Zuda August Competition

Well, one more day of vacation for me and then it's back to work. Here are some quick thoughts I have on Zuda's August competitors...

Furiku Buredu -- Didn't really seem like a very novel idea from the 8 page introduction. Art had an interesting style that looked nice in some places but didn't really convey action very well to me.

Gulch -- Nice art but it seems to be lacking a bit in the action shots (hard to tell the motion happening, page 7 had too many shots that appeared stationary). The 8 pages didn't really draw me in.

Junk -- Though the art style wasn't really my usual taste it fit the mood well. And the idea seems interesting and novel, and the 8 pages presented it well. I'd put this one pretty high on my list.

Rhandom Escape -- The idea seems okay but the main character came across a little too "cool" for me and I didn't really care for him. The art was effective and had some really great settings on display.

Shock Effect -- Although the write-up presents an invasion, the characters felt a little too "ho hum" for my taste. Too much whitty banter and not enough concern in them. I just wasn't feeling the emotions I felt was appropriate. As a result, I immediately have a dislike for the two main characters taking off on the soldiers when the situation didn't seem to be so serious (at least according to their apparent attitudes). The art was solid but that could be because it fits my general taste a bit more than other web-comics.

The Adventures of Rocki Gibraltar -- Though it's not entirely a novel idea I did like the writing and presentation for this book. I thought the characters were well presented for the most part. The fitting of a chunk of story per page (meaning no big splash pages or anything) somewhat limits the feel of the action but it still moves along at a good pace. I rather liked this one.

The Harvest War -- The 8 pages showed some serious action and interesting character designs but not much of a story. I also found it a little difficult to follow along at some points. Though there is some serious talent behind it, I just think it needs to be re-worked a bit.

The Stuffed Animal Sagas -- I thought this one had a nice combination of cute and horror. It seems like a lot of creative ideas that almost reminds me of Fables (the twisting of things like dust bunnies being similar to some of the twisting that goes on in Fables sometimes). The art was a different style but I thought it fit the story well. I'd be interested in seeing more of this story.

To The Red Country -- To be honest, this one didn't really do it for me. Though there were flashes of something interesting I just didn't find the writing and art flowed well throughout. And the story just seemed to be jumping about so I didn't really get a clear idea of what was going on. The art was also a little too simple looking for my liking.

Vic Boone -- Though I'm not entirely sold on the idea behind this one, the execution was really good for the most part (the transition from page 2 to 3 being a low part for me). It flowed well (other than that previous gripe of mine), the art was nice and conveyed the action and tone of the story well. The 8 pages gave you an idea of the setting, the character, and a little of what you can expect from more of this book. It's definitely a contender for my vote.

New instant winner: The Imaginary Boys -- I think this is an interesting idea with an interesting art style that fits it but I'm not entirely sold on the execution yet. Some of the parts and dialogue come across as choppy or forced and didn't really flow well. I might stick around to see how it goes beyond these initial 8 pages but at the moment, I don't see myself sticking around too long.

Overall, a pretty wide variety of story ideas and styles which I think is great. I know, I put a lot of "not my style" and such in my reviews but I do appreciate the different approaches even though not all of them will appeal to me in particular. So go check them out.