Dragon Does Reviews -- Soul Symphony

[Dragon Powered]

Imagine a talking, flying rat-aroo that only you can see... And he's annoying, very annoying. Oh, and he has a very strange mission for you.

Review Site: Soul Symphony

FIRST IMPRESSION:
The header's nice.  I like the header.

Ok, the website is really just about the comic. It's a standard Wordpress / Comicpress layout which puts the comic up top and, well, not much else.

*Load Speed: 8
Load speed is good for most pages. The comic is generally black and white (except for when you enter the soul-world), so it loads relatively quick.

*Color Mix: 8
Mostly black and white. The header is black and white, as is the comic. The menu bar is black with white text. The page background is white with black text. The site background is violet. Yes, violet. I'm not sure why, but it does add a splash of color to the otherwise monotone look and the title text for the blog entries below the comic are of a matching color, so it works.

LAYOUT:

*Content vs Layout: 5
I can't really say much about the layout, it's pretty much the default for Wordpress. The comic is a large, often very large format and that's really all there is aside from a few brief blog or comment entries below it.

*Ease of use / Navigation: 6
Standard Comicpress navigation for the comic, and a very basic Wordpress menu bar. The comic navigation is below the comic only and uses the default icons and layout. There are some cool musical icons in the header area that would add considerably if they were made into navigation buttons, but they are just part of the header.

*Clutter: 8
Again, there isn't much more than the comic here, so clutter is nil, although the comic itself can appear a bit cluttered at times.

*Ads & Placement: *
There are no ads, links to other comics, groups or anything I can see other than Twitter.

TOP-DOWN IMPRESSION: 6
The header has a very good feel to it, I'd enjoy seeing more done with that such as extending it throughout the design. Perhaps a side column using musical icons, like those in the header, for navigation and additional content. Musical notes could accompany comments and wrap around blogs. Much could be done to give the site a warmer feeling.

*Secondary Content: 7
We have a little bit of information about the author and comic, some quick descriptions of the cast and a Chapters page where each chapter will be described as it completes.  Although it's simple and short, it does explain enough of what the website and its comic is about.

*Social Content: 6
There are comments enabled for the blog and comic entries, and allow for visitors to leave feedback. You can also follow the artist on Twitter. No forums or other types of social feedback are provided, though the comic may not have enough of an audience as yet to warrant them.

OVERALL IMPRESSION:
Soul Symphony takes you on a strange journey into what appears to be the formation of a school band, but by very odd means, by way of each person's 'soul-world' which is like a dream world without being asleep and guided by an other-worldly creature.

The comic may be large, or small, black and white or color, but it explains itself pretty clearly. The website is basic, presenting the comic on a plain platter without frills or distractions.

*Overall Rating: 6
Soul Symphony is friendly to all ages and offers an interesting tale.

[Pixel]

Thanks dude! It's a very fair review.

Having the clarinet-trombone-guitar-drums icons correspond as links to About-Cast-Chapters-Links or Contacts as a menu is a really good idea. I think that's the main thing I'll focus on doing, assuming that's what you meant.

Some of my school friends have asked me about making a forum. I've had forums before so it's not a big deal or anything but I feel like it's hard for a comic to warrant one, like you said, unless it has a huge audience.