As a reviewer it is often my great pleasure to read books that I likely would not purchase for various reasons. It’s a pleasure because I have become exposed to books I would likely pass up while at the comic shop. Comics are pricey these days which makes it difficult to give new titles a chance. Especially those outside of my preferred genres. I have often been delighted to discover books thanks to my position with the Comic Crusaders. Unfortunately that is not the case with today’s offering.
Cellies is a slice of life comic of the sort that have been the staple of web comics for years now. Unfortunately most people live rather mundane and even boring lives and that’s why most slice of life comics just don’t click with me. Comics are often a form of escapism so a slice of life comic need a little extra something, like Terry Moore’s Strangers in Paradise which starts off very normal before getting into thriller territory and yet was still very engaging that’s to well crafter character’s. Or Christain Barenek’s Validation webcomic which explores the journey of a trans girl as she redefine’s her life and relationships as a woman and moves on into other areas from there.
Cellies however just isn’t engaging. The story is so everyday that even the drama within it just that it’s not enough to really get me to care about what is going on. The majority of the characters have quirks that make them a bit unlikable and I find myself wondering why they are even friends. As far as I can see the only reason they hang out together is because they are all coworkers. I just can’t seem to get invested into them or what’s going on in their lives. There’s also a couple of jarring transitions as we shift locations and times of day with no warring that this is going to happen. The story flows like its all happening within a short time-span but apparently an entire day passes with little indication that time is elapsing.
Now to be fair this is issue 9 and Im coming into this cold but there was nothing in the comic that was gonna bring me back for more. The story didn’t captivate me and the characters didn’t interest me.
ART
The art is just fine for this kind of comic. Flood proves to be a very competent artist who understands well the craft of story telling. His style is very much in the vein of a cartoonist and he makes the most out of his simple renderings to deliver good background details, excellent body language and very expressive faces with just a few simple lines. He is quite adept at rendering mood and emotion and you believe in his characters in the way you believe in Pixar animation. These are real people living in a real world.
The characters are all unique in appearance with no one looking like a clone with different clothes or haircuts/colors as a means of telling them apart. I’m impressed with how much he can do with so little line-work put into the piece. If I have to knock him for anything its his perspective work. None of its quite right and I get them impression that he isn’t ruling any of his lines out but just winging it but its hardly a deal breaker and sort of works out for him here. Given his style it would be easy for him to render everything is flat angles but he does mix in a variety of cinematic angles to add more interest to his simple art style.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The story didn’t hold my interest but the art is solid. If you’re into slice of life though this may be the comic for you. 2.5 out of 5!
[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
CELLIES #9
Writer/Creator: David Steward II
Art: Joe Flood
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