Can you dig it?

http://www.drunkduck.com/Miami_Sound_Machine/

well I've never really read this story, but I have looked over the pictures several times!, and I really like how you do evrything, well evrything exept the characters, your characters are rather tame and dull, with the whole hardly a face and slightly crappy anatomy and all...


(I might read it later and give it a bigger rewiew)

In answer to Eggberts question: Yes. I can most certainly dig it.

First, I must congratulate the comic author on having the most interesting and unique setup for a comic that I've seen. The blipping out text and the interesting way that it read hooked me almost immediately. It might be annoying to a few people, but somehow it made me want to figure out what it said more.

100 points for style. The art, however, is a bit shoddy, if not nearly non-existant. So far the only thing I've seen are buildings and sunsets and other things like that. None of them have color or people in them, so it's hard to show any sort of emotion with it. I'd try to work on this if I were you.

Also, it seemed that you were repeating certain concepts over while you explained to the audience. I don't know if that was intentional or not, but it didn't strike as well with me as everything else.

MAJOR EDIT- Okay, just ignor everything I said before. I read the comic, made due with the annoying gif image at the top of the page, and let me say I reallly like this comic. It's the perfect comic for him to do. Not many characters. Mostly buildings. And lots of innovative new things. I really like all the gifs as they're used. They look good. The whole idea of this comic...while slightly Matrix-y is very original. And the writing is excellent.

Put the great writing together with well drawn scenery combined with a good deal of well done GIF animation and you get a comic that can really be enjoyed. However only by people with DSL or Cable Internet I'm afraid. Poor little dialup can't handle all of this stuff, not fast anyway.

Keep it up. Though you MIGHT want to consider changing the site design a bit. It's cool when you get to know what the comic is about, but annoying when the comic is first entered. And it repels readers.

I belive that I can indeed dig it.

This seems almost more of an illustrated novel than a comic. You have a unique storytelling style. You've managed to create a comic with minimal depiction of people. It's almost more like reading a book, as it's left up the the readers imagination to fill in what characters looks like.
The cityscapes are well done. Normally I'm not a fan of sketchy styles, but in the case of this comic, it really adds to the mood. You make it work, good deal.

My first response to the early parts of the story was "wow, Matrix much?" But I it has deviated from what I was expecting in that. The story seems to still be in it's early stages, so I'll hold off on saying too much about it. You have, however, managed to catch my attention. I'll certainly check this one out again. The premise of this is an interesting one.

The page design disturbed me for a minute as I though something had gone wrong with my computer (then I remembered I'm using a mac.) I like it. Creative, but it can sill be easily navigated and thus serves it's purpose quite well. that's what matters. The one thing that bothered me a bit was having to scroll down to get to the comic.

The broken text was really cool and quite a unique touch at first, but it just got annoying after a while. Lengthening the time that it's readable might help that a bit.

Without reading through most of the other reviews, here's mine.

This comic has style. I love style in everything I can find. Books. Magazines. But I've never been introduced to it in comics. This story reminds me of everything I've tried to accomplish with my own. A feeling of...satisfaction. Kind of like a break-through in your mind. A story that makes you want to go out and change your life.

Sure, it's not THAT great, or QUITE on topic with what I'm talking about, but this genre of story-telling is one of my favorites.

Now, my complaints. That title pages.

I saw at least 4 title pages within about 20 pages, 2 of which were only 3-4 pages apart. It's kind of like: "Title page... comic, comic, comic... title page."

Some might find it getting rather repeditive.

I do like the art, and the characters seem rather well-done, although cartoony, which is strange, seeing how this comic seems to be heading for realism.

The website design does not bug me, but I've always been a sucker for out-there designs. When I'm reading, I tune out the "GIF" everyone keeps talking about, and focus on the comic. I find it rather intriguing... the design I mean.

Another complaint I have, is the titles of the comics. I'm reading a novel, I don't want ot know what you named your pages. Just name them 1, 2, and 3... or if you're feeling adventurous, use roman numerals. When navigating through an archive, I want to see what number I'm on, not what you were trying to convey. I can read THAT in the Author's Notes.

This comic's story seems well-planned, and I rather enjoy the title. It, too, is out there. I reccomend this comic for those who do not enjoy anime and sprite comics. Both of those two seem to be packed into a fit-tightly-sealed package, while this comic is "out of the box" (I'm not saying people who enjoy anime can't enjoy this... but I'm assuming some would not).

This comic packs a huge style, solid art, good writing, and a dark sense of humor in the whole thing that you might find in other things such as "Fight Club" and "Martyn Pig."

In total, I give it a 9/10 on account of me not feeling the need to bookmark it...

...I might favorite it, though.

Never seen anything like this before. Really. Original. Enthralling. Not too bad artwise either. Even proposes a new idea for the afterlife. I like the fact that some comics look like they've been hit by a major virus... files corrupted everywhere. Everyone's said what I've wanted to say, so I'll just give my spoons here.



Four out of five spoons.

This is a truly amazing comic. The writing, and the way it's all presented is completely brilliant.

Here's another cool thing. There's no way this comic could be in paper from and be as effective. The website and the flickering words are a vital part of the presentation. This is a true "webcomic" and that makes me all kinds of happy.

And man, this is the coolest broken narrative ever. You fly from one end of the comic's continuty to the next, and I never get lost along the way.

The enviroments that are drawn are pretty nice, and the perspective is rock solid. I really can't nitpick.

In summation, I totally dig it.

@ccs1989
However only by people with DSL or Cable Internet I'm afraid. Poor little dialup can't handle all of this stuff, not fast anyway.

Well, considering I have dial up and I make the comic. I would say it loads pretty normal, well compared to sites like 1up.com

As for the site design, I wanted something really original. Either A.] Which was a mock up of an MSNBC site, that was hacked. see and b.] was the one you see. Of course the one you see right now is the faster loader.

This was a pretty good review session. Coming from a project that I abandonded a year ago and recently continued to make this year. As long as some people are willing to open their minds. Then I`m happy.

@CORY
(I'm not saying people who enjoy anime can't enjoy this... but I'm assuming some would not).

Most won`t. It`s a lesson I learned the hardest easy way.

@CORY
Another complaint I have, is the titles of the comics. I'm reading a novel, I don't want ot know what you named your pages. Just name them 1, 2, and 3... or if you're feeling adventurous, use roman numerals. When navigating through an archive, I want to see what number I'm on, not what you were trying to convey. I can read THAT in the Author's Notes.

What if instead of numbers, I rename them in the order of the letter in a keyboard. Like q,w,e,r,t?

.: Myxomatosis :.

Another good idea.

But you might want to go with the alphabet instead, on account of... maybe some people not wanting to look on their keyboards to navigate.

For example, some chapter could be lowercase, and some uppercase... and maybe the next chapter could be qwerty, it's up to you... I'm just the one with the gripe.

Okay, I didn't see the drop down navigation when I was reading it, and it seems to be gone now, but as long as it has the chapter begginings clearly marked I'd be okay with it.

Um..yeah this is all well and good, but isn't this technically the SECOND comic Myxo has gotten reviewed? I think the first was Lax Light Motion Dreams.

Oh...uh. Well, he did sign up at different times, and with a signifigant gap in between so, crap. He beat the system.

DAMN YOU MYXO.

ps: update please thank you

Okay, let myxo ask a question. What about now? The naming of each page. Is it better?

And let me ask another question, following in HTML. Should I continue making seperate HTML pages to add a surreality to the comic, like the fake hacked MSNBC page I made. And continue my screwing around with people like my argument with TheDarkness , the bastard that keeps on leaving me 1s?

I`m having a bit of a problem with this bastard called TheDarkness . Whoever this person is, they keep coming back and rating my comic 1's, then insulting for trying something new. now I checked out TheDarkness comic and to tell you the truth, it`s not fair that this person calls my comic crap. now I`m not gonna go to this person`s comic and rate 1's on all pages, no. that`s just the way I am. Please check out TheDarkness profile. maybe this is one of the reason i hate the internet, for all the ignorance.

a memorable post from thedarkness:

"This comic sucks, it's just a bunch of pictures and words. Man, fix your websiite.looks like a fucking thing that your computer soes.oh , and naming your comic after maimi sound mcAhine, not the best idea. icall this the wosrt comic on drunk duck. good do a real comic, dumbass."

:p

I try to be different.

.: Myxomatosis :.

You win this time, Myxomatosis.

Considering I make this comic around midnight, Wednesdays. No prior plan to anything except the previous page. I'm thinking your right with the plan out thing. I never plan it out, maybe I should.


As for the loading? I'll do what Gregory from Such A Simple Life does, add a 6 second title page before all of them, Instead of loading while it's going, it'll loads while the title page is there.

.: Myxomatosis :.

Oh, and by the way Myxo, if shock value was what you were going for, when I first entered your site I went into a panic thinking my computer was going to die very soon. Maybe that's why in my first review of this comic I didn't favor it until I got into the flow of the story.

ccs1989
Oh, and by the way Myxo, if shock value was what you were going for, when I first entered your site I went into a panic thinking my computer was going to die very soon. Maybe that's why in my first review of this comic I didn't favor it until I got into the flow of the story.

Well, if you can call it Shock Value. I just did it to trick people. :lol:

.: Myxomatosis :.

Because I have reviewed MSM several times through comments on the comic itself, I'll refrain from anything in-depth here. Instead, I'm going to focus this post on something that worries me: when art turns into a committee.

I'm actually thinking of an old fable by one of those creepy fable writers of way back when. It tells the story of how a boy and his father had recently purchased a donkey and were now bringing it home. They both walked along side of it, until a passerby suggested that the young boy ride the donkey so as not to tire himself out, his legs being shorter than the father's. This seemed acceptable, so they proceded with the boy riding the donkey. A ways down the road, another passerby saw them and wondered why the boy should ride, instead of the venerable father. This made sense to the pair, and so they continued with the father riding the donkey. While passing through town a ways later, someone saw them from out of their window and took pity on the animal. He shouted that they should carry the donkey tied to a pole so that he wouldn't have to strain himself so hard. This made sense as well, so they tied the donkey's feet to a pole and carried him with either end of the pole on one of the pair's shoulders. They walked this way over a nearby bridge, where, the son's allergies got the best of him. He reeled back and let out a violent sneeze, causing the pole to bounce off his shoulder. The donkey went crashing down into the river below. With it's legs tied, it soon drowned, and the boy and father returned home without a donkey.

That's the concise version of the story. The moral is you can't make everyone happy, and if you try, you'll end up drowning animals.

To apply this to the situation, I say shame on you for making very niche criticisms. Things like titles for the comics and title pages for the animations. Also, shame on you for technique criticism. You tell him (a man, for convenience, let me know if you're that offended, because then I'll just call you .::. again) to plan it out more?

And don't think I'm just shaming the critiquers, I'm actually shaming Terminal as well. The fact that you fold on these points is depressing. The fact that you're asking these people, however talented, experienced, or great they may be for huge pieces of advice (i.e. the HTML stuff) makes me a little sick. And I know there's nothing wrong with asking for advice, but there's a kind of desperation in your voice, a need for an answer that puts me off a bit. I say be your own man and make what you want. Don't change your style. If you're getting 9 out of 10's on a consistent basis, you're doing 90% of everything right. And here in the good ol' U-S-of-A, that's still an A. (I don't know if your whacky California legislation is any different.) I would chalk the remaining 1 point to misunderstanding.

I don't want to accuse anyone of being shallow or obtuse, but this "comic" requires active participation. In fact, it isn't a comic at all. I would call this theater. What Terminal is doing (especially in technique, ideas, execution) is not wrong at all. It's style. This comic requires a great deal of interpretation on the reader's part. Terminal has done everything in his power to suspend belief, by creating a unique layout for the page, making the comics move as if infected, writing as if he were an internet junkie, and providing thourough outside HTML projects. In fact, if I could offer a suggestion to Terminal, get rid of the author's notes as such, and instead play the role of mediator between reader and project, as if you had never worked on it, but instead were doing someone else's bidding. And if you got rid of the comments or moved them to another page? That'd be magnificent. I would rather see you with your own web page so you could better create this phenomenal illusion.

If all of these theatrics have come as a result of off-the-cuff, late night composing, then so be it. The thing is, his instincts are working. If he were to add title pages to the animations, then that would obliterate everything he's worked to create. The story is progressing as if someone real were telling it. Literary conventions? Typical plot development? Comic layout? All of it, out the window. And if that pisses you off, then I propose you never receive the title of "art appreciator."

So, for any readers of Miami Sound Machine, I say this: Don't just read and look at the "comic." Become the comic. If you're walking down the street and someone punches someone else, you notice that. It makes you feel something. Seeing someone punch someone else in a comic doesn't have the same effect. Therefore, the way to create the greatest enjoyment from Terminal's work is to step into it, and examine it as an historical document. If you live the comic, you'll find it to be a much more engaging and human experience.

WWII happened, and now we're here. Miami Sound Machine happened, so where are we now? Who am I, the reader? What do I feel about these people? How did I find this program/story which is so vivid on my computer screen?

I've got my own answers to these questions, but they're mine. I wouldn't want to ruin the experience for someone else.

So, to sum everything up: I don't want him to change a thing. I don't want him to turn this into a presentational comic, like everyone seems to be asking. By establishing a comic that should suck the reader in as if it were real, the rules of entertainment go out the window. This isn't a comic, a movie, a story, or anything intended to entertain. This is a simulation, an experiment in life a la electronics. If you can't appreciate the depth, intended or otherwise, I can't make you. But don't get this confused with a comic and critique it as such. We've transcended comic a long time ago.