It’s that time again! Domo here with a new, web-comic review, just for you! Umm, forgive that awful rhyming let’s get to it. Today’s review is extra-special, because I’ll be talking about a web-comic that is not only near and dear to me, but it is one that is celebrating its 10th year this month! Artist Starline Hodge, has been creating web-comic magic for ten years with her awesome slice-of-life comic…
I found “Candi” as a high school geek browsing for more web-comicky goodness to quench the thirst that “Penny & Aggie” had awakened. (If you haven’t checked out my first review of Penny & Aggie you should). I was getting older and looking forward to leaving my dreary high school existence behind for the splendor of college, and I found an incredible escape in to the world of co- eds, university life, and young adult drama through Candi.
Candi focuses on the college experience, friendships, and relationships of the main character Candi and her housemates. Candi is a pink-haired slightly naïve, slightly shy, multi-racial girl living in a scholarship house and taking on the challenges of managing her increasingly demanding Art curriculum and dealing with the everyday drama we all have experienced. I will admit now the storylines are what makes this web-comic so appealing to me, and it is what has kept me coming back a few times every week for about eight years now! Starline writes about relationships and friendships in such a real and honest way that I have found over the years refreshing and compelling.
In Candi, you’ll find a charming blend of fantastic elements like the Sexy Police arresting and citing students who dress too provocatively on campus, and realistic easily relatable topics like breakups, fulfilling academic requirements, and finance issues. Candi’s talking levitating ferret, Menjou and his war against the squirrel mafia is a source of constant laughter and even that is relatable for me.
For some reason my time an undergrad was spent observing and avoiding strangely sentient squirrels. The comic is sometimes goofy and funny and it is sometimes moving and poignant. Starline is able to flawlessly transition back and forth between the two and it never feels like a departure from the spirit of the story.
As usual I try to avoid revealing too much integral plot, but I find it important to mention the story arch where Candi is betrayed by her friend and roommate Linda. Most people have experienced a time where they have been hurt or deceived by someone they trusted or cared about, and Starline handled this particular conflict in a way that was funny but also very raw. We like to imagine how we might react idealistically when we are wronged by someone else and I love the way Starline honestly portrays the characters’ emotions and reactions to the things they encounter.
Trevor, one of Candi’s roommates, a spoiled son of affluent parents has to learn to stand on his own financially when his parents cut his support. Katia, a girl raised primarily in all-girl schools has to learn how to socialize and develop relationships with guys, because of her sheltered upbringing. Candi and Jess have to also deal with the pressure of being minority scholarship students and the requirements the predominately white university places on them. Candi talks about different issues that nearly anyone can relate to.
The art is pleasantly cartoony in an anime-inspired way and Starline employs color on all of her updates, (yet another thing I applaud her for). It’s a great read and all and all the kind of story you can really get addicted to. Though the pacing is sometimes slow, Starline updates her comic three to four times a week religiously, and it is amazing that her work has been a part of my almost daily schedule for years! I really recommend this amazing web-comic and I hope that you will make it apart of your life to. It is truly worth it!
NEXUSGEN RADIO 
Reblogged this on Desie's Thoughts and commented:
Excellent review of an incredible webcomic!
After reading this, I checked out Candi and in just one night, I’m all caught up! It’s really that addicting and I highly recommend it!
magnificent usage of terminology inside the post, it
in reality did help when i was reading
Thanks very much!