"Helvetica is a young man who has recently died! When
you die, you don’t remember anything in life, and your first word(s) is
your name. This story follows Helvetica’s desire to uncover who he was
in life, his existential crises, and his struggle to make death worth
living."
This comic, Helvetica, begins where one man's life ends, only for him to discover that the afterlife consists of (a) being a skeleton, and (b) hanging out with other skeletons. The story follows the young protagonist as he tries in vain to get answers to his innumerable questions about his previous life and his new one. Some of the residents of Farwolaeth City are nice, some are not so nice. It doesn't get much more complicated than that, but the plot hasn't gotten sidetracked so far. What the comic lacks in distinct character designs (they're all skeletons) it makes up for with an undeniably appealing art style. However, the characters themselves seem to fit neatly into the categories of either hapless, effervescent, or contentious.
Helvetica is illustrated by a fellow SCAD alumni, Jones N. Wiedle, but he has put his comic on hiatus since his graduation earlier this year. He promises, however, that updates will continue very soon. Stay tuned!
MONSTERKIND
"Wallace Foster is a
human who has just been transferred into District C of Fairway City. He
has never lived among monsters until now, but he's quickly realizing
that they aren't as bad as everyone has made them out to be."
Monsterkind is a comic about...well, actually, the same thing that Helvetica is about. Pathetic guy moves into a new town, only to be completely unnerved by its strange inhabitants. Some have no concept of personal space, the others are eerily reclusive. The art is more cute than charming, but the color palette could stand to lose a few hues, and lower its saturation overall. It also doesn't help that the protagonist, Wallace, is quickly forgotten after the first few pages so that the secondary characters, arguably the author's favorites, can have extended conversations about nothing. Hopefully, there aren't too many otherwise well-drawn comics that have essentially the same plot devices.
YOU SUCK
Girly, Josh Lesnick's flagship comic, had its final page posted on September 16, 2010, marking the end of one of the most significant stories in webcomic history. Many wondered what Lesnick would move on to, besides selling his adult artwork through vendors such as SlipShine. Then, on July of this year, a new masterpiece was born: You Suck.
You Suck follows the wacky adventures of the incurably lascivious Anna as she fails to arouse her oblivious boyfriend, opting instead to fantasize about her college professor. She comes across a real-life succubus, who speaks her own language and has been having her way with random pedestrians throughout the city. In an act of complete misunderstanding, the demon girl delivers her professor to Anna's apartment naked and blindfolded. I won't spoil what happens next.
ZEN PENCILS
"It’s a website where inspirational quotes from famous people are adapted into cartoons."
Zen Pencils is less a webcomic than it is an ongoing illustration project dedicated to immortalizing historical figures and motivating its readers with their inspirational quotes. I would say that it's become one of my favorite comics as of late, if it weren't for a few strips that had messages that I strongly disagreed with, like the anti-bullying pages. Regardless, the artist has a knack for pairing powerful imagery with equally powerful words, no matter the intent of the speech or the background of the speaker.
Part 2 of this blog will be posted tomorrow.
