Dragon Does Reviews -- GaNda Comics

[Dragon Powered]

Get your passports ready and your luggage checked, we're off to Africa for a tale of drama and corruption of sorts known as The Adventures of Kunow Ma-re.

Review Site: GaNda! Comics

FIRST IMPRESSION:

My first thought was "why a green background?", but putting that aside the graphics of the site made me think "tribal" and actually gave me a feeling like I should explore this a little further.

*Load Speed: 9
The site loads relatively fast. Since the comic is black and white line-art, the graphic size is small and the rest of the site is not very graphic heavy. Navigating between comics is quick.

*Color Mix: 7
Ah well, again I have to wonder why green? The site has a Header banner that gives a tribal feel, along with text graphics that somewhat enhance that feeling. The content background is black, which works fine with the line-art comic and the graphic style, but the main body background is a forest green. The green background breaks the feel of the site a bit, even a flat black would be better.

LAYOUT:

*Content vs Layout: 8
I am not a fan of the use of small-letter, capital-letter, small-leter typing in text, but the way it's used here actually works with the feel of the site. The top advertising banner doesn't fit with the site though, since it is placed on a white background and aligned to the right. Maybe there is something planned for the empty space to the left of the banner, but for now it would fit better to center the ad on a black background.  The main content area switches to white below the comic, which is fine but the alignment is fully left so the text almost appears cut off. Setting a margin or padding for that area would help. The left sidebar graphics flow well with the comic style, though it might be more interesting if they were links to something rather than just a title. The odd phalic symbol logo scares me, as if it's angry for being squeezed to a point at the tip. I must hide from the mad phallus!

*Ease of use / Navigation: 7
The menu bar is small but easy enough to use and know where you are being led. The comic has simple text navigation links both above and below, making it easy to read through.

Meta tags: Again, none.  There is a description tag, but it's left empty.  I'd go into meta-tags further, but that's another article in itself.  ;)

*Clutter: 6
The lower half of the web page appears cluttered, even though there isn't an awful lot. There are several ads below the comic, both on the sidebar and in the main area. There is a "Submit Transcript" which I'm not really sure why is there, and a constant GoDaddy ad. Below that is a lengthy white expanse with an Amazon affiliate store at the top, and an area to leave a comment. The ads are of different sizes and shapes, the store is another size, and the white space is unused, which gives it a cluttered feel. Getting ads and buttons the same size would help tremendously.

*Ads & Placement: 6
Already having mentioned the ads above I can only reiterate, get ads the same size and organize them in a way to appear less haphazard. With the Amazon store the site does seem serious about monetization and less of a hobbyist site, but it should fit into the design better to encourage use.

TOP-DOWN IMPRESSION: 7.5
The top half of the page looks good, the lower half... not so much.  It's as if the bottom of the site says 'Here's all this extra junk we'd like to pile on you as long as you're here.'  Make the bottom match the top, and you'll come a long way toward creating a pleasant experience.

*Secondary Content: 5
The Contact page contains a form for email rather than an email link, which is very good practice. Kudos on that. The 'Mo'StUfF!' page is jumbled and cluttered as if this is where all the things are dumped that don't fit somewhere else. It could be organized into additional pages, such as 'Links', 'Wallpapers', etc for a better feel.  The cast page is confusing at best, it's a set of thumbnail images of characters with their heads cut off, all named Kunow Ma-re. You can't tell who or what they are until you actually click the thumbnail.

*Social Content: 6
Comments are enabled throughout the site, even on the cast and Mo'Stuff pages. I couldn't find any actual comments so I left one to see how they looked, (feel free to remove it if needed), which is pretty much like a standard Wordpress comment, except the form for leaving them is a bit different. Other than comments there are no social tools added. Maybe a mini comment board would be a nice touch for this site, unless you really don't want feedback (which some people really don't).

OVERALL IMPRESSION:
The Adventures of Kunow Ma-re is an interesting site with a style fitting the comic... aside from the green background and as long as you don't scroll down.  The story is just developing, I believe, so I really can't say much about it other than it being a political drama and doesn't try to be funny.

*Overall Rating: 7
I think there could really be something here, once the story develops more and the site is touched up a bit.

[GaNda]

Thanks Dragon for the review!....it puts some things in focus for me.
And shows me just how much yet I have to work to complete the site to work/function and not interfere with the webcomic.

1.About "The mad phallus" ....that really wasn't my intention at all!..but now I know I got to tone down the logo a little which actually should be interpreted as a theater house building with windows that each one present drama and comedy....and not an erect thingy!  :o
I have failed terrible at this...but now at least I know and that it needs to be fixed.

2.About the green background :) you are not the only one asking about it..I got some others asking why I've got a green background.
Well.. (dont laugh) the green is to keep the eyes of the reader relaxed while they read the comic!
I guess its not working out too well ...I'll change it....

Your review shows me that my site is still not ready yet for casual readers because of all those things that keep disrupting the readers attention and that maybe I really need a webmaster person to fix this up.its hard enough trying to get the site,comic and  the mood going..its like trying to get a date with a beautiful lady while on roller blades on a down hill...
I will surely return to this for reference while I try to get everything fixed.
Would it be possible for a second opinion in the future after all is fixed?

Thanks again its very helpful.