I wanted to wait until the deadline was up before I said a MASSIVE THANK YOU to all of you who commented/critiqued and voted, bloody hell - 55 votes thats insane.
and a special thank you to Kozi and Barrel, you both know how much I love the hell out of your comic, thank you so much for pulverising us into an oblivion.
With 21 minutes to go until deadline, I think its a fine time to get my own crits and thinks down.
HATS & MAGS- Hooooly shiznit was this a fun battle! You guys are a force to be reckoned with just as much as your threat was a constant fire under our butts to do our best. I frekin' LOVED your comic. The colors had that signature sharp style of cel shadiness that has become something of a Magistelle staple. I find myself trying to emulate, but can never hold a candle to how effortless this looks. Its subtle where it needs to be. Intense when applicable and overall just enhances your story in such a great way.
Speaking of- I am GUTTED that I wont be able to see this story arc play out! Honestly, for as subtle and lowkey as it was, you left some tantalizing breadcrumbs for us readers to follow and want more of. I wanna know how far Mammon can keep up this lie. I need to know when Wizzie will catch wind of it and when that moment arrives, what will happen to these two?? INTRIGUE!
Of the whole of these seeeeecrets, the panel with Archie and contained/ animated Creamimi was not only a standout moment art wise and story wise- but also one of my fav panels. Another had to be the reveal of original mimi tied up on a radio tower. Like, how apt that is was a RADIO tower?? The vinyl Wizzie buys in the begining of the comic was also a super awesome nod. It just really goes to show you not only respected my character and did your homework, but really paid homage to all the little bits and bobs that makes Mim well, Mimi!
Petey by contrast, y'all had very little to go on, but what you established was incredibly heartwarming. From him rolling out of the desert and launching skyward to land on Mammon, to his deep seated anxieties and fears depicted in hilarious extremes panel to panel, I personally think you got him right. I think the panel where he tells Mimi he's there and he gives her a hesitant poke have to be my favs. It isn't hard to make Petey adorable, but I think y'all ramped the cuteness factor to eleventy. Also a complete aside, but Mimi and the oven mitt to give her hero a pat was a clever idea. I might just use that, haha!
I wanna digitally shake your hands, the both of you. You were some stiff competition, and I for one was stoked we got you round 1. Truly a battle for the ages! <3
Kozi and Barrel: I do love a good in media res beginning, and this definitely did a great job dropping us straight into the meat of the story while still giving us enough information so that context wasn't lost. Great colors and writing, really unique implementation of smash cuts between what Wizzie saw and what Mammon was experiencing, even if it did get a little...overwhelming at times. I knew what was happening but felt like I needed to glance over the more active bits or else I'd get lost. The cliffhanger was also a great touch, if a bit sudden, like everything was happening and then whoop comic's over, tune in next week. Art is A+, no real issues.
Hats/Mags: Though definitely slower and more down-to-earth, I loved the small subtle bits of foreshadowing for the future, building up a slew of possibilities with SLAW capturing Creamimi. The art was also really good, giving a nice jarring sense of separation between full-renders and toons, complete with a sense of MST3K "you should really just relax" in terms of how Mimi ended up in the radio tower, how Petey is up and moving, etc, which is fitting for the nature of the characters involved. I was just a tiny bit confused as to what I was supposed to take away from the animation of glitchy Mimi though, like it was plenty ominous but the ambiguity of it detracted from the overall tone that was being built.
Great turnout from both of you. As was already stated, this was 100% a heavyweight battle.
Holy moly, both teams made such amazing, kickass comics. Both had super intriguing plot-lines that make me wanna see what happens next, but it saddens me only one will make it to the next round. Dammit, I wanna fight both of you...
hats/mags: Stunning colour work! Overall your pages looks fabulous and I can't imagine how hard you both had to work to pull this off in such a small time. The little splashes of animation, and the flicking between toon-and-not styles really bring this comic to life :)
Spoonbarrel: Suuuper enjoyed how you showed Mammon flipping out in both 'worlds'. The 'sketch' mimi was executed brilliantly too. It's easy to feel for poor Petey in this. The hard work you've both put into this really shows.
These are
beautiful
an interesting thing about this matchup is that these comics ended up being very similar style-wise, especially in terms of inking and some of the color choices. Just made it that much more difficult to vote for XD
Also, both comics did a really good job of allowing your opponents' characters to shine. I almost forgot whose comic I was reading in both cases because all the characters were so well-written.
Most of my crits are kind of nitpicks, 'cause these comics are super good, but here I go...
Mags and Hats: You've got some very ambitious city environments in here and they look great! Also, Petey was super cute in your comic. I just wanted to hug the little guy (ouch! :'D ). I did think that the toon-vision panels felt a little rushed and not as carefully rendered as the real-world panels. Also, I noticed that a lot of your panels involve the characters lined up and facing pretty much straight toward the camera. It might be nice to mix it up a bit more often and change up the camera angles and the arrangement of characters within the environment. I really liked that you kept Mammon's plotting a secret up to the very end. It really made his betrayal hit that much harder D':
Barrel and Kozi: You chose some real nice color schemes for the toon-trip panels! There were a couple places where the speech bubble placement got a little confusing. Most notably, on the last panel of page 5 I accidentally read Mammon's bubble first on both of my read-throughs because it's placed so high in the panel. I also felt like the moment when Creamy-Mimi starts attacking was a very abrupt transition. I almost wondered if I had accidentally skipped a page. It might have been nice to have a hint of the attack starting at the end of page 13 or something like that. You did a really good job of making all 4 of these very different-looking characters fit stylistically and feel like they belong in the same world. That can be a challenge with all the crazy characters of Void XD
Both of these are so wonderfully made and the art style and the color palettes are so good. Quite refreshing to the soul. Magistelle and MyHatsEatPeople I love the tension at the end, it makes you really feel the guilt (?) of Mammon for lying to Wizzie. Barrel and Kozispoon I love how you drew the panels to emphasis the goo/melting parts. If I could vote I wouldn't know who to vote for. I adore the both of these equally.
im straining to think of ANYTHING because BOTH OF THESE COMICS ARE SO GOOD
MagsHats- The only problem I can really think of is that the story seems to be kind of low-energy-- like, the most intense moment is at the end, which is awesome, but other than that, the very sweet and amicable story was amazing (especially considering the sinister goings-on behind the scenes)
KoziBarrel- HOLY FUCK
uhmmm m u h mm -drops papers- shit uh
..... ..... I guess only thing I'm confused about is how, if SketchMimi is so weak, she was able to do that huge Stop sign to stop Wizzie's magic? but other than that I'm really at a loss for anything to comment on as problems. It gets a BIT crazed and skirts the line of incoherent when Mammon's tripping out, but, I managed to understand what was going on.
TEAM SHARKSTAR & TEAM BALLOONPOP
I got nothing to critique here, these are both masterclass examples of great comics and both touched on narratives I wanted from each pairring
So just all the thumbs up, great job all four of y'all!
So, right away, everyone here has quality work. This is a heavyweight match for sure.
Mags and Hats: fantastic colour pallet. Loved the toonified panels as well. The adventure to return Mimi's sign is simple, but complete and allows for some great dialogue moments. The final moment where we see mammon has captured Creamimi is pretty exciting for anyone who has followed Murphy's Law and I like that you didn't integrate it into the meat of the story allowing anyone to read without being burdened by backstory they may not know. I really don't have any critique to be honest, sorry.
Spoon and Barrel: Holy What? like What? This is amazing! though it does rely very heavily on knowledge of the void "continuum" which I think could be a negative for new readers. Besides that WOW! just what in the earth!? I need more!
SPOON AND BARREL: I caught that team shout-out on the last page. Good on ya! In fact, there was a good batch of cameos and shout-outs in this entry, I love it!
And let's not forget the writing for this! I like the established threat of Creamimi (welcome back you melty maiden, you!). Petey drawing out Mimi was quite imaginative and cool with purposefully leaving in the building circles and contour lines to create a more solid presence. And let's not forget--new prejudices against toons! I'll make a note for that next time I do a toon comic.
This is a mystery I want to see more of.
MAGS AND HATS: I love how floppy Petey is in the first two pages! I like the casual dialog and expressions between Wizzie and Mammon. And I like the hints of a pliot involving Creamimi--both you and your opponents are making good use of her! Whoever wins this, I know things are gonna get real sticky!
this is one of the toughest votes I've had to do in a while! all four of you really turned out for this and I LOVE IT.
mag and hats: really strong ink, I love the chunky quality. the toons were lovely and the contrast between the two worlds was great! visually like, all around I deeply enjoyed it. my one nitpick would be, the world felt a little empty? like maybe a few more bg elements would have helped. the animation was also wonderful and I kinda wanna see more of that, haha.
kozi and barrel: yall playing for keeps. this was super enjoyable and it's hard to find fault in it. maybe less of that sickly brown/green color, though it kinda works in the setting. maybe also, have the characters color match the setting a bit more, if that makes sense? since they're in green world for most of it, put more green into their palettes. honestly though I'm being nitpicky and this rules.
Mags and Hats: MAMMON HOW COULD YOU! I thought you were being sweet (and a fucking hipster and tripping balls just a little bit), and then you went and did that. Oh you break my heart. Also, the way you did the Petey bits warmed and broke my heart. What on earth could this be setting up? :O
Barrel and Kozispoon: Yeeaaaaahhh that's how you deliver on some cactus juice comics! And I'm a sucker for meta animation-y type plots and storytelling, too. This is my jam. Headless Mimi, you'd better indeed explain everything if you make it to next round (this is gonna be a tight competition).
Shoot me, they're both so good, I hate that this had to be a first-round matchup. Both teams did an absolutely stellar job handling a mix of toon and non-toon characters, and there's so much intrigue going on on both sides... It's such a shame one of these storylines has to end!
Amazing, on all parts.
i'm REALLY having hard time deciding which sent me higher in the heaven of good comcis
Team Sharkbait: the lil good natured atmosphere with cartoony feels suddenly get crushed by SLAW. and i love that. The reality that mammon tries to live in is evidently hard to keep dissimulated while he's trying to mend bridges with Wizzie. My boi, you'll have to make a choice. And Wizzie, she's just trying to have good time, without meddling behind her back. Poor lil brit
Team cartoon: THE PLOT THICKEN IN SUGARY CREAM. a violent take over of overly depressed toontown and SLAW down for the count? TAKE MY MONEY
poor lil cacti is afraid of live ( i know the feeling bro) and Mimi is trying to separate herself from Creamimi? ouchie, that means the goocream ghost will be back... OH WOE
I love how these both ended up containing Mammon's Toony Acid Trip â„¢!
Mags and Hats: I love that cover page so muuuuch! Great quality and colors! And the bit of animation too! Everything looks spectacular!
Kozi and Barrel: Man- this story yo!! I want so much more- I can't even! Everything was so nicely blended and the colors! And I felt so bad for Mammon-! Kudos for making me cry!
Holla holla, these are some good fucking comics. FIRST UP
Mags and Hats: Fucking Stellar you two. I really enjoyed the attention to detail of Casually Touching a Cactus Fucking Hurts. Kept a nice sense of levity throughout the comic. Good colors, and everything is just nice overall. My only thing is just, I feel like the lines are too heavy? Like, the lines themselves just feel like they hold almost too much of my eye's attention? It's a weird thing to say, I'm sure I'll at least talk with you Mags in voice at some point and I can try to phrase it better then.
KOZI AND BARREL: YO. Fuck you two, this came out great! I really dig how y'all blend into the flashbacks and shit really smoothly, and the toon vision segments are out of this world. Y'all have come out of this with such a great hook for more, and just, damn this is nice.
That was a tough one to vote for, but i def feel like kozi barrel team had a much stronger story. I really felt for mammon. If you can make me feel for your characters' struggle then good job. I still enjoyed the story in hats mags side, lots of cute details i enjoy their relationship. Toon delusions really took the cake though.
WE DID IT IT'S DONE
HATS: Concept and story, cover page, inks, SFX, half of the flats, gradients, and overall fine-tuning of the color scheme
MAGS: Concept and story, thumbnails, sketches, half of flats, slivers of the inks, and shading/highlighting
crawls under a rock and sleeps for a milennia
WE DUN DID THE THING :D
BARREL: General concept, story, thumbnails, colors, & cover page
KOZISPOON: Helped with general concept/story edits, sketched and inked based off thumbnails, then added lettering. Colored pages were sent back my way for me to add VFX and little extras to punch it up.
Teamwork!
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