Comic Review: Internet comics, complete stories edition

These are three very diverse stories, all of which I have enjoyed, and which you may enjoy as well.

Hearts: http://hearts.thecomicseries.com/comics/1/

Adapted by Anna Sarhling-Hamm from a 1904 story by M. R. James, "Lost Hearts".

This is the shortest of the stories and it is safe to call it the eeriest. It is also helpful that it is not very long, because you will want to go back once you understand the resolution and see how it played out.

At least that is how it was for me being unfamiliar with the story. If you have already read "Lost Hearts" then there are no surprises, but I imagine that seeing it pictured would be rather satisfying.

While going over internet comics I have been considering things like layout and navigation, and I feel like the page setup here works well with the overall mood. Nicely done.

Nimona: http://gingerhaze.com/nimona/comic/page-1

by Noelle Stevenson

Nimona was put out as an ongoing comic, but it always had a defined arc, and that arc having been completed, will be released in book form next year.

Nimona herself is a shape-shifter who volunteers as a sidekick to villain Lord Ballister Blackheart. Initially I kept reading because it was so fun. If you think a powerful shape-shifter with the attitude and attention span of a teenage girl would be frustrating for a villain with a pretty strict honor code, you would be right. That frustration also has a lot of comic potential, and the shape-shifting has some great artistic potential. There is also fun with science and especially one scientist who is the very definition of nonplussed (and probably nonplussable, if that were a word).

At the same time, there is a lot of heart to the comic, and there are times when it really gets you in the gut.

Underground: http://undergroundthecomic.com/

Written by Jeff Parker, art by Steve Lieber, and colors by Ron Chan

Here there are five books, which can be purchased via Paypal donation.

The story centers around a cave system that the protagonist is trying to protect while various other people are trying to make a profit from it, told over five books.

I appreciate the balance given to the various characters and points of view. I sympathize with preservation, but I sympathize with the need for economic stimulation too. I believe the multiple needs can be met, which the book seems to indicate as well, based on its resolution.

The most amazing thing about it is exploration of the cave system with everything that happens there. I will admit that there were a few places where the action got a little confusing to follow, which would probably happen if you were in the situation yourself. I just also have to say that there were moments when it left me breathless, like Dang! How do you get out of that? It's a lot of adrenaline for reading a comic, and I'm not sure that claustrophobics would be free from panic while reading it, because it gets to you.

It does make the caves look really cool, it just grabs you by the throat a little bit in the process.