

Speaking of color, there was an interview at Amalgamated Artists where [the artists were asked about color. There they stated that Night Owls is not a black and white comic. I had to go back and double check this for myself - it is colored in dark hued browns. Another bit of color they talk about is anachronisms. The artists try their hardest not to include anything that is not from the 1920’s time period. The example given is car keys, which didn’t exist at the time. That attention to detail always pays off.

Overall, The Night Owls is well done and a great example of a pulp comic. The concept is interesting, the dialog is handled well and the stories are satisfying. Rating:

(If you enjoy this comic, be sure to check out the animated version.)

The Night Owls
http://zudacomics.com/the_night_owls
by Peter and Robert Timony
Review by Delos
(4 votes, average: 4.25 out of 5)

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Thankfully this is like a week off work for me. I really don’t have to struggle to find the words to describe the talented twins Peter and Bobby Timony and their breakout Zuda smash The Night Owls. I say smash because, well, not only is it a great strip in it’s own right with an ever growing fan base, the twins seem to be building on that success and making themselves somewhat irreplaceable over at Zuda HQ. If ever Zuda needed a flagship strip then it need look no further than this one. It just seems like a great fit for both the format and the delivery schedule which was twice a week as season one came to close. Don’t worry about waiting, season two has just begun. Here though we can look back at the sixty screens of season one and despite some early concerns I might have had that the plots were a bit hit and miss with single screen gags that weren’t terribly sophisticated by middle of those sixty screens the boys were fairly cranking out the good stuff. Short arcs with humorous characterisation replacing the obvious sight gags becomes the norm and now all the gags seem to naturally appear out of the characters themselves without any recourse to puns, pratfalls or belches.

The comedy revolves around a small cast investigating bizarre supernatural crimes in and around New York City during the roaring Twenties. Ernest Baxter is the bespectacled and emotionally reticent professor who explains what’s going on. Mindy Markus is the scrappy flapper who gets ahead of the plot and makes what’s going on interesting. Roscoe the … whatever he is … acts as the comedy relief making sure we all know we are permanently in the territory of the weird. The three of them constitute The Night Owls Detective Agency and are joined by several supporting characters, normal and bizarre, good guys and villains, who are carefully woven into the fictional fabric of the story. Even though it’s only sixty screens old those characters have become pretty essential to our understanding of the whole history on offer. Nothing and no-one is thrown in or out for no good reason. Each short arc tends to build on what has gone before – slowly but surely.

Although each of the main characters could be described as an archetype but all of them are sufficiently well written to transcend those archetypes. There is a subtlety at work here demonstrated by the fact that when even the obvious happens as a reader I easily accept it’s naturalness and inevitability with good humour. It’s that fuzzy warm feeling of a safe yet entertaining environment that is not that easy to create. What supports these characters further is an understanding and an appreciation of the silent era of comedy which the Timony twins are well versed in. They not only know about the slapstick comedy of Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton, but they know how to use that knowledge to colour their character’s adventures, without resorting to the obvious homage. That understanding of that history never gets in the way of the plot or the humour. It’s left as a layer behind the story that you can investigate, appreciate or ignore without breaking the magic of what is going on in the foreground.

If you are not convinced by the strip itself then take a look here at The Night Owls in action! Seeing is believing my friends.

This is my favourite comic of the instant winners on Zuda so far. I wasn’t completely sure about this or any of the others for that matter, but picking this up for an instant win was one of the best decisions ever made at Zuda HQ and both Peter and Bobby have brought all their energy and creativity to bear on this – and it shows.

I showed this picture to Zuda regulars before and I think it warrants a second look here - Clara Bow in her boxing gloves – inspiration or synchronicity?

I have a rating system on my own site which does not describe how much I like a comic so much as it shows how ‘good’ I think a comic is across a broad range of specific elements. At the top of that pile rests this strip and for good reason. The simple story that you understand straight away, the Sunday Paper format that looks like black and white, but isn’t, the gentle layered humour and subtle characterisations, the sympathetic artwork that always services the story or the gag, the regular update schedule that compliments rather than hampers the flow of the story - all go to make this a compelling and winning formula.

Zuda is a peculiar beast since it lives or dies at the moment on the interest generated by the monthly competition. Slowly there is being added a selection of instant winners who bypass the competition and go straight to generating the sixty screens of the contract without the rigours of trying to market and win by themselves. The Timony Twins and The Night Owls are definitely one of the finds of the year and important enough for Zuda to keep it and them close to it’s ample cash-stuffed bosom. Other notable Zuda successes High Moon, Bayou and Supertron lend themselves perhaps to a more print minded audience, but The Night Owls is just a great webcomic.

Rating:

The Night Owls
http://www.zudacomics.com/node/152
by Peter and Bobby Timony
review by Mike Perridge
(5 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

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All right, youse mugs! Lissen up ’cause I don’t wanna haveta repeat myself! If you point yer peepers at any one woik dis year, make it The Night Owls. I’m not kiddin’ ya, ya joik - read it! ‘Dis comic hasta be onea th’ funniest I’ve laughed myself sick over in one night. I gotta tellya, though, my hopes fer dis comic bein’ good was about as low as the Titanic when I saw we hadta review it, but man, what a kick inna teeth I was in for! It was so good it hit me like a stiff belt’a Old Brown Wrapper, ya know whuddImean?

What’s dat? Whaddaya mean yer surprised I can read, ya lug? Why, I oughta….you keep dat stuff up an’ you’ll be meetin’ th’ business end of my meathooks, ya get me?

Da story is set back in th’ 1920’s - nah, I wasn’t there but my granny useta tell me stories about dem times. Reminds me of dat other woik I read once…what was it called? Somethin’ about bootleggin’ cats … oh yeah, Lackadaisy. Now DAT was anudder good woik, lemme tellya. Aww now I got ramblin’ again..where was I? Oh yeah - Night Owls. Da story is about some egghead an’ his crew, goin’ out and huntin’ down all dem nasty things what go bump in th’ night. Him and his crew end up chasin’ vampires, huntin’ ghosts an’ all dat, but widdout dem fancy things on their back an’ th’ traps an’ all dat that other ghost huntin’ group had. I gotta tell ya, da guy what writes dis stuff - he’s got one wild imagination! Story was great an’ kept me on the edgea my seat da whole time. No nasty stuff in it, no cussin’ or nothin’ that would make me tell da kiddies ta hustle off ta bed before I sat down ta read it, neither. My ma, God rest ‘er an’ good church goin’ lady dat she was, why even she’d read it an’ like it - an’ dat’s sayin’ somethin’! So nonea you mugs out dere wid kids haveta worry. You can let ‘em read it an’ it won’t be no woise dan readin’ somethin’ like The Shadow.

Da art was good, too. Now I considers meself ta be a right good educated joe, comin’ outta da thoid grade like I did an’ all, but I ain’t no art critic, see? I gotta tellya, though, da guy dat draws this does a real good job. I wouldn’ta minded seein’ some color, but ya know, bein’ in black an’ white like it is, it adds somethin’ ta th’ time it’s supposed ta be in. It was good widdout bein’ too complicated, but it wasn’t sloppy neither! Spartan, I think dem eggheads up at da univoisity would call it - just enough ta get da job done. Had good detail, though, and it was like readin’ one a’ them old time comics my granddad useta lemme see in th’ papers. I tellya, my hat’s off ta dis guy.

Ya know, though, ain’t no art inna woild gonna pull yer bacon outta da fire if yer characters ain’t woith a plugged nickel. Too many comics out dere dat look like the people is just cutouts - nothin’ to ‘em, and nothin’ dat would make ya believe dat they’d actually stay around each udder, let alone woik wid’ one another. Not so here, though, lemme tellya! Da characters in dis comic are top shelf, an’ I liked ‘em. Da egghead of da group, Baxter, is a good joe. (Reminds me ‘a myself, but I don’ liketa brag or nuttin…)Doesn’t go around beatin’ people in da head wid his smarts, an’ he ain’t too shabby when it comes to mixin’ it up wid da fists, too, ya know whuddImean? He’s got some guts to him, which is more den I can say for mosta th’ eggheads ya see in dese stories. Da frail what helps him, Mindy, has got one serious jab, and ain’t afraid a’ layin’ her mitts on some lug what needs it, neither. Whew! I wouldn’t wanta get on HER bad side, lemme tellya. Even though she’s tough, she’s still a lady, an’ dat makes a lotta difference, ya know? She’s nice ta be around, insteada bein’ one of them bitter types what goes around tryin’ ta knock every man down ta prove how tough she is. She’s one tough dame, and she knows it, so she doesn’t haveta keep provin’ it. She’s got brains, too! Right off da bat she gives a Mickey Finn ta dis vampire in strip #2! Dats a frail what’s got it on da bean! Da last guy in da group, Roscoe, is da local wiseguy and probably one’a them comic relief types. (He sounds kinda familiar, too, like he’s from da old neighborhood or sumthin’….) He adds a lotta comedy to da strip widdout bein’ hokey or onea them wiseguys dat you’d wanna drop a lug on ’cause he keeps flappin’ his yap and makin’ ya look like Mickey the Dunce in fronta yer friends. Da group woiks well, too. Dere a team, an’ no one’s tryin’ ta make da udder ones look like joiks. Dey watch each udder’s backs, too, which is always a good thing. Da author made sure ta give ya some backstory ta letcha know why they’re all together, which is a good move on his part, I say. Ties up all them loose ends.

Well, I ain’t got all day ta sit here, chewin’ th’ rag wid you mugs - take my woid for it an’ check it out. I tellya, if I could give dis woik 6 or 7 stars, I’d do it! I can’t though, so dey’ll haveta be glad wid’ 5. If ya check it out, you’ll be glad ya did, and if ya DON’T like it, well, ya better not let me catch wind of it, or I’ll come give ya da woiks, ya know what I’m sayin’? (gives you a soft chuck on the chin) Now gedoudda here. I got woik ta do!

Th’ Sawbones

Rating:

(6 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

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