Precocious Guest Review

A quickly rising webcomic gets reviewed

The overall writing is very clear, but a bit trite. I feel like if an episode were done about a science fair, someone would build a volcano.

In the pilot, the children wonder who would be a better super villain, and this battle culminates into a water balloon fight. I'm a little underwhelmed at the way this escalates. It's fairly entertaining and there are a few twists and turns in there, but in the end, the water battle goes as planned more or less, with a predictable outcome. But they were fighting to see who would be the best supervillain. They talk about being evil, but never actually accomplish this. I don't need to see Cartman-esque sadistic brutality, but these children are advertised as conniving, vicious geniuses. I would expect a game of chess between two masters, constantly out-witting, out-guessing each other; but what we get is overly verbose ping pong. I'm not complaining that there's a lack of intelligence in the writing, but there could be so much more.

That said, as it is, be it comic strip or tv show, Precocious has its ups and downs. It can be funny at times, but sadly, not when its humor is based on the characters. There is the occasional quip about social structure that gets a laugh, but a lot rides on the hope that we are as connected with the characters as the author is, and unfortunately, I am not. I really feel like this is a learning period for Paulsen. I may not seem to have too much of an affinity to his strip, but I think his work is heading in the right direction. He's doing the best he can now, getting his strip out there (and more importantly, his name), building a fanbase, practicing his craft. I look forward to hearing about him in the future, but for now, there's still a ways to go.

Charlie Thatcher is an art and animation instructor for preteen students, as well as a freelance comic and screenwriter.