Spring break is over. :(

http://20galaxies.smackjeeves.com/comics

First thing, I'm a big fan of Whirlwynd's works, and with good reason.

While her drawing style may be just the avenge manga style for most, her awesome coloring and lighting skills makes up for it. I would think that even the people who weren't such a big fan of the manga style would actually like looking at the pages just because of her coloring and lighting abilites only.

And 20 glaxies is never boring, there's always something unexpected around the corner. Yet it all ties in nicely with the plot and the story.

I still wonder how she manages to update and keep up with the excellent coloring conidsering that she has like 5 seperate comics on Drunk Duck alone.

Ironically and unrelatedly, I just finished reading the archives last night. With that still fresh in my mind, I'll throw my two cents in.

I admit, I enjoy the anime/manga style. Anyone who can draw it well without looking like they're directly copying another artist(or from the HTDM books...ugh) and make it their own deserves some praise. The author has done this.

The story is engaging, original, and colorful(for more than just the fantastic coloring job!). Of course, I can see some parts that might've been drawn from other stories, but we all do that on our path to an original plot: which is there. Not many comics feature "kids" as the heroes, and if they do, they're still maybe 15 or so. The subject is age appropriate for the heroes, and the dialogue and interaction is normal for nine to eleven-year-olds.

The art is beautiful, in my opinion. Not because I enjoy the manga-style, but because it's well formed, consistant, and more than just "two dimensional". Characters are unique and even the "NPC's" can be differentiated. The coloring is brilliant, and the effects for magic are especially well done.

Overall, I like this comic. I enjoyed reading it, and when I had to stop(the archives ran out!), I wanted more.

The coloring is really high quality here. I mean really. It's so flashy, in fact, that I can't tell whether this person is actually a good artist or not. I can't tell if the artist is one of those people who covers up decent art with bunches of computer flashiness to make their stuff look really good. But the perspective looks good when used, and the characters don't look akward. One thing I didn't like with the art was the sheer packing of colors and STUFF into every page. It just felt like there was no breathing room. No real gutters to the comic.

Also the whole 'anime cuteness' thing didn't really win any points in my book. And the latest page shows a transformation sequence...eh...

This comic really isn't up my alley. It a nice story for younger kids (ages 10 to 13 or so) and it works well incorporating visually pleasing elements and a good flow to the story. I'd have probably enjoyed it a lot more a few years ago. Overall, nice work.

Edit- Oh, but change your font to something different than comic sans. Have you looked through www.blambot.com

I thought that this comic was brilliant, the colouring and shading were breathtaking but sometimes the actual drawing let it down. One frame in particular I can think of is where misty goes to sit down next to spooky. Misty's body just doesn't look right and it really sticks out. However this is just probably me nit picking.
I really liked the different way that were used to show emotions like surprise where the character will be rotated or the perspective would be changed.
A major critisism that i do have is the sheer number of different characters that left me a little confused but I think the plot needs lots of characters.
Over all I think that this comic works really well, the plot, characters and art work together to create a fantastic manga cartoon.

I actually read 20 Galaxies a while ago, before it had so many pages. It's nice to see how much it has evolved.

The art is a two-way street. The coloring is fantastic. I believe this may be one of the best-colored comics I have seen out there. However, it's more of a "dazzle-by-intense-and-huge-variety-of-colors" type of coloring. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. I'm also more partial to soft-colored comics, and this is stark cell-shading, but it's good and I enjoy it. Some of the pictures look as though they could be screenshots from prefessional animes. I'm really impressed by how Whirlwynd shades the skies. That's talent.

Even though the coloring is amazing, the lineart is lacking. It's very, very simple, and that may be a good thing, with all the intense colors. But it looks as though you use straight lines to draw everything with. That was a small annoyance I found, but it wasn't obvious. I found it most with when hands were drawn open. Try drawing things that look more organic instead of geometric. The perspectives were very nice when used. Your camera angles were refreshingly different and used effectively. Also, you have very nice character designs. The characters are very different from each other and it's apparant who's who.

The story seems slow to me. With the huge amount of characters and lots of pages you have done, there doesn't seem to be much happening. I remember reading this when it had nearly... 60 or so pages. Maybe a little more. It seems, though, that only now things are actually starting to happen. You may have a very complex story, and going slow can be good for making people understand it better, but I felt that the story needed to flow just a bit faster. However, that could be the type of story you have drawn out. This is one I wouldn't want to read weekly, but all at once in one sitting.

Overall, I liked this comic. I didn't fav it, but I might come back in a little while just to read through the archives. :)

Awsome comic! Its even cooler cuz its maga(or is it anime?)

Hi everyone. Thanks for taking the time to review. =)

Hmm - I don't have much to say in response. Comic Sans - I've stuck with it for so long because I haven't found another font that fits dialogue, and doesn't take up tons of space in order to be readable. Well - I shouldn't say that, Wormfont works pretty well for my other comics and their pages and panels are usually around the same size. I wonder if I should wait until Part 1 is over to change it, though. I use different fonts to signify significant voices or other languages. I could go back and change the other pages - but that's 165 pages now to go over @~@

The age range thing has been on my mind a lot lately. The story seems fit for younger audiences right now, but the problem is things that happen later on are definitely not for kids, and I don't want to cut a bunch of things out for the sake of being "family friendly." But then, I wouldn't want to exclude the readers who are actually interested in 20G if they are kids.
I think the last time I wrote about this I said I was going to run with the story as it is, as a few of my other projects are G-PG rating on their own.

I thought I didn't have much to say. Oops -

Read your comic all of it good plot it's colorful

I don't usually get past 5 pages of most web mangas, but this definately kept my attention. I'm only on Page 34 right now, and it's not letting me down. I'm loving the coloring in it, it's extremely good. The plot's also well done.

The last 3 posts are NOT reviews.

If you want to write 1-4 sentances, do it on a comic's review page.

I love your comic 20 galaxies it took me along time to read it sorry ^^' okay i love the plot to death and the outfits for your metor switch outfits are simple yet cool. Your the I can't rember what there called but they look like gaint soda cans but it's so original and then the skelya pendents are cool if none of them are the same.you do great effects like that flame shrit on Ru's brother.Your charater designs are unique your good at human anatomy.I love your comic keep updating please

I might seem like the "I'm gonna take you down a peg" guy. But I'm not, this is strictly an opinion.

I did not read your comic, so I will not say anything about the story.
The art on the other hand, I have to agree, the lighting effects don't do anything for me. It's a pretty cover with no real core. The art style is nothing really in your face or breaking new ground. I think you can do better. I've seen you increase in ability quite a bit since the start. But this isn't something I'd sit down and read until the art catches my eye.

This is just IMO.

Positives:

A solid simple title name that stirs the imagination to a rich video game or anime. When first looking at the comic, that is exactly what you get with vibrant colors piercing from the screen. The clean anime style fits the story.

Negatives:

I wonder if the art would be as strong without the gorgeous colors. As rich as the colors are, I believe it can overpower the story. Sometimes less is best, so when something big happens and the colors flare, the scene will be that much more dramatic.

I find it odd that the thickest lines are the word balloons. If the characters had thicker lines, I believe it would equel the bright colors. The characters come off stiff, however the poses and mannerisms are very human and is to be commended.

Overall:

20 Galaxies is a fun read. The characters show depth. Excellent balance between characterization and action allows the reader to enjoy the characters and care for them during the frenzied action. Going through the pages causes my own imagination to soar.