Narbonic: Shitty Shit, or Shittiest Shit (naw, I'm just foolin')

Because my blogpost about Homestuck is quickly turning into a giant morass of endless WORDS WORDS WORDS, it's time to talk about something simpler but still webcomic-y, namely, Narbonic (http://www.narbonic.com/) which has the benefit of being over, and, as such, easier to talk about. I'm not going to claim Narbonic is an awesome, life changing event. In fact, for most people, I really wouldn't recommend it, but, since you're one of the elect (those people reading my blog- all one of you), I'm going to make a reasonable guess that you'll like it. Also, it's not a super-high traffic thing, and I feel Shaenon deserves a little non-traffic.

Alright, so, let's start off talking about why it's shitty. It's a webcomic, for starters, which means that it has all of the horrible limitations of the form. It's a 4-panel story-driven webcomic, even worse, because that means it has to have a gag-a-day, in addition to some sort of a larger story that generally is paced poorly. Narbonic also has art which, though expressive at times, is largely somewhat poor, with characters being drawn like little chimpanzees (look at the ears), and the various devices and things ranging from box to more different box to ray gun (this is a problem in a webcomic based around MAD SCIENCE). Also, the characters, though fun, are somewhat one-dimensional, which gives the whole strip the feeling of a 3-camera sitcom, especially when paired with the generally flat, static “camera”.

Why, then, do I like it? Well, there's the simple answer, and the more complex answer, and then the simple answer again. The simple answer is: it validates me. Narbonic is a comic about sciencey people doing sciencey things, and they're, in general, fun sorts of dudes. The grumpy computer science guy who is a super nerd even ends up with a pretty nice life, and not in a marty stu kind of way. I, being a grumpy sort of dude who codes all day and has weekly board game nights, appreciate this. VADIDATE ME!!!!!

The more complex answer is that it's a comic about realizing what you really are. In the beginning, Dave (the comp sci guy) is nice, but somewhat hapless. He has basically zero agency, and is bullied around by the other people in the lab (nicely, but bullied the same). He goes along with it, occasionally getting a passive-aggressive swipe or two in, but mostly focused on his little nerd kingdom. He feels unlovable and one down to his (super dull) brother and the (short, momma's boy) scientist from the other lab. Over the course of the comic, he slowly discovers that he's a person who has something to contribute. He's not a lackey, but a necessary part of the lab. He's a person who is worthy of love and an object of desire. He doesn't need to give up his nerd-life or change himself radically. He only needs to actually see through his glasses (this is a very important plot point SPOILERS!) to become the person he wanted to be all along.

Of course, he takes it too far the other way, but that arc forms the strongest part of the Narbonic story, the second simple answer: Narbonic is a love story about two people who are, in various ways, kind of broken and silly. Both of them are science-y people. Both of them are crazy (though one is in denial at the beginning). They are both human and make mistakes. In what corresponds to book 6 in the print version, you see them both suffer a fair bit. In the end, a kiss doesn't make everything ok, and love doesn't conquer all, but it does allow for these two people to find their own happiness. This is suspiciously close to hugging and learning, but there are enough jokes and threats of global annihilation to allow the horrible medicine to go down, so I like it.