As you can probably tell from the title, every Wednesday I’ll review a different webcomic, so you can discover new comics while still going easy on your wallet. The first webcomic(s) I’ll feature here are the same ones I always tell friends about first- Evan Dahm’s Overside comics, most notably Rice Boy. http://www.rice-boy.com is actually home to three separate comics, two of which are each close to 1,000 pages. All three comics take place at various points in time in the world of Overside, and are all fantasy series with varying tones and styles.
Rice Boy, the earliest comic on the site, absolutely oozes charm and is probably the most accessible of the three. Because of this, as well as reasons of continuity, newcomers should definitely start with RB. The story follows the journey of the titular character, a small, timid, limbless…being (person? creature?) named Rice Boy as he leaves the comfort of his home and finds himself caught in the middle of ancient prophecies and a massive war. On his way he meets a plethora of unusual characters who are enhanced by the series’ distinct, quirky visual style (I’m always reminded of Dr. Seuss).
While reading RB, it’s very apparent that Rice Boy is Dahm’s first long-form narrative, and yet in every aspect of the comic this freshness works to its advantage. The drawings aren’t as sharp as Dahm’s more recent work; the storytelling, at times, seems to be more of a string of strange places and characters than a carefully constructed plot (not to say there isn’t one…), and the various races and locations of Overside seem to only be given superficial attention. But when you consider that the main character is a naive youngster who has never ventured must farther than his front door, these shortcomings take on a new dimension. The almost cartoony visual style reflects the way that Rice Boy sees the world, the story structure reflects the way that Rice Boy is quickly whisked from place to place before he can catch his breath, and the the fact that we’re given little background on the world lets us experience the world for the first time along with Rice Boy. As I said, it sometimes feels like Dahm was flying by the seat of his pants as he wrote this, but it also feels like he was having an immense amount of fun, which gets passed on to the reader.
Dahm’s next work, Order of Tales, is quite different from RB in several ways. By this point Dahm had two years of experience under his belt, and this shows in both his art and the story. Though some of the spontaneity of RB is lost because of this, on the whole it feels like a much stronger and more focused work. OoT focuses on Koark, the last in the line of the Order of Tales, an ancient organization dedicated to the documenting and preservation of stories. As he sets out to find a fabled story, “The Ascent of the Bone Ziggurat,” he soon discovers that there might be more to the story than he anticipated. Although OoT occurs before the events of Rice Boy, there are some surprises that will only be meaningful to those who’ve read RB first.
In contrast to RB, OoT is drawn entirely in black and white, with a much sharper, more detailed line style. It might take a little getting used to after RB, but you get used to it pretty fast, and it really goes with the story’s relatively darker tone. The story is also structured much better than RB, and Koark is a much more active protagonist. Another key aspect of OoT is that this time around we’re given much more information about the world of Overside and its inhabitants, which is appropriate seeing as how Koark is essentially a traveling historian. The story is occasionally broken up by stories straight from Koark’s book of tales, which adds a really unique flavor to the series. Another excellent series, there isn’t much more to say.
The last of the big three is Vattu, which is currently running, and at the time of me writing is at about 170 pages. Vattu follows the life of a young member of a nomadic race called the Fluters. I won’t say too much more about the story since the comic is still in its early stages. What I will say though is that the color in Vattu is absolutely gorgeous, especially instances where light and shadows give surroundings an interesting tone. The story is also a bit different than the other two comics, as a lot of it is told with little dialogue, focusing instead on the characters’ actions and the landscape around them. The pace is much slower than, say, OoT, but it’s a deliberate pace, and recently in the story it’s become apparent that Dahm has some big developments up his sleeve.
In addition to the three long series, Dahm also makes short stories that further expand upon the world of Overside. Despite their shorter length they’re all great, and they contain some of my favorite moments from his comics. The site also has a link to a fan-maintained wiki that documents all the information on Overside and the comics (just watch out for spoilers).
As you could probably guess by the obnoxious length of this post, I’m all about the Overside comics. I could easily write more, but I think I’ve already written more than enough. They’re all absolutely superb, and I highly, highly recommend you check them out. I’m flattered that you read this far before going to check them out, but go. Do it. I won’t be offended.
Happy reading,
-Nate
Tired of Superheroes 