Comic Review: Nevermind the Gap

When it comes to comic books, I like the odd and obscure. Unless it is cleaver and character driven, I generally avoid superhero comics. Instead, I tend to focus on offbeat stuff most comic book shops would throw in the bargain bins or among the "underground" shelf. Although, the internet is a great place to find offbeat comics. There are countless websites devoted for any aspiring comic artist/writer to throw their creations out in the digital world! Most people would not think too much of their work, some others would be put off them, while an unknown number of people would deeply enjoy them for whatever reason.

Nevermind the Gap is something I quite enjoy. It is about a girl and technician who live on a small, futuristic town. As a sci-fi, it likes to boast the high-tech toys, and tries to tackle social issues. In this world, people live among androids. Their CPUs are built on quantum computing, so they are complex enough to allow for human emotion. Throughout the story, you see how the robotic people develop, interact with their fleshy neighbors, and deal with robotic mortality. One of may favorite toys they have, is a cloth that can turn invisible and can appear as other clothing. (As a role-player, that would go great in a style-obsess cyberpunk setting.)

Beyond the sci-fi themes, much of the story is about romance. This comic is vary sexual! It deals with nudity in a casual way, but I don't see that as offensive, nor pornographic (in fact, I take offense to people calling casual nudity "pornographic"). It also deals with sex in a casual way - which is vary much pornographic. =P

Don't get my wrong. I do not like in-your-face smut, and I will get annoyed if a story is nothing but mindless fucking! Porn on the internet is like dirt you get on your shoes: it can be found everywhere, and you'll find a lot of it even while just strolling. And yet, this web comic somehow stays tasteful, and even funny at times. While a porno uses a "plot" to motivate otherwise normal (relatively speaking) people to fuck like tomorrow will never come, the sex in this comic is used to serve the story, and it is not the main focus of it.

The artistry of the characters are nice, in a semi-manga style. (The artist originally wanted to make them look cartoony, but had second thoughts, which was a good choice.) The backgrounds are not the best, but that is a major handicap for the artist. At times, you really have to keep an eye out for little details or read the author's annotations, as you might read the next page with no idea with what just happened. The pacing is slow, and the comic has a fairly good run (350+ pages). As much as I liked to story, I felt disappointed by the ending. Overall, I was quite hooked, but your miles will vary.

I could pour-out more texts about how good or bad the comic is, but I think I said enough for people to make-up their own minds about it. So if you like a smart and romantic sci-fi, and not bothered by nudity and sex, then check it out.


Say tuned for my next comic review, where I review a web comic that is smart and romantic, without being sexual.