WEBCOMIC WEDNESDAY REVIEW: JSPH

Creator: Abby Howard
Webcomic Link: JSPH

Summary: JSPH (which apparently stands for Junior Scientist Power Hour) is a collection of comic strips by Abby Howard that usually tend towards humor, but sometimes include thoughts of more serious topics (though also mostly humorous). The styling of JSPH is very simple, black and white are with cartoon-ish expressions and proportions. The humor itself leans on the random, unexpected, or the dark.

Story: While JSPH does not have a story, per se, it does follow many of the creator’s real life adventures and observations. It touches on everything from apartment hunting to cats to digging for dinosaur bones (multiple times); and manages to add a fun, semi-serious air about it all. There is a great blend of strange, dark madness that peppers relatable scenarios, and recurring gags that feel like in-jokes to those reading through.

Art:Â The art in JSPH changes a bit between the beginning and the end, and definitely does so for the better. (That said, the illustration is not “bad” at any point during the series.) The characters are highly expressive for having such simple designs, and Ms. Howard seems to excel at proving less can be more when it comes to comics. She certainly isn’t breaking the mold when it comes to panel layouts in JSPH, but for a comedic strip that isn’t necessary. Scenes are understandable, jokes are paced well, and it all flows nicely.

Conclusion: If you like funny things, you should read this! Normally, here I’d mention the types of friends I’d recommend this comic to, but I already do spam my friends with scenes and pages from this website all of the time. If you or someone you know enjoys things such as Cyanide and Happiness, or Cards Against Humanity, then this is something to give read.

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]