And the reviews goes ever onward.



Somewhere in San Francisco

Perhaps I'm simply not the audience the comic is directed at, but I simply don't understand "Somewhere in San Francisco" whatsoever. If there are jokes... I'm not getting them. Maybe it's 'cause I've never watched a soap and so the parody is lost on me.

Artwork

I'm not sure if it's meant to look like it was done in MS Paint, if it was just done in MS Paint, or if it was purposely done in MS Paint. But it has an "MS Paint" feel to it, even in the later comics when the lines are cleaned up. The basic designs aren't bad but the consistency is poor with character proportions shifting. The panels are put together nicely though. The "camera work" leaves something to be desired however, with some layouts looking like they were done for convenience over effect or artistry. I've seen a lot worse, but I've also seen a lot better.

Writing

I'm just going to flat-out say the writing is poor. Most of the dialogue seems to be chosen at random or filled in by bored high-school student in 10th grade. I don't like being dismissive, but the first page's dialogue is about the same as the last page. Parody requires that you recognize what's being made fun of -- if the byline wasn't "Parody Soap Opera by Bigfish and Myxo" I would never know it was a parody of a soap opera. Nothing made me laugh, nothing made me want to keep reading.

Style

It reminds me of comics I might have made when I was 12 to 16. Except with way better backgrounds, 'cause even then I hated backgrounds.

Overall

I don't like just ripping into people's work... but I didn't see anything special about this comic. It's not horrible, but it just strikes me as "just another web comic". Maybe some other reviewers can enlighten me.

Artwork
The imagery is nothing special, good enough that you can distinguish the characters from one another, and that's about it. It was obvious from the start that this was not an art-driven comic.

Writing
Yep, it's original. Myxo and BigFish's comic seems like nothing but generic Soap Operah themed story and dialogue, then right as I yawn and slowly ease my cursor to the "X" in the top corner, I see as follows: "lol, wtf was that noise?" "Oh, butt-secks, lol" The writing makes heavy use of internet speak, and it uses it well.


Style
Very hard to identify a certain style. It keeps shifting between the usual Soap Operah/Sitcom type and a freakish romp through the darker side of the internet. This makes me unsure of what to think.

Overall
This comic is meant to be funny, and conveys that even in the "serious" moments, which is good. I dislike comics that take themselves way too seriously.

I give it a 4/5

Basically a parody of soap operas. There's a couple on a honeymoon, a blonde girl meeting her real father, and a maid. All of them are either stupid or ignorant and annoying.

Art
The back grounds are okay. I like the shades of grays. The character designs are the weakest part of the comic most of them are very stiff. The characters also looked very awkward in most scenes of interaction.

Writing
The writing is really dull and just drags. The book is supposed to be a comedy but I don't think I even laughed. Another problem we have conversations of people using internet slang. It feels as out of placed as if someone was really going around talking like that in real life. I understand soap operas are not supposed to have good writing or decent characters but if you're going to make a parody make it funny. Make the comic quotable. The best example on how to do a parody are the Blood and Ice Cream movies by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz actually have moments of their respective genre in the movie with really strong comedy elements mixed in. I'm sorry but the pregnancy jokes are not funny and just felt kind of random. The jokes need to be set up.

Overall
It's a very bland comic. The art is not really noteworthy. The writing is not funny. This reminds me more of the scary movies movie. They try to be funny. They think they're funny but they're really not that funny

I've seen SiSF before. Quite a while ago I checked it out.

I've avoided offering my opinion because I doubt I'm the audience for the book. I wonder if that fact will keep me from offering any useful observations. I guess we'll see...

I love the dedication & enthusiasm obvious in this work. There is alot of love put into the creation of this book.

The art sorta drives me crazy, however. It's wiggly & claustrophobic, all the shots right up on the characters and chocked full of too much linework. The fact that all the linework has the same weight further adds to the chaotic feel of the work. Due to these factors there is also a frequent problem with the depth in the panels. Using a lighter grey for the background imagery helps with the depth issue, but it doesn't solve it as often as it should. My suspicion is that the style is a choice & not evidence of a lack of talent.

While I can appreciate the intent of the art, I simply cannot say that for the writing. The dialogue is often hard to understand, like parts of the dialogue is missing. While the main character has a voice, many of the supporting characters sound like stand-ins, reading lines they don't quite grasp. The gags feel like they were pulled out of discarded "Cathy" strips, & consistently miss the mark for me.

I feel bad offering this review. I respect the serious dedication present in this effort.

Later,
Chip

OH FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCK.

It seems parody is a bad word for the comic I wanted to do, since that requires humor, something I really wasn't aiming for. It's more of a soap opera that takes all of the soap opera stuff and generally mashes it all up into one and hopes something will come out of it. Not sure if there is a name for that, so I choose parody.

Most of the stuff in the comic is generated at random, so that would explain things.

Thanks for the reviews, guys.

It's nice to hear from the other side of the spectrum with a truthful eye.

well hey at random is kinda like my comic so it explains a little more, but really actual humor would definitely make this strip better. Because it is silly and a couple of jokes to compliment the silliness would help. Also maybe you just call it a soap opera with twice the sexual tension

Somewhere in San Fransisco is a uniquely put together comedy comic that is an example of a successful collaboration of two comic creators working together to form a whole picture.

I have been a long time reader of SiSF since its early days to the present. I found that the comic takes on a completely different feel after rereading through the archive a second time than it did when I read each weekly update. I did not know anything about the characters the first time through, but I picked up on small references to later comics and details I had missed when I read it a second time. I now understand the story arc of Natalie's background and how she is related to the people in the mansion and that James' budding homosexuality started much earlier in his lifetime.

Artwork

The art combines the styles of Big Fish (characters) and Myxo (backgrounds). At the start of the comic, the two styles seemed to contrast in the way they were colored by different mediums but when the comic takes on a more evenly spread look when it switches to gray scale. In the strip, Swanky Parties and Spas , Big Fish changes the type of brush used to make a smoother finish which resulted in the comic's transition to a more even and solid look in recent updates. There is a noticeable level of improvement from the earlier works to the present.

Writing

Honestly, the writing is partly what keeps me coming back to the comic. Since this is a collaborative comic, I really don't know what to expect from each update. The dialogs between the characters change in every strip because there are ten different people and at least five different conversations displaced all over the mansion. Each character does not have the same tone -- something respectable in any comic.

For example:
i)Sara and Lucy are in a constant passive argument that closely mirrors how real women act. The thoughts of jealously and cattiness going through their minds are pretty realistic.

ii)Brandon and James act like Californian surfers (read: rich boys) and talk about topics that probably only happen between twenty-something guys.

I believe the choice of dialog is a direct result from the comic being written from both a feminine and masculine perspective.

Sometimes the writing throws a curve ball like when Jenny begins singing "Pimpin' Ain't Easy" by Ice T but it is funny seeing a maid recite rap lyrics and taking it out of its intended context.

Style

The style of SiSF is completely original. There is no other comic like it on the Drunk Duck community. The characters are not ripped off from other works, nor do they all look the same. I like how there is an incorporation of pop cultural references of mainstream rich kid shows(the OC ) on the cover page and smaller art historical references to The Girl with the Pearl Earring hidden in other comics. Upon further observation, the backgrounds are completely detailed and highly intricate. This is definitely a well-thought out project.

Overall

I feel that a lot of time is poured into each weekly update due to the time spent collaborating on each page. Working on a schedule with another person is probably filled with deadlines and is one of the reasons I have refrained from doing a collaborative comic myself. Some of the jokes require some familiarity with mainstream references such as the gardener from Desperate Housewives but the SiSF twist dresses him up as Mario. The comic has become a fusion of two art styles after the creators got into the hang of working on a collaboration.

This comic is not exactly for a young audience, but hey, neither was San Francisco sometime in the nineties.