Warren Ellis's Freak Angels

[Ajax]

www.freakangels.com Mature read.

I believe enough time has passed for it to be discussed beyond the "OMG Warren Ellis is doing a free webcomic this will be greatness". It is obvious, since Ellis has mentioned this himself, that he is writing this in an attempt to tap into steam punk which he has been fascinated with lately. Though unlike traditional steam punk this isn't taking place in the Victorian era, but instead it's taking place in a "Water World-esque" future. Still a bit early (since he is still laying out the groundwork for the story), but I think it may turn out to be a good read. I find it kind of funny that the art in this webcomic, which is free to view, is better than the art in Doktor Sleepless (though I enjoy DS the art is a bit gunky sometimes).

[spoiler]I'm still a bit hesitant about the Freak Angel Power that exists. It isn't that they are ill defined, but their mere existence that makes me a bit hesitant to embrace this. For instance Arkady seems to be able to teleport in the latest update (plus her ability to see the future). This seems to go beyond how their powers have worked up till now which was telepathy/mind control. Hopefully there will be a scientific explanation for their abilities cause I don't see steam punk and mysticism mixing very well. My prediction is Luke is going to betray the Angels and join Mark at some point (whether it's on his own volition is debatable). I'm still trying to figure out what aspect of their powers can cause the world to enter this neo-dark age.[/spoiler]

[The Enigma]

Well, er, beyond "I'm enjoying it and think it's cool", I'm not sure quite what else to say, really. I think it's all still a bit too early for any sort of major speculation about what's going to happen to the Freak Angels. It's good, though. Quality art and Ellis writing = a very nifty thing to get for free.

[lugaru]

I'm on issue 8 and I can say 'so far so good' but of course the art and script for a free web comic are awesome, so I'm not complaining.

[UnkoMan]

I find it mearly okay.

It's interesting, and I am intriguied as to what the actual tale is behind it all, but it's nothing spectacular. As for it being exceptional for a free webcomic, in terms of art and writing, I have to somewhat disagree. So far, I've seen comics on par in terms of writing, and quite superior in terms of art.  I will admit that the colouring is really quite nice, but I'm not that big a fan of the line art.

Years ago, I was quite immersed in the webcomics world, to the extent of being involved with a number of members and projects. My own was, of course, substandard. I was young and didn't take the time to hone my craft. As I said, it was years ago, so I won't be able to pull up links that make my previous paragraph ring true. But, if you search, I am sure you can find a number of quite well done free comics.

I think some determining factors will be; How long will this continue? Will the website itself get any better? Will they find a better method of updating and archiving? And the major one... advertising. Many webcomics have started and gone under due to lack of interest. Granted, it's friggin' Warren Ellis, so it's got a fan base already, but we shall see. Hopefully it goes well.

[Pyroclasm]

[mature comic...blah blah]  ;)
Oh yeah...Art is pretty nice.  Just got to page 2 and posted, so I don't know if it is a good read yet.

Edit: Read through to the current issue.  It feels awfully slow to me.  They are separated by "episodes" but each one doesn't have enough going on to qualify the separation.  Kind of like Heroes' second season...only more like if second season took twelve months to tell the same story.  I'll give it a chance though.  Hope it picks up the pace.