Nick Costanzo
Jan 16, 2006, 06:38 pm
<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/TangledPanels.jpg" hspace=10 align=left border=0 alt="Tangled Panels Logo">By Nick Costanzo, ncostanz@vt.edu
Less is More
I had a very simple premise in mind when I began this column. Once a month (or so) I’d share with you all one particular webcomic title that I particularly enjoyed, with special emphasis on lesser-known titles that you might not immediately recognize. However, the engineer in me demands that there be something of a scientific method to my selections. A control, if you will, that sets the standard against which all other webcomics shall be held. And it is with that in mind that I present what I believe to be the single greatest webcomic being produced today: Ryan Sohmer and Lar DeSouza’s Least I Could Do (http://www.leasticoulddo.com).
Rayne Summers is not your “typical” webcomics hero. After all, the industry (if you can really call it that) is dominated by gamers, roleplayers, and Star Wars fans. Some might call them a bit eccentric in their tastes and mannerisms, others simply refer to them as losers. As such, the typical webcomics lead has similar attributes. He (or she) is a relative shut in, has a life consumed by video games and Dungeons & Dragons, and is perpetually unsuccessful or awkward around the opposite sex (or whatever sex they may be looking for). This is not the case with Rayne. Indeed, by the time you finish reading this sentence, Rayne has already slept with your “girlfriend”, and maybe even your mom if she’s still hot.
Rayne is everything you (keep in mind I’m talking to the guys here) are not. He’s handsome, witty, and by all accounts, extremely well-endowed (http://www.leasticoulddo.com/index2.php?date=20030825). In all likelihood, he’s scored with more women than you’ll ever meet. An average episode of LICD may well involve Rayne’s post-coitus antics with a random female conquest, with the end result being either sexist (http://www.leasticoulddo.com/index2.php?date=20030811) or shocking (http://www.leasticoulddo.com/index2.php?date=20051121). And yet, at the same time, it’s funny as hell. To give you an idea of just how GOOD Rayne’s life is, he once pretended to apply for a job solely to seduce the company’s sexy CEO. It didn’t work, but he did manage to land a six figure salary as a consolation prize. To make matters worse, Rayne is a complete geek. He fantasizes about being Aragorn (http://www.leasticoulddo.com/index2.php?date=20041210) from Lord of The Rings, yet he still gets girls. It’s just not fair…
So, in the face of an egotistical misogynist playboy whose life is so perfect it makes you sick, why does Rayne manage to remain so damned likable? Well, for one thing, Rayne’s life is funny. Sometimes it’s a dark kind of humor that’ll have you laughing all day, only to feel really bad about it before you go to bed. Other times, pure slapstick gold. For me, there’s nothing quite so endearing as a man who will dress up in a gi and randomly attack (http://www.leasticoulddo.com/index2.php?date=20050921) karate dojos simply because he saw it on TV. Also, when it comes to friends, you could do worse than to have Rayne on your side. He’s the kind of guy who will take a beating if it means helping you out. Granted, there are risks. For every girl he helps you talk to, you’ll be forced to deal with talking llamas or dress up like a nun (http://www.leasticoulddo.com/index2.php?date=20051202) to make him look good.
There’s one other thing that comes to mind in the “why like Rayne?” question, but I’ll come to that later.
As far as art goes, Least I Could Do stands apart as the only webcomic to my knowledge to go through not one, but two major artistic changes. The first of the artists to draw LICD was Trevor Adams (http://www.leasticoulddo.com/index2.php?date=20030210). Adams’ art was cartoony, yet dynamic enough to hold your interest. However, with his art came a burning question: “How could such an ass-ugly Rayne Summers be such a ladies’ man?” Sure, Rayne was more “attractive” than the other characters in the strip, but he still looked at best thirteen and at worst a random mass of ink. However, I find it notable that this is the time in LICD before most of the strips were colored, resulting in a darker, more evil-looking Rayne. The scripts reflect this. Whether he’s encouraging a girl to get an abortion to song or barely evading jail for sleeping with an underage girl (granted, he THOUGHT she was 18), this is most vile and unlikable incarnation of Rayne Summers we see. In that vein, the art works rather well.
In less than a year, Trevor was replaced by Chad Porter (http://www.leasticoulddo.com/index2.php?date=20030804), who’s artwork would become the trademark image of the strip for the next two years. Chad was best known for two things. First of all, his characters tended to look a lot alike, differing only in hair color and occasionally size. However, this was often overlooked by the second thing Chad is known for: Fine-looking women. (http://www.leasticoulddo.com/index2.php?date=20030810) Chad is often credited to drawing the most attractive women of any webcomic out there, and as such his art fit in perfectly with LICD. This is also the point in the strip’s history where things become more colorful, more goofy, more fun. Rayne becomes a far more likable character with enough redeeming qualities to understand how he has so many friends, and he becomes a much more believable ladies’ man under Chad’s art.
However, scheduling conflicts ultimately resulted in Chad’s resignation. He was replaced by Lar DeSouza (http://www.leasticoulddo.com/index2.php?date=20050815), and as far as I’m concerned the strip has never looked better. Lar brings the perfect blend of cartoon slapstick and overall attractiveness that makes the entire range of the characters’ emotions work. The result almost looks like cells for an animated feature, which is great considering there are plans in the works for an animated version of LICD in the near future.
One of the things that makes a webcomic great is its ability to turn its weaknesses into an advantage. Probably the greatest weakness of LICD is its supporting characters. For the most part, they exist for no other reason than to give Rayne someone to mess with. Rob is a hopelessly whipped male who personifies Rayne’s fear of commitment. Mick is a chubby little loser who is often seen as a punchline in Rayne’s eyes. Issa is the lone female member of the supporting cast who represents the only girl Rayne’s ever been unsuccessful with, and as such leaves him infatuated. Noel is similar to Rayne in almost every way, except that he has no skill whatsoever with women. Oftentimes, such dependence on the main character might be seen as sloppy writing, but in LICD it serves to show just how cool Rayne is supposed to be, and allows for many of the jokes to be all the more funny. Make no mistake, there is nothing deep about this strip, and as such there isn’t the need to flesh the supporting cast out to be anything more than they already are. It’s all in good fun, and LICD never takes itself too seriously to forget that.
Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention John, the only supporting character of Least I Could Do who’s ever managed to steal the spotlight from Rayne. He represents probably the most “normal” character of the strip, with the exception of his dark urges appearing in the form of a tiny Darth Vader on his shoulder. It is through John’s eyes that we get the single funniest Star Wars-based strip ever (http://www.leasticoulddo.com/index2.php?date=20050520).
I mentioned before that there was one reason above all that you’ll end up liking Rayne by the time you’re done reading Least I could Do. The reason is quite simple: Rayne represents everything you wish you could be. Admit it, if you could have any woman you wanted while still thinking Everquest (http://www.leasticoulddo.com/index2.php?date=20051010) was cool, you would. Rayne represents the ultimate male escape from reality, and as such his antics are addictive and often a welcome shot of fun in your otherwise boring life. Considering the strip currently updates 6 times a week in full color, there is always something new to enjoy with Least I Could Do. If for some reason your life is so busy that you can only read one entirely free webcomic a day, check it out. You’ll be green with Rayne-envy in no time.
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Nick Costanzo would like you all to know that Rayne Summers makes Jordan T. Maxwell look like a humble soft-spoken virgin. He would also like you all to know, in the event that certain female readers may get wind of this article, that he lacks any Rayne-envy whatsoever. After all, he’s dating the most amazingly beautiful woman on the planet and she’s more than enough for him. Also, he prefers his nether regions un-crushed.
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The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and are not reflective of Comixfan or its other staff in general.
Less is More
I had a very simple premise in mind when I began this column. Once a month (or so) I’d share with you all one particular webcomic title that I particularly enjoyed, with special emphasis on lesser-known titles that you might not immediately recognize. However, the engineer in me demands that there be something of a scientific method to my selections. A control, if you will, that sets the standard against which all other webcomics shall be held. And it is with that in mind that I present what I believe to be the single greatest webcomic being produced today: Ryan Sohmer and Lar DeSouza’s Least I Could Do (http://www.leasticoulddo.com).
Rayne Summers is not your “typical” webcomics hero. After all, the industry (if you can really call it that) is dominated by gamers, roleplayers, and Star Wars fans. Some might call them a bit eccentric in their tastes and mannerisms, others simply refer to them as losers. As such, the typical webcomics lead has similar attributes. He (or she) is a relative shut in, has a life consumed by video games and Dungeons & Dragons, and is perpetually unsuccessful or awkward around the opposite sex (or whatever sex they may be looking for). This is not the case with Rayne. Indeed, by the time you finish reading this sentence, Rayne has already slept with your “girlfriend”, and maybe even your mom if she’s still hot.
Rayne is everything you (keep in mind I’m talking to the guys here) are not. He’s handsome, witty, and by all accounts, extremely well-endowed (http://www.leasticoulddo.com/index2.php?date=20030825). In all likelihood, he’s scored with more women than you’ll ever meet. An average episode of LICD may well involve Rayne’s post-coitus antics with a random female conquest, with the end result being either sexist (http://www.leasticoulddo.com/index2.php?date=20030811) or shocking (http://www.leasticoulddo.com/index2.php?date=20051121). And yet, at the same time, it’s funny as hell. To give you an idea of just how GOOD Rayne’s life is, he once pretended to apply for a job solely to seduce the company’s sexy CEO. It didn’t work, but he did manage to land a six figure salary as a consolation prize. To make matters worse, Rayne is a complete geek. He fantasizes about being Aragorn (http://www.leasticoulddo.com/index2.php?date=20041210) from Lord of The Rings, yet he still gets girls. It’s just not fair…
So, in the face of an egotistical misogynist playboy whose life is so perfect it makes you sick, why does Rayne manage to remain so damned likable? Well, for one thing, Rayne’s life is funny. Sometimes it’s a dark kind of humor that’ll have you laughing all day, only to feel really bad about it before you go to bed. Other times, pure slapstick gold. For me, there’s nothing quite so endearing as a man who will dress up in a gi and randomly attack (http://www.leasticoulddo.com/index2.php?date=20050921) karate dojos simply because he saw it on TV. Also, when it comes to friends, you could do worse than to have Rayne on your side. He’s the kind of guy who will take a beating if it means helping you out. Granted, there are risks. For every girl he helps you talk to, you’ll be forced to deal with talking llamas or dress up like a nun (http://www.leasticoulddo.com/index2.php?date=20051202) to make him look good.
There’s one other thing that comes to mind in the “why like Rayne?” question, but I’ll come to that later.
As far as art goes, Least I Could Do stands apart as the only webcomic to my knowledge to go through not one, but two major artistic changes. The first of the artists to draw LICD was Trevor Adams (http://www.leasticoulddo.com/index2.php?date=20030210). Adams’ art was cartoony, yet dynamic enough to hold your interest. However, with his art came a burning question: “How could such an ass-ugly Rayne Summers be such a ladies’ man?” Sure, Rayne was more “attractive” than the other characters in the strip, but he still looked at best thirteen and at worst a random mass of ink. However, I find it notable that this is the time in LICD before most of the strips were colored, resulting in a darker, more evil-looking Rayne. The scripts reflect this. Whether he’s encouraging a girl to get an abortion to song or barely evading jail for sleeping with an underage girl (granted, he THOUGHT she was 18), this is most vile and unlikable incarnation of Rayne Summers we see. In that vein, the art works rather well.
In less than a year, Trevor was replaced by Chad Porter (http://www.leasticoulddo.com/index2.php?date=20030804), who’s artwork would become the trademark image of the strip for the next two years. Chad was best known for two things. First of all, his characters tended to look a lot alike, differing only in hair color and occasionally size. However, this was often overlooked by the second thing Chad is known for: Fine-looking women. (http://www.leasticoulddo.com/index2.php?date=20030810) Chad is often credited to drawing the most attractive women of any webcomic out there, and as such his art fit in perfectly with LICD. This is also the point in the strip’s history where things become more colorful, more goofy, more fun. Rayne becomes a far more likable character with enough redeeming qualities to understand how he has so many friends, and he becomes a much more believable ladies’ man under Chad’s art.
However, scheduling conflicts ultimately resulted in Chad’s resignation. He was replaced by Lar DeSouza (http://www.leasticoulddo.com/index2.php?date=20050815), and as far as I’m concerned the strip has never looked better. Lar brings the perfect blend of cartoon slapstick and overall attractiveness that makes the entire range of the characters’ emotions work. The result almost looks like cells for an animated feature, which is great considering there are plans in the works for an animated version of LICD in the near future.
One of the things that makes a webcomic great is its ability to turn its weaknesses into an advantage. Probably the greatest weakness of LICD is its supporting characters. For the most part, they exist for no other reason than to give Rayne someone to mess with. Rob is a hopelessly whipped male who personifies Rayne’s fear of commitment. Mick is a chubby little loser who is often seen as a punchline in Rayne’s eyes. Issa is the lone female member of the supporting cast who represents the only girl Rayne’s ever been unsuccessful with, and as such leaves him infatuated. Noel is similar to Rayne in almost every way, except that he has no skill whatsoever with women. Oftentimes, such dependence on the main character might be seen as sloppy writing, but in LICD it serves to show just how cool Rayne is supposed to be, and allows for many of the jokes to be all the more funny. Make no mistake, there is nothing deep about this strip, and as such there isn’t the need to flesh the supporting cast out to be anything more than they already are. It’s all in good fun, and LICD never takes itself too seriously to forget that.
Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention John, the only supporting character of Least I Could Do who’s ever managed to steal the spotlight from Rayne. He represents probably the most “normal” character of the strip, with the exception of his dark urges appearing in the form of a tiny Darth Vader on his shoulder. It is through John’s eyes that we get the single funniest Star Wars-based strip ever (http://www.leasticoulddo.com/index2.php?date=20050520).
I mentioned before that there was one reason above all that you’ll end up liking Rayne by the time you’re done reading Least I could Do. The reason is quite simple: Rayne represents everything you wish you could be. Admit it, if you could have any woman you wanted while still thinking Everquest (http://www.leasticoulddo.com/index2.php?date=20051010) was cool, you would. Rayne represents the ultimate male escape from reality, and as such his antics are addictive and often a welcome shot of fun in your otherwise boring life. Considering the strip currently updates 6 times a week in full color, there is always something new to enjoy with Least I Could Do. If for some reason your life is so busy that you can only read one entirely free webcomic a day, check it out. You’ll be green with Rayne-envy in no time.
<center><hr width=75%></center>
Nick Costanzo would like you all to know that Rayne Summers makes Jordan T. Maxwell look like a humble soft-spoken virgin. He would also like you all to know, in the event that certain female readers may get wind of this article, that he lacks any Rayne-envy whatsoever. After all, he’s dating the most amazingly beautiful woman on the planet and she’s more than enough for him. Also, he prefers his nether regions un-crushed.
<center><hr width=75%></center>
The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and are not reflective of Comixfan or its other staff in general.