Please review my superhero webcomic: Spark

[Darkdetective]

Spark is a one of the few non-parody superhero webcomics. Just redesigned my website. I'd like to hear what you all think. I wouldn't mind if you reviewed my comic while you're at it. Thanks a bunch!
http://www.sparkthecomic.com

[Darkdetective]

anyone?
Edit: This is a sample page (it's pretty old, over a year, but its the only 1 page that tells a self contained story):

[Darkdetective]

Hm. Still no comments. If it helps, you can watch some animations of Spark on the website, Iike this, or this, or even a full 7 minute animated short. You can even download some unfinished Spark videogames as well. I'd really apreaciate a comment though. Good or bad. Just something.

[VeryCuddlyCornpone]

I always figured it Comic Pitching is where you post "Hey look at my site" and TT&T is where you post "Hey please critique my stuff" But I suppose the two can live in harmony as well.

I'll give your comic a look this weekend when I get all my work done. How many pages do you have so far?

[Darkdetective]

only like 60 or so.

[Darkdetective]

God, I hate bumping this, but It's been a month and still not even one review.

[BionicDance]

God, I hate bumping this, but It's been a month and still not even one review.

I'm sorry...I want to review it, give it the same treatment you gave mine. But the subject matter doesn't really float my ducky, so I'm having a difficult time reading it beyond maybe ten pages. I mean, yeah, okay, I own Spider-Man and two of the Superman movies on DVD...oh, and Mystery Men, but that's just cuz I have a crush on Janeane Garofalo...but superheroes really aren't my thing.

I could point out a few things about the art, maybe...

For example, on this page:http://www.sparkthecomic.com/d/20080315.html
Sweet merciful zombie monkeys! Panel 3...women aren't built like that! Humongous shoulders and an itty-bitty waist? Arms that would make Arnold Schwarzenegger jealous? Those are male proportions, dude. Just sayin'...

Anyway, I find I'm fairly picky about the comics I read...I think I read a grand total of five, not counting my own; used to be eight, but two went defunct and I lost interest in the third. So that's mostly what's been holding me back from reviewing yours; I'm just not superhero people, not really, and, well...I'd be a rotten judge of what you've done. Not sure why no one else has bothered, tho.

[VeryCuddlyCornpone]

Aw shoot, I'm sorry I didn't get to it this weekend. I have it on my to-do list and will give you a nice review as soon as possible.

[mikemacdee]

I flipped through it a bit. Spelling and grammar look pretty good for the most part (alley is the space between buildings; ally is a friend or cohort). You structure many pages to encourage the reader to see what happens next, which is good: for example, instances where people look up and see something startling, and we don't see what they're looking at unless we turn the page. Classic comic technique that can be utilized often in big as well as subtle ways. I get the impression the characters have lives outside their costumed fiascoes, which is also good (it's what made Spiderman so successful back in the day). Overall the comic's got potential, but still needs work to be truly good.

Names and titles, for one, could use a little touching up. Spark? Zap? "Gun Control"? Not the most creative choices, but it might just be me.

Expressions and anatomy need a ton of work. Practicing gesture drawings of the human figure and doing perspective exercises would be two major steps toward evolving as an artist. If you're used to doing digital art, experiment with traditional art to open new doors and get new ideas. Also study the art of storyboarding to improve your panels a bit: you use a few too many headshots sometimes, and other times it's not always clear what's going on (like in the bottom of the page for Friday, August 8, 2008 -- I figured it out, but I'm also really good at Pictionary). When in doubt, copy the masters! If you're doing a superhero comic I'm sure you've got a collection of favorite comics somewhere. Copying panels and pages is a great way to learn. And with gesture drawing practice, you'll get really good at it.

Writing exercises would be a plus, too, to make sure your plots have no holes and your characters are feasible. Comics are ultimately a visual medium, but the writing HAS to be good or else it won't matter how good the art is. The same rules apply: copy the masters, find out what makes their stories tick. And not just comic stories: look into literature and pulp fiction, too. Your gun dealer guy in issue 3 is a step in the right direction: you got some good moral gray area there, looking into the underlying issues of crime and poverty.

Can't think of anything else right now. You can easily research all the stuff I mentioned online. Hope it helps.

[Darkdetective]

I flipped through it a bit. Spelling and grammar look pretty good for the most part (alley is the space between buildings; ally is a friend or cohort).

Thanks! Wouldn't of noticed that otherwise!

Overall the comic's got potential, but still needs work to be truly good.

Don't I know it! Thanks for the compliment though!

Names and titles, for one, could use a little touching up. Spark? Zap? "Gun Control"? Not the most creative choices, but it might just be me.

Ok, I think Spark is a pretty awesome name, but that's just an opinion I suppose. Not gonna change it though. As for Zap, yeah, I see what you're saying, but I was going for one of those golden-age type names. Zap was the first one I created, back when I was like 7. It holds an emotional value to me, and it wouldn't feel right to change it. And "Gun Control"... well, I was originally going to call it "The Death Dealer", but decided to use it for a later issue.

Expressions and anatomy need a ton of work. Practicing gesture drawings of the human figure and doing perspective exercises would be two major steps toward evolving as an artist. If you're used to doing digital art, experiment with traditional art to open new doors and get new ideas. Also study the art of storyboarding to improve your panels a bit: you use a few too many headshots sometimes, and other times it's not always clear what's going on (like in the bottom of the page for Friday, August 8, 2008 -- I figured it out, but I'm also really good at Pictionary).

Working on it. Working on it. I know. I know. (It's quite embarrassing looking back at it, really.)

Writing exercises would be a plus, too, to make sure your plots have no holes and your characters are feasible. Comics are ultimately a visual medium, but the writing HAS to be good or else it won't matter how good the art is. The same rules apply: copy the masters, find out what makes their stories tick. And not just comic stories: look into literature and pulp fiction, too. Your gun dealer guy in issue 3 is a step in the right direction: you got some good moral gray area there, looking into the underlying issues of crime and poverty.

Come to think of it, the next few issues will be focusing on the "bad guys" and why they do what they do. Thanks for taking the time to review my comic. I really appreciate it.

[mikemacdee]

(It's quite embarrassing looking back at it, really.)

Tell me about it. I've pretty much trashed all my old art and comics except the most recent ones. I couldn't stand looking at em....

[Darkdetective]

It's funny, because I introduced the idea of laserguns into the Spark universe in an attempt to make it more kid friendly. (For some reason lasers are ok, but bullets aren't. Go figure.) As a result though, the story took on a life of its own, and became darker than ever. (A few pages from now you'll see what I mean.) It's just odd though. Lasers are more deadly than bullets, not less. Stupid television censors.

[Darkdetective]

Up to issue #4! This is the cover:

I'm thinking of making it as a t-shirt. What do you think? Also, I'd like to know what you guys think of issue #3, now that it's finished (it's only like 20 pages). Thanks.