@Gregly: I really wanted to see what you were gonna do next round with that last panel! Damn that was a gut-wrenching development and I'm sad I won't get to see it go anywhere. ALSO I'M SO GLAD WHITE MALKIN GOT THE SPOTLIGHT! I thought Gwen called him Paul, though.
@Swag: DUUUUUDE FUCK YOU FOR BEING SO GOOD! Your use of colors to distinguish the real world from Smol's concussion or whatever's going on is top notch, and the level of creativity in this is ridiculous. The Smash reference killed me and I DEFINITELY didn't see that coming haha. The animation added a ton, too. Can't wait for the finale!
@Gregly
Aw man, what an improvement! Im so, so, delighted to see you upping your quality for this round. The more you push yourself, the more we're all able to see what you're really capable of, and I can't wait to see you aim for 10/10/10.
Your writing is super nicely paced and the humor hits just where it needs to. I wish there were more to say about it, but you hit the tone you were going for and hot dang.
The art! I said it before, but man, *man* I'm glad to see something beyond pen on paper. It's genuinely very refreshing. From a more technical side, I absolutely think you always nail your draftsmanship. Nicely composed pages full of nicely composed panels that all show exactly what they need to and nothing more. What you lack in new-school polish, you make up for with old-school fundamentals. And that always counts for more in my eyes.
@Swag
YooOOOOOOOOoooooooOOOO. Fuckin choice, man! The animation and change of aesthetic really put it over the top in this one, and it's rad to see ya bring all your skillz to the table.
For writing: Overall, very solid. You set the characters up and bring em into conflict pretty successfully. And have their conflict end when the time allotted is up. Reading that, I'm sure you can pick up what I'm gettin at. The fight's pretty much what you'd expect it to be. Magic + Robot vs Knives. And because you're on Team Knives, Team Knives's gotta win. Personally, I would have loved to see a bit more humor or a bit more substance in their exchange. Especially because you have the wonderful setup of Smol's Brain Damage Zone, but use it as set-dressing rather than it's own unique character.
And needless to say, between your art and animation, your comic is very *italian-chef-kissing-hand-emoji*. A few minor nitpicks would be: Smol pulling out knives without setup. Works great in animation. Not as well in comics. Like, I obviously know thats his gimmick, but suddenly having a knife in Regi's gun with no setup leaves us having a "Wait what" moment before the pieces fit together. Another minor nitpick, Regi's arm-pit wiring panel. I had no clue what it was til the next page. A little bit of a zoom in on it woulda really spelled it out, because I don't recall attention being brought to it beforehand.
The gifs were a nice touch @swag!
I'm also on the edge of my seat with Gwen having that wound! I NEED TO KNOW MORE. Will she make it?
Everything else has already been said I think but WOW. Great match you two!
GodDAMN was this secretly a scar match? You guys BOTH have excellent humor AND tension (albeit the tension is far more strong concentrated in swag's) and I LOVE THEM BOTH.
I don't have much to add other than what everyone has already said. But both of you did super great with your entries!
Gregly - Charming style and humorous as always.
Swag - THOSE COLOURS. DAAAMN <3
Let’s get critical
Hello Swag, here are my list of critiques
On the first page you spelled hooligans wrong.
On page three, third vertical composition panel I was confused as to who it was I thought it was Gwen. But now I see it’s just a slight continuity thing with Smol seeing the missile on his side when it actually hits him in the back of the head.
Page 6 I had trouble identifying what the last panel was. I think a shot showing Regi from the back from Smols POV with some wires visible would have been useful in communicating better. Also the colors in Smol’s close up just aren’t quite doing it for me. This is what you wanted.
Gregly, Knife to meet you.
Over all, super awesome comic!
On page 6 her familiar needs to be shown before the transform sequence. A suggestion is have your first panel on this page be an over the shoulder of the bird looking down on the fight and then go into the transformation sequence.
Also it’s unclear when Gwen got stabbed, including a panel with a close call or torn clothing would make the reveal more satisfying in my opinion.
Final comment, Regi only functions as a plane in this it would have been nice to see his character come through.
Gregly: a fun well-written comic with some cool ambitious shots, though the linework feels a little sloppy, I would like to see you experiment more with your lines to see if you can find something that better compliments your style
Swag: you are straight up killing it this tournament! Both dynamic and easy to read, this is professional webcomic work right here
Keep on being awesome you two
damn these were both QUALITY
gregly: Theres some pixelation where the fill tool didnt fill all the way, especially noticeable in Gwen's hair. I like seeing her utilize Malkin since we havent seen much of him at all. I also enjoyed Smol's many terrible, terrible puns XD How cruel you are to gwen though, stabbing her like that at the end! Your comics are always super fun and charming and energetic!
Swag: DAT ANIMATION, MY GOD DUDE. how did you even find the TIME. The action is great, the colours are great, the art is adorable, I love how the whole race is Smol's concussed delusion thats very clever and makes for some hilarious moments, and 8 billion extra points from me for the synthwave colours I DIG. Im not even honestly sure what to critique i loved all of this good fuckin job.
Wow good job to both of you and getting done with such stellar comics!
Gregly, I just wanna say, I think your usage of colors was great, and I loved your usage of comedic dialogue! The energy the characters showed off really put themselves straight into adorably silly status and it was really fun to watch your story unfold! I think the only thing I wasn't particularly a fan of, was the fact that a lot of the times, Gwen's hair has this thin white border between the lines of her hair, and the color of her hair, and it was really noticeable to the point that that was one of the main things that drew my eye while reading. But regardless, I absolutely loved your comic, it was amazing!
Swag, I reaaaaaally enjoyed how much clearer your plot was in this comic. After all, in the first comic, it was a bit harder to understand till you realized just what was going on, but here the plot really takes center stage, and I think the way you were able to portray it, works out really well for you! The animated parts really blew me away in your comic, as they certainly weren't even a bit expected, and your coloring, is actually absolutely breath taking, and you are very good at making all of the action in your comic very clear.
Anyway good luck to you both! Unfortunately the nature of the tournament is that only one person in a round can move on, but no matter who wins, I think you both did absolutely amazing on these comics, and I look forward to seeing any other comics the two of you make!
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