Speed Dating 2022, Round 2

I've been excited about this battle and it didn't disappoint! Goldie- I loved the playful humour and flirtiness. The art was STUNNING. I love purple and gold pallet, it made everything look so lux (for lack of a better word) Page 8 was sick and really caught me off-guard, in a good way. Shen- I can tell you're in your element here, I loved the dialogue you really successfully gave these two buckets of chemistry. The parallel stories were juggled perfectly, everything flowed so nicely. Fanastic work!

SHEN- I love it when these stories come full circle. Splitting up those scenes by their base color also helped give clarity to the transitions which helps a lot! I'm sure I echo previous comments when I say that your lines and fills always give a finished vibe, I'm jealous! GOLDIE- What a treat these pages were, this set felt very intimate, but you weren't afraid to push things over the edge stylistically ( page 8 ), and the whole scenario feels very natural still. A lovely date throughout and whatever you conjure to make Crikey's arm muscles so mesmerizing, I wanna know!

Shen: Honestly, even though you weren't able to fully color this, I don't feel like it's missing anything. And that's saying something--your monochromatic stuff feels complete even without colors or more shading or anything. I think the effects help--like on the ocean and the hot tub. The shift in color between past and present is a really nice touch, and really helps give us the visual cue to help keep the two scenes divided. Jade said just about everything I wanted to say on the story, so just. What she said XD The dialogue was fun and witty and the discovery at the end was suitably dramatic. Also your fight scenes are SO GOOD. I think my only real critique is that it took me a minute to figure out that the text in the square bubbles was from the past, not stuff that was being said over text message. I think what threw me off was when the square bubbles first show up, it's in a panel where Crikey is on her phone--and since messages over electronic communications are usually shown in square bubbles, I put those two together and assumed that Crikey was texting Ghost. I think this could've been fixed by maybe having Crikey have not been on her phone, or something? But, hey, in the end I figured out what was actually going on, so it's obviously not like a *huge* deal lol. Goldie: Aaaaaaaaah the colors are so gorgeous in this. I'm assuming it's a gradient map that you used, but still. Shows a really good understanding and usage of values. And, as everyone else has said, your art is just. So gorgeous. Everyone and everything is so, so pretty. aaaaaaa. I could just stare at your art forever. I loved the idea of the effects of Crikey's blood on Ghost, and also love the consequences Crikey has to live with--though, admittedly, I found myself not really being as affected by her sadness at being rejected, because, like. She can do so much better than Ghost? and she *deserves* better XD I guess I would've thought she might've been more angry at Ghost's rejection--especially given his reasons--or at the very least been a bit more like 'well fuk u too m8'. Then again that might be partially because I know how scummy Ghost really is, while maybe Crikey doesn't know. idk!

Shen

Page 1 and I'm already having a blast. The twist about the homemade calendar fills me with glee, especially since I know exactly who made it XD. AAAAA I'm just so joyful rn. I'm also bouncing in my chair at how good Ghost is at being simultaneously charming and sleazy. What was the meme? "Comes off as perverted, but only consensually." Nailed it with this one. AAAAA SHEN THIS COMIC WAS SO GOOD!!! I love the subtle color switch that made it so clear how the two scenes intertwined and contrasted with each other. I love how Ghost can be all charm and smarm one minute, but all business the next. This is a vampire that ultimately knows how to survive, and if he has to kill someone he's into to stay out of trouble... well, you showed us what happens. The ending was just 😩👌 "But you're still my favorite valkyrie" after dumping Crikey in the ocean is just such a beautiful MWAH. I find Ghost's story extremely compelling. You have a gift for taking characters who have done horrible things and humanizing them, making it so we as readers can empathize with them despite everything. We know they're bad, we know they deserve any sort of punishment that comes their way, but we can't help but feel for them under your expert craftsmanship. I'm just gonna have to sit and smile at this comic for a bit, because I really enjoyed it a lot! ☺️ Also Ghost is really handsome 😳

Goldie

GHOST LOOKS SO CUTE!!! You're so good at drawing beautiful people 😳 and beautiful backgrounds!!! I keep staring at these. Loving all the cameos, as well! This story was really cute!!! I love the banter between these two. Their dynamics are really cute. I also can't help but notice that both Crikey and Swan got friendzoned this round... mayhaps some sort of higher plan is afoot? 👀 Your art is so pretty, I want to pin this to my wall and stare at it. All the loving care that went into these backgrounds does not go unnoticed! I'm trying to figure out if some of these backgrounds are cleverly transformed 3d renders or photos that you've drawn over to make them fit with the rest of your art. If so, you did an amazing job! If not, I guess you did an amazing job either way, but the attention to detail is phenomenal! I need to hang out so I can steal some of your tricks in the future >:3 Anyways, I have literally nothing negative to say about this comic, it was all beautiful and fun for me! Can't wait until round 3!

SHEN- I loved the pacing and the switch between the present and the scene on the boat! Loved the inks and how tasteful you kept the spicy stuff GOLDIE- The amount of detail you poured into the backgrounds is insane! The characters all look gorgeous, and the way Crikey's blood affected Ghost was very interesting too. I wished I could hug Crikey!

GOLDIEEEE SAME!! I didn't have time to colour but i worked REALLY HARD on my spotblacks!! I hope I do you proud!!! (and i hope it reads ok its experimental a bit)

SHEEEEN! This is the first time I'm fighting you one on one so I wanted to be sure I put my back into it for as little time as we had! I hope you enjoy!