Comic World News

April 22, 2008:
CWN and the Grand Finale! -

February 4, 2008:
In Conclusion - David ends his CWN run with Tezuka's MW from Vertical

February 2, 2008:
Acting Like You Have Nothing to Prove -

February 2, 2008:
The Shoegazer Returns - A New Year Begins, And Our Narrator Makes A Pledge

January 30, 2008:
Tim's Reviews -

September 13, 2007:
Wizard World Chicago Loot, Part One - Stykman, Empty Chamber, the Ztarian Saga, and yes, Little Bunny Foo Foo

February 15, 2007:
I Come Not to Bury Nick Cage... - But to mourn the death of my punchline

November 20, 2006:
The End - Rich's last Chicks & Romance

November 8, 2006:
Joann Sfar's Klezmer - And a Front Racks Hiatus

October 4, 2006:
This Month's Guest: Dave Gibbons - From the pages of Elephantmen!

September 18, 2006:
Back in Berlin - or How I spent my summer

July 29, 2006:
KICKING UP A STORM - An interview with David Lloyd

June 19, 2006:
You Ain't Never Had A Friend Like Me. - Graeme looks at Spidey's "genies"

December 18, 2005:
Disappointed - Sad news for fans of Busiek's CONAN, Stephen King, and others

December 13, 2004:
JUSTICE UNPLUGGED 2 at last !!! - By Fabrice Sapolsky & Xavier Fournier

December 2, 2004:
THE TWELFTH AND FINAL STEP - Say it ain't so, Dan.

November 23, 2004:
The importance of editing -

September 29, 2004:
Mystery and Conundrum indeed! - Where in the world is Jason Pomerantz?

September 13, 2004:
Hello and Goodbye and Hello Again - Change is in the air at CWN and it smells sweet.

August 12, 2004:
The Rise of the Web Toon - New Business Model or Dumb Luck?

July 30, 2004:
The Name Says it All... - Spin Doctors revamp Boomerang.

July 27, 2004:
Bigger Isn't Always Better -

June 8, 2004:
Pre-emptive Strike: MoCCA Arts Festival - Looking forward to the con, rather than looking back at it

The Layer Method
Our top Secret time-saving technique for creating and merging balloons and tails in Illustrator.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

The Gods of Arr-Kelaan: Going Home #1-10

Review by Sarah Haslett

Written and Illustrated by Chuck Rowles

Published by Rubber Mallet Comics.

Ronson is the God of Alcohol. He's apathetic and wants to be left alone, but mostly he just wants to go home.

You see, Ronson's really just a normal guy from Earth. He crash landed on the planet Arr-Kelaan (with a bunch of other people) and now he has god-like powers. Unlike his fellow travelers, he doesn't want to stay and play god. He wants to find the spaceship, fix it up and go home. Along the way, though, he runs into other travelers who usually see him as being in their way. He also makes friends with some of the natives, who worship him even though he tells them not to.

These 10 issues are the first part of the Going Home story arc. The number of pages in an issue varies from 8 to 12. It's very unusual for a web comic to have defined issues; most web comics just start at page 1 and go on continuously from there. Some may have story arcs, but they're not normally so well-defined. Chuck Rowles has even created a color cover for each issue.

While the story is mainly humorous, there are serious and even sad moments. Ronson isn't perfect. He's human and makes mistakes. He tries to follow through with his promises, but it doesn't always work out. Then there are the sad moments when we find out why he's so apathetic.

The strongest aspects of this comic are the dialogue and characters. Every character is unique and interesting. The dialogue is very witty and humorous. The way each character speaks and acts evokes emotions in the readers. Ronson is a very sympathetic character and you feel sorry for him. Some characters you hate almost instantly, like his co-traveler Bikk who wants to rule the world through commerce.

The art is simplistic, but very expressive. It's rough at the beginning, but gets much better. Every character has a very unique look, if somewhat stereotypical. But the looks fit the characters' personalities.

This is a story that definitely grows and matures as it progresses forward. I'm looking forward to the print version of this which will have revamped art, reworked text and also feature an earlier story. This Going Home story is actually the third story in the series, but it's quite accessible to new readers. I haven't read either of the two previous stories and I easily understood what was going on.

If you'd rather read the print version, check out September's Previews under the publisher Drunk Duck Comics. It lists the first of two trades which will collect the whole Going Home story.