Archive for the Yuri Webcomics Category


Dolltopia Comic (English)

November 15th, 2011

Abby Denson’s Dolltopia is a light allegory about the plastic dolls we grew up with and what happens when they question their life of plastic conformity and consumerism.

I first encountered Dolltopia back in 2008, when Abby gave me a copy of the mini-comic (that’s western indie comicspeak for doujinshi) of the series. I was captivated by the idea of toy dolls rebelling against their intended fate, and their desire to be unique and independent.

Dolltopia is, as I said, an obvious outsider allegory, that is nonetheless charming for being obvious. Colored brightly in black, white and hot pink, the art speaks of punk roots, and a childhood of cutting and dyeing doll hair. (Which Abby admits to.)

For Yuri fans, there is one established girl-doll couple in the series – Candy O and Candy X. They are shown providing emotional support for one another, even in the most stressful times. Honestly, they are a very cute couple.

There’s also a little guilt-inducing chapter about the way we abuse our toys, both physically and emotionally. ^_^;;

Unfortunately for me, Amazon shipped me a damaged copy, so I was unable to read all of Abby’s afterword, but other than that minor setback, the entire story about identity and being your own person would make a great holiday gift for a budding young outsider in your life.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Yuri – 8
Service – 1, but only on the principle that there is always someone out there fetishizing something.

Overall – 8

The book comes with dolls you can cut out, and non-conforming outfits for them to wear. I thought that was a cute touch.





Yuri Webcomics: Girly, Volume 2

March 27th, 2007

“Otra and Winter have that thing I look for in Yuri – that inexplicable electricity that make a couple work for me.” So I said, in my review of Girly, Volume 1.

Imagine my surpise, then, to find that quote printed on the back cover of Girly, Volume 2! O_O

Okay, so we left Otra and Winter just past the cusp of them becoming a couple at the end of Volume 1 – a pretty darn satisfying place to end the book. Volume 2 picks up with them in the thrall of post-coital bliss, oogling at each other and other general besotted behaviors that thrill couples, but make their friends gag. ^_^

But, of course, this would not be Girly – or indeed, any of Josh’s work – if it were merely two happy campers camping happily. So, into Otra and Winter’s new bliss please insert a mysterious woman who appears to be stalking Winter – and who has a shocking (shock!) secret – a creative deadline Otra must face, men obsessed with their penises, women who scream, Captain Fist, Chupacabra the irresistibly attractive criminal and, of course – elephants.

My wife had guests over when I read this volume and my chortling, not to mention the occasional burst of hysterical laughter, really freaked them out. ^_^ (One of the guests made a very interesting point. I was explaining something amusing in some Marimite scene or other to the wife when Guest commented “You talk about these characters as if they were friends.” Which I suppose is true. And probably one of the key things that defines “fan” in its most basic sense, as in “fanatic.” I know plenty of people who act like the way a sports figure plays affects them, personally. I know people who obsess over television characters, parsing their every move and word…so, yeah. BTW, Guest had a obsession with “My Little Ponies” so hey, pot, kettle, black, lady. ^_^)

Girly is brain candy in the largest sense – it’s silly, probably not very good for you and enjoyable as hell. There is very little profundity here, but Josh’s shameless use of every concept he can come up with, in ways that often invalidate his story and make your head hurt, is great entertainment.

There’s a teeny little dip in energy in this book from the last that I attribute more to things the author was dealing with as he put it together, rather than to any lack in the comic itself. There’s less “oomph” somehow in the incidental art. But I may just be reading into it.

Ratings:

Art – Variable and random
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Yuri – 9
Service – Impossible to judge accurately, I think. Let’s say 3, just to account for nudity and some other stuff.

Overall – 8

As I’m sitting here typing, the strip with the “movie about guns” just popped into my head and I started laughing. ^_^ “Oh no, it’s a ray gun!”





Yuri Webcomics addendum

July 20th, 2006

I should have said this yesterday, but since I didn’t think to, let me do so now.

Because I *don’t* read too many webcomics regularly, let me open the floor to those who do. Please feel free to suggest webcomics that you enjoy in the comments section – don’t forget to give the link so people can find it!

If you are 18 or over and interested in writing a guest review for a strongly yuri-themed webcomic, feel free to email one to me and I’ll be glad to post it. (Especially glad as I’m short of time these days to post myself.) Be sure to run it through spellcheck and proofread it first so I don’t spend too much time editing. :-) Include your name, so I can credit you.

I’m waiting on my copy of Yuri Hime 5 and Kotonoha no Miko to Kotdama no Mahou to, which should be here any day. Look forward to reviews of that and a few other fun items in the days to come. :-)





Yuri Comic: Girly, Volume 1

July 19th, 2006

I love webcomics. Which is to say, I love the idea of webcomics.

When I was a little kid, every Sunday I’d go to the candy store with my father. (Swear to god, I’m not making this up.) He’d get the paper, I’d get 50 cents to buy whatever I wanted – I wanted comic books. I read mostly Marvel and over the years picked up some deeply weird and random books…most of which I still have. Like Nova, which was a deservingly short-lived series about a kid who somehow got a super-powered suit and still managed to be a nebbish. As I got older, I got into comics collecting and met and became friends with some folks who worked for the big comic companies. (I tried to get a job with DC, but failed. lol) I even worked for a while at a comic book store. I knew, of course, about Indie comics, but was never interested much – mostly because what I perceived as “Indie” was usually bad art and nothing more than drugs and bad, boring or gross sex.

I was just leaving the world of American comics as small indie ventures such as a new, upstart company called Dark Horse was coming on the scene. I even worked with a guy who had a short-lived comic published by DH about a creature that came out of the toxic fields near Newark, NJ. I think it was called “Zone.” But for all that, Indy comics never did it for me.

I was aware, as all comic readers were, of the dearth of really original, unique story telling and art in the widely available published comics industry. Some of that was due to the American comics nadir during the McCarthy era, and alot was due to market forces. I left comics when the best new ideas that DC and Marvel could come up with were “collector’s edition” covers on popular series.

Fast forward 10 years and the Internet was born. Now, more than ten years after that, and publishing on the net has removed almost all the barriers for self-publishing that ever existed. Writers and artists of all ages and talent levels can slam something together and put it up and say that they are published. This is, quite obviously, wonderful – – and really scary. ^_^

So, yes, I love the *idea* of webcomics – truly independent work by people from nearly everywhere almost instantly findable by almost anyone anywhere.

But in reality, I only like a few webcomics. Wait, no…one. There’s a few I’ll read when I’m really, really, REALLY bored, or haven’t looked at them in forever, but there’s only *one* I read regularly. And that’s Josh Lesnick’s Girly. And I’m thrilled to say that Josh’s first 100 or so strips have been collected into the first volume of Girly, now available on Amazon.

I know Girly is not for everyone. The art is inconsistent (which I quite like, especially as he started this particular comic trying a more button-down style and over time it’s exploded into his usual wackiness) and the story is wildly random (which I also like.)

I was a fan of Josh’s from Wendy and through Cute Wendy, the collected works of which we were able to give away as prizes at Yuricon in Tokyo, thanks to Josh’s generosity. But as I sat here the other night reading Girly, Volume 1, I remembered just why I liked it. It’s got great characters. Otra and Winter have that thing I look for in Yuri – that inexplicable electricity that make a couple work for me. Officer Policeguy, the woman with the cute baby…Chupacabre, they are all just plain fun. Even the vile and cheap repartee’ between Captain Fist and Assmaster makes me laugh.

The book is really well put together – the strips are laid out vertically on a black background, two to a page for a feel similar to the website. The black makes for a cool all-around feel to the book, too. And if you’re an anime fan, Josh lays on some not-at-all-subtle anime fandom in-jokes from time to time.

If you’re not familiar with Girly you’re probably thinking, “But is it Yuri?” Yep. It’s about two women who fall in love and have adventures with rampaging elephants and marshmallow kitties and giant dildos. Among other things.

I pre-purchased my copy of Girly directly from Josh’s site, partially to support him and partially to nab myself a signed copy. When it arrived, it had a lovely drawn picture of Otra and Winter on the inside back cover and the header “Yuri Power!” ^_^ Thanks Josh – it really made my day.

Ratings:

Art – 5
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Yuri – 8
Service – 2

Overall – 7

The story itself has gotten stronger as the comic has gone on, but Josh hasn’t yet lost sight of the qualities that make the characters unique. I look forward to Volume 2. ^_^

Oh, and I adore my t-shirt that says, “Everywhere I go, I’m shooting people into space.” :-D