The Belfry WebComics Index

How the mighty have fallen. Intrigued by the old banner ad proclaiming it the best start to a webcomic so-and-so had seen, I looked into Sandra & Woo; and while it was hardly the most amazing comic I'd come across, it had a wit and whimsy that quickly made it one of my 'regulars'. The animé-esque art style was both solid and emotive, plot-wise it was well-paced, and it rolled out a diverse cast of characters that all signs indicated would -not- be beholden to the typical status quo treadmill.

And then it did exactly that.

Whereas S&W's introduction strongly suggests this was to be be a slice-of-life comic that actually -progressed-, with the main characters weaving their way through imaginative adventures, these days it's a patchwork of largely-unconnected geek humour, in-jokes, and absurdist non-sequiturs. The burnout was so gradual that until Lamar's review, I couldn't quite figure out what had been nagging at me for the past couple years, but comparing the story's start to just about any of the later arcs reveals a clear loss of direction. Sandra's budding romance with Cloud, the comic's original long-arc, stagnated once they made it official; Ye Thuza's history as a Burmese resistance fighter receives occasional mention but is never fleshed out; dozens of minor characters drift in and out of the spotlight with no build-up and equally scant send-off, while the leads are tide-locked to throwaway episodes based on their respective social stereotype. The last plotline with any sense of gravity I can recall was Butterfly's ascent of The Special One, and that took place two years ago.

What perplexes me is that the creators are -smart- (indeed, possibly too smart at times), and the continued use of unflinching (if increasingly exaggerated) socio-political commentary proves the stall isn't for lack of guile. It may be that Powree and Novil's sister project Gaia has laid claim to the bulk of their narrative inspiration, although this still doesn't fully explain S&W's slide into newspaper-daily caricature, or why a comic that began by subverting common character clichés now seems to blindly embrace them.

To be clear, even taken as a gag-a-day strip Sandra & Woo stands above average—not as great as it could be, but hardly bad, and generally widely accessible when Novil isn't trying to out-nerd Randall Munroe. Readers accustomed to the regular four-panel setup may be confused by its novel trick of bleeding the punchline into the next page, but the comic can at least be commended for still experimenting stylistically even if the story has grown stale (indeed, the strips satirizing the art community remain my favourites). An audience following the early promise of a more substantial project, however, is bound for disappointment, and as other reviews show, long-time followers are losing patience. I still check up on S&W each update, but I'm starting to wonder why.

Sadly, a promising comic failed to live up to it's promise. Still competently drawn, the comic is let down by poor writing. At this point, there should be a much greater amount of character development, but one of the title characters is still basically a blank slate, and the other barely goes beyond a shallow collection of base motives.

The recent plot line could basically be summed up as "LOL, Feminazis are stupid!" that seems like a throwback to 70s/80s mens club comics, and the website's comments facility now has a policy banning "destructive criticism of the general content of Sandra and Woo or the personality of the main characters". Alas it is well known that attempts to cast a circle of protection from critics merely results in summoning the brain eater.

Sandra & Woo is a perfect example of a good comic. I can't really think of any downsides to the comic, but nothing stands out as exceptional. The art is pleasant and regular, updates twice a week, and the writing is well thought-out. Sandra and Woo will not change your life, but it is a very fun read and an upbeat addition to my Monday and Thursday