Hello, dear readers. I've been noticing an interesting pattern as I look back over my articles. It appears that the less response I get, the more creative liberties I take in writing, such as calling all of you imaginary, or from a fictional place. In fact, I've even inserted random words and shameless plugs into several columns.
However, this is a serious introduction. One might ponder why, and my response would be simple. I received an e-mail with a review request.
Yes, that is right. I received an e-mail from a man who goes by the name "Thomas the Innkeeper." His request was that I reviewed a few sites that he built. I humbly accepted, due to a lack of articles, as well as an inability to get the new Keane CD (coming soon to the chopping block). With this, I humbly bring you back into the Internet, for a look at Web Comics Inc.
Web Comics Inc. (www.webcomicsinc.com) is mainly a forum where people can find, share and advertise Web comics that they've disliked, liked or drawn themselves. Now, these comics aren't always funny, which is perfectly acceptable (so far, I've only reviewed humorous Web comics).
The site is set up is through a provider called Ning.com, with a member list and a personal page for each, creating "mini-groups." Basically, it's like MySpace for cartoonists. It is a relatively small community, containing only a handful of active members, but it is clean, free from the hate and distaste of some other forums.
As for the site's navigation, I must say it's a little confusing. I had a bit of trouble at first seeing the top links, because they matched the background, but after that, it worked out pretty well.
All in all, I would visit this site often, for it is enjoyable. I give it a 7 out of 10. I took points off for a bit of inactivity and some visual problems.
On to the next of our reviews, a website and comic run by Thomas the Inkeeper titled, "Web Comics Inc. High School." First, I have to say that Thomas the Innkeeper had a brilliant idea with this. He brought a few established artists together to make a combined comic. It's relatively new, so it's easy to get caught up (it took me five minutes).
As for the content itself, the comic is pretty funny. It uses several different styles of humor, including something you'd see out of Mad magazine, and a bit of the traditional Web comic humor (more of a visual sense of humor than a zingy one-liner). It's all-around comedy.
One thing that will take a bit of getting used to would be the frequent change in art styles. There are many different looks to this comic, which make adjusting to a style pretty difficult. I would imagine, however, that this will change and become easier as the comic continues and grows.
As for the layout of the page itself, I have to say it is easy to navigate through the pages. You can get stories on each of the characters, get some cool wallpapers and check out some of the contributing artists' regular comic. Really simple to get around.
However, when it comes to the comic itself, it is a bit tricky to find the buttons to scroll through comics. Not a big deal, but something that this site might want to work on is adding an archive. It helps in the long run.
I give this site and comic an 8.5 out of 10 for good humor, creativity and a good look. They're off to a great start, and I wish them luck. I know they have one more viewer.
I should probably let you get back to reading the rest of this paper. Speaking of which, have you ever been curious to see if you'll find a secret message if you read every other word of a sentence?
Long happy days or/and pleasant, warm nights to you all.
Adam Munio is a senior at Unadilla Valley Central School. He can be reached at pentwarrior@yahoo.com.
