Round 12
Lycan
I'll say again that it's really awesome that you sell hard copies to people, and that there are people who will buy them. I'd love to know how you managed that, logistically speaking. I wouldn't know where to begin, frankly. Given that you have 4 or so issues on Tapas, do you have more for hard copies, or are the issues just smaller than I imagine such things being in my mind.
Goals:
I can confirm that your work improves radically over time. Your recent pages are much more pleasing to the eye--and technically sound--than your first attempts. I wonder if you would consider it worth your time to go back and redo or touch up previous pages and chapters, if indeed you are selling hardcopies. You definitely have the most overtly mercantile intentions that I've seen so far, which I am very interested in. If only for myself, I'd love to eventually have hard copies of my own comic. I'd appreciate if you could give a few words on how one makes their comic easier to print. I made my pages 8.5 by 11 inches in Photoshop and worked within that, but I can't help but feel that was an incredibly simplified--and potentially flawed--way of thinking about it.
Art:
As I've said in many reviews, my purpose here, as I see it, is not to redline anything or get into the nitty gritty imperfections of anyone's artwork. I myself am not at a level where I feel comfortable giving that kind of advice. I only give my impression as a reader--what stands out, what doesn't. That's important context for what follows, because most of us always need to be improving fundamentals like anatomy, perspective, etc, etc. Assume that it is always an excellent idea to keep grinding on fundamentals.
I'll get this out of the way--your perspectives in scenery and your foreshortening are not up to snuff. They are noticeably poor compared to your character art. Welcome to the club, pal. This doesn't bear further analysis, as it is a journey we are both on, and a journey that is better helped through study than my rambling.
You mentioned some concerns: consistent characters, action, dialogue, and the color palettes. I can dismiss the color palette concern, insofar as my eye is not refined enough and I do not know enough to confidently call out any coloring faux pas. If I had to guess, I would say Chapter 3 is the problem child. I can't say for certain, but on a tertiary pass, I did notice my eyes straining more when going through it. Something about that prison mess hall.
As for character consistency, I can say that if you do have that problem, it did not leap out at me. Had you not pointed it out to me, and had I not gone looking for it, I'm not sure if I would have noticed. I will say that triple checking does confirm that Felix's effeminate look spikes and drops sporadically throughout his appearances. Comparing Chapter 4: pages 1-2 Felix to Chapter 2: pages 1-3 Felix is amusing, I must say. Doubly so because Felix in Chapter 4: pages 2-3 picks back up with very womanly looking Felix. I think it's the chin/shoulder proportions. They fluctuate regularly from narrow to broad, and with that goes Felix's feminine/masculine meter. His narrow facial structure gives the roundness or angularity of your lines dramatically different effects.
Felix is the only stand out, though--that could be due to him being the predominant character, though. There are a few details on other characters that change slightly, but they are in acceptable boundaries. Kai's hairline inches back and forth, for example, and Indira's chin changes shape regularly from pointy to rounded to squared off. I should also mention that the size and shape of your eyes has a VERY strong effect on what characters look like. Oftentimes, rather than express emotion, they look confusing. Felix gets doe-eyed quite a few times, particularly in Chapter 4: 3-4 and Chapter 4: 11-12. I'd mention Chapter 1 Felix having Disney Princess eyes, but that's far back enough that I'm sure you've moved on. It's something to remember, though.
As for action, it is tricky to say because of how little of it there is so far. There is the introductory chase, the brief glimpse of the chained up lycanthrope, and the very brief shift scare Felix has. Now, if I consider all action in general, and not simply more dramatic action, then there's something to talk about. A good example is Felix exiting the car in Chapter 4: 17-18. Putting aside the forshortening problems, there is a severe lack of energy. You are not conveying weight or momentum in most shots of motion. When Felix closes the car door, his arm is anchored in the air--there's not only no follow through, but his whole body is twisted awkwardly to suggest what's going on. See how you took three whole panels for the exclusive purpose of him getting out of the car and closing the door? I don't think you should need to do that. In two panels--where more should happen than his exit--Felix could be lurching forcefully from the car and angrily slamming the car door. Action lines are always helpful for this sort of thing, but, as always, it may come down to fundamentals--gesture to be specific.
The stiff, clinical approach you've taken to some shots could be another culprit. Looking at Felix shutting the car door, and seeing him be nudged by wolf-Luca in Chapter 4:9-10 shows a lot of similarities. The limbs are angled, sure, but there is no fluidity, no current of motion. It looks like they've been posed, not that they're moving within the world. (I also NEED to point out Felix's hand when he's getting nudged--it is distractingly hilarious). In Chapter 4: 1-2, once again, we see Felix snatching the headset from his roommate and see a statue--not a person in motion. Not even the action lines and distortion here can convey it. Consider some bolder, more exaggerated poses. When you are framing and drafting, try to go beyond what you think would be an acceptable pose. Exaggerate, stretch, and drag your characters. They have weight and momentum, which is all you need to really sell action.
Writing:
I actually have nothing significant to take issue with, here. I like it quite a bit--better than I had thought, given your concern about dialogue. The world is slowly opening up to me, and I find myself intrigued by the dynamics of a world where lycanthropy is rampant. You do a swell job of revealing the mundane but taxing concerns of lycanthropes in a modern society without getting bogged down in minutia. Every detail feels directly related to the main conflict--the strain that lycanthropy has on modern infrastructure. Medical services, public policy, and law enforcement would all bear the mantle of responsibility to addressing this kind of crisis, and you drop enough leads that my mind immediately began to ponder the implications without having to read through your manifesto. You not only avoided the info-dump problem, you conquered it through digestible, organic, and genuinely interesting conversation.
The characters themselves are sufficient. It's hard to connect with them yet, I must admit. Oddly enough, I think their lycanthropy may be their potential problem. I want to feel for Felix, because he's in a dead end job with no skills and no prospects... but he also is a werewolf, and the rigors of that dynamic eclipse his human drama. I know pretty much nothing about Luca other than that he's the father figure and in college... I think. Maybe he's just applying there? Point is, Felix, Luca, and Kai are all just werewolves right now. This... may not be the worst thing--AT THE MOMENT--because their primary purpose, in my eyes, is to illustrate how the world has adapted to cope with the lycanthropic epidemic. It's a strange balance for you to consider, but it's a good one to have.
As for the dialogue--I don't think you should be concerned. It's perfectly satisfactory, which, for comics, is often quite good enough. I would always encourage you to aspire, though, and in the interest of ambition, I recommend you take the time find each character's voice. Only Kai stands out, and that's just because he's a tremendous jerk, which is not enough to make him genuinely interesting. IN fact, this is another symptom of the potential issue (or non-issue, oddly enough) regarding how interesting your world is. I care about eh characters only insofar as they help me to further understand the world. You should think about how you could flip that dynamic at some point and allow the world to serve the characters.
Summation:
Your art will improve, especially since you have a suitable foundation on which to build. Perspective and anatomy are your primary obstacles, particularly how they interact (foreshortening). The primary challenge is to get your art to match the greatness of your story. It's a compelling world with compelling interweaving problems and questions. You excel at giving me just enough information at one time to ponder over, and this makes me far more interested in continuing reading than your character drama. It's a better problem to have than most--your world and story are great, and the rest of your work is trying to catch up.