really good work, Kubo!

AND PYRAS hello, good work!

I'm also curious about Luz now that Kubo's weaker, because it was my understanding that it was Kubo's insane healing factor that allowed Luz to inhabit Kubo's body without him burning up. Does Kubo still have major healing factor that's just all going towards healing Luz's burns now?

This was such a great collab choice. Y'all kicked ass and took names via arma, so its great to see that cohesion coming together yet again on a bit of a twofer to see two styles instead of multiples find a harmony together. Kubo yet again dazzles with the cover art, which admittedly is inspiring me (and clearly many others!) to prologue our void battles in this way. Just looks so darn slick.

Reading the previous comments I get the question marks over the whole Rocio situation is definitely understandable. While its a good Mcguffin, I think Rocio as a character is so established and her story (if there is a linear one) is kind of all over the place, it seemed odd to just have her be a mere mention the gang is rallying around. Story wise, the male Miller would've served as a means to better explain Kubo's intel on Rocio and why he wants to find her since Miller now knows Raven and Raven is pals with Rocio? Woof, just writing it out makes the motivations as to why these folks wanna find her a bit stretched. I would've loved to have seen some pages dedicated to the reasoning.

I think you portrayed Kubo's weaknesses well enough in this comic. You were building to getting his ass handed to him on page one from the get. It's a great visual introduction with some slamming action to show he isnt what he was since arma. I love that. A guy with all the power but keeping it in check has taken its toll. I was waiting for Kubo to call upon his squad as surrounding himself with capable heroes seemed to be his strength, but he went with a magical gadget instead. It deflates the moment he had on the ropes if he can just magically James bond himself out of a bind and heal himself after the effort  to boot. What kills me is that he did that all by himself with his two capable protege's back at HQ. Why leave them there? Is this a vanity mission for him? Was he trying to prove to himself he could, or needed to do things alone and be reliable? Don't get me wrong, if that's the case I wish I'd SEEN that. A hero whose not 100% perfect? Give me that, yes.  these are doubts and misgivings I wish had been explored or at least more apparent because it would've made Talon's 'kubo's a force to be reckoned with' comment have more impact if we'd seen Kubo get his ass handed to him by that demon and he hadn't won.

It's nice to see the subtle hints we saw in arma regarding Amber and Kubo come to fruition in this BB. Also the establishing shot and gaze out the skyscraper window had to be my fav. The colors in this sequence just really work. The relationship, or start of one feels...chill. Adult, regular- which I think is a nice contrast to all the fantastical that's going around. But again, Kubo fought alone and was depicted making it out just fine without anyone's help, so it makes his misgivings about 'I havent leaned on anyone else for a while' kind of moot.

Blame it on me reading this first thing in the morning, but none of the story beats really hit on an emotional level for me. I dig the continuity this comic shares with other comics, especially ones written in whole or in part by Pyras, but this comic on its own feels kind of flat to me. It introduces/continues a lot of ideas, hinting at exciting things to come, so I guess viewing this as a prologue to whatever comes after it might work better than viewing it as a standalone kind of thing. I think based on this being contextualized as fallout from a previous event made me expect something more akin to an epilogue, which it clearly is not by any means.

I think what would have made this more interesting as a standalone comic would be to see Kubo placed in a more dangerous situation. As it stands, neither the physical danger of being attacked by that demon nor the social danger of his students (or most anyone, really) discovering how weak he is now really felt like a big deal. He's still fully capable of fighting on his own, and it seems like the issue of people finding out that his strength is limited is just a fear in his head for the moment.

Like I mentioned earlier, this comic feels like a prologue and promises exciting events to come, and I'm definitely looking forward to those! So get on that, I guess!

Oh man everybody left big beefy comments and mine's a small slice of ham in comparison but I really like the way the action was in the first half. Stuff does get a little wonky in the second part but I love the dialogue exchange!

I can't get over how good the sequence on page 4 is I'm an absolute sucker for giant rock hands crushing things and I know that's oddly specific but yeah good stuff!

These are the kind of bridge comics that I like to see.  It not only addresses the aftermath of major events but also helps set up future plans while also telling its own story.
The developments here add some depth and new challenges for Kubo that makes him even more interesting despite his complete disregard for the Bro Code.
Though echoing the others' thoughts on the Rocio element; there definitely does seem to be a missing piece involving her disappearance that should get addressed soon.  I know that her last chronological battle that Pyras made had her vanish and it has been mentioned in some of Rivana's comics a bit but since there wasn't a comic with her as one of the featured characters with this plot element it makes it hard to follow for some especially with it being spread out amongst several artists' comics.
Though this isn't a Rocio comic this is a Kubo comic and it does its job setting up his next arc and gets a cool fight and some cheesecake in between.

As Threat, seeing you all suffer the consequences of defeating me makes my heart feel warm~ >=D I like how seriously the fallout is being taken, how the demon problem isn't ENTIRELY solved, how Kubo is struggling to master his powers all over again. I'm not too bothered by Rocio's absence only being remarked on as an aside by various characters, because I dunno how else you'd get that information across, I'm sure we'll get the why and how later on so for now the "what" will suffice. I am interested in why KUBO cares.... is it a chain link down of "Raven cares so Miller cares so Amber cares so..."?
speaking of Amber, my one crit is going to sound odd coming from me and I recognize this don't feel the need to point it out XD but I feel like, the conversation between Kubo and Amber, their nudity is... gratuitous? What I mean is its a really emotional scene where hes pouring his heart out... hes struggling and shes trying to comfort him... and Im just going "wheres the dong tho". I feel like this might have had more impact if he had, uh. pants? I understand that nudity can be a shorthand for vulnerability but this doesnt read vulnerable it reads highly sexual (boy HOWDY) and that feels like the wrong tone for their conversation. At least, to me. Take of it what you will.
In any case great collab, you two! Looking forward to seeing how this story progresses!

Been waiting for this to come out. Though I have seen some preview pages as you both worked on it, I did not have a damn clue on what was in store for me =O

Kubo looking for Rocio - okay this was a shock and such an interesting development since Raven is primarily looking for Rocio as we speak. I personally love the build up on this and I am sure that this "Rocio Disappearance" arc is going to be addressed at some point.  I understand some people's confusion but from my PoV, it's one of those story arcs that you see bits and pieces of and then everything would come together/make sense in the end.  I guess I am to blame for the origins of this too because during the VCV Arma collab I reached out to Pyras and proposed the idea of Raven going back from a coma and finding Rocio gone. As for what Pyras has in store as to how and why, I have no clue at this point lol

Art and colors are really nice too. Kazue does look a bit too young in some panels. That lighting in the last panel on page 8 is so beautiful (not to mention the gorgeous couple that stand behind the glass window hehehe). I hope to see more about Amber and Kubo's relationship. Are they just casually dating? Is it something more serious? Give us the deets!

The demon fight sequence is so fun to read. Love the script in all of the comic but that convo is just so enjoyable and funny. Curious about this artifact Kubo and his students  are putting together and I like how it literally reflects the title itself  "Pick Up The Pieces"

But yeah another great comic from two Arma Defenders! Love the continuing story and I really hope to see more. On a more personal level, I am excited to see how some aspects of this will affect Raven in the future:  specifically Kubo's connection to both Rocio and the Millers. In short, I am so invested in this.

I overall enjoyed this comic and it's cool too see people continue stories off Arma and Cy and Hella brought up good crits regarding the art. The one panel that has Luz' face I really like the way it was done. the overall writing is good but I don't like the whole situation with Rocio.

We haven't seen what happened to Rocio or how she disappeared and none of the characters in the comic are ones we have seen interact with Rocio. It feels  a little forced but it depends on what comes up in the future and how she disappeared in the first place. Also after all this happens I do hope it changes Rocio and complicates her situation since in her own comics the problems she faces in the comics don't result in any lasting repercussions for her and none of her flaws seem to hinder from any of her goals.

First of all, that cover page SLAPS. Second of all, I’m so glad people are continuing to put out arma followups. This sort of thing is great.

I thought the writing here was pretty good, Kubo’s new situation wrt the collar was delivered in an organic way and holy shit, really didn’t see the hookup with Amber coming. Iirc correctly she was blushing when Kubo was on the rampage in Arma, so I’m curious to see if she’s genuinely attracted to Kubo, or attracted to the monstrous, dangerous side he may unleash again in the future.

On the art side of things I very much agree with Hella. The wonky faces didn’t bother me that much, but some other things stuck out to me in a distracting way. Kazue looked like a kid despite being an adult (drawn far shorter than Talon too, when they’re the same height), and Amber’s entire abdomen was almost the same width as Kubo’s forearm on page 8. However I enjoyed the demon design and the sequence where he was captured was lovely.

I have one last crit that isn’t really for this specific comic, but for a situation that was mentioned within it. Pyras, I’m.. a little lost on Rocio’s disappearance? In her last battle (in a chronological sense I mean), Rocio was just inviting Raven to stay with her. But I’ve noticed Raven mentioning in her recent comics that Rocio’s missing, and now Kubo has too. But there’s been nothing to indicate Rocio vanishing within her own comics. It’s just a Thing now, her disappearance happening offscreen. I’d be interested in maybe a short B.B. for Rocio herself set before this happened, so there’s a comic in her archive actually chronicling the disappearance.

I feel like I nee to read up a little, post arma, incase I missed something.

But, on its own:
Writing: Solid. The flow is good, the dialogue feels natural, good set up for future things.

Art: I feel like this was weaker then what i am used to from both of you. The anatomy was wonky in places, specifically the faces in some feel inconsitent and the eyeplacement in one or two panels is off center pretty noticably. Its still good, mind you. Just feels like your fundamentals slipping a little.

Let's see more weiners!

SKREEEEEEEE! SO GOOD!
I'll have a more meaningful comment later - just wanted to leave my immediate thoughts, which are:
SO GOOD.

Post-Armageddon, Pre-Retribution

Story & Script: Kubo and Pyras
Pencils: Pyras
Inks: Kubo
Flats: Kubo
Shading: Pyras
Lettering/SFX: Pyras