04-05-07

Process and Kitties
I have been asked, on the rare occasion when people rattle my cage, why I seldom review new comics.  On a related note, people also ask why, after two years of reviewing, I have yet to give a one-star review.  The answer, if you're actually interested and not just bouncing annoying questions off me like popcorn off a zoo alligator, is related for both of them, because it has to do with my process.
          You see, before I review a comic, I read the comic's entire archive (often in a single night), then I track the comic for a couple of weeks just to get a handle on the artists' update schedule (and how well they keep it).  With the exception of gag-a-day comics, it's difficult—nearly impossible, even—to get a good idea of the ebb and flow of plotting and characterization in anything less than six months or so (it is my belief that TV critics that think they can judge the quality of television shows based on a pilot and a "representative sample" are full of shit).  The other reason for the (very loose, I know) No New Comics rule is that when I review a comic, I like to be reasonably sure that it'll be there when you guys go to read it.  Webcomics have an amazingly high rate of attrition, and even years-long comics have been known to just shut down in the middle of a major story arc.  So I am justifiably shy of saying "go read this" when I can't say for certain that there will be anything to read.
          The reason the lack of 1-star comics is related is because I have to read the entire archive.  On a comic so vile and beneath my good graces that it rates a single star (or, god forbid, no stars at all), that is the intellectual and artistic equivalent of swimming waste-deep through raw sewage.  Now, remembering that no one is paying me to do this, why would you expect me to put myself through that?  And, dear god, why would I encourage that by providing the free publicity that even a bad review provides?  thank you, no.

Smile the Kitty, or Possibly, Kitty the Kitty
Neko the Kitty has languished on my waiting list almost since the reviews began.  I find I have a bit of difficulty with it.   Mind, I don't have many difficulties with the quality or anything, it's just that it's difficult to fit Neko into any of those nice capsule summaries we reviewers like so much.  Neko  is a gag-a-day comic that sometimes accidentally finds itself telling a story.  I mean, it's a story comic that maintains your interest with poopy jokes.  I mean, it's a cat comic—like Garfield but without the cut-and-paste jokes and multi-million dollar marketing.  I mean, it's a roommates comic, only very few of the "roommates" actually live together.  You see where I'm going, here?
          Okay, what Neko is, is a comic centered around Neko (pronounced "Neeko" so it means both "cat" because of the spelling and "smile" because of the pronunciation), a small mixed-breed cat living with college student Alice Cooper (oddly enough, Molloy has yet to make a joke about her name, even in the "Cast" page).  Neko's life of napping and occasionally indulging in fantasy battles against eighties vintage action figures is often interrupted by Maisy, a cat from across the hall, and Keno, the last remaining kitten from Maisy's litter from Neko.  Alice, in her turn is often distracted from her own private wackiness by her wacky friends, especially, her roommate, Ellen, her ex-boyfriend, Jeff, and Gar, who started out as a fourth-wall-breaking insertion of Molloy into the comic and turned into a semi-autobiographical recurring character in the comic. 
          It is that unplanned, largely improvised nature that provides Neko with much of its whimsy and many of its problems.  At one point, a gag arc developed into Neko and Maisy sitting on the sofa smoking.  This arc started because Maisy was on fire and developed into one of the funniest bits in the comic.  Molloy's wit is dry, and he is very good at delivering the funny.  But he can't make himself ignore story, so Neko can't be fully gag-a-day like Penny Arcade or Simulated Comic Product.  At the same time, Molloy's deep desire to write a gag-a-day prevents him from really writing a story comic.  Things seem to happen randomly, even if they follow something vaguely resembling a cause-and-effect pattern for short periods.  This can be disconcerting, especially if you're cruising through the archives.
          The art is solid and owes most of its style to newspaper comics.  Backgrounds are simplified and utilitarian, and the character art is functional without being reduced to talking-heads simplicity. 
          At one time, Neko was on a Tuesday/Thursday schedule, but that fell by the wayside some time ago.  Last year, possibly owing to a crisis in Molloy's real life, Neko took a hiatus.  Since that ended, strips have been issued on a catch-as-catch can basis with no discernible pattern.  That being the case I can't guarantee that Neko will continue updating at all.
But I hope so.

Neko the Kitty by Gearoíd Molloy
Updates:  Inconsistent
Caveats:  Cat humor, Smoking, Canadians
Rating: