There's a significant delay in the release of this review. The first reason is due to the Chinese Spring Festival (sometimes called Chinese New Year) requiring me to make appearances at various cultural events, lest I be considered impolite to my native Chinese friends. More importantly, rereading Goblins really was a great experience and I needed some time to try and distill why I think it is so excellent.
Tarol Hunt or "Thunt" is the artist and writer for the comic with his fiance (possibly wife now, I'm not up to date on the news posts) Danielle Stephens who does the coloring and editing. The initial comic was drawn in black and white, but the most recent work is full comic book or graphic novel style pages with vibrant colors and a distinct style. It's hard to pinpoint how I would describe the look of Goblins, but it reminds me of 80's animation you might see in classic Saturday cartoons. This should not lead you to believe this is a children's comic though, as Thunt accurately declares on the front page, "this comic sometimes contains scenes of extreme violence."
And Goblins is a comic with violent scenes, but it is violence that establishes key components of Thunt's work and never exists solely for the sake of being violent. The often extensive fighting scenes are extremely well drawn and especially exciting. Thunt certainly knows how to create action scenes, though in rare cases it's very difficult to follow the procedure of a big battle from panel to panel. However, the comic wouldn't be particularly special if it only contained complex fighting scenes and fortunately, Thunt is also a great storyteller.
The comic began as a bit of a joke, seemingly growing entirely out of the concept, "What about the monsters in RPGs and D&D in particular? What're their lives actually like?" To this end we follow several main characters who are low-level goblins in a D&D inspired world (complete with a dungeon master and pseudo God, Herbert): Big Ears, Complains of Names, Chief, Dies Horribly, Fumbles (later Senor Vorpal Kickasso), and Thaco. The names derive from the goblin clan's tradition of having their fortune teller name each goblin after a distinct characteristic, job, or future. So in this case, Chief is actually the chief of the clan.
Thunt spends a good chunk of the early comics playing this joke from a variety of angles, but he also introduces an incredible amount of sympathy for the goblins into the comic. You really feel for them and their unfortunate position as adventurer fodder and when the real story gets going and they decide to become adventurers it's very easy to side with them right away. The initial conflict is between the goblins and two adventurers: Minmax, a human fighter who is aware of the stats system of his world and heavily manipulates it and Forgath, dwarven cleric who prays directly to the dungeon master. These two initially appear to be the primary antagonists, but things in Thunt's world are always more complex then they appear on the surface.
One thing that is exceptional about the comic is how it seamlessly blends an obviously deep appreciation of the D&D universe and game into an original story. The characters gain levels, discuss their stat boosts, and appear to genuinely know that they exist in a game world or at least one governed by the rules of a game world. Now, how much this concept will continue to be an active part of the comic is unclear. Thunt will put this device aside in favor of character development and story, which is the mark of someone who knows how to utilize the world he has borrowed to deliver something genuinely new and interesting. There are many comics online that reflect the fantasy world concept or D&D concept, but it really is impressive how well Thunt has melded the two into something coherent and exciting. The only comic I could compare this to in that regard would be Order of the Stick.
Personally, the reason that Goblins really works for me is because it doesn't follow a standard "hero's journey" format and it's characters are only somewhat archetypal. Additionally, it does what series like Game of Thrones and Wheel of Time have done so well in that it quickly makes clear every character is fair game for an unfair fate. Major characters have already died in the comic and I imagine the trend will continue. It manages to walk the fine line between bleak and hopeful, but so far Goblins trends more into the "bleak" category. If that seems like it would make it less fun to read don't be so sure. The whole premise of the story is that the typical RPG sacrifices to low-level player characters are rising up against their fate, but it is a painful process.
I'd love to delve more into characters that I really love and the key parts of the story I have found so well done, but I don't want to post a myriad of spoilers here. Instead I'll talk more broadly about why several characters make for inspiring figures. Of the titular goblins, it's hard to choose just one, but Big Ears is unrelentingly easy to like. He's represents a moral core of the group and steadfast determination to rise above hardship and is so well crafted he is the most "real" of the goblins except for perhaps Thaco.
Minmax and Forgath are extremely well written characters that play off of each other well. Minmax comes across as a dumb brute, which is partially true, but has a much more complex background than he lets on. If you wanted to make a comparison to another great fantasy character, Caramon Majere would not be far from the mark. In addition to the characters themselves, the comic raises real questions about the definitions of concepts such as evil or monsters. It never feels forced or as though Thunt is beating the reader over the head with his philosophy, but it seems really natural. If this world is constructed like Dungeons & Dragons and creatures within it really are limited to challenge ratings and XP, what would that existence and KNOWING about the rules of your existence do to those "monsters?" The core enjoyment I get out of this concept that sets it apart from other comics that have tried to do the same thing is that Thunt isn't writing a one note joke, he's posing real questions to himself, his world, and the reader.
Goblins doesn't have the grand adventure story arc of Order of the Stick which might turn some readers off. For me, it makes the story more compelling simply because it is different. Thunt's work is never going to be boring, he always concocts something new, even when it's just new ideas about monsters that could exist in D&D (and some of his concepts are fantastic). There will be something in this comic that every reader will like, whether or not the whole package comes together for you will determine if you love it like I do. Ultimately, it is not a read that should be missed. Check it out at www.goblinscomic.com.
Finally, I should note that Goblins is hosted/partnered with/supported by Blind Ferret of Least I Could Do fame and occasionally Lar Desouza makes appearances as a guest artist. Also, I have been in email contact with Tarol Hunt and he should be getting back to me about a possible interview in the near future.
Tarol Hunt or "Thunt" is the artist and writer for the comic with his fiance (possibly wife now, I'm not up to date on the news posts) Danielle Stephens who does the coloring and editing. The initial comic was drawn in black and white, but the most recent work is full comic book or graphic novel style pages with vibrant colors and a distinct style. It's hard to pinpoint how I would describe the look of Goblins, but it reminds me of 80's animation you might see in classic Saturday cartoons. This should not lead you to believe this is a children's comic though, as Thunt accurately declares on the front page, "this comic sometimes contains scenes of extreme violence."
And Goblins is a comic with violent scenes, but it is violence that establishes key components of Thunt's work and never exists solely for the sake of being violent. The often extensive fighting scenes are extremely well drawn and especially exciting. Thunt certainly knows how to create action scenes, though in rare cases it's very difficult to follow the procedure of a big battle from panel to panel. However, the comic wouldn't be particularly special if it only contained complex fighting scenes and fortunately, Thunt is also a great storyteller.
The comic began as a bit of a joke, seemingly growing entirely out of the concept, "What about the monsters in RPGs and D&D in particular? What're their lives actually like?" To this end we follow several main characters who are low-level goblins in a D&D inspired world (complete with a dungeon master and pseudo God, Herbert): Big Ears, Complains of Names, Chief, Dies Horribly, Fumbles (later Senor Vorpal Kickasso), and Thaco. The names derive from the goblin clan's tradition of having their fortune teller name each goblin after a distinct characteristic, job, or future. So in this case, Chief is actually the chief of the clan.
Thunt spends a good chunk of the early comics playing this joke from a variety of angles, but he also introduces an incredible amount of sympathy for the goblins into the comic. You really feel for them and their unfortunate position as adventurer fodder and when the real story gets going and they decide to become adventurers it's very easy to side with them right away. The initial conflict is between the goblins and two adventurers: Minmax, a human fighter who is aware of the stats system of his world and heavily manipulates it and Forgath, dwarven cleric who prays directly to the dungeon master. These two initially appear to be the primary antagonists, but things in Thunt's world are always more complex then they appear on the surface.
One thing that is exceptional about the comic is how it seamlessly blends an obviously deep appreciation of the D&D universe and game into an original story. The characters gain levels, discuss their stat boosts, and appear to genuinely know that they exist in a game world or at least one governed by the rules of a game world. Now, how much this concept will continue to be an active part of the comic is unclear. Thunt will put this device aside in favor of character development and story, which is the mark of someone who knows how to utilize the world he has borrowed to deliver something genuinely new and interesting. There are many comics online that reflect the fantasy world concept or D&D concept, but it really is impressive how well Thunt has melded the two into something coherent and exciting. The only comic I could compare this to in that regard would be Order of the Stick.
Personally, the reason that Goblins really works for me is because it doesn't follow a standard "hero's journey" format and it's characters are only somewhat archetypal. Additionally, it does what series like Game of Thrones and Wheel of Time have done so well in that it quickly makes clear every character is fair game for an unfair fate. Major characters have already died in the comic and I imagine the trend will continue. It manages to walk the fine line between bleak and hopeful, but so far Goblins trends more into the "bleak" category. If that seems like it would make it less fun to read don't be so sure. The whole premise of the story is that the typical RPG sacrifices to low-level player characters are rising up against their fate, but it is a painful process.
I'd love to delve more into characters that I really love and the key parts of the story I have found so well done, but I don't want to post a myriad of spoilers here. Instead I'll talk more broadly about why several characters make for inspiring figures. Of the titular goblins, it's hard to choose just one, but Big Ears is unrelentingly easy to like. He's represents a moral core of the group and steadfast determination to rise above hardship and is so well crafted he is the most "real" of the goblins except for perhaps Thaco.
Minmax and Forgath are extremely well written characters that play off of each other well. Minmax comes across as a dumb brute, which is partially true, but has a much more complex background than he lets on. If you wanted to make a comparison to another great fantasy character, Caramon Majere would not be far from the mark. In addition to the characters themselves, the comic raises real questions about the definitions of concepts such as evil or monsters. It never feels forced or as though Thunt is beating the reader over the head with his philosophy, but it seems really natural. If this world is constructed like Dungeons & Dragons and creatures within it really are limited to challenge ratings and XP, what would that existence and KNOWING about the rules of your existence do to those "monsters?" The core enjoyment I get out of this concept that sets it apart from other comics that have tried to do the same thing is that Thunt isn't writing a one note joke, he's posing real questions to himself, his world, and the reader.
Goblins doesn't have the grand adventure story arc of Order of the Stick which might turn some readers off. For me, it makes the story more compelling simply because it is different. Thunt's work is never going to be boring, he always concocts something new, even when it's just new ideas about monsters that could exist in D&D (and some of his concepts are fantastic). There will be something in this comic that every reader will like, whether or not the whole package comes together for you will determine if you love it like I do. Ultimately, it is not a read that should be missed. Check it out at www.goblinscomic.com.
Finally, I should note that Goblins is hosted/partnered with/supported by Blind Ferret of Least I Could Do fame and occasionally Lar Desouza makes appearances as a guest artist. Also, I have been in email contact with Tarol Hunt and he should be getting back to me about a possible interview in the near future.
