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Name of Site: Herblock's History
URL: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/swann/herblock/
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Review: Herbert Block, or "Herblock" as he is professionally
known in the cartoon world, turns 93 this year and at the time of writing
this review he is still kicking on and giving the politicians his best
serving of satire and caricature. His career spans over 70 tumultuous
years and his opinions on every world event in that time have been captured
in extremely well drawn and witty cartoons. This site is a monument to
his career and work and includes a choice selection of his best and most
important work with excellent background information. Some of his cartoons
were pivotal in changing public opinion about some major issues. The images
are scans of his original drawings and are very clear. Herblock even contributes
to the site himself with an insightful essay - "The Cartoon".
A truly brilliant career. - SS
Rating: *****
Name of Site: Pokey the Penguin
URL: http://www.yellow5.com/pokey/
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Review: Pokey began as an attempt to create something really crappy but
somehow likeable - and it worked! Pokey is an awfully rendered cartoon
basically done by mouse using really bad drawing tools on a computer and
the dialogue is typed in dodgy balloons, half crossed out and retyped
again. Somehow the stupid little characters - Pokey, Little Girl, Mr Nutty,
Headcheese, The Skeptopotomous and gang - grow on you until you find yourself
eagerly anticipating the next great adventure. All the stories are archived
for your viewing pleasure. There is a printable Pokey poster to pin up
on your bedroom wall, or somewhere far more prominent (Bus stop? Telegraph
pole?). There are fan sites, critical essays on Pokey's philosophies and
even a bad imitation, "Prodly the Puffin". All in all a delightful
concept that only the Internet could have produced. - SS
Rating: ****
Name of Site: Sinfest
URL: http://www.sinfest.net/
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Review: "We are the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world"
is the slogan, which doesn't quite sum up what you get here. Yes its all
youthful cynicism and irreverence, but the comic strips are definitely
not crap. Stylish, cool and occasionally cute, the characters struggle
through the daily challenges of life and all its political correctness,
economic rationalism and sexual tension and manage to hit the giggle nerve
of a fair slab of visitors. The attached forum is testament to the popularity
and shows the angst and cynicism rife in the populace. There are some
great contributions in the "resistance" section - rants and
observations of life in the hope that it may one day change. It's not
really a sin; you are just swimming against the current. - SS
Rating: ****
Name of Site: PvPonline
URL: http://www.pvponline.com
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Review: As with most comic strips on the Internet, the content is all
in the archives. The daily dose is only ever going to be one strip, so
until you are in the loop, you need to check the archive to see where
the whole thing is going and decide if it is your cup of soup. Scott Kurtz
is a diligent cartoonist and has been fairly consistent for the last four
years churning out his brand of humour. A quick click around and you find
his subject matter is very diverse and the simple clean characters deliver
the snappy dialogue with great facial expressions. It's a bit "Dilberty"
with less nerd and more cool. A selection of rants and raves as well as
a huge forum accompany the library of strips laid out in a clickable calendar.
It won't be long before you'll be making a daily drop-in to see how Chloe,
Brent, Jade, Francis and co. are getting along. - SS
Rating: ***
Name of Site: WebComics
URL: http://www.webcomics.com/
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Review: If overdose is your thing, or your attention span is so short
that you just need to keep switching from one gag to another, perhaps
a cartoon portal is for you. WebComics collects a myriad of line art masterpieces
and delivers them on a daily, weekly or random basis. The range of material
is staggering, with new stuff pouring in every minute. By involving the
audience to suggest new comics or even submit their own work, the site
is expanding healthily. They have collected over 18,000 links to the kinds
of sites cartoon lovers might enjoy - toys, humour, animation, kids stuff
- and filled the site with news, a discussion board, top 30 toon chart,
poll and quirky chat bots. It's all in good humour, so start poking around
for a good laugh. - SS
Rating:
Name of Site: Dilbert
URL: http://www.dilbert.com/
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Review: In the age of IT and corporate culture it is no surprise that
Dilbert has achieved such lofty success. Major syndication, spin-off products,
a TV show and, of course, this Website. With the dollars flowing in from
the four corners of the globe, Mr Scott Adams doesn't have too much trouble
offering plenty of fun and games online, especially since he may also
turn the site into a little earner at the same time. Hundreds of strips
are here for your enjoyment, but then you can buy one and have it printed
on a t-shirt or framed for your office cubicle wall. A fascinating section
on the origins of Dilbert shows his very first attempts that were sent
to the major newspapers and the rejection letters he received. They'd
be kicking themselves now as Dilbert and company blaze a trail as large
as any corporation Dilbert could ever work for. - SS
Rating: *****
Name of Site: Stripcreator
URL: http://www.stripcreator.com/
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Review: What a great idea, and perfect for the Internet. Make your own
comic strips! A three-panel strip offers a selection of countless characters
and the choice of thought bubble or speech bubble. All you have to do
is add the dialogue and you have yourself a comic strip. You can also
alter the background and add narration, which just about covers anything
you need. The community involvement here is heavy. Thousands of people
have had a go at being budding Charles Schultz's and rating the work of
their fellow creative geniuses. The forum is exploding with commentary
in well-organised categories. All this amateur creativity might get a
bit much for some, but like a good karaoke contest, you are likely to
stumble across some pure gems. The artwork is first class to bolster the
occasionally dubious dialogue. In no time you'll be signing up yourself
and joining the hoards of instant internationally published comic strip
creators. - SS
Rating: *****
Name of Site: Daryl Cagle's Professional Cartoonists
Index
URL: http://cagle.slate.msn.com/
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Review: Hidden inside the MSN ezine, "Slate", is this incredibly
rich collection of works from around the world. Daryl Cagle, master cartoonist,
has taken it upon himself to curate and update a massive archive of political
editorial cartoons. Nothing is sacred here as all current topics are covered,
from war in the Middle East to paedophile priests, privacy and the death
penalty. The commentary is sharp and funny and really highlights the stupidity
of our system, our leaders and our institutions. There are some interesting
cartoons from places like Iran, showing their reaction to the Bush administration's
"Axis of Evil" taunts. It's not all doom and gloom, though.
There are sporting cartoons and general humour as well. Send a greeting
card, check the daily updates or just scour through the countless syndicated
and non-syndicated cartoons. There is even a complete guide to help teachers
get the kids to understand what all this lampooning is all about. - SS
Rating: *****
Name of Site: Comics.com
URL: http://www.comics.com/
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Review: With a domain name like this, you can expect a pretty major Website.
The lucky registrant of comics.com is United Media, a major syndication
company whose job it is to get hundreds of comic strips to be seen in
thousands of newspapers. The content is so extensive you would get lost
if it wasn't for the tabular and drop down menu system they have implemented,
which take you to the innumerable strips. Each strip has archives, regular
updates and the chance to email your favourites to a friend or get them
regularly sent to your own in-tray. There is a large store, selling books,
videos, clothing, mugs and more. UA have the rights to some major classics,
like Peanuts and Li'l Abner so you will never tire of browsing around
this comic superstore. - SS
Rating: ****
Name of Site: YUKYUK.COM
URL: http://www.yukyuk.com/
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Review: If weird and twisted, warped and deranged describes your personality,
then YukYuk is for you. These interactive shockwave cartoons of such freaks
as Xylene, Beetleboy and Dr Fingo-Ho take you through some strange scenarios.
They all speak alien languages with the translation popping up along the
way, as you click on the pictures to bring life to various mutated creatures.
What's the point? Who cares? Just keep clicking away and travel further
and further down the road to insanity. You might just escape reality long
enough to face it again, or you might just never come back. - SS
Rating: ****
Name of Site: Joe Cartoon
URL: http://www.joecartoon.com/
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Review: If you haven't heard of the "Frog in a Blender" or "Gerbil
in a Microwave" you are missing out on some of the best material
the Web has produced. Joe Cartoon is a very sick man, and a very talented
one, too. These animated splatter fests will desensitize you in minutes
to the worst carnage you will ever encounter in your life. These gerbils,
frogs and dolphins really cop a hiding and still manage to maintain their
good humour. It's sick, it's perverted, and it's very funny. The voices
and animations are first class and Joe just keeps adding to the archive
more and more vomit-inducing grossness. Be sure to buy a t-shirt so that
everyone will know just how insane you really are. You enjoy this gratuitous
violence and you are proud of it. - SS
Rating: *****
Name of Site: The WackyCrackHeads
URL: http://www.wackycrackheads.com/
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Review: Prohibition has promoted Crack cocaine to the front pages of the
newspapers and the top of the narcotics bestseller list in the US. It
is time to make fun of the whole problem with a gang of freaky psychedelic
crack whores and gangsters. The style is pure graffiti with a lot of obscenity
and cartoon nudity and shoot-em-up violence thrown in for good measure.
Plenty of Ebonics in the dialogue and no respect for anybody or anything
- which is kind of exactly what the crack scene has become. If it wasn't
so close to the truth it might be funnier. This site is a stoners' paradise.
Drugs, flashbacks and freak-outs. Just don't try any of this at home.
- SS
Rating: ***
Name of Site: Comics Page
URL: http://www.comicspage.com/
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Review: This is the cartoon portal for Tribune Media Services, a major
supplier of mirth to publications around the globe. From Mad magazine's
Spy vs. Spy to Dick Tracy, Broom Hilda and Fred Basset, the archives are
filled with endless reams of comic strips for your enjoyment. Drop down
menus provide an easy way to navigate through the content, whilst encouraging
you to please buy a t-shirt or other merchandise along the way to help
the Web division of the corporation turn a profit. Each comic has a brief
"about" section and a bulletin board. The bulletin board system
is a little inefficient since is spreads the users across dozens of comics,
reducing the overall community involvement. Still, they own a lot of copyright,
so you will not be disappointed in the substantial offerings provided.
- SS
Rating: ****
Name of Site: Art Comics
URL: http://www.artcomic.com/index.html
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Review: This is the world of the independent comic artist. The endless
stream of work the major media channels reject. Why do they reject them?
Well as you will see sometimes it is because they are just not good enough,
but sometimes the material is just not appropriate for their corporate
image or editorial stance. Unfortunately this site lacks a little in its
presentation, which does not help the budding talents represented. The
store is limited, and the "site map" link goes to a credits
page and biog of the site's creator - no help. Once you finally do get
into the comic strips and cartoons, you will be pleasantly surprised with
the standard. Although rather inconsistent, it is certainly as readable
as your average collection in your local paper. It's a nice tidy selection
of regular characters with a few one-offs to pad out the pages. - SS
Rating: ***
Name of Site: The Funny Papers
URL: http://www.thefunnypapers.com/main.shtml
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Review: Here is a combined cartoon and games portal to keep you occupied
in those long late afternoon hours before knock-off time. Java games and
solitaire share your attention span with a small but good quality selection
of comic strips, single panel comics, serials and featured comics. You
can choose to read a wide selection of material on one page or browse
the comics by name. Users rank the comics and also rank and recommend
comic links so that an active Top 100 links chart is created and the best
comics on the site get priority linking on the main page. It is a good
idea to have mixed in some games among the cartoons, since most cartoon-only
sites can get a little tedious, at least here you can take a breather
and blow up a few asteroids while you regain your sense of humour. - SS
Rating: ***
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