Web Comic Review ~ Slightly Damned!

Slightly Damned is probably one of my all time favorite web comics. Now it's not only due to it's comic but I think a lot of it has to do with how the author really communicates to her audience and really speaks to the audience. This is a great tip I think any web comic writer should know: having some sort of a relationship with your audience is the best way to keep viewers interested. Don't force it, it needs to be genuine. But overall I think this is something I see with certain writers and I find it to be one of the things that makes a comic special.

About: Now Slightly Damned's story line takes place when a Jakkai named Rhea dies. Death weighs her wrongs and rights and finds that her scale has tipped slightly out of her favor. However, she has not committed enough sins to really be sent to Hell, or so Death says. So he sends her to the Ring of the Slightly Damned. There, she meets a demon named Buwaro. He lives there with his favorite pet rock, Thadius, his older sister, Sakido, and older brother Iratu. The two spend their days wandering a ring of land that seems to go on forever, until one day... Now, sparing details and without ruining the story for you guys, Rhea and her companion find their journey taking a serious twist which includes meeting an angel and countless characters; some of them guardians of their lands! Issues such as angels vs. demons, good vs. evil, friendship, and yes, even romance come into play in this comic. 

Review:

Pros: This webcomic, up until maybe a month or two ago, was actually ranked number two on Top Webcomics. What I really love about this webcomic is that it's got something I consider classic (angels vs. demons, friendship, ancient wars, etc...) while at the same time keeping an interesting plot. That's a very tough thing to do! Often writers have a hard time keeping a reader's attention because the reader has already read plots and story lines similar to the one that the author is feeding them. At first, I was worried that I would be taken on a route I'd been on before. However, the background stories and all the small things you thought wouldn't be very important to remember all of a sudden tie up together! Now, the art is a different story. I love how well the art progresses. It was a pro and a con with how the story began, however Chu, the artist and author, is very talented! I love her artwork. I actually thought Rhea was a Neo-Pet when I saw her, that's how good the art looked! But no, ladies and gentlemen... Rhea is not a Neo-Pet. She's just a badass. And like I said in the very beginning of this review, I love that Chu interacts with her readers through her comic. ALSO! Please not that Slightly Damned is actually part of a small forum group that is just amazing! Monster Hive is wonderful, if you ever look into them you really need to. The people you meet are genuine and nice, along with the bots. I think knowing there's a place for a reader to go makes this comic actually feel very homey. Maybe that's just me though, I am a bit off as it is. 

Cons: Now the only issue I think I had with this webcomic was how it started off. But this is one thing I also greatly admire and appreciate about webcomics. The art in the beginning of the story was not much to write home about. It was clearly made on the computer, but it wasn't at the peak of where it is now; not by a long shot. I know there was one page, somewhere in the start of the story, that was definitely hand-drawn. When I saw the picture, I could tell how much talent the artist really had. It was just a matter of getting down the transition from paper to the computer. So if you do choose to read this webcomic, please keep that in mind with the first few sections. I don't find it to be a big deal, to be honest, because the story really did pick up anything the art might lag in. And I'm not completely sure, but I think Chu was going back through the older pages and redoing a few. I saw a couple double pages and one was significantly better then the other, however I'm not too sure if she plans to do this for all of those first couple of sections. I also found the start of the story to be a little too long. It just takes a while for the main characters to get to the real plot. Now this is an older comic, so I know a there are some people out there who feel it would be tedious to read through all of it's pages, but if you read comics normally this isn't one that moves slow. In fact I wish it would update a little bit faster. Of course, that may just be me being selfish because I really enjoy the comic! :D I find it wonderful to see where the artist started and where she is today. 

Worth the Read: YES! No doubt in my mind! I really push for this one. Especially for those of you who are new to webcomics. It's a simple webcomic, there's no special effects or anything to it, but it's very special in terms with it's storyline. It has a really nice aura to it. Okay, maybe that's a little weird to say, but in all seriousness I find this to be a comic that really gets me fan-girling as well as thinking about the plot. It really did deserve to hold the title as number two on Top Webcomics, and I'm sad to report that it no longer is, however I really hope it eventually takes over again. It's definitely worth looking into. However, keep in mind it is fictional but is also containing the Heaven vs. Hell scenario, so if you don't prefer that than you may not want to read this. However, I think it's overall a truly classic webcomic. Keep it up Chu! 

Nuclear <3 

Slightly Damned: http://www.sdamned.com/ 

If you guys would like to find other webcomics, please check out: http://topwebcomics.com/

Hope you guys liked the review, hope to see you next Friday! 


I own NONE of these pictures! All writes go to Chu, not me.