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« on: September 27, 2011, 10:07:01 am »
Ok, I started reading Flipside a week ago and finished all of Book 0 and Book 1 up to (not including) Chapter 30. Also found all the hidden content on the site - great stuff.
I'll probably try to read a chapter at a time as they come out, because I find even Questionable Content with it's daily releases are very slow on a day by day basis and from what I've seen of Flipside it might take a week or so to get through one fight scene. This isn't really a criticism because the final result is excellent and drawing 20 strips a day of any quality would be impossible.
So my criticisms:
First: I read book 0 when it was mentioned in the first intermission and found it very important to understanding the characters in the beginning of Book 1. Not to mention a great story arc with Moss and Regina. With that said I think you're doing a disservice to new readers by recommending they skip it.
The first few pages with Britannus are a bit weak and hard to follow for a new comer, but if they were redone or touched up I think it would be a better than telling people to skip the book entirely.
Second:
The notebook section of your site is very broken and sparse. There are 404s for Brittanus, Lucient, Regina, and Seraph, and no Book 1 characters. It may be best to remove that link from the main page entirely.
Third:
Perhaps related to the first point; some scenes from Book 1 seem to be little more than copies of Book 0. For example Maytag being eaten by Bloody Mary was a little too similar to where she was tortured by Moss pretty much the same result. I understand this is an aspect of Maytag's character that is likely to come up in such a hostile world but at least the torturers reactions could have been different since Mary and Moss are different people. Also for some reason it seemed a little more believable the first time.
Perhaps this is dealt with more in Ch. 30 (haven't read), or covered to death by other forum members, but Maytag's relationship with Bernadette annoyed me when it was suddenly introduced and every time it was referenced from then until the truth ring. It still bugs me somewhat - seems outside of Maytag's character to have not been more forthright and she never really seemed to be in love before that moment but now it's brought up all the time. Isn't she smart enough to know that Bernadette didn't become a knight for herself not for Maytag; and Maytag shouldn't not be herself for Bernadette. I think on this last point I'm suppose to be somewhat disgusted so that's probably an accolade rather than a critique. Still - bugged me.
Ok this is the first time I've written anything here and all I did was complain. Seems like a jerk thing to do when I'm actually a fan and have tried to get my wife to start reading it. I like the morality, ethics, and philosophy you're not afraid to bring in. Your characters are for the most part interesting and well thought out. The artwork is above par, and I am grateful that you haven't turned it into a wall of text. Wonderful comic.
Enjoy.