Webcomics Highlight: Evil Diva
Is the world too bight and cheery? Is all this “good” getting your down? Well you need a little more “evil” in your life. Then for starters you should check out the Evil Diva comic.
Well guess I can’t fool you. This comic is really a lighthearted look at the hijinks and challenges faced by Diva Beezle as she tries to balance being born a devil with a unique desire to be good.
Her world is populated with Devils and Angels, but don’t let the halos lull you into a false sense of security … not all things are as they seem. But you probably saw that coming. So while the over all concept is not exceedingly new, so what separates this comic from the others. The answer is style.
The artist, Brinson Thieme, is really excellent and makes the characters accessible. Her style has a wonderfully “animation” look. The thoughtful layout and excellent use of colors really make each page a joy to read. She also gives the panels a lot of life that makes them a fresh breeze of awesome. The images to tell as much of the story as the text does. And don’t let the copious amounts of “cute” or the color pink dissuade you from reading, There is an equally good story and even more than that really love-able characters, I have a soft spot in my silicon heart for Michelle.
The FAQ didn’t clearly state who the lead writer is, but I suspect it’s Peter Menotti, who is the originator of the characters. Nevertheless the writing works really well and like all good writing should I brings out the character qualities that make the visuals really sing.
I always look forward to getting in front of my screen on Mondays in no small part because I know the Evil Diva team will have brought me something to make me smile, even if it’s just the vote incentive. So all together, excellent visuals and smart writing and you got yer-self a great comic!
But you don’t need to take my word for it. (Yes gleefully stolen from Reading Rainbow)
- edit 11/24/2009 -
I e-mailed the creative team of Evil Diva, and they clarified how the writing gets done.
Story writing for ED is a joint effort between Pete, Brinson and myself [Joe Cashman]. We meet at our favorite burger joint before each issue to hash out new story ideas, then I write the first script draft. We meet again after that to discuss refinements, then I revise the script and turn it over to Brinson who storyboards everything out, then draws up the final pages, editing the dialogue if necessary as she goes.
Thank you for the info Joe.
This is one more reason why I love the web as a medium for comics. We can actually interact with the people who make them *directly*!