Broken Frontier

As I pointed out before, crossovers are a great way to be exposed to other nooks and crannies of comicdom. After interviewing Al Schroeder, I learned of Crossoverlord, and from there, I connected with Daisen, the blond heroine arguing with Al Schroeder’s Mindmistress .

Neil Purcell’s Dasien is, like Mechagical Girl A.N.T , a character who stands on the threshold of super-hero and anime. Dasien is the superheroine identity of Michelle Ann Knight, a cheeky young woman endowed with super-strength as a result of an experimental virus. There are other typical elements of super-hero comics – including team-ups, super-villains and intrigue. But that’s what makes Dasien so instantly recommendable. It’s really not the plot of Dasien, but the character, that come off so strongly. From Dasien, a super-hero who is a geek in her own right, to the deadpan declarations of her best friend Parker, Dasien’s characters are its strongest selling point.

Creator Neil Purcell brings a refreshing voice to the webcomic, seen with his commentary at the bottom of each webcomic. Actually, Purcell’s explanations bring a lot to the overall strip, as they explain his references, influences and even some of his errors from strip to strip. Webcomics can carry a little or a lot of ego to them, so it’s refreshing to read a creator who isn’t afraid to bash those admittedly hideous Rob Liefield-esque designs for his prototype Dasien. All and all, the commentary helps us care for Dasien a little bit more, especially after we can see the effort and woodwork behind the scenes.

Overall, Dasien is a funny and fresh spin on the super-hero genre in webcomics. With about two years of reading material in the archives, Dasien gets better and better with every strip. With a wide palette of influences ranging from Stan Lee to Adam Warren, Dasien is one of the most vibrantly enjoyable webcomics out there.