Unichat: A “Webcomic” Review
DISCLAIMER: I am on somewhat familiar terms with the author. I try to maintain an objective review of things, but do not take my words for gospel. My opinions are mine, make your own.
Edit: Review updated to reflect author’s identity.
Unichat is a piece of fiction created by Naomi Coffman, alias Xenocartographer, and it currently is its in second incarnation, after an extended hiatus. The canny reader will note that my phrasing is a bit unconventional here, for who uses “a piece of fiction created by” without asking, subliminally, for a punch to the face? However, I will defend myself with the argument that Unichat is not a traditional webcomic. Rather, a more apt name would be webscript.
To be fair, if one is struck by the mood, then one can call it a webcomic, for the medium is never truly bound to any strict canon that dictates panels, good art or writing to be compulsory. We have seen the rise of webcomics like Ava’s Demon that makes use of videos marking the end of chapter to single-panel comics, to webcomics that indulge in the use of music and animation and interactivity, to those that manipulate photos in a bid to cover up any lack of artistic or writing skill. For a webcomic solely reliant on text to arise can be considered a natural development of the medium.
Personally however, I feel that such webcomics should not be classed under the heading of “webcomics” per se, but as stated earlier, a webscript. It does not stop such pieces of fiction from being a ripping good yarn if the writer knows what he is trying to accomplish.
Forgive me if I sound like I’m writing for an A Level English Literature paper, but I find that this is the best way to discuss this webscript. I will sound terrible in this, it’s a reflex of sorts. And also, let me take the mickey, please. I’ve been writing essays like this in order to get into unis. You get your kicks any way after two years of it.
Unichat takes the form of a series of chat logs using the titular Unichat client, and switches perspectives between a series of characters that include the imaginatively named SonjaOfTheMoon, EntropicPhantom and my favourite, pwnz0rz. The plot involves the slow descent into madness of each of the cast -
Wait, wrong piece of fiction. This is Unichat, not some poor woman’s ramblings about women in the walls. The actual plot of Unichat at its most basic revolves around a group of friends, who are nerds, getting wrapped up in a gigantic mess. Beginning with an introduction of the main group, it starts off rather slowly, showing scenes of daily life, or rather, mundane interactions between the main characters, with Sonja getting roped into the development of a video game, while Entropic and pwnz0rz playing a DnD-esque game on the chat client itself against a group of rather abrasive characters. The characters here are established rather effectively – for one, we immediately know that they are a group of nerds with no life at all, their interests have a stereotypically nerdy slant and their relationships are mostly cordial, although one such has just broken up. An interesting cast is presented, and we are made aware of the social contexts that they are currently living in, though not much about their larger social environs are made known, save for Sonja, who apparently lives in a smallish Lunar colony, hence her very imaginative name. This is remedied much later in the script, as more detail about the world they live in is made known, with references made to a terrorist organisation, a video game tournament and the UN’s progress on nuclear disarmament policy.
Several markers of contemporary life are also peppered throughout the piece, such as the IRC-style chat client and the occasional external site. This does briefly cast in doubt the nature of technological development within the script’s universe, however, as these markers clash somewhat with the implication that the Lunar colony has survived long enough to ensure a new generation of young adults worried about work and the job market – has technology plateaued at a certain point?
As the comic continues, it is made clear that the script’s main plot is composed of several mini-dramas, with each character playing a main role, that intertwine together in order to form an overarching main plot. As such, the reader is made to read through several perspectives as the script progresses, and this is where the comic shines – it allows a chance for a look into the mindset of each character as they respond to the situations that arise around them, allowing the reader to create an independent, mostly uninfluenced judgement of each character’s thoughts and actions. However, the script does switch between the characters back and forth without much warning or indication. Though this creates cliffhangers very well, occasionally it can be a bit disconcerting, as one is in the mindset to observe Sonja, then suddenly get switched over to another channel where Anarchon displays his bitchy behaviour. I personally view if there were markers indicating “Now viewing: #axis-of-buttfuck” logs it would have been somewhat smoother. Arguably, the comic has done something like this, but the mild whiplash between views can leave readers reeling slightly .
Coffman cleverly builds a sense of mounting tension both of personal and greater dread as the script progresses, with the occasional cryptic conversation interjected into the mix. However, I would like to nitpick one such conversation that takes place between pwnz0rz and a rather shady character – the mystery was all well and good, but the sudden revelation of the true nature of pwnz0rz’s conversational partner robs any sense of “unknowable” mystery, instead replacing it with a tone of “what the [censored]ery is going on?!” which, to be fair is not a terrible alternative, but robs any sense of building up to a climax with pwnz0rz’s character.
Each character is written in such a manner which makes their personalities apparent, alongside a signature colour, which, thankfully, provides a bit of easier identification. However, some colours simply do not work well. The background of the site makes use of dark, muted colours and as such, some characters such as Sonja and Venemous require highlighting in order to read clearly. This obviously displeases me, but it’s not much trouble, come down to it. The writing, on the other hand, does much to differentiate one character from another, from pwnz0rz’s ridiculously aggravating typing style to Sonja’s use of standard English and wry humour.
The site itself is well-designed and maintains a pragmatically minimalist nature that belies its nature as a series of chat logs being spied upon. That much I can say, other than the colours that occasionally make it hard to make out the words. The IRC feel is carried rather well, thanks to the site. Its layout is also rather plain, and the header contains the necessities for a webcomic, or rather webscript. However, I felt that it lacked a profile directory of sorts – though that might have spoiled the story somewhat, it’d have encouraged a greater degree of immersion. The format of the story and the site, however, requires some knowledge of the functions of the IRC format, but they are rather self-descriptive and should be understood quite easily. Speaking of understanding, the jargon used by some characters will occasionally be alienating, but it does effectively indicate the character’s skillsets and depth of knowledge.
I find the archive system to be especially useful – it allowed me to resume where I left off easily without much need to keep on clicking through just to locate where I decided to take a break, thanks to a small indicator of “last viewed”. However, I am slightly unsure of the usefulness of the search function, for it doesn’t seem like it would get much use.
In conclusion, the piece of original fiction known as Unichat is an enjoyable read, though it does have its moments of confusion. Each character is given enough time for their personalities to develop and reveal themselves, and tension is built rather effectively as it continues. However, there are occasional moments where this tension (and story) do feel like they falter, but otherwise, Unichat is still a webscript one should consider reading.