Why I Read: DadRockGirlPop

Hi everybody, it’s Delta-v again with another webcomic for your consideration. The premise this time is a bit more subtle, but it hooked me pretty hard. Author and artist Phil Breszinski liked the idea so here we go. Next stop, DadRockGirlPop.

Synopsis:

DadRockGirlPop is a slice-of-life webcomic that revolves around main character Rachel, her friends Elaine, who runs a bar, and Derek, who has a music store. Other characters come and go with varying degrees of impact on the story as it progresses.

Rachel is a real sweetheart, a point underscored by her appearance, as she has a rather waifish look–all eyes and a mop of slightly unruly blonde hair, with a few freckles. Elaine is harder, edgier, with dark hair swept into an aggressive, no-nonsense do, as befits some one who has to deal with drunks on a regular basis. Derek is laid back with a medium afro which changes shape drastically and frequently.

Let’s just say that the characters live up to their looks (well Elaine is a little nicer than that).

As the story opens, Rachel has just been let go from the band she’s been playing with…..

How I Found It:

I followed a link from Groovy, Kinda–Charlie Wise strikes again (but in a good way).  DRGP doesn’t have a Twitter or a Facebook that Dan could find.

Why I Like It:

Here we come to the premise I like so much.

Phil has an encyclopedic knowledge of electric guitars, amps and other electronic musical components. At one point, he even explains how a Hammond Organ works (Spoiler: It’s not what you might think).

All this information swirls through the fabric of the comic (Rachel is a major techie–bless her), the Author’s Blog below each page (he built an amp–from scratch–he has pictures), to the Comment section where other techies weigh in. The whole comic is simply layered with geeky, nerdly, goodness. What do I know about this stuff? Not much, but a lot more than I did before I read this comic.

The characters are engaging, likable, for the most part, except for the designated bad guy who shows up later, and the comic has a lot of humor in it. Phil has a good sense of comedy. The running gags don’t run too long, he knows how to exploit a funny situation, and he’s a master of long-suffering eyerolls, and quirked eyebrows.

The story itself is pretty plausible with only one really fortunate coincidence that I’ve seen. Eh, it’s a plot developer, so it’s okay. The rest of the narrative hangs together very well, and I find myself rooting for the characters, and celebrating their victories, no matter how small.

That, in a nutshell, is my standard for good writing. If an author can make me live in his or her world, and care about the characters, that’s a win in my book.

Artistically, Phil isn’t afraid to experiment, to change, and to re-evaluate his work, which has led to his artwork improving steadily and rather quickly.

And, of course, there’s all that music-tech geekiness *Drool*

What I Think Could Be Better:

Most of the things I can think of, Phil is already addressing. The one thing I’m eagerly anticipating, goes thus: Phil did an absolutely gorgeous job on one of the characters–took him a considerable chunk of forever–and I’m waiting for him to get fast enough at working that way, that he can do that all the time.

I can already see echoes in his current pages, so I can hardly wait.

Dan would also note that having a social media presence for the comic could be very helpful.

Final Thoughts:

Perhaps music-tech leaves you unmoved (a real pity). Fine, read it for the story, or the humor, or the appealing characters, or because you like to see the good guys win. Or…..well, just read it and make up your own mind about why you like it, because I’m very sure you will.