Say Cheese

Say Cheese

Art - Again nothing majorly wrong but that should be expected because it is a head-on and profile shot of characters he has been drawing for years. I'm glad there is no eye shadow (shading not makeup).

However I did notice:
1) There is no height marker behind either character which is standard for any police station (since we did have a discussion about officers and their side jobs and differences in different areas). He could have even used grayscale for the lines to decrease the starkness of the lines.

2) Doesn't Francis still wear glasses? I looked at the three strips after he got the crap kicked out of him and he only has a black eye. If he didn't lose them, which is possible, then some sort of damage to them should be shown here (bent frame, broken glass, etc.)

Story - Again it is just head shots and I don't think the joke was a homerun . . . or a double . . . or even a single. Maybe a foul tip.

This is not a critique but a form of general advice to people: mugshots are cool when you are single, NOT when you are already in a relationship. I have a feeling that neither Jade nor Marcy will be letting anyone get laid for a while.

Arrest Record

Kicking and Screaming

Art - I think the art again is good and nothing is badly drawn, which is good because there are not a lot of set pieces. I really liked seeing how he drew the small guy (any name btw?)grabbing at Francis' collar

My only problem is the order of the drawings of Officer Vernon. I think having him appear with the angry face first when he comes upon the scene and then the smirk when he realizes he caught Brent would have matched the story better.

Story - I laughed when Francis thought the problem was that "The midge" wasn't getting the top billing. I don't really see where the humor is, but I have to say I like Brent better because of this strip because he was protecting a friend.

Hey, it's something

Reconciliations

Reconciliations
*Note* I forgot to publish this before I left work - very tired and busy here this time of year

Art - Starting off with the negative (it is PVPMMS after all). We see Brent's mitten hands in panel one but worse then that is Brent's hands in panel two. If they are meant to be hands clasped in worry well they aren't clasped at all and are just really a jumble of fingers (at least they're no mittens so there's that).

Also, I would have like to see the window in the background of Brent in the second panel because it just looks like a window appeared for Francis to travel through. It didn't have to be a fully rendered window, even a grayscale version would have shown he's next to something that wasn't a wall.

However, Francis traveling THROUGH the window and Brent's reaction was great. It showed good action especially with the "explosion" of glass and Francis covering his head gave it some good realism, instead of the cartoonish head breaks glass version he could have went with.

Story - The only complaint is that you had to find out until today (critique pending) to see what Francis had to say. I chuckled at not what was said by the characters but the strip represented a literal "midget toss". Yes I am weird.

PS - The note that went with the comic :
"I know that it’s a staple of movies and TV shows, but have you ever thought about how dangerous it must be to be hurled through a window?"


Um . . . ok. Shouldn't you KNOW that instead of think about it?

Watching My Name is Bruce . .

. . . in all it's cheesy glory.

Plea Bargaining

Art - Good to see that the little person (is he named?) is drawn more realistically and not comically. It is likely due to it being from a reference photo or friend, but at least it didn't devolve into something overtly offensive.

I'll continue stating my dislike for the shading for Brent's cheek and the mitten hands that make an appearance in panel 3. Also, Brent's forearms look weird in panel 1 because of the angle he's holding them. Seriously, try to get into that position with your hands and forearms, it's not anatomically comfortable. Having the elbows lower then the hands would have decreased the awkwardness of the drawing

Story - Nothing much to say here. This could have been keep with the other "small person" strips while the other "bike cop" strips could have been kept together to improve flow. My opinion though.

Didn't suck but wasn't great.

Big and Small Plans

Art - Nothing really special here as it is Brent and Francis again so it is in Kurtz's wheelhouse. The shading is better and less blotchy and no mitten hands!

I really like seeing inside Francis' sketchbook and shows that the character does have some talent.

Story - Well Scott likes his 70's/80's TV show references about two zany detectives that live on a boat. If there wasn't a Bulldog and Cooch it would have been funny but it seems like Francis is repeating a Scott idea and it's been seen before.

Like I said before I like seeing Francis' sketching and would really like to see an arc about him going to school. It would be nice to see a story without Brent/Cole involved as well to kinda freshen the strip up too. I think when Scott did the story where Skull was away with his new kids when he came back to the PVP universe it was nice to do so.

I wrestling terms even Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, and the Rock had to be held out for a month or two so that fans don't get burned out on them. Seeing something outside of the PVP main universe using something people want to see (Francis' school, or even a Skull centric story) would be nice.

It's not that I'm not into you . . .

Hey guys,
Im busy at work so I thought I'd tell you quick that I get off of work at 5pm drive an hour, pick up my fiancee and then go see a 710 showing of "He's just not that into you" with her a half hour away (I love Regal Theatres). So that means I don't have a lot of time to do the two strip reviews. I will be them tommarow.

Oh and I will see Watchmen in two weeks to get some of my manhood back

In the meantime
Favorite Actors in TV:
1)Jeffrey Donovan/Bruce Campbell (Burn notice)
2)Timothy Hutton/ Aldis Hodge (Leverage)
3)Terry O'Quinn/Michael Emerson (Lost)

Now it's going to far

Trouble Brewing (actually a pretty good pun)

Art - I, again, really like how the characters are drawn in this strip. Brent and Officer Vernon are again drawn well and I like the design of the coffee shop girl and the shading of her pigtails (or whatever that hair styles proper name is). Also, very good facial expression changes from Brent and the Coffee shop girl to convey their emotions (sorry watching Lie to Me, I think I'm an expert now)

The two things that bug me are the bug eyes of the Coffee shop girl and the continued shading of the small patch of cheek for the characters.

First off, I think I know what the problem is with the eyes, as the iris/pupil's lose their proportion to the rest of the eye from close up to when the "camera" is pulled back. Also, looking at other examples of BE Scott tends to draw his closeups with more oval/oblong pupils and his further away shots as more round. The rounder the eye I've seen the buggier the eyes look.

As for the shading, (as seen under the girl's eye in panel one and Brent's right eye in panel two) I don't know what facial feature the shading represents. If it is to show cheek bones shouldn't the top part near the eye be lighter, i.e. shining with MORE light, than the other parts of the eye? Also, when seen in a close-up in panel three the girl's face doesn't have that small patch of shading as she looks a hell of a lot better.

Story - Glad to have officer Vernon back and this strip shows just how diabolical he is taking away Brent's true love. Brent's flailing after he was told he wouldn't be served was great. However, the "who told you I was trouble?" question was telegrphed as I think we all knew who it would be, so the punchline fell flat.

Is there such a thing as Midget town?

Forgive my titles they are just as bad as some others

Small Talk

Art - Nothing really has changed since the last strip and the quality of the art stays at the same level, which is good. I did like the shadowing of "Matt's" (after the father from Little People Big World) face and overall emotion as it shows that slow burning pissed-off look he should be having at Francis

Story - It's an ok strip as Francis' reaction is what is should be as he is still the same immature kid he was before his change. I know a few small/little people as acquaintances and it's either this reaction or shear terror, which they just tend to laugh at.

By any other name

Art - Nitpick good - Francis' sleeves are good.
Nitpick bad - Mitten hands in panel 1 and 2
I noticed that in panel 4 Francis is standing with a gray background and looks a lot better than a stark white background for a soliloquy.

My biggest problem with the art of this strip is Cole. In panel 3 the shading of his right side of his face and body is off especially compared to his tie which doesn't have any shading. Also, throughout the strip the shading in that little area of his cheek makes it look like he's wearing war paint. Brent and Francis are shaded well and Cole looks like crap compared to them.

Story - My biggest question is: wasn't this a story about a bike cop? Yes I know this story telling device is common and I've seen it time and again in shows like Family Guy and the Simpsons. You start off in a common situation and move to the "wacky" sitations

The only problem is this "midget" storyline isn't that funny. Think about it:

First strip: 2/12: meeting the "midget", Brent, "... bigger" - Dud
Second strip: 2/13: Francis wide-eyed at "midget", "Look at you!" - mediocre
Third strip: 2/16: Francis and "midget" picture - decent
Fourth strip: today: Pro-midget - mediocre

The thing is I thought the second week (not first) of the bike cop strips were good and made me laugh for most of the week. I hope it's not another case of Scott getting bored and that he brings it back to a strong conclusion, but again I don't see where this goes

*Pulls up a lawn chair, eats some buffalo chicken and blue cheese Doritos and diet coke for the ending of this storyline*