Epic Default Productions

This is the first installment of a webcomic review I’m starting up. In typical style, though, I’m going to go out on a limb and start with something new and different from what you usually think of when you think of a good webcomic. Click the link to see what I’m talking about.

I was reading Questionable Content when I found that Jeph had done a guest comic for another webcomic. I clicked the link, read the comic, and kind of laughed to myself. Then I got curious as to how this guy named Anders got into this crazy situation, so I flipped to the first post. Three hours later, I read that same comic again and laughed much, much harder.

Now, when one thinks of a webcomic, one thinks of many good examples that are popular in internet culture: Penny Arcade, XKCD, Questionable Content, Goats, etc. What is one thing that all of these have in common? They are comedic webcomics. Yeah, you might have the occasional serious or hopeless romantic deviation, but at a base level they rely on comedy. Rene Engstrom from Anders Loves Maria decided to go a completely different route for this webcomic, though. It’s a webcomic that isn’t just pushing punchlines every strip. In fact, the humor is very limited and far between. One might then ask, “Why on god’s green earth would I want to read this webcomic?” Well the answer lies in a subject matter that many don’t like to openly admit they can enjoy: emotions.

This is a webcomic that relies heavily on the emotional contacts between different characters in order to create a complexity of emotions and situations that flourish within this style of work. This isn’t quite soap opera bad; it’s more like a good drama. At a base level, you have two main characters: Anders and Maria. They are in love with each other, but they are human, so they interact with others around them, they make mistakes, they suffer the consequences, they have ups and downs. The result of this is a portrayal of life that is not like everyone’s, but has enough similarities to draw you in and keep you hooked.

One other thing about this webcomic that I enjoyed was the artwork. It has a style similar to Baby Blues or many other Sunday funnies but there are deviations that are done in conjunction with the story. The artist makes good use of color, drawing, and composition; it’s rare to find a webcomic that effectively uses the art to convey emotional content. When an artist can successfully post a comic with no speech in it at all, you have to give the art some credit.

Now, there are a couple drawbacks. The creator is from Sweden, and though she does the comic in English, she will have signs that you can’t read or little colloquialisms that don’t quite make sense. The nice thing is that she will explain these pieces in English, which makes reading it much easier. If this bothers you, it can pull you out of the comic. If you can get past this, and appreciate the great character development and intertwined stories she creates, then I think you will very much enjoy it.

Check it out and see for yourself. The guest comic that Jeph Jacques did will make a hell of a lot more sense if you do.

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