The show for fans of web comics by fans of web comics. Each week the DS crew discuss the state of comic art on the web. The show includes reviews, commentary, and interviews.
Just a quick note for you guys. Those guys over at Comic Book Resources did a really interesting interview with Joey Comeau and Emily Horne the creators of A Softer World, one of the most original Web comics out there. I’m a fan of any interview that helps me understand a creature better, but this one is even more interesting just because asking these guys to give us a look at their creative process is a much less generic question than it normally would be.
If you’ve never read A Softer World, I highly recommend giving it a try. In a world of copy-cat Web comics, this is something truly unique. I’ve often criticized photo comics because I don’t think they can capture action at all. Photos have always been meant to take a single moment in time and make it last forever. A Softer World uses this to it’s advantage, as each comic is just a small moment in time, incredibly created from a bit of clever text and an excellent but often only loosely related photo. There’s nothing like this anywhere else. You owe it to yourself to at least give a try.
Much thanks to our good buddy Funny Ninja for pointing us to the interview. We love getting notes like this, even though sometimes we drop the ball, we do like to use them on the site when we aren’t being lame.
I hate to miss out on good webcomic mangas, even if they are of an older series and I actually prefer completed series at occasions where I want a long read, because I do not have to wait on weekly one page updates. If you never heard of Aoi House, I suggest taking a look at it.
Aoi House Review
Aoi House is a completed webcomic manga that was adopted and serialized by Seven Seas for publication because of its success. It has some similarities to Love Hina by Ken Akatmasu, the manga novel that has a world-wide success. 2 guys, by the names of Sandy and Alex, stumbled into a club with lodging which are full of girls, and they were thinking that this club was an ordinary club that features otaku crazed hobbies such as anime and manga viewing.
However, thought it was just “Aoi house”; as it was intended by some members when the name is formally supposed to be “Yaoi house”. If you do not know, “yaoi” is a genre of manga which focuses on guy to guy relationships. Despite this, this manga isn’t about these, so relax; it just so happens that the author tries to create comedy by using that name.
So the girls tried to turn the guys into gays, or rather make them fancy their craze for yaoi otaku.
And of course it is hilarious.
Why do I say it resembles Love Hina? That’s because its about being surrounded by a group of beautiful girls again, forced to stay in close quarters with them, and they each have an animal mascot; a flying turtle for Love Hina, and a perverted hamster for Aoi House.So if you do like Love Hina as a manga, Aoi House is good for you as a webcomic manga.
The story is light hearted, harem, and a little ‘ecchi’. Again, due to its suggestive nature, I recommend this manga for older teens. It is still generally safe. The mascot hamster is ridiculously adorable. I really liked it!
Other opinions
I picked Aoi House up for review because it is a successful and completed series. As I was browsing around the Internet, I find that there are many incompleted webcomics lying around, which have potential, but stopped usually due to the lack of funding, popularity and support from fans.
I know how hard it is to do draw and publish weekly, as I tried a little with my own blog. So I actually can feel for the webcomic authors. However, if you are really good at what you are doing, you can really be picked up by a well known company, and be proven successful. And with this webcomic, I hope to encourage you to that.
Here’s MTV speaking a little about Aoi House:
I don’t exactly like the song itself, but I am happy for a manga webcomic that has its own MTV mention, which is rather rare.
Enjoy!
Some points to note:
1. Ecchi genre for manga means to be suggestive in the sexual department, but not usually explicit. It is generally suitable for older teens.
Growing up in the frozen wasteland that was Idaho in the early 90s with a little brother, I found it very easy to relate with Bear the titular protagonist of Bear and Tiger a Web comic by Bob.
Bear is every straight man you’ve ever read, only he works in the Soviet Army, hangs out with an abominable Snowman and a crotchy old man dog that used to be a girl and the bane of his existence is his Tiger commanding officer who won’t stop kicking him in the nards.
