I don't know if anyone has reviewed this before, but it wasn't on the 2 most recent pages, so I'll start a topic for it:
Earthsong by Crystal Yates.
The art is what caught my attention first. I love the vivid colors and anime-style art. Yates herself described Earthsong in an interview as "a fantasy manga." I'm not familiar with manga, so I'll take her word for it (Ookla may be able to shed some light here). But I can definitely see the Sailor Moon-type anime influence. And I like it.
The storytelling is not bad either. In "Genesis" there is a lot of text, but otherwise Yates does a good job of balancing visual storytelling with dialogue/text, in my humble opinion. The world and magic system are a fun blend of old and new--mythological beings looked at in a different way. I am intrigued by the story and plan to keep following it.
One of the things I enjoyed most about this comic was the lack of annoying and distracting advertisements. The artist linked to several of her fellow webcomic writers, but at most I was detered by all the irrevelant content and lack of actual art/comic. At Earthsong, though, all the visual focus is on the art and the story. Of course, Yates does put content, including plugs to vote for her and links to other sites, in the green blog box on the lefthand side, but that stuff is *only* there. It is contained. Though, there do seem to be more advertisements on the home page than in the archives. (As you get more popular, is it required to link more? I don't know. I'd think it was the opposite.)
I will also unabashadly admit that this is the type of art style and fantasy story that I am inclined to like. It is right up my alley. So, if it is not someone else's cup of tea, I won't be dismayed.
Oh, and if you're interested, here is a link to an
interview with the author. I like her--she seems down to earth, like someone I would be friends with if I met her in real life.