Thursday, November 6, 2008

Baby Monsters

http://www.zudacomics.com/node/847

This is an entry that has some big problems holding it down and never more than a glimpse of it's full potential.
Biggest issue we have here is the lettering, which looks like a half-baked afterthought. It's not that I can't appreciate a creator's desire to experiment but I want to see better execution. The plotting is hard to follow and once interpreted I found that it's almost entirely exposition with just a hint of contextless foreshadowing.
One final technical note - the borders and gutters are inconsistent and it makes the art look sloppy.

That's a shame because I did enjoy the line-work and the storytelling is passable.

But if there's one element that nearly carries the day it has to be the coloring.
Even here there are problems. Reference page three panel one. Note the very clear light source as indicated by character shadows. Now note the light sourcing on the big eggs. Red egg at the bottom is lit from a different direction.
Hmmmmm.....
In spite of this the coloring succeeds.
It's a mish-mash of gradients, photoshop brush effects and stylized renderings of background elements. It features some of the brightest colors to hit the Zuda scene. It pops and it's vibrant and strangely...it works.

All the same I defaulted to the typical three star rating I usually give on Zuda. There's no creative element powerful enough to elevate this entry and no failing serious enough to lower it.

3 comments:

Steve Steiner said...

i also gave this a default rating of 3 because the story didn't seem there. I enjoyed the art and colors but had a little trouble figuring out what was going on all the time. Like these egg things.

Streckfus said...

best of luck with the blog - a dirty job but someone has to do it ;-)

RKB said...

Nice to read your thoughts on it ill.
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Blog damn you BLOG!!! ;)
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Again nice to see you back on Zuda with the comments now if only Paul would make a return.