The Mad Brothers

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Index & NewsWritingWebcomicsProgrammingArtworkAll ElseLinks & Mail Click thumbnails to view the artist's full-sized image

Yes, I know the following doesn't read too well. Maybe in a week I'll get this pedantic kink out.

A cartoon-style is supposed to be simplistic. Anatomy exists only as far as to identify a character's species and gender. Perspective can usually be dispensed with, as can most other natural principles. Proportions change as needed. Fine detailing need only appear once. It is a perfectly simple and free form style--except from the works of Warner Brothers (and those that reinforced the stereotype) we know how cartoon characters act.

View this strip in the author's archives The Mad Brothers blends cartoon-style characters into the common webcomic elements without detriment from either. Slightly modified, classic cartoon gags are funny (not that the originals are pedestrian; Looney Tunes withstood time well). More valuable are the structural freedoms we expect from cartoons; the simple explanation, "Because it's funny," is perfectly acceptable. Random amusements can worm there way into the story lines without a sense of misplacement.

View this strip in the author's archives The plot is closer to the norm for webcomics; although Wiley Coyote is amusing, it doesn't take long to guess how half the anecdotes end. The Mad Brothers hits many categories only to move on to something different. Quick opinions (which tend to be right by my thinking--those Calvin & Hobbes stickers are just wrong), with commendable restraint from dropping into politics, are brought forth without breaking the character. The run-in with role-playing games (every webcomic has to do it once) ends with a few clever comments rather than a bland, "they're not too bad." And then it just squeezes--without lulls or gaps--a few strips into the plot that are just funny.

And that's the comic: what Saturday morning cartoons *should* have turned into (enough with the animeizing these knock-offs!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The BEST Text Editor Ever