... For Romance

Last Chance was what it needed to be. A nice intro to what is surely a long storyline. We get a little insight into how Brent and Jade feeling about the event: as a foregone conclusion. No indication of "Shit.. what if she's not kidding?", which I think is great. Hopefully this means we won't get a trite "cold feet" story.

An Invitation

So, the wedding storyline is here (You are Cordially Invited).

I have no comment on this strip other than that looks like some weak-ass coffee ;)

It's all muscle memory, baby

Another good strip (The Scorpion and the Frog). I love the look on Scratch's face in panel 3, it matches the manic intensity of the moment, and the joke even works.

A couple things distracted me though:

1. I don't understand what's happening with Scratch's leg in panel 3. It looks like it's vibrating, foreshadowing claws coming out in panel 4 -- which they did, but with little fanfare. I would have expected some motion lines on the claws in panel four, accompanied by a "knives out" sound effect. ("sshhiiNGG!!")

2. Why do the claws look like that? Is it because they're turned toward the camera, so the points fall within the silhouette? They ought to be drawn so we can see their sharpy goodness, especially since they are the whole impetus for the joke.

Bring It

Kurtz says that the strip is "one step up from Garfield" today -- I beg to differ. There is nothing I don't like about today's strip (Awww...He’s just like MY cat). I can point to many strips that actually are one step up from Garfield, but the effort that went into this one blows most of the comics page away.

Although I'm not sure exactly what animal the lion is taking down, it doesn't matter, especially given the awesome look on the lion's face. The payoff is the second panel, where the intensity that comes out of both characters is jacked up right where it should be.

When I nitpick on seemingly minor stuff, like Brent's eyebrows, this is what I'm getting at. Show us the emotion!

I'm not saying everything needs to ramped up all the time; it's just that every moment is worth this level of attention.

Here's looking at... somebody.

With this latest strip (On a Steel Horse They Ride), I've realized what my problem is with Brent. While I like the strip and think it's amusing, Brent fell flat for me.

It's the glasses. With his permanently-affixed opaque sunglasses, we get no visual confirmation as to what Brent is looking at, and we miss out on visual clues that could more completely convey his emotions.

There are plenty of other cues, so it's not like Kurtz isn't getting his point across, but it could be stronger. I think I can make my point by taking a look at Brent in panel 3, sans mouth:



It doesn't really live up to the words coming out of his mouth; he could be doing anything really. The flat eyebrows work in the fourth panel, when the edge is off his anger, but in the third panel he should really be at extremes with much more angle to the brows, and perhaps even more in the guy's face. Again, I offer another crappy photoshop job to make my point:



Let's compare the full panels:



It's still hampered by the glasses, but it makes a stronger statement, I think.

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Update: I just realized I forgot to make the point that ties in with the title of my post -- my other peeve with the glasses is that it makes it hard to portray Brent in a way that makes it absolutely clear that he isn't staring at the guy's forehead. Another reason to put Brent more in the guy's face.

He's Back

... and with a really nicely illustrated strip (We're Back).

I love the image of Brent as Clint Eastwood; the drawing is executed very well. He's even found some machismo.



I'd be happy if we saw more thematic strips like this (if that's even a term) -- lean more on the art, less on the gag.

Guest Strips: A Welcome Diversion

Since someone asked, and since there's nothing else to report on, I might as well share my thoughts on the guest strips.

I like 'em. I don't think they're all great, but it's almost beside the point: It's a nice break from the usual; I look forward to seeing what new style is going to appear next.

I really like Mark Monlux' Scratchbury. It's a great take on Scratch; it's both sophisticated and crude. I'm always up for a good scatological joke.

I think my favorite art has been in the fan strip, Pee in the Pants. Skull rocking out at Pokemon auditions makes me smile.

A close second for art was Pew Pew, which I wish had been titled "Pyu Pyu" to match the strip.