Webcomics in Print - Issue 1: Issue Harder

Greetings Internet and welcome back. I am now freed from the burden of online class, while my on ground classes continue, but the lack of a highly quickened pair of work intensive classes is appreciated, especially as I continue my job working in the grease soaked empire of the world.
Yet, money brings the ability to make purchases and so I raise up a collection of 4 printed books currently in my possession.
Also for sake of being awesome, I have included links to where you may purchase the books.

Perry Bible Fellowship: The Trial of Colonel Sweeto and Other Stories by Nick Gruewitch
This book I literally stumbled upon about 4 years or so ago in the local comic shop and subsequently purchased. The print is high quality and the colors are bright. It even has a ribbon for saving your place which, while not necessary is still appreciated. I enjoyed using it to share favorite comics at a moments notice.
The bone I might have to pick with the book though is that there is not much extra included. There are 9 "bonus" comics, three or so of which were on the site and those are the only ones that are actually commented on. The main bonus seems having all of the comics printed out but even then, some strips are missing and it leaves an odd feeling of detachment. Then again, Gruewitch mostly stopped updating soon after and then released another larger collect including a lot more so, make of that what you will. B
Fun fact: This book is currently out of print so yeah, collectors item! Also Andrew Hussie is mentioned in the comments.

Shortpacked! & Roomies!: Brings Back The Eighties, Pulls the Drama Tag & How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Beer
To start off, I purchased Roomies! first through preorder and ended up waiting about 4 months to get the book. It is marked book 3/200 so suck it David Willis collectors because I am slightly more awesome than you. I also preordered the upcoming Shortpacked book (Shortpacked Is Totally Gay!) as well. I think I am month 3 or so of waiting for that.
Roomies! (How I Learned to . . .) itself is the collection of David Willis first year of his first comic published in the college paper. As such the art quality is a bit lacking as it is all black and white. The book does include additional bonus comics made for the series and also strips for a syndicated paper version which are better done. Willis also includes comments on a majority of strips that are occasionally funnier that the strips themselves along with commentary.
The downsides of the book lie in the fact that the art is dated with some comics looking chicken-scratch-esqe. While there is a benefit to the original art, he improved afterwards so reworking might have been nice as Jeph Jacques and Dave Shabet are doing reworks for their webcomic collections (though Jacques is waiting to finish the book before preorders). The other complaint is that the pages are glossy. With black and white print it feels weird since under strange lighting conditions it can make reading annoying. This may sound weird but I'd prefer cheaper normal stock paper, it worked for my Calvin and Hobbes collections.
Shortpacked! which started off black and white and then transferred into color meanwhile was dealt with a bit more tactfully with pages having been recolored. Willis still inserts commentary, bonus character intros and bonus comics though so you can feel like you are getting your money's worth.
The Shortpacked books also have shiny stock paper but the color makes it more reasonable, which sounds weird.
My question is though, why might I want to spend the money on the books. With PBF, the art is beautifully rendered and so you can't really survive without the art. Willis' work is well done but having a collection of it seems more like financial support, which is fine). Just an idle thought. B+
Fun fact: The first book is being released with a new better cover. Get on that. Just like how I got on your mom.

Gastrophobia: The 12 Trials of Gasrophobia by David McGuire
I enjoy Gastrophobia for some unexplainable reason, see my review of it. The book I love slightly less. McGuire took a risk to do 2 color printing (black and orange) and some chapters it works exceedingly well since the other comic was similarly done. On the chapter For Heifer in my Heart though, which is rendered in single color sepia style tones originally, the comic is almost unreadable in the book making the chapter a struggle to look at. Not to offend but it seems like there might have been a lack of planning somewhat. Additionally the book offers little extra for the reader, aside from an index (actual toted feature) and a new comic on the back panel. For the price ($12) it isn't bad but considering the other books inclusions it seems lazy. C
Fun fact: David McGuire is some kind of cyborg, most likely. Just saying.

MS Paint Adventures: Problem Sleuth Book One: Compensation, Adequate by Andrew Hussie
I have mad love for Problem Sleuth and MSPA in general. The book only amplifies the love by making it something I actually would love to bring along with me.
For those unfamiliar, Problem Sleuth (and MSPA) is a comic set up like the old text based adventure games. I have met at least 4 people though who could not figure out how to read it. The book is for them. I have several images I love from the comic that I'd love to have on hand (since my laptop is not really portable anymore). The book is for me.
Hussie crammed the book with commentary, a fancy introduction (with one misspelling), additional art and amazingly made a comic that features a lot of animated pages INTERESTING. I cannot see him doing this easily with Homestuck but then, I never though a MSPA book would work. The pages are easy to read and the product is classy. The pages are even glossy without being overly glossy like Roomies! (as the book is mostly black and white).
My complaint with the book though is that it slightly spoils or hints at things which may harm people unfamiliar with the series but I cannot say that most people unfamiliar would give it a shot unlike the Perry Bible Fellowship book which is a shame. A+
Fun fact: I got this in my package. This book has too many prices and values!

BONUS FEATURES:
On a note about preordering while still in production - have an estimate of when you are going to finish the comic or have it ready. I ordered the Dead Winter book without knowing a lot of the art is being redone and mistakingly ordered a copy as a birthday gift. That was about 3 months ago though it is partially my fault. I still look forward to the book.

Also if you strangely feel obligated to have a print copy of your book you would like me to review that you are willing to send for free, I would not be opposed to it.

If you are going to make a book though, put in comments, put in bonus features, put in additional art. They can always read your comic for free online so why publish it without doing that? Giving you money is/should not an adequate reason.

I have also looked through Gunnerkrigg Court Vol 1 and Hark! A Vagrant and used both as gifts. I don't have them on hand but if I recalled, GC lacked bonus features and Hark! had commentary.

NaNoWriMo Break

So, the NaNoWriMo is going well. I'm currently at about ten thousand words and I can probably drop a couple thousand more tonight cause tonight is all right to write.

I've added .... 6 webcomics (8 if you want to be technical) since the last review so its a super jam packed review tonight. Plus you get two from people who apparently watch me on Twitter. Why? I have no idea.

First off:

Brawl in the Family by Matthew Taranto
Normally I don't like video game comics with my levels of hate for them eventually reaching epic levels like the time I dropped Dueling Analogues mid post. Good times, good times. It takes a special kind of gaming comic to hold my attention and to make me laugh. Brawl in the Family is one of those comics. Simplistic art with characters mainly drawn from the Kirby series (with a few other Nintendo stars) combined with classic gags makes Brawl in the family similar to those comics you and your friends (or at least me and my friends) used to draw all the time. Quick, funny and something that you'd think would probably not do well on the Internet. Still, this comic has kicked that level of writing up sew notches making your average gaming comic with a heavy dash of XKCD. Frankly the comic is one of my top ones to read and I think we as readers can expect a good future from it. The downside though is the art which could be better but on the other hand adds a level of charm to it with its flaws making it better than the copy pasta work of CAD. I'm going to have give it an A-.

Eegra by Patrick Alexander
Back when I originally saw the comic on forums, I thought KC Green was doing a secret project. Then I ran blindly to the actual site and saw the Black Monolith (like in 2001: A Space Odyssey) of a webcomic that Patrick Alexander has created. A revolving cast of misanthropic beasts that should have never seen the light of day illustrated by hands that have probably dealt with large amounts of drug money create a comic that scares me, disgusts me and brings me back for more. To call it a gaming comic would be like calling... Menage a 3 a gaming comic, except that this actually has gaming references. References that tear the soul of a man and make him hide from sleep. Frankly I fear giving it a review as if it were some book from a Lovecraftian horror story that would make me go insane so I will end by saying simply, read it, fear it but overall enjoy it. It gets an A.

The Gun Show by KC Green
Its KC Green. Seriously. Just read it. This and Birdworld. I'm not giving full reviews of them because my love for him is too powerful now for a nonbiased review.

Kukuburi by Ramon Perez (add accent marks where necessary.)
Remember Dresden Codak? The prentious comic that I loved so much for its art? Imagine that but with a bigger fantasy world, better art and a storyline that you don't have to be a jerk to understand. Welcome to the world of Kukuburi, a world where the imagination comes alive and... It's like I'm describing a animated film. Frankly, you just should read the comic already. It's fault is one that is reasonable being that it only updates once a week driving some associates of mine away. The fault being reasonable because the author/illustrator is a professional artist. Give the comic a shot and read through the archives, then wait a few months for it to build its archive back up with new comics and you will not be sorry. An A+ is well earned here.

Roomies!/It's Walky!/ Joyce and Walky! - David Willis
The three part continuing epic of David Willis, guy who does Shortpacked! is not something to be triffled with. With an archive beginning in '97 and leading up to an update every Saturday with Joyce and Walky!, the story will do your mom and pay her a nickle cause she's cheap that way. Roomies! is the weakest of the three stories starting as a generic college comic with some sci-fi moments. It does a good enough job establishing the characters that you see throughout and it has its moments but it never really becomes ungeneric. It's Walky on the other hand takes you by the balls to the bathroom where it shows you some pretty awesome shit. I mean really. Sure the comic can be seen as something filled with Mary-Sue and Marty-Stu characters but I really didn't care. Walky and Mike are amazing enough to power it through its storyline ending with an epic climax fitting the series and leading into Joyce and Walky!. Joyce and Walky! earned every right to be a gag strip. It did some serious shit (seriously, you should go look at it) and its kicking back now with an occassional break for some story development but in many ways, its a second wheel to Shortpacked! which is all right. It also apparently has some monthly subscription thing showing the Willis is only in the business for the money (actually its a good deal, gotta try it out). Frankly, the comic is shit loads long, took me about 12 computer restarts with my bandwidth limits at college and about 10 hours of reading but it was worth it. David Willis, I salute you. It earns a B-/A/A.

The Non-Adventures of Wonderella by Justin Pierce
Frankly, I don't get the hype of the comic which disappoints me. Almost every comic I read has a link to this somewhere, maybe 60% of the ones I'd say. Maybe I've grown tired of the long format webcomics. Maybe the art doesn't do anything except remind me of early Scary-Go-Round art. Maybe the writing just tries to hard. It's made me guffaw once or twice but I don't really get the deal. Blah blah blah superhero with problems, wacky situations. I have no idea why but it does nothing for me. I'll leave it up though. It's on notice. B-

And now because I have people watching me on Twitter, they have opened up the torrent of reviews that lie within me. Fun fact: I watch people on Twitter whose comics I don't read. I'm looking at you Lesnick!

Sticky Figgers by Beau Watson
Now I might understand that through my correspondence with Slackerz, an association of sorts between fans might occur. This is my only reasonable explanation for this association.
Sticky Figgers tries to be XKCD except even less artistic. With XKCD you get the feeling that Randall Munroe actually understands art and just goes for the minimalist style. With Sticky Figgers, this is far from the case. Its essentially stick figures done for shits and giggles and I see as I am writing that there are high levels of hate flowing through me. I made it through about 20 or so comics before my headache began and my Chinese food was getting cold. I ended there with the conclusion that this was yet another person hoping to climb aboard the train of fame that XKCD rides up. Frankly the art is...crap. It shows little or no effort to it. It's like, "My heroes of the internet do stick figures and so can I!" This is only true when and only when you have the writing to back it up. Maybe this comic isn't for the reviewers. Maybe it's just for a bunch of friends. I don't know. All I do know is the comic needs to learn they are not XKCD, learn to draw by hand. Seriously, I don't care if you have a Wacom pad and Illustrator. If you use it like MS Paint, you might as well save money. It earns a D+ only due to the fact that it may suddenly pick up after where I quit reading.
THIS IS WHY I HAVE HELD OFF REVIEWING COMICS I DON'T LIKE SMITH!

Fantasy Story by Ming
What I like about this comic is that he confesses that he is still learning and that he doesn't over inflate his ego. The comic is essentially him learning to comic which I am fine with. The art has potential though I am not sure if he is solely restricted to his current style or not. The writing seems to be his biggest downfall with characters that I know nothing about and that I don't want to learn about. Frankly he could use a writer to make his characters say more than essentially "Hi (insert noun) I am going to (location)." So yeah, he needs to work on writing. Luckily the Internet has tons of writers willing to write. I'll check up on this every once in a while though so it's got my attention at least that far.

Currently I'm busy doing NaNoWriMo so talk to you later.