Sabrina Online, one of the Grand Ancients of internet comics, is not a concept most distributors would know what to do with. Eric Schwartz’s interests are very specific- overtly sexualized funny animals in a slice of life setting with an emphasis on nerd hobbies and mildly raunchy humor. It still managed to find a wide audience in spite of that, and that mainly comes down to two things: the quality artwork and some pretty likable characters. Well, most of them.
The title character, whose last name I believe is “Skunk” and not Online, is a mild mannered and shy web designer fresh out of college. Eventually she applies her trade for an adult film studio, run by its flirty and gregarious top star Zig Zag. I guess she’s part zebra or wolf, I’m not really sure what kind of animal she’s supposed to be.
Still, species mixing is a major part of Sabrina Online’s lore, as when she’s not dealing with the antics of her boss, babysitting her hyperactive little sister or collecting Transformer toys and making them talk (another interest of the author), she plays best friend to a model squirrel named Amy, one half of a very odd marriage with a wolf named Thomas. Her boyfriend is R. C. Raccoon, a Microsoft enthusiast and thus a good debate partner for the Amiga loving Sabrina.
There’s also shades of Toy Story at work when the Transformers come to life behind the cast’s backs, which really could be a spinoff fan comic in itself.
S.O’s storylines are pretty well paced, in part due to a more drawn out schedule than most comics. The humor style is mostly light hearted sitcommy stuff with a learn towards romance and some mild sex gags, and it usually works outside of Zig Zag getting away with murder constantly (and judging by the “internet troll” storyline, perhaps not just metaphorically, I’m willing to guess).
I get the sense Schwartz really wants her to be that crazy breakout character that everyone loves, and she even has a tragic past to boot that’s mentioned offhand a few times. She’s not as bad as she could have been, but then there’s stuff like this:
Oh, I see what you did there, Eric. I think if she had a few more moments where she gets some comeuppance, I’d like her a lot more. But yeah, Zag does gets a noticeably big SuperSeriouslyWhatKindOfAnimalIsShe push.
Schwartz’s artwork is easily one of the strip’s best features. Even if you’re not into furry girls (which will determine whether or not you’ll find his work outside the strip worth seeking out), it’s hard to deny its quality. The cast resemble Warner Bros. styled funny animals with more correct anatomy and maybe the odd anime hint in their facial expressions.
Sabrina Online (which you can find here) is a lot better at being heartwarming than it is at being outrageous. From what I’ve read, much of Schwartz’s material outside of the strip is more on the naughty side, so as his most mainstream minded work there’s always going to be that sense of restraint with how far it tries to go. I guess I can say I like it when it tries to do some things, other things not so much, so mildly recommended.