Webcomic Spotlight: Christof Writes Comics!

Christof Writes Comics!

Writer: Christof Bogacs
Artists: Fabian Lelay, Rebecca Nalty, Armin Ozdic, Triona Farrell, Josh Spencer, Anastasia Troitskaya
Letterer: Taylor Exposito, Josh Spencer

A Review by Christoph Staffl

Christof Bogaz is a podcaster, reviewer for Geek of Oz and comic creator. On his homepage, you can find a variety of short stories, as well as a full-length 20-page story called “Monday Morning”. I read through them all recently and the storytelling is very intriguing. It is incredible, how much world-building and characterization Bogacs can put in just four pages.

For each story, there is a different artist, which adds to the unique look of them. Be it a sci-fi setting in a distant future with a variety of species, a lonely anti-hero wandering through the heat of the desert, or the zombie apocalypse in black-and-white, enriched with a neat twist; everything looks gorgeous, and you are sucked right into the worlds.

However, there is a big downside to Bogacs’ stories that you cannot ignore: the inevitable end comes sooner than you want. As you get familiar with the mostly female protagonists and begin to understand the world, you likely want to know why the maximum alarm level is “rose gold” — and there it is: the end. But as sad as this might seem, it is awesome at the same time. These stories allow you think about what you read. What came before? What came after? Why do the characters act like this? Very inspiring.

As different the worlds are, Bogacs’ storytelling is unique to each story as well. He doesn’t apply one method to different settings, genres, or characters. It is nice to see that Bogacs thinks about these things. For example, in one story, a character talks about herself via an inner monologue. This way we know about her intentions, feelings and possibly get some hints about motivation. In the next story, we get the same information via context. People who know the protagonist talk to her or people on the street talk about her. Then there is a story about the inner world of a character. This one is confined to one place, and we see the creativity of her mind.

These various themes also have a kind of message ingrained in them, but it is not too on the nose. Although, you cannot miss them either. It is just there, shimmering through the surface. If you don’t know where to start: my favorites are “Circle” and “Train”.

The Verdict!
Read them! What is left to say? Christof Bogacs’ stories are quick reads but definitely make an impact. The strong world-building and compelling characters make a great combination. You want to know more about them and how their worlds come to be. “Monday Morning” is especially intriguing and I hope we get to see a second issue of this story.

You can find the creator, Christof Bogacs, on Twitter @weeklygeek and read his comics on his website.