Creator: Starline X. Hodge
	Started: 06.25.2004
	Pages to date: hundreds
	Updates: Mon/Tues/Thurs/Fri
	GENRE: College/Animu/Humor
	http://www.candicomics.com

One thing which could be viewed as beneficial about online comics (to the comic industry as a whole) is that it attracts the female demographic. Through webcomics, female artists can express themselves in ways that may be frowned upon in the world of mainstream print comics. Traditionally, girls would like to read about other girls in comics, who are flawed like they are, but not in an insulting way – girls with concerns over their looks and imperfections, who want to succeed in life, and who spend too much of their time thinking about boys. One webcomic that works better than others within the field is Candi, by Starline Hodge.

Candi is based on a character named Candi (oddly enough), who is a young college freshman living in a group house with three other girls and two guys. The comic has a diverse cast, in terms of ethnicity and sexuality – although, this is not an uncommon occurrence in webcomics. It shines over most other girl webcomics and probably print comics as well because it doesn’t seem to have any agenda, or obvious feminist leanings, which is great, because it provides a nice change of pace for girl-centric comics. Candi, like most girls her age in college, is figuring herself out. She whines, cries a lot over her relationship with her now ex-boyfriend, Alex, and adjusts to dealing with demanding professors and the drama of her roommates. She isn’t trying to be anything more than she is, and knows she has to deal with her insecurities, but – like most people her age – she isn’t thinking about that right now. This results in the occasional annoyance of her friend, Jessica, who seems to be the most rational member of the cast, and provides a nice dynamic to the stories.

The creator, Hodge, is never afraid to address certain things that some people may be afraid to touch on. Everything from getting drugged at a rave party (although this is done with humor) to Candi witnessing her friend Linda performing sexual favors for her ex-boyfriend (definitely not a comic for the younger set). Most comics would linger too much on particular scenes, or barely touch on them while being pivotal to the plot. I think that Hodge should be commended for being so forthright with her portrayal of college life, without being overly dramatic or silly.  Candi manages to find a peaceful balance between the two. The only area of disbelief (I suppose this was added for the comic relief) is Candi’s pet weasel, Menjou, who not only can fly with a blue aura around it, but talks with other animals. The weasel serves as a mascot for the comic, which is obviously something that can work in a comic’s favor, but it takes away from the plot being more realistic. If Candi was the only one who could see her pet fly, then maybe it would add to the humor, but because anyone can see it, it just makes the story a tad childish and lame.

Moving to the art, and this is where the comic has more pronounced shortcomings. Now, don’t get me wrong. I feel that the art matches the writing style of the author. Any more detail and I would feel that the art style is too complex for the story. That said, Hodge should take more time with her drawings. Nothing is wrong overall with her work, but her lack of artistic editing hurts her on many pages. Reading through the archives, pages which still retain visible sketch guidelines often appear, making the work seem unfinished or unpolished. Initially, there was a tendency for the comic to copy and paste backgrounds; however, this has thankfully been addressed. Unfortunately, she frequently fails to put any serious effort into them, even when backgrounds were necessary in her scenes. On some pages, hands or shirts are not drawn completely, and she has to fill in the gaps with color. When this is coupled with an inking style that is somewhat simplistic and not particularly accomplished, the result is a general lack of attention to detail which distracts from the content. Hodge probably thinks that her manga-esque style allows her to get away with dodging many of the necessities of sequential art, but there are plenty of good examples of webcomics out there showing that competence and artistic discretion can coexist.

Overall, the comic is great for what it is: an honest, if a little juvenile, attempt to portray the life of a young female college student figuring out who she is. While the comic boasts a strong audience and is one of the more popular comics on Keenspot, Candi holds itself back because of the artist's consistent lack of attention to the art. Hodge helps out her case, however, with her amusing story of growing up in college – even if the writing can be weak at times. Young high school girls (and those who only wish to be young high school girls) interested in teen soap dramas would enjoy Candi, and those looking for laughs four times a week wouldn't mind stopping by this comic and finding a chuckle now and then. While I’m sure Hodge is more concerned with telling the story of her beloved character creations, it is a comic and not a novel, which suggests that the art should be a focus, if not the main focus, of the work.