I have the day off from work today so I figured I would throw up another review of one of the webcomics I read regularly, 8-Bit Theater.
Brian Clevinger has had quite an amazing ride as a comic creator, what with the publication of his Atomic Robo series now mainstreamed in comic shops nationally having garnered him some special attention in the industry. He also is connected with the webcomic juggernaut Blind Ferret Entertainment, which represents, distributes, and creates media for many very good webcomics, including PVP from my first review.
Clevinger's site, www.nuklearpower.com, is one of my favorites on the net. When he was doing 8-Bit exclusively he had two character based columns from Red Mage and Evil Princess Sarah that were excellent reads, especially Red Mage's Twinkin' Out. Unfortunately, for reasons I am unclear on, the friend/writer of Clevinger's stopped the series. I can't find the link to it on Clevinger's newly refurbished site, but I imagine the archives will return once he gets everything working smoothly. If so you should check them out.
I mention the humble beginnings of Clevinger's comic because you can see the growth and success translate into the comic as you read it. A devout follower/admirer of his comic like Yahtzee might know more about it's development and growth than me, but I will attempt to faithfully evaluate it myself. If you think I'm just name-dropping Mr. Croshaw here well, I am, but his own "online journal" contains a link to 8-Bit that includes the caption "In the face of webcomics like this, faith in my own ability to run a webcomic as good was quickly lost."
So if my endorsement and review doesn't make you go check this out perhaps the rabid Yahtzee fanboys will pursue it on fanatical principal alone. I can't decide if I think this is a good thing.
At any rate, Clevinger's comic.
First, the premise of the comic is decidedly simple and therefore very effective. It loosely follows the plot of several Final Fantasy games from the NES/SNES era, using sprites from those games as it's characters. There are some main themes that drive the comic and make it successful when coupled with the unique art manipulation Clevinger employs. The best part of the story is in the four protagonists: Fighter, Red Mage, Thief, and Black Mage. The term anti-hero is bandied about nowadays with occasional inaccuracy, but it fits this collection of misfits quite well. Only Fighter really has "good" qualities, and is too stupid to recognize the deception and evil of his fellows, Red Mage is bent on breaking all universal rules (see: game exploitation), Thief is... a thief, and Black Mage stabs things and lusts after the virtuous White Mage. They are all banded together for entirely selfish/contrived reasons that add to the hilarity. Additionally, they are each individually so incompetent that only by banding together can they cancel out one-another's idiocy. Though, Thief tends to have a good amount of intelligence and trickery up his sleeve.
The plot is essentially save the world, but through the complete ineptitude of all involved (heroes and villains) incredible hysterics are generated. All the villains are entertainingly stupid or have some major personality flaw that prevents them from overcoming the protagonists. Clevinger writes well, and the loose representation of a plot along with his recent admission he has no idea where the story is going or how it will end creates constant amusement.
The plot is also the weakness of Clevinger's comic. He frequently states that his sense of humor often includes "jokes on the audience." Thus, you are going to read some comics that you don't find funny or simply are so ridiculous you can only shake your head. The first story line, leading up to the confrontation with the first villain, Garland, is excellent. The jokes are spot on, the comedy is non-stop, and the experimentation employed by Clevinger results mostly in success for him and the audience. After the conclusion of that story line, the humor persists for some time, and then we hit a lull.
I suspect, though this is entirely theory on my part, that Clevinger wasn't really sure where to take things next. He hatches upon the "find X number of orbs of the elements for the mysterious stranger" story and uses that to set up different "classic" settings like forests, pirate ships, and vampire dens. The humor is not as consistently brilliant, but the drier moments always contain some diamond of funny in them that keeps you going. When in doubt, Clevinger will bring in a new character to mock an RPG element or stereotype that he wants to touch on. These characters fly back into the story without warning and seemingly without reason, but where normally this would be a criticism I instead find it appealing. Clevinger's universe is supposed to be completely nonsensical, and the constant injection of randomness becomes old-hat and comforting. If Clevinger were to try and tie in everything too sensibly or neatly it would blow things out of that formula. This section is the growth period I mentioned before. Clevinger dances about with a spaghetti string plot to make infrequent jokes and references to gaming and other topics. During this phase inconsistent humor appears. As a disclaimer it may be more thematic humor where, if the topic is not familiar or amusing to the reader, it falls flat for that person. I personally found this period less entertaining, but with serious highlights that kept me interested. Most recently the humor has come on much stronger, reminiscent of the comic's beginnings. Every comic has a growth and development period and 8-Bit is no different, I wouldn't let my criticism deter you from slogging through all the archives, especially for those glistening gems of funny that will crack you up if your patient enough.
I mentioned the art before and I want to be sure I touch on it before I conclude this review. What consistently astounds me is how Clevinger can convey emotions of sprites by editing something as simple as eye angle and hand gesture. Every time I read I know exactly what the character is thinking or feeling and I can hear the tone of their voice from seeing the picture next to the speech-balloon. The art, and it is art, is the best reason to give the comic a chance. Some might not like Clevinger's often bizarre humor or dig the rambling plot and crazy characters, but you can't help but admire his skill with the artwork. If you ever played an early console Final Fantasy game you have to check this out. If you didn't, well play one and then read the comic.
Also of note, you can find some fan-films of the first several comics on Newgrounds by searching for 8-Bit Theater, and there is a classic video of the Dead Alewives D&D skit with 8-Bit characters out there too. I actually thought when I first saw Unforgotten Realms that Rob might have had a hand in the creation of the 8-Bit videos, but after re-watching them I believe I was mistaken. I'm sure Rob could tell me definitively if I really wanted to bother him, but I don't. Still, it would wonderful if the creators TLF and Meddros would reemerge to make the films again, though I don't expect any miracles soon.
At any rate, go and check out Brian Clevinger's website and see what you think. I'd like to hope everyone can appreciate the excellent work he has put together, but I know that for some it isn't penetrable or enjoyable. My advice, start from the beginning and work your way through, it is worth it. Be sure to check out the associated media as it will definitely make you laugh. Lastly, Clevinger is fiddling with a new comic linked to the website, I haven't poked around in it yet but I can only assume it is as well done as his other works.
Edit - Image added.
Brian Clevinger has had quite an amazing ride as a comic creator, what with the publication of his Atomic Robo series now mainstreamed in comic shops nationally having garnered him some special attention in the industry. He also is connected with the webcomic juggernaut Blind Ferret Entertainment, which represents, distributes, and creates media for many very good webcomics, including PVP from my first review.
Clevinger's site, www.nuklearpower.com, is one of my favorites on the net. When he was doing 8-Bit exclusively he had two character based columns from Red Mage and Evil Princess Sarah that were excellent reads, especially Red Mage's Twinkin' Out. Unfortunately, for reasons I am unclear on, the friend/writer of Clevinger's stopped the series. I can't find the link to it on Clevinger's newly refurbished site, but I imagine the archives will return once he gets everything working smoothly. If so you should check them out.
I mention the humble beginnings of Clevinger's comic because you can see the growth and success translate into the comic as you read it. A devout follower/admirer of his comic like Yahtzee might know more about it's development and growth than me, but I will attempt to faithfully evaluate it myself. If you think I'm just name-dropping Mr. Croshaw here well, I am, but his own "online journal" contains a link to 8-Bit that includes the caption "In the face of webcomics like this, faith in my own ability to run a webcomic as good was quickly lost."
So if my endorsement and review doesn't make you go check this out perhaps the rabid Yahtzee fanboys will pursue it on fanatical principal alone. I can't decide if I think this is a good thing.
At any rate, Clevinger's comic.
First, the premise of the comic is decidedly simple and therefore very effective. It loosely follows the plot of several Final Fantasy games from the NES/SNES era, using sprites from those games as it's characters. There are some main themes that drive the comic and make it successful when coupled with the unique art manipulation Clevinger employs. The best part of the story is in the four protagonists: Fighter, Red Mage, Thief, and Black Mage. The term anti-hero is bandied about nowadays with occasional inaccuracy, but it fits this collection of misfits quite well. Only Fighter really has "good" qualities, and is too stupid to recognize the deception and evil of his fellows, Red Mage is bent on breaking all universal rules (see: game exploitation), Thief is... a thief, and Black Mage stabs things and lusts after the virtuous White Mage. They are all banded together for entirely selfish/contrived reasons that add to the hilarity. Additionally, they are each individually so incompetent that only by banding together can they cancel out one-another's idiocy. Though, Thief tends to have a good amount of intelligence and trickery up his sleeve.
The plot is essentially save the world, but through the complete ineptitude of all involved (heroes and villains) incredible hysterics are generated. All the villains are entertainingly stupid or have some major personality flaw that prevents them from overcoming the protagonists. Clevinger writes well, and the loose representation of a plot along with his recent admission he has no idea where the story is going or how it will end creates constant amusement.
The plot is also the weakness of Clevinger's comic. He frequently states that his sense of humor often includes "jokes on the audience." Thus, you are going to read some comics that you don't find funny or simply are so ridiculous you can only shake your head. The first story line, leading up to the confrontation with the first villain, Garland, is excellent. The jokes are spot on, the comedy is non-stop, and the experimentation employed by Clevinger results mostly in success for him and the audience. After the conclusion of that story line, the humor persists for some time, and then we hit a lull.
I suspect, though this is entirely theory on my part, that Clevinger wasn't really sure where to take things next. He hatches upon the "find X number of orbs of the elements for the mysterious stranger" story and uses that to set up different "classic" settings like forests, pirate ships, and vampire dens. The humor is not as consistently brilliant, but the drier moments always contain some diamond of funny in them that keeps you going. When in doubt, Clevinger will bring in a new character to mock an RPG element or stereotype that he wants to touch on. These characters fly back into the story without warning and seemingly without reason, but where normally this would be a criticism I instead find it appealing. Clevinger's universe is supposed to be completely nonsensical, and the constant injection of randomness becomes old-hat and comforting. If Clevinger were to try and tie in everything too sensibly or neatly it would blow things out of that formula. This section is the growth period I mentioned before. Clevinger dances about with a spaghetti string plot to make infrequent jokes and references to gaming and other topics. During this phase inconsistent humor appears. As a disclaimer it may be more thematic humor where, if the topic is not familiar or amusing to the reader, it falls flat for that person. I personally found this period less entertaining, but with serious highlights that kept me interested. Most recently the humor has come on much stronger, reminiscent of the comic's beginnings. Every comic has a growth and development period and 8-Bit is no different, I wouldn't let my criticism deter you from slogging through all the archives, especially for those glistening gems of funny that will crack you up if your patient enough.
I mentioned the art before and I want to be sure I touch on it before I conclude this review. What consistently astounds me is how Clevinger can convey emotions of sprites by editing something as simple as eye angle and hand gesture. Every time I read I know exactly what the character is thinking or feeling and I can hear the tone of their voice from seeing the picture next to the speech-balloon. The art, and it is art, is the best reason to give the comic a chance. Some might not like Clevinger's often bizarre humor or dig the rambling plot and crazy characters, but you can't help but admire his skill with the artwork. If you ever played an early console Final Fantasy game you have to check this out. If you didn't, well play one and then read the comic.
Also of note, you can find some fan-films of the first several comics on Newgrounds by searching for 8-Bit Theater, and there is a classic video of the Dead Alewives D&D skit with 8-Bit characters out there too. I actually thought when I first saw Unforgotten Realms that Rob might have had a hand in the creation of the 8-Bit videos, but after re-watching them I believe I was mistaken. I'm sure Rob could tell me definitively if I really wanted to bother him, but I don't. Still, it would wonderful if the creators TLF and Meddros would reemerge to make the films again, though I don't expect any miracles soon.
At any rate, go and check out Brian Clevinger's website and see what you think. I'd like to hope everyone can appreciate the excellent work he has put together, but I know that for some it isn't penetrable or enjoyable. My advice, start from the beginning and work your way through, it is worth it. Be sure to check out the associated media as it will definitely make you laugh. Lastly, Clevinger is fiddling with a new comic linked to the website, I haven't poked around in it yet but I can only assume it is as well done as his other works.
Edit - Image added.
