I dove headfirst into iStrip doing a website commission for The Sons Comic, by Daniel Escobedo. iStrip has been around in one form or another at least since 2005. It’s free, I know a few comics that use it (NN4B has since changed over to wordpress/webcomic, and I thought Crowfeathers used it at one time, not sure currently), and it is highly customizable. It also has a online interface for site/archive administration, news posting, etc. It works as advertised. However, I quickly found that the system was incredibly unintuitive. The read-me’s were a tome that took me ages to go through–because there was an incredibly in-depth explanation into EACH part of iStrip.

I have few rules in web development and design, but the most important one is just MAKE IT SIMPLE. iStrip installation and customization I found far more difficult compared to ComicPress customization. It doesn’t help that the iStrip admin is fugly as hell and hasn’t been updated in years. The system works, but damn is it complicated and clunky. It’s basically a wordpress system without half of the automation. It also uses the Smarty system, which seems to just be PHP with a different set of codes that you have to learn all over again. I don’t mind tag systems (I started out on ComicGenesis), but this…this whole system pissed me off. I felt like I was riding a bike with a stick in the spokes, and damn, I’ve use a LOT of CMSs over the years. But it is quite possible this is all just my personal, non-reproducible, experience. I can be thick when switching gears, I’ll admit. I will most definitely not recommend iStrip or use it again though.

What iStrip offers:

Instant archiving with properly named files (if you can find the damn script). It’s hidden and barely mentioned, but it exists.

Online news posting interface

Queue ability (but not able to upload multiple files to go live the same day. You have to date them different, and can’t retroactively add files without using the instant archiving script…which erases your news posts…)

Dropdown functionality

Template systems, much like Wordpress

Typical navigation ability (first, previous, next, last, as well as a random button)

And more. It’s all listed on the site.

What it Requires:

You’ll need  PHP/Apache capability, and patience. Lots and LOTS of patience.

You do NOT need a mySQL database, so this may be a system for people without the ability to make or maintain one.

Bottom Line:

I do not recommend it. There are systems much easier to use, with upkeep and support (the main site for iStrip’s creator is non-functional, so I take it to mean there is NO support) , and with better, more up-to-date features. I give it a 5/10. It works, but it’s just not worth the hassle for what you get.

You can download it here if you want it though, and best of luck!