Broken Frontier

Like the shady side? Try Shadowgirls

I’ve been waiting for a moment for the webcomic strip Shadowgirls to slow down enough to showcase the results to new user, but that said, it’s already been about two weeks, and I have a feeling I’ll be waiting a long time for this supernatural webcomic to stall for a breathing point. Written by Starkweather comic writer David A. Rodriguez, with art by Dave Reynolds, Shadowgirls is a take-no-prisoners charge right into the paranormal.

Unfortunately, the site is missing much in the way of obvious explanation. Very little is known to me as far as plot goes, other than two girls entering into a very physical conflict with demonic forces. Fortunately, the results are always entertaining and – always crucial to a webcomic especially – downright near addictive.

It’s also the pairing of writer Rodriguez and artist Reynolds which really cements this collaboration in a solid footing. There’s high impact in virtually every scene and every update, and for a webcomic which updates every day Monday through Friday, that’s a rarity among the medium.

Rodriguez imbues a quirky sense of humor coupled with an ominous sense of all-importance surrounding Shadowgirls' characters and events, ensuring that, while we might not know exactly what’s happening, we certainly care for the outcome. The only real flaw of the webcomic is the lack of detail found on the main page. Most webcomics hint and display their cast of characters through various profile pages, and while there is one set aside for Shadowgirls, it has yet to be updated.

I have a feeling this will be a major boost for the already top-ranked webcomic – as this comic has already shown a more colorful cast of characters in three weeks than most major studios even get around to handling in their lifetimes.

Marvel has also entered the webcomic fray – though not in the way we might come to expect. “Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited” will allow fans to read comics from an expansive online library. A subscription to the service will cost $9.99 a month or $59.88 a year. The announcement has been featured on plenty of major news outlets throughout the day – including AP and USA Today.

What is even more major is the result – as the entire Marvel site has been prone to occasional downtime in response to apparently overwhelming numbers generated by the new program. This is an interesting tactic for Marvel’s most recent foray into the digital domain – conspicuously on the heels of DC’s own grand webomic foray Zuda.

Despite the grand opening, I’m not too sure how big an impact the strategy will have on Marvel. Firstly, the company has to find a way to sell subscriptions to not only comics but reprints online, and secondly, make them avidly readable in an online fashion. How Marvel counters these two significant hurdles is anyone’s guess.