Web Comics - Bad Machinery

In recent years, the world has seen a substantial rise in web comics, which are comics created by individuals who generally  publish online one page at a time. Many of them, however, are generally never finished and are dropped. Web comics can be considered the modern form of the popular comic strip and will more than likely one day completely replace them. When trying to choose one to read for this week, I found that there were many, many options to pick from. I eventually decided on the popular web comic - Bad Machinery.

Bad Machinery is written by John Allison and acts as a sort of sequel to his previous comic, Scary Go Round, and follows a similar premise. Like Scary Go Round, Bad Machinery consists of numerous cases and mysteries and follows groups of detectives trying to solve them. However, in this series, the detectives are young kids and teens, with one group consisting of boys while the girls make up the second. Each case takes place during the school term and generally reflects on topics and struggles of adolescents. Like many web comics, Bad machinery focuses more on humor and funny, yet sometimes surreal, situations. While both groups of kids are sometimes working on the same, mystery or dilemma, they generally start off with different leads and usually have different focuses, such as the boy's focus more on things like catching monsters, while the girls focus more on emotional issues and connections. Despite the main mystery theme, the comic also has plenty of comedic slice of life moments where we see the kids trying to get through life and the school term.

Generally, I don't find web comics that interesting, and the inconsistent page updates and the fact that many of these comics are left unfinished leave me having a hard time truly getting interested in them. However, I did find much more enjoyment out of Bad Machinery than other works that I had previously read. Even if I don't end up coming back to read more, I think others, specifically a much younger audience and those that are experiencing similar issues through their school life, will be able to relate to this piece much more and thoroughly enjoy it.