Seeker-This is the best comic I've seen from you, you maintained a very consistent quality and had some nice backgrounds. I also enjoyed the interaction between the two characters, you did a very good job portraying General Misconduct. But there are several areas where your anatomy slips like on the first page most of the figures have extremely short torsos and very large heads. It's generally a good idea to stick with one font for dialogue unless you have some ghosts or robots or something tossed in, the font you chose for Sebastian's dialogue was extremely difficult to read in some areas because it looks like it's all bunched together.

michaelharris-I'm cool with people experimenting but this came across more as oh fuck I ran out of time and have an hour to do 5 pages than hey I wanna try something new. All of the rough half filled blacks and empty negative space really reinforced the feeling of it being unfinished. I had a very hard time reading the dialogue because the pixelated text make words blend into one another. This may have been a Photoshop problem and not a font problem if you used Photoshop, there is an option in the program to set it to smooth, crisp, etc. when you're laying out your text.

I'll get to the lettering in a bit.


Seeker: One of your better comics, it was fun to read, but there really wasn't anything exciting that could of bumped up the entertainment (not talking about a fight either). However, the art despite looking like your best so far, looks very pixelated. However, everything was pretty consistent, even the pixelated look. I think you need to scan these pages at a larger size before shrinking it down to proper size. This makes inks nice and crisp, no jagged pixels in the end either. Overall though, this was a pretty good comic, keep it up.


Michael: Now, the reason the font looks awful is that it doesn't match with your style that you've chosen. It's amazingly pixelated and a quite difficult to read. If you had a font that matched the brushed style, you'd really have something there. However, handwritten text is a must for this comic as it does look unfinished and rushed. The story was pretty good, but the text comes into play for me once again, it's pretty hard to read and I found myself skimming important parts of the story without realizing it. Overall the comic was decent man, but this type of experiment needs a lot of work on.



Pretty good comics, but I'm giving this one to Seeker.

Bad font, 100%. Though any digital lettering is going to look off against rough/brushy artwork. I don't think the experiment turned out too well, personally, but the outcome would have been better if the overall product at least looked right. This kind of work doesn't really work well in B/W, but I this coloured it could look pretty good. The stiff digital lettering contrasting so badly against the art definitely killed it though. Really bad font choice.

I think the font was a bad choice it didn't fit with the style you chose for the comic.  It was too disjointed and jarring. I think a sign of good lettering is lettering that doesn't distract from artwork.  This looked like one giant long typo...I paid more attention to the shitty font than I did to the art.

and I agree with Jared, William, and Jack that this should have been hand lettered. The organic feel of handwritten type works better with brushy work.

so, I still don't know specifically what was wrong with the lettering. Too small? Bad font? What?

amen...

An Ames tool, or, a ruler, is a tool to be used by people who are incapable of making good digital lettering choices.

Michael, hand letter next time, an Ames tool would be a bit much, but definitely don't letter like this again.

I really don't think Jesus used an Ames lettering tool!! In Michael's defense, I would rather use a Dymo label maker to write dialogue than one of those things. I don't mind an experimentation in style, but the drawing itself seems a little rushed or lax. Trust me, Ive experimented with my own style and been raped by editors and other artists for it. Sometimes it takes a little time and patience for a new style to evolve. The text didn't really bother, and it certainly didn't cause discomfort in my penis. I just wanted more from the art, and I appreciate the experimentation. This is the most appropriate setting for that. Don't be an idiot like me and throw it in front of a pissy editor!!

it maybe old, but considering mikey's ineptitude; it might be a far better solution.
the tools are irrelevant though. the point is, like the guy in 'go for broke' right now with the mspaint mouse drawings; if digital isn't working for you go the old fashioned route. can't use digital type effectively? try handlettering.

an ames guide is this little thing from 1822 that people like Robert Crumb and Jesus used to use before computers to make straight lines so one could letter. I got to use one in my comic book class in grad school called "Ol' Timey Skillz from Yonder Time"  or something like that...

The type only bothered me until I realized you used shitty type on purpose to bother people...I refuse to be controlled by you

what's an ames? not even google knows what it is...

sorry, i wasn't impressed with either of these.
seeker, the thin digital, squiggly outlines & the black fills all really start to blend together & get muddled to me. i'm not a fan of that. also a lot of times it feels like you're drawing for the panel & not the story. like you'll compress or shrink to fit anatomy in the panel rather than drawing the focus & then the panel. for instance, the dancers on the first page & the leg lift. draw them doing it & then make a panel out of it. who cares if their toes are in it. And I'm always a stickler for how the text looks. The font for sebastian looked crappy & i always see it as unnecessary to give different characters different fonts unless there's some serious need for it. but what really bugged me was the inconsistency from balloon to balloon. in a comic that is essentially just talking heads, the text plays a bigger role & when it changes size some times even in connected set of balloons & there's no call for it, it looks sloppy. stay consistent. all that having been said, your version of general misconduct worked very well for me. it's a lot more of what i had in mind for the character than how she's ended up playing out.

speaking of the hague, michael, you should be put on trial for that text. it's horrid & almost a war crime in & of itself. i know at one point you said you were using a library computer & unable to download proper fonts. but if that's the case, why not buy a damn ames tool & just handletter? DUH!! an ames tool is like what, maybe $2.00? if not, even a ruler would work! sure it might take a slight bit of time, but if you're concerned with your comic in even the slightest aesthetic sense, it should be a no-brainer. yet here you are, experimenting with a more expressionistic, sparse, & loose style that relies more on the text to tell what's happening & the text is a pain in the dick to read. this was bad. and while it's good to see the experimentation, i don't think you're there yet on a technical standpoint to attempt a style like this. the figures were off, like look at the arm in the second to last thumbnail. he looks like a flipper baby. and the panels with the car seriously looked like they were done by a 9 year old. between this & the last one that was in some sort of inexplicable haze or something; shape up, dude. you're capable of a lot better.

um... yeah if you don't like my experiment, that's cool, but can you at least give Seeker some feedback? I mean this si kind of ridiculous.

Seeker, yeah on the first page, severe anatomy issues especially with the women cabaret dancers.  I like your blacks but I feel like some of them are really rough while others have clean lines.  Like comparing your character's face to his hair, it seems off.  I feel like I have some issues with the story's pacing.  I dunno, guess I'll have to see where your story goes after this.  I just felt it a bit jarring to see the woman he's been searching for revealed so nonchalantly, especially since it was such a big mystery beforehand.  But that in itself might not be too bad, just a personal preference.  Hope tp see more.

MichaelHarris, it's enjoyable to see your different experiments in the comic medium.  The style here was not bad but some parts were just a little too messy and seemed inconsistent with the rest.  It's hit or miss really.  The font does not work here at all though especially the smoke on page 2.  The sound effect is so different it clashes with the style.  I think a moire handwritten font would have been in character for this style.

Hahaha Seeker that was great. The first page had some weak points (slight perspective issues and the severe anatomy/lack of background in the kick-line panel) but you cleared those right up and put out a nice looking and very entertaining battle. Good work! You characterized General Misconduct extremely well, and have continued doing a good job with Sebastian. Can't wait to see more from you.

Ooh - crazy wardrobe! Now I'm really excited!

Please have guns shooting into the portable holes and then they come out of other portable holes and that would be amazing.
anyway, looking forward to this one.

O mah gawd! Good luck you two!
See you in ThunderDome soon, Michael!
Seeker, I call Next!