5 Cool WebComics from SCAD

My alma mater, the Savannah College of Art and Design, has a great sequential art program. For those of you who don't know, sequential art is basically defined as comic art. Of course SCAD gets it's fair share of students who naively think that their American-born bottoms are going to go to Japan and take the anime/manga world by storm, but those who stick with the program come out with a really marketable set of skills.

Everyone from SCAD, no matter what major, learns to draw at least a little and everyone takes screen writing and composition. It's only natural that we would want to use these skills.

I recently found out from a close friend that also went to SCAD that a mutual acquaintance, Ellie Pyle, is the assistant editor of The Amazing Spider-Man. That's cool! Of course, one of my recent interests is how people taking the initiative to start their own art online, have used their skills to carve out a little piece of the web for themselves. Marvel comics are amazing, but many more bloggers have much better access to their inside info. I'm going to focus on the self-published work from SCAD alumni, specifically webcomics.

I'll start with 5 today, but I already have plans for another post on this theme this summer.

Art by Laurel Shelley-Reuss from Chorus of the Neverborn

5 Cool WebComics from SCAD


Lunar Boy
 http://lunarboy.com

While Jarret P. William's comic is suffering from a lack of updates lately because of his real job, you have to be impressed with his art. He publishes Super Pro K.O. and attends Comic Con.

Cut from a Lunar Boy Strip by Jarret P. Williams

Lunar Boy's first strip in 2007 starts with a fight, but Williams is smart to incorporate information into this fight. Too many comics have fights that drag on for weeks with no characterization or story. I stopped reading one otherwise great webcomic because of a 2-month fight. Lunar Boy begins with a wooden sword and it is clear from early on that like in the classic RPGs my generation grew up on, he will find sweet equipment and level up over the course of the story.

Unlike many of the comics we see published on the net, Williams has detailed, well-drawn backgrounds. The fighting quickly yields to plot when Lunar Boy finds an item that increases his intelligence.

The comic has the occasional author note scribbled in the margins but Williams is careful to make sure they are not distracting. Williams also includes features like "Unlockable Acts" with extra story content that brings to mind the bonus rounds of old games like Sonic the Hedgehog.

I will admit that I haven't had time to read the whole arch spread over 4 years, but so far it's cute, funny, and clean. Lunar Boy doesn't rely on dirty humor, which means that you can share it with the under 18s without guilt.

The goal of many webcomics is to get exposure and bring you on to greater things. Some webcomics turn profitable, some get you cool jobs. I just hope that now that Williams has a cool job, he won't completely forget about Lunar Boy.

Tiny Kitten Teeth
http://tinykittenteeth.com/

The writer is from SCAD, the artists is not. From the first page (which is well integrated with the style of the comic) you can see that the art is beautiful. It's full-colour, painted, and a style not regularly seen from webcomics.  It's reminiscent of kitsch.

The Tiny Kitten Teeth world is populated by animals and is filled with everyday moments of burnt bread and awkward conversations on the train.  While there are a fair amount of single-panel, text-free compositions inserted, the comic still follows a story in between. It tells the tale of a cat who moves to Owl Town and feels out of place, but jumps to a bonus story of a cute littler tiger. Feeling lost in a new place is a story we can all relate to.

Updates are irregular but frequent. Frank and Becky's styles really work well together to tell a simple story with lots of fun moments.

Hawk vs Pigeon: Want To Buy Dignity
http://www.hawkvspigeon.com/2008/11/25/15/


This comic came as a suggestion from my brother, Sam, who took a class with the artist. He's a cool guy and, while at SCAD, I ate lunch with him a few time. The writer, Aaron Sinn, studied film and television-- writing, and not  sequential art. Michael Weisner, the artist, graduated with a degree in animation.

Hawk vs Pigeon: WTB Dignity is a fantasy story with ogres and talking skeletons. It began in 2008 and follows the standard RPG story, picking up adventurers to join the party and mocking the conventions of the genre along the way.

The comic has been going since Autumn 2008 and is a good read if you're a tabletop gamer who got sick of waiting for the fights in Keychain of Creation to end.

Olive Peril
http://www.wevolt.com/Olive_Peril/

Olive Peril already has been published and can be purchased on Amazon-- at least the first episode. There's more being made all the time. Laurel Shelley-Reuss' comic is about a girl, Olive, who is being forced to marry an evil man who intends to steal her inheritance and finds herself in a fantasy world. It's a fairy tale complete with fairy godmothers and fabulous blonde hair.

The Olive story is engaging and the art really shines. Laurel Shelley-Reuss' style works well with rich colors and dramatic shadows. Her long, elegant figures are expressive and beautiful.

Check out Olive Peril and start from page one (as I write this she's on page 243!) and if you like it enough, find the first anthology on Amazon.com

Chorus of the Neverborn
http://www.neverborncomic.com/

If you liked Keychain of Creation but longed to see more of the Abyssal, this one is for you. Laurel Shelley-Reuss' second webcomic is written by Kyle Strickland (who, in the spirit of full disclosure, I will say is my husband.) It's a fan comic but you don't really need to understand the world of White Wolf's exalted to get it.

Chorus follows the Contessa and Lance, a pair of Abyssals (undead Knights) who left their Death Lord, fell in creepy, hateful love, and had creepier children who have voices in their heads.  The comic has updated regularly on Wednesdays for over a year and has a pretty loyal following.

I have the inside scoop to tell you that the story is about to get really good. Check it out and hopefully I'll have another comic from the Strickland/Shelley-Reuss team to report in the next entry of this theme.