Sarah Kulyk
70 pages
Updates Wednesdays
I already went on a stint about “girl gamers”, so I’ll leave that bit alone. Luckily, the feeling of this being a “oh I have breasts and a gaming rig therefore I am special” comic wears off quickly. The joke, smelling of overuse, crawls back into play a few times in the archive, but it passes like a oil baron sprinting along the sidewalk to avoid a homeless man.
Anyone who has read manga or seen an anime can agree that the art style is… dramatic. The simplest emotion can change a normal situation into an entire page full of face (see: surprise). GDPG is fairly similar to such styles, in art and writing both.
The art is fairly well-done. It won’t be hanging in the Louvre anytime soon, but the anime-styled drawing is engaging and expressive. Oh. So. Expressive.
Now, for the important part: the writing!
The characters are your standard fare, with Jynx playing the *ahem* “eccentric* character, and the rest of the cast filling in supporting roles as comic foils. Jynx seems to adore cosplay, and is constantly dressing up as game characters. This includes the decorative barrettes that hold back her bunches, which change with every page to reflect the goings-ons. The other characters include Jynx’s fiance, who was once named Eve, and her friends (lovingly titled “the asians”).
Now, the writing. I don’t usually say this, but I’m torn. The quality of the writing seems to change from day to day, moving from actual humor to utter silliness. Those of you who have read for a while know my views on utter randomness, but the short version is this: If there isn’t the tiniest bit of cohesion, then it’s just boring nonsense. Luckily, GDPG never crosses that dangerous line, but compare this to this. One has a tight, clear joke, while the other is just ehhhhhh…bear in mind that these comics are sequential.
The reason why I hesitate to dismiss the odd sections completely lies in the fact that (All together now!) “All video games comics are the same”. These comics must grasp at anything to make them stand out in the crowd. I was going to write that I liked the comics at the beginning of the archive better than the current ones, but it’s simply not true. Why? Because the original comics were more logical, more cohesive, and more boring. They’re just like every other comic on the market. Now… well, at least GDPG has something that separates it from the hordes of gamers screaming “LOL” at every passing gaming trend.
In all, I give Girls Don’t Play Games a hesitant thumb up (it’s only one handed, why would it be “thumbs”?) with a bonus weak smile. My feelings towards it went back and forth like the eyes of someone watching the Wimbledon, but it was mostly positive. Thus, enjoy it if you will, hate me if you don’t.
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