Something unusual

I may or may not be good at the webcomic critic business, but one thing I do well is make up my mind about them. In a few minutes, I can usually determine 1. Whether the artwork is good 2. Whether the style is original 3. Whether I like the comic. When I stumble on Randal Milholland's Something Positive, the answer is: no, no and not really. Only one little detail stands out, the webcomic has been going strong since 2001. Maybe I should try to recognize the signs, like when when I asked my now ex-girlfriend if she wouldn't miss me for the three months we would be apart and she said "not really".
Anyhow, the first few pages are relatively classic humor, with a touch of black. As the pages flow, the touch of black become more persistent, quite the contrary of most "subversive" webcomics, which start with a dark, acid feel to it and quickly turn into a comic equivalent of "friends". I actually am occasionally shocked my own self of some of the things randy pulls; like the characters handing out tracts on the correct procedure for slitting one's wrists (sorry emo's I am not giving the link).
In stark contrast of this is the very serious treatment of some pretty serious issues. Speaking of which if the life of Davan, the main character is even loosely based on the life of Milholland, that dude must be a psychiatrist's treat! Davan is repeatedly cheated upon, loses his best friend, close family, has massive health problems, is exploited, attacked and broke during the 6 years of his sorry existence.
The one constant to this seems to be the acidic irony with which Davan faces all of his predicaments, usually slipping some profound morality deeply between the lines. Don't worry about it though, you can usually miss it if you aren't looking too hard.

Oao

Cody