Now I’m gunna do something I wanna do!

*Petulant stomp*

Here we go: Clone.Manga.com

If you’re not familiar with Dan Kim’s work, it’s either because you live in a proverbial intraweb cocoon, or were too disgusted to continue after first impressions. But there’s always option 3: ‘it never showed up on your radar.’ In that case, I’ll forgive you. Yet, in any case, it’s a situation I hope to rectify.

The Clone.Manga project showcases almost a dozen comics of varying art-styles and genres, all with Dan’s (self-anointed and self-effacing) weeaboo stamp. He’s become rather iconic and influential over the years due to long-running projects such as the stark and emotive Paper Eleven, and the popular, depraved Elfen Lied Doujin, Nana’s Everyday Life. Now-a-days he’s seemingly at odds between his pay-the-bills career and his rabid, way-too-patient fanbase that translates his works into no less than twelve languages (seriously).

His update schedule is an absolute disappointment (often once a month).

His body of work is legendary (in size and quality).

So that’s the status, which favors new viewers more than current fans (more on that later).

A talented, trained, and skilled artist, Dan uses mediums spanning charcoal, inks, tablets, apparent watercolors, to his forte: that crazy manner of anti-drawing where one fills the blackspace to outline the whitespace. The effect is gorgeous, especially with his skillset. His content and sense of humor are always the deal-breakers with new readers–it’s never the art.

As for his most recent flagship: Kanami centers on a sickly girl’s love for her caretaker brother. We’re already told how the tragic, incestuous story ends: a gory, ultra-violent climax his fanbase is waiting for, be it blood-fascination, watching the psychological downward spiral, or simply to enjoy the relationship dynamics as they develop. Kanami is poignant, threatening, hinting at brutal, and remains the sole standard for its webcomic subgenre.

Dan’s talent with storytelling is all about what he doesn’t say, showing us the depth in oft-dialogueless strips that can’t be argued with.

I don’t even like Kanami, but I appreciate it, absolutely for what it says within the panels, between the panels, and across the story as a whole. The cadence of suspense he’s building might be the best in all webcomics.

And on the ultraviolet end of the spectrum, we have Tomoyo42’s Room, a semi-gag-a-day CCS doujin that devolves our prepubescent, wholesome cast into a homicidally jealous, sexually defunct duo. The comic isn’t so much beyond baby-killing, 9/11, and rape jokes; it embraces them without apology. Thick skin may not be as protective as perspective, seeing satire and lulz for what they are. More often than not, the absurdity is the comedy, but as some people’s nerves can always be struck (including mine)–this would be your barometer.

Dan launches new projects ( Momoka Corner & April, May, and June ) only to shelf them, and that’s fine. Dan promises more love for his creepy, Paper Eleven heir, Penny Tribute, but rarely delivers, at that’s fine. Dan has shutdown Tomoyo42 a half-dozen times but it’s the comic that won’t die, and we’re happy for it.

Dan Kim is the most talented, promise-making, underproducing, yet apologetic webcomicker on the internets. Yes, even over Gallagher.

Life does get in the way. No he isn’t get pay-for-pro beyond his Paper Eleven printing and J-List advertising. So I take it easy on him, and I click back. No update. A few weeks later, I click back and there’s his promise for new content. It’s flowchart worthy, and likely how I got so fucked up on my own schedule. I click back a couple weeks later and there’s nothing.

Then, after I give him up to hiatus (again), he updates a big fucking chunk of content spanning three comics, his forum revives, and maybe he adds a contest and/or reveals an award he won.

Then his fans translate said content into twelve different languages.

I won’t say he hasn’t earned his fans, but I’m not sure, at this point, if Dan Kim deserves their patience. New readers have years worth of catching up to do. Old fans have little to feel excited about. However: 

Would I pay to read it? I already have, and am happy for it. Whether I like waiting or not, I keep going back.