This popped up in the random comic box... Now I need to go back and read ALL of Agent Black's comics because they are amazing even if I don't understand half of what's going on hahah. Also, props to Monday for entering Black into an SDT!
Evil Eye:
Am I the only one that saw the CEO as Duke Phillips from "The Critic" in sixtem's half?
It gave the whole thing an... interesting tone, haha.
I reread it with that in mind. It's a much different comic now, haha.
Gotta say, an excellent showing from you both.
Monday: Really have a great appreciation for your action sequences. I really like the loose quality of your art too, it's really dynamic and something that's always drawn me to your comics. I still am hung up on the recurring problem I find with a lot of your stuff that it's hard for me to understand what exactly is going on.
Sixtem: Good stuff, nice little backstory but I'm still a little unsure as to why there were a billion Black clones that all showed up. Cool concept and nice execution, really love how fucking proficient you have become at cranking out these really clean, solid comics in only a week. Not sure how you do it.
Ha..
man.
Good Game. Both of you guys, good god-damn game.
You both make me so proud, all the time, you both just knock me off my feet. Keep burning just as hard like this, forever.
The King of the Death Match, died as he lived, hoisted upon the petard of his own domain.
A fitting end.
May he rest in peace.
(All rhetoric aside, damn fine match you two. There was some real stuff in both of these that just gave it so much Umpf! [Monday with your stunning spectacle and sixtem with the ongoing narrative, glad to see the Yakuzas made it out I really like them such a tenacious bunch plus seeing where these two kids end up] and it was all quite satisfying to say the least. I would think this would have made a fine final battle to end the whole SDT but alas one more round to go. I hope it lives up to this one. :) )
Thanks for the critiques, guys! I always appreciate them.
Yeah, I think I was bogged down by the sheer amount of plot I as trying to get out. I not only had the subplot about busting out of Fairgrove and Clash's revenge to get through, but I decided to try and tackle the whole Black mythos on top of that. It's a good learning experience to try and keep things simple, haha. I realize now why Sam worked well - her story was incredibly simple so I could focus on other aspects.
ASFASFASFHAUHSdUIHS, I have no idea who's going to win!
@Monday- I really love your balance of loose linework and small bits of detail, there's a great flow to mall your action. Also, as much as I adore your trad inks, I'm in love with how you alternate between drawing with black and drawing with white. I think it ends up marrying your lines and shapes in a really beautiful way.
I really like the colored bits; paper's blood post-its are an interesting image, and the first water explosion was lovely. However, I don't think either of those things are so important to the narrative that they should be visually prioritized above all other things by being in color. And if the color wasn't a storytelling device, and simply more of a aesthetic decision, I would've liked to see more of these spots of color throughout the art, even just once every other page, so that it felt more like an overarching visual style, rather than purely a visual cue.
I think the page with Agent black transforming was a little confusing, only because of the panel layout. The way the "Combat Overcoat Engaged" panel borders the transforming panel on the left makes it almost feel like it happens before, like you're supposed to go from the surprised Paper panel strait to the overcoat panel. I think it would've worked better if the panel with Papers face came down farther, so only it bordered the transforming panel.
Storywise, I like it alot. I don't know if I've said it yet this competition, but I really like Paper as a foil to Agent Black. I don't think it's clear enough why Pistol is intervening though. Is he being a hero to save Paper? Why? They both just look like monstrous killers from where he is. Is he and Clash working for the organization that made Black?
@Sixtem- Since I've been thinking about my story in case I fight Agent Black, I can really appreciate the effort you must've gone through to write this. There are so many Agent Black comics, just researching the canon must've been craaazzzyyyy. You brought the themes of free will and identity running through Agent Black's SDT comics into your story really well, and the big Agent Black reveal was very fitting. I think you had so much story to get in there though, that you ended up sacrificing your pacing. Most of the script was plot exposition being presented to us as fast as we could get it.
I think the Agent Black free for all felt a little anti-climatic, but I think just ending on the big bloodbath panel before cutting away would've worked better, so that the reader could just imagine after that point was crazy shit. The panel with #12 shifting the Gun towards Agent Black felt unnecessary, and made the bloodbath panel feel almost like a trivial split second. Even adding some sort of chaos in the background of that panel would've help it feel more like something happening in the middle of a crazy fight.
I also thought Paper seemed a little extraneous. All he really does is show-up, say oh-man-remember-me, and die. He could've been removed from the story without significantly affecting it.
I love your story writing, when you killed me last SDT I couldn't stop telling my friends how I couldn't even be angry, because I enjoyed it so much. And this is no different.
I don't have much to say about the art because as usual it's really solid. Characters have great expressions, and it tells the story effortlessly.
Great Work dudes, I'll be waiting for either of you guys. Can't wait to kill you!
Nachte- Pistol and CLash are definitely not dead. And I really wished this was more than just a case of survival by omission cause I wanted to make it clear that Paper was very intent that no one died. A lot of the suggestions actually peer into my usual approach from another angle and atually made me realize more things about how I do stuff, thanks.
I've critiqued Six this entire battle from over his shoulder, so he already knows what I have to say on his battle. I will mention that you could work on getting the same point across with more actions and less words. The scene where Clash attempts to kill worth is a good example of this.
Monday: You action is always high energy and entertaining and it never failed to create a sense of pacing and entertainment. That is always a really good strong point about your stuff. I'm not concerned with black canon, because I know it.
What I am concerned with is the clear plot in the beginning and then the muddying of it later. Its really hard to make the jump that Black is now the one in the powersuit when you show him in a flash back right below that. It took me a few reads to realize that this was actually a flashback and pistol hadn't just punched a psyche out, like 'surprise, not the real one'.
And lastly, is clash dead? Is pistol dead? From reading it, I actually ended up assuming they were both alive, I think the ending got either to rushed or just to frantic for me to tell what exactly happened. Also its fine that you separated them, but I think you might have had a better impact if you'd pull from both six's and your battle canon.
Over all though, it was still enjoyable, I've always liked the pacing and action in your stuff.
orange- I understand your sentiments but I think between myself , six, and our common audience, black has made a fixture for himself on void with a complicated story [even though I intended for most of his battles to be episodal] from half a dozen years of buildup. People who has followed the comics at a steady rate are reading this story on its final chapters while those new to it may meet black the same way everyone else did when he started. I applaud six for tackling the Agent Black story head on with such a fresh character.
With that said, problems with clarity are my weakness and i could benefit from a diet of establishing shots more. Thanks for reading ! And thanks to six for diving into the murky territory that is the agent black canon.
Monday - I've found it pretty hard to get into these Agent Black comics since round one, I am having a lot of trouble actually following what is going on here haha. I think the fact that there are all these clones and they all (reasonably) look the same I get lost as to who is who in your comic. The scribbly style also makes it very hard for me to clearly see what is going on in some panels. I really want to enjoy it because I do see some bits of action that are quite impressive but its hard to. I've enjoyed previous Agent Black comics but I'm just unable to enjoy these as much because I cant tell whats going on.
Six - likewise I found that this wasn't your strongest round. Some interesting revelations here and I love how you're trying to tie everything in with eachother but I felt it got really wordy at parts. I did dig how all the clones that showed up had different traits from one another but it felt almost like a big buildup to a massive brawl was going to happen but then...they all died. However I voted for yours because of the nice clear, clean lines and for the most part it was still an enjoyable comic, just not my fave one from you this tournament.
Clash and pistol has been a heck of a read throughout this tournament, but I will say that Agent Black is and has always been one BEAUTIFUL character.
Excellent, may the best meet the dead (Marigold...not lose)
Worked up to the wire (as usual) and uploaded my 20 pages a few minutes ago.
I BLED FOR THESE PAGES - BLEEEEEEED
Whichever way this goes, this was a hell of a lotta fun. Finally got my match against you, Monday - can't wait to see what you did!
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