I've turned around on Downer

[buzz]

He's a good artist, just not a very good storyteller (visually or othewise).

I'd basically agree, though it's really his pacing. I think Kyle comes up with amazing ideas, character concepts, and artwork; I love Downer's world. But he just crams too much plot and characters into too little space... and does it every single month.

Erik once compared Downer to Wormy, which I think is not too off-base (though Wormy was obviously far, far better). Thing is, Trampier knew how to take his time when necessary; there were whole strips that were near-wordless descriptions of quiet, quirky moments.

Still, Downer has grown on me.

 

[Shemeska]

That it has Slaadi/Modron love, so to speak, is just a bonus I suppose

I really like the art style, but it did take me a few strips to really get a sense of what was going on (because I didn't subscribe to Dungeon till rather far into Downer's storyline). However since I've gone back and read the earlier material, I really like it.

It's a keeper.

 

[MoogleEmpMog]

I like Downer's art and love the concepts involved. If it were either a full-fledged comic book (which would give it more space to tell its story) or a non-story-based dry humor strip (which would remove the need to tell a story), I'd probably like it a lot. However, the actual storytelling, in the format it appears in, is just incomprehensible.

It seems like Downer was faced with a problem similar to that of Girl Genius and Megatokyo - far more story density than its format lent itself to.

GG and Megatokyo committed to plugging away at slow storylines in a thrice-weekly webcomic format and come off as painstakingly slow when read that way - but very entertaining when collected into the (comic and manga, respectively) formats they belong in. The trouble with this is they're slow and either frustrating or boring if read in 'real time.'

Downer went with the rapid-fire, disjointed, jumping around and hope the reader can puzzle out what's going on and now and then throw in some kind of character development or a witty line or a cool scene and isn't this breathless breakneck incomprehensible... ahem. You get the idea. The trouble with this is, even collected, it has all the same problems it has in installments.

Still, it's gotten better over time.

 

[Bagpuss]

On their own, I hated Downer. But now that I sat down and read them in order... I'm dying to get the next one.

Hmm I might have to try that to give it a second chance, which issue does it start in?

 

[BryonD]

Blank pages for note taking would be more value added to Dungeon for me.
But, if they can keep putting themselves two pages in the hole and get enough value in the rest to keep me buying, then whatever.

 

[maggot]

You know, I had forgotten it was in Dragon. I'm a subscriber, and I found it so incomprehensible and so lacking in entertainment, that I skip over it like an ad. I hadn't considered reading from the beginning in one swoop. I second the call for the starting issue.

 

[KB9JMQ]

Blank pages for note taking would be more value added to Dungeon for me.
But, if they can keep putting themselves two pages in the hole and get enough value in the rest to keep me buying, then whatever.

I agree. I wish the pages were perforated so I could immediately take it out.

 

[Lonely Tylenol]

I agree. I wish the pages were perforated so I could immediately take it out.

Because that would accomplish...what? Saving you on lifting an extra gram or two every time you leafed through the magazine? Reduce the integrity of the first two pages of the magazine to the point where after a few months of handling, they fall out? The cathartic release of disposing of something that is, at its worst, something you might not care to go looking for at the back of the magazine?

 

[diaglo]

I agree. I wish the pages were perforated so I could immediately take it out.

cool idea. but i'd maybe make them into ad pages. so they could reduce the cost of Dungeon.

 

[Drowbane]

Downer makes Drow alomst OK again...

the Drow community refuses to recognize Downer as one of thier own...