Hey y'all. So the webcomic Dr. McNinja is coming to a close. It's a fun webcomic, if randomness is what you're after. Y'know, what with a doctor who is also a ninja, and all the silliness that Chris Hastings decides he wants to jam in there.
However, as much as people like it, it's kind of...well, not great. Several things about it get on my nerves. Given that I'm not a fifteen year old male, that's to be expected. But when I was younger, I did in fact share many likes with that particular demographic, which is how I got started with it, when it was...oh, about the beginning of issue three. I really liked it at the time, but at the end of issue three is when Gordito was introduced. I somehow got the feeling that something had gone wrong in the comics, and that Gordito's entrance would somehow damper the comic. I was half right. Something did change, but it wasn't his fault. Interestingly enough, Hastings mentioned in an interview that issue three was in fact a turning point for both himself and the comic.
This isn't going to be a proper review, for the record. There are many reasons why a review of it isn't entirely appropriate. For one thing, Dr. McNinja appears to be something Chris Hastings created more for fun than anything else. It comes across as more stream of consciousness than straightforward, and serves as a way for Hastings to develop his comicking/storytelling abilities. This tends to be the case with many webcomics. The long stretches a webcomic lasts mean that they can't always think of everything as a narrative the same way a novel writer would. Everyone needs practice, so what better way for a comic guy to practice than to make a webcomic?
There's many positive aspects of the comic. It's funny, and has good ideas on how to parody life as it is. If you're a guy who enjoys stupid humor, I highly recommend you take a look at it. Note that I don't mean "stupid" as an insult. "Stupid humor" is pretty much its own genre by now, is all. Y'know, the kind of humor that makes people laugh at how dumb it is.
However, I've always wanted to get off my chest why exactly this comic gets on my nerves at times. As a result, the things I write here will make the comic seem more negative than it really is. Bear in mind that despite these errors, the comic is not the worst thing ever, or horrible in general. It's fun for what it is. This will just be a post addressing the writing errors present within the story that any writer worth their salt should be aware of. Flaws in storytelling transcend their particular mediums, in most cases.
Alright, so quick story summary. Dr. McNinja is an Irish American ninja who abandoned his family's more ninja occupations so that he could become a doctor. After teaming up with tween Gordito, nephew of the Mexican raptor bandits, he goes after such enemies as ninja-killer Frans Rayner and ruler of all things cool King Radical. Together they face time travel, evil dinosaurs, a weatherman, giant robots, and all manner of random whatnots.
This post will probably be easier to understand if you've already read the webcomic.
However, as much as people like it, it's kind of...well, not great. Several things about it get on my nerves. Given that I'm not a fifteen year old male, that's to be expected. But when I was younger, I did in fact share many likes with that particular demographic, which is how I got started with it, when it was...oh, about the beginning of issue three. I really liked it at the time, but at the end of issue three is when Gordito was introduced. I somehow got the feeling that something had gone wrong in the comics, and that Gordito's entrance would somehow damper the comic. I was half right. Something did change, but it wasn't his fault. Interestingly enough, Hastings mentioned in an interview that issue three was in fact a turning point for both himself and the comic.
This isn't going to be a proper review, for the record. There are many reasons why a review of it isn't entirely appropriate. For one thing, Dr. McNinja appears to be something Chris Hastings created more for fun than anything else. It comes across as more stream of consciousness than straightforward, and serves as a way for Hastings to develop his comicking/storytelling abilities. This tends to be the case with many webcomics. The long stretches a webcomic lasts mean that they can't always think of everything as a narrative the same way a novel writer would. Everyone needs practice, so what better way for a comic guy to practice than to make a webcomic?
There's many positive aspects of the comic. It's funny, and has good ideas on how to parody life as it is. If you're a guy who enjoys stupid humor, I highly recommend you take a look at it. Note that I don't mean "stupid" as an insult. "Stupid humor" is pretty much its own genre by now, is all. Y'know, the kind of humor that makes people laugh at how dumb it is.
However, I've always wanted to get off my chest why exactly this comic gets on my nerves at times. As a result, the things I write here will make the comic seem more negative than it really is. Bear in mind that despite these errors, the comic is not the worst thing ever, or horrible in general. It's fun for what it is. This will just be a post addressing the writing errors present within the story that any writer worth their salt should be aware of. Flaws in storytelling transcend their particular mediums, in most cases.
Alright, so quick story summary. Dr. McNinja is an Irish American ninja who abandoned his family's more ninja occupations so that he could become a doctor. After teaming up with tween Gordito, nephew of the Mexican raptor bandits, he goes after such enemies as ninja-killer Frans Rayner and ruler of all things cool King Radical. Together they face time travel, evil dinosaurs, a weatherman, giant robots, and all manner of random whatnots.
This post will probably be easier to understand if you've already read the webcomic.
