Yay! Our first review for @phenylketonurics!
Ladies and gentlemen~ I am Drake Preston, ace journalist, reporting live from the... webcomics section... of the internet.
And I'm Gerald, not an ace.
We're both your hosts today and we'll review a comic titled "There's No Such Thing as Jason -- I.T.". Usualy I comment on site design and availbility on phone but everything has the same format in tapastic, so yay~
Also this review is relevant to the last 50 pages of the comic, so here we go.
First things first, impression. I find the artstyle and the bold use of textures eye-catching, they have an unique feel to their comic and I would definitely recognize it! They also draw backgrounds so beautifully, which, not many webcomic artist can pull off so well.
It reminds me of Tim Burton's work.
You know Tim Burton?
Yes, Mike made me watch his movies. Back to first impressions, there is also some instances when the font is hard to read, namely because they are sometimes so thin... Case in point, here : https://tapastic.com/episode/283808 Without the dialogue boxes, sometimes I missed a few texts.
I can read it fine, I think? Sometimes the artist makes some words rather bold to emphasize.
However, if you dig on the first page and a few pages after that, you still don't know what is actually going on, I feel like monologues needs to explain something in the beginning and even after a few pages I am still confused.
Uhh, I thought we are supposed to read only the last 50 pages.
That IS true, but in order to comment on the story I need to skim the beginning, right?
You're not wrong there.
There is also plenty of explanation about how people's supposed to be doing, like how Jason is not like what he is now (narrated by Dim, I suppose?) but I would suggest for a better impact to "show and not tell", like perhaps show Jason acting like he is actually uninterested while sounding happy
BUT Dim can also be delusional, there's a lot of interpretations here. Maybe the writer's real objective is to show that Dim thinks so badly of Jason.
That is fair...
See? Perspective! I also think that the paneling on this comic is creative. The shapes and position shifted according to the mood and theme of the situation, and that is pretty neat!
But...
Oh, here he goes again.
But sometimes when there is one big panel surrounded by small panels you don't know which direction to go, I wouldpoint out this page as an example : https://tapastic.com/episode/303981, thankfully one of the panels is an image of an elevator where it doesn't matter where the placement is
Soo point being, the panels are creative but don't get too wacky?
Exactly.
That's great! So now let's comment on the chracters! I think each and every one of them is distinct, especially Jason. He creeps me out when his hair is red... kinda like you! When you turn into berserker... Heheh. ItakethatbackI'msorry.
I think the writer spends so much on character interactions that we can easily identify them and like them as they are, but I would like more world building and a clear explanation to what was going on. A sudden flash into the past sometimes help clear things, but they can also make things more confusing.
So in summary, this comic is great,I would like more of this, please! More character interactions is always good and Jason-Day interactions are all so cute~
To me, it has a potential, it has a great art for a start, just perhaps make the text more easy on the eyes, as small font is hard to read in mobile, and perhaps you should be less vague about some of your intentions, as some scenes can be interpreted both ways.
But Gerald, it's a good way to keep readers guessing.
Yes, but sometimes it doesn't work for first-timers.
Okay! And that would be our review, folks! I hope you're okay with grumpy mama Gerald jabbing at everything, but he's actually nice when he's not... uh, reviewing? And baby-sitting?
They picked me, they asked for it. Also, next week Miki and Mike will be reviewing Robo-Hole, so look forward to it.
Really? Man, I wished I can get picked with Miki... Anyway, that is all for today! This is Ace Reporter and Ace Nothin' signing out!