Determined by 1 point, so sick!

Oh jeez, 1 point.  

Thanks to everyone who took the time to vote and critique.  Kozi and Mortooncian, you both made excellent points, and I agree with 'em.

I think you'll all be pleased with Stabby's fate.  Stay tuned!

Honestly, I really don't know who this should go to. You two did a really awesome job showing us that whoever ends up with Stabby is gonna do him right- and if nothing else, bang out some great quality comics!


ROFLQU- Maaan, with that missing page, the set up for this whole story really falls apart. I has a sad. Still, there are some really great moments in the little set ups. All the grisly murderous blunders are super great. Not to mention tying it into void events with all the infamous baddies taking their shot at using Stabby for nefarious purposes (Also I KNEW mimi wasnt to blame for blowing up that recording studio!). I think you know better than most your linework is great, and in a totally different way than your opponents. Th two of you combined offer a nice double whammy of unique styles and quality. Its just a shame you couldn't pull through with a finished tale due to technical difficulties.

NEBITT- I had the pleasure of being in a couple hangouts watching you hash out the story for this comic and was really intrigued by some of the ideas you had with the old man, his daughter and what have you. I respect you were consolidating characters for a more streamlined narrative, but I feel the editing took too much off the top. I don't really feel anything for this old man save the narrator telling us 'he's kind'. I feel showing how he was good and kind would've packed a bigger punch, but I think you guys went with a four page limit so I get there's only so much you can pack in.

These pages though, were a delight to look at. such nice heavy inks and striking uses of negative space. That cityscape on page one, I find was a bit more abstract than I've seen before, but I think that's why I like it. The high stakes of the stalemate (also wow, strong grandpa!) before he finally relents is a great page. Those speed lines!and that impactful moment of stabbity. Really in your face sequence of action, but I gotta admit, considering this was a battle about Stabby, I didn't get much personality from him apart from his terrified expressions. IN fact, this felt like a more concise and even creepier set of intro pages for The Smile.

This reminds me of the Nas song "I gave you power" It is a story about a gun who doesnt want to kill and the people who use him for wrong from the perspective of the gun, i enjoyed this alot.

Y'ALL USUALLY DO CRITIQUES SO -rolls up sleeves-

Eric-  
Your line quality and contrast is wonderful, as always-- the really solid cartoony look with enough structure and line texture to be uniquely yours. You use the right amount of detail to give a lot of texture but not clutter.

The humor is dark-- my favorite kind-- and you really showed Stabby's personality here. Sweet, well-meaning, but often an unintentional accessory to murder.

The main flaw is, unfortunately, the missing fourth page. I still wish you hadn't told me-- the final panel on page 3 does work as a cliffhanger, as sudden as it is. But it's not your fault your scanner crapped out-- and I refuse to dock you too much for it.

The color on page 3 is fantastic, though I do wish you had done so to the other pages to that level-- time wasnt on your side so I can understand, but it can make your comic seem inconsistent with only one page colored.

That first large panel-- with Suit, Mr. Murder, Smile, and Unfortunate Sandwich Man-- is gorgeous, and is probably the highlight of the comic for me. I can tell you feel the same way-- because for better or worse, the detail and love spent on that panel kind of takes priority over the rest of the work.

I will end this by saying the psychologist's expressions are golden, and your depiction of Stabby is cute and simple-- like he should be.

P.S.- I love the idea Stabby was present when the Mimi Incident happened. Stabby, are you a magnet for disaster?!

Nebitt-
-starts yelling for five minutes-

...okay. you know how i feel about this comic so ill spare you the embarrassment

Your line quality and textures are amazing here, I could talk about them forever. You have a really great sense of fluidity and depth.

Also, I'm excited Smile finally has dialogue...!! It was very selective, and the lettering/bubbling handwritten to look very choppy and creepy so I'm all behind it. A very nice touch.

I wish we had found out more about the old man, because it mentions he made a deal. Did the old man owe Void's Mafia something? Is Stabby an arcane force, worth so much that Smile'd track him down? Both?? I don't know; maybe it can be elaborated on more in the future?

The other issue I had was that we don't get to know Stabby as well as in Eric's entry-- to be fair you can only fit so much in four pages, but it's his intro, not Smile's!

Finally at a couple points, the dark-on-dark fades the details-- in the third panel on page two, the wood being dark prevents you from seeing the hand you put so much detail into, for example.

I didn't mention this earlier-- but I'll finish this up by saying that your final page is gorgeous. The addition of color places a lot of emphasis on the blood, and stands out very sharply to the previous pages. The circular shot, the fullbody shot, the final headshot-- its perfect. Your composition was on fire here.

P.S.- Nice Coat

THIS COMIC IS SHIT!

Fixed.

Took the battle down so I can look into Rofl's missing page before anyone votes on the battle.

There is definitely a page missing there, should be 3.

Uploaded.

Really, whoever wins this I will be most pleased with. There really is no lose this time around (except there is, so work hard ya knuckleheads)

WHYYYYYYY!??

STABBY NO!

STABBYYYYY

You two are wild beasts!

OH NO!