Go A Viking: The Sword of Kings

Sorceresses, kings, witches and warriors vie for power in the island nation of Narthatheia. It is a story of the struggle of evil and good and of people and their relationships, all told with action figures.

Quick note: I actually read through this one last week and jotted down some review notes since I knew it was coming. I didn't actually read it all in about half an hour, haha.

Art:
Well... given the photography and use of dolls/action figures...I'll just critique them. First off, damn. That's a lot of action figures! Clearly, the creator takes great care of them, and they're all hyper-customized. I'm extremely impressed. Awesome costumes for the actors, and awesome sets. The photos are grainy for the first half or so of the archive, but the most recent pages have excellent quality. Great strides have been taken in the photoshopping and, in particular, speech bubbles. The layouts and panel definition have improved tenfold. Pages are much easier on the eye, and the conversations are easier to follow. The current chapter has been quite beautiful, really.

Writing
The first thing I noticed is that the characters are really cool, multi-faceted, and interesting. My favorite character is Prince Thord - he's such a panty-waste, and he kind of reminds me of Prince Valium from Spaceballs (I think it's the hair). Plus I think it's funny that there's an entire chapter dedicated to him throwing a temper tantrum! I also like how the author isn't afraid of showing scenes that others seldom consider - such as the misfortunes of women during war, scavenging, disposing of the bodies, etc. It's WAR, and it's messy and raw and awful. People forget these things, and in most historical fiction, authors tend to romanticize instead of paint clear and accurate pictures (think Hollywood's portrayal of pirates - which I don't mind because yay pirates, but I recognize that's not really how it was). Overall, Go a Viking is an epic fantasy tale reminiscent of the style of George R. R. Martin (a HUGE compliment). My only problem with the writing is that the ladies don't often sound like women when they speak. I can tell a guy is writing the dialogue. ^.^

An additional note:
The skull site layout is a huge pet peeve of mine. I think it's silly. In most cases, I won't read comics with that particular layout unless I'm immediately pulled in by *something* on the most current page. That might just be a personal hang-up, though. The color scheme matches the comic very well, but that skull thing really bugs me. Heh.

And finally:
I absolutely added this to my favorites list!

Ken, Barbie and G.I. Joe star in this Viking Berserker tale. If you're a fan of rape, mayhem and sorcery this one is for you. Enacted by meticulously photographed action figures with a dash of photoshop thrown in this comic is oddly addictive.

At first viewing it is like watching the "Burger King" king staring in Beowolf. But there is an odd sense of movement that seems to take place as you get use to the action figures. And after a while the faces actually seem to show feeling.

Reading "Go A Viking" by Stephen C. Willoughby is sort of like seeing your childhood play sessions come to life. The story line isn't sophisticated and there are so many characters that it's difficult to find a couple protagonists to hook into and root for.

But some of the scenes are pure cotton candy. If you're a B-movies buff check out the love scene and battle with the giant spider: Go_A_Viking_The_Sword_of_Kings/index.php?p=439257

Interspersed with bloody battle scenes Stephen does throw in some cosy village life—meaning no raping and pillaging but with lots of drinking. (If this was—and it may have been—life back then it is a wonder that those folks survived.) http://www.drunkduck.com/Go_A_Viking_The_Sword_of_Kings/index.php?p=448956

Stephen's sets are impressive. He's a pretty good costume designer, too. And I admire the English gardens that appear later in backgrounds. Photoshop blurring is used to create action.

On the art side "Lord of the Rings" style maps are fan favs: http://www.drunkduck.com/Go_A_Viking_The_Sword_of_Kings/index.php?p=492295

On the "could be better: side: Amanda said in her review, " that the ladies don't often sound like women." I agree with her and suppose that the men could use a bit more vocal polish, too. The word balloon text is getting more readable, but a bit more leading between lines and fewer hard to read italics will help.

My final comment is that plot and character development may be a weak, but who needs it when you've got skull guys: unkduck.com/Go_A_Viking_The_Sword_of_Kings/index.php?p=572714

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

First, I want to echo a lot of what amanda said. Amazing figure collection! You must have, live every toy you ever got as a child. I'm completely jealous of your collection. If I were to try making a figure-photo comic, it would have to star Han Solo, an armless Barbie with tooth marks in her leg, and a half dozen CareBears.

Site Presentation:
Like amanda, the "Screaming Skull" template bugs me. The large title banner also throws off the template, making it look plain sloppy. I think if you have to go with a template, you'd be better with either the B&W or the W&B. It's fine not to have a fancy layout, but you don't want a distracting one.

Visuals:
The backgrounds and sets are very appealing. While it's easy to tell that these are plastic people, you've done a good job as setting the scene. It doesn't appear that they are miniatures in a normal-sized world but instead are in their own world. Even when the background seems like an apparently flat image or seems to come to an end, the effect is that it looks like a reasonably-budgeted Broadway stage. Your sets are very well laid out and not sparse in their decoration. The colors and tones all work well together and portray a "real" setting feel. The special effects (motion blurs, added lighting) work well, and I particularly like the portrayal of injuries/wounds when shown. I also think the chosen camera angles and close-ups are well-chosen for the most part.

That said, there are places for improvement. Gratuitous use of the "flare" effect is cheesy and jarring. Oh how I do hate a flare. I think they are overused in webcomics in general and feel like the lazy man's special effect. Another place you might improve is by increasing the variety of panel sizes/shapes and camera angles. Since you are not limited by your drawing skill (which I know really impacts ones ability to do different angles), you shouldn't fear mixing it up a bit rather than showing people from the waist up 80% of the time with a few interspersed group scenes (mostly from a straight angle) and close-ups. Get creative with bird's-eye and worm's eye views. It would make your work more dynamic and could even add illusion of variety to those frozen faces.

Writing/Story:
The story would certainly appeal to anyone into the medieval setting, particularly one that tends to be a little raunchy and at war. It's definitely a "man story," not particularly to my personal tastes, but I know plenty of people are into that kind of stuff.

I agree that the women do not talk like women. It just makes me think of women reading lines that were written for them by men. Actually, to me, all the dialogue seems a little weak, like people rehearsing a play rather than having actual dialogue with each other. Or like novice re-enactors at a Renaissance Fair attempting to cosplay and use olden-time talk.

Overall:
My overall view is that this comic has action and sex (I didn't even know dolls had nipples! Did you draw those on?) and a lot of fun eye candy. The figure/accessory collection alone makes it worth a look. It's a story that will appeal to any fan the medieval warfare genre. I don't think it is a story that I personally will follow in the future (just not my kind of story), but it is one worth giving a look for sure.

You're so right about that skull template. I didn't know how bad it looked until I tried another template.

As for the worm's eye, eagle eye views; this is photography of figures on a stage, it is as hard to do as it would be on a Broadway stage. :( They're standing in front of and on blue screens. Putting in the skies or ground is hard. Making the ground look right and making them look like they're standing on it is one of the most difficult effects to pull off. Odd angles are hard to draw and just as hard to photograph and then Photoshop the backgrounds.

And the lens flare effect? Right on about that one too, which is why in Book 2 it's only been used three times in 80 pages. :)

And this comic isn't type of comic I like to read either. However it's the kind of comic I ended up writing, which may be what's wrong with the dialogue. (and that Renfair LARP geeks have ruined it for anyone trying to write dialogue in pre-20th Century idiom lol! )

And as for how Searsha and company talk; they're not well mannered gentile women. They come from a totally different world. Our perceptions are skewed through 19th Century Victorian thoughts on the different worlds of the sexes and how a "woman" should talk. A common-born woman who grew up in a pre-modern city or farm would have spoken like Searsha. (and so do non-middle class poorly educated women who grow up in many modern cities and farms)

All of you do know that this will remain stickied until it's reviewed a couple more times?

Seeing it stickied for so long is getting embarrassing.

Script:

Ok,it is a cameo.
But,if you want people laught,just,please,try to so more better the jokes and more understable.(or,maybe I´m so serious).
Please...The order of the balloons...Look at it carefully,ok?

Visual:

At first,attrack.
You did great the photos,people don´t think they´re toys if you don´t go clear.

Mmm...Maybe it is so hard,but that toys need rxpresions.In other works,a little retouch on photoshop,wont hurt anyone.
Why,you ask?Because the expressions and movements say you all.^^