Scene Anime

Back Office is a webcomic of the strip format by Mark Egan, owner of the site rawrtacular.com.

The story is loosely inspired from the author's friends of his girlfriend, without exactly being them, but rather the prototypes of persons you can find in your office, and I can certainly relate.

It starts with the main character, Mike, who returns after his sales experience to his office, a Call Center, when suddenly his colleague and his (teh evil?) boss need help because the call queue (Q-Matic) has gotten so big that it came to life in the form of a great virus!!!

Mike is transported against his will to the inner world of Q-Matic, and it's quite similar to Hueco Mundo in Bleach, the callers (clients) are alienated in rows, resigned to wait years till they are recognized at the top of the queue.

This begins the 'Second series' of the story, while the First serves as a prequel

The characters are compelling, with each contributing something unique to the story. I have a fondness for Magnus, one of the System guys, the living and breathing irony of a contemporary Cro-Magnon man whose brain melted after endless hours of programming, and now 'his head runs in a cocktail of Java and Turbo Pascal', as his friend best described it.



What I also find great is that the site's interface is very intuitive, with playback buttons that let you go forward and back, as well as the first strip, to the most current strip. The style reminds me very much of Four-coma specials that mangakas use to add comedy and depth to serious-themed stories.

While there's a solid continuity between strips, which are frequently updated every Monday, some of them can be interpreted separately, such as this that pertains to the very first strip (from the first series) published in 2010.


In regards to tone, I can say that this is like Dilbert, but with a more optimistic approach, you can identify with the character's frustration with routine and daily life in a cubicle, but they want to do something about it, they are active about the conflicts that surround them, not passive and cynical. And it doesn't lose any ounce of satire.

The story can be found here! http://rawrtacular.com/bo/ or in the banner section of this very blog!

This is one classic webcomic that poses the answer to the question: who is the only one that would beat the hell out of Superman in a fight, or at least be a formidable opponent to him?

The answer is obvious: Goku

That's the almost unanymous answer you will get from any fanbase, it is an idea that has been well engraved in our pop culture.

And it is no wonder, since Dragon Ball is loosely based on the myth of Superman.

So, the only person that would beat Superman, is his manga counterpart?

This webcomic was done by Joel Ojeda Lopez from Deviantart,it can be read here, on his site:

http://mistermoster.deviantart.com/gallery/27844038

One thing I loved is the action from the very first frame, perspirating action everywhere, and how the entire fight was so well presented and epic, that it has absolutely nothing to envy to the fight scenes in Bleach.

The creator certainly established his own realm of style to create a world in which Superman and Goku can coexist without the clashing of their aesthectic origins.

There's always the risk that Superman would be unrecognizable in manga style, or that Goku looks awful if drawn in classic Western style. Ojeda Lopez managed to create an interesting mix of both.

I'm not going to spoil how the fight turned out, but here's a key panel that'll make you wonder:

Kamehameha vs. Heat Vision?????

The artwork speaks for itself

This is the story of a guy named 'Black'. Being a succesful yet evasive freelance fashion designer, he feels that his life is empty and greyscale, so much that he avoids grey in any of his designs, though there's demand for him to do it.

Until a guy dressed in black attire appears on his balcony. They appear to know each other and he is the key to making 'Black's life less dull, less grayscale.

It's easy to wonder whether this story is yaoi or shonen-ai, however, the author establishes firmly in her main site that it doesn't belong to either of those genres and that they're just close friends.

The main protagonists are very likeable and have a sorta similar chemistry to the characters of Sekaiichi Hatsukoi, without being exactly of that genre as that series.

It's the appeal of them together in the same frame that inmediately brings your attention to what's going on.

It is later revealed that the reason he went away to live at a studio appartment of his Dad's friends is because he was betrayed by the ones he cherished most.

The one thing that stands out of this webmanga is undoubtely the artwork. It's clean, subtle and idilic. I feel that this is an allegorical type of story, and that would explain the slow pacing and main focus on the characters and lack of established backgrounds (the settings are revealed as you read on).

For example, the character named 'Black' is a pale white haired guy, and you can assume that his black haired, black attired companion is named 'White'. It's like both protagonists complement each other by contrast, and that is the strongest visual conveyed by this series.

Well, I won't spoil the story anymore and direct you right away to dee Juusan's site on Deviantart, which is full of great information, has a great interface and props such as little banners, thumbnails, character designs, and illustrations that make the readers crave for more:

http://grey-is.deviantart.com/

If there's something that can attract your attention right away with this webcomic, it's the great use of toning for backgrounds. Being the story of a boy named Young and his sister Inni, as they run across a futuristic, mysterious and decadent city, you feel enveloped by its atmosphere from the very first pages that start telling the story with a bang.

The webcomic can be read here: http://thecustomarts.com/young/young1-00.htm

The artwork really takes advantage of the use of gray tones that make each page look like a a beautiful noir canvas. The story clearly belongs to the mecha genre, but don't be fooled since webcomics actually have the liberty to mix in other elements that give way to experimentation.

The characters are portrayed through their expressions and emotions rather than focusing on accuracy on how they really look like, which blends right in with the style of the backgrounds. The reader can connect perfectly with the characters, their actions, how they feel, and that is precisely the magic of manga.

The synopsis of the story reads:

A worldwide epidemic has ravaged most humans on the Earth by being mass produced as a drug called Seven. Several people around the world have unique resistances to the disease, Young and his family being some of them.


Young seeks the last piece of the cure by finding his father, who is among the highest ranking officials of Seven Corp., before he runs out of time and is consumed by Seven himself.

'Young' has already a completed volume with two big chapters, and a second volume that is frequently updated.

This is the story of Victoria, a high school girl that loves history and arts. On a museum visit organized by her institution, she finds a mysterious ring with the initials A.M.I and picks it up to give it to the Missing Items Section.

When she meets a boy who is in charge of that department, the boy is suspicious of her motives and she wonders why. While she waits for him, she randomly tries the ring (who hasn't done that XD?) but gets stuck (call it Murphy's Law).

The situation complicates when a troll appears and wants to kill them. But with the power of the ring,Victoria transforms into a Sorceress and with her magic stick, she battles the monster and incinerates him. The boy is struck as Victoria reverses to normal and faints.

The ring is from the Rennaissance era (1300's) and is the kickstarter of this story by Barbara Willett at http://bwillettcomics.com/sorcerersapprentice/

One thing I will always find interesting with webcomics artists is that their capacity to mix Western and manga style is enhanced, if we compare it to traditionally established artists that work for a company. Maybe it's that they have more creative freedom because they're doing it themselves? Or because they have a bigger view?

In this case, Bwillett's comic wasn't afraid to use the 4-square style of panels with her own manga style and storytelling. The plot develops in a smooth, simple and harmonious way that looks to engage readers. It doesn't use absurd plot devices nor it just throws something out of the blue for the sake of doing so. The characters and situations flow naturally and doesn't disrupt the storyline at all.

The story is a great read and there's a established continuity with 15 chapters that are updating constantly as we speak, something that most webcomics or webmanga artists sadly lack in terms of consistence

Check it out!

This is a fun story that parodies the classic Zelda game in a Shrek fashion. It is really refreshing to see Link as a tempered hero like Kurosaki Ichigo, and Saria as his groupie. Hyrule suddenly transforms in a land where comedy ensues and slice of life stories happen.

The style of the pencils is simple, yet is similar to that of Inuyasha, a romance and comedy type of story, and it suits this story well. Nothing complicated that looks to entertain and convey the message that the authors want to get across. The composition often used is the six squares per panel

H2YK, is the pseudonym chosen by authors Saotome Yoshimi and Haruka, who come up with these stories filled with all-ages humor that are meant to go beyond our established ideas on how classic characters are.

The webcomic can be read at their official site: http://www.artofkoden.com/H2YK-.html

When I started reading the first pages of this manga at webcomicsnation.com what really stood out is the 'European' outlook of life, and with further research I find that in fact, the authors are German, Bruno Cotting with the story and Viviane with the pencils and ink.

I really recommend reading this webmanga at its original site http://gottgauss.viviane.ch/, for a better visual experience.

This is the story of Selt Brander, a depressed man in his mid-twenties. Barely living in an appartment the size of a room, he is a forensic scientist that gets fired because he suspects too much of a series of corpses that die for the same cause: poisoning. There's a conspiracy brewing around him and he's not even aware of it.

His only contact with the world is through a computer, and that's how he knows Garla, his love interest, only that he's also not aware of it since Garla presents herself as a man in that chatroom and he presents himself as a woman.

Garla is a prostitute that also functions as a drug dealer for her pimp boyfriend, who constantly abuses and beats her, she finds herself in a turmoil, and her only consolation is the computer.

One day, something incredible happens as Brander is in his bed about to sleep. The computer starts talking to him despite being turned off. The chat dialog says that it is Gott Gauss, the God of Probability. He can't believe it and thinks that he's losing his mind due to his depression. The very same happens to Garla, who doesn't know what to think or do.

Days after, a mysterious medallion appears before each one's computers. The medallion speaks and confirms that it is in fact Gott Gauss, the God of Probability who is there to protect them.

I don't know if it's done intentionally or not, but the story reflects perfectly the times we're living in, almost as Kafka did with The Process and the Pre-War Germany. We can identify with a depressed protagonist with a job that he feels he can go beyond that, and the same goes for Garla, who I'm sure has much potential but she can't get out of her own abuse cycle.

The style of the lineart is compelling and beautiful, the backgrounds are relatively vague, but help create a depressed times atmosphere. We get the feeling that this is an alienated, cold society with no space or opportunities for anyone, unless you are in the rat race, of course.

This webmanga is the proof that the European style of storytelling is perfectly compatible with the manga style, despite the claims of the naysayers that the manga style is just too superficial.

The comic is available in English, German and French.

I have noticed that many authors rely heavily on  Manga Studio for their works and it really pays off

This new section will review webcomics and/or webmanga. I make emphasis on 'webmanga', even though all are the same thing (for me, 'manga' can define the style or genre, yet 'manga' in Japanese means comics, or 'the image sketched in the mind')

Through a great discussion and meeting people in LinkedIn, I got introduced to the fascinating world of webcomics.

Webcomics are not the same as self-publication, nor can both can be considered 'vanity publishing'.

Webmangas are revolutionizing the comic book and arts industry in the sense that you're not limited or have to depend on a publishing house, but you can do it yourself on the internet and if we cite the case of Penny Arcade, for example, it can be a very profitable business if you decide to see it that way.

You can publish webcomics either on a owned-domain website of yours that lives off Google Adsense or other companies that can pay you for ad space, or on a directory that features it, with your own terms in regards to ads. Other methods include Paypal donations and selling merchandising items of Zazzle, CafePress, Etsy and similar sites.

The key here is that you gotta keep in mind that your ability to sell and market your work is as important as the work itself.