Actus Reus...

Okay, I've never reviewed a photo comic before, but here goes. Actus Reus, created by someone going by the mysterious name Sphix(only on the internet, folks)is the story of an 18 year old dude named Ethan and his sudden struggles with some sort of inner demon, or split personality that has began appearing out of nowhere to completely turn his life upside down. Updates come on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

There is no art here, as it is done completely in photo form, but with that said, the pics are nice and clearly shot. I do wonder if the colors used in the comics are a way to give a sense of imposing danger looming on the horizon, or just a way to make it look more interesting because otherwise they would just be plain and rather boring photo's of daily life. I like the added touch of brightly colored blood and sound effects giving it more of a comic feel. It does look a little odd that the only people around are the three main characters. Do they live in a ghost town? The bowling alley scenes could have had a few extras hanging around in the background, but I'll bet it can be tough to get a bunch of people to be in a web comic.

Actus Reus actually reads like a conventional webcomic, which I thought was nice with touches of humor coming from his friend helping to keep things from getting too dark. However, at times it read a little too cartoony to me, and it being a photo comic, needs to feel more realistic. The storyline is moving along at a solid pace though, and it doesn't feel forced or too contrived.

I don't really know what to make of Actus Reus. Part of me thinks it's a bit goofy, like the old movies I used to film with a couple of my friends(killer dressed up in a halloween costume stalks us)who were all bad actors, but we had fun anyway. The other part thinks it's inventive and original and hat's off to Sphix for doing something different. Basically it's not my cup of tea but it might be others. I'll let you be the judge and recommend that you at least read one or two of the comics and see what you think. Let me know too because I would love to see what others think.

I give this comic...