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Murderfest 2014

1 Week
Murderfest 2014

Comics

Murderfest 2014
By justarhymes
chat_bubble 34
star star
JPOP
trophy WINNER
Final Score: 6.78
Murderfest 2014
By DEDieckmann (SkullcapComix)
chat_bubble 34
star star
The LowMan
Final Score: 6.69

Comments (34)

Heathen's avatar
Heathen
All-Rounder
9 years ago
I laughed pretty hard at justa's comic, not gonna lie. Pee-pee slide is right in my wheelhouse. "I'm not a bum, I'm a zombie! Or a ghost or some shit, I dunno" Hahaha

Rose's avatar
Rose
All-Rounder
10 years ago
HOLY SHIT 5 points! Congrats, Justin! And I guess congrats to Dan, too, since it was so close! Really just came down to luck of voter preference IMO. I really hope you'll stick around and draw some more, dude! NOW JUSTIN, GO ON AND KILL 'EM ALL! MWAHAHAHAHA! When I get back to having time for battles, I'll challenge you to something where we'll both have time to fill in those details. :)



jho's avatar
jho
All-Rounder
10 years ago
50 50 ooooooooewwaaauuhhh

justarhymes's avatar
justarhymes
All-Rounder
10 years ago
@bobo: the lack of color is just because I don't find myself having the time anymore. I feel as though I am a colorist at heart. I really wanna go back, I'm very out of practice. I'm glad you enjoyed it. @axe: thank you for your feedback. I'm glad you had some positive feelings about this, but someone calling my art wonderful blows my mind a little. @pocky: my choice in flats was weird, you are right. it is because I wanted to color it down to the very last second. I started with bright red and yellow as they were the most important colors to me because they were a part of a few visual gags. after that, there was only like an hour and a half left or something, so I just couldn't get anymore color in. next time, I will plan that part out better. thanks.

Pennydox's avatar
Pennydox
All-Rounder
10 years ago
More critiques! yay! JUSTARHYMES: I did find this one amusing, and if it wasn't for me snooping through old archives of comics months ago I dont think I would have known that the character that's just a piece of red square was an actual character in void. It would have appealed to the audience who did know about it, but for this comic, I'm sure there's a ton of people who didn't know who that was. Just looking at the surface, I'm pretty bad at this but I think some parts were supposed to be funny but I didn't find it funny because I bet I didn't get the joke. Just a feeling, especially the last two panels. Your choice in coloring might have been a little off--the red beams in too strong compared to the rest of the comics. DAN DIECKMANN (SKULLCAPCOMIX): The inking on this is very nice. I noticed that you use a very similar brush for everything, and so everything looks smooth and soft shaded. It's because this story takes place mostly in the cave that I noticed it. I think using an array of textures or textured brushes to make inside of the cave or dead Jpop would have given a much grittier feel to the story.

DEDieckmann (SkullcapComix)'s avatar
DEDieckmann (SkullcapComix)
All-Rounder
10 years ago
I definitely hear you both. I did start out rushing this, hence the goofier figures, cuz I just rushed the small thumbnails into larger files and inked over them. I started to give myself a time limit on each page, and as they had less panels as they went, I'd spend more time on them, hence looking better at the end. Didn't have time to go back and fix the start though. :-( See, I thought the Predictability of it was part of the joke too.... hence EVERY episode of ANY ghost show being exactly the same. I thought it was funny that even one in Void, the craziest place ever, would still turn out the same. BUT, I clearly did not illustrate it in a way that conveyed the funny points.... my bad. If I get to continue, I'll definitely try to address these issues. If not, I'll try to post something better (with a lot more time put into it) as soon as possible.

AxeLord's avatar
AxeLord
All-Rounder
10 years ago
It's nice to see such a variety of styles going head to head in this tournament. It really emphasizes that comics come in many forms, and are successful in several ways. Justarhymes - I'm not gonna lie, I didn't get most of what was going on in your comic. I noted from the comments that it was really littered with subtle jokes, and tied into old Void. But I just didn't find it amusing or engaging. Your not going to get everyone, and that's fine. Your illustration was wonderful. I loved looking at your drawings and how you interpreted each character and each scene. Keep it up. Dan - I liked your illustration here. The story was a little plain. Your details in Low Man and The deceased JPOP are impressive. Your scenery in the first couple pages are basic, lacking in interest. Give as much care to your backgrounds as you do your characters and you will be a force to reckon with. Explore additional story concepts with each battle, or, bounce your idea off someone you know that could give feedback. Hope to see more in the future.

Rose's avatar
Rose
All-Rounder
10 years ago
All right Dan, I'm just going to say it: your comic was completely predictable. It wasn't just that you're not good at humor--I would have been fine if you'd just gone with a more serious plot. In fact, ironically enough it might have been hilarious had you tried to make JPOP be completely serious in your comic. But the real problem was that I knew from the first panel almost exactly what was going to happen during the entire rest of the comic. Even the ending was more cliché than anything, although it was an okay lead-in to whatever happens next. I think your comic could have been saved somewhat if you had made the violence against JPOP more gruesome and horrifying. The little bite marks on his skin for some reason remind me of those old cartoons where a girl kisses a character and he's left with all of these red lipstick marks all over his face. That may have been the funniest part of your comic, actually, and I have a feeling that's not what you intended. Your rendering was great; I loved the shading and details in your drawings. Some of your characters looked pretty squashed, but otherwise things were pretty tight form-wise. I just wish you could have given me something a little more surprising to go along with your excellent art skill. Maybe next time! Justin: I can't help but observe how much your style has changed from back when I first joined, because all these vets got me thinking about the comics from back then. The first comic that comes to mind is JPOP vs. Whoa, and comparing the style in that to this, you've really gone for a much more minimalistic, doodle-y style with much sparser coloring and basically no shading. It's kind of unfair to everyone else, because it works perfectly for your storytelling style, but it would never fly for almost anyone else on the site right now hahah. I mean, seeing Dan on the roof intensely gazing down on his zombie character is funny enough, but then you add that tiny arm and giant head and it's just hysterical! After talking about how predictable Dan's comic was, I have to admit that in some ways yours was pretty predictable too--of course you're going to do something stupid like make a comic entirely based off of the word "pee-pee." But in all seriousness, you kept me guessing at every turn, and you killed it with the little details like Cog's banana in its hammock and The LowMan clarifying that he couldn't swim just in case we didn't understand what was going on. I don't know if I got all the inside jokes, which was a good point Adam@! made, but I still found it amusing even if I did miss something. In short, I want to read all of your comics forever because they make me laugh a lot.

justarhymes's avatar
justarhymes
All-Rounder
10 years ago
Thanks for the words. It's cool that you used it as an opportunity to go through the comic backlog. That is an unintended bonus side effect!

Adam@!'s avatar
Adam@!
All-Rounder
10 years ago
Justin: Hey man very interesting lol. I liked what you did here and I will say your story was hilarious but I used a enter-void interrupter to place into context the jokes and seemingly sometimes randomness lol. I got pointed in the direction on multiple occasions to do some research on the inside jokes, I don't mind, cause I like reading comics, but ballsy to go that route cause it's a sink or swim kind of deal at that point :) It'll be interesting to see if you get through this round what you do if you get someone who has less of a history. Funny stuff though man, using your opponents other character in the story, good job. Dan: in quality you won that nod man. very nice mood and ominous feeling to the pages. The consistent and finished look through out all 5 pages was great. I really like the lighting you used in the reveal from page 3 into 4. I look forward to, if you go through this round, seeing how your guy strips his victims of their life. I totally get why you would be subtle in that in the first round though, build that up for the pay off. I do feel like with what you where doing in the art the dialogue may have bogged up the creepiness of the art. I would say maybe tone that down a touch in the next round? I did like the "you may remember my hit comedy show but probably not" line :)

DEDieckmann (SkullcapComix)'s avatar
DEDieckmann (SkullcapComix)
All-Rounder
10 years ago
@Justin, totally dude. And again, makes way more sense once it sank in and I stopped seeing red... er, I mean yellow. Also I am hoping that in another 10 years for the next one.... maybe the best meme can be Galvo puking on Travis. I think it is a worthy successor. ;-)

justarhymes's avatar
justarhymes
All-Rounder
10 years ago
New people be damned, I was planning on a heavy use of Void's history and knew the consequences. I was hopeful it would still be funny regardless to the people who didn't know that I was referencing stuff, and hopefully that is the case, but it is OK if it was lost on people (and in that case, I hope they enjoyed the non-in jokes). It's def my plan to continue what I am doing with these if I somehow make it through to the next round. I will keep trying to make it work for everyone, though.

DEDieckmann (SkullcapComix)'s avatar
DEDieckmann (SkullcapComix)
All-Rounder
10 years ago
Synje - I agree completely. If I advance, I do have plans... one SPECIFICALLY for Galvo, should I move on and end up facing him, and I think I have something that will work for everyone else as well. Less dialogue by far.

Santana's avatar
Santana
All-Rounder
10 years ago
Both of these are great. Justin - You had me cracking up man. Dan talking about why he's not in the SDT and Dan's reaction about the pee joke especially after seeing real Dan have exactly the same reaction?? You are the king of inside jokes for sure. My only gripe would be, if you move forward, to not put tooo many inside jokes. This comic felt like it was only for the vets, a great one, but still. Dan - great to see the leveled up work from you, very impressive. For me it was a little wordy, found myself reading a lot and wanting to skip ahead cuz I was interested in the words. If you move on I would say less focus on dialogue and more focus on the scary mood

DEDieckmann (SkullcapComix)'s avatar
DEDieckmann (SkullcapComix)
All-Rounder
10 years ago
Sheldon: This was every ghost show and CSI slapped on the end. And besides, South park already did your comic. If you had balls you should have stuck to your serious horror guns, because right now, it's your spooky style, with comedic pacing/comps, and it just comes out boring. Read comics like SOIL or UZUMAKI and get your creep on, because lowman had a lot more potential than this.
Sheldon, I can't argue with you, it WAS exactly like those shows, but that was the point, hence why JPop had the actual two side-kicks from 'Ghost Adventures' with him. I had originally planned to show a lot more of the key talking points of all of those ghost hunting shows.... EVPs, "Spirit Orbs," stuff like that... but ran out of space and time. The idea is to ramp up each encounter though. LowMan may not be what he appears to be, and with each appearance (and subsequent death) he may be getting more powerful.... We'll just have to see.

DEDieckmann (SkullcapComix)'s avatar
DEDieckmann (SkullcapComix)
All-Rounder
10 years ago
Kevin Birtcher: VCC inclusion is also a nice touch, though I also missed the page entirely because page four seemed like an ending.
Lol thanks, but lol, the 5 thumbs and "Page 4 of 5" title should have helped with that. Also I told you at lunch that they were on the last page haha.

sheldon's avatar
sheldon
All-Rounder
10 years ago
Missed you guys. And oh boy did i miss your comixxx.......justin. Dawg: Hahahaa I already yelled at you about this. Your work maintained a consistent level of goofiness all throughout the comic. Nice. Dan: Dude, your art has gotten a lot better. And lookitchuu bangin out 5 pages IN A WEEK. Dayyyyum. But as far as story goes, you watch too much tv. This was every ghost show and CSI slapped on the end. And besides, South park already did your comic. If you had balls you should have stuck to your serious horror guns, because right now, it's your spooky style, with comedic pacing/comps, and it just comes out boring. Read comics like SOIL or UZUMAKI and get your creep on, because lowman had a lot more potential than this.

Kevin Birtcher's avatar
Kevin Birtcher
All-Rounder
10 years ago
These are both great. As soon as I saw this match-up, I said, "I shit, this is anyone's game." Hot Dog Dan still making me laugh after all these years. VCC inclusion is also a nice touch, though I also missed the page entirely because page four seemed like an ending.

GALVO's avatar
GALVO
All-Rounder
10 years ago
justin: you marvelous bastard- i totally had forgotten about the whole pee situation, i got mad chuckles, thank you boo <3 dan: i had almost hoped you'd make a joke out of this, like when you told me about your character i thought it was a joke hahah. i like that you drew the VCC crew though- that was awesome

DEDieckmann (SkullcapComix)'s avatar
DEDieckmann (SkullcapComix)
All-Rounder
10 years ago
@neens thank you! Haha the reason is because Final Hour is in full color, and a lot more detailed... I don't want it to be anything less than perfection, and I needed to learn how to color, too.... Which took a little while. However this did boost my speed confidence skills, which I hope will carry over. You are right about the other camera guys. They were actually the two side kicks from the show Ghost Adventures, who thought they were following someone LESS goofy host now than Zak Baggins, but sadly they were wrong. :-)

justarhymes's avatar
justarhymes
All-Rounder
10 years ago
Synje: "WHIY DOES IT ALWAYS HAVE TO BE PEE PEE!?" -Dan the character and in REAL LIFE
Shoot, I forgot that joke, and the joke of Lowman being replacement Dan. Actually my two favorites. Almost too meta/4th wall breaking. @neens, I agree with all of this.

neens's avatar
neens
All-Rounder
10 years ago
I'm mad that you keep forgetting my totally awesome scar on jpop >:I I dunno if I have much to say on jpop's comic since I watched him draw it, but DAN!! I am really surprised and impressed! fake ghost hunting is definitely something right up his alley, I'd say you kept it pretty in character and it's really working. I think my only crit would be that the camera guys prolly woulda been other cockrockers or something, but that's really not much of a critique haha. also the last page almost seemed unneeded, but the last shot of jpop was pretty creepy. I honestly don't know who's gonna get higher marks with my vote later! ps, if you can do this in a week what's up with final hour? ;o

DEDieckmann (SkullcapComix)'s avatar
DEDieckmann (SkullcapComix)
All-Rounder
10 years ago
Again, touche. The drought stuff wasn't clear to me at first, probably because I am not local, but now that you mentioned why, I'm like.... DUH!!!! Haha yeah man, that's a pretty serious problem, hoping something happens soon to alleviate that situation. The before and after pics of California, even pics from a few months ago as compared to now.... it's legitimately scary stuff. Never seen anything like it before. Read it again, and now that I have stopped seeing yellow, I do enjoy it, and it makes sense. Best meme.... hmm..... well as long as that pee-pee doesn't have any RADS in it.... ;-)

Santana's avatar
Santana
All-Rounder
10 years ago
"WHIY DOES IT ALWAYS HAVE TO BE PEE PEE!?" -Dan the character and in REAL LIFE

justarhymes's avatar
justarhymes
All-Rounder
10 years ago
I wanted to celebrate Void history. And hey, I have some new jokes! The constant use of the word "pee-pee" (to pound the point of immaturity), a pretty political joke about giant water slides and water usage during a drought (that one is for the LA locals, what up), dumb babies, Lowman being constantly mistaken as a bum, trying to find a drink during a drought (a lot of drought jokes, actually), a few subliminal/hidden jokes, etc. I would have done more if I could! I know you aren't totally fond of the pee, but I think it was the best meme Void has ever had. And honestly, I forgot JPOP lost his hands, so I went back in afterwards and added some lines to make cheap robo hands. Any sort of replacement hands are fine. They change sometimes.

DEDieckmann (SkullcapComix)'s avatar
DEDieckmann (SkullcapComix)
All-Rounder
10 years ago
LOL I think I was just expecting some new jokes from you, like... a "new pee," if that makes sense. You banged out a solid comic as well, and I dig how you drew him (them). I expected the humor... just always fear the pee, which seemingly will follow me forever and ever (even when Dan isn't in a comic, it seems, haha). I too will not mind losing to a vet such as yourself. Maybe someday you can have the Dan match you wanted, maybe we can set something up, just without some pee this time? (and that doesn't mean I just green lit the use of poop, either). And damnit, I wish I had asked about the hands on Jpop. I saw they were hooks at one point, but then also thought I saw they were better too... boo! Maybe could have worked in something with the robo hands.... but that's just splitting hairs at this point.

justarhymes's avatar
justarhymes
All-Rounder
10 years ago
And yourself. It took more inspiration from you than it did Hiemie. I'm actually kind of bummed I didn't have the time to do a few photo panels. Your history on Void is too rich, Dan. If JPOP goes goes down, I'm very happy with what I did for his last comic. Would be happy it was against you too. You did a solid job, man.

DEDieckmann (SkullcapComix)'s avatar
DEDieckmann (SkullcapComix)
All-Rounder
10 years ago
LOL, you have a point, sir. Touche! Well played, well played..... If Dan ever gets a new suit ever again, it's probably going to be a raincoat. Or a hotdog.

justarhymes's avatar
justarhymes
All-Rounder
10 years ago
Just like the SDT! Happy anniversary!

DEDieckmann (SkullcapComix)'s avatar
DEDieckmann (SkullcapComix)
All-Rounder
10 years ago
....Oh jesus. How old is that joke now? 10 years? LOL, at this point, should we all be paying James and Hiemie royalties? I think James could retire from drawing in bathtubs all night.