Under the Net with Jake Estrada
Backwood Folk
Welcome to the 13th edition of Under the Net.
I will be rating the elements of the book on a scale of one through five.
One is poor, two is mediocre, three is fair, four is good, and five is excellent.
Hello everyone, hopefully everyone is doing well. Well, I am back on the well with the web comics that are being produced out there by all types of creators. If you don’t know this by now, I love comics and all their forms from the printed form to the digital form. You can’t discount any comic whether it is in color or black and white. Even some stick figure comics hold value. It all depends on the type of story you are trying to tell.
The recent web comic I am looking into is called Backwood Folk. It is set in a small town called Po’Dunk Arkansas, and it is about a bunch of folk that come in and out of the comic with the main character returning to the town of his birth after living in the big city for a decade. Of course, when you look at this premise, you think of rednecks and other types of hicks, but what you get here is a fun adventure that has very human qualities that all people have.
The comic is written and drawn by Gustav Carlson, and he has been very committed to the comic thus far. J
The Art
The art takes me back to some classic art, and the colors are lush and very simple. I love the fact that it has a feeling that it has been done in water color. I know I was taken aback and I enjoyed the art very much. Some could complain that it was not very realistic, but that was not a problem because it fit very well with this comic and its tone. I think this made it a much easier read on me because it was not constrained to be littered with realism.
ART: 4 STARS
The Writing
I like how Benedict comes back to his grandparents’ land and tries to make sense of his life, and how the story places out. The story gives the characters a sense of character, and they have great qualities about them. What makes the story good to me is that every person out there has a tale to tell about how they want to leave and make their own lives, but something happens that forces them to come back and be cast back under this great shadow of doubt. Well, the story feels like a coming of age tale. It’s a story where someone wanted to move on, but his past kept pulling him back. This works well and I enjoyed it.
WRITING: 4 STARS
Originality
What I particularly liked about this comic was the fact it was about a small and about these folks that most people would just write off, but this is real life. There are all sorts of people, and everyone isn’t some person in a suit, and it covers a genre that is hardly ever presented in modern comics, and I love it for that. It is original and it is upbeat and, for the most part, it is a fun web comic.
ORIGINALITY: 5 STARS
The Pros
I love the art; I love the images on the page. It makes the story flow and go by very fast. I think it is fun, and most of all, I love the coloring job. In a day where most colors in comics are muted, muddy, and with art so rendered that it takes away from the entire comic, this comic takes me back to a time when all art wasn’t the same, and this has that breath of freshness and excitement and, like I said, it works well with the comic. J
The Cons
I have only one issue was the text, at times it was very hard to read. My eyes would actually hurt after a while since the type font was very stylized. If Gustav went with a clearer font that wasn’t so abusive to one’s eye, it would be great. After a while that font drove me crazy as I read the book. I know plenty of people are put off by weird font and won’t read it. We are talking about lazy comic types out there. I could see a major distributor losing its mind on the type font.
My Final Word
If you want a comic that has a feeling of classic TV, good wholesome fun, and takes you back to the time of the Beverley Hillbillies; this is the comic for you. The comic is fun, and you should check it out here:
The web comic updates weekly on Tuesday and Thursdays, so check it out folks.
Enjoy folks!
Jake Estrada
Email me at estradajake@yahoo.com for website suggestions. Thanks.
Jake Estrada is a published author who holds degrees in Multimedia Design and Criminal Justice. He is a father to three wonderful children and married to his beautiful wife, Beth. You can find his comics at http://graphicly.com/estrada-mediaand other fine online stores.
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