Metapost: doing some work for Robot 6

Hello, all. Now that my articles are up, I suppose I can let the cat out of the bag. I will be doing some pieces for Robot 6 for the near future. They were looking to expand their presence in webcomic coverage, and thought I might be a good fit on their site. They gave me a pretty wide net, though, so I may be doing a few reviews that aren’t necessarily webcomic related.

What I am determined to focus on, though, is comics content. I am by no means an insider in any field… but I do like to read a lot. So the topics I’ll be focusing on are stories, artwork, composition, humor… basically all of the stuff I’ve covered here. In fact, longtime Webcomic Overlook readers might find a lot of it overly familiar. I will be covering ground of some webcomics I’ve already reviewed here. I’ve always wanted to revisit some of the webcomics I’ve read, and this gig at Robot 6 is my chance.

I’ll be posting pieces up there four times a week: twice on Monday, and twice on Friday. My debut piece are already up. They cover the following:

1. YET ANOTHER article discussing Homestuck. (This time talking about its unique “Pesterlog” format.) I sorta wanted to debut discussing the biggest game in town in the webcomics biz.
2. A review of Stripped. It’s fairly short… shorter than what I usually write up. I’m actually splitting this up into two: part two will probably be out next week.

And there it is! I still plan on putting up reviews here, by the way. (Or as I like to call ’em, “the new stuff.”) The schedule may be a bit more sporadic from now on, though. (As if it wasn’t already.)

Metapost poll: this site needs to be a Tumblblog

The AV Club recently did a site refresh today. The former look, which was heavy with links and thumbnail images, has been replaced by big, clickable images that dominate the screen and are re-sizable for cellphones, tablets, and other formats. I’ve noticed that this seems to be the big trend online these days, from Pinterest to Tumblr to, um, Buzzfeed? Whatever that is. That’s right, I’m an old man! Get off my lawn!

Needless to say, the classic look of long reams of text seems to be a thing of the past. (One of my favorite podcasts, The Flophouse, recently did an upgrade to modernize the site’s appearance. The podcast went ahead and slammed the previously anemic “blogspot” look. Can’t say I blamed ’em.) WordPress does offer platforms like this and this which are closer to the new standard.

I’ll put it up to you readers though. The AV Club refresh isn’t without its critics. However, I seem to remember similar complaints being raised the last time the site was refreshed … and now that update is the one that people are defending. I imagine that, come the next site refresh, the current look will raise its own list of defenders. Shoot, something similar happened on this site in the past, too. At least the last update, when I changed to “Mystique,” went over pretty smoothly.

I kinda like this theme, but I’m also aware that in this fast paced online world things do need to change eventually or you get left be behind. I’m not going to name names, but some webcomic sites out there are about as old as mine are, but since they haven’t changed, they tend to look really, really old… and as a result, look rather decrepit.

What do you think? Total site refresh? Yay or nay?

Note: If I do decide to do a total upgrade, it probably won’t go into effect until around the beginning of next year. Around when MS Paint Adventures wraps up. Or when my MS Paint Adventures reviews wrap up. Which ever comes first.

Metapost: It’s Overlookween! Booga booga booga!

Ohhhh, what’s this, rising from the dead? It’s zombie El Santo! Sppoooookkkkyyyy!

Yup, I’m still around, and yes, this site is still alive. I hate to be one of those guys who chimes in with a “Oh, man, real life’s been busy y’all, and sorry I haven’t updated my blog” folks that get made fun of on … er … MadTV? Is that still a thing? But it’s all completely true. October was nuts. I had to be out of town for a while, a close friend of ours was hospitalized, other traumatic crises happened (some serious illness in the family), and here we are.

I’d hoped to post Part 3 of my MS Paint Adventures: Homestuck review by now, but as you can see, there was no time to read and no time to write. So again, apologies. However, I can also tell you that in the meantime, I was immersed in the scared arts of clowning and puppetry, two of the major themes in Homestuck. Which should give me far more insight into the inner workings of Andrew Hussie’s mind than any other online review ever! (But really, I was learning it to entertain kids at a Halloween party. Though… well, I’m not saying that I’m taking clowning more seriously these days, but I will be at the Seattle Clown Jam next week, so….)

As of now, though, the Webcomic Overlook is off the unofficial October hiatus. So… yaaaayy!

Metapost: A quick Homestuck aside

Just a quick aside about the next review: initially my plan was to split the Homestuck review into write-ups of Acts 1-4 and Acts 5-6. That was the past. I was not prepared for how long Act 5 was. I’m pretty sure I have actually reached a point where Act 5 is longer than the entirety of Acts 1-4. So…. Act 5 and Act 6 are getting separate reviews. (Seriously, my nights are now filled up read/keeping track of Homestuck. It is not an unpleasant experience, but there are many times when I’m looking up at the clock, it is 2:00 am, and I had been spending the previous 5 hours reading a webcomic. You might say that in the evenings, I have become … homestuck myself. Badum-tisshhh.)

Also, there might be a quick, non-Homestuck digital comic review up tomorrow. About Batman.

Metapost: The Webcomic Overlook’s going on a month-long hiatus

Even bloggers need a break now and then. The Webcomic Overlook is taking a month-long hiatus for July! I’m going to be off in another country for most of that time, and I don’t think I’ll have much time for reviews and updates until about early August. I’ll check in every so often, but until then assume I’m in that silver DC-3 going on grand adventures and whatnot.

To tide your webcomic hunger, make sure to check some of the comics in the sidebar under the “Shilled” header. (Or here if you’re viewing on a mobile device.) Or check the many other webcomic review sites available!

Metapost: It’s over 3 million!

Just an aside, the Webcomic Overlook has reached over 3 million pageviews! Woop, woop, y’all!

Thank you to all the readers who keep checking in on this site for webcomic reviews, news, opinions, and historical comic tidbits. Here’s to 3 million more!

Metapost: RIP Comics Alliance

I know I’m a little late to the party (though I did mention it on Twitter when the news broke out), but RIP Comics Alliance. I hadn’t read it in the last few months — I felt the focus had shifted more on other media rather than the comics themselves, plus the webcomic-related stuff had kinda dried up — but I still rather liked that site because they treated comics not as an academic exercise but rather what a vast majority were meant to be: fun.

I especially loved reading Chris Sims’ articles, which were full of fun and verve and crazy enthusiasm. His pieces pretty much convinced me to download the entire Starman Omnibus over at Comixology (and it’s definitely one of the best comics I’ve ever read), and for my money he had the last word on why comics in the 90’s shouldn’t be disparaged like some sort of dumb internet meme. Also, Sims did me a great honor by answering my question about Az-Bats. As you can see from just a smattering of his pieces, he was very knowledgeable, but always delivered the info with a jovial, smart-ass style that was incredibly appealing. While the Comics Alliance wasn’t necessarily the most informative comic news site (and sometimes a little late to some of comics’ most breaking news stories), it brought life and excitement to comics that you don’t see in, say, the more staid and professional sites like The Comic Journal.

The Comics Alliance gets one last hurrah at the Eisner Awards, where its been nominated for Comics Related Periodical/Journalism, but after that it once again disappears into the ether.

RIP Roger Ebert

I just learned of the sad news, through the AV Club, of the passing of Roger Ebert. Truly sad news. I’ve mentioned Ebert’s influence on my reviewing style many times on this site. I used to pore through all of his old reviews. He had a great way of keeping his reviews entertaining while elaborating his points without sounding pompous. There was always an unwritten “these are my opinions, but if you feel differently that’s fine, too” atmosphere about them.

And when he trashed a movie… he trashed a movie. His most infamous is probably his review of Deuce Biggalo: European Gigalo, where he took Rob Schnieder to the woodchipper:

The movie created a spot of controversy last February. According to a story by Larry Carroll of MTV News, Rob Schneider took offense when Patrick Goldstein of the Los Angeles Times listed this year’s Best Picture Nominees and wrote that they were “ignored, unloved and turned down flat by most of the same studios that … bankroll hundreds of sequels, including a follow-up to ‘Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo,’ a film that was sadly overlooked at Oscar time because apparently nobody had the foresight to invent a category for Best Running Penis Joke Delivered by a Third-Rate Comic.”

Schneider retaliated by attacking Goldstein in full-page ads in Daily Variety and the Hollywood Reporter. In an open letter to Goldstein, Schneider wrote: “Well, Mr. Goldstein, I decided to do some research to find out what awards you have won. I went online and found that you have won nothing. Absolutely nothing. No journalistic awards of any kind … Maybe you didn’t win a Pulitzer Prize because they haven’t invented a category for Best Third-Rate, Unfunny Pompous Reporter Who’s Never Been Acknowledged by His Peers.”

Reading this, I was about to observe that Schneider can dish it out but he can’t take it. Then I found he’s not so good at dishing it out, either. I went online and found that Patrick Goldstein has won a National Headliner Award, a Los Angeles Press Club Award, a RockCritics.com award, and the Publicists’ Guild award for lifetime achievement.

Schneider was nominated for a 2000 Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor, but lost to Jar-Jar Binks.

But Schneider is correct, and Patrick Goldstein has not yet won a Pulitzer Prize. Therefore, Goldstein is not qualified to complain that Columbia financed “Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo” while passing on the opportunity to participate in “Million Dollar Baby,” “Ray,” “The Aviator,” “Sideways” and “Finding Neverland.” As chance would have it, I have won the Pulitzer Prize, and so I am qualified. Speaking in my official capacity as a Pulitzer Prize winner, Mr. Schneider, your movie sucks.

He lost some of his touch after his surgery (I thought he went too soft on some truly horrible movies). But that doesn’t invalidate the fun times I had over the years digging up an old Roger Ebert review and savoring it like fine wine. I’m gonna miss you. Hopefully you and Siskel and giving thumbs down to terrible movies in heaven.