Nick Costanzo
Oct 8, 2007, 10:23 pm
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THREAD : TANGLED PANELS #8: DOMINIC'S DIARIES
Started at Dec 23, 2006 12:18 pm by Nick Costanzo
Visit at http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/showthread.php?t=40961
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[Post 1]
Author : Nick Costanzo
Date : Dec 23, 2006 12:18 pm
Title : TANGLED PANELS #8: DOMINIC'S DIARIES
<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/TangledPanels.jpg" hspace=10 align=left border=0 alt="Tangled Panels Logo">By Nick Costanzo, winged.outlaw@gmail.com
Dominic’s Diaries
Intelligence to my degree is a curse, really. It’s caused me to catch the ire of the simpleton masses, to shake my head in disgust towards the vast majority of our political leaders, and even to question the very nature of my existence. Worst of all, it’s ruined the sci-fi genre for me. I can’t watch Star Wars without wondering how their hyperspace drive ignores the Lorenz Transformations, I can’t watch Star Trek without wondering how their transporters get around the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, and I can’t watch The Matrix without wondering why humanity programmed so much stupid into the machines that they let destroy them.
And this is why I enjoy fantasy so much. Amazing things happen, but rather than needlessly abusing the laws of physics in the process, everything can be wrapped up with one word: magic. Occasionally a wizard or a god is involved, but the end result is the same. Whenever you can blame something on magic, that means that you can also stop thinking about it, because they’ve taken science out of the equation. Just sit back, and enjoy. And in this month’s installment, we’ll visit just such a world, focusing upon a character that, if I were living in a world of magic and fairies and crap like that, I believe would be very similar to me.
Dominic Deegan (http://www.dominic-deegan.com), written and drawn by Michael “Mookie” Terracciano, follows the titular character’s fortune-telling adventures. Able to see into the future with almost prodigal skill, Dominic is a nice enough guy, who just happens to be easily frustrated by people’s stupidity. Unfortunately for him, that particular trait seems to be abundant wherever he goes. At the beginning of the series, in fact, Dominic Deegan was little more than a gag-a-day strip, which often resulted in a confused client and a very annoyed seer. Dominic had little to worry about, and was content to debate with his talking cat, and set traps for a pair of thieves too short-sighted to realize the folly of stealing from a man who can see them coming. Eventually, however, Dominic Deegan managed to evolve into something much grander, and far more dramatic.
Anyone familiar with the fantasy genre, or more specifically role-playing games, will immediately recognize the influences that have created Dominic’s world. He’s the brother of a white mage and a necromancer, the son of a bard and a sorceress, the boyfriend of yet another sorceress, and friends with orcs, knights, changelings and wizards. In fact, Dominic’s particular skill is probably the only “job” seen in the series that hasn’t been translated to an RPG character class in some form or another, no doubt because “fortune telling” would be rather vexing to adopt into a playable form.
There are certainly those who will look at Dominic Deegan and cite a lack of originality in the setting. I suppose there’s some merit to that claim, but it’s never really bothered me. For one, you’d probably have to travel back quite a few centuries before you could claim that any of these ideas were “new”. And, secondly, Dominic’s story has always been more about the characters than the world in which they live.
The cast of Dominic Deegan is, for lack of a better word, enchanting. Dominic may be somewhat grumpy at times, but, over the course of the series, it becomes apparent that he is a very likable guy with a good heart. I’m also a fan of the fact that he rarely overpowers those who try to cross him. Instead, his triumphs stem from his own intelligence, along with no small amount of heart. It’s that combination of the head and heart that eventually leads him into the arms of Luna, a girl who is easily a match for Dominic’s brains, but who also has a much warmer personality... which is a good thing, considering that Luna has tusks. This particular deformity never seems to bother Dominic, however, and it leads to what can only be described as a sickeningly cute relationship between the two. I understand that my manliness should cause me to despise such things, but for some reason, I’m always a sucker for these kinds of romances.
All in all, there are well over two dozen prominent characters in Dominic Deegan, so it makes little sense to go through them all here. Still, nearly all are given depth (even those who probably began as gags), which makes it much easier to care about their plights.
The stories in Dominic Deegan range from the light hearted, to the adventurous, to the outright horrific. I’m struck by what is, in terms of “offensive” content, a near-complete difference between this title and last month’s Errant Story (http://www.errantstory.com). Deegan steers clear of the profanity and nudity seen in Errant Story, oftentimes humorously cutting away at the last moment before someone is about to say something naughty. On the other hand, ES has absolutely nothing on the sheer level of gore that can be found in Deegan’s more gruesome arcs. The recent storyline aptly titled War in Hell will see decapitation, disembowelment, and even demonic cannibalism, without sparing any of the details. I honestly have to wonder why Mookie seems so intent on suppressing sex and profanity, while at the same time practically forcing the violence down our throats. It’s probably the only thing that really bugs me about this series, though rarely does it distract from my enjoyment (to its credit, War in Hell had a number of exciting twists and an ending that made my jaw drop).
As far as the art goes, Dominic Deegan features a self-taught manga style that has matured in technique and clarity as the series has progressed. Still, it suffers from a number of clichés often cited by manga critics. Characters do tend to look alike in every respect, save for clothing and hair, and backgrounds are oftentimes neglected in favor of an easier-to-draw headshot. However, Dominic Deegan makes up for this by being one of the few webcomics that truly updates seven days a week. Sure, Least I Could Do (http://www.leasticoulddo.com) updates every day except Sunday and Something Positive (http://www.somethingpositive.net) updates daily if all goes as planned, but Dominic Deegan is really the only webcomic I read that can all but guarantee a new comic every single day of the week (with the occasional announced break during the holidays).
In the end, I like Dominic because he’s smart enough to refrain from abusing his gifts for personal gain, while human enough to exploit them if that’s necessary to save the ones he loves. And, of course, the puns that pervade the series always make me chuckle, no matter how corny they may be (speaking of which, I should be shot for the shamelessness of this month’s title). Dominic Deegan is a webcomic that’s just plain fun, and even if you’re too smart for your own good, you’ll still find it an enjoyable read.
<center><hr width=75%></center>
Nick Costanzo found the following things about The Matrix to be retarded:
-How can an electromagnetic pulse destroy the machines yet have no effect during the nuclear strike on the machine city seen in the Animatrix?
-There’s no way you can justify “blocking out the sun” no matter how you try to describe it.
-Why aren’t there guns at the ready where they dump the humans that wake up?
-Why are you using humans as a power source at all? Do you have any idea how many thousands, if not millions of humans could be replaced by a single uranium fuel pellet?
-If you really must use a living body to generate heat, why not cows? More heat. And if you had to make a virtual world at all, just make an endless grass field!
It doesn’t matter how cool those fight scenes were, everything about that movie was so convoluted and confusing and CRIMINALLY inefficient that Nick hopes that the Wachowski brothers are truly ashamed of themselves. GAH even thinking about it has ruined his day.
<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.
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The messages has been download from Comixfan Forums at http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums at 05.10.2007 08:30:18
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THREAD : TANGLED PANELS #8: DOMINIC'S DIARIES
Started at Dec 23, 2006 12:18 pm by Nick Costanzo
Visit at http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/showthread.php?t=40961
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[Post 1]
Author : Nick Costanzo
Date : Dec 23, 2006 12:18 pm
Title : TANGLED PANELS #8: DOMINIC'S DIARIES
<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/TangledPanels.jpg" hspace=10 align=left border=0 alt="Tangled Panels Logo">By Nick Costanzo, winged.outlaw@gmail.com
Dominic’s Diaries
Intelligence to my degree is a curse, really. It’s caused me to catch the ire of the simpleton masses, to shake my head in disgust towards the vast majority of our political leaders, and even to question the very nature of my existence. Worst of all, it’s ruined the sci-fi genre for me. I can’t watch Star Wars without wondering how their hyperspace drive ignores the Lorenz Transformations, I can’t watch Star Trek without wondering how their transporters get around the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, and I can’t watch The Matrix without wondering why humanity programmed so much stupid into the machines that they let destroy them.
And this is why I enjoy fantasy so much. Amazing things happen, but rather than needlessly abusing the laws of physics in the process, everything can be wrapped up with one word: magic. Occasionally a wizard or a god is involved, but the end result is the same. Whenever you can blame something on magic, that means that you can also stop thinking about it, because they’ve taken science out of the equation. Just sit back, and enjoy. And in this month’s installment, we’ll visit just such a world, focusing upon a character that, if I were living in a world of magic and fairies and crap like that, I believe would be very similar to me.
Dominic Deegan (http://www.dominic-deegan.com), written and drawn by Michael “Mookie” Terracciano, follows the titular character’s fortune-telling adventures. Able to see into the future with almost prodigal skill, Dominic is a nice enough guy, who just happens to be easily frustrated by people’s stupidity. Unfortunately for him, that particular trait seems to be abundant wherever he goes. At the beginning of the series, in fact, Dominic Deegan was little more than a gag-a-day strip, which often resulted in a confused client and a very annoyed seer. Dominic had little to worry about, and was content to debate with his talking cat, and set traps for a pair of thieves too short-sighted to realize the folly of stealing from a man who can see them coming. Eventually, however, Dominic Deegan managed to evolve into something much grander, and far more dramatic.
Anyone familiar with the fantasy genre, or more specifically role-playing games, will immediately recognize the influences that have created Dominic’s world. He’s the brother of a white mage and a necromancer, the son of a bard and a sorceress, the boyfriend of yet another sorceress, and friends with orcs, knights, changelings and wizards. In fact, Dominic’s particular skill is probably the only “job” seen in the series that hasn’t been translated to an RPG character class in some form or another, no doubt because “fortune telling” would be rather vexing to adopt into a playable form.
There are certainly those who will look at Dominic Deegan and cite a lack of originality in the setting. I suppose there’s some merit to that claim, but it’s never really bothered me. For one, you’d probably have to travel back quite a few centuries before you could claim that any of these ideas were “new”. And, secondly, Dominic’s story has always been more about the characters than the world in which they live.
The cast of Dominic Deegan is, for lack of a better word, enchanting. Dominic may be somewhat grumpy at times, but, over the course of the series, it becomes apparent that he is a very likable guy with a good heart. I’m also a fan of the fact that he rarely overpowers those who try to cross him. Instead, his triumphs stem from his own intelligence, along with no small amount of heart. It’s that combination of the head and heart that eventually leads him into the arms of Luna, a girl who is easily a match for Dominic’s brains, but who also has a much warmer personality... which is a good thing, considering that Luna has tusks. This particular deformity never seems to bother Dominic, however, and it leads to what can only be described as a sickeningly cute relationship between the two. I understand that my manliness should cause me to despise such things, but for some reason, I’m always a sucker for these kinds of romances.
All in all, there are well over two dozen prominent characters in Dominic Deegan, so it makes little sense to go through them all here. Still, nearly all are given depth (even those who probably began as gags), which makes it much easier to care about their plights.
The stories in Dominic Deegan range from the light hearted, to the adventurous, to the outright horrific. I’m struck by what is, in terms of “offensive” content, a near-complete difference between this title and last month’s Errant Story (http://www.errantstory.com). Deegan steers clear of the profanity and nudity seen in Errant Story, oftentimes humorously cutting away at the last moment before someone is about to say something naughty. On the other hand, ES has absolutely nothing on the sheer level of gore that can be found in Deegan’s more gruesome arcs. The recent storyline aptly titled War in Hell will see decapitation, disembowelment, and even demonic cannibalism, without sparing any of the details. I honestly have to wonder why Mookie seems so intent on suppressing sex and profanity, while at the same time practically forcing the violence down our throats. It’s probably the only thing that really bugs me about this series, though rarely does it distract from my enjoyment (to its credit, War in Hell had a number of exciting twists and an ending that made my jaw drop).
As far as the art goes, Dominic Deegan features a self-taught manga style that has matured in technique and clarity as the series has progressed. Still, it suffers from a number of clichés often cited by manga critics. Characters do tend to look alike in every respect, save for clothing and hair, and backgrounds are oftentimes neglected in favor of an easier-to-draw headshot. However, Dominic Deegan makes up for this by being one of the few webcomics that truly updates seven days a week. Sure, Least I Could Do (http://www.leasticoulddo.com) updates every day except Sunday and Something Positive (http://www.somethingpositive.net) updates daily if all goes as planned, but Dominic Deegan is really the only webcomic I read that can all but guarantee a new comic every single day of the week (with the occasional announced break during the holidays).
In the end, I like Dominic because he’s smart enough to refrain from abusing his gifts for personal gain, while human enough to exploit them if that’s necessary to save the ones he loves. And, of course, the puns that pervade the series always make me chuckle, no matter how corny they may be (speaking of which, I should be shot for the shamelessness of this month’s title). Dominic Deegan is a webcomic that’s just plain fun, and even if you’re too smart for your own good, you’ll still find it an enjoyable read.
<center><hr width=75%></center>
Nick Costanzo found the following things about The Matrix to be retarded:
-How can an electromagnetic pulse destroy the machines yet have no effect during the nuclear strike on the machine city seen in the Animatrix?
-There’s no way you can justify “blocking out the sun” no matter how you try to describe it.
-Why aren’t there guns at the ready where they dump the humans that wake up?
-Why are you using humans as a power source at all? Do you have any idea how many thousands, if not millions of humans could be replaced by a single uranium fuel pellet?
-If you really must use a living body to generate heat, why not cows? More heat. And if you had to make a virtual world at all, just make an endless grass field!
It doesn’t matter how cool those fight scenes were, everything about that movie was so convoluted and confusing and CRIMINALLY inefficient that Nick hopes that the Wachowski brothers are truly ashamed of themselves. GAH even thinking about it has ruined his day.
<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.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
The messages has been download from Comixfan Forums at http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums at 05.10.2007 08:30:18