June 2, 2008

Two new members for you to enjoy - there would have been more, but there were a few problems with the submissions!

I've been thinking about how to shake things up a little on the All Members page. What would you say to me mixing up the order of not only the genres, but also the comics within the genres as well? That way the more senior members don't get lost at the bottom of the pile.

Also, instead of a spotlight member, should we just have ALL the noobs get their banners on the main page? Fire me off a PM in the forum if you've got any input on the matter. And, uh, for those who don't know, I'm LadyYates on the forum ;)

Thanks all!

This week's Spotlight Member:  In Pursuit of Nain

April 28, 2008

The Earthsong Gueststrip contest recieved 5 entries, and I love'm all! So each one will get some screen time and everyone gets a one month subscription to DeviantArt! In no particular order, the loverly winners are:

- Courteney; Emerson's Haven

- Simone; Yamase Manga

- Zack; Unamused Comics

- Naan; Revolution Millennium

- Nikki; The van Zandts

Thanks everyone for entering - I'll be contacting you soon to let you know when your strip will be running, etc.

And in more Tomgeeky news, we have a few new members this week! Check'em out... you know you wanna. XD

 If you're a reader of Earthsong, you probably know that I'm going on vacation next week - I'll be gone for two weeks. Normally I get a few buds to do gueststrips for me, but it just hasn't panned out this year. So... Gueststrip contest!

Here's the deal: Your strip must feature only Earthsong characters. It doesn't have to be funny, but I won't complain if it is. It should be no wider than 500 pixels, length can be as long as you like. Colour isn't a requirement nor is membership with Tomgeeks... though I don't know how you'd know about the contest otherwise! The deadline is this Sunday, April 27th; the four winners will be announced the following day on Tomgeeks.

Prizes: A link to your comic/art site will go up along with your gueststrip on Earthsong and a one month free subscription to DeviantArt!

Submissions should be sent to: ladyyates(at)earthsongsaga(dot)com

 March 17, 2008

Asrailight from the forums made an awesome Tomgeeks Support Stamp for deviantArt! It makes me wish I had a subscription!

Our new members this week total five and they are loverly.

Founder's update: Juno's got SXD up on Wowio! If you're of the mind to send her a quarter or two for free, then download the pdf of StarCross'd Destiny and help a sister out! Also, Sarah Ellerton was interviewed by Webcomics.com about TPR, so give that a read too, why doncha? ^_~

Spotlight Member: Aerya's Tears

March 10 , 2008

Woo! Update! As readers of my own comic will probably already know, I had no internet access for most of last week and thus had no way of doing an update... that doesn't really excuse the lack of updating for the past three weeks, but, well... shuddup! XD

We have a total of 17 brand spanking new members this week so if you were hankering for something new and exciting, enjoy!

And in lieu of a review by yours truly (surprise, surprise) I submit for your reading pleasure an article by T. Cambell on "Webcomics on Wikipedia" which was of particular interest to me as my own comic's entry has been given the "Notability" Black Spot, as it were.

 Sorry about the update being late! But better late than never... right?

And while I didn't have time to do a proper review, and since I can't really break my own rule of not reviewing your friends, I'll simply give a wee shout out to Stef, my local webcomic bud, who does Sarah Zero, which will surely blow your monitor's resolution out the window along with your notion of life on da web. Check it out!

And while you're at it, check out the 9 awesome new members we added to the Tomgeeks ranks this week!

 January 21 , 2008

So... I wimped out and there's no review this week - sorry!

But we still have 5 new members! Be sure to spread the word to all your fellow female webcomic creators!

Tomgeeks Meme by Madison! Do it... if you dare! (and here's the thread for posting them in)

This week's spotlight member:  The Selsa Chronicles

By: Starline Xiomara Hodge
Updates : Monday, Wednesday, Friday

Webcomic Review by: Glottal

Posted: January 14, 2008

Spoiler Alert Level : None
WARNING : Mildly Mature: Some language, nudity and adult
situations

To quote the comic itself, Candi is "A real life world with traces of extra-ordinary elements." Candi is also the central character, a freshman art student in college. At first sight, the comic is another college student drama focusing on the students who live in a scholarship house. Yet this rich comic comes with many layers.

Candi herself is very much a tomgeek. She reads manga and plays video games - when she has time. She has a very positive outlook towards life, and wants to hug everyone - well, ALMOST everyone. Being a bit shy, she has problems opening herself up in public. She is also gifted with an active and fanciful imagination which eases her way through the stress of college, as demonstrated below.

Much of the strip, particularly the earlier strips, deal with the whimsical nature of college life. Candi is new to dorm life, and is adjusting to her roomates, and to the various quirks of campus living (actually, all of her roomies, as freshmen, are adjusting). They all learn how to live with each other - or, in some cases, how to NOT live with each other.

All of this is illustrated by Starline's expressive cartoon style. Look at how the students handle a group of little kids who have just added a new word to their vocabulary -

Each character has a specific reaction to the predicament written on their face, on their body, and in their lines. This shows Starline's ability to combine image and dialogue to tell a story, which is what comics are all about. During the course of the comic the artwork has evolved, and the later strips are especially masterful artwise. The art is simple, colorful, and very effective.

Candi, Alex, Jon, and Chris knew each other before college. Their relationships are already quite tense, and college causes their positions to gradually shift. They also form new relationships with other students, which eventually get quite tense as well.

This generates a great deal of comedy. The early strips focus on shorter story arcs, which plant the seeds for the longer arcs. The most incredibly funny moments in the strip exploit the characters' foibles, and take at least several strips to set up.

However, while it's funny, it's also serious. Most of the characters act like kids, and now that they are in college they have to learn how to take care of themselves - especially how to work with other people. Sometimes they are so immature you want smack them hard, and then shake some sense into them. Fortunately, the characters do this for each other on the reader's behalf.

And there are love triangles. A lot of love triangles. Yet it never becomes full-blown soap opera. While the characters engage in their relationship problems, they also have to keep on living their daily lives, and living with each other. Thus the angst resembles a stretched rubber band more than a string of explosions. The bits which make fun of the college experience seamlessly break up the more dramatic parts.

Slowly but surely, the characters gain maturity and learn how to manage their lives better. At this point in the webcomic, the students are in their second semester of freshman year, so the progress is limited, but it is coming along. Some of the characters become very introspective at times, and examine what is causing their problems, and how they can deal with it. Other characters are apparently oblivious to their flaws.

That's the "real life" part of Candi. But what of the "traces of extra-ordinary elements". While the story focuses on the students in the scholarship house, there is a sub-plot about the other residents on campus - the wildlife. Some of the animals around the campus can talk, and a few have superpowers.

The animals' sub-plot adds another dimension to the comic. It invites the reader to look beyond the literal and mundane in the world, just as college life challenges the students to look below the surface of their feelings.

On the surface, Candi can look a lot like the standard stereotyped teen drama. However, I feel that this comic is drawn from reality, not second-hand ideas from the tropes and stereotypes we all know so well. It has that extra subtlety and quirkiness, revealing its freshness. It stays true to life, without going too far in the direction of either weirdness or mundanity. I think Starline is able to pull this off only drawing from her own keen observation of people, particularly people in college.

Whenever I recommend this comic to anybody, one of the first things they tell me is that something that happened in the comic is just like something that happened to themselves or someone they know. And that's because Candi has captured the struggles common to many of us, whether it's small things like making sure nobody else eats your food, or bigger things like the break-up of a relationship. The reader does not have be an undergraduate - I myself have never lived in a dorm as a college student - because this strip is more about people than about college. And occasionally, when I think about the comic, I recognize among the characters some of my own flaws. That can be a scary revelation.

When I read through the comic the first time, I thought it was pleasant fluff. And a lot of it is pleasant fluff. It makes the archives easy to read. As I followed the comic for more than a year, and as I re-read the archives multiple times, it dawned on me just how much this comic offers. And now it has become one of the webcomics whose updates I most eagerly await.

So go ahead, and enjoy some Candi