Paradigm Shift, reviewed by Larry “El Santo” Cruz
When I started reading this comic, I had some pretty major reservations. First off, there’s the title: Paradigm Shift. It’s ultra-generic. I could probably start a gaming comic or a furry sci-fi series with the same name and no one would bat an eye. A better title, for my money, would be CSI: Chicago Werewolf Division. (”A-wooooo, are you? Woo Woo, Woo Woo!” Yeah, yeah, I know. Kill me.)
Second, there was the weird decision to make the central character, Kate, look more manga than manga. Most of the character and background designs are fairly conservative (hewn close to “serious” manga like Akira and Appleseed). Kate, on the other hand, sports a pointy Masaki Kajishima hairdo and a serious case of dilated anime eyes. If I were to hazard a guess at series’ direct influence, by the way, I would guess Gunsmith Cats, which also featured (less mature) doe-eyed police girls operating in Chicagoland. (Hmmm… can a Kate/Rally crossover fan fiction be far behind?) Never having read the series, I assume that this style suited Gunsmith Cats, which was meant to be viewed with less gravitas than Paradigm Shift.
Third, the Chicago of Paradigm Shift feels, well, not like Chicago at all. I appreciate Dirk I. Tiede’s incredible attention to detail. He replicates the Chicago skyline and signature buildings with an architect’s precision. However, Paradigm’s Chicago feels very sterile and lacks the city’s unique vitality. It could be because Tiede is photo referencing pictures from postcards and coffee table compilations, squeaky clean images taken on perfect days and sifted from rejects where conditions were less than ideal. I might come off as nitpicky, but there’s a disconnect in mood between the intimacy of the character close-ups and the clean-as-a-whistle cityscapes, as if the former was shot in a studio and the latter was filmed by the Second Unit.
However, despite all these reservations, I really enjoyed Paradigm Shift. A lot.
There are many, many webcomic artists out there who attempt to mimic the manga look to varying degrees of success. Tiede totally nails it. Paradigm Shift feels so authentic, it could be printed in Shonen Jump and no one would be wise to its origin. He gets the fine balances between simplicity and detail and between photorealism and stylized cartooniness. But the authenticity doesn’t merely come from Tiede’s illustrations. He gets the timing. He knows how to space action sequences and how to hold a scene to give the reader a sense of urgency or dread. There were times that the build-up was so effective that I did feel like jumping out of seat.
I don’t know how experience Tiede has with law enforcement, but the scenes featuring cops interacting with each other feel authentic. At least, in that “I remember seeing something like this from NCIS!” sort of way. A common pitfall here would be to stick to well known caricatures, but Tiede is skilled enough to throw in some curveballs. The appearance of an FBI agent in a cop story, for example, usually means we’ll be treated to a one-dimensional character who sneers and keeps secrets from the local law enforcement. Here, The FBI agent is a more reasonable and pleasant fellow, and you start to wonder if Kate and Mike, the series’ other protagonist, are right to keep secrets from him.
“That’s all fine and well, El Santo,” you say, “but unless that police procedural is scored by The Who, I find them boring with a capital ‘B.’” Ah, my young friend, Tiede might have included an age old hook that might just change your mind. This particular police force is plagued by what seems to be vicious animal attacks. As Kate and Mike investigate further into the matter, possibilities involving any big cats seem to become more and more unlikely. Perhaps it’s a human killer covering his tracks by mutilating his subjects, or perhaps its something … supernatural. Meanwhile, Kate is plagued by strange dreams. Dreams about the victims, dreams about blood on her hands, dreams about a powerful half-man, half-wolf. And as these dreams become more vivid, her personality begins to change as she becomes more aggressive and feral.
In other words, we’re entering Dean Koontz Country.
You know what’s really surprising? I think Tiede does a better job.
Rating: 
Paradigm Shift
by Dirk I. Tiede
http://www.webcomicsnation.com/dirktiede/ps/series.php
review by Larry “El Santo” Cruz
(6 votes, average: 4.33 out of 5)
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July 4th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
[…] Home again!Eric Burns-White: My mind is going, Dave. My mind is going. I can feel it. Comic FencingParadigm Shift, reviewed by Larry “El Santo” CruzWerewolves of … Chicago?Paradigm Shift review by Delos The ScienteersA little Zero Punctuation […]
July 5th, 2008 at 2:17 am
This assessment on the Chicago backgrounds is unusual. I’m well more used to hearing the opposite, that this comic manages to capture the city a lot better than usual. I’ve never been there myself, but I’m more inclined to believe that he does a good job, as I’ve met him personally, and he told me he chose the setting because he was living in Chicago (recently moved to Boston to be with his fiance, now wife).
Dirk is a really nice guy with really expensive pens that he’s way too good at using. But this is not the place to exhibit jealousy. >.>
July 5th, 2008 at 8:39 pm
I agree with El Santo, though. From the comics I remember reading, it did seem as though no matter what was happening, the cityscape seemed clear, cool and perfectly clean… Although I suppose someone could come up with some sufficiently artsy explanation like “It’s a juxtaposition of the lack of involvement of the higher class in the city (the clean skyscrapers and such) with the goings on on the ground level, and the average working class life and their problems.”
But then we’d have to come get them after the BS detectors went off, and torches/pitchforks cost money!
July 6th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
[…] like the folks at Comic Fencing got ahold of PS this week with mixed results (2.5-5 stars, depending on the reviewer). I have to admit, I do find some of their critique to be pretty […]
July 6th, 2008 at 6:12 pm
I suppose I should explain. Outside of Detroit and Seattle and maybe San Diego, Chicago is the city that I visit more than any other. I blame it on the high percentage of relatives i have over there. There’s a certain vibe — from the grittiness of the South Side to the crowded streets — that seem to be missing, especially in the settings he chooses. I’ve been in Chinatown several times, and every time I’ve been there, it’s been crowded. Paradigm Shift’s Chinatown feels abandoned.
And bear in mind, Chicago is the third largest city in the US, filled with people from all walks of life, and it should feel appropriately. It isn’t some sleepy midwestern town like some people on the coasts might mistake it for. While the architecture is incredibly accurate, I couldn’t shake off the feeling he was actually illustrating a smaller, slower paced city like Nashville or Omaha.
July 6th, 2008 at 10:41 pm
Hey, I just wanted to drop a line and thank you for the review directly. I’m very happy that you enjoyed the comic, despite its shortcomings.
However, I must let it be known the backgrounds are based directly on my experience living in Chicago for ten years. I lived on the North Side (North Center/Ravenswood) for most of that time, and Pilsen for the last two years (my wife and I moved to Boston just a couple of months ago). I have taken photos of nearly every location in the story by walking through (or living in) the neighborhoods depicted, and have tried to be true to the city as I saw it. Perhaps my perception of the city as being a much cleaner, more livable place than I had originally imagined influenced my artwork in unconscious ways, or maybe I’m just too lazy to draw crowds. It was the architecture of the city that captured and held my imagination, so I guess there’s no surprise that it gets emphasized in the artwork. Perhaps it is a failing that my art style tends towards a more clean style that doesn’t convey the gritty aspects as much you may have expected. In short, I wanted to let you know that if I didn’t convey the feeling of the city to you, it is because of my own artistic limitations, but not because of a lack of intent, or because I merely drew the city from postcards.
Thanks again for your comments. They’re greatly appreciated.
best,
dirk
July 7th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
You’re welcome, Dirk!
I hope you didn’t take these comments the wrong way: I actually thought the cityscapes were some of the best rendered illustrations I have ever seen! I doubt I’d ever have the patience to actually draw the entire Chicago skyline.
My reply above was more or less a clarification on the opinion I gave in my review, not added emphasis on a perceived shortfalling. (Yeah, I admit I can be a little nitpicky.) It certainly didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the Paradigm Shift comic overall, which is why I decided to give the comic a very high rating.
EDIT - By the way, Dirk, since you’re around and all, I do have a question for you: did Gunsmith Cats have any influence in the creation of Paradigm Shift? I’m just curious. On the one hand, there’s the police gals in Chicago thing. On the other hand, you actually hail from there, so it might, in the end, but a freaky coincidence.
July 7th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
Hey no problem.
As for for Gunsmith Cats:
Definitely. I’ve loved Kenichi Sonada’s character design since the original Bubblegum Crisis. You’re dead on about Appleseed and Akira, too. Both played a big role in my early inspiration along with Ghost in the Shell and Dominion.
However, my reaction to Gunsmith Cats played as much a role in inspiring PS as did my enjoyment of the series. There was more than a bit of “I can do this — AND I actually LIVE HERE” in my original thinking during the conception of the series. It must be said that GC was more of one of the final straws that convinced me to start drawing PS as a comic, but the roots of the story stretch back years before I read any manga.
And I do feel I need to say in defense of Kate’s ridiculous hair — I can’t help it. It just evolved that way. They just kept getting bigger and more stylized in the first 15 pages of the story, and got stuck. If I were drawing her more realistically, those bangs would be much more natural, but now they’re too much of part of the character to change.