WEBCOMIC WEDNESDAY REVIEW: Reanimate

Creator: BHArts
Webcomic Link: Reanimate

Summary: Reanimate is a fresh webcomic drawn in a long vertical style that follows the death and rebirth of Aster, a sick young man who just happens to win the literal jackpot: a new body. There are strings attached to this agreement, however, as Aster comes to terms with the fact that his gracious new benefactors now own him and intend to use him as a weapon. On top of that, the strange fever-dreams that Aster has been having during his death throes are now beginning to come to fruition.

Story: The story thus far in Reanimate is solid enough. There are many inclusions that, at the time, seem unimportant. But this early on it is difficult to know what might be needed as a clue for some revelation in the future. There are portions of the story, specifically when they are explaining to the newly revived what they are and what they are up against, that feel rushed. More interaction between the characters would greatly enhance this tale. At the moment, the characters just feel too cold and stoic.

Art:Â Reanimate has a distinctly anime style and is drawn well enough to convey the story. Its strong points are in the coloring. Lines are clean and nice, but the characters do suffer from a lack of action in their lives. Rarely do they appear in any sort of dynamic poses. The lettering and sound effects in the comic are nicely done, but the latter appear a bit too often. Sound effects (in my humble opinion) are only needed when the creator wants to draw attention to the sound itself. If walking down a hallway, including the sound of footsteps might enhance the tense and awkward silence. If the characters are carrying on a full conversation, then they might not be necessary. Panel layout is another thing that could use reining in with this comic. The occasional drip-transitions or stutter-fades are nice tools to have in one’s belt, but for Reanimate they just come a bit too often and I found them occasionally distracting.

Overall, Reanimate is on par for what I expect in webcomic art, but I can’t quite tell if a program is being used to accomplish this. I personally have no problem with a creator using a clip-art type character creation program to tell their story, but I prefer it be expressly stated if this were the case.

Conclusion: Reanimate isn’t flawless but it promises an interesting concept for those that are fans of sci-fi anime. It has areas that could use work, but nothing that should inhibit fans of this type of comic from enjoying it. Having just started out, it is hard to gauge much about the quality of the story, but time will tell more about that. For this reason, I place Reanimate in the dead center, not exceptionally bad or good, just a solid foundation to be built upon, and one that I hope to check in on again in the future to see where this story is heading.

[yasr_overall_rating]