Speed Dating 2022, Round 1

The way you guys made this continuous is so fun!! SEAN- aww poor Harvey! At least he got a smooch out of it lol! you made Crikey look DANG GOOD and i loved the backgrounds on the first page! GOLDIE first of all that haircut is ADORABLE I CANT WAIT TO DRAW IT you draw so damn sexy you just make everyone look so GOOD! The way you filled in that shop was so incredible and detailed, how did you manage it all in a week?? always so good seeing comics from you! (CANT WAIT TO FIGHT YOU)

Space Dad

Your art is so pretty, and I feel like it just keeps leveling up every time I see something new from you! You made the pencils really work here; it just makes everything looks soft and intimate. Might have looked a bit better with inks and colors, but it works! I can definitely feel that this is a first half of a story, which works against you here. It makes it so there aren't really any stakes until the end, and leaves Goldie with the climax of the story, theoretically. I would have liked to see a bit more of a narrative arc in your comic, rather than just buildup towards something bigger. Still, it was a nice comic, pretty to look at, made me feel cozy. ☺️

Goldie

SO CUTE! I'm living for all of these close-up images of Harvey's hands and his tools and Crikey's hair. It's all really pretty. And you've got me 😳 @ Harvey (I was already 😳 @ Crikey ofc) with how you draw those strong, hairy arms. Want them to wrap around me... *cough* anyways... This was a great comic, love all the little details, love how you drew the speech bubble tails, love the gentle exploration of character emotions and personal drama. Looking forward to next round for sure!

Really enjoyed the collaborative story line!

Sean - pencils are immaculate. Even without shading or inks, the forms are so clear and beautiful. I can only imagine what this could look like with shading and all. Amazing. Goldie - Ah! you're a comic goddess and Crikey is just absolutely gorgeous. I LOVE LOVE LOVE her new hairstyle! Harvey looks so handsome in your style too. I love their heartfelt conversation. I hope you follow through with that Arena hint cos I am invested now. Very clever use of continuing comics from both sides. I love it cos it gives me more mileage to the story! Such a great round for both you :clap:

usually I do these in order of how they appear on the page but here I'm gonna do them in order of how they should be read because it makes sense lmao Sean: Even for just being pencils, the art here is *so good*. That first panel is TASTY. and Crikey and Harvey are both so nice in your style! And that kiss panel--kisses are HARD to draw but you did excellent!! Crit-wise, I'd say the story felt a bit rushed, especially in comparison to Goldie's. Normally I try not to compare stories so directly, but with the two being linked I feel it pertinent to hold the two up to each other--especially since yours is a lead-up to Goldie's. Primarily, I feel like the skip directly from introductions, to one panel of talking about favorite artists, to a two hour timeskip and then dancing, felt just, way too fast. Especially since the dance then led to a rather intimate moment. There wasn't enough buildup to make the kiss necessarily feel... warranted? A bit more dialogue between the two would've helped to sell the chemistry between the two, I think--something more like what Goldie had in hers. If the kiss had happened after the conversation in Goldie's, I would've been entirely sold, hook line and sinker. On that note, I also was a little unsure what caused the explosions on the last page? was it because of Crikey's sharp teeth during the kiss? it was a little unclear, which kind of lessened the impact, I think? That said I do like the toasted Crikey lmao Goldie: Goddamn, what can I say about this other than wow. The art as always is v tasty--you have such a way of making everyone look so good. And I also like how you drew such a mundane thing as getting hair cut, but made it look interesting somehow? But, more than that, I was enamored by the dialogue. Like I said, you really sold the relationship between these two, the connection between the characters. The only critiques I have are, honestly, nitpicks on typos/grammar--just a small thing, but on page 2 "you still have a few more mixers to go to too" is a tad clunky, you could've probably dropped the 'too' at the end and it would've worked just fine. And then on page 3, you forgot a 'd' on 'experienced'. But, again, that's extremely nitpicky, so it's not a huge deal honestly.

that was really sweet, guys! I've always wanted to read a 'battle' that is more of a collab but i've never seen it pulled off so well. Goldie, your art is such top-shelf stuff. It felt like something that'd feel right at home with some shojo jump magazine subscription. i'm impressed you took the more obvious rout to 'speed comic' your way through, a short but sweet story with compact yet succinct framing. A+, you know that already. Sean, I haven't really seen Harvey around before and this battle feels like the perfect introduction to him. I can't tell if they were making friends or making romance, it just looked like they met and had a good time, which is just subtle and feel-good. the art looks very old fashioned, like i might find it in an old newsprint paper magazine, sponsored by a perfume brand. strangely nostalgic.