by A. G. Hopkins
This short archive of strips is amusing, adorable, and could really have been expanded to a longer series, as the characters are generally well developed, especially considering the short run of the comic.
The characters consist of a lead male named Jimmy who seems to be in charge of the whole crew, a cynical, cigar-smoking teddy bear named Palmer, a simple-minded toy helicopter named Ace, a snow leopard named Eve, a robot named Isaac Newton, and a young woman whose name is never really mentioned.
The art is fairly consistent, with a nearly seamless artist transition from Sukarangsan to Lloyd near the middle of the strip. It's colorful, with expressive characterization, and a somewhat childish innocence to the characters that's expressed in simple, wide-eyed smiles. The lines are nice and bold, and the backgrounds are interesting, with occasional joke references included. I especially like the name tag assigned to Palmer when he works as a waiter at a burger joint. You don't readily notice it because there's a larger joke reference in the foreground. He's taking an order from Jay and Silent Bob. His name tag, though, is Azrael.
As an almost Calvin and Hobbes style comic, it's fairly derivative, but it's amusing and enjoyable enough that you could easily read a few more without feeling put upon. However, at only 46 strips, you never really have a chance to get tired of the characters.
What sets this comic apart from others of its nature is the 46th strip, where we find out what the story has really been about. The art in the final strip is by Tauhid Bondia, and it's excellent.
This last strip is a jarring change of pace from the playful strips that precede it, and the light tone stops so suddenly that one is taken aback. The first impression is that McCurdy simply tired of the strip and chose this unusual -- but imaginative and poignant -- ending. Further consideration, though, indicates that this was planned all along.
It's hinted at by the town's name, Reflection; also by the curious treatment of one of the characters, who is never named and sometimes is unaccounted for.
This is McCurdy's second attempt at a webcomic. He has several others on his site, hackneyed.net, and is in the middle of inking a deal with United Syndicate for his Suzie View, which includes art by Tauhid Bondia. Bondia is the artist/author of Spells and Whistles, which has received a fair amount of attention lately, some of which is almost certainly due to Scott Kurtz, who accused Bondia of ripping off some PVP characters a while back, as well as to a link from Penny Arcade. The issue with Kurtz apparently has been resolved peacefully.
