REVIEW: WIREHEADS

REVIEW: WIREHEADS Web Comic By Jim Hillin
Posted in Reviews by Wesley Green on the January 31st, 2007
Reviewed by Matt Butcher / Writer for Independent Propaganda

Wirehead: a person with a predilection for complex media, either hardware or software. Likely, the person you would go to in order to get your wireless setup working, or fix your Plasma screen.
Amazingly, there is never an end to the everyday humor that happens in office situations.

WIREHEADS tells those everyday tales of the idiosyncratic side of everyday life. Set in an office that remarkably looks like some kind of barn, the characters work on some kind of computer imaging or video software. I can’t really tell exactly what the business is. However, the problems that they run into must be funny to those that do this for a living. They are at least understandable and real.
WIREHEADS is a quirky comic strip. These are slices of real life, comparable to any of the comic strips available in your Sunday funnies. While I wouldn’t say that these are “laugh-out-loud” funny, I will say that I would read this strip on a day-to-day basis next to the other comic strips. However, some of the comics are a bit more PG or PG-13 material with some of the mature sequences but it is nothing offensive. I could easily see some of the plotlines merged into an episode of THE OFFICE or some other sitcom. In fact, with some of the plotlines, you get drawn in, trying to find out more. These could definitely be fleshed out into bigger scripts, especially the woman ogling the buff watercooler man, a perfect example of the ironic side of gender bias.
The art is decent. The lush backgrounds appear to be the main focus and really highlight the atmosphere of the office space. Whatever it is, it is real and almost palpable, each panel not just a bunch of floating heads but a real cinematic feel.

The website is nice too. While it does take a while to load some pages, it is a good design and fun, easily navigable.

WIREHEADS needs to be spread around. We will hear more about Jim Hillin, from this strip, and from his CGI work, and from his dozen or so screenplays he is developing.

2 Comments »
Matt! Well, you’re the first! Thanks, man, for the positive review. Looks like I hit the mark because you said all the right things. That is EXACTLY what I’m trying to do.
Hey, and the “laugh-out loud funny?” Well, that will come. There’s much more happening than meets the eye. Of course, I know what’s going to happen in everyone’s future. So, consider this the “set-up” year.
Cheers! And thanks for noticing.
Comment by Jim Hillin — February 3, 2007 @ 3:37 am

I’m glad! Wireheads is fun. (And I am going to quote YOU when people ask if I am any good at reviewing–”That is EXACTLY what I’m trying to do.” Excellent!
Thanks!
Matt

(Originally posted January 31, 2007, on http://independentpropaganda.com/ip_wp/review-wireheads-web-comic-by-jim-hillin/)