Earthbuilders Zuda review/ plant a tree for your tomorrow

Earthbuilders is another April Zuda comic done by: Cuervoscuro, RGLlarena, Axel, and Sobreiro
most are former Zuda competitors. Here is the synopsis: The Terraformation of Mars was completed more than two centuries ago and since then a new age of humanity has begun: an age where space has been conquered, one planet at a time. The so-called Earthbuilders, elite members of the Terraformation Fleet, have created new – and sometimes better – “Earths” wherever they land. Dead planets are given new life, tailor-made worlds for specific communities or corporations and even places that recreate what life was like on Earth millions of years ago. A glimmer of hope in humanity's quest for finding native alien life-forms appears when a sudden alteration in New Sapmi's weather patterns forces the Earthbuilders to investigate what’s happening in that frozen planet. What starts as a routine investigation soon turns out to be a nightmare. For the first time the Earthbuilders face something not even their knowledge and technology might prevent: an event that will cause the planet’s mass extinction.

The screen 9 test wasn't passed

The screen nine test meaning your so into the story you find yourself clicking for screen 9 when you know it isn't there. You've became so caught up with the story you don't even realize what screen your on, that's what it takes to get a favorite from me. This gets a 3/5 stars from me, because I do like sci-fi but I like more information up front and less action movie side tracks. I'm looking for a greater payoff in the first 8 screens story-wise that I didn't get here. More hints about what makes your colony under attack story different from others that have came before it. Earthbuilders is good but it didn't manage to grab me as a reader considering the other competition this month. The monsters on the last screen weren't scary enough, to be a great cliffhanger. The dialogue set-up to the last screen punch line was fine, I also liked the perspective. The last scene with mutants climbing out of the blood/ooze (I guess), looked like fish stew, or Manhattan clam chowder gone rancid. A little bit disturbing, but you needed the last screen to be a lott'a bit disturbing. I thought the bright colors made the monsters less scary, but improved the look of the landscape and the people. The letters are just big enough to be read in small screen, so no real problems there. The art that doesn't involve monsters, was very well done, and the dialogue was good as well. The 8th screen was a misfire but up until that point the pacing fit fine with Zuda.

One more mention of crapping your pants would have been gratuitous

As it stands it wasn't so much humorous, as showing the awkwardness of the characters, and the situation, which I liked. We got a silhouette on screen 2, great I love those elements used in a story. The most interesting screens of the comic were not the monsters, it was the information we got by way of dialogue on screens 3 and 4. The planet having a sterilizing effect on the populace was a nice twist in the story. The human down loadable man was also a nice touch. The reaction of fear at the thought of a robot/android, among their ranks is a plot point I'm sure the creators will come back to. Screen 4 also had the best screen composition. Art-wise we had cutouts to some monster with a actually scary arm. The last panel here a extreme close-up of the eyes was excellent. The monsters look kind of like rose colored versions of the Thing from Fantastic Four 1. I liked Tor doing the O.M.A.C. Brother Eye thing and seeing what was going on around him. Tor and the Doc shit their pants, I laughed. What Tor was seeing wasn't a "No No NO" more like a "What is that" to me.

Earth Day on Mars

Nothing about this story was bad: art, writing, colors, and letters were all very professional. The problem was nothing about the 8 screens made me go "OMFG I have to find out what's next", or even a "I'm fairly curious as to the eventual outcome". That could change if the creators win, and I read more screens. I was more interested in the anti-android prejudice being explored, or the that old/ but looking so young question being gone into more. I'm guessing the creators didn't want a 'talking heads' comic and decided to spice it up with half the submission being the fight. This could also serve to introduce the threats on this planet and lead up to the extinction event foretold in the synopsis. Unfortunately I would have enjoyed this comic more if it was a talking heads comic. I don't usually feel that way, but after screen 4 it was all down hill in my enjoyment of this story. I was really enjoying the dialogue helped by the art, and finding out more about this world and it's characters that way.

What does the future hold?

I'm sure the pacing was helped along by the Zuda vets being apart of the creative team. Sci-fi is a genre Zuda could and probably will go into more as time goes on. Earthbuilders is a solid 3/5 stars, and if it wins I'll give the updates a read so it could go higher in the star count with me. 8 screens just wasn't enough for this story to earn a favorite from me.