Chaos

URL: chaos.smackjeeves.com
Creator/s: T. Fabert
Run: 7/11-current
Schedule: Saturdays
Section: Ch. 2

Website: The website's extremely plain, and it doesn't go well with the comic's colorful, emotive style.

The comic's banner's also very simple and vague, which is surprising considering how easy it'd be to show off the comic's outstanding artwork. The creator could probably double the comic's readership just by spending a few minutes in Photoshop putting together a better banner.

Lastly, the pages are rather small, and I don't see why they shouldn't be at least 50% larger.

Writing: Here are the clichés in this chapter:

-- The chapter starts with the protagonist waking up;
-- The "buddy cop" shtick;
-- There's a "mole" at the police station;
-- Dr. Claw-esque villain alone in a dark room;
-- A masculine female superior;
-- Just being a cop story in the first place.

The creator makes no attempt at being creative or making the comic interesting, even settling for the webcomic's very generic title. This is a terrible approach to writing, essentially compiling various elements that have already been done to death by more competent writers. Even throwing in a gimmick like setting the story in space or in the past would've helped somewhat. Writers should be extra careful about working in an oversaturated genre.

Aside from that, the dialogue and pacing's pretty good, showing the creator has some legitimate writing ability. One notable display of skill's when Duane displays different personalities when dealing with the tough criminal and the squeamish criminal.

Art: This creator obviously has some stellar drawing skills, and is able to handle comic composition very well. The design of pages like these help the story come across as busy and believable.

The character designs are exceptional as well, with both the major and minor characters having great designs and being rendered skillfully. Expressions and gestures are consistently superb, as seen in these pages, and the coloring and shading's top-notch.

One particularly cool page I'd like to point out is this one. I never see animation in webcomics, but in this instance it's fun, and it's something impossible to do in print comics. I could see this technique starting to get annoying if it's overdone, but I give a thumbs-up to throwing in some animation once in a while.

Lastly, my only criticism with the art's that Duane's bruise suddenly goes away on page 14 onwards. The creator commented on fixing an earlier page to include the bruise, so it's inexcusable to make the same mistake right afterwards.

Overall: Chaos will get some fans and recognition just 'cause the art's so good, but I don't see the comic being a worthwhile read until the creator starts working to make the story more out-of-the-ordinary. I see glimpses of writing talent here and there, but without a more coherent strategy, that talent's largely wasted.

3/5