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REVIEW: Doodze Chapters 10-13

Here we are. It’s been a long road but we’re nearly there. This is the final review of the web-comic, Doodze. And what a journey it’s been. Ups, downs, inbetweeny bits, getting lost and having to ask directions at one point. But it doesn’t matter. Time to settle things once and for all.

So we pick up where we left off, with the Doodzes preparing to rescue Moolawg as well as a few other captive Doodzes. Eddo, Palu and another Doodze cause a distraction and draw off most the Jurkzes while the rest of the gang attack the remaining ones. Eddo and co manage to trap all but one of the Jurkzes underground. Eddo manages to defeat this one by, in possibly one of the most hilarious scenes I have ever seen in a comic, beating it up with his pet Sh’leep. Imagine somebody hitting another person with small sheep and you’ll get what I’m talking about. You can’t not laugh.

Meanwhile in the Legion of Doom… sorry, I don’t know where that came from. I mean, meanwhile in the caves, the other Doodze manage to find Moolawg and the other captives. They free the prisoners and beat the holy snot out of the Jurkzes. But when Brucker tries to finish one off, a stunning revelation is, er, revealed. Jurkzes are actually… Doodzes! *Dramatic sting*. They are all really Doodzes under an evil curse. But who is controlling them? As it turns out, and evil Doodze called Zellana! Who’s Zellana, you ask? I don’t know, this is literally the first time she’s shown up. Zellana attacks them and holds them immobile. Apparently, Zellana betrayed the Doodzes who joined out heroes, which is why they were seeking Moolawg, so that he could help them. You might think that this is rather a lot of exposition to put into so few pages. And you’d be right. Way too much is revealed in too short a time. It’s not that we don’t like what’s being revealed, we do. Just… stagger it out a bit, eh?

But the Exposition Fairy keeps waving her magic wand, as apparently Zellana stole a magical artefact called the Pearl of Power. And THEN, it is revealed that there are five of them and that all the Doodze villages were supposed to use them to free the Jurkzes of their curse. And THEN, it is revealed that years and years ago, Humans were discovered near the Doodze village, so the magic users among them, including Moolawg, used the Pearl to cause an Ox to go crazy in order to drive them off. And THEN it is revealed that the Ox accidentally ran amok in the village, killing hundreds of Doodze. And THEN, it is revealed that the Doodze elders forced the magic users to bury their Pearls, preventing them from freeing the Jurkzes from their curse and banishing anybody who disagreed with them. And THEN, it is revealed… bloody hell, this is WAY too much exposition! I can’t handle it! The Exposition-O-meter (patent pending) is at level 24. It only goes to level 10! Oh, GOD!

So, it turns out that Zellana caused the Ox to go on a rampage, due to her hatred of humans. Is that it? Are you done? No more exposition to cram in at the last second? Good. She tries to coax the location of Moolawgs Pearl of Power out of him, but he refuses to tell her. Then she goes all Rita Repulsa on them and turns a centipede of hers into a giant! Didn’t see that coming. It chases after Eddo and his Sh’leep, as they run out of the caves and back into the woods, where they bump into the Wood Troll again. This gives Eddo an idea, as he lures the Troll back to the caves, setting it against the giant centipede. Amidst all the commotion, Zellana looks behind her and sees all the Doodzes stood before her, standing tall and ready for battle.

And that’s the end. Wait, what? That’s it? You can’t just end on a cliffhanger like that! Will they defeat Zellana? What about that bit with Bussy, Russcorn and the little girl? Will that be explained? I need answers, dammit! Sorry, what’s that? Chapter thirteen isn’t the end? There’s another chapter to go, it just hasn’t been uploaded yet? NOBODY THOUGHT TO TELL ME THAT EARLIER? GEEZ!

Okay, so there’s more to come, but what do I think of these three chapters? Well, I really only have one problem and it rhymes with “jazz musician”. I’ll admit all the secrets that are revealed are really interesting. They all work well within the story. It’s just that they’re shown last minute and way too quickly. It’s a shame really. If Robin White had taken the time to tell us all this a bit slower, I wouldn’t have a bad thing to say about these chapters. I have to say, everything I loved about this web-comic in the beginning is present here. The humour is great, the action is fun, the dialogue is witty and the way it’s drawn enables all of these things perfectly. The spark of romance has been rekindled people! Hallelujah, God Save the Queen and a Merry Christmas all round. I can only hope that the next chapter remains the same. For once, I’m fairly optimistic it will be.

 

What did YOU think of Doodze? Was it as funny as beating somebody up with a Sh’leep or has the Exposition Fairy gone too far this time? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter. Remember to check back as there will be more reviews on the continuing adventures of the Doodze in the future.

About the author

Scott Meridew