No, not that Newman. I think you’re going to like this Newman. Once upon a time there was a webcomic that began as a kind of gag thing and then began transitioning into a story based strip. Hm, sound familiar? See, I’m not the only one!
That strip was known as Wizard and Snort. There’s was certainly nothing wrong with that strip, it had some fun characters and fun moments, but as I said, the creator – one Josh Ulrich – began to realize what he wanted to do and what he was doing at the start were two different things. And he didn’t like the transition from the one to the other.
So what he decided to do was “reload” the strip and begin telling the story he wanted to from the start. He renamed the strip Newman – after the main character, and began telling his story from the start. I think he made a great choice. Now the new site with the new strip is cohesive from the start.
(Side note: I’ve entertained similar thoughts about Marooned, and seeing Josh do it successfully – it makes me wonder, especially hitting strip #100 on Monday with new characters showing up. I’ve not thought about it seriously – but it’s worth considering if even just to think it through. I’ll probably have more to say about it next week.)
Newman tells the story of, well, Newman, a gnome working for the Creature Removal Department (C.R.D – heh, how fun is that?) – a kind of pro at what he does. His partner is a fairy, Emaline, and she kicks some butt too. However they are not without their struggles, as their “guild” meeting shows us. There’s some feeling of not being taken seriously and kind of being stuck in a hum drum, blue collar existence.
The strip opens with an action packed scene of Newman and Emaline taking in a creature. From there we get to find out about who these people are and get exposed to the other fine characters in the strip. Since the reload, the strip is only on #31 so you can jump in right away and get in on the goodness.
Josh’s artwork is spectacular, his color and linework really give the strip a great atmosphere. This is going to look great in a printed comic book. I really think Josh is onto something great and I expect Newman to be around for a long time. The strip is joy to look at and read.
Josh is also part of our super-secret comic project of which I can’t say anything yet without having to end your existence. Do yourself a favor and go read the whole story right now!
