Misfile

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TITLE: Misfile
DATE OF REVIEW: 9/18/08

Misc. Info
URL: http://www.misfile.com/
Author: Chris Hazelton
Other Works: N/A
Started: ?
Number of Comics: 1042
Voting: BCX. TWC?
Incentives: ?
Incentive Updates: N/A
Genre: Real Life, Magic, Transgender
Rating: PG-13 - Sexual themes and slight violence.
Notes: Reviewed by suggestion. Going in, the art looks pretty good. Not knowing much of the story ahead of time, the three main characters sound... unique to say the least.

Art
Coloring: Pencil/Grayscale
Style: Manga
Effort: Not bad. Art is, for the most part, clear and looks nice. The few times there are color it looks fantastic. The comic favors a lot of simple backgrounds. It could be improved, yes, but it is quality work. Sometimes character placement is a little awkward, but strong panel variation and impressive emotion ranges create distinct characters, each with their own set of mannerisms.
General: It should become apparent from the storyline rather quickly that there will be sexual themes here. That's to be expected. There will be less than church-worthy material here, considering the angels, but it's not central to the piece. I was happy to find that not only does the art make a strong presentation, but also that the comic didn't degenerate into transgender art. Overall the art is respectable and has refined without evolving much (not necessarily bad). I'd really like to see it colored (there were a couple colored pages under fan art- someone must have done a recolor), but we all have our vices, no?

Story
Background: A pot-smoking angel screws up and turns a high school guy into a girl, and a senior girl into a sophomore. They try to cover it up an get Rumsiel (the angel) back into Heaven so he can fix everything.
Complexity: I think John Solomon, another comic reviewer, makes a good point in one of his latest updates. While I tend to disagree with his manner of evaluation, he points out that a good writer knows his characters as he knows himself. This is certainly true of Chris, who answers questions in character that he receives on a separate email address, as the character Ash. Each character is very distinct in persona, and this is certainly not a comic of cliches. The author is a car enthusiast and knows a thing or two about cars.
Continuity: 24 fillers in over 1000 comics. Not bad. Comic flows throughout the story with no lapse in continuity.
Clarity: Clarity is fair enough. They tend to answer questions as they come.
Substructure: Split by books. Works well for archives.
Draw: The comic is a surprisingly interesting one. When I was first asked to review this, I had my doubts: I'll be the first to admit I was a little prejudiced against any TG comics. After reading it I realized that the real draw here is some actual realistic human interaction (very rare in modern comics), so even if the story isn't your thing (oh God, at first I wrote 'if the plotline isn't a turn on for you': the horror!).
Overall: Strong presentation for the story. Well rounded, deep characters help perpetuate the story, since the plot is literally what goes on in their lives. The story is not perfect. Characters do occasionally seem a little static, and often the story centers far more on Ash than Emily. One change may be more interesting, but that still doesn't explain why Ash has been the center of attention so often. The story itself doesn't have an end in sight, which isn't necessarilly a bad thing, but the fact is that there is no real driving force behind the plot. Oh well, you can't have it all I suppose.

Upkeep
Update: Updates every weekday. Updates have missed a couple times lately, I think they might have a new child in the family (based on news updates). I guess life happens, so it's excusable. It's certainly updating a lot more than many comics.
Site Design: Site design is strong. You'll get everything you need here and more with little issue. The Ask Ash feature is nice: you email the author on his alternate email account and he answers quests in character as the main character. Good to know someone knows their characters.
Comic Navigation: Buttons appear all to be in order. With 1000+ comics, I wish there was a search option. Archives are sorted by book number.

Metascore
Art: 4. This comic looks good. But aside from that, I fail to see much of anything wrong with it, but it lacks the "wow" factor necessary for a 5. Simple backgrounds and pencil grayscale are the art's vices.
Story: 5. Well rounded story, especially for characters. Here's wishing for a little more dynanacism and spotlight on the other characters.
Upkeep: 4. You get what you need and more. Could use some fine-tuning, but looks nice for the most part. Here's to wishing there was a more in-depth FAQ, and maybe information about the authors/general comic.
Final Grade: 4. Strong balance overall. I'm not surprised that this comic has a suitable following and holds 3rd on BCX. Its strength is in characters. Its weakness is in details. It has everything it needs to be a good comic, it has everything to be above average, but a lacking something to make it shoot up and above other comics, it's at a four. Realistic characterization are a big strength.

Closing Remarks
I enjoyed this comic a lot more than I expected. Today I received another comic request as well, so I'll add that to my list ahead of EGS (since someone suggested that I review that, rather than being author request).