Here we go : Level 99

I wanted to do a gaming comic. I pretty much hate gaming comics outside of being a PA fan/whore, but that’s because we go way back. This is not about PA. This is about Level 99, a comic recently celebrating a 1-year anniversary. I hadn’t heard of it before last month.

Some introductory points:

They sport their own unique font, “arlolicious,’ which is impossible to read at high-resolution.

The art shows remarkable progression within a year’s time. It’s now on par with the better tablet-n-Photoshop comics.

They like breaking the forth wall. Sometimes to great hilarity, other times falling flat.

Their gimmick-deviation from the ‘guys playing video games on their couch genre’ is their female co-lead/artist, Race, typically Mary-Sued along with her co-star/writer, Arlo. From an outsider’s point of view, my first question was: “Are they sleeping together or what?”

Lest I seem shallow. I was there for the full Nekobox progression from shameless ‘love-letter-webcomic’ through break-ups, hook-ups, and Young’s eventual creative unraveling and fracturing of his online posse. I am merely curious whether I can expect this behind-the-scenes drama from L99. That might make it more interesting.

Anyway, back to Race, at least she knows her shit in-character without being too much of a fanboy fantasy. Just one of the guys, she’s the selling point for her sarcasm and turns of a phrase. However, 80% of the comics seem to be gag-a-day derivatives of sites I enjoy more. I honestly can’t find much to fault or give them props on because they aren’t breaking ground in any form. They are fulfilling the cookie-cutter role of gaming comics with the utmost skill and writing—that is both a slam and a compliment.

If the project wasn’t so unassuming, they’d be easier to mock. They are not nearly as full of themselves as that Dueling Analogues douche, and carry themselves with respect to the audience without pimping sponsors/paypal/merch links in clusterfuck glory. I like the simplicity of the webdesign because it feels intentional, not half-assed.

For gaming comic fans, I recommend a glance to see if this fills your bill. For casual gamer comic fans (like me) I’d ignore it or give it a once-a-month browse to sift for the good stuff. These two are a class act in their field, but that doesn’t make it interesting.

Your sample.