» Review - Digital Double

Introduction
Digital Double is a multi-panel comic that partially deals with gaming and TV, and partially with the comic's main character, Matt. Matt is, I suspect, meant to represent the literal "digital double" of the author, Matt Hickman. Matt works at Wal-Mart, and has a few friends, named Jimmy and Devbus.

The Positive Aspects
There is a great deal I liked about this comic. The art is, for a large part, very professional. The images are clean and clear, and the dialogue is rarely confusing. The composition of the comic is nearly flawless. The custom template that was recently put up is nice and professional looking, more reminiscent of Penny-Arcade or another big-name comic site, than our humble home at SmackJeeves. It's envious what Matt has accomplished in what largely has seemed to be his spare time. The writer demonstrates that he is comfortable making jokes on just about anything, with many of the comics dealing with Matt, and just as many dealing with TV, video games, and other such nonsense. Like most of its obviously inherited gaming comic genre, "Digital Double" seems to reach for humor from any angle at random.

The Criticisms
Matt's comic is very professional in a lot of ways - for the most part it is very well put together, apart from a few strips are also plagued by the occasional misspelling. His cohesiveness in the realm of jokes, however, needs work. Too often, the joke is poorly executed, either through bad timing or unclear punch lines. Matt often seems more aware of what the humor is than his comic reveals, possibly indicating he's not spending enough time proof-reading. Unfortunately, the problem with "inside jokes" is that one has to be an "insider" to understand them, and we, as readers, are simply not - and the comic never really does usher us into the fold.

This complaint has not escaped his attention, but Matt seems to blame the fans. In Comic #49, (the character) Matt explains that the comic is "too deep for a person of average intelligence." He then seeks to attract these "Average readers" with a simple pun. As someone reading the comic, who was struggling to find the humor, this joke struck me as relevant in two different ways. The first was that the comic was one of the few that was actually funny, though more for the pun than the setup. The second was that it was deeply insulting. Matt seems to believe that his comic is so good that, if people don't understand it, it must be their fault. If there is one universal truth to be had in any branch of entertainment, it's that an entertainer should never insult their fans; there is no faster way to lose what few you may have.

I'll therefore put it simply. Digital Double needs to work on its jokes, and Matt needs to work on being nicer to his potential fans. Otherwise, professional design and art aside, this comic is doomed to obscurity.

The Conclusion
If you can get over the criticisms listed above, or you happen to be a personal friend of Matt and understand the humor being relayed, then perhaps you might enjoy this comic. For the most part it is an exercise in beauty being only skin-deep - on the outside, at a glance, this comic is doing everything right. It doesn't hold up under close scrutiny, however, due to the poor writing. If Matt were to spend as much time on developing his characters or creating accessible jokes in his comics as he does in the drawing and design, it has the potential to be a success. As it is now, if you're looking for a good gaming comic or "random humor" comic then you're probably better spending your time looking at the much more famous and popular inspirations for Matt's style, such as Penny Arcade.

You can read Digtal Double at http://digitaldouble.smackjeeves.com )

- Joe & Enkida