The Optimist

Kazimieras Vilkas is a religious boy growing up in an atheist, Soviet-occupied Lithuania; he and his rebellious sister navigate adolescence the best they can in this watercolor comic.

The Soviet Union is an oppressive presence, but people's attitudes to it are complex, especially Kazimieras'! He likes to dream and think the best of people. He's an optimist, and life is always good as long as you know how to live it...

The Optimist is one of the more complex stories I've read on the Duck. The story focuses on a young Lithuanian boy growing up under Soviet occupation in the 90's. He's a bit obsessed with religious atheticism, and goes on a fast in order to commune with his patron saint. His sister is a bit of a revolutionary. His father is complacent- he works for the Soviets, and is of the mind that living in relative peace and security under Soviet rule is more beneficial than the chaos and violence that a rebellion would bring. So you've got a few layers to this one- the religious, the political; the contrast between Jadwiga's modernity and Kazimieras' tradition, and the contrast between the youthful idealism of the adolescents with the more pragmatic stance of their father.

These are ambitious themes in and of themselves, let alone together. Kristen's treatment of the subject invokes a fairytale quality to which the vibrant watercolors lend themselves quite well. But it stops short of fanciful- there are certainly grounding moments. For example, there's the otherworldliness of Kazimieras' escatic experience with his namesake , contrasted with his sister's pointing out when she meets him afterwords that he's lost his mother's scarf . There's always something to remind us that these characters live in a very real- and always bittersweet- world.

There are, however, a few issues I have with certain parts. For one, the comic's complexity necessitates that it brush the surface of these many compelling themes, but seems wanting for more exploration. It seems the prologue to a much more epic story- one which I'm entirely convinced the author could pull off if given enough time and dedication to the subject. However, knowing the story is meant to be much shorter leaves me a bit sad. I don't want it to end before the possibilities of these themes are fully realised.

Another point of contention I have is the tendency to occasionally lapse into more manga-style emotes. To explain further- at times I'm jarred from the beauty and unique stylization of the watercolors by more obviously cartoony expressions of emotion . It seems a bit of a shortcut to me- an easy way of using symbols that readers would recognize to convey emotion, instead of conveying the emotion through more subtle means. I don't think it fits with the overall tone or subject matter of the story. Perhaps it's just my personal preference, but it's a bit distracting to me.

But for the most part, The Optimist is an exceptional work. The art is unique and fits the story perfectly. The writing is subtle- if sometimes sparse- which is commendable when dealing with themes that could easily be sensationalized. As I said before, it's an ambitious project. I'm looking forward to seeing where it leads.

ooh, thanks so much.

About the manga-style moments- actually, I have worried about that at times (I don't always notice I'm doing it though.) I almost put in one of those anger signs (like this ) but I knew it wasn't a good idea.

& I'll just have to try extra-hard to pull all those themes together before the e~n~d~i~n~g!

Thanks Hyena Hell, again; you are The KEWLEST!

I agree with Hyena about the "manga moments." I follow (or followed??) Misfit Assassins, so I know where the habit came from, but it is jarring in The Optimist, and I feel like it ruins (or at least lessens) the mood and the style. Definitely try to make a conscious effort against that. I like some manga and the conventions don't bother me in the right context, but it doesn't seem to feel right in The Optimist.

I'm not usually one for deep comics, as they make me feel uneasy, but I think that's how they are SUPPOSED to make me feel. When I read your comic I feel tense, and at the some time, I know that that is what I SHOULD feel when a father is unhealthily close to one child and completely distant, even nasty to the other and in a setting of political turmoil and bordering religious fanaticism. Some days, when I saw an update, I had to put off reading it until I was in the mindset to handle the inevitably tense page. In short, the comic makes me "feel," which means it has been very well-written.

I am also fascinated by the symbolism, the dreams, and the many themes (anorexia, religion, politics, parental favoritism). I am looking forward to seeing them drawn together into some sort of meaningful climax/conclusion. (You better not disappoint! *Shakes fist*)

In terms of art, I'm no artist and have no critical eye, but I enjoy traditional media. And I applaud your attempts at mixed media with the clay figure and whatever that iron wolf was made out of (um, iron? Lol). At first, the heavily reddened cheeks sort of bothered me (it's like everyone has rosacea), but I got used to it. I love the background/settings a lot, especially the forest scenes.


Anyway, in short, I would say The Optimist is a comic people should definitely check out. It is certainly one of the deeper comics on DD. It makes you think (beware! you will THINK!) and feel. And the art is unique and feel of life.

The Optimist takes place in oppressed Lithuania during the time of Milkhail Gorbachev. Kristen Gudsnuk has created a world where kindness may lead to arrest and betrayal. This is the world where where Kazimieras, a young boy careens through fantasy, paranoia and reality. Kazimieras and his sister are constantly under threat of exposure and arrest for their involvement with an anti-communist leaflet called The Optimist. The Optimist's tagline is "The Pessimist says it can't get worse the Optimist says it can."

The story follows Kazimieras as he tries to make sense of his world, dealing with his activist sister and her fighting with their politically complacent father. Things get more extreme when Kazimieras stops eating. His fast throws him into an elaborate religious fantasy world, leaving the reader wondering what is real and what is not.

The Optimist is an example of how an online comicbook can push into "literary" territory. Symbols like Iron Wolf, Superman, Milkhail Gorbachev, and even the "Sex Pistols" provide deeper meaning and a historical sense place. Kazimieras' religious aspirations become part of this Kafka-esque coming of age story while delving into the underground rebellion against Communist society.

The art: The watercolors panels use muted colors with occasional bursts of color. The colors are a good fit for the tone of the story, the vivid reds matching Kazimieras' extreme emotions. In part the desaturated color scheme is likely due to the scanner. Still, you can tell that Kristen is getting progressively better at layering paint and avoiding muddy colors http://www.drunkduck.com/The_Optimist/index.php?p=545776.

Kristen's willingness to let the reader explore his experiments is part of the joy on this online comicbook's creative process. And the clay saint with tears http://www.drunkduck.com/The_Optimist/index.php?p=571921 nearly works and provides a nice contrast to the charming saint at the bottom right of the panel.

Story structure: The linear story line makes The Optimist easy to read. Sidelines http://www.drunkduck.com/The_Optimist/index.php?p=593155 are brief and add to the main story. The dialog feels real. Kazimieras's voice seems like that of a smart kid, not of adult writing what a smart kid's words.

No suggestions for making The Optimist betters. Just to keep creating, Kristen.

The Optimist has very beautiful watercolor artwork, and is a unique setting when it comes to a webcomic, but it's very slow paced, and quite frankly... boring.

To me at least it doesn't seem to have much of a hook, other than the setting. I'm not saying it needs lots of action or anything, but something to engage the audience better. By the eighth or ninth page I got to the point where I just didn't want to continue reading. I kept thinking as I read it that it was boring, then read the comments below the page about people defending how it's not. Were they reading my mind, or is there a reason people are defending this comic so much?

I personally feel the artist has some skill, and is developing further as an artist, but his writing needs work to pull readers into the story more.

4/10

Some webcomics have a particular mood about them, an underlying feeling that is prevalent throughout the tale that grabs your attention. I recently found a mood of this nature in Kristen Gudsnuk's The Optimist - but that mood was in the art more than the story, weakening the overall strength of the tale.

For those who have not read The Optimist, Gudsnuk's story revolves around a young boy named Kazimieras Vilkas living in Soviet-occupied Lithuania during the reign of Mikhail Gorbechav. He is the optimist that the comic's title speaks of; even with the oppressive atheist reign of the Soviets in full swing Kazimieras stays optimistic. His imagination is his tool, and he uses it to keep his faith. I mention faith because Kazimieras is a very religious child; the comic itself begins with him fasting in the name of his faith. He feels that his hunger is God testing him, and he uses this idea to maintain his fast. If you're thinking that this sounds like a rather complex child, and that the era he is living in is equally complex, than you'd be right. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. There is also the tense home environment that the constant arguing of Kazimieras' sister and father has created, the rebellious nature of his sister, and Kazimieras' lack of interaction with the other children due to his adherence to God. With so much heavy drama there you would expect a complex and detailed story. The way the story is written, however, fails to truly get into that complexity. As a reader you're left with the vestiges and the proper mood of a strong dramatic story - but it is a story that lacks the deep inquiries that a drama of this magnitude and mood beg for. Think of it as meat without potatoes: hearty meat without an equally heart side dish. With that said, if the story itself is lacking potatoes than the art has meat and potatoes in equal amounts.

Gudsnuk's art style, best described as watercolor with an anime influence and a dash of Play-Doh (yes, Play-Doh), conveys the emotion and mood of The Optimist impeccably. You get a feel for how deeply involved Kazimieras is in his beliefs as well as some of the severity of living in such an oppressive society just through the deep layers of Gudsnuk's pages. There is one underlying deterrent in Gudsnuk's panels, however, and that is that the art leans a bit too much toward the anime influence at time. Some of the expressions on character's faces are like something out of a manga at time, slightly weakening the captivating colors and work put into each page. This isn't a complete deterrent, however, meaning the art is strong enough to overcome it for the most part.

All in all, Kristin Gudsnuk's The Optimist is a very intriguing story thus far and one that has real promise in the realm of historically-based drama webcomics. It is still in need of deeper layers, though, on both the artistic and written fronts (moreso the written) to truly blow people away.


Ratings (On a scale of 1 to 5): 3.5

The Optimist is a bold comic.
Too many comics are retreading the same old themes with the same old art (this is the reason I've basically given up reading anything that looks like Manga).
The Optimist has its own style and its own vision of things and isn't afraid to do things it's own way.
They story tells of a young boy living in Soviet occupied Lithuania who is starving himself due to a strange sense of religious conviction.
Have you heard of a comic like that before? No you haven't!
The art is just as unique, it is all done in what looks to be water colour paints. In an age of endlessly computer coloured comics, I'm always happy to see one using tradition medium.
But the Optimist goes even further then this, using various other mediums when the main character hallucinates (due to starvation).
Check out the following pages-

http://www.drunkduck.com/The_Optimist/index.php?p=588272

and

http://www.drunkduck.com/The_Optimist/index.php?p=588272

Clay models? Spray Painting? Soldering? This is a comic that is willing to experiment!
Some of the experiments are more successful then others (I didn't like the second example there as much as the first) but the very fact that this comic is willing to try things in such a completely different way is a great feature.

The characters are interesting, especially the protagonist and his father, though at times the dialogue sounds rather formal and stiff.
I was expecting the comic to be more pro religion in the face of aethist soviets (which is how the hero describes things) but in fact his starvation seems to be much more a person situation. He seems to almost have a wierd sort of annorexia. he dreams of being a super hero able to cast out the soviets, so perhaps starving himself is the only way he can feel in control of the world?
I liked the character of the rather, and his strained, passive aggressive relationship with his daughter due to his working for the soviets (though the fact he worked for the soviets was mentioned far too many times, I started to feel a bit patronised.)

The main problem I had with the Optimist is simply that it isn't my type of story. It is something I can appreciate and admire, but not the type of thing I would normally read for entertainment. But I have no doubt that there is an audience out there for a story like this and in a sea of sonic the hedgehog sprite comics and generic manga, I have to salute the Optimist, a brave island of uniqueness and imagination.

Hey guys!

Thanks for your critiques. I really appreciate all commentary, both positive and negative, although I can't help but be unsettled by things like "it's boring/story needs work". WHY is it boring? What could it use? Is it just too wordy?? I'm going to have to fix up those first ten or so pages anyway, so I can rewrite the dialogue to some extent. THEREFORE, PLEASE don't be so vague. *said to empty room*

And about the comments on whether the comic is boring or not, it wasn't like people just randomly started leaving comments like, "I like panel 5 this comic isn't boring!" or "nice and very UN-BORING!" If so, I would have become immediately suspicious. It was because I was worrying that my introductory pages were dragging and so I said in my author's notes, "oh ps: opinion question, do you think this comic is boring? does it need more razzmatazz? we just got through the introduction part. I just want to know if it has been painful."
Just to clarify.

oh and re: the comment about the dialogue sounding stiff... this was a personal point of contention with me and the story. On the one hand, I wanted it to sound formal, translated, like to subconsciously give the feeling that it is originally in Lithuanian. I have gotten mixed reviews on this effect, and decided to tone it down a little, but leave it there.

I hope I don't come across as one of those people who can't take criticism (admittedly not my forte, but I'm working on it.)

The Optimist is one of my favourite comics on Drunk Duck, and I always look forward to the updates.

I think the main reason for this is the beautiful artwork. It is different from most of the comics I read and is always lovely to look at, even if it's the father looking really mad. The use of colour is brilliant, and really helps to set the mood. As for the drawing, the anatomy is very good, I love the style, and the backgrounds are beautifully drawn. Overall the artwork alone would be enough to keep me hooked on reading it.

The writing and story of this comic is very original, and I've never read anything like it before. It very clearly shows the situation the country is in, and how each member of the family feels about it. This is also combined with the spiritual side of the story, which is somehow close but far away at the same time, in a way that really aids the flow of the story. For example, Kazimieras' vision in which he speaks with Saint Kazimieras somehow seems incredibly far away from the events in Kazimieras' home, but also somehow seems close. I think this may be because for me Kazimieras is like a link between the normal life and the spiritual world.

To sum up, I think The Optimist is a very pleasing comic to look at, and the story moves at a fast enough pace that it keeps people wanting to know what happens next, and like I said before, for me it is one of the best comics I've read on Drunk Duck.

The Optimist is a fascinating read.
The art is amazingly well done, the style suits the comic and it is just really well done. Like absolutely fucking amazingly well done. Some of the best art I have ever scene in a comic. I also love the use of different art styles in hallucination scenes. I don't disagree with Kristen Gudsnuck's use of manga emotions, I think it's done well enough not to bring me out of the comic.

The story is interesting, it's dramatic and it is a story that keeps me interested in reading more. It is very well crafted. The dialogue is very well written and the characters are actually well constructed 3D and likable.

On a negative note, it sometimes gives me a feeling that opinions are being forced down my throat, although I don't really know what those opinions are, there is just an awkwardness created by them. This isn't really a big issue or anything, I guess this just comes with any comic that touches on spiritual or political themes and the Optimist has both.

Overall the optimist is a bloody awesome comic.