Man, these reviews are going really slow lately.




2s a company
[ By: Priest_Revan ]

My review of 2's a Company .

If someone asked me to describe 2's a Company, I would be hard-pressed to do so. How would you describe a comic that chronicled the lives of two young boys going through life in a meandering, casually realistic manner? Oh, and it's a furry comic to boot. But all that only explains the premise of 2's a Company. It never really lets you see the deeper appeal of the comic.

First off, it's not written like your typical comic. In fact, I find the plot to be frustratingly slow at times, crawling along at a glacial pace. This, however, may also be one of its strongest points. Using this slow-paced story-telling technique, Priest_Revan has created a comic that defies traditional explanation. There are no real jokes in 2's a Company, no real major plot; only a feeling that this is just a slice of life. This, I think, makes it an interesting read.

Of course it could also make it boring for some people. I mean, how many people could enjoy reading a story where nothing ever happens? But for me that adds a calming layer over it, making it feel so completely different from what I've read before.

And it helps that the artwork is, for the most part, excellent. The characters are beautifully drawn and convey the proper emotions wonderfully. The colors are also to be complimented, as they help the comic stand out and make it so visually appealing. Unfortunately the same can't be said for the backgrounds, which often lack life and energy. And I do have a small complaint with the hand-drawn dialog; sometimes it bunches together, making it very hard to read what characters are saying.

There are also some underlying gay themes with the comic, but nothing overt as of yet. This doesn't detract from the almost childlike sweetness of the main comic in the least; in fact, adding these subtle hints and allusions may in fact make the comic a deeper draw for some people.

The plot, what little there is, deals with the everyday lives of Travis and Andy, two boys growing up and trying to deal with life's little misadventures (and several large misadventures, including an alien encounter) in the best manner they can. There's really not much more to describe there.

Overall, I think 2's a Company is a fine comic with a cute story, good characters, and solid artwork. There are some problems here and there, but the final product is pretty good.

Art: 4/5.
Story: 3/5.
Overall: 4/5.

Thanks for the lovely review Steely.

I actually laughed at this part a bit:

Steely
There are also some underlying gay themes with the comic, but nothing overt as of yet.

Sorry, but that was a little funny.

Also, thanks for pointing out my text problems. I'm trying to figure out how to fix it right now, but no success just yet (my usual handwriting is almost unreadable, so it's just luck that I've worked on it enough for it to be legible on the comic).
And, just for future reference, I am trying to work on backgrounds right now (practicing with the program I use), so lets look forward to me gettin' them down.

Let's get crackin'.

Before anything else, I just want it to be known how highly I think of this guy just as a member of the DD community. Oftentimes, if you visit either the comic review boards or the "Hey, Look what I did" ones, you'll usually find Priest_Revan commenting on everyone's work, not because he's obligated to, but just because he wants to help out all the new guys who are looking for input. For this, I commend him.

Now, this comic... "2's a company". Let me say that I've never really been into the whole furry thing, and this is the first furry comic I've actually read. Who knew they were just like normal comics, but with animals instead of people? Fascinating.

Art:

Artistically, this comic is no masterwork. But who says it has to be? It's just a comic strip, and the art that is here is functional and does its job, if nothing else. Of course there's always room for improvement, but it's all relative to what your goals for the comic are, and it seems like Priest_Revan has found a nice little niche. I myself found that I almost preferred the more open feel of his pencil sketches as opposed to the final art, simply because they were so full of emotion... but if the comic were made up of sketches then it wouldn't be much of a comic, would it?

I do have one gripe about the character art, though, and that is this:

If Travis and Raphael didn't have clothes to tell them apart, I wouldn't be able to tell who was who.

Seriously, the two characters look the exact same. It's not like it's hard to tell because Raph has the telltale purple scarf, but it's still kind of weird that you can't tell one main character apart from the other but for just that. Now that you've established the two characters I dunno if you'd want to change their design at all, but I would certainly be in favor of something to tell their faces apart (other than the hair, which may be slightly different, couldn't really tell).

Other than that, though, the art is pretty good. I could see you honing your skills through the course of the comic, which starts as basically chicken scratch but ends up a nice colored strip. Not too remarkable as far as backgrounds go, but like I said before, the art does what is needed. If you wanted to take the art aspect further you certainly could (And I'm sure if you continue for a while you will), but it's not at all bad. I also like the more experimental things (such as the tablet) and the fanarts.

3/5

Story:

In a sentence, these two kids named Andy and Travis go through high school, meet new friends, and encounter everything life has to offer along the way. Now this in no way does service to the vast number of pages that comprise the comic, but that's what it boils down to. Revan manages to keep the characters fairly interesting, giving them all their own little quirks and problems to deal with, along with different lifestyles (Say, Leah's as opposed to Riley's). My favorite character was actually Riley, as he's kind of this loner who has somewhat of a haunted past, and he stood out to me. Maybe it was that my favorite strips involved him, such as the checkers game. Also, I don't ever recall another story where two characters meet because one discovers the other digging in his trash can. XD

Now as for the structure, the comic flows along at a nice lazy pace, nothing huge ever really happens, but the comic's really more about teenage life, and nothing much happens in real teenage life, so it's all good. It's structured like a strip, which allows the artist to just do oneshots when he feels like it, but he also often goes into story arcs, whether it be to deepen character development or just something going on in their lives (Like the alien thing... that was pretty funny). I like the way it's set up, because instead of having one huge story, it's lots of different little ones with a joke or two stuck in between.

It's not an epic tale of love and loss by any means, just a cute comic about the little things in life that make it worth living. And sometimes that's equally as satisfying.

3.5/5

Other stuff:

Well, the actual layout of the comic never much changes, usually just a horizontal strip. Though one thing I liked a lot was the one where there were the original sketches on top and the bottom was the finished work, it really showed the process well. Other than that, not too much to say. I like the page layout, where the buttons are character heads. I thought that was a pretty neat idea, and one day I'll have to figure out how to do stuff like that. Another cool thing, and it might seem minor to most people, is how you had something to say about every page of the comic. Too many people just end up leaving the notes section blank, and I think it really adds something when you can see what the artist thinks about it.

So overall, I enjoyed reading it from beginning to end and watching the comic's gradual transformation, and I'm sure it will be continuing for a long time. Anybody who has a lot of time to kill would enjoy it if they like lighthearted stories like this for sure. Or if you're just a general furry fan, I suppose that'd do it too. Anyway, I guess overall I'd give it a 3.5 out of 5, but that's just because I know it could, and most likely will, improve. I had fun with it. Keep it going. woot.

Here we go, a review by moi.
Enjoy...

ART -
I like the art muchly. I wasn't so fond of the old colouring, and the new colouring with the tablet looks very smooth and easy to look at I also like the characters, except the whole Raphael and Travis thing, I have no complaints. I also like the lines in the background which makes the background look nice. :D

WRITING AND STUFF-
:) I, not surprisingly, like it. It's funny when it's supposed to be, and when it's supposed to be serious, it's point gets across.
OK, sometimes the jokes are a little hit and miss, but not often. I like it, I swear I do! I do like the story. It's pretty realistic. I mean when you get past the fact that the characters have fur all over their bodys. :D

OTHER RANDOM STUFF WHICH I CAN'T THINK OF A TITLE FOR -
I like the borders around the speech bubbles, it just sorta helps you understand who's talking a little more.
No seriously, I'm not sugar coating it here, I really can't think of anything bad to say. Not one thing. Someone help me insult Revan! ;_;

CONCLUSION -
1. I F@#~*%$ suck at reviews.
2. This comic is awesome.

Priest_Revan has the technical aspect of doing a comic in strip format down. It's an impressive feat to accomplish because doing strip format comics, especially 1-3 panels per strip is very difficult(at least for me anyway) and I think he does a good job of cutting out the fat and getting to the point. Also, the fact that the characters keep up with current events really gives it that "sunday's paper" feel.

Another thing is that this comic has going for it is that it is almost consistently humorous, although there were times were it wasn't supposed to be funny and I found myself rereading the strip trying to see where I had missed the joke.

most of the gripes I had about the art have already been corrected in the newer color version, although I prefer the cleaner look, to the looser look of the latest strip. I think you might want to consider varying your shots a little more, as you tend to use a lot of close ups and medium shots. I would also like to see more use of backgrounds, just to establish the characters location in relation to each other. Other than that, the art isn't really a problem for me because I can see the improvement from strip to strip.

The pacing is really slow for my taste though, and some of the stories that go on for more than one strip don't stand up too well on their own.

2's a Company is a good comic, not a great comic. Overall I would give this comic a 3.5/5

Thanks for the CC guys. :)

Yeah, as I said before, I'm still trying to work on the backgrounds. I hope the art class I'm taking right now will help a little better...but it's okay.

although there were times were it wasn't supposed to be funny and I found myself rereading the strip trying to see where I had missed the joke.

Lol, yeah. Many people actually keep telling me that. I keep having remind everyone that I'm not under the "comedic" genre, but thanks for pointing that out. :)

The pacing is really slow for my taste though, and some of the stories that go on for more than one strip don't stand up too well on their own.

Yeah, it's a little hard to write a story in strip format, but I'm trying to fix that right now (I dont' want to have to try and change the layout if I don't have to, but if comes down to it, I will).

2's a Company is a youthful, fun, and satirical comic. What it lacks in professionalism it makes up for in heart. The 140 strips....which is a lot more than I really wanted to read for my first review....were fun. I like the comic.

Overall Rating 4 of 5
Story 4 of 5
Art 3 of 5 (That just means average, it does not mean bad.)
Enjoyability 5 of 5
Ledgibility 3 of 5 (I'm not a fan of hand written letters, but it works with the subject. Oh, and I am rating the WHOLE comic. You've gotten better.)

I can't tell anything about what genre it is specifically in, but having read the previous posts and the strips, I assume it's supposed to be real life/parody and in the Random category.


Story:
The early ones feel like a newspaper cartoon that I used to read. It's fun. The main characters have a wholesomeness that's pleasing. The two make a good pair.

However, the number of characters detracts. I got confused. I have no idea who Andy is. I think that's his name. The one with the circled eye.

It's not the most consistent strip, but I don't think it has to be. It's still fun. What I mean by consistent is how it changed from a series of one liners to a dramatic story with humorous overtones.

I'm trying to understand the "Gay" theme comment. I don't see it. Maybe there's something else there that I didn't see. (Other than the two fillers of course). I feel like I get why Leah and Raph are there, but I just don't understand the third character....again, I think it's Andy.


Art:
When I look at the first and most recent strips it's easy to see that the style has changed. I actually prefer the original style, but what's being done now still works.

It's difficult to understand why it would need more backgrounds. The jist of the toon is well communicated without it. I personally recommend working on more crisp coloring (I'm making this comment based on the last two)....but then maybe that's all a part of the same thing.


Web page:
I hated having to scroll down for a strip comic. A tighter header would make me happy. I like that you didn't go with a homepage, because I find them irritating.

PS If you are looking for opinions on something else just let me know. And I'll post a follow-up after your response.

The Good:

2's a Company is a very fun comic with bright colors and well designed characters. The coloring style has changed recently, but I think for the better - the brush look gives the pages a unique style that helps the comic stand out from the rest. It also gives a texture quality to the characters, who are mostly covered with fur. While the comic appears like it would be a comedy strip for kids (mostly because of the anthropomorphic characters and their animated design), the story can actually be quite serious in places, and certainly isn't intended to be a comedy strip. The creator has pointed this out several times, but the reader almost wants it to be funny because of the look / feel of the characters and the world that they inhabit.

That said, when comedy is used in the story, it seems to work very very well. Likewise, when drama is used, it tends to throw the reader for a loop - which is not always a bad thing. The unexpected can come off as something fresh and original, especially in a comic like this where the characters and environments are so stylized and well established.

Improvement Points:

Some of the characters appear to be based off the same design, so it may be a little difficult to tell them apart - especially for new readers. The only difference between them is their coloring, and this can force the reader to check back to previous pages to figure out who's talking. A character page may help to overcome this issue.

The diagloue boxes do not lead the eye through the page, but more so seem to be put in as an after-thought. I don't say this to be mean, but the balloons that point off panel or that seem crammed into a panel really stick out in a negative way. I think some more planning on how text can be deployed into the pages would help solve this issue. Perhaps shrinking down the art, or stuffing less dialogue into a panel would also help.

Overall:

3 / 5

Fixing the crammed dialogue balloons will quickly jump my score up to a 3.5 or higher, and a character sheet will take it up higher than that. Other than that, content and dialogue from the characters are great, and the character designs themselves are very solid and enjoyable to look at. A good comic for all ages.

Alright, i just picked out this comic like a week ago, and i love it. i'm 14, and its seriously different to see something so clean and such a fun read. I've read every page, and by seeing the progressions he Priest Revan made in a year, its only gonna get better and better.

Story:

The story follows the two main characters, Andy and Travis. You can see that there they have the classic, best bud friendship. Its story is a nice, slice of life, quirky quick joke, and sometimes serious. Its taken very slow, but i think if it was any speedier, it would lose its touch. The story arcs are good times in my book, and its something to look forward to every day he updates. i give the story a 5/5, because its so very much engaging and enjoyable

Artwork:

The artwork is most impressive. If you look at how he started, its like me now (by the way, I've started to get into drawing, because i loved the artwork, and saw how much you progress from just doing it). Now, his art is freaken amazing! The colors are my favorite, and there always well mixed and blended.=, but there are a few short comings. like, i cant tell the difference in Travis or Raphael most of the time unless Raphael is wearing his signature scarf. Honestly, thats the only thing. 5/5

Characters:

These are very rock solid characters. so far, the main are Andy and Travis, Riley, Raphael, and Leah. I honestly think that Riley is amazing, and his strips are very funny, like the one with the strip poker, which remains my favorite page. The characters are funny, but taken serious. they dont act too out of control, and they fit where many kids are today, and i think that Pries Revan has really captured that. for this, 5/5

Conclusion:

So, in end, this is probably my favorite comic on this site, and the best part is there's so much room for improvement. I fell in love with this, because its like you can jump out of the mundane, boring, life of the living, and head on over to a whole new dimension, and i think thats what web comics are for.

5/5!!!! All the way through.