ComicWorm Speaks!- Riptiders Racing Review
ComicWorm Speaks!
Riptiders Racing
by Mastafuu and Paradigm Shift
****
The Story: It's wet! it's wild! It's Riptiders© Aquatic Racing!
Welcome everyone to the Race Entertainment© Center of the Universe, where each and every week your favorite Riptiders© will do whatever it takes to cross the line! When the flag drops, anything and everything can happen out there on the track, and usually does! Riptiders© Aquatic Racing is fun for the entire family, no matter where you are in the galaxy!
Riptider’s Racing is an online webcomic that takes place in a ‘galaxy far far away’ where the most popular spectator sport in the universe is an aquatic racing sport where racers of varying stripes and species compete to cross the finish line in a race for fame and fortune. Already, the creators are already working in the comics favor for creating such memorable scenario. Racing is the oldest sport in existence and there is no end to the amount of media that has been crafted around it. Riptiders is unique is how it not only features aquatic racing but racing by aquatic creatures in demolition derby/gladiatorial race.
Very unique and sets itself apart from other racing media. The water motif continues through every page and it is very memorable. So far, water motif’s seem to be less encountered in books and comics lately, the favorites being fire and metal. The differences are further exemplified by the fact that so far, most of the racers seem to be of the merpeople variety, that is they have humanoid torsos and fish and/or tentacled tails. Mermaids have long been under the shadow the Disney character and resulting franchise. As a result they have long been considered ‘girl stuff,’ whatever that means.
This Comic challenges that archetype, not only making the characters decidedly not ‘girly’ (although plenty of over sexualization) but also downright badass. Most of the characters are male and many of them are fairly monstrous. The female characters, while being well endowed are also uniquely designed.
The artwork is absolutely superb. A colorful, fast paced comic with a not a little bit of manga influence. Color appears to play a large role in the comic as every character has a unique color scheme. This was wise on the part of the creators as it will allow more dynamic scenes
One aspect in particular is worthy of mention in how the artist draws water. From what ComicWorm understands, water is one of those things that is very tricky to draw/animate just by the fact that water is so different from air. So far, the artist seems to be getting it right.
This comic is much more than just the myriad of webcomics out there. The creators have crafted a large multimedia universe spread throughout a variety of online mediums. It is much more than just the comic. They are trying to build a franchise and it looks great. There is so much though and creativity has gone into creation of this world.
They even have brief bits about the corporations that sponsor Riptiders Racing. It really is incredible and provides such a rich universe to explore.
Unfortunately, as it stands at the time of this writing, that is also this comic’s most glaring flaw. There is a lot of style but little substance. The comic’s update schedule is a little sluggish at this point and so far has only served as an introduction to this expertly crafted universe. One of the painful lessons that ComicWorm has learned over the course of his writing has discovered that world building only goes so far. One can craft the world down to the tiniest detail but it is all for naught if there is no story to build around it. Then it just becomes trivia. That’s what we have here…The website is expertly crafted, filled with animation, music, a history of Riptiders Racing, and even a Youtube music playlist, and only one issue of the comic. For those who become enamored with this universe right from the start it can be a bit of let down.
ComicWorm knows how difficult any creative venture can be. Some days it is a struggle to write one thousand words and he has no idea how hard it can be for artists. At the same time, a lot of work has already been put into this comic, and one wishes to build an audience, consistency is key.
Final Verdict: This is a webcomic that has obviously had a lot of effort put into it and has a lot of potential. Let us hope it lives up to that potential.
Four out Five Stars
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