UKMANGAXL archive Jan 2006 - 2007

by **Wayne** » Sun Oct 19, 2008 12:16 am

Cin 4 1140016904 Hiya, This looks like a interesting website so I'll be sure to check back on it from time to time

by **Wayne** » Sun Oct 19, 2008 12:36 am

Azure 19 1144778206 I prefer that artists draw in the way that is most natural to them, and that's largely in the direction their first language is in. I don't like Japanese manga being flipped as I'm directly opposed to pointless edits.

Orry 'cos thats my name 22 1145730578 HI my first post Yay, like the site although i ain't done any manga drawings in like 3 years (all i ever did @ high school). anyway my fave music is maily any Rock but i will listen to anyother genre as it don't really bother me. i'd rather listen to music live, it's got an atmosphere about it which is unbelievable. and i've seen more band than i dare count including Foo Fighter, the Pixies, Iron Maiden and the feeling. i currently have tickets for Leeds Fest which i can't wait for, and Tickets for v festival which i don't really want to goto now

still think waynes sisters Hot, but hey nothing wtrong wi compliments LOL hi

maybe i'll shut up now LOL Luv Ya All! Orry

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 1145732875 Now where did you come from?;) Come to think of it i have a fair idea. Must be one of jessies mates. Random. Anyway welcome to the forums. They are quite specialist, that is most of the discussions here are about manga, more specificly manga created by lads & lasses from the UK. This site reviews their work. If you're interested in looking there are plenty of UK manga titles and discussions to be found here Manga peeps from Yorkshire are rare but i suppose there are some to be found everywhere. Make yourself at home.

Orry 'cos thats my name 22 1145799929 well this isn't my site but i think it's worth a plug, as it has some real good tutorials on drawing manga art, which i found really useful many years ago. http://www.polykarbon.com and god dam hosting always sucks where ever you get it from;

servers going down
uninstall all the php software so every1 can see your hard writen coding LOL
delete your account then emailing you saying sorry we deleted the wrong one
limit the number of files you can upload via ftp <-- didn't know that was possible ??
saying their not doing hosting anymore and changing their business plan
then a month later they are doing hosting again but a few other stuff aswell

well thats my personal problems but some might be good ???

Orry 'cos thats my name 22 1145802966 i so wish i could draw the hair aswell as that it was my only problem i had, i could draw the perfect head but i had to make every one bald cos i couldn't get the hair right :C LOL and shorties 2 samples are so good,

Orry 'cos thats my name 22 1145813077 Yeah i am one of jesses mates, well i think i aM ??? LOL [INDENT]well mainly we just see each other in batley from time-to-time, ooooo and asda

LOL[/INDENT] i kinda get the feeling she don't wanna talk to me any other time then when we are out LOL or well thats life i suppose ??? Orry

Missino 11 1145825604 Welcome, Orry!:)

Missino 11 1145914369 Whilst talking of music... Some quick pics of me and my Electric guitar!lol

Orry 'cos thats my name 22 1145959719 might put on some pics of me and my didgeridoo ??? it is sooo sweet. (pics to go here, watch this space LOL)

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 1146020529 I can't say i know too many peeps who play one of them.

Still, i'd be glad to see it.

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 Sunshine Bully 1146021239 Sunshine Bully Introduction Sunshine Bully is a small comic created by Laura Watton, because ?life smells sometimes?. Life is always an inspiration when producing comics and this one targets the one thing that can either smell good or bad depending on the way its going. Love is the theme of this little comic, and love can smell particularly bad sometimes especially if it doesn?t go right. Our protagonist Amanda learns this the hard way. If anything it explores the reasons that love sometimes turns sour. Whether one of the protagonists asks too much of the other, or because of a failure of understanding. Art & Design This is a small comic, of A6 size, so there?s no room for more than a couple of frames per page. That being said though every frame counts and the point of this little story comes across easy enough. The quality of the art is about average for Laura, things aren?t perfect but they are good enough. There are numerous mistakes with anatomy, such as the scale of hands in comparison to faces, and in some cases the hands may look a little strange. The line art however is fairly good though, and is quite varied. The use of screen tone is good also and helps convey emotion and create mood quite well. Overall it?s a short comic and it does all it needs to in order to tell the story. The art isn?t the finest the creator could bring to these pages but it does the job adequately enough. __________________________________________________ __________ Story and art by: Laura Watton Review by: Wayne Hallows
B14CK PH0?N!X 1 Falling Short 1146022731 Falling Short Introduction Falling short is a small anthology of four short stories, each between 8 and 11 pages long. These stories were written by Keds, Fahed Said and Dr. Bob. The stories themselves range from mildly amusing to bizarre, the first story fits well with that category. Bliss Fahed Said is the creator of this story, and it fits his typical kind of story telling, with violent emo?s and plenty of blood all round. Our protagonist is the violent emo in this. He?s fairly quiet with a big overcoat and voices in his head. He hates the sound of human beings, and kills all the passengers on the tube train he is on, all except for a baby, an old man at the end who is spared also for some unknown reason suggests that if he despises the sound of humans he should get ear plugs! New Dress This little story is by Keds himself the person responsible for all the art in this anthology. It?s about a guy in Hong Kong full of hookers, who meets a poor but pretty girl back in his past there. This girl is kind of shy and it takes him a while but they go out but then he goes back to America. But on his way back he notices that his girl was probably a hooker also? The Cull A story by Amanda Keer. This is a werewolf story I?ll say no more! Isis This story is based on lyrics by Bob Dylan. I probably missed the point of this little story somewhere along the lines but the bit at the end is bound to amuse. Art & Design Keds or Alister Kelman produced all of the artwork within this anthology. The backgrounds are very good. Every frame almost has a detailed background, and everything from buildings to vehicles are very well drawn indeed. There is also a good use of speed lines to convey motion and action. Background management techniques for conveying emotion are hardly ever used however. The characters themselves though aren?t as good as the backgrounds though. There are plenty of occasions where anatomy could be better such as with hands and feet. That being said though characters bodies don?t look bad at all and faces are nice enough to look at. The panel layouts for the frames are ok, and they are all purposeful and help to tell the story. They are however a little square, and there?s not much variety in the shape. They would have been far more interesting if they were less linear. Overall, it?s not a bad little anthology, and there are some interesting moments, and some amusing moments. There are also some excellent backgrounds to look at. With some dynamic frame layouts and some improvements to anatomy things would look much brighter though. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Stories by: Alister Kelman, Dr.Bob, Amanda Keer, and Fehed Said. Art by: Alister Kelman (Keds) Review by: Wayne Hallows.

Orry 'cos thats my name 22 1146059938 This is my didgeridoo

[/url] it just a basic thing but it does its job. haha - basic - all it is, is an amplifier of what my moth is doing.
Missino 11 1146079684 Hey nice! I like it!:cool:

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 1146089957 Its quite a small one, it's a nice looking instrument though. I always imagined them to be huge great things, at least from the few other digeridoo's i've seen.

Orry 'cos thats my name 22 1146090624 their normally 1 1/2 to 2 meters normally so mines about the average size of a didge' not really an instrument. it was originally used as a form of communication between the arabiginees of australiato amplifiy the sounds they made with their lips, but now it is used as an instrument(more in western society) to make sounds of animals such as kangaroos, birds and many others, these animal noises where used to tell other hunters that were out where to find certain animal. or soming like that

Cheers Orry

xan 2 See you at Bristol! 1146821682 Well, with just over a week to go till Bristol Expo, I thought I would leave a message .... for those of you who are going, I hope I can see you there, and those who are not going, Why Not??? But anyway, whatever you are doing for the weekend, have fun(I know I will) and hopefully, see you there!

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 1146833497 I haven't decided wether to go there or not yet. To be honest though it's too much money for me to combine with London. My wages are shit, and to enjoy such an event properly you need to be there the whole weekend which i can't afford, hotels cost too much. It's the only problem living so far away from these things. One event can swallow as much as 3 weeks wages at once. Ayacon last year did anyway. Expo usually costs me 2 weeks wages. That sheffield meet last week scoffed about ?120 nearly a whole weeks wage. Its train fares and or hotels that make these things so expensive.

by **Wayne** » Sun Oct 19, 2008 12:38 am

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 Angel League Issue 2 1142795711 Angel League #2 Introduction Angel League is about 3 guys who were killed whilst trying to save the world from something. One minute they are being torn apart by something, the next they are dead with some strange fellow who seems to know everything about them. This fellow known only as the ?guide dude? is their guide in the afterlife and the person responsible for taking them to the location where their eternal fate will be decided called the Central Port. Our heroes are called; Mark Green, a brash angsty little fellow, Shannon Mintaka, a far more pleasant and intelligent person, and Reik Kendal a friendly and fair fellow, who has all the conscience and compassion of the three. This issue of Angel League follows straight on from the action of the last issue. There are monsters in heaven, and it?s up to the elite troops of the Angel League to sort them out. But instead they get frozen and Shannon Mintaka deals with this threat himself. Could Shannon have a secret past? How else could he possess such abilities? We leave you the reader to find out. The other two, Mark and Reik seem to have a past too although as yet their pasts are still unclear. Once the monster threat is deal with it?s off to the admissions desk. Mark cunningly pushed his way forward as the monster dispersed the crowds; much to Reiks dismay. More ethical wrangling between the two ensure plenty of laughs along the way. Once they get in its time for a test, assumably to asses their past lives and where they belong in the afterlife. Neither of the two seem to be thrilled by the prospect. Overall this issue only inches forwards story-wise, but it?s still very amusing. If anything it helps us get to know the characters better, and the where, why and how of things. There are still a few questions though. As before, what were our heroes saving the world from, and a few other details about certain characters, like Reik and Mark. I would also like to know how such an unlikely bunch met in the first place. Art & Design The artwork is even better than last time. Anatomy is still good, backgrounds are good. The biggest improvement this issue is the toning. No longer are there pages filled with coarse dot tone, everything is much lighter and everything in regards to toning is just so much better than it was. Frames are still detailed though, it?s just that the toning has been improved and that makes a vast difference to the look of the pages. All the improvements make what was already a good comic even better, because now not only do you have good line art but also good toning to complement it. Sure the coarse dotties do come out from time to time, but in this issue they are used only when necessary so it?s not so bad. The action scenes in this comic are also very good. We have swooping monsters, raging fireballs, and explosions; and they all look rather good. Speed lines help convey a sense of movement and some great poses make for some intense action. The panel layouts are also as good as before, and events flow forward as they should without the reader having to stop to figure out where they are. Again as before they are just as varied and interesting as before, as well as being easy to follow. Overall then it?s another fine comic from Makenai, good artwork combined with much improved toning make for a comic which is easy on the eye. Decent panel layouts ensure a smooth read and a story which will make you laugh and is easy to understand. It?s really great stuff. __________________________________________________ __________ Story and art by: Helen Smith & Scott Edwart Review by: Wayne Hallows

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 Reluctant Soldier Princess Nami #1 1142796652 Reluctant Solider Princess Nami #2 Introduction Reluctant Solider Princess Nami is a teenager like so many others. A lazy collage bum who lounges in her room smoking cigarettes and playing computer games all day. I?ve been there and done that so I can appreciate the humour of this. Ah those were the days?.. Magical girls are usually pretty, helpful, teachers pets, and nice well brought up, healthy girls that you could take home to meet your granny. Not Nami. Anyway typical sloppy teenager, sat with fag in gob playing games. Mum comes in and makes her tidy up her pit. Then in the trash she discovers some creepy talking cat thing which she sparks clean out on the floor. Later it explains to her the terrible situation the world is in from this evil being named Zurlina. This issue is short, very short in fact being only 6 pages long, so the story doesn?t unfold much in that space. But for those 6 pages it?s pretty funny. It certainly amused me. I can?t wait for the big volume. Art & Design This Isn?t the finest comic Laura Watton has produced art-wise. Originally it was designed as a one shot comic for a convention, and as such is very much like an ashcom in terms of art quality. It?s certainly not up to the standard of Biomecha, but it?s still a complete comic. It may be rough, but it has all the elements a manga should; varied line art, background management, and screen tone. But despite the roughness it?s not going to make you go yuck! If anything it just blends in the sloppy studentness and makes it seem more real. The standard though seems to improve from page to page, the first page is the roughest of all, but by page 6, frame borders are straight, line art is neater, and characters are shaded nicely. All the text and dialogue is written by hand, and is fairly easy to follow. The frame layout themselves are pretty easy to follow too. Overall I think Laura was just playing when she made this comic, but took it more seriously later, since this story is a series now. Its artistic shortcomings aren?t that bad and things get better as Laura decides to take the story further. Nami is funny though, she ain?t your average magical girl. She?s no Card Captor Sakura or Sailor Moon that?s for sure. She?d eat them alive, or choke them to death on the fag smoke. ____________________________________________________________ Story and art by: Laura Watton Review by: Wayne Hallows

xan 2 Elvenblade.co.uk and UK MANGA XL 1142932714 Welcome to the latest addition to the web, A collaberation between Elvenblade.co.uk and UK MANGA XL. We present a project named Elvenblade Webcomics. With the general site and forums configured by UK MANGA XL, and the comic scripts compiled by Elvenblade there is now an option for free as-less and (nearly)limitless comic hosting! For this there is little or no coding needed for the comics to be displayed, unlike places like Keenspot. How do we do this? We provide the automated script and 2 files. You edit the 2 files(Which contian the Comic Title, Copyright info and the front page) upload the images and you are ready to go. To preview the comics, please go to [url="http://webcomics.elvenblade.co.uk"]Elvenblade Webcomics[/url] and watch our [url="http://webcomics.elvenblade.co.uk/phpbb2"]Forums[/url] for updates. Feel free to PM either Me or B14CK PH0?N!X with questions.

Bex 12 A brillant small press artist from abroud!! ^_^ 1142934285 Shes a good friend of mine and a brillant small press comic artist, originating from the netherlands! check out her stuff! I already have a few of her comics, they are awsome =3 http://www.dreamcgallery.com/

Azure 19 1142951194 Oooh I really enjoyed Phantom armour 1 I totally forgot to keep checking the site for number 2. I ought to order it from her? is her store a normal pay pal type thing? BTW Wayne are you planing on putting up notices on the news section of this site when stuff comes out?

Azure 19 1142951351 That's a cool idea, though wouldn't it be best to merge the two forums? That way you only have to register once and you can also refer people between the two sites. Alsopoints for getting a script like that to work, it took me ages to get mine done for Aveline's Letter

xan 2 1142959589 [QUOTE=Azure]That's a cool idea, though wouldn't it be best to merge the two forums? That way you only have to register once and you can also refer people between the two sites. Alsopoints for getting a script like that to work, it took me ages to get mine done for Aveline's Letter

[/QUOTE] Thanks, although its a Piece done between me and B14CK PH0?N!X, so there are 3 forums, Mine, This one and the Webcomics one, and since they are all focused differently, it may not work too well to merge them. As well as that, it may come into problems with the VBulletin Liscence, sine it is only valid for one useage, im not sure what they would say about running 2 sites using the same liscence ^_^ The script? its run on the same basic configuration as the Random image generator I use on my Homepage, so I had already done alot of the work of declaring variables and getting links into it ^_^

xan 2 1142959708 They are good, I have Phantom Armour 1 and 2, Short!es 1 and 2 and Ocean Dreaming ^_^ all very nicely illustrated and she is obviously good at story-writing and drawing.

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 1142986694 [quote=Azure]Oooh I really enjoyed Phantom armour 1 I totally forgot to keep checking the site for number 2. I ought to order it from her? is her store a normal pay pal type thing? BTW Wayne are you planing on putting up notices on the news section of this site when stuff comes out?[/quote] Erm that depends on what you mean. I could put news of new comics that come out or reviews. Elaborate for me please.

Azure 19 1143030903 I was meaning news of new comics coming out, as reviews can sometimes take some time or if someone doesn't want it reviewed?. Just a little notice or something on the main page. " Bla bla studios has informed me their fantasy comic Blabla-men is out now priced ?2.50 you can find out more on their site." Just a thought.

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 1143032105 [quote=Azure]I was meaning news of new comics coming out, as reviews can sometimes take some time or if someone doesn't want it reviewed?. Just a little notice or something on the main page. " Bla bla studios has informed me their fantasy comic Blabla-men is out now priced ?2.50 you can find out more on their site." Just a thought.[/quote] Ah i see what you mean, i'll have to ask studio peeps about this. Its definatley worth looking into. :cool:

Kajika 15 1143033543 All of Solstice's titles will be right-to-left except for the first two (and that's because they were not drawn for Solstice but we're printing them anyway

). Personally, I much prefer reading right-to-left. If you walk into Forbidden Planet, over 80% of their titles are right-to-left. Companies such as Viz actually took titles like the No Need For Tenchi! and reprinted them right-to-left. I find it difficult reading comics the Western way round, I even struggle to read the Beano thesedays o_O

Kajika 15 1143033646 I'm sure I've seen her art somewhere before o_O She's very talented! Love the site

Kajika 15 1143033795 http://kajika.cjb.net <---- Brittle Wings Yes... My long abandoned art site started in 2003... It needs taken out of haitus, but on the splash page you will find a link to my winamp skins (there's over 60 and it's constantly growing!) and my winamp skin tutorial. I need hosted bad...

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 1143035560 [quote=Kajika][url="http://kajika.cjb.net"]http://kajika.cjb.net[/url] <---- Brittle Wings Yes... My long abandoned art site started in 2003... It needs taken out of haitus, but on the splash page you will find a link to my winamp skins (there's over 60 and it's constantly growing!) and my winamp skin tutorial. I need hosted bad...[/quote] See Xan.

He'll give you a good deal for free. A very good deal.

Missino 11 1143046611 Yes woot for Elvenblade!:)

Bex 12 1143049096 [QUOTE=Azure]Oooh I really enjoyed Phantom armour 1 I totally forgot to keep checking the site for number 2. I ought to order it from her? is her store a normal pay pal type thing? [/QUOTE] I think its just normal pay pal, I reccomend Shorties!2 as well, its my favorite comic of hers ;D

xan 2 1143152684 [QUOTE=Missino]Yes woot for Elvenblade!:)[/QUOTE] Indeed;) :p

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 1143170210 [quote=Missino]Yes woot for Elvenblade!:)[/quote] Yes thats quite enough wooting at elvenblade thank you! Its a webhost not a massage parlour!:confused::p More wooting for Kajika please.:pist I only mentioned elvenblade because she was looking for hosting. More wooting for elvenblade [url="http://www.elvenblade.co.uk/forums"]here[/url] please. lol Us discuss progress tommorow yeah Xan.

Missino 11 1143182104 *Missino mutters murdererously under his breath whilst looking darkly at the Admin* :p Woot for Kajika then!:D *Then resumes his sulking*:( :cool:

B14CK PH0?N!X 1
1143204919 Awwww, poor missino. lol
ZongyiChen 16 1143284846 Hi! I'm Zongyi and I love drawing manga and anime. Great site, Wayne! One day, one day I will finish the first chapter of my manga, Sowizia, so that you can review it:D

.

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 1143311802 [quote=ZongyiChen]Hi! I'm Zongyi and I love drawing manga and anime. Great site, Wayne! One day, one day I will finish the first chapter of my manga, Sowizia, so that you can review it:D

.[/quote] Welcome Zongi! Have a nice stay. I'll be glad to review your comic is done.lol

Kajika 15 1143640497 Oh my. I'm being w00ted *^^* I'm not really up for hosting at the moment. Brittle Wings was seriously high-maintainance when it was running so it's easier to use my DA account for now. I might get it up and running one day soon

xan 2 Hello 1144059486 This site seems dead at the moment xP who still visits?

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 1144063306 [quote=xan]This site seems dead at the moment xP who still visits?[/quote] Well people still visit Xan, and plenty at that they just don't seem to post much.:p As for me im busy at the moment. I've been car hunting, sorting money out, and getting my old car's tax and insurance redeemed, as well as some other stuff.

Missino 11 1144089518 Ahhh cars can be a pain! I keep telling my parents to sell their's and get me a scooter!;) Otherwise...I still visit every day! It's just that there isn't much to post about at the moment! Don't worry though, this forum's active enough for it's age methinks!:D

Cin 4 1144107249 I still check back from time to time, however reviews haven't been updated for a while. I guess it makes sense to space them as you'd run out of stuff to review.

Azure 19 1144178992 I'm lurking but have busy in the exciting world of voice acting lol

drowned_panda 20 1144618593 I only just noticed this! Sorry, bit embarrasing that I replied a bit late on this one

and that I haven't been too active since joining up but I'll try to be active now. :confused: Thanks for the happy returns though, and yeah I went out on the razz in a big way on the Weds and Fri - I was still in a bit of a state after the weekend but it was a great couple of days. :pist

drowned_panda 20 1144618780 I'm fine reading both ways :pist but I do prefer right-to-left as the 'flipping' mistakes that can occur when the manga is reprinted left-to-right can be annoying. This only really affects the older titles. As you guys said though, so much manga is now right-to-left that it is the style we are just all used to now

drowned_panda 20 1144619012 Hi, panda here.

Sorry it has taken me nearly a month to start posting but I will be now. :confused: I'm here from an anime website I run and it is good to see a site dedicated solely to UK manga. I'm surprised someone hasn't done it before so it is good to see it has now happened :cool:

drowned_panda 20 1144619407 I just recently attended Prog Power 2006 (Power metal!

) and I picked up a t-shirt which may make you guys smile: Sums up everything I think! lol

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 1144674815 Welcome to the forums matey, and i hope you enjoy your time here. Its been a while since some action!;)

Missino 11 1144691075 A big welcome to you, Panda!:)

Missino 11 1144691320 Prog Power? So that's Progressive Power Metal then is it?lol You have a very particular way of thinking! I like the T-Shirt!:)

by **Wayne** » Sun Oct 19, 2008 12:40 am

xan 2 1141952042 Nice site, Love the WebComic. Even if design isnt the best in the world, the content is always the most important thing with the design backing it up. Your site lacks neither, the layout is nice and works the colours do not clash and it is not crowded, with good content(Which it has) that is one good site ^_^

Emma 14 1141994961 bloody hell! well done! Nice stats indeed^_^
Wandering Muse 18 Hello there! 1141997569 Hi! I was wondering if you could possibly review my manga, Nimbus Base? You can get it from the Sweatdrop Studios website. Thanks! Muse x

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 1141997802 [quote=Wandering Muse]Hi! I was wondering if you could possibly review my manga, Nimbus Base? You can get it from the Sweatdrop Studios website. Thanks! Muse x[/quote] Hi there Muse! Its definatly on my list, its a lovley looking comic. Once i've got through this pile of stuff from sweatdrop i already have i'll be glad to review it.

And welcome ^_^

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 Whats your favourite manga and why? 1141998257 I wonder what everyones favourite manga are, but also why. What stands out about a perticular artists work that makes you want to read it. What do you think of the actuall drawing work, the line art, toning, the panel layouts? All these things are fundemental to a good comic, without these things manga would be a disorganised mess.:confused: For me CLAMP is one of the best, i just love their art. Its ever changing and dynamic, their line art is thin and very detailed. They dont seem to use much tone in some comics, and their panel layouts flow like a river. Basicaly they are well placed for each situation.

Plus their stories are just cool, all of them i've read so far. Coolest of all: Chobits & Tsubasa Chronical.

xan 2 1142002131 Thats a great comic and is well worth reviewing or just reading! I was on my last order from SD, and I really enjoyed it. Well DOne on it ^_^

Yakamo 10 1142036229 [QUOTE=Missino]Metallica's great apart from the awfull singing!:p :mad:

[/QUOTE] Metallica have some good stuff, I grew up on these guys till the black album but even I got used to that sell out sound;)

Yakamo 10 1142036426 At the mo it's A.I.Love U, the artwork is sound and the story reminds me of Wierd Science(ok im old), followed closely by Love Hina same guy but just as funny.

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 1142037535 [quote=Yakamo]At the mo it's A.I.Love U, the artwork is sound and the story reminds me of Wierd Science(ok im old), followed closely by Love Hina same guy but just as funny.[/quote] A fan of Ken Akamatsu i see! ^_~ You're right he does draw some damn pretty girls!lol

tonks 5 1142042757 [quote=B14CK PH0?N!X]A fan of Ken Akamatsu i see! ^_~ You're right he does draw some damn pretty girls!lol[/quote] haha wayney! you always like the girls you tart!:confused: For me its gotta be YuYu hakusho! The arts great! The story line wierd but fantastic. The characters are all larger than life...in a nut shell a great manga!lol

Missino 11 1142063085 Well I can't disagree with those who know them better than me! I've only got the one album!;)

Missino 11 1142064123 Samurai Deeper Kyo has always been my favorite. If you just look at the scenes where there is no fighting, then the art doesn't look particularily spectacular. Of course, the art is still brilliant, but it's only when you get to the Samurai duels that the real excellent art shows up. The artist just has a way of making it look so easy, he has such a grasp of anatomy and effects. Various people have said that the series is very like Kenshin. But I dissagree entirely. True, Deamon Eyes Kyo is a samurai, and is supposed to be one of the best in Japan. But he is very different to Kenshin. And the story differs. Of course, alot of the "bad guys" are just there so that the reader can see the heros fight them and preferably win. But the story around it is so much more complex. It's ingenious I think. And we're not just talking about pathetic cling clang of swords, but of divine speed and power. Superhuman strength but without the Americains here to say so. The fighting is so subtle, but if it's the awsome detructive power that they can weild in the later volumes that you want then here is heaven for you. I just love the series and recommend it so highly to anyone looking for a new interesting series to read. Another of my very favorites is Blue Indigo. I've only just started the series and I want more! I'm not entirely sure why I like it so much. It's a fairly straight forward and simple story from what I've seen so far, not at all original. But it's just so nice, a real get away for someone who's stressed out or just been dumped!;) (Neither for me at the mo though!^^) The art is very good, but it's not the kind of thing I read for the art, because it isn't exceptionnal. I'd say, I like it because in it is everything I wish I were and had; I wish I was a nice guy at heart, natural and pure. With a gorgeous girl who loves me, but really loves me, so kind and pure herself... Ahh...Maybe I'm just a fool reading it to get away...But hey, maybe it could be a model!:cool:

Bex 12 1142069873 I like Samurai Deeper Kyo too, although I think I prefered the anime series to the manga comic, I think I was slightly put off by the very bold shonen-style of drawing, although the storyline and action scenes are excellent! XD I have alot of favourite manga comics...its very hard to choose which I like best! ^^; Art-wise, I think my fave is a little unknown manga called 'The Wanderer' a comic about a vampire. The art and layout style is really original and lovely to look at, its the most original style of comicing Ive seen! ^^; Story-wise, my favourite manga is Fruits Basket, the story line has sooo many twists and turns in it, whenever I read it I cant keep it down. All the characters are very interesting and the story never repeats itself or gets old, theres always something new happening as the characters get older, there are always new secrets being revealed, and by the 5th GN you feel emotionally attached to all the characters in different way! Its the only manga thats ever almost brang me to tears...its awsome!! X3 Its also very funny in places and can make me laugh out loud ^^ I have yet to find a manga comic that has both beautiful original art and a great storyline that inspires me, although Im sure Ill find one! I think Tezuka's Buddha series comes close, but I havnt read far yet into the story, although thats looking to be a very interesting series too ^__^ wow! I feel like Ive written an essay...sorry! ^^;

Missino 11 1142073811 I've only ever seen the Anime of Fruits Basket. Is the Manga better? In any case, I love the series. I've only got the first 2 DVDs, and am soo looking forward to getting the next. As with another 50% of my Anime, I watch it in Japanese with English or French subtitles (depending on what's available^^). I love the theme music to Fruits Basket too, it's just too beautifull! *Wipes tears from his eyes*;)

Azure 19 1142083417 Wow that's a lot well done ^^ and hello by the way ^^

Azure 19 1142083509 For me I think it'll allways be the work of Akira Toriyama specifically Dragon Ball/Z, it allways cheers me up and makes me laugh. Who else could combine Chinese legends with Superman/Fart jokes :p

Missino 11 1142085787 Hey, Azure! Welcome to the forums!:)

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 1142094569 [quote=Azure]Wow that's a lot well done ^^ and hello by the way ^^[/quote] Hi Azure, and welcome to my little project.

I hope you enjoy your stay, you would'nt have drawn any comics by any chance?

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 Dragon Heir 1 1142126358 Dragon Heir 1 Introduction The dragon heirs, four people who possess the divided soul of the last dragon to have lived. They appear to be just 4 ordinary human beings. Their only distinguishing feature, the markings on their foreheads, known as spirit signs. In this land all the people in have some sort of sign on their heads, and this dictates their lives. It's a very structured society in the war torn land of Forn. The dragon heirs however have a different destiny altogether. In this issue we get to meet a few of these dragon heirs, and some of the other major characters in this story. In the beginning it's just Protus, a dragon heir who is about to begin his quest to find the others and fulfil and ancient prophecy with them. He leaves the monks who have been training him and heads of to fulfil his destiny. Meanwhile in a village called Alphrede, we our introduced to our heroine Ella, who is being told off by her brother for dabbling in things not befitting that of a "worker spirit", just one of the few classes of people in this land or Forn. The society in Forn as I have mentioned is quite strict, and rigid. People have to fulfil whatever their spirit sign denotes they should. Deviation is often fatal. The second dragon heir Furose, appears later in issue. Unlike Protus he's quite the angsty bishie, not pleasant like Protus, quite the thug indeed. Will Protus be able to tame the thuggish ruggish Furose and be able to find the other heirs and complete the prophecy? Art & Design In general the art is very good indeed, anatomy is in most cases very good. The only thing which stands out as needing improvement is the perspective on characters faces at certain angles, such as when looking down, or from above. The characters themselves are varied and interesting; they also have a good range of expressions, from the angry Furose, to the calm Protus. Style wise Emma's characters are quite unique in that there is little difference between the heights of male and female characters, all appear to be tall and long in the leg, which is a pleasant change. Line art is ok; its neat, its quite detailed in most places, although it is quite monotonous and all of one thickness, I felt more use of different thicknesses could add more depth in places, and make characters or important objects stand out more. Also some areas such as fight scenes more speed lines to define hard sudden movement, would give the scenes more sense of movement and action. But on the whole background management is sound. Toning is well balanced and compensates for any monotonous line art. The design of the comic is good too, there is a varied and interesting panel layout which flows, and well placed speech bubbles ensure a smooth progression from event to event. The land of Forn has plenty of attention to detail too. This comic has a fantasy knights and dragons type setting, and world has had plenty of though put into it. It's not just your average knights in armour story. Details such as the garb of the characters, and the ways of their land have been though about and executed well. Their society too, and how it all relates to the plot. On the whole I like this comic; it's a good start to the series. There are interesting characters, pretty boys and girls to appeal to everyone. __________________________________________________ __________ Story and art by: Emma Vieceli Review by: Wayne Hallows

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 Dragon Heir 1 1142127053 Dragon Heir 1 Introduction The dragon heirs, four people who possess the divided soul of the last dragon to have lived. They appear to be just 4 ordinary human beings. Their only distinguishing feature, the markings on their foreheads, known as spirit signs. In this land all the people in have some sort of sign on their heads, and this dictates their lives. It?s a very structured society in the war torn land of Forn. The dragon heirs however have a different destiny altogether. In this issue, we learn a little bit more about the legends involved in Dragon Heir, starting with the appearance of a strange cloaked figure, whom Ella finds rather intriguing. Meanwhile Protus and Furose are wondering around in a place called Antipine, searching for more dragon heirs, and find one in a tavern. This latest dragon heir is a teenage boy who is getting thrown out of the tavern for some reason, but flattens the landlord with his great power. Most of this comic is pretty sedate in terms of physical action, but there is plenty of angst to be had in places. In this issue characters discuss the legends in detail, so at least we all know where we stand now regarding the dragon heirs and their ultimate destiny. The only thing remaining is the fourth dragon heir! Art & Design Art-wise things are of a similar quality to the last issue, except there are fewer action scenes, anatomy is still good, characters? expressions and movements are just as good as before. The only difference is that in places characters? line art has changed to make them stand out more, although most of the comic is still drawn in the same thickness of line throughout. Perspective on characters has also improved on high angled shots or looking down as well. I can?t say the same of some of the buildings and interior objects though, some look a bit out of perspective, however though most of these things are small and well in the background, although the odd chair close up is quite noticeable. The design of the comic also has similar characteristics as the last issue. It?s good when things don?t change in some cases, and the design of this I can say is still just as good as before. I like it, things read well, speech bubbles don?t interfere with the art because their placement has been well planned. Frames are also just as interesting and diverse as before. If anything Emma has a talent for planning stories, things just flow as they should. Overall another good issue, the story is just starting to get interesting. But there are no real improvements to the artwork or anything. But let?s face it; things weren?t bad to start with so, if it ain?t broke, don?t fix it. __________________________________________________ __________ Story and art by: Emma Vieceli Review by: Wayne Hallows

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 Dragon Heir 3 1142127545 Dragon Heir 3 Introduction The dragon heirs, four people who possess the divided soul of the last dragon to have lived. They appear to be just 4 ordinary human beings. Their only distinguishing feature, the markings on their foreheads, known as spirit signs. In this land all the people in have some sort of sign on their heads, and this dictates their lives. It?s a very structured society in the war torn land of Forn. The dragon heirs however have a different destiny altogether. This issue is a mix of serious events and some damn good comedy. Ella is on her way to beginning her destiny. She worries about things to come and what she?s left behind and also about her companion Neissus and his telepathic intrusions. Later the two have a rather nasty encounter? Meanwhile the three dragon heirs are on a little voyage of their own. They discuss legends and engage in lots of rather amusing horseplay which is just pure class. This is definitely the must amusing part of the series so far. So far the three dragon heirs are; Protus the level headed one, the protective spirit. Furose the angsty one, the fighting spirit, and lastly Kalm the boy who first appeared in issue two, the empathic spirit. Art & Design Art-wise things have progressed little further from issue two, this is not a negative thing though as you can rest assured that the quality is consistent and of an excellent standard. Every conceivable thing is drawn well, although characters get slightly better from anatomy to the line art. The main improvements are in the line art, as there is some variation this time in the thickness of the lines. This helps give the artwork more depth and in places emphasises objects or people better. The design aspect is also as good as before. I?m always talking about frame layouts and how they help a story flow, so here?s a few examples; In the horseplay scenes the frames are close together they move quickly back and fourth in little regular panels from character which give the impression of quick retorts. Also later on in one of the action scenes; the frames are more irregular in pattern but display every detail of the action in sequence with a larger overview of the end result. All this works very well and helps give events and movement some perspective in time. Overall it makes things easy for the reader to see happening in the mind. There is still though a lack of movement lines to emphasise movements, the action scenes would benefit greatly by the addition of these lines. This issue was rather good overall. The consistent artwork and design will always continue to please in most cases. The story though is really waking up things are starting to get gritty. But the great thing is there is still some room for fun in this comic. __________________________________________________ __________ Story and art by: Emma Vieceli Review by: Wayne Hallows

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 Dragon Heir 4 1142127953 Dragon Heir 4 Introduction The dragon heirs, four people who possess the divided soul of the last dragon to have lived. They appear to be just 4 ordinary human beings. Their only distinguishing feature, the markings on their foreheads, known as spirit signs. In this land all the people in have some sort of sign on their heads, and this dictates their lives. It?s a very structured society in the war torn land of Forn. The dragon heirs however have a different destiny altogether. In this issue Ella is left alone to face her destiny with no inkling of what to do, due to some unfortunate events in the last issue. The rest of the dragon heirs are also moving closer to their destiny as the search for the site of the ritual they must undergo in the prophecy, on the way there is the typical horseplay between them to keep us all amused. Art & Design The art on the whole is as good as it?s always been, although there is some definite improvements in the line art. Now there is a much greater variety of line thicknesses to give greater depth to the artwork on the characters. The characters themselves are better than before, the anatomy looks excellent everywhere, and there are also some excellent poses into the bargain. The backgrounds in this issue are also very detailed, especially the scenes in the forests. The design aspect is as good as ever too, nice well planned panel layouts ensure a smooth progression from scene to scene, with background management to enhance the mood in each scene. Overall the series is really looking rather good, with consistent artwork through out, and a story which gets more interesting by the issue. Things are getting darker and people are having to face up to facts. __________________________________________________ __________ Story and art by: Emma Vieceli Review by: Wayne Hallows

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 Dragon Heir 5 1142128209 Dragon Heir 5 Introduction The dragon heirs, four people who possess the divided soul of the last dragon to have lived. They appear to be just 4 ordinary human beings. Their only distinguishing feature, the markings on their foreheads, known as spirit signs. In this land all the people in have some sort of sign on their heads, and this dictates their lives. It?s a very structured society in the war torn land of Forn. The dragon heirs however have a different destiny altogether. Ella and Lyntra meet up with the other three dragon heirs, there is a debate about what to do since Ella the newly appointed spirit binder knows nothing about how to proceed as one. The four dragon heirs are all together now: Protus, Furose, Kalm, and Lyntra. Later some desperate peasants come and ambush the gang. Furose shows a side to himself most would rather not see? Art & Design Certain areas of the art within this issue are much better than previous ones. For example there is some excellent background management, especially in the action scenes. We finally have those much needed speed lines in the action scenes. This makes scenes that were promising to begin with come to life in a whole new way. There are more action scenes in this issue than any previously, and with the help of Emma?s frame layouts these come to life rather well. Arrows in flight, swords, blood. She really has managed to capture all this extreme movement rather well. Overall this comic is the most action packed of the whole series. The dragon heirs are united, and Ella has some learning to do. The art is at its peak in this issue also, although only real experts will notice most of the changes to the artwork throughout the series. What will happen next? I can?t wait to find out! __________________________________________________ __________ Story and art by: Emma Vieceli Review by: Wayne Hallows
Azure 19 1142162257 Yes but they are rubbish

mainly I write.
Bex 12 1142169951 [QUOTE=Azure]For me I think it'll allways be the work of Akira Toriyama specifically Dragon Ball/Z, it allways cheers me up and makes me laugh. Who else could combine Chinese legends with Superman/Fart jokes :p[/QUOTE] XD Dragon ball was my first manga comic! XD I got it when I was 12! It still makes me laugh, it really is a very funny peice of work! Its a shame.. people get the wrong idea about it because they watch the anime series, which really took out most of the excellent humour and only put in more epic fighting! ^^;

Bex 12 1142170202 [QUOTE=Missino]I've only ever seen the Anime of Fruits Basket. Is the Manga better? In any case, I love the series. I've only got the first 2 DVDs, and am soo looking forward to getting the next. [/QUOTE] GET MORE VOLUMES!! XD The anime series is good, although I prefer the manga, only because its cheaper and I can see what happens next quicker! XD plus the anime stopped on a cliff hanger (I assume they just ended the first series and will realease a second series, since the manga comic still carries on after whereb the events end in the anime.) The anime is REALLY well directed though, alot of people probably dont notice it, but since I want to be a director when Im older I probably notice it more..^^; Just wait until you see what Akito does to Kyo-kun, its one of the best episodes in the series!! XD

Bex 12 1142170392 [QUOTE=B14CK PH0?N!X]Its really quite great, i'd love to review your comic if i can. ^_^ Once i get through dragon heir.lol[/QUOTE] You are welcome to, although you might want to wait a little while, there is much storyline to be revealed and a main chracter to be introduced yet.. ^^;

Missino 11 1142187687 Thanks! I will get more!:) I actually find the Anime cheaper because I buy it second hand online for a few Euros each time. But then I only get it in French and Japanese...So I watch the DVDs in Japanese with subtitles!;)

Missino 11 What's your favorite Anime...And why? 1142276102 Well I thought it only fair, seeing as we've ended up mentionning Anime in the other thread anyway!;) Well my favorite movie is probably Ghibli's Mononok? Him?...Just because it's so special. Beautifull music, brilliant charachters, a lovely setting with lakes, mountains, forests that are of course all in danger of the humans...Which is really the main point. I just loved it! (And still do...Even though I ended up paying for a pirated copy without English!>.<) Series-wise, a dare say Trigun will always be one of my favorites, the animation isn't the best (especially when looked upon with my little TV ^^) but the story's good and of course some of the best Anime charachters of all time! (Maui and I are big fans of Legato Bluesummers!:cool: ) But then .Hack//Sign is an Anime I love, though it is another series that lacks attention to the animation. Trigun had the excuse of being fairly old though... It's just an Anime that has reached my heart, because it is another one that makes me wish I were a better person, and lived in similiar situations. (Anime and Manga have a nack of making me feel like a right git :pist ). I still love it though. ALSO excellent sound track! So it's worth seeing the series just for that!;) Then of course I also enjoy X 1999 (CLAMP), Fruits Basket and Last Exile! (All D?clic Images edition and brilliant). It's a harder choice for Anime. I know which Manga I love the most but when it comes to Anime...:confused:

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 1142289825 I love Honey and Clover, because the story is realistic. I love Tsubasa chronical because its got an interesting story, and its funny, especialy the horseplay between Mokona and Kurogane. There are a few others i love too: Comic Party, because its about doujinshi makers, and its funny. I also love the artwork. Ichigo 100%, Ok its a bit love/hate is this one, i love the artwork and most of the story. I hate some of the rediculous cheese and Junpei's wimpyness. Ranma 1/2, because its funny. SHUFFLE, because its got story and art like ichigo, but the main guy is much less of an ass. These are a few more that i like, there are others like Fruits Basket which i love because they are pleasent and funny. But the list is too big. I'll stick with these for now.

Bex 12 1142333698 hmm..Id say movie wise I have 3 favorites...all ghibli films! Princess Mononoke (or Mononoke Hime ;D ) Howls Moving Castle, and Whisper Of The Heart! These are my faves cos they are some of the few movies where I feel very inspired or special afterwards! XD In terms of series, my favorite is DEFINATLY Escaflowne!! It has to be one of the BEST peices of animation I have seen..I love everything about it!! The rich, detailed and well thought out designs on both characters and culture is amazing, the music is beautiful, the action scenes are well directed and are high quality in animation, all the characters are very original and well-created, and the storyline is just EXCELLENT! You can really learn alot about life from this anime, despite it being a fantasy series--it is really well worth it getting the whole series on box set! ^__^ And it was one of the very few tv series that made me want to cry at the end! And not only because of the beautiful ending, but becasuse the series was over! XD I really reccomend you buy it if you havnt seen it! =3 Im planning on selling the first DVD for ?10, since I have the whole series now...so if anyone here wants a taster.. ^^; sorry again for the essay..whenever I start talking about Escaflowne I cant stop ^^;; and now Im late for my dentist appointment XD

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 Happy Birthday Drowned Panda. 1142390379 Happy Birthday to Drowned Panda!lol Have a nice day mate. Although you'll have to wait a bit to go out on the razz in celebration. Unless you had your birthday earier!;)

Missino 11 1142404739 Er...Well Happy Birthday then!:)

WillieHewes 21 Amaranth 1142455986 Hey you, Please review my manga Amaranth! (It's a manga, honest.) You can see it on the website, reviewers get a 1 quid discount! (email me at williehewes@yahoo.com for for the discount). Thanks, excellent website!

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 1142476985 Sure thing.

Once i've got through this lot on my desk. Theres probably enough there at the moment to keep me busy for weeks yet.:pist
Bex 12 1142530815 Alhough I dont know who you are, Happy Birthday any way =3 I hope you had a good day ^_^

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 Angel League Issue 1 1142795209 Angel League #1 Introduction Angel League is about 3 guys who were killed whilst trying to save the world from something. One minute they are being torn apart by something, the next they are dead with some strange fellow who seems to know everything about them. This fellow known only as the ?guide dude? is their guide in the afterlife and the person responsible for taking them to the location where their eternal fate will be decided called the Central Port. Our heroes are called Mark Green, a brash angsty little fellow, Shannon Mintaka, a far more pleasant and intelligent person, and Reik Kendal a friendly and fair fellow, who has all the conscience and compassion of the three. Central Port is a busy place filled with thousands of people waiting to be sent to Heaven or Hell. It?s kind of like an immigration office or an airport check in. Our three heroes; Mark Green, Shannon Mintaka, and Reik Kendal have joined the queue and have wait for ten weeks to be told their ultimate fate. However something else happens instead which might speed up their entry to the afterlife? I love the story so far, it jumps straight into the action, and then deals with the rest of the afterlife theme with some excellent humour. Mark and Reik are the two unwitting comedians in this comic, they are total opposites in terms of personality, one is always playing by the rules and other will cheat at every possible opportunity. Mark?s impatience is always a source of laughs, as he?s either dragging Reik around or being held back by him. Just one question remains though. What were our heroes saving the world from? Art & Design I love the art in this comic. Everything is pretty high quality from the characters themselves right down to the toning and backgrounds. This comic has a much more generic manga feel in terms of style compared to other small press manga I have read so far. By generic I mean that a lot of the stylisations and background management devices are done exactly as most Japanese manga would be done. Everything from the backgrounds that accompany mood, too speed lines in action scenes is done very well, and it all works as it should to bring scenes to life. Characters anatomy is very good on the whole although the characters? hands for some reason seem pretty small for blokes? hands; other minor flaws such as slightly misshapen hands are also noticeable in the odd frame. But as I say, these are minor, and there aren?t any other things that I noticed whilst reading this issue. There has been a great deal of effort gone into this comic, and indeed almost every frame has a background, and every one has plenty of detail. Lots of tone, speed lines, and line patterns. I like this approach on the whole, but I feel that a finer less coarse screentones would work better. Scenes are often very busy and on some occasions characters almost seem to merge with the background despite the line art being so well thought about, and varied depending on the scene. The panel layouts work well in this comic though, I found the path from frame to frame easy to follow. At the same time they are quite varied and interesting. Frames come in all shapes and sizes to fit the action, rather than boring squares. Action scenes are king though in this comic, and every one I thought worked well. I really got a sense of swooping dragons, levitation, or Mark just being an ass. My favourite action scenes in this comic were the ones with Mark whipping his weapons out; he really looked as if he was going for it, from the expression on his face to the accompanying speed lines. The dialogue in this was also easy to follow, and at times rather funny, again Mark?s angst being the source of many a laugh whilst reading this comic. There is also a large variety of sound effects all of which accompany the action and enhance things nicely. Placement is the key, and the creators at Makenai have done a good job of this. The only thing which I thought could improve in this area is the round speech bubbles. Some are nicely stencilled, and some seem to have been drawn by hand, some of the hand drawn bubbles look a little rough in places some even look to have been made bigger at the last moment, and that gives some of them an awkward shape. Fortunately though there aren?t many of those so they don?t spoil things too much. Overall though I thought the comic was great. The finished article itself is brilliant, the printing and binding of the book is of good quality as are the interior pages. Its funny, it?s full of action and the artwork is mostly super with only a few minorish areas letting things down slightly. Taking things as a complete package though there?s more than enough good in this comic to get around its flaws. __________________________________________________ __________ Story and art by: Helen Smith & Scott Edwart Review by: Wayne Hallows

by **Wayne** » Sun Oct 19, 2008 12:41 am

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 Welcome to UK MANGA XL 1141433290 Welcome to UK MANGA XL, the website dedicated to reviewing manga from UK manga studios, and independent creators based in the UK. The site is officialy open today. Its taken a month to create the site and write the reviews. I hope everyone enjoys the site. It is my hope this is the place where all UK manga creators can be represented under one roof. Im sure it will be able to help promote smallpress manga here in the UK, and of course give comic patrons a glimpse of what UK small press manga has to offer.

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 1141433331 Welcome to the forums.

Yakamo 10 1141433417 Thanks im sure many more will join.

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 1141434088 One can only hope.

It will be nice to watch this grow. Being my first major project and all.

Missino 11 1141458651 Waah! A shiny new forum! This is one of the best I've ever been in!:) And so many people I know! But I'll introduce myself anyway! I'm Missino! (As you might have guessed) I am a poor artist in self-training, trying very hard (though maybe not hard enough >.<) to make my own comic...Ah well...I might do it one day! Anyway, I am a fairly large fan of Manga and Anime, and am very interested in seeing what mister B14CK PH0?N!X's new site will produce!;) Anyway, just to say well done, mate!:D

Missino 11 1141458930 Congatulations! As said below, the site looks great! Very smart!:) And great logo!;) And the forums popular already! :cool:

Well congrats again, and good luck! I'm sure alot of people will be watching!;)

Bex 12 1141476085 hey there! For anyone who doesnt know, Im Bex, a member of Sweatdrop! ^_^ Im very pleased with the website, its looking awsome! I feel very happy that you have decided to reveiw one of my comics! XD I hope as I make more you will reveiw those too--and watch out for my web comic, Im putting that up soon ^^; I need to make a website first...I hope it can look as good as this! XD You did a great job =3 keep up the good work!
B14CK PH0?N!X 1 1141484703 Welcome to my site Bex & Missino!:) Its nice to have you both,so enjoy yourselves.

Missino 11 1141503738 Nearly finished reading this, and a very good comic it is too. Wayne's review was spot on, especially about the consistancy in the anatomy and other. I like the Greyscale personally, but it is true that there is a risk of dissapointing results when printed...I don't know. I really like the little super-deformed charachters, they make me laugh they do! And Lucas looks like a real meany at the beginning! Yes I'd say a very good comic indeed! So well done to you, Saphire and to Wayne also for an excellent review!:)

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 1141504412 Thanks, its quite tough to review comics and be both supportive and critical at the same time, but i think its payed off. Reviews should be helpful to the creator as well as to the potential comic buyer.

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 The music thread. 1141518444 Ah well every forum's gotta have one of these, especialy mine. So here goes, your favourite music thread! I like alsorts of things, a fairly broad range of anything, 60s, 70s, 80s, pop, rock, rap, reggae. I also enjoy various anime theme tunes and other stuff. Theres nothing like a bit of variety.

tonks 5 1141526408 How did i know you'd put a music thread on here! haha. Well i dont know whether its because we're related but me and wayne seem to have the same taste in music...apart from his obsession with Rap!:)

Missino 11 1141552159 Hmmm, let's see... My favorite group of all time is Pink Floyd, followed by Aerosmith (Who did Dream On my favorite song of all time

), Van Halen, Evanescence, Nickelback, AC/DC, Meatloaf, Neil Young, Queen, The Police, Maroon 5, Green Day, Jethro Tull, Santana, The Who... Pachelbel's Canon and Peter and the wolf!;) I guess that's about it. Oh and I recommend the Anime Hack//Sign soundtrack to anyone who likes muical masterpieces!;)

Missino 11 1141558641 Nice review!:) Though might I suggest you turn the individual titles (ex: "1. Milky Creamy, 20 pages, by Selina Dean.") into Bold script, because it isn't all that easy to find the seperation between the seperate reviews. Especially when you're looking for a particular title, or just browsing the titles, interested in seeing which artists took part. (As I started off by doing.) Just a suggestion!:)

Emma 14 Congrats! 1141566151 Looking great!! Well done on getting this done hon....here's to a succesful future of reviews! ^_^

xan 2 1141566280 [QUOTE=Emma]Looking great!! Well done on getting this done hon....here's to a succesful future of reviews! ^_^[/QUOTE] I second that ^^

xan 2 1141566592 Hello everyone, nice to see a forum grow this quickly, even if it is small, at least its not empty ^_^

tonks 5 1141567692 Hey Xan! Yeah its nice to see this forum run so well! Im very proud of big bro for his hard wok! Keep smiling everyone!:)

tonks 5 1141567801 Ironic but i third that! Enjoy the site everyone. The sites been given alot of TLC and im sure this will continue! ^_^

tonks 5 1141568118 I agree missino!The Hack//Sign soundtrack is beautiful, along with the ghost in the shell and Inu-Yasha! The ending theme is one of my favourite tracks ever!:pist

Missino 11 1141568244 I fourth *hic* that...Here's to it then! *Missino raises his glass, only slightly tipsy*

tonks 5 1141568533 hey missino! Im sure wayne will be very happy to read this thread! He's still in bed at the mo, so it will be a nice suprise for him!lol

Missino 11 Uk Manga: Right to Left...Or Left to Right? 1141569251 I've been wondering. In the U.K, are Graphic Novels or small press comics more often printed in right to left or left to right form? It's interesting because on the Sweatdrop Studios Forum people have said that they are more accustomed to reading Manga from left to right, and I believe all Sweatdrop comics are printed in that way as well, am I right? Is that really true for the GNs sold in shops though? It would surprise me greatly. I wouldn't know, living in France where at least 90% of Manga is printed in the original way. I must have about 3 books in all like that out of my whole collection. I was very very surprised when forumers on the SD board said they had trouble reading from right-to-left. See this thread for an example: http://www.sweatdrop.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3987 I for one have real trouble reading graphic novels from left-to-right, something that can be very frustrating. I strongly feel that artists should keep to the original Japanese right-to-left form...That is of course just my view.(And I'm sure Col. Skirmish would have something to say about it!

) Please give me your views, because I feel rather left in the dark about this matter!;)

Missino 11 1141569448 He's still in bed??? O.o Hehehe...It's probably all that reviewing!;) Late nights reading his heart out!;) Give him a kiss or something from me!:D :p

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 1141569471 [quote=Missino]I fourth *hic* that...Here's to it then! *Missino raises his glass, only slightly tipsy*

[/quote] Leave that Pastis alone missino you're not old enough to drink!;) lol

Missino 11 1141569626 Erm...Pastis is probably just a tad strong for me!;) And I do drink a bit actually!:p (rules aren't quite as tight out here!^^) .

xan 2 1141573975 on soundtracks, the Hachikuro(Honey and Clover) one is quite good(although not musical, it is very simple in places) I also like alot of the Disney OSTs, although the films themselves are not as good xP

Emma 14 1141589222 [QUOTE=Yakamo]Thanks im sure many more will join.[/QUOTE] If you build it.....they will come ^_^

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 1141589537 [quote=Emma]If you build it.....they will come ^_^[/quote] Hey Emma! Welcome to my little site. With any luck there will be some of your own comics on display soon.

I belive i have the entire current series of Dragon Hier around here somewhere...

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 1141589606 [quote=Missino]Nice review!:) Though might I suggest you turn the individual titles (ex: "1. Milky Creamy, 20 pages, by Selina Dean.") into Bold script, because it isn't all that easy to find the seperation between the seperate reviews. Especially when you're looking for a particular title, or just browsing the titles, interested in seeing which artists took part. (As I started off by doing.) Just a suggestion!:)[/quote] Hmmm not a bad suggestion either. Wheres that edit button....

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 1141589868 [quote=Missino]I've been wondering. In the U.K, are Graphic Novels or small press comics more often printed in right to left or left to right form? It's interesting because on the Sweatdrop Studios Forum people have said that they are more accustomed to reading Manga from left to right, and I believe all Sweatdrop comics are printed in that way as well, am I right? Is that really true for the GNs sold in shops though? It would surprise me greatly. I wouldn't know, living in France where at least 90% of Manga is printed in the original way. I must have about 3 books in all like that out of my whole collection. I was very very surprised when forumers on the SD board said they had trouble reading from right-to-left. See this thread for an example: [url="http://www.sweatdrop.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3987"]http://www.sweatdrop.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3987[/url] I for one have real trouble reading graphic novels from left-to-right, something that can be very frustrating. I strongly feel that artists should keep to the original Japanese right-to-left form...That is of course just my view.(And I'm sure Col. Skirmish would have something to say about it!

) Please give me your views, because I feel rather left in the dark about this matter!;)[/quote] It depends, im ok reading in both directions. Since Tokyopop publishes books in the other format, i have become accustomed to reading that way. I suppose i'll allways prefere reading ordinery western style though.

Missino 11 1141590372 Ah looks much better like that!:)

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 A few thoughts. 1141590795 I was thinking of some ways to improve the forums, and make them more interesting. I've had 12 new members in about 3 days and things are looking promising. Are there any other things you would like to see on the forums? For example new forums for art and other areas of discussion? Or maybe even more smileys? Oekaki? Anything at all, post it here and i'll see what i can do.

Emma 14 1141591522 I'd avoid art forums hon. Not only because you'd be stealing our forum posters *grin* Part of why this site will be so great is because it is specialist and focusses on the reading and reviewing of UK manga....I think if you vary too much you could become just 'another site'....so I think specialism is a good route. Perhaps encourage people to discuss UK comics that they have read themselves more? Maybe a forum for people to actually post comics they'd like reviewed, but not so much an art-in-progress site..... These are just thoughts ^_^ An oekaki is always good fun though ^_~

Emma 14 1141591566 woot! dragon heir reviews would be awesome^_^

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 1141593394 [quote=Emma]I'd avoid art forums hon. Not only because you'd be stealing our forum posters *grin* Part of why this site will be so great is because it is specialist and focusses on the reading and reviewing of UK manga....I think if you vary too much you could become just 'another site'....so I think specialism is a good route. Perhaps encourage people to discuss UK comics that they have read themselves more? Maybe a forum for people to actually post comics they'd like reviewed, but not so much an art-in-progress site..... These are just thoughts ^_^ An oekaki is always good fun though ^_~[/quote] I see what you mean. ^_^ I was thinking upon a place where people could do requests. I intend to keep this forum as focused on comics as possible. But i was also thinking of ways to keep peoples interest too. Its always wise to think of ways to improve a site, Sweatdrop itself has undergone a few changes since i joined. The addition of webcomics, new forum templates, new shop. Adaption is a strategy for success.

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 1141601296 [quote=Emma]woot! dragon heir reviews would be awesome^_^[/quote] A little project for this week. ^_^

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 Requests Forum 1141604495 Welcome to the requests forum, please post a new thread stating which UK small press manga or Webcomics you would like to see reviewed and why. Also give details of how to purchase this manga, and a website if possible.

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 Non Uk Manga and Anime Rules 1141612040 This forum is about any manga created by foriegn small pressers, and anything by large mainstreem producers such as VIZ or Tokyopop. Although we dont review these we still discuss them because they are manga, and because we can learn from them and compare them to our own homegrown stuff. We also like to discuss anime because its cool. :pist If its about manga produced large scale or doujinshi from abroad, or even anime post about it here.

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 Website Plugage! 1141613724 Plug your sites here ladies and gentlemen.lol

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 Forum Specific Rules (Lounge) 1141614668 The lounge is an all purpose anything goes forum for my site. You can post anything you like as long as there is nowhere better to post it. Please be sure to consider this before posting. There are many sticky threads here where there are areas that need to kept tidy. If you're new please post in the Introduction thread and say hello. If you want to get rid of some old manga or anime, post it in the selling thread. If you want to plug your website, do it in the plug thread. Anything which needs moving will be moved to the appropriate places.

Global forum rules still apply.

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 The Selling Thread! 1141615511 This is the place to sell your old mainstream anime and manga, games, books, whatever as long as its legal. Under no circumstances will the sale of smallpress stuff be allowed here. If you want to buy smallpress stuff, then please buy it from the studios themselves.

As for selling it, please do it somewhere else. Refer to the [url="http://www.ukmangaxl.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=8"]Global Forum rules[/url] for more details.

xan 2 1141634377 Elvenblade.co.uk provides free Web Hosting, details of which can be viewed at announce.elvenblade.co.uk and http://www.ukmangaxl.com/eb.htm but here are the highlights of it: 700Mb of space 3 MySQL Databases Unmetered Bandwidth FTP access E-Mail hosting if you are interested, take a look here
announce.elvenblade.co.uk/index.php?paged=2 Thanks for looking ^^
B14CK PH0?N!X 1 1141647280 It did'nt take you long to find that did it?;)

Cin 4 1141657451 well, I plug, therefore I am ^_^ Duel Class comics [url="http://www.duel-class.com"]www.Duel-Class.com[/url] A free adventure based webcomic with mixed elements from anime and RPG?s in an (hopefully) original world. The story evolves around Alexis and his group on their adventure to find a way back home. Black & white comic with tones and the occasional colored stand alone image. Trying to update at least one page a week so check back whenever you can and hope you enjoy it! - Cin

Bex 12 1141689615 a special section for requests sounds good! There are loads of comics out thwere that people might want, but arent sure wether theuyre good or not, everyone likes a second oppinion! ^_^

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 1141689674 [quote=Bex]a special section for requests sounds good! There are loads of comics out thwere that people might want, but arent sure wether theuyre good or not, everyone likes a second oppinion! ^_^[/quote] Well that section is up and running now. I made a few changes yesterday.

Bex 12 1141689861 I have a VERY wide taste in music! XD I like pretty much anything that agrees with me....my tastes range from Metallica to Mozart! XD The only genre of music I really dont like is modern pop music ^_~

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 Woot! 100 posts! 1141705084 Yep we've only been official in bussiness about 3 days and we have our 100th post on our forums. Although most of those are mine!

. lol The next benchmark will be 1000 posts! Sill postage is secondary to usefulness here, although i think things will turn out to be interesting and productive if we carry on as we are.

Thanks to the great response from everyone so far. Incidentaly since the 3rd of march there have been 160 odd seperate visitors here, before that date there were only 42 for all of Febuary and the beggining of March. So heres a few stats to digest. Febuary; Vistors: 46 Page views: 6932 Hits: 27302 The 3rd to the 6th of March; Visitors: 162 Page views:3786 Hits: 20343 Thats not bad for three days.

I wonder if it will last.

Missino 11 1141751618 I'm sure it will!:) Woot for the UkMangaXL forum!;)

Missino 11 1141751741 Interesting...It never actually accured to me you know! Sometimes I actually forget which way I was initially taught to read!:confused:

tonks 5 1141756558 Woo Hoo! Good going everyone! and weldone wayney!lol

xan 2 1141766501 I tend to agree with Missino here, I find it easier to read Manga Right-To-Left in most cases, although British-bred Manga can be ALOT harder to follow, since you may well end up with the author thinging Left-To-Right while drawing Right-To-Left, so the frames and text do not follow smoothly. So, basically, if it was written to be read by a Japanese/Eastern audience, then R-t-L is fine but if it was written by a UK/Western artist, then unless they know exactly what they are doing, L-t-R is better. I have no actual preference, I have even found myself reading Manga then picking up a book a few days later and reading it the worng way. That either goes to show that you can learn twice, or that I was tired

xan 2 1141766589 Yays, Congrats!!!:pist :pist Elvenblade is catching up......we have 32 posts

Anyway, glad to see it was not a wasted effort ^_^

xan 2 1141766999 That is a wide range.. although, what do you class as 'Modern Pop' that could cover a huge range of music when taken into its literal form of 'Popular' but I think I know what kind you mean:D Gotta Love Metallica !

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 1141778233 Only time will tell. Its all a matter of how many people like smallpress manga i suppose. I expect the main site to be more popular than the forums, since thats what people come to look at. The forums are here only to serve the info on the site, and provide a complete website package. The trouble is not everyone likes to just talk about comics. There are other forums where people can make small talk, here we have more of a focused outlook on manga. I expect this place more than anything to be frequented by mainly people associated with Uk manga studios, and other people with opinions on the subject. As well as writing more reviews, i have had a few offers from other people regarding submissions. These look promising. But im also looking at more ways a getting visitors. I've gone for the plug fest to start with, which has done well so far, appart from that little disagreement elsewhere. Most people are ok with me doing this since i've pimped them too. My next thing will be to try and get link exchanges with other smallpress reviewers and other websites related to either anime or manga. It will serve everyones purposes well if i can break into new markets. There's plenty of sidebar still to fill yet! I may even take a break from writing this week just to get things moving on the linking front. Im also going to include a few new types of index. A full index with everything on one page. And an index by artist. I have had some people ask for these, and i suppose if i can cater for everyone it will make the site more popular. Anything i can find from the UK i will try and pimp and be pimped with.

xan 2 1141778534 Catering for everyone could be a huge task, so good luck with it ^_^ I look forward to seeing an index of all the artists you have reviewed, although it may take a while to compile and will probably be being updated regularly when you find new artists to review ^^

Cin 4 1141786055 I guess interviews would be a good focus while still staying in line with the theme of orignal UK manga. Take some time to think of questions, see which artists are avilable to respond then just do a interview with them either IRL or over some IM format. It would be interested to see the artists themselves give opinions on their own work as well as other people's and a slight insight in to what they are like as a person.

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 1141786951 [quote=Cin]I guess interviews would be a good focus while still staying in line with the theme of orignal UK manga. Take some time to think of questions, see which artists are avilable to respond then just do a interview with them either IRL or over some IM format. It would be interested to see the artists themselves give opinions on their own work as well as other people's and a slight insight in to what they are like as a person.[/quote] That would probably be a good idea, something to look into for the future. It would be nice to hear from artists themselves, who inspire them, why they like manga, what motivates them ect.

Missino 11 1141817083 Metallica's great apart from the awfull
singing!:p :mad:

Missino 11 1141817357 Oooh yes! That definetely sounds good! A word or two from the artist can make a load of difference me thinks!:)

Bex 12 1141820141 thats a great idea! It would be interesting to see interveiws from the artistys themselves =3

Bex 12 1141820282 [QUOTE=Missino]Metallica's great apart from the awfull singing!:p :mad:

[/QUOTE] XD I think the lead singer was bad in the fgirst few albums, but his singing is superb now (that is, of course, when he sings nicely! XD )

Bex 12 1141820340 [QUOTE=xan]That is a wide range.. although, what do you class as 'Modern Pop' that could cover a huge range of music when taken into its literal form of 'Popular' but I think I know what kind you mean:D Gotta Love Metallica ![/QUOTE] I guess what I mean is the stuff you get on the radio at the moment, like all those girl bands or west life...stuff like that ^^;

Missino 11 1141822823 Man, some of these girl bands and boy bands really are lame, not musiciens at all. In fact, I've not seen any decent new groups for a while now... At least you don't have to listen to the French music!:mad: Alot of it would be good if they just didn't sing in French. It's a fact that French just isn't a language that should be sung!:confused:

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 1141823637 There is definatley a lack of good music in recent years. Dance music has allways been crap. Rap got crap since all the old school boys got old, nearly everything since 2000 has been pants. RnB - Anything from 2002 onwards is usually crap. Rock - It depends, new stuff doesnt tend to be so bad, not in comparison to the others. Pop - Is pants in most era's, but especialy now. Its got to the point of having to have reality TV shows to get them noticed becasuse they are soo bad. 1 record and they are gone most of em.

They dont make music like they used to.

Missino 11 1141842055 I should have known... It's my generation and the music's crap! (Though I hate to think what 'music' will be like when my kids grow up:( )

Missino 11 1141850981 I would just like to plug a site that I've just this minute finished. It's got nothing to do with small-press Manga I'm afraid. Here is a site I made, dedicated to Aerosmith's song "Dream On". Dream On (I was bored and thought making a fan site would be cool :p

I hope I did ok)

Bex 12 My new webcomic! (and website! ^_^) 1141907444 I have been making a website recently to host my new webcomic, and its finished!! XD Its not as well designed as other websites, but Im not good at Html ^^; I will improve on my website at some point ^_^ The main thing that matters is the content! I hope you like everything Ive put on there, including my web comic! I made this web comic so that people could see my most recent comic art, rather then the very old stuff I have been publishing through sweatdrop recently! The story idea isnt mine, I have drawn an adaption of an opera called 'The Magic Flute', but I hope you will still like it, I have found it its quite hard to adapt from something else! I tryed to bring out all the best points from the story though, and Ive changed the characters a little bit too ^^; Anyway, I really hope you like what you see, the comic will be updated every Tuesday and Friday (my days off college!) and it would be nice to get C&C on my most recent comic work, rather then my old stuff! XD http://bex.elvenblade.co.uk enjoy ^^

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 1141908886 [quote=Bex]I have been making a website recently to host my new webcomic, and its finished!! XD Its not as well designed as other websites, but Im not good at Html ^^; I will improve on my website at some point ^_^ The main thing that matters is the content! I hope you like everything Ive put on there, including my web comic! I made this web comic so that people could see my most recent comic art, rather then the very old stuff I have been publishing through sweatdrop recently! The story idea isnt mine, I have drawn an adaption of an opera called 'The Magic Flute', but I hope you will still like it, I have found it its quite hard to adapt from something else! I tryed to bring out all the best points from the story though, and Ive changed the characters a little bit too ^^; Anyway, I really hope you like what you see, the comic will be updated every Tuesday and Friday (my days off college!) and it would be nice to get C&C on my most recent comic work, rather then my old stuff! XD [url="http://bex.elvenblade.co.uk"]http://bex.elvenblade.co.uk[/url] enjoy ^^[/quote] Its really quite great, i'd love to review your comic if i can. ^_^ Once i get through dragon heir.lol

by **Wayne** » Sun Oct 19, 2008 12:43 am

1139702193 I have a banner available to use for people wishing to link to UK MANGA XL.

Its just the standard 200x40 banner, a smaller one probably would'nt work so well. Feel free to save this image and use it for linking.

1139635477 This forum is for talking about anything regarding Uk manga appart from reviews.lol

1139112085 I have yet to publish this to my actual site yet. But i did want to make at least one meaningfull post here. This review of sugardrops was done months ago. Originally i was going to get it published through Zumcomics, but they are taking a little long to reply back (about 4 months now), so i decided to make my own site, and submit my reviews whenever i please. So here's the first one! ^____^ A review of Sugardrops Introduction Sugardrops came out of Sweatdrop Studios in mid 2004, it contains fifteen short stories all based on the theme of cute, written and drawn by most of the current Sweatdrop members of the time. It is also the first perfect bound, graphic novel style book published by Sweatdrop Studios. It contains a total of 156 pages including covers and artist bios and ads, and each story ranges from a few pages to about 20 pages in length. Individual Summary So on to the pieces themselves, there are a wide variety of artistic styles, and stories here, which would appeal to people of all ages, all revolving around the theme of cute in one sense or another, whether it be chibi style artwork, magic fairies, or small fury animals. I?ll so my best to summarise each one, hopefully without giving too much away. 1. Milky Creamy, 20 pages, by Selina Dean. This first story is very much a cute contest, with two girls and their pets, battling it out on the streets busking with their animals. The story is written and drawn, her chibi style is quite unique. Quite enjoyable, like most of her work. 2. The Pinkaa Fairy, 7 pages, by Laura Watton. This is the story of an up and coming manga artist, unfortunately not everyone likes her art! This story is intended to inspire, a reminder to never give up on your dreams. The art is excellent, as you would expect from a veteran of the UK manga scene. I dare say this story will have been derived from personal experience at some point in time. 3. Detached, 20 pages by Dock. This is a pretty spooky story, cute in its own way, but also with a life lesson or two into the bargain. Its about a girl who?s different, looking for acceptance, and a moody bloke who thinks he?s better than everyone else. In this story the heroine Mia, learns what is most important to her. Dock as usually is always up there in the art stakes. The style of the art is quite different to his usual stuff, being a bit more chibi than normal. But it is still rather good. 4. Fake Wings, 4 pages by Morag Lewis. This is a short story about knowing how to achieve your goals, and being able to turn for help when need be. The art is typical of Morag Lewis, as she uses a fairly uniform standard throughout her comics. The beauty of her art is usually in the line art, and this piece is no exception here. 5. Perfect Get, 10 pages by Sercha Cronin. In this story, a guy and his friend are on holiday, and searching for the perfect thing to take back to England as a souvenir. Sercha Chronin is the guest artist appearing in Sugardrops, in general the art is cute and distinctive. A nice little comic. 6. Pretty Boy, 14 pages, by Keds. This story is about a woman who likes to draw pretty boys. One day one of them comes to life, but he?s not perfect... Keds is a young manga artist but not the youngest here. I consider him to be a great talent his art has a unique style and is on the whole brilliant there are some excellent background images to be seen here. 7. Tenshi Love, 15 pages by Bex. Awwww, this is a cute chibi style love story, about a boy angel, who is in love with a girl angel. But to win her love he must find..... a teddy! Bex is joint youngest in this anthology, being only 14 at the time it was compiled. 8. Sueto-chan and Sugar-chan 1 page by Selina Dean. This story features the Sweatdrop mascot, and the Sugardrops mascot. Probably just used as a little break for the reader, before moving on. 9. Sureem?s Story, 8 pages by Heather Sheppard. This story features cute furry animals! Rather intelligent ones that talk. Its a story to remind you never to forget your friends, and that you only realise how important they are when you lose them. Heather?s art is right out of the top drawer, with lovely backgrounds. 10. Li?l Kianna, 8 pages by Monkey X. This story is about a girl who runs away from home, in order to get some attention, and soon gets into bother. But she has a little friend to help her?. As with most of the stories compiled in this anthology the standard of art is good, whilst the layout is simple, and easy to follow. 11. The Adventure, 8 pages, by Denji. This is story of two kids who stay at home playing computer games all day. One day they decide to go on an adventure. But in the end they just do what they always do?. Denji is the twin sister of Bex, both were the same age and about 14 when this anthology was compiled. Both use cute chibi style artwork for their pieces, but their drawing styles differ somewhat and they utilise very different layouts for their pages. 12. Murder On The Dancefloor, 10 pages by Sonia Leong. This is practically a dancing competition between cat girls, where the object is to be the last one standing at the end. Expect dirty tricks, and mayhem. It?s kind of like a cross between Come Dancing and Wacky Races? As far is I know this is Sonia Leong?s first published comic. The art has a chibi feel to it, but not as chibi as some, but as always it is of a high standard. There is plenty of action, and plenty of detail in the art. Overall a very good comic. 13. VK UK. 4 pages by Niki Hunter. Mia and her cats are at home?? Mia says NAAARF! You?d probably be thinking, ?what?s the point??. But you?ll notice there is actually only one page of actual comic but also a character reference in the page opposite. Things make much more sense when you read that. Niki is a professional games artist and her art is more or less superb all of the time, and this comic is no exception, her skills as a character designer are also excellent. The only thing I would say is it could have been longer! 14. Sparkling Gift, 6 pages by Wing Yun Man. In this story, a girl is trying to get a gift for her friend?s birthday. The result is quite hilarious believe me! Wing Yun Man is the queen of cute, although she does other things just as well. Her art is rather professional looking and her comic layouts are easily digested as well. A fine piece of work, And quite amusing. 15. My friend BAZ, 6 pages by Emma Viecelli A tale of a boy and his imaginary friend. Is it a boy? A superhero? A cute fluffy animal? No, it?s a miniature spliff smoking, beer drinking, nike kicking chav! This story is my favourite as I can understand this story from the point of view of personal experience, only my so called friends were real! The artwork is good, as is the layout, and whether this story is meant to be or not, it is funny! The anthology as a whole. The anthology as a whole is excellent, from any point of view you can think of. 1. The actual finishing is excellent, the quality of binding and printing. 2. The stories themselves are quite well thought out and drawn. 3. The quality of the materials themselves are good 4. The cover image conveys the theme of cute perfectly, and stands out as a work of art itself. 5. The price is pretty reasonable, it in fact costs less than most graphic novels from big time manga publishers. Whilst some of the artists in this anthology are professionals, most are not. But yet the quality of the artwork and stories coming from Sweatdrop Studios as a whole is pretty excellent in every way. The people there work hard, and always aspire to improve, and Sugardrops is culmination of the talent of the group as a whole. It serves, to show the world what Sweatdrop Studios is capable of doing. This anthology is one of the best ways to sample various artists work, and learn more about what this group has to offer. This flagship book of Sweatdrop is fast becoming the standard for members of the group with long series. Since then, Sweatdrop has released other graphic novels, including, Looking For The Sun volume 1, by Morag Lewis, and Fantastic Cat volume 1, by Selina Dean. And more will follow in the future I dare say. But Sugardrops is the book that started Sweatdrop down that road.

1139635334 The site is more or less finished now, so put your feet up in the lounge and talk some!:)

1139493641 Ah well every forum is going to need some rules. But in this case i dont think we need all that many, just the basic use your head stuff. But mostly its just going to be stuff regarding signature use, images, and behaviour. Behaviour Things that will get you banned: *Posting anything illegal. *Posting porn. *Posting warez. *Creating tension between other manga studios. *Creating tension between anybody. *Attepting to create tensions between anybody. *Constant reapeat offending of lesser offences. Lesser offences: *Spamming the board. *Constantly posting threads in the wrong place. *Constantly bumping threads for attention. *Constantly double posting (thats posting once, then again before anyone replies) *bugging people for replies. *Typing in txt and leet speak. *Advertising goods or services not related to comics. (Comics are allowed) *Abusing smileys. :p:(:?;)lol:confused::cool::D:):mad::pist *A[COLOR=sienna]B[COLOR=darkolivegreen]U[COLOR=darkgreen]S[COLOR=darkslateblue]I[COLOR=navy]N[COLOR=indigo]G [COLOR=darkslategray]T[COLOR=darkred]E[COLOR=darkorange]X[COLOR=olive]T [/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR]F[COLOR=teal]O[COLOR=lime]R[COLOR=orange]M[COLOR=red]A[COLOR=plum]T[COLOR=wheat]I[COLOR=yellow]N[COLOR=darkorange]G, [/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][COLOR=lime][COLOR=orange][COLOR=red][COLOR=plum][COLOR=wheat][COLOR=yellow][COLOR=darkorange][COLOR=black]AND TYPING ALL IN CAPITALS! *[SIZE=2]Not obeying any forum specific rules. (please refer to the sticky threads in each forum entitled forum specific rules) [SIZE=3]Current Forum Specific rules [url="http://www.ukmangaxl.com/Forum/showthread.php?p=102#post102"]Lounge[/url] [url="http://www.ukmangaxl.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=40"]Non UK Manga & Anime[/url] [url="http://www.ukmangaxl.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=10"]Uk Manga[/url] [url="http://www.ukmangaxl.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=39"]Review Requests[/url] [url="http://www.ukmangaxl.com/Forum/showthread.php?p=44#post44"]UK Manga XL Reviews[/url] [/SIZE][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/SIZE][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR]This list can be subject to change at my whim.

The Lounge The Lounge is special on my forums, it serves many purposes as well as just general chat. You will notice many sticky threads there which serve a variety of purposes. This is in order to keep the rest of the forums as focused on manga as possible. As such it deserves a special mention here. The Lounge Stickys The Introduction thread: This is where you introduce yourselves, please do not post a hi im new thread. Website Plugage: If you have to plug the by all means do it here. The Selling Thread: If you have anything to sell please do it here. A. You make a post and wait for replies, please dont bump the thread up. B. You buy anything from a person at your own risk. Do not complain to any UK MANGA XL staff if you get robbed. C. Please only transfer personal details between you by Private Message. D. You may not sell Small press manga by any [url="http://www.ukmangaxl.com/sdir.htm"]studio[/url] or [url="http://www.ukmangaxl.com/idir.htm"]individuals[/url]listed here or any others for that matter. E. Obvious commecial sales, or attempts at sales will get removed. [SIZE=4]Website Plugs[/SIZE] You may plug your websites, providing they are of some benifit to the UK anime/manga Fandom. Websites found to be selling goods other than small press comics will have their threads removed. Websites displaying anything which contravines the rules of this forum will have their threads removed[SIZE=3]. [/SIZE] There will be a sticky thread in the lounge entitled [url="http://www.ukmangaxl.com/Forum/showthread.php?p=101#post101"]website plugage[/url], were you may plug your sites. Bumping threads up will not be tolerated, anyone caught doing this deliberatly will have their plug thread removed. We like people who plug: *Manga studios *Personal art sites *Small press comics *Pleasent anime/manga communities *Anime Conventions *Webcomics *Anime/manga magazines and other manga related literature. *Generaly anything of benifit to the fandom. We dont like people to plug: *Porn sites *Anything vast and commercial *Anything small and commercial and obvously out to make a buck with no benifit to the fandom *Live Journals, (do that on Live Journal) *Other blogs *Anything that is of no benifit to the Anime/Manga Fandom If we are really impressed by your site then we are going to want to link to you. On the other hand if you want to link to us please PM [url="http://www.ukmangaxl.com/Forum/member.php?u=1"]me[/url] about this. Banners for linking are required to be 150x30. This way i can fit everone on. If you have the honor of being included on the Main home page then its 150x60 pixels.[SIZE=3] [/SIZE] [COLOR=sienna][COLOR=darkolivegreen][COLOR=darkgreen][COLOR=darkslateblue][COLOR=navy][COLOR=indigo][COLOR=olive][COLOR=teal][COLOR=lime][COLOR=orange][COLOR=red][COLOR=plum][COLOR=wheat][COLOR=yellow][COLOR=darkorange][COLOR=black][SIZE=2] [SIZE=3][SIZE=4]IMAGES[/SIZE] [SIZE=2][SIZE=3]Artwork[/SIZE][/SIZE][SIZE=2] [/SIZE][/SIZE][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/SIZE][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR]This site is about reviewing comics, please do not post your artwork here. Do not ask for crit regarding artwork. You may however attatch example images of comics, if you happen to be making one at the time as a means creating awareness. If you want to talk about artwork in detail then please visit [url="http://www.sweatdrop.com/forum/"]Sweatdrop Studios[/url]. They will gladly discuss and crit artwork with you.[COLOR=sienna][COLOR=darkolivegreen][COLOR=darkgreen][COLOR=darkslateblue][COLOR=navy][COLOR=indigo][COLOR=olive][COLOR=teal][COLOR=lime][COLOR=orange][COLOR=red][COLOR=plum][COLOR=wheat][COLOR=yellow][COLOR=darkorange][COLOR=black][SIZE=2][SIZE=2][SIZE=3]:) [/SIZE] Avatars [/SIZE][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/SIZE][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR] Avatars must be no larger than 60 x 60 pixels, any larger than this and they will not display. Signatures: Text signatures will be kept to no more than 5 lines Images no bigger than 200x40

No more than one image this size please. You may use two if they are half this width ie 100x40. Any signatures that break these rules will be removed. Posting images: Images must be 800x600, and no larger than 100k. Swearing and Adult material: Because of the nature of this site, there will be childeren here, therefore all posts containing adult material should be clearly marked. Swearing is perfectly acceptable, as long is its administered properly.

How i treat swearing will depend very much on the context in which its used.

1139702967 Wahey, congratulations - it's looking very efficient and official

1139703889 Thanks very much, im perticularly glad to hear that from you, being pretty experianced at making websites and such. Im quite suprised that i've been able to do all this to be honest, its been quite a learning experience, but i look at it and think its been worth it.

1139734434 [QUOTE=B14CK PH0?N!X]Thanks very much, im perticularly glad to hear that from you, being pretty experianced at making websites and such. Im quite suprised that i've been able to do all this to be honest, its been quite a learning experience, but i look at it and think its been worth it.

[/QUOTE] Ah, I've never done anything complicated like this. Our wiki is run by my husband, who's a geek and enjoyed hacking the source code about

Definitely worth it, if you learnt new things

1139785270 Hello all and welco
me to the Uk Manga XL forums. My name is Wayne, and i shall be the one doing the reviews and managing this site. Please introduce yourselves, and make yourselves at home everyone.

1139838913 This is just a thread asking for people who visit here to take a peek at the content now and then. I just need to know a few things, is my info right, is the spelling ok, and are there any bugs that you can see?:) This thread will be removed once the site is launched. As yet im still waiting for permission to use stuff from some people, but they're slowly getting back to me. As this happens im getting a little bit more finished off each day, so some things are changing. If you've visited before be sure to refresh your pages, to display any new changes from your last visits. Latest changes have been in the about section, and also in the creative freedom index, where thier comics are now being advertised on thier own pages. Things like info in the studio directory need varifying for accuracy. Thanks Everyone.

1140016904 Hiya, This looks like a interesting website so I'll be sure to check back on it from time to time

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 Biomecha 1 1140399152 Series overview Biomecha is a series about a lad who loses his arms in an accident, and aquires some prosthetic ones, but they are very hard to control.If anyone has ever seen Red Dwarf series 7, you'll know just the kind of antics these limbs can get up to. Cracking open anything less than an armoured tank is next to impossible, and Toshio the male lead has to come to terms with his accident, and learn how to bend his new limbs to his will. This series is synonymous with its creator Laura Watton. It's the first series to spring to mind when her name is mentioned, It's not only a currently ongoing series, but it's also on of her first series. It's almost like the definitive history of Laura's art development, from her earliest comics in her early teens, all the way up to today. The Review of issue 1 In this issue Toshio makes his first appearance with a crunch, and we also get introduced to the ladies, Reiko, Phyllis and Jo, as Toshio settles into his new life as a student at the All Purpose Cybertechnik High school. After a few little mishaps with his over sensitive mechanical arms, he tells everyone how he got to be that way. His limbs cause him all sorts of bother, and this frustrates Toshio greatly... This comic was created back in the earliest of Laura's comicking days; even at the age of 14 this first comic isn't bad at all. The art as you might expect has a few quirks. For example some of the buildings look slightly out of perspective, but that's to be expected of a then very young and inexperienced artist, but it is consistent, and it is fairly good. Everything was done by hand, from the inking to the toning, and the lettering was cut out and pasted on the page by hand too. The inks themselves were done by a man named Chatri. The layout is also quite good, and the story in this issue is easy enough to follow. The characters themselves are interesting enough, and have a good deal of expression. Even back in those early days Laura's characters have personality, and were pretty well drawn. There are a few life issues portrayed within these pages, and there are more to be found throughout the series, but one can see themes such as coping with a disadvantage, and learning to cope with what you have, within the first issue. It also expresses the kind of frustration similarly disadvantaged people must have to go through in their own lives. Biomecha issue 1 is a good start to a good series, which improves with its creator over the years. __________________________________________________ __________ Story and art by: Laura Watton Review by: Wayne Hallows

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 Biomecha 2 1140399264 Introduction In this issue Toshio has been at All Purpose Cybertechnik High School for three weeks, and so far he's only managed to destroy half the school thanks to his hyper sensitive limbs. This issue also brings yet more characters to the fold, Mr Feld, Miss Takaya, and a young lad called Harlan Harvey. Mr Feld is the guy who is trying to help Toshio get control of his arms. Miss Takaya is a Teacher, and only appears in one or two frames. Harlan Harvey, or 'Harl' as he is called by his friends, is a young boy Toshio meets, after a bit of girl related angst. Already we see one of the main relationships in the series taking shape, although its hard for Toshio since he can't do all the usual romantic things since he's likely to crush the poor girl in question. This is a big reason why Toshio gets so frustrated� Art & Design Art wise there are some improvements from the last issue, notably the buildings look a bit more in perspective, and there are slight improvements overall. But there are still little quirks such as; in some scenes the perspective is better than others, and there are little quirks with the way hands are drawn. But this isn't any great detriment to the comic. The panel layouts are easy enough to follow still, and work well with the story. But there were also some instances where speech bubbles would have worked better if they were positioned better. One or two seemed to be coming from the wrong person. Things overall were better in the first issue than the second in terms of the design. The story itself however is fine, and things are starting to take shape, and Laura's characters are still just as expressive as before, and there is fun to be had as well as angst. __________________________________________________ __________ Story and art by: Laura Watton Review by: Wayne Hallows

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 Biomecha 3 1140399384 Introduction In this third issue, Toshio makes up with the object of his affections, and the doctor who created Toshio's arms, also Harl's dad decides to go out for the day leaving his lab empty. This is the perfect opportunity for Toshio to find anything relating to his limbs, and hopefully learn any secrets. There's also a chance for Toshio to use his over powered arms for something useful too. This issue is also the first in which we know of the cute and some might say pathetic mascot known as Squishy-Chan, as he is rescued from a cage within the lab. There's plenty of fun in this issue. People pass exams, and people have parties, and people who were all angsty last time kiss and make up. But there are other things that are less happy as well, for instance we learn that Jo is blind, and little snippets of people's pasts and Reiko's father can't come to her review evening after she passes her exams. Art & Design Art wise things are still improving. The perspective problems in earlier comics are finally a thing of the past, and the backgrounds are becoming ever more detailed. Characters themselves look better with each and every comic, and that consistency is there as it always has been. The thing I love about this comic is the way Laura draws her surprise and alarm, and other over positive emotions such triumphalism when people pass exams for instance. These facial expressions can be both cute and humorous. The inking is still done by Chatri at this point. Quirks still exist though, like an occasional weird shaped foot or hand but as before nothing too bad. The layout is also still good, and the speech bubbles are mostly in the right place, so there's little confusion for the reader. Issue 3 of Biomecha is an improvement on the previous two issues in terms of art, and because the relationship side of things is beginning to heat up. I've quite enjoyed the series so far. __________________________________________________ __________ Story and art by: Laura Watton Review by: Wayne Hallows

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 Biomecha 3.5 Party Special 1140399483 Introduction This special issue, starts after the Christmas party and moves on to Reiko's own birthday party the day after. Things are certainly happening now! Everybody gets wasted, has a good time and gets loved up. These students certainly know how to party. Even the young ones manage to find the old mans liquor store and nick some beer. I can totally relate to some of these scenes, since I've probably done them all over and over as a kid. It's this sort of craziness that adds humour to the comic, and makes it all the more enjoyable, especially after indulging in a little hair of the dog yourself. Squishy-chan also provides some comic relief with his reactions to the various goings on throughout the whole issue. Art & Design Art wise, Laura is older and wiser and it shows, instances of weird limbs are down, and there are far fewer instances of any art flaws you could care to dream up. However the discerning artist might find some flaws. The art isn't perfect still, but it is good. This is also the final issue which is inked by Chatri. The panel layouts aren't bad, but as things get crazier so do the panels. As an experienced reader this is not such a problem for me, but for someone who doesn't read manga or any comics very often might get lost in one or two places. The speech bubbles and dialogue are all done by hand rather than by cutting and pasting text as in the last few issues, the handwriting suits the comic well enough and is easy to read and follow, and character all display their emotions as well as the always do, Laura Watton has no problems there at all. Overall it's a good comic. Its funny, and its crazy, and plenty of good things happened to keep me interested. It certainly brought back a few interesting memories for me... __________________________________________________ __________ Story and art by: Laura Watton Review by: Wayne Hallows

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 Biomecha 4 1140399569 [LEFT]Biomecha 4 Introduction This issue begins with the aftermath of the last issue's drunken debacle, there some sore heads and poorly bellies, but "two aspirins later" and people are perking up a bit. Toshio is with Dr Harvey, the man who made his arms, and they are making adjustments so Toshio might have more control and be able to live more normally. Dr Harvey also uses the opportunity to find out how is son Harlan is doing now he's living with Toshio, as well as voice his annoyance regarding the fact that Dr Harvey had to give up his life's work. His life's work being the arms which Toshio now has, the arms which saved his life after his accident before the first issue. Toshio's control is improving though as he gets to hug his beloved without crushing her this time, his main worry in the earlier issues. Art & Design Art-wise things ever so slightly better than last time, but characters are as bright and expressive as usual, although bad foot and hand syndrome seems to have emerged again for some reason, there are some particularly noticeable ones in this comic. Perhaps Laura was in a hurry when she was creating this issue? Layouts toning and background however are very good, and the inking is also quite good too. In previous issues she had a colleague named Chatri to complete the inking, and also employed other artists to produce the covers. When this series was first conceived Laura was doing GCSE's, and then A-Levels and after that an art degree. This is the first issue when every task was completed by Laura herself. The text was produced by cutting and pasting it on just like previous issues. This issue focuses on more serious things like shoujo angst, and romance than the usual craziness, but then it is nice to see something a little different within the story from time to time. It remains interesting still. __________________________________________________ __________ Story and art by: Laura Watton Review by: Wayne Hallows [/LEFT]

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 Biomecha 5 1140399697 Biomecha 5 Introduction In this issue we're at the hospital again after Toshio accidentally crushes one of his friends with his oversensitive arms. His control is getting better, and he can at least hug his friend without squeezing her to a pulp this time. Other relationships are blooming or at least getting a cut of the action in this episode. But this leads to a bit of tension between them since one of the parties has to make some compromises regarding their appearance and this leads to one of them thinking whether they are even really interested in a relationship at all. Jo also has an encounter although it's not exactly romantic, lets just say its weird, an appointment that goes strangely to say the least. Relationships seem to be the staple of this comic though, and they all seem have an angsty twist or even more in this issue of Biomecha. It's been a fair old while between this issue of Biomecha and the previous one, two years in fact. The creators art skills and even her techniques have changed since then. The art is of much higher quality than before, and the characters whilst as expressive as ever look ever so more mature than ever too. In fact Toshio has looks to have gone from goofy kid to angsty bishie in one swift stroke. Art & Design Toshio has indeed become a man, and Laura is becoming a fine comic artist. This is the first issue that has been produced with computers. There is evidence of Photoshop toning, and text will have also been done using the same program with fonts from Blambot. Having done comics this way myself I can appreciate the benefits of using such a system, although there are a few errors that one can pick out, such as tones not being applied in separate layers which causes tones to merge with the frame borders. But she can be forgiven for this since the using a system like that for comic production was brand new at the time, unless you use the system yourself, you probably wouldn't notice anyway, and it doesn't distract you from the comic at all. Layout and design is spot on, and at no point was I confused. The font chosen for the dialogue is brilliant, and gives it a really professional comic feel. The whole package has However benefited from the influence of Sweatdrop Studios, the quality of the printed article itself is very good, with its perfectly guillotined pages. For an A5 stapled fanzine, it's very good indeed, as other issues were probably not made by professional printers. As a current worker in the print industry I can attest to the quality of the end product. As I have said before, Biomecha is focusing on more mature subject that being relationships. But don't forget the creator started this series as a girl of 14 and is now by this point a woman in her 20s, and as people get older so their perspective on life changes, and that's what this comic is all about. Growing up and moving on, but at the same time on thing will always remain constant. Will Toshio ever be able to control his arms and live a normal life? __________________________________________________ __________ Story and art by: Laura Watton Review by: Wayne Hallows

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 Foxtails Ashcom 3 1140400184 Foxtails Ashcom 3 Foxtails Sweatdrop Ashcom #3 AshCom is half an ashcan, half a comic. That means you get some short stories, and one pagers, with a few doodles and maybe some creative insights thrown in for good measure. This ashcom was produced by Foxy, a man of science rather than art. Making comics is one of his hobbies. Ashcoms are not great examples of sequential art, they are perhaps not as engaging or interesting in the same way as a full comic is. What they are, is a collection of ideas, and thoughts, an insight into the artists mind, which could be interesting in itself. The construction of the book is fairly simple photocopied pages and a coloured paper cover. This example is only 16 pages long including the covers, and the longest of these short stories, only 3 pages long. But for the sake of only 50 pence who cares, its worth a look, and if you hate the thing then you cant say you lost anything can you? __________________________________________________ __________ Story and art by: Foxy Review by: Wayne Hallows

tonks 5 hey everyone! 1140407390 Im jess, waynes sister. Im just a random person on this site but it looks pretty cool dont ya think?:pist

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 1140438119 Hi Jess, its nice to have your support.

khalid 7 1140691162 dude i think your site is really cool. you can expect me to be postin here alot!:) i like your reviews, pretty detailed stuff. hope to have my stuff reviewed by you one day.

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 1140699789 Hi khalid, good to have you here.

I'll be glad to review any comics you make, just make sure they are up on a website or available to buy in printed form

khalid 7 1140700239 will do wayne;) itll probably be a webcomic. ill drop you the link when its done;)

xan 2 1140728147 Hey, a Hi from me. Lookign good!

xan 2 1140728269 Id love to link, bet was the typo in the banner deliberate? I read it as "Orinal manga" Im thinking it should be Original Fell free to delete this post ^_^

xan 2 1140728467 I'm Xan, since I don't tend to use my real name for much other than Official documents and college tutors, I will likely not use it here very often xP That was pointless, but Hi anyway ^^;)

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 1140777501 Ah well, its all these late nights getting to me you see. I'll probably change it before this site if officialy launched.

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 1140777672 Welcome Xan, make yourself at home!:)

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 Zaphron 1140784262 Zaphron Introduction The comic Zaphron is named after its main character, a collage student studying to become an architect. She is much like your average teenage girl, she enjoys drooling over boys, engaging in girl talk with her female friends, as well as hanging out with her friends. The male lead is an angsty bishie named Lucas, quite why he is so angsty remains a mystery until a bit of the aforementioned girl talk reveals all. Lucas is a bit of a loner ,since he has life issues and responsibilities to deal with. But despite his angstiness he's a good lad at heart. Lucas it seems has his problems, the local bad boys don't like him for a start. But the bad boys around here aren't exactly your Cheltenham average, they have quite a few magic tricks hidden amongst their tracksuits... The story is quite interesting, and I can't wait to find out more about Lucas, and more to the point find out what those barries were after. The best thing about this comic though for me are the relationships between Zaphron and her friends. They are portrayed very well indeed, and the dialogue between these girls is just how I would imagine talkative girls would be in reality. This is definitely Charlotte's greatest talent at this point in the comic. Art and Design Zaphron is the first official manga created by Charlotte Goodacre, and as one can expect there are a few flaws around that experience will cure. Art-wise things are reasonable, characters look well drawn enough most of the time, although consistency in anatomy is the main issue. In places characters are spot on, in others they look a little different. The dialogue is generally very good, and the chosen font suits the comic well, although there is at least one typo. The main area this comic could improve is the design. There are occasions where events could have been extended, like the phone in the park. There is no sense of Zaphron having to go back for it. In one frame she's home, the next in the park. Also some of the girl talk could have been extended over a whole page rather than crammed into one frame. With experience these things will no doubt improve. Toning is non-existent in this comic. The comic is shaded in greyscale, which looks fine on a webcomic, but may not look so good in print. Generally people produce manga in screentones which is the standard and looks the best overall both online and in print. Some people also prefere to use full colour in their comics. As a fairly inexperienced comic artist myself, I have myself had similar things to deal with and I'm still dealing with them. I can appreciate the effort that goes into producing a comic like this. Overall despite a bit of inexperience, this comic is ok. If you can ignore any design flaws and concentrate on the interpersonal relationships in the comic then you can see its worth. I hope Charlotte continues to improve, and produce more comics in the future. __________________________________________________ __________ Story and art by: Charlotte Goodacre Review by: Wayne Hallows

Cin 4 1141106249 Well, I'm Cin and I ?m into anime and video games and I draw and write [url="http://www.duel-class.com"]Duel class[/url]. I hope to continue for so for a while until I either finish the comic, get bored and give up or I start playing with that electric saw downstairs

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 1141171891 Welcome Cin.

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 Glomp! 1141176749 Glomp! Introduction This is Glomp! A short comic by Stephanie Drewett, it?s about an ordinary lad from London, and his mad anime fangirl sister. This story is all about that subject and doesn?t have any particular setting, but rather focuses on the thoughts of the brother on his crazy sister. It goes through all the usual wapanese moments, as well as the most hated of his sister?s fangirl habits, the dreaded GLOMP! Art & Design As you would expect from the creator of Mango Milkshake, the art in this comic is of a decent standard. However things are much simpler here, and less detailed. The characters are as good as ever though, and really expressive to boot, from the brother cringing, to the sister?s over reactive glomping, and this adds memorable humour to the comic, which it really needs. The layout is fair, and adequate to the stories needs, fonts for dialogue look good also. One thing about this comic is the total lack of toning, everything is just bare line art, and I strongly feel that there could have been more detail added to backgrounds, just something to look at because otherwise this comic is fairly bare. Which really doesn?t do the comic any favours since its so short, really in short comics, there needs to be something fairly substantial to look at, and nothing really stands out from the white of the paper, which is disappointing. But to be fair the comic is a good laugh, and it explores the feelings of the average person stuck with anime mad siblings quite well, the line art on its own could be considered very good, but on its own its only half a manga comic. My favourite picture on the whole comic, is the rear cover picture which is just beautiful, and in general this comic has been manufactured to a good standard. Overall this comic is good, but to have been a brilliant comic the art inside would need quite a bit more detail. __________________________________________________ __________ Story and art by: Stephanie Drewett Review by: Wayne Hallows

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 Snails dont have freinds 1141177550 Snails don?t have friends. Introduction Welcome to Snails Don?t Have Friends, the comic by Selina Dean that was completed in 8 days from start to end. Unlike most comics this one has no dialogue whatsoever the entire story is told with pictures alone. So as you can imagine every frame tells the story in a way that can explained without words. Our protagonist, called such because he doesn?t have a name as such, is wondering through the streets when he encounters a busker, who with a bit of monetary persuasion becomes two beautiful women. Our protagonist falls in love with these two immediately, but the two girls fall in love with each other! Our protagonist is heartbroken, literally and goes to the repair shop to have it fixed, however the shopkeeper decides to fix him permanently instead?. Art & Design Because of the nature of this comic, and despite its short creation period, this comic tells the story very well indeed. Believe me its very easy to follow despite the lack of any dialogue, its very easy to get the gist of events. Lending to the speed of creation is the simplicity of Selina?s artwork. In general most of Selina?s comics are drawn in a fairly minimalist chibi style, but it is very well executed and looks very good on these pyschedelic multicoloured pages. For those of you who don?t know of Selina Dean, most of her comics are produced in this style. But as an artist she is capable of many styles of art, and also art with great detail, one need only look at her art site nodding cat to see this. Certainly to produce any comic in such a short length of time is a great feat. Despite the timeframe very little looks to have been skipped or rushed, there is tone where there needs to be, and the layout of the frames has been thought about, and not just thrown anywhere. There are also handy little signs and thought bubbles to help the story along too. The only noticeable problems are the details in backgrounds, a few more hours might have made a perfect comic. There are scenes which require no backgrounds as such, but some of the scenes with backgrounds could have been more detailed, maybe just a few more clocks, a few more windows on buildings ect, but nothing to distract from the minimalist art of the comic. Overall though things are looking good, and the quality of the finished product is pretty good also, with its full colour cover and multicoloured pages. Its fun not to have to look too hard at a comic to understand it. __________________________________________________ __________ Story and art by: Selina Dean Review by: Wayne Hallows

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 Co_Okie 1141178289 Cookie Introduction This bizarre comic is the brainchild of Fahed Said, also known as Fred, with art by Shari Hes. This comic could be described as cute, crazy, gory, and funny all the same time, the clever use of the Japanese emoticon for confusion in the title is a dead give away. Just be prepared! o_O The story is about some Zombie kid all on his own, home alone with his dead pet cat with a fork in its back. This kid is real creepy and just sits there on the sofa with a gormless look on his face dribbling everywhere, only ever getting out of his seat to send trick or treaters packing, or if someone breaks in. Well let?s just say I wouldn?t want to break into this kid?s house, because Zombie kid is a real nut job. One need only look at his pet cat. This is what he does to things he likes; I can only imagine how he treats his enemies?. Art & Design Shari Hes is an excellent artist, and Fahed is also an excellent writer, and perfectly able to articulate his ideas to his collaborator in most cases. Cookie is no exception. Shari is capable of many artistic styles although for this comic they go for a cute and bizarre look that fits this comic very well indeed. There have been no screentones used, the shading appears to have been painted, and I?m fairly certain that computers played no part in its creation other than maybe the pre press. Dialogue-wise there is very little, and most of the story is told without words, and the layout of frames is simple and functional. The greatest thing about this comic is the way the creepy atmosphere is created. Everything is black, the shading itself is very dark, and the frame borders are irregular rather than just straight lines. The black outer area of the pages also seems to leak into the fames, like darkness leaking into the light. There is also plenty of blood splats to keep most gore mongers happy, but its not so disgusting as to put off you?re average reader. Some of the art could be described by some people as scruffy and lazy in places, but I think the comic was purposely styled to look this way. There are no ruled lines anywhere, and everything in general has a sketchy feel to it. In my opinion though this just makes this particular story look better. I think that straight lines and a more orderly look would detract from the craziness, although the organisation of the frames is certainly orderly enough to move the story along. Overall I think this comic was quite amusing, if not a little mad. One could also say the same thing about the artwork within too, amusing if not a little mad. Although if you?re squeamish about kids with chainsaws and blood then you might want to give this little comic a miss.

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 Tetraspace 1141178980 Tetraspace Introduction This comic is a collaboration between Morag Lewis; the creator of Looking For The Sun, and Mary Beaird. The story is about a man named Thomas Lionel Kitchener, who is an antique dealer and your typical middle class gentleman. He is perfect in nearly every way, but he doesn?t like animals. One day he dies, and gets reincarnated as a cat. He gets to find out just what being an animal is like? Mary Beaird is responsible for the scripting and story for this comic, and so far its looking pretty interesting. It seems fitting that a person who dislikes animals should become one himself, and be forced to see the world through the point of view of his nemesis. It?s a story where the reader could feel ambivalence towards the main character, feeling angry at him for chasing a cat away. But yet feel sad for him when he dies and becomes one himself. It?s intriguing and well worth a read. Art & Design Morag Lewis Biologist, puts a great deal of effort into her comics most of the time, and she as also produced a hell of a lot of them too. The art in this comic generally produced to a good standard, and in an instantly recognisable style all of her own. The characters are fairly well drawn, and I liked the way they express their emotions, they weren?t visually over the top as is the case with most manga style comics. They seemed more British; more stiff upper lip. Still expressive though, but eyes and other facial features are not as exaggerated as some manga usually are. I like the shading also, it looks as if a combination of screentone and watercolour has been used in this comic. The animals are also drawn very well too; especially the actions scenes involving the cat, I feel Morag has captured the movement of the animal very well indeed. Most of the background images are good too, although felt there could have been more details on some of the floors in some of the indoor scenes. Rather than just having big white spaces perhaps some brushstrokes or tone to create the impression of carpet pile, or maybe wood flooring might give the scenes a little more detail. All in all though most scenes were very detailed, its just a few epmptyish ones that let that side of the comic down somewhat. The worst thing within this comic are the vehicle images, especially the cars. My main gripe with them isn?t so much that they aren?t stylish; most people don?t own a BMW riding on 2O inch chrome rims. They are just slightly misshapen, and in some cases not on the same scale as the characters that are about to enter them. There are also instances where shading leaks over the line art on the vehicles making them look untidy. The hearse on page 17 and the removal van on page 20 are the worst examples of all, though. But I can forgive Morag for this somewhat since this comic isn?t Top Gear, and cars are merely incidental, there because people in the 21st century tend to drive cars. However the artist should produce all aspects their comic with the same zeal as they do the rest of it. Overall it?s not a bad comic, and it has a very interesting plot. The art is good on the whole, but a few sloppy cars let it down. Morag will make many more comics in the future, if anything I hope she will make sure that every aspect of her work is as good as every other part, and not skip minor details. __________________________________________________ __________ Story and art by: Faheed Said & Shari Hes Review by: Wayne Hallows

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 Forum Specific Rules. 1141179947 This Forum is for the purpose of posting any comments, suggestions, or discussing any of our site's reviews. Please only post in these threads if you have something useful to add regarding the reviews. Things such as discussions on whether a review is fair or constructive. Or perhaps any complaints or criticism. Things of this nature are acceptable. Also if you have your own take on a review then this is allowed too. You may not however create any new threads. The only persons allowed to create new threads within this forum are me and any other review staff. Please also make sure you post subject matter relating to reviews, under the correct reviews. Any unauthorised threads will be deleted, and posts in incorrect theads will be moved. Thanks for your co-operation.

xan 2 1141200909 One thing about the forums, Permissions, You will need to set them up. In the reviews forum, you state in the sticky that Users are not allowed to create new threads. Perhaps you should edit the forum permissions so that they cannot do this, instead of just asking it(Since alot of people do not read the Stickies and the box at the bottom of the page says 'You can create new threads) Just as suggestion, Ill e-mail you/ MASN you the step-by-step details on how to do this if you dont know ^^

TEST 8 1141223132 [QUOTE=xan]One thing about the forums, Permissions, You will need to set them up. In the reviews forum, you state in the sticky that Users are not allowed to create new threads. Perhaps you should edit the forum permissions so that they cannot do this, instead of just asking it(Since alot of people do not read the Stickies and the box at the bottom of the page says 'You can create new threads) Just as suggestion, Ill e-mail you/ MASN you the step-by-step details on how to do this if you dont know ^^[/QUOTE] Cheers Xan, its done now.lol

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 1141223233 Oooops! I forgot to log back in.

Also, make sure you read and understand the rules too Xan.

lol Avatars are only allowed to be 80 x 80 pixels. Make sure you resize it or else it wont display.

Saphire 6 1141229565 Thanks for the review Wayne! Well, I have decided to go back an re-do some of my comic - by aplying tones instead of grey scale. Hopefully this will make the comic look alittle more professional and will hopefully print better aswell.

xan 2 1141250097 o.0 Ok, I uploaded that Via User Pic, which said that it could be 100x100, When I tried to use an Avatar. there wasnt an option to xP

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 1141251699 Go to user CP, then edit avatar. You can select wether to use one from your PC, or from a url.

User picture is a different thing, it only appears in your profile.

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 Illusional Beauty Issue 1 1141305517
Illusional Beauty Issue 1 Introduction This comic is about a traveller who is touring the length and breadth of the land playing his music. On his travels he came upon a strange kingdom where all the inhabitants are miserable and oblivious their beautiful surroundings. The traveller strikes up and plays a little tune to the bemused people. But his efforts fall on deaf ears and he ends up behind bars, you see music is banned from this kingdom. But even from the bars of his cell, there are still beautiful things to behold? Although this first chapter of Illusional Beauty is only 18 pages long, the story so far is interesting. Things happen and questions arise. What will become of our bard, and of course will the people of the kingdom of Remini, ever get to understand the beauty of music? Art & Design Bex is one of the youngest members of the Sweatdrop team. As an artist her skills are still very much in development, as is her drawing style. The anatomy of characters is ok, although most areas could be improved upon. Facial features, mainly ear and eye levels stand out most, hands also need some work. However Bex has a good grasp of hair, and characters have a nice variety of hair from short and spiky to long and flowing. The main problem art-wise though is that it looks sketchy, the characters for the most part are boldly drawn and stand out nicely, the backgrounds are not as consistent. The backgrounds are sometimes very detailed and nice to look at, and at other times things seem to have been sketched in rough and then forgotten about. The line art however is not all bad, and Bex has used a good variety of lines in most areas, the lines are generally not monotonous and add depth to the artwork overall. The design aspect though is pretty decent though, the story reads well enough and is easy to follow, and every frame is purposeful and well placed, as is the dialogue. There is also some careful consideration gone into the design of this fantasy world. There are some excellent costumes, and if nothing else Bex has captured this medieval world quite well. In conclusion this is a nice little comic. It?s got its flaws, but then so do most. But it?s cute and imaginative. It?s got a real fairytale feel to it. __________________________________________________ __________ Story and art by: Bex Review by: Wayne Hallows

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 Illusional Beauty Issue 2 1141305995 Illusional Beauty Issue 2 Introduction Our traveller is still behind bars for the terrible sin of playing music in the land of Remini. Whilst incarcerated he gets a couple of visitors and an offer of freedom providing he plays no music. Our traveller however has other ideas, but there are other malcontents within the kingdom of Remini, so our hero may yet be set free? Old questions still remain, and new ones are proposed. But there are no real answers to events in the story within this Issue. We learn that the King Antano banned music from the kingdom, but as yet there are no reasons given. However there are hints in places about the past of the land of Remini, this is enough to keep things interesting, despite events only inching forwards. Art & Design The art in this Issue is much improved from the last. Most of the sketchiness is gone, especially in the backgrounds. Characters are slightly improved on, although some areas of anatomy still need a little work. The hair is as good as last time, but ears still seem to be too low down the face on nearly everyone still. The layout and frames are still very good though, as is the dialogue. Bex has a good grasp of how to present her story in a way that is understandable to the reader. Overall there isn?t a great deal going on in the story, but there are some nice hints to keep people interested. There are however a few important improvements to the artwork, and this makes things all the more enjoyable to look at. This fairytale world comes to life in a new and improved light. __________________________________________________ __________ Story and art by: Bex Review by: Wayne Hallows

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 Once Upon A Time Issue 1 1141307392 Once Upon A Time Issue 1 The first time I read this work was online on the Sweatdrop forum, and even then I was quite impressed with it. In general it is well presented from start to end, the layout of the pages moves the story on in a manner which is easy to follow, and the art itself is very consistent and of a high quality. Having read plenty of manga, and other examples of other UK manga style comics, I can say that this is an excellent piece of work, well worthy of anyone's collection. Life's not like the story books, you never know where the inspiration comes from... so it says at the back of the zine. Although this story is set in the present day UK, from the moment you first open this chapter of once upon a time you are thrust striate into a fantasy world, in which an Elfin princess is dying in the arms of her protector Sir Thorvalyn. This is in fact a book, which the main character Briony Rose Johnson is reading during her break time. This will have greater significance later on in this chapter, but for now lets concentrate on this story and its influences. Throughout the zine, experienced manga readers will notice many things that are similar to certain Clamp stories they've read, most notably CCS. You can see familiar scenes, and one or two of the characters seem to resemble them either in physical looks, or just by their interests and behavior. Take the second character we are introduced to: Mercedes Whiting, she reminds me of Tomoyo from CCS not least because of her physical resemblance, but also because she is an ace student just the same. This girl only plays a minor role here but she becomes more significant in the next chapter. Through this first chapter we see how the girl, Briony deals with her feelings for Lucien, another character introduced to us here, and how she gains her inspiration and courage to finally talk to him. Indeed I think the whole idea of this story is to inspire the reader to achieve their goals in life, whether it be love, academic success or anything; even I think the act of comic creation itself. Take this quote for instance, "If you do not dare to start... how can you ever expect to finish?" Nothing could be truer than that - whoever you are or whatever you want, if you don't go for it you won't ever get it unless you start - and that has to be the most potent message the creator wants to get across. __________________________________________________ __________ Story and art by: Sonia Leong Review by: Wayne Hallows

tonks 5 1141332756 hey wayney! just fort id drop in,say hi while im in london! Its looking good bro! keep the hard work up!

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 1141337685 Cheers Jess, i'll be seeing you tommorow then no doubt. I'll probably be blathered anyway.:confused:
B14CK PH0?N!X 1 Those who can dance on the feathers. 1141340851 Those Who Can Dance On The Feathers #1 Introduction Those Who Can Dance On The Feathers is the story of two boys Kokoaripiku and Sanyo, who are both searching for the Secret Garden. It?s a tale of friendship, and of learning to trust. It?s about taking risks in order to succeed, and there?s just something about this comic that tells me there is more in the air than simple friendship when all said and done. At this present moment there are only two characters in this issue of the series, the two boys. Together they travel, and have to put each others lives in each others hands on the way, and learn more about each other. This comic is all about friendship and trust. In real life people need others in most cases in order to survive and prosper. This comic explores these principals especially trust since it?s the perquisite of friendship and therefore everything else. Art & Design Denji is a young artist in the making, her skills and style are still developing and there are things which could be improved. But that being said the art is quite cute, and there?s a good range of skills already on offer. Denji?s characters anatomy is reasonable, and hands tend to be the right shape, if not a little small. Characters faces are also quite expressive as they should be, but heads tend to be on the slanty side. But characters overall look cute, have nice hair and the costumes are well thought out and imaginative. The main flaws with the human aspect of the comic is that the artwork is sketchy, sometimes even scribbly and scratchy. It would even appear that some of this has been done in Biro or just left in pencil. There are also areas which appear to have been sketched inked over and the sketch lines haven?t been erased. The comic would have looked a hundred times better with crisp, clean and varied line art. As it is most of the line art is made up of monotonous thin lines which is a shame. The layout of the comic and its frames do this comic much better justice I?m glad to say. The panels are well thought about, and they are varied and dynamic. The dialogue is placed well and not just plonked anywhere, speech bubbles however could have been bolder, as it is they can blend into the rest of the monotone line work. The background scenes are good too, they aren?t as sketchy as the characters, and they have just the right amount of detail, not too much or too little, the management lines and tones are also ok. There is however a couple of areas done in a real dark tone, which appear to have been applied in several pieces, and these lines show up. Overall this comic isn?t too bad, the art is flawed but it is cute. The storytelling aspect of this story is well ahead of the art though. Denji however has a long career ahead of her though and we all start somewhere. __________________________________________________ __________ Story and art by: Denji Review by: Wayne Hallows

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 Those who can dance on the feathers #2 1141340946 Those Who Can Dance On The Feathers #2 Introduction In issue 2 of Those Who Can Dance On The Feathers, we continue on the journey to the Secret Garden. Our hero?s get caught in a magical rainstorm, which Kokoa seems to love whiles Sanyo hates it. Kokoa disappears for a moment to stop the storm with his magic causing Sanyo to miss his pal. At this present moment there are still only two characters in this issue of the series, the two boys. Together they travel, and have to put each others lives in each others hands on the way, and learn more about each other. There could be more characters in this story though. There needs to be to explain all the goings on that happen like the magical rainstorm for instance, who, where, when. Also if this secret garden is so important, then where are its guardians? The story that?s there is told well though, I get the feeling that this comic is a shounen-ai or boys love, Denji isn?t particularly subtle with this in issue 2. Anybody reading this is going to notice that these boys probably fancy each other. Still throughout history men facing big struggles seemed to fancy each other. I believe even the great Genghis Khan professed his love to one of his generals at one point, and just as in that case Kokoa and Sanyo need each other for survival and companionship in just the same way. Art & Design Overall this comic is an improvement on the last one in terms of artwork. Sketchiness still exists, however the line art especially on characters is both bold and varied, much less monotonous and interesting. Anatomy is better especially on limbs, but faces still have that slanty appearance in places. Eyes however have got worse, not only are they bigger but they are also sketchy and bold which is not a particularly good combination. Background art is on par with the last issue, there?s plenty there for the eye to see, and little white emptiness. Panel layout and frames are just as well thought about as they were in the previous issue, and speech bubbles stand out this time, as well as been placed in an intelligent manner. Overall then this comic is an improvement. It?s clear to see Denji is thinking about things and experimenting art-wise, some things work and others don?t. The story is told well, but there needs to be more to it than just two boys and a random magical rainstorm. __________________________________________________ __________ Story and art by: Denji Review by: Wayne Hallows

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 Ashcom 1 1141342282 Ashcom 1 This is the first in Sweatdrop's Ashcom series. It's a collection of short stories by Laura Watton, some of which are base on real events out on holiday, or in the pub, or even just walking down the street. There are also a couple of previews of some of her other comics as well, such as Biomecha, and Reluctant Soldier Princess Nami. Whilst there isn't exactly anything too gripping about this little collection of odds and ends, there is certainly an amount of amusement to be gained from the short stories. One day in Liverpool, and the mystery cup are examples of little one pagers which can amuse. The art in most of these little odds and ends aren't the best Laura Watton has to offer. They were quick one pagers done for practice or just to kill time, but then that's what an ashcom is for. The book itself is just photocopied on paper and stapled together. But lets face it for fifty pence it's not bad, and there is some content here which is bound to amuse someone. Every artist should do an ashcom, its like a window into the mind of an artist, and this one is a bit of fun into the bargain. __________________________________________________ __________ Story and art by: Laura Watton Review by: Wayne Hallows

B14CK PH0?N!X 1 Mango Milkshake 1141342443 Mango Milkshake Introduction Welcome to Mango Milkshake, a story set in Romford, London, in the present day. The story is centred around a young woman named Ronso, basically just your average city girl living on her own in a flat. With snotty relatives, large puddles, cheating boyfriends, and the local hooligans all being her adversaries in life, not to mention being skint into the bargain. Things aren't easy for Ronso. But after a trip to the market she finds this thing called the path stone, but not caring too much about its supposed legendary properties, she swaps it for some jewellery, not having got enough money on her to pay for it. Ronso takes the path stone home, will it forever change this young ladies destiny, or will it just be a dead weight on the table? You'll have to read the comic to find out. Art & design The art in this comic is very good overall, from characters to backgrounds. There are very few if any real errors at all, and like most manga artists Stephanie Drewett has her own distinct style of drawing which looks pretty good anyway, and this combined with some CLAMP style minimalisation makes for some good eye candy. Characters are expressive and Stephanie definitely knows how to portray expressive characters. The little yobs look as cheeky as they should, and Ronso's reactions to their pranks are portrayed in a similarly effective fashion. The design element of this comic is also quite good, panel layouts are easy to follow and make sense. The dialogue is for the most part well thought out although some bad language could alienate some younger readers from reading this comic. I feel also that later in the comic events unfold a little too quickly, and perhaps could have done with a few more pages. Really this comic should have been done over 30 pages rather than only 24. But apart from a few things as stated above this comic really is very good, I enjoyed reading it, I hope there is more to come in the future. __________________________________________________ __________ Story and art by: Stephanie Drewett Review by: Wayne Hallows

Yakamo 10 1141433110 hi im Yakamo but on AE im raff (for now) really looking forward to posting here.

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