WEBCOMIC WEDNESDAY REVIEW: The Cinderella

Writer and Letterer – Toben Racicot
Artist(s) – Alaire Bowen,Â Beth Aucoin,Â Devin Quigley,Â Kris Nielson &Â Naoki Akasaka
Webcomic Link: The Cinderella
Publisher: Sweet Pork Comics

Summary: The Cinderella is a black and white comic (accented by little bits of a lovely shade of blue-green) that touches on ideas of responsibility, youth, and death. It follows a cast of characters, but centers around Phillip Wright, an elderly man who has successfully funded a formula to return him to his young, lively past. While he is enjoying his first twenty four hours of freedom from aging, the formula is stolen from his laboratories by a sinister presence. What’s more, Phillip soon realizes that the formula wears off quickly, returning him immediately to his aged self. Other stories are slowly woven in, tales others who could benefit from the technology. Good and evil applications abound, and Phillip realizes that he has a duty, as the man who designed this future, to ensure that it is used for the good.

Story: Thus-far, The Cinderella’s story is a solid one. It is a think piece regarding many issues that have been touched on before, though usually not from the same point of view. The narration within the story is profound and very enjoyable. The tone and wording truly evoke a philosophical feel. There are portions where it is hard to follow, from one page to the next, exactly what is happening. For instance, I was under the impression for some time that Phillip, the protagonist, had executed his own scientist after the formula was finished. A little more care to ensure that the reader understands as well as the writer what is happening would be beneficial. There was also a cliche moment or two within the story, mostly centering around the “villains,” but nothing too offensive.

Art: The Art in The Cinderella is difficult to address, primarily because there are multiple artists. The overall feel of the comic, with the sketchy black and white style and the greenish accents, is very pleasing and fitting (that color is literally my new favorite; thanks guys). However the quality of the drawings themselves range from acceptable to solidly above average. The change is stark and jarring, evoking entirely different things between artists. One thing that I can say is that each artist, across the board, seems to struggle a bit with dynamically posing individuals. Though, the nature of the story doesn’t call for this very often.

Conclusion: This webcomic is as frustrating as it is enjoyable. If the initial artist and the same quality of storytelling remained all the way through the title so far, then it would easily have a higher grade. However it does not. It seems to bounce around frequently and that brings the overall quality down a bit. It’s still worth a read, especially if you enjoy more somber, narrative work.

Another thing that I would like to touch on before I go, is my growing disdain for how difficult it always seems to be to find information about creators on Taptastic. I have no idea who Racicot or Bowen are, who contributed what to the work, if that list is even complete considering the multiple artists, or how to find any other comics that they might have made. Creators and publishers are doing themselves a disservice by not absolutely shoving this information into the reader’s face.

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