1.) I haven't updated in a while because I got scared off. My comp sci prof last term assigned us all to make a teeny-tiny website, so I turned this blog into a website using a little bit of CSS and some of Yomo's art. I also included many of my entries. The entry previous to this one did not make the cut for the obvious reason that I liberally criticized my prof's work without any really reason than he was my prof. Unprofessional of me, and rather silly. His work is actually rather fantastic and the colors in "bejeweled" have left me breathless.

So he emails me later saying that just because he doesn't have human subjects, doesn't make his work less viable as an art form. This is true, but what the HELL? I totally freaked out, thinking that I had accidently submitted the entry after all. But when I checked my work, nope, nothing there. Either I goofed earlier and sent him a rough draft with the entry on him or he googled me. In anycase, I was very embarassed and will not be repeating the mistake.

2.) All my links are once again behaving. For a while there, they were wigging out and I was too lazy to fix them, but now they are back in all their glory. Have a suggestion for a link? Feel free to leave a message on the tagboard, a comment, a email, whatever. I'm always looking for stuff to add to the list. Or, just enjoy the ones that are there and go forth to worship the creators. That's what I spend all my time doing.

3.) Speaking of adding links, I've been checking out the subscription comics. I now pay to read the Modern Tales archive. This is mostly because I couldn't bear to continue to stay away from Faith Hicks wonderful work, the last of which is her series "Ice". I adore Faith Hicks so much as an artist, and I really wanted to continue to read her stuff after "Demonolgy 101" ended. But she had gone to subscription only with "Ice," and so for a long time I thought, no, I better not waste my money. But let's face it...It was worth it. So I ponied up and now I'm a very happy customer. I also discover another comic, called "The Desert Peach," which I strongly suggest you learn about. Great art, and you know you love gay Nazis.

4.) You know who else is switching to subscription? Aoi Hayashi, the creator of "Your Wings Are Mine," a long time favorite manga of mine, may finally be giving up free readership. She made a comic explaining why, so if you are a fan, read the comic and then vote on whether it should remain free or go to subscription. The good news is that the archives will remain 100% free, and after 3-6 months, any work that was formerly subscribed to will be added to the free archive. So if you stick to the free stuff, expect a wait. But if enough people subscribe, then Aoi plans to create a certain number of pages guaranteed every month. So, regular updates, and I'm all for that. I voted for subscription, but the polls are almost tied. It could go either way.

5.) Next time, I promise a real review of something. Not that anyone reads this. But a real review of a comic not currently on my lists. It's a real treat, too, so come back in the next two weeks and check it out.

First off, everyone needs this:

Because it's the coolest comic on earth. It was the second webcomic I ever read, and I love it like I love my computer. And that's a lot.

Second, one of my professors has a deviant art account. I know he's a computer science professor and all, and specializes in graphics, but it's still weird. I thought it was just a my generation thing.

Anyway, he takes photos. He's still experimenting, so the pictures are still of things, not people and are kind of generic, but hey, they're good pics. Like, really good. He uses a digital camera, but a nice one, not that crappy Kodak shit my highschool newspaper stuck me with.

Here's his link:
http://black0.deviantart.com

Also, illegal Mexican immigrant kids build an underwater robot. Cool.

It's true. I really do believe hotlinking is a very bad thing, and I don't think anyone should do it. I certainly don't avocate it. Why do I, someone who has confessed to hotlinking for the majority of my images, bring this up?

(Just as a quick note: hotlinking and direct linking are the same thing in what they do, but hotlinking is stealing and direct linking is done by permission of the site owner.)

...are really wigging out. This is what I get for direct linking. Site owners move their images around, and I'm left with a bunch of missing banners and my page columns re-arranged from long alt-text writing.

I am currently trying to replace the banners a quickly as possible. I think the culprit is the "Electronic Geisha" site that has hosted "Pure Art" and a great many of my links, as well as "Beanclamchowder" the artsite of the creators of www.thecastings.com. I borrow (steal) these sites' images quite often, even though the owners have admonished us against it often. I'm not a very good listener. So I've decided to just suck it up and host the images myself.

The problem is that I'm recovering from surgery and have a TON of homework, so I'm replacing the banners one at a time, as I get to them. To add to the problem, even though my HTML is very neat and orderly, I still have lines and lines to go through to single out the banners. So it takes time...then to track down new banners...bleh.

So just be patient, and the pretty-picture banners will come back soon. The links still work, though, so it's not like you're cut off.

Also, I have some new banners up to make up for the missing ones!

http://www.operafloozy.com/butterfly/main.html 
Babochka takes place in turn of the 20th century Russia. It's very much a political drama, but also a tale about aristocrats in love, friendships that never end, innocence, and pretty boys. Excellent art, updates often, and pretty boys! Professional manga-quality, very good. You can find it's banner at the top of the Web Comic list.

http://www.building12.net/ 
Another comic about college students, combined with a very strange cast, evil bumbling dictators who want world domination, hell demons who want a hot springs resort, space invaders who want to set up shopping malls, and it's up to the loser, weirdo occupants of Building 12 to stop them all! This comic is hilarious, and lots of fun. Done in gray-scale, it has frequent full-color fan service and full-color issue colors.

http://www.misfile.com/
A comic about a filing mistake made by the pot-smoking younger son of the archangel Gabriel. The young druggie, alcholic, sex-driven angel is kicked out of heaven for his habits, and decides to correct his mistakes (which have resulted in gender-switching and lost years for two sophmores in high school) try and do a few good deeds, and maybe get taken back to heaven. Drawn well in pencil, updating often, funny, interesting...and angels! Plus, Gabriel's older son is hot.

RECENT NEWS:
The fledgling comic "'Surreal Deception" has offically died, it seems. It was a long time coming, but I recently noticed my banners had gone down, a sure-fire sign that the site was gone.

Surreal Deception was a comic written by Sin, drawn by Yomo, and helped along by K-ron. Had it lived, it would have a fascinating storyline and beautiful art. Sadly, it was not to be. I mostly visited the site out of a continuing admiration for Yomo's art, and would have liked to see it continue just so that art would be public.

Also, I've changed up this place a little, not that any of you visit often enough to actually notice. But I got rid of the calendar (it served no purpose) and have added more links. Lots more links, actually. I plan to keep adding more, until they line all the way down the entries.

Title: Schism
Creator: Leigh Bader
Rating: R to NC-17

First, let me say this: I love Shikai. I drool over him. He is sechsay, I want him. Shikai *rocks.*

Now that I've cleared that up, on with the review:

Schism is yet another one of those online-mangas that has latched on to the idea of the technology-driven dystopic future. But Schism is definitely not your run-of-the-mill manga. Instead, it takes that over-used idea and runs with it, showing a society where technology has led to man's downfall and the consquences of that sudden and violent "Schism." The world that creator Liegh Bader creates is intriguing, well-formed and anything but boring.

As far as plot goes, the story revolves around the main character Jiko Akatsuki, an extremely intelligent young man who's just taken a teaching job. On his way rushing to work he bumps into a stranger. This stranger leaves the scene quickly, and forgets his glasses. Jiko picks them up, takes them home, and *boom* the plotline takes off quickly as Jiko discovers who the stranger was and what he wants...

I hate writing summaries, so that was a really lousy description. If you want to find out about the story, go read it.

Okay, I have to say it before I go on, or I just know I'm going to run into trouble. Schism is most definitely a shounen-ai manga. For a full definition, I suggest you click that link. If shounen-ai just absolutely freaks you out, this is DEFINITELY not the manga for you.

And as far as rating goes, the swearing and violence get this manga an R-rating. The "Outtakes" section used to be rated a definite NC-17 section for explict sexual situations, but has been recently cleaned out and upholds the site's R-rating. As far as I know, there will be no explict sexual content in the future, only implied. 

But okay, enough about that sort of content. Everyone's really wondering about the art, right? Remember the rule: You can have a crappy storyline and great art and have a successful comic, but a great storyline and crappy art get you nowhere.

But this place was feeling just so negected, I had to put something. I will be doing a review of Schism soon, as well as one of Deception, as soon as they get their second chapter up. By the way, does anyone know where I can buy Shutterbox vol. 2? 'Cause it's not being sold at the Barnes and Nobles near my house.
Love ya'll lots,
Manda

You are Jiko. You're a mostly happy, confident person, who cares deeply about those around you. You often try to take on more than you can handle in an attempt to prove yourself, and because others depend on you. As a result, you sometimes get discouraged, but you've got plently of support to help you when needed.

Schism quiz by Sol.

The second volume of "Confidential Confessions" is finally out! Having happily read it, here's my review:

Confidential Confessions is a short-story manga series detail the lives of several girls. It's definitely more edgy and darker than most of the shoujo-manga out there--this is no Kare Kano. Instead, it goes over the more twisted things highschoolers are faced with these days, and never flinches away from the hard truth.

Volume 1 told two stories: The first, called "The Door," telling about two girls who plan to commit suicide together to escape from the bitterness of their unfullfilling lives. This deals with cutting, extreme bulling, sadism, prostitution and of course, suicide. The story winds along leaving you wondering if they'll ever get around to the eventual act. They plan and prepare, but can they do it? The end throws a curve ball, I'll tell you that; leaving you balanced uneasily between semi-sweet hope and horrid despair.

The second of the stories of volume 1 is called "Mistakes." The story of a girl whose life rapidly takes a turn for the worse when her father abandons the family, this one will have you praying for a happy ending. Eventually the heroine turns to prostitution. Just when things seem they can't get any worse, there's a light at the end of the tunnel. She meets a young guitarist who puts her up in his apartment for no cost and no favors. This is a tragedy though, and our herione has a tragic flaw befitting any Greek hero. She ends up arrested, but her love for the guitarist never fades and continues to give her hope even in her bleakest times. How does it end? It really depends on your definition of 'happy'. I think I'll go for the term 'wistful'.

And now there's a second volume. I must say, I was impressed. Sometimes mangas loose momentum on the second issue and don't do just to the first volume. Not so here! I liked volume 2 much better and was happy that the gritty tone was kept up. Volume 2 consists entirely of one story, though, and I felt that it took too long to get to the point in some parts. The second volume is about sexual harrassment and takes a hard look at gender stereotypes. The question that seems to be the basis is this: Do women deserve their lower status? The heroine struggles with her morals and her desire to be liked through the entire issue in a believable manner. The girl herself is captain of a prestigious tennis team who's coach is a total pervert. Again and again he degrades the girls and pushes it too far, but they're afraid to rebel and loose their tennis scholarships.

I loved it. After how volume 1 ended, I wasn't sure what desision the main character would make in this volume. It could have gone a number of ways, but I thought how this one ended was fitting and appriopriate after the ending of the previous two stories.

There are some web-mangas out there that lack wit, decent art, or even a story line. And while for the most part I only want to advertise the best, sometimes the eye torture becomes so bad I simply have to warn others away.

X-day, vol.1 by Setona Mizushiro

X-Day rocks! I started to read vol. 1 today at Barnes & Nobles and liked it so much I bought it on the spot. Why? Because I loved the storyline. I mean really, how many mangas are about four people randomly meeting in a chatroom and end up deciding to blow up their school?