I still remember that phrase teachers used to put on my report card, and I think everyone has gotten a similar one at one point or another: "Grace has a lot of potential, but..."

It was this phrase that kept popping into my while reading the comic Candi by Starline Hodge. There is no doubt, this artist can draw; one only needs to look at her gallery to see that. The earlier black and white strips in the Candi archives demonstrate this talent, with just the occasional use of cut and paste. However, as for the more recent strips, cut and paste has been used more and more and more and... well, you get the point. Sometimes it works for the joke... other times, the small changes made to each panel just look messy. It seems a shame to me, since Candi could easily be one of the better drawn webcomics out there.

Anyways, onto the writing. Candi alternates between gag-a-day and short storylines about a group of college students living together. The cartoonist doesn't always try and go for the laugh out loud punchline, though it is sometimes achieved. Often the comic is just cute and simple. There are increasingly more serious strips of late, though, and some very good character development. The more intriguing character by far is Candi's boyfriend Alex, for whom it is possible to hold both love and hate at the same time. Whether he will continue to be developed, or turned into a two dimensional villain is yet to be seen... but personally, I hope for the former.

Like I said, Candi has a lot of potential. With a little more effort spent on the art side of things, I would have no problem pimping this strip out to all my friends. As for you reading this, give it a look see, and if the cut and paste doesn't bother too much I daresay you will enjoy it immensely.

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