“Kidnapped by Gnomes” reviewed by Anthony Cardno

I couldn’t resist the title. I almost called the review “All Dressed up with Gno(me)where To Go,” but figured that’d be pushing it.

Kathy Peterson’s twice-weekly strip will certainly not be to everyone’s liking. Anyone expecting a cute little strip about garden-dwelling, nature-loving little people will be disappointed right off the bat. These gnomes, Ed and Wilson, are furry little guys with pot-bellies and pointy ears who dwell in the house of author Peterson’s doppleganger (who we never actually fully see, but often hear from). They might like nature, but they love all the modern American conveniences and virtually worship the television. (Okay, Wilson is equally prone to worshipping Ann Coulter. Peterson, through Ed and Wilson, promise us right off the bat that her strip will not include what seems to predominate webcomics currently: no anime, no video-game or tv show references, no anthropomorphic characters. As the series continues, there are some pop culture references but she doesn’t rely on them for the funny.

Within the first five posts I knew I was going to enjoy the series; despite the fact that the main characters are virtually look-alike gnomes (Wilson is a little shorter and colored slightly darker than Ed), I felt like I was reading an old favorite strip. I couldn’t figure out why I felt that way, but I was enjoying all the political banter, the light jabs at the system and at both the major parties (the subject that our Esteemed Moderator was sure would polarize we Reviewers) and the “average” American, mixed with some pages that are not topical at all. It wasn’t until the 36th entry that I realized why I felt so comfortable: Peterson is a huge Bloom County fan, and proudly so. I should have seen it right off: so much of what she’s doing here matches up to that classic newspaper strip. She mines the same territory that Breathed did with Opus, Bill the Cat, Binkley and Milo, (Ed wakes Kathy up with his concerns at crazy hours of the night just as Binkley did his father; Wilson is beset by a troll Kathy says doesn’t exist, much like the creatures that step out of Binkley’s Anxiety Closet) but puts her own twists on it – the “Pandora’s Box of Political Lies,” Ed’s attempts to become Emperor of Delaware. There are topical political references, but Peterson’s stated goal is to keep the political humor more broad (targeting parties rather than people) so that it’s still funny a decade or more from now (as the best of the Bloom County strips are). Like the best political comedy, she beats up on both parties equally, and often on herself in the process. And like Breathed, Peterson breaks away from the topical for pages of simple slapstick, like a recent encounter with a waxed floor.

The art is simple, although as the series progresses Peterson experiments more with backgrounds and camera angles to vary up the look of the strip.

Bloom County will never come back to the newspapers as a daily (and the current Sunday-only Opus is good, but not as good), but we get a decent successor in Kidnapped By Gnomes. Four stars from me. Can’t wait to see what my fellow Reviewers thought of it. Rating:

Kidnapped By Gnomes

by Kathy Peterson

http://www.kidnappedbygnomes.com

review by Anthony Cardno

Kidnapped By Gnomes is all about these two little blue gnomes who consistently get things not quite right. One is named Ed who is an American patriot, self proclaimed dictator of Delaware and strong political conservative. Ed is also thinner, taller and more outspoken than Wilson. Wilson is shorter, stouter and purplish. Wilson is more naive and liberal but has a secret agenda to change Ed.

Sometimes the strip is about political elections, immigration and foreign trade. Other times it is about day to day concerns like when people leave the toilet seat up or something from the History Channel. There is also a strange fascination with Ann Coulter and Benjamin Franklin. Sometimes they even speak to the artist, which is amusing. KBG is a bit whimsical.

I’m not a political humor fan, although Ed’s urge to conquer Delaware and then take over New Jersey is amusing. I am also amused by Ed’s extreme personality and Wilson’s satisfaction with tagging along on Ed’s latest hare-brained project.

I can usually find something to appreciate in just about any comic. There’s always something new or unique to discover. In KBG, the gnomes are stand-ins for the mysterious, real life antics of house cats and the different political views of the artist. There are comics where the artist pokes fun, but she’s also not afraid to make fun of herself and her views. It is far more common to make fun of other people.

Still, it just isn’t my cup of tea. Overall, I did find KBG more amusing than not. You may enjoy it if you like a bit of whimsy mixed with your politics. Rating:

Kidnapped By Gnomes
by Kathy Peterson
http://www.kidnappedbygnomes.com/
review by Delos Woodruff
(3 votes, average: 4.33 out of 5)

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Every once in a while you’re asked to review a web comic that is cutting edge, full of new ideas and imaginative plots, and great stories.

This one definitely wasn’t it.

I originally had a long review written, rife with witty ripostes, slightly sarcastic humor and numerous examples showing why I simply didn’t like this web comic at all. Then I read a review of a recent movie and realized that all of that wasn’t necessary to get my point across. So here you have the new and improved review and I hope you’re happy.

I gave KBG 1 star, for a lot of reasons. One was the art itself. I felt that it lacked not only imagination, but indeed seemed to have very little thought put into it, period. The scenes, little more than doodles, really, varied only in occasional pose and by inclusion of some prop piece needed for the cartoon itself. I realize that not everyone has to draw like a Picasso, but come on. The main reason why I gave the comic 1 star, though, was because of the storylines, or lack of them. Instead of breaking new ground, the artist instead chose to take two tried and true lines; (1) rehash the same tired old plots and jokes seen on just about any sitcom and (2) stick only with the socially acceptable digs and jibes, instead of being daring and going into some potentially dangerous territory. Some examples are:

- Religious jokes aplenty, (though none about Muslims or things like the ongoing Rev. Wright saga - it’s cool to bash Christians and the Church and joke about being proud for winging a Jehovah’s Witness, but make fun of black churches or Muslims? Can’t have that.)

- Jokes about gun owners being nuts and deriving their “manliness” from owning a gun (what would have been REALLY imaginative would have been portraying them as NOT crazy, but I guess that would have been too out of step with the accepted norm - knowing many gun owners (including myself) who don’t fit the stereotype as I do, the jokes came off as mundane, witless and dull.)

- Hints not only dropped but thrown right AT you that the artist is gay and proud, and you should be proud of them being so open.

Slight digression here - no doubt some of you are snorting and saying “Hmph. He’s obviously homophobic.” Well, to you I say “Try again!” because I surely am not. I mentioned that last point because I find it ridiculous to parade and shove a person’s sexual orientation - gay OR straight - in people’s faces as though it defines them and somehow makes their work or opinion more worthy of attention or better as a whole. Poor artwork and stories are poor, good are good, no matter WHO you are or who you choose to give your affections to. Are we clear? Good.

- Jokes about the Bush administration (yawn)

- A tag at the end of one comic stating that the artist supposedly had been banned from Australia for 3 years (nothing in the news though) and being worried about the CIA watching them. Nothing says “I’m unstable and paranoid” more than that, let me tell you. Truly detracted from the enjoyment of the comic, as I wondered where else that instability had been sneaked in.

I could go on, but I won’t. Suffice to say that if these kinds of “jokes” appeal to you, then you won’t agree with me and you’ll love it. They don’t, to me, and I didn’t .

And that’s my review. If anyone chooses (and that’s the operative word, here, people - CHOOSES) to be offended, then I guess that’s how it will have to be. Rating:

The Doctor

Kidnapped By Gnomes

by Kathy Peterson

http://www.kidnappedbygnomes.com

(9 votes, average: 3.22 out of 5)

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I don’t usually like to talk about my political leanings in my reviews. As the old proverb says, religion and politics are off-limits for polite discussion, doubly so if the discussion is about flippin’ webcomics. But since we’re reviewing the politically charged Kidnapped by Gnomes, it’s only right that I disclose a little something about my beliefs. Here’s a hint: in my desk drawer downstairs, I have a nice certificate issued to me by the NRA. The one that’s not the National Restaurateur’s Association. Based on one of the comics’ story arcs, my guess is that Kathy Peterson would not approve. So from this point on, feel free to dismiss any statements you don’t agree with as close-minded partisan bias. I’d totally understand. We cool?

So here’s my first, senses-shattering controversial statement: The artwork in Kidnapped by Gnomes is not that great.

I am not a fan of comics where the characters are seemingly copy and pasted from one strip to the next like Colorforms, with only slight changes to the faces to indicate “emotion”. There should be a rule somewhere that only Ryan North is allowed to do this. I hate it when it’s done in video game webcomics (*cough* Buckley *cough*), but at least there it makes sense thematically: computer characters that didn’t register any recognizable facial emotions until about the mid-2000’s. Yet Kidnapped by Gnomes is, for the most part, a political cartoon. This is the realm of Thomas Nast and David Horsey and Gary Trudeau, all artists who masked the deathly dull nature of their subject matter with eye-catching visuals and attention to detail.

Kidnapped by Gnomes, on the other hand, is static and dull. Ed and Wilson, the two gnome characters, are difficult to tell apart, and their expressions barely change from one panel to the next. I think they’re supposed to look like stuffed animals in a novel juxtaposition of childhood id and adult sarcasm, yet for the life I me I can’t get over how much they look like Veggie Tales. Is there anything in the world more off-putting than hearing political opinions coming from analogues of Larry the Cucumber and Bob the Tomato?

As for the aforementioned political content, Ms. Peterson is opinionated and is not afraid to show it. Her views are a little left of the middle, a liberal if you will. (Or “progressive”; I’m not entirely sure what the proper term is nowadays.) However, Kidnapped by Gnomes is no Mallard Filmore or Minimum Security, and THANK GOD FOR THAT. While Ms. Peterson chastises right-wing politicians for the most part, she has no patience for extremists, right or left. Politics, after all is full of idiots from both sides, and part of the problem is the screwed up system that got them there. If there is a central theme of the comic, it’s “Don’t be a pompous jerk.” Frankly that’s something we can all agree with, no matter what our beliefs. As a result, Gnomes comes off as less petulant than its peers.

An example of the strip’s relative geniality: one of the strip’s running jokes is that Wilson, the liberal gnome, harbors a crush on notorious conservative writer Ann Coulter. I halfway expected this particular joke to devolve into the standard “Ann Coulter is a transvestite” response. (I don’t care if you like or hate Ms. Coulter: those sorts of insults are grade school at best.) When Gnomes get a chance to take a dig at her, what does Peterson come up with? “She only dates macho men with bulging muscles and a lust for maiming woodland creatures,” which is then follow-up by: “… not wimpy liberals who cry at the end of the ‘Joy Luck Club.’” Creative digs and self-deprecating comments? I approve!

Trust me, it matters. I don’t always agree with Ms. Peterson (what being a neo-con soulless corporate sell-out and all), but the way she presents her views, I am willing to listen. Kidnapped by Gnomes is not an inflammatory comic howling that your beliefs are wrong, and you’re stupid for believing what you do. Instead, it’s a pleasant debate you have with friends at a coffee shop, a call for civil conversation. Ed is portrayed as a Libertarian, and Wilson a Green Party liberal. Yet they’re portrayed as best of friends. Perhaps the best message of the comic is that despite our differences, we can all get along … not unlike Reverends Al Sharpton and Pat Robertson in that super bizarre commercial from the Alliance for Climate Protection.

Rating:

Kidnapped by Gnomes
by Kathy Peterson
http://www.kidnappedbygnomes.com/

(6 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5)

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