After 3 months of work, with the help of over 18 Voice Actors, we talk about the forgotten Webcomic āCloudscratchersā made by Cody Baier, and deepdive into the series as a whole.
THE COMIC: https://www.cloudscratcher.com/archive.php
ā SPECIAL THANKS TO THE VOICE ACTORS THAT MADE THIS PROJECT POSSIBLE! ā
Captain voiced by Jordan āGoodernessā McQuaid
https://www.castingcall.club/gooderness
Felix voiced by Erin (3KayEm)
https://www.castingcall.club/3kayem
Burt voiced by EJ De Jesus
https://www.castingcall.club/dejesus99
Jacques voiced by Jimmy May
https://www.castingcall.club/neddy92
Ixia voiced by Perry J
https://www.castingcall.club/ginger5209
Alice voiced by Cecil King
https://www.castingcall.club/bammyjammy
Delila and Imperial Librarian voiced by Elena Michele
https://www.castingcall.club/ToastedCrumpet
Sally-Jean voiced by Candaru Driemor
https://www.castingcall.club/Candaru_Driemor
Soggat and D-Pesh voiced by The Gray Knight
https://www.castingcall.club/TheGrayKnight
Borzax and Chef voiced by Brennen Blotner
https://www.castingcall.club/brennenmichael
Noggos voiced by Baerutt
https://www.castingcall.club/baerutt
Agathoth voiced by Taknocario
https://www.castingcall.club/Yanomas_70
Caxtur and General Leon voiced by Nico Burggraaf
https://www.castingcall.club/Nico-Burggraaf
Wolfsbane voiced by Lazzi Faire
https://www.castingcall.club/10thStreetLowLife
Nina voiced by Kiyana Morgan
https://www.castingcall.club/killua_ki
Female Extras voiced by Cecil King and Kiyana Morgan
Cecil King ā https://www.castingcall.club/bammyjammy
Kiyana Morgan ā https://www.castingcall.club/killua_ki
Male Extras voiced by Nick Bean, Lazzi Faire, and Decebalus
Nick Bean ā https://www.castingcall.club/beanmm
Lazzi Faire ā https://www.castingcall.club/10thStreetLowLife
Decebalus ā https://www.castingcall.club/decebalus
Pirate Extras voiced by Brennen Blotner and Ben Meyer
Brennen Blotner ā https://www.castingcall.club/brennenmichael
Ben Meyer ā https://www.castingcall.club/ben-meyer-240
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00:00 ā Introduction
0:01:48 ā ARC ONE: VISITORS AND VENOM
0:16:54 ā ARC TWO: 72 HOURS
0:34:07 ā ARC THREE: BIRTHDAY BASH
0:55:13 ā ARC FOUR: TREASURES OF THE AVIANS
1:47:14 ā Closing Thoughts
Thanks for watching! š
source
Seeing as most of the video is a deep dive with my thoughts scattered throughout, I thought I'd give a more in depth breakdown of my thoughts on each of the 4 overarching arcs here in the comments. (Though on a side note, I know they're technically called "Episodes" but I'll be calling each group "Arcs" just because it's easier on my little pea-brain, and because that's what I call them in the video)
ARC 1 – Visitors and Venom
Overall I think Visitors and Venom is a great start to the series. It does its job of introducing you to the main cast, as well as the plot and stakes of everything without getting lost. Although there were some characters that didn't feel like they should have gotten their own full on introduction due to how few times they actually show up in the full series (Delila and Scotty), and others who felt like they weren't important members of the cast until we got to see MORE of them in 72 Hours, it's a great introduction to the characters, and builds up side threats like Agathoth and Noggos without taking away from Borzax's power/threatening-ness. It's alright, but is definitely improved upon later as Cody Baier got more used to writing the characters and getting a feel for what the series SHOULD and could be!
ARC 2 – 72 Hours
There isn't much bad to say about this arc. In fact, I'd argue it's the best of the arcs! Not only do we start to get a deeper look into all of the characters, and build on Ixia's relationship with the crew, as well as adding to the worldbuilding in substantial ways that really make you feel it's a living breathing world. Not to mention, we get to see the full extent of Borzax, and start getting into Noggos's personal arc as he tries to figure out the whole Agathoth Conspiracy. (which on a side note, Noggos's storyline is easily the best B-plot the series has had to date, giving us a deeper look into the empire, and giving him a life and motives outside of being a commanding officer).
ARC 3 – Birthday Bash
Although I didn't personally get a feel for the whole Birthday plotline (mostly due to personal preference) it 100% makes up for with the introduction of Wolfsbane, a fantastic villain that you just love to see whenever they show up for another scheme. Especially the Battle of Big Brockie where we get an epic battle between Wolfsbane's crew (with their giant robot) and the Cloudscratchers. Lends to some great fight scenes, and a good end to the fight scene that shows that he isn't incompetent (as he's able to escape with his crew, including the ones that were captured). Also has some of the sweetest moments of the series by far, with Felix giving Ixia the egg plushie being the most wholesome in my opinion. Although Delila's role is minimal, it does make her feel a little more important (whereas before she was sidelined and completely forgettable), especially with foreshadowing the Leatherbacks, and hinting at Delila's connection with them.
Arc 4 – Treasures of the Avians
As I said in the video, this is by far the BEST the series has to offer, with extremely well written scenes between the cast (having some of my favorite moments with the crew and with Borzax) however, it's a shame that it's undercut by it's "blink-and-you'll-miss-it" pace, and a dozen and one new characters that we don't have nearly enough time to care about or bond with. As said in the video "It's like playing Russian Roulette with Chekov's gun" as although we get lots more worldbuilding, it's seemingly forgotten what made it's worldbulding that made 72 Hours so good: as Treasures of the Avians forgets the Show in Show and Tell. Merely telling us lots of cool facts about the universe, before quickly moving on, with most of it not mattering. The few times these new details do matter, they feel sudden, as there's little build up to them, and again, we're built to expect that it's not going to be brought up again, thanks to the several times it happens here. The biggest folly of this being the introduction of "Pitterpat" which Felix has to explain to the audience what a Toosu is due to the fact they have never been brought up until this point. The other main problem with this arc (which I didn't really bring up in the video) is that there's a massive power creep, in which half of the new characters introduced are either: unbeatable or have superpowers of some kind (the latter which weren't even established as a thing until just now). It feels like it's shifting into a superhero comic, as the story slips away to focus on The Enforcer's Airbender or the Immortal Sassy Hulk– I mean Caxtur. Like, it feels more and more like the Captain and their crew aren't capable of combating toe-to-toe with these threats, and that they HAVE to rely on the forces, making the comics less and less about THEM. As much as I love Arc 4 for it's moment between our already established cast (especially Captain's scenes, as well as Soggat's scene with the Toxic Toast, and especially as they started to show Burt's weakness for women in full effect), I can only hope these problems don't leak into Arc 5 – Starstruck. From the tweets that have been posted on the author's account, we already know there's going to be a new scientist villain (whom I am super excited for, as well as a beetle character that's "the strongest character in their universe", I can only hope they've learned from Treasures of the Avians, and will put more time into introducing these new threats, and giving you a reason to care past vague "the end of the world" stuff.
In general, I hope we see more moments with the crew (and maybe give us a reason to see Scotty on-par with the rest of the cast!) I really do think Cloudscratchers is a fantastic webcomic that more people really should see! If the creator ever did a Makeship campaign or something, I'd support it. Hopefully this video will bring on some more fans! Like c'mon man, you're really telling me there's NO entries on AO3 on this thing? No self-insert fanfic? No Captain getting hanakaki? C'mon fanbase! Pull yourself together!
Hi
cloudscratchers cookie cutters
I scratch clouds
I would make a compliment about the video, but I haven't even started watching it, soooooo, cool thumbnail I guess :1
Dang, never been here with 2m ago, I think me record was like 30m or smth, anyway we love a good new cutcafe upload! even if I don't care abt the subject at hand its just nice to enjoy yer voice and script. Oh, and if you happen to come across this, ever heard of Phighting? just spreadin the word, reply if yer interested! -Ty for the read!
Your sacrifice will be remembered š«”š«”š«”
hey new fan here I love you're content. I love you're art style its so cool!
Nice video as always, CutCafe ! It's nice learning about underappreciated things, that reminded me about the fact that half of the 3DS games i played are considered niche ( some example include Ever Oasis, Deluxe Freakyforms and Aeterno Blade, but honestly, for that last one, it's not a big deal if people don't remember it, as this game can't be taken seriously due to a serious lack of character charisma… ).
Also, unrelated to the video, but do you remember the video you made about Cooking Companions ? I would really like to know which music you used in the video, as i keep coming back to this over and over and ask myself " oh, it'll be so nice if i could listen to this song while writing…! ". I already asked you on the Cooking Companions video, but since i had no answers, i thinked i could ask you again. Sorry to bother you with this.
How the hell is man cooking this hard, mf got voice acting in the video š£š£š„š„
Amazing video,i really enjoyed it and i also really enjoy the fact that you like to cover things that arent well known,good luck in all your future endeavors!
i will read this.
Oh so excited to see this is finally here! So glad I could be part of this!
"stress makes your hair go gray" says the gray furred cat to the snake
i feel like 'switch to private frequency' could be a good meme
I love how you said 'you can tell by the runtime', had it with an hour and 22 minutes, and you were still putting it half an hour short. This is going to be SO entertaining.
um… question could you put the page number for some of the acts so people can find the page easier
Oh my god I didn't even think this was going to be that good but GOD 21:57–22:02.
Part 2 please!
Um actually it a tranformer problem if tranfom
Definitely adding this to my reading list!
I have already forgotten everything
It's nice to see this finally come together, I've been waiting for its release and… honestly I love how it all comes together. Great editing as always, and my fellow VAs did awesome at bringing the characters to life! Never actually heard of Cloudscratchers before the project, but I might have to give it a chance sometime, even with its flaws I'd say it's practically drawn me in with its characters & their personalities.
(also, 1:22:37 is my favorite edit, and its so stupid that of all things that is what I can't stop giggling at.)
Howdy! Author here! This was one helluva pleasant surprise! Seeing my long-running side project reviewed and voiced like this was so surreal! I've been working on Cloudscratcher for years while pitching comics to publishers and even currently writing a book. I'm a bit addicted to creating things, writing, and being productive, so this comic has been my way of keeping myself busy waiting for call backs and the like.
You did make one little oopsie though; the couple in the restaurant isn't Nyx and Zobith from West Bravo. They're just colored similarly. Actually all the Serpent characters are based on real species of snakes, with the more evil/scary ones based on more dangerous and venomous species. So all of West Bravo are non-venomous snakes that get mistaken for venomous, except Xyzzax, who's based on the world's least venomous cobra. Whereas for extras, I just improvise…
On episode 4's characters, it's worth noting that arc is meant to be the pandora's box of the comic. Introducing many of the biggest of the big time players in the comic's story, establishing how our heroes aren't going to be able to Ixia or Sally-Jean their way out of everything, and setting off a chain of events that much of the myth arc going forward will center on. Basically our heroes got thrust right into an event that a whole lot of endgame characters were involved in. Also I'm surprised you didn't notice who the Godspeed unit are… Or maybe you just didn't wanna spoil it. To anyone reading this, pay attention to some of the things Mercury and Solace say… If I could produce pages as fast as I'd like to, the story would be farther along and that would be way more apparent, but alas…
…Also it's Cloudscratcher. Non plural. :p
(Also props to the guy who voiced Sogaat, really sold the emotional scenes in Episode 4!)
im at 12:44 and im already invested
Yo can we explore the lylat system?
42:50 jojopose
SCP Wiki: [23:50]
48:24 there's a reference here, i just don't know what to
51:53 that's the bird door portal thing from smb2usa
underrated youtuber/video š get this Lil Matpat to 40k!
57:06 i know the green bird is a reference to a Brazilian Disney character that i currently forgot the name, the red one is also a Disney character, but that one i really don't know much of, and the blue one is straight up Falco Lombardi from star fox
F-f-fff-ff-FURRIES?!??!!! (Major joke lol, I am a furry)
7:32
1:04:41 is this a cat or a mouse? I can't tell
1:13:02 Chekhov's the
This is a reference
1:13:58 this is a jojo reference
It feels like one, at least
1:02:40
Wow. Outstanding job everybody!
I hope more people see this itās great
Pochi science please
Help mine crewmate
I do like how the captain has that 90s don bluth hairstyle and some of the snakes are based on kobras let me guess scotty would have a Scottish accent because hes a Scottish tarrier