The Ends

The Ends is a story about a man who wakes up in strange world where time itself is unraveling. Through a world full of strange creatures and haunted machines, he journeys to find the only thing he still remembers: the woman he loved

...

Been a LONG long time since a comic sucked me in this fast. There's not going to be a lot of constructive criticism in this review, because simply put... you don't need much. This is a damn fine comic, well drawn and well executed.

Artwork

LOVE the style. It's gritty, fits the theme of the comic quite well indeed. The critters are gloriously hideous, the worm-thing with the woman tongue was awesome. Things look horribly painful when they're supposed to, and that mouth in the side of his shoulder is just friggin creepy. Love it.

Writing

Wow. Just... wow. This story is friggin fantastic. In 24 pages, you've sucked me in quite nicely. The exposition is flowing nicely, you're not revealing too much too fast (a point that tends to annoy the CRAP out of me, I HATE it when people feel the need to reveal everything plot related as fast as possible) and you can almost taste the desperation in the first chapter or two.

The only complaint I have about the comic is that, as of this writing, there's only 24 pages. :)

Overall

Insta-fav'd. Without a doubt one of the best comics I've been introduced to in quite some time. You'll go far with this comic, between the awesome art and killer story... and I'm looking forward to each new page.

>Net

Edit: One thing I'd recommend. With the theme and whatnot of the comic, with the gory scenes and all that... your comic is flagged as E-Everyone. Not sure I'd want my 8 year old son reading this. :p

Thanks for taking the time to review my comic! I just changed it to Mature - I didn't even realize that it was rated "Everyone," so thanks for pointing that out. Thanks again for reading!

Not sure you'd have to go all the way to MATURE, per se.. Teen at least, but Mature might be higher than you'd need.

The Ends.

This comic inspires awe. It is truly frightening and very well produced. I am not one to say such things lightly.

From page one it grabbed me and just didn’t let me go. The images of this dying world are well drawn and imagined and the world truly is a nightmare. The art is excellent, well inked and the anatomy and poses are first rate. The backgrounds are dark and foreboding and add to the atmosphere subtly and effectively.

The creatures are magnificent. They are ugly, horrific and utterly surreal but real at the same time. There is one with a tongue in the shape of an alluring woman, another with flies in its mouth that eat its prey alive so it can digest it. Well imagined, well drawn and truly nightmarish. The story so far is a classic with a man cast into a nightmare world without his memory with memory only of his name and a woman he loved. But the story evolves and more is revealed slowly and I was drawn in inexorably.

The characters and their situations are depicted with care, quickly delineated and serve to outline and define the world. There is nothing extra or extraneous here, just direct story telling. Somehow though no one and nothing seems to be quite what it is as the world is unraveling and taking everyone with it?

The action is well paced and the paneling flows with ease and done with skill. The artist is masterful with both story and art. You’ll read the archives in one sitting, as you won’t be able to stop. It’s only 24 pages at this time but it’ll draw you in, grab a hold of you and not let you go. Highly recommended and worth making a favorite.

Art:
A superb grasp of anatomy and an eye for individual characteristics seals the deal for me. The effort and enjoyment for the story and characters is evident in each page, and that is easily transfered to the reader. I could not imagine landing in on this comic and not being hooked almost instantly. Backgrounds are present and accounted for AND very well drawn. Cityscapes are simply incredible. The art gets an A++++++.

Writing:
If the art doesn't pull you in, the story will. The author conveys emotions and feelings acutely, and as a reader, I experienced those emotions right along with the main character. The setting for the world and the explanation of key elements is excellent and nicely paced. Even as a full-out drama, this would be an amazing story, but the author adds a nice spice of humor and sass which really ups the experience. I'm always on the edge of my seat with this story, and I enjoy every second of the ride.

Overall, I've been hooked for a while now. All the brilliance and talent combined make The Ends one of my absolute favorite reads. Phenomenal work as a whole.

This is mega cool. The art is fantastic. The plot is fantastic. I could see this comic being in a real store, if it isn't already! I love the HTML with the Da Vinci-esque sketches on the side. The panels have very good points of view. The story is told very nicely. The backgrounds have just enough detail as to keep you interested in what your supposed to be interested in without them being bland. I really have no complaints about this story and I am very interested and intrigued into what else your going to add to it. Keep up the great work

The Ends is messed up.
I mean it is just down right wrong in the head.
If it was a person, I would send it to get therapy and years of counciling.
But it is not a person, it's a comic, and so it's awesome!

Society has broken down but unfortunately it seems time, cause and effect and sanity have also disintegrated!
People who die come back to life in the desert with no memories of who they were and some seriously messed up mutations. Fortunately this means our hero aways has his own shoulder to talk to....

Seriously, just go read it! I trying to explain it and I'm failing horribly, because it is both too strange to easily explain and I don't want to give too much of the bleak horror of it all away.

The thing I like about it is that it is NOT just complete insanity for its own sake. There is a nice sense that this all means something, that there are reasons for the madness and plots behind the organisations and people that appear. Admittedly I dont know what these explanations are, but they are being slowly hinted at, gradually and enticingly revealed to me.

The art is top notch, and a lot of the monster designs are concentrated nightmare fuel...actually I think the whole world it depicts is entirely powered by nightmare fuel!

Criticism! This review needs more criticism!
Lets get negative!
I felt at times that the plot seemed to power on a little quickly, without the characters really stopping to explain why. The jet pack man who meets the hero seemed to get acquainted with him much too quickly, and tells him they are going to places to meet people without the hero asking "Who are these people? Where the hell are these places?" He just seems to role with it, which is seems a bit unlikely that he wouldn't demand more info.

But on the other hand, there is an insane religious leader who is romantically involved with an atomic bomb.
And thats just awesome.

I've favourited it and added it to my recommends.
What higher praise can I offer?

The Art:
Professional, clean art with dynamic inking makes this comic visually impressive. Settings are given atmospheric treatment that goes hand in hand with the story line. The coloring is crisp, and it makes The Ends even more sinister than it looked last page. I can't find anything wrong with the artwork now, and it will probably just get better from here.

The Story:

The Ends catches you from the start with some very dramatic scenes and imagery. The author puts a whole bunch of creepy stuff in this comic and actually backs it up with explanations and theories about his world, which is refreshing. The ideas in The Ends are fantastic. Sadly, the characters lack focus and personality. The story rushes forward so fast that characters aren't given time to grow. The main character's past is left shrouded in mystery for a reason, but without personality or background information the character becomes very bland. This goes the same for his sidekick, whose only role so far has been to guide the main character through the story so the plot keeps moving.

The fast pacing of the story also leads to confusion. There are a lot of deep concepts in this story, but some aren't given a whole lot of explanation, such as (spoiler) when the mains character is visited by his future self. Over explain things if you have to, because it's worse to have a reader lost in a complex tale like this.

The author really has an interesting story here. It looks great, and it will keep you reading. My only problem with it was that after 24 pages, I didn't know much about anyone within the story. But it really does have a whole lot of promise, and I'm defiantly going to read more!

8/10

One of the better, but not the best online graphic novel out there.

In a (internet) world of sprites, scribbles and doodles called webcomics few comics are actually drawn with effort, and skill: The Ends is one of those comics. It has a lot going for it, although it is far from perfect.

The artwork is crisp, clean and professional, and totally fits the setting. The flaw in it is sometimes the poses seem awkward, or a bit forced. However, the inking is extraordinary, and the coloring is fantastic.

The writing is the weakest link, although it's not terrible by any means. The characters lack personality. As a writer myself I instantly ask which of the four basic personalities each character I read about relates to, but in this case they are all either D personalities, or the author has not bothered to include the D.I.S.C. method into his writing. The result of this is you don't get attached to the characters very easily.

In addition the characters seem to with the flow with each other way too fast, which doens't seem realistic. The only characters that are really interesting is the priest who'se in love with a nuclear bomb, and his dominatix/love toy Isabella.

What I do like about the writing is a few creative ideas here: a monster with a tongue that ends as a shapeshifting naked woman; hourglass cages; a tattoo of a mouth on the main character's arm.

Overall it's a good set up, and in time will get better and better. The characters need work, but it's definatly going somewhere.

7/10

Writing
It's kinda got a Matrix thing goin on here; Machines vs. Men. It has a good story that moves along fluently. The World is set up quickly with the woman shooting through the mail slot, it gives the reader a good idea what this world is like. And the main character seeing his Wife/Girlfriend as a "mirage" in the desert. The story progresses quickly and the characterization develops well. It does use some Sci-Fi staples (like robot arms, matrix backstories, dreams where you talk to yourself), which I would say makes it a little uncreative, but any writer who makes the side-kick/companion the main character's shoulder...definitely deserves props.

Art
One of the best user created comics I've ever seen. The artwork is comparable to a published Comic Artist. The figure art is brilliant and the robots possibly look better. Perspective is nice and makes good use of the setting. I respect the ability to draw people in zombie form, I think it's a more difficult task than people give it credit for.

Overall Score 10/10

I got to say, this comic book kicks so much butt, I liked how the story is going and keeps on going.

The art and texture is so pure and wondrous.

Even the plot gives me such on edge to see whats going to happen.
The story so far is good and i like the action on whats going on.

The girl with the blade kicks butt, shows that women are more spunk as we men are.

The shading and the gore is great for me, i like gore alot.
and the parts so far are getting good.

If this was sold as a comic book in stores, I'll would buy it to read it on the go!
great job! :)

Story: The Ends is a action story about a man names Jason, who wakes up in a strange desert in another world where, naked, lizards covering his body, and a extra mouth on his shoulder that talks. When he's looking about his surroundings he is attacked by a mutant mosquito and a worm-like monster who disguised its tongue as a woman named, Isbella and rejogs his memory of her then bites his arm off. Before the monster tries to take another bite he is rescued by a huskier man named Micheal, who heals him wounds,gives him clothing,attaches a robotic arm on him, and helps him find the real Isabella.


Other: I like the monster here http://www.drunkduck.com/The_Ends/index.php?p=532192 ,I also think the art is really awesome and very detailed and so is the coloring. The rating is a bit too high though. Jason was naked but at least they didn't show his no-no parts XD. It also had its random parts but I could at least understand it 90% of the time.

the Ends, weird and wonderful.
Set in an unknown future where nothing is as it should be, the story revolves around showing us this weird and wonderful world while unravelling the mystery of the place. While it is hard to understand what is going on half the time it is all resolved at the end of the story. The whole thing has a very good feel to it, otherworldly and mysterious.

The Art,
Is strong, while the proportions and angles are sometimes off the style makes up for any technical shortcomings. The inking is very good too, stronger than the pencils but the real stars are the design and
colour

http://www.drunkduck.com/The_Ends/index.php?p=532196

The writing is very good, it successfully introduce a whole new world while giving us a mysterious story, both are tied and unravel together. The story mostly follows Jason after his rebirth with a mouth on his shoulder but we also see Issabelle's side, and that of a mad preacher, all of these come together leaving no loose ends. What I really like is that the story is concise and comes to a nice and definite end. It is one of the most memorable web comics I have read, although I have not read that many. As a whole it is thoroughly professional in it's execution and well worth a read.

5/5