Why I Read: Back Office

Hi,everybody!  It’s Delta-v again, and I’m doing something this week that I’ve never done before.  I’m going to review a webcomic by a Creator whose work I reviewed earlier.  That Creator is Mark Egan of Bata Neart fame, and this comic has absolutely nothing at all to do with the other.  Mark thinks I may be missing a few marbles (It’s possible, granted) but he’s as curious as a cat to see what I come up with, so here goes:  It’s super geeky, slightly freaky, and altogether…….delightful.  Fellow comic enthusiasts, I present to you, Back Office.

Synopsis:

This is going to be a little different, because the comic changed purpose.  It started as a series of somewhat snarky inside jokes for call center employees to enjoy…

…but Mark’s love of and skill at telling a story overcame his original plan, and the comic became a sendup of Cyber Action/Adventure movies, especially–well, let’s just call it the corruption of a pure European soul by a marauding US Mouse.

The story solidifies until it is quite a passable tale in it’s own right.  This carries the reader until he end of the first story arc.  The second arc (the current one) has only the bare minimum of call center sensibility, and instead has an interesting premise which Mark is currently exploring.

At the beginning of the actual storyline of the first arc, a “bright idea” from Marketing causes so much angry traffic that the program managing the call queue comes to life, threatening all of humanity.  Mike, one of the new hires at the call center (that’s him receiving “Training” above) is given a virus infused USB drive and told  by his Team Leader Gary…

…to destroy the program with it.  The results are disappointing and possibly fatal to Mike, so his coworker Karen is given another infected USB drive and the same order.

(NOTE:  Karen has  a couple of flyaway hairs that give her a unique look.  Mark didn’t think of them until about halfway through the first arc, so I’m showing her with them. Why?  Because I like them)

Karen opts to look for help, so she sets off into the bowels of the company headquarters.  She finds Magnu, a programmer who coded too long and now thinks in a combination of Java and Turbo Pascal–most of his conversation consists of him saying his own name–and Rod, an ambulatory, one-eyed teddy bear, whose AI has come to life thanks to Magnu.

Karen gathers others to aid her, including the killer program’s creator, Professor Tantrum, and leads an attack on the the program’s weak spot.

Meanwhile, Mike, who wasn’t killed, just digitized, is making his own way through the virtual reality of the main computer……..

How I Found It:

I clicked the link on Mark’s homepage, but he’s also on Facebook,  deviantArt, Twitter, and Google+.

Why I Like It:

It’s very funny.  There are a few darkish spots, but by and large it’s all played for laughs.  Mark has a wild sense of humor, and he let it all hang out here.  The parody is broad, but surprisingly deep, and the skewering of corporatism is spot-on.

I’ve never worked at a call center, but I got most of the jokes anyway, and he’s really good at expressions that add to the fun.

You can see the improvement in Mark’s art skills, and the differences then to now are impressive.  (It’s also about the only place you can see his early work, since he redrew the first five chapters of Bata Neart.)

Mark is continuing to hone his style, and the future looks bright, art-wise.  The over all presentation  is the same manga-esque style as his other work, but the characters are unmistakably different, with a more playful tone and feel.

His story-telling skills also show improvement, from scooping concepts together at the beginning as he changed the comic’s course, to the outright crafting and polish of the later work.  I enjoy watching art and writing as it improves–In fact, I search it out, looking for creators who are working to improve their comics.  I respect people like that, and it definitely  includes Mark.

Mark explained that he’s been trying out new concepts in Back Office, and since it’s looser format  allows him more latitude to work, I can see why.

The new story arc is pretty exciting with even more pointed jabs at corporate execs with more authority than ability, and pokes fun at “Team Building Exercises” that make walking on hot coals seem reasonable.  Also there are plenty of plot twists and revelations to go around so far.  I’m pretty hard to surprise, but he’s managed to do it fairly often–which is also impressive.

What I Think Could Be Better:

Let’s start with the Archive.  There isn’t one.  Need to look something up?  Start plowing.  The chapter buttons on the navigation bar are also pretty problematic, since the comic doesn’t seem to be laid out in a format the buttons can recognize.

A cast page would also be nice.

Other than that, it’s good.

Final Thoughts:

I found Back Office to be well worth reading for it’s own sake, and also because it shows Mark’s talents to good effect.  The very fact that they are so different in content and tone says good things about Mark’s creativity, too, and shows just how well rounded he is.

Right now, Back Office is on “baby hiatus” as he and his wife deal with a new arrival.  I’m very eager to see it resume, but I understand the wait.

In the meanwhile, read the Archive, and vote.  Let’s start voting right HERE.