I'm a little late, but I just wanted to hop on here and say thank you for the votes and comments! I'll keep everyone's crits in mind moving forward.

And again thanks for the fight buggy

I really loved both of these comics!! I don't really have anything to add from what other people have already mentioned as far as crits.

Buggy- I really liked the muted palette with the striking blues you had in your comic! Eli was very creepy in this, especially as a feral ghoul.

Flytee- I always love to see Rae and Blue's comics! I thought the entire grave scene was so tragic and sad for Blue (and Rae to a lesser extent), and such a terrifying experience for Eli.

Sorry I wasn't able to leave my critique earlier! Interesting how you essentially were fighting over who gets the gnarlier face scar!

Buggy: Brrr, you have some really spooky and gut punching set pieces here (as well as a very, very sweet and precious Blue!), but I think my eye could have been led to the details a bit better so I could really appreciate during the first read-through. It took me a few reads to realize that Eli had Rae's hand in his mouth (I thought he was crouched in a ghoulish "feeding" pose at first glance. Then I saw his "third" hand and it took me a while to figure it out), and since the injured arm was hidden in most of the other shots, I didn't even realize it was missing to begin with. It really would have been better to flip her over in those shots to take away all ambiguity of just what happened. Same for Eli's scar. I didn't register the blue as gore, but as ghost powers. It doesn't really add up that Blue scarred him, unless she was using his flesh to repair Rae? But I don't think that's what happened...

Flytee: You have a really strong setup and establishment, but I feel like you also pulled your punches a little. I'm not a fan of gore, but at the same time, I think something as extreme as getting half your face peeled off needs much more dramatic staging. He seems to have just kind of taken a bite and chewed it politely here, when a more animalistic ripping and tearing body language would really sell it. Also, wait, did she really get her face ripped off? Not that I'm asking for all the gory details, but it doesn't completely add up, especially with how quickly she heals and is still able to emote on that side. I like how fitting Eli's punishment is (especially since it's a big reminder of guilt for the future), although the fact that he seems to have snapped out of his bloodlust and is lucid during it (plus Blue sudden surge of VENGEANCE) kind of throws it off for me.

Good job, both of you!

I don't have any specific crits that haven't already been said earlier. All I can say is that I think it's great how both comics showed a deeper side to Blue's carefree attitude!!

To Buggy, I feel like you absolutely stepped up your coloring game, especially with the ghostly blue. The end scar was a bit unclear for me, but the mood was overall great.

To Flytee, I can see that your linework has gotten much more detailed and that's great!! I can't wait to see what you do next!

I don't really have any crits but I really liked both comics. Buggy this style is great and would like to see more comics in this style and Flytee you're killing it as always with your comics.

Late to the party but I just want to say that both of these or some high quality comics.
Buggy this is one of the best looking comics you've put up since joining void.  You really pushed yourself to be great with this one and it shows.
Flytee you never fail to impress with your stories.  Like how you keep the main characters grounded and real feeling despite all the insanity surrounding them.

Zombies/Ghouls and Ghosts! What a perfect match up for Halloween!

Buggy - You really set the mood with the dark and gritty textures all throughout. Love the pop of blue and it feels sort of a nod to Blue herself. One mini crit is also try to vary the textures a bit for your future comic to denote some depth of space. But good job indeed on this one and I love seeing the improvement.

Flytee - Another stellar comic from you. I won't repeat the crits that were already mentioned in the junk cast but you're definitely one of the strongest and consistent artists in this site - both in art and story telling.  One thing that had to make me look back though was to check what Eli's scars looked like because I did not notice it at first (even though it'd be  pretty obvious based on what happened to him). A larger panel that highlighted  the scars would've sent the message across more IMO.

Looks like a fancy eyepatch is in her future.  Should I start calling her Pirae now? /lamejoke

Buggy: Yooo, this has gotta be one your best comics, visually speaking, the first two pages look real good. It's pretty simple story-wise, but I think you nailed the whole "ugh I need to defend Rae but also I don't want to DESTROY you" feelings on Blue's side. Was a little disappointed Rae's scar was not "she is now missing her stomach," considering her stomach was eaten, but eh, don't know how you could run with that :V Also, I admit, I thought Rae was just a rando boy until Blue came to her rescue, and I can't really tell what scar Eli has?

Flytee: Firstly, I absolutely adore your commitment to depicting Void City in reconstruction. In a recent battle all I did was draw like two buildings in construction, but you've got a ton of clever things going on here! :0 Your comics are also so densely paced, and it's delicious. At its core, this comic is also just "Eli eats Rae because she is there" but you've got a lot more cool framing around it that contextualizes it, and I think that's just interesting to note because of how simply you can add spice to a simple plot. Plus, Eli gets a really rad-looking scar!! Ghost nibbles!!! And the sequence that begets it is really cool as well, I think it conveys the frantic mood very well.

Both good comics!!

Buggy: Dark and brutal! The textures and the values that they make really plus up the look of this comic and add to the grittiness, which also blends well with the inking style you used here. The visuals work well and I like the scars you chose, they’re fitting for both characters! Limited palette was definitely a good way to go here too, I think the blue pop color works really well, it makes the gore a little less aggressive but I’d call that a good thing, it balances nicely. Also the magic page looks wicked and pls let Eli rest he needs a happy time or I’ll cry



Flytee: I like how you chose to set this during post-arma rebuilding! The overall structure of this comic is really strong, the hopeful start makes quite a contrast with the gruesome later scenes, which makes their impact stronger. I’m always a fan of your inkwork as well, it’s stylish and fun but gritty where it needs to be. The sound effects on pg 5 are really fitting and I also like the layout on pg 6! Also thank you for cameo



Overall great stuff guys! Some real nice gritty comics with some fun scars on both sides. I always love seeing more comics from both of you!

Buggy: The spook elias on the first page has EXELLENT posing. I really feel like your getting better with every comic in terms of finding your atmosphere and establishing the action and movements. I know I told you on discord that your expressions are getting better and better as well. Some of the faces in this are just BRIMMING with emotion. I would watch the way your colors interact with your lineart, especially noticble around blues eyes, the lines are getting eaten by the color of the eye.


Flytee: I loved this. I did not expect the face eating! Your paneling is really something I wish i could emulate. You can fit so many panels on one page without it feeling to crowded and the flow between panel to panel is solid throughout. I think you could have set up eli showing up better, but overall, te comic was really strong and I really loved seeing Blue lose her shit haha.

Buggy: You nailed with the spooky atmosphere! the sketchy shadows and darker/shady backgrounds were all perfect choices for this kind of comic.
The poses are so dynamic too! specially in the first panel, that clumsy feral run from Eli creeped the hell out of me and got me terrified from the start lmao.
I like how you jumped right into action but i would've liked to know the reason rae was wandering around the destroyed city without blue or anyone by her side.

Flytee: I love how you show details of the city rebuilding itself from the ruins, it's interesting to know what happens after a catastrophic event such as arma.  
Oh and i must say that was such a creative way to scar Eli! it was kinda...satisfying to see blue go absolute apeshit for a change hahah.
I was sad that Blue never got to enjoy rae's surprise. It was so sweet of her to adorn blue's grave :')
It was a pretty solid comic overall but i do have a nitpick: i didn't felt as unsettled as i thought i would feel when Eli began losing control and that's due to the lack of a proper "tense" atmosphere.
The comic colors remained light and clear, same as they were at the calm and peaceful beginning. This calm mood didn't fit with the disturbing scenes happening in these pages so it felt a bit anti-climatic to me (but really, just a little).

All in all you both managed to deliver some really impressive comics in just 2 weeks!
And it's such a coincidence both artists gave their own characters similar scars! they're just on opposite sides of the face but it's pretty much the same idea.
(thanks for the cameo btw flytee, that final scene was so sweet <3)

BUGGY - Godd that panel of Eli chasing Rae on all fours is CREEEPY, LOVED it! I was very shocked to see him chewing her innards as well, didn't expect it to get that brutal, good stuff! It's very bittersweet how Blue and Eli looked at each other before doing what needs to be done. Rae and Blue's chemistry is very very lovely-   Critique-wise, my only gripe is with Blue's speech bubbles, they kinda take me out of the comic a little bit (i struggle with speech bubbles too, i super get it)

FLYTEE - OH MANN, the tension when Rae and Blue are hiding from him had me on the edge of my seat, very very nice! Gotta say tho, I would have liked to see more oomph on Blue's distress when Eli tackled Rae, I know she froze in place, and making her look shocked without pupils is hard, but I think pushing it a bit more would have been even better. THE DEAD MUNCHING ON ELI. It was so BRUTAL, and so so very creative, I LOOOVED IT SO MUCH- Felt bad for Eli but GOD was it *good*. The hopeful ending their friends visiting them in the hospital was very sweet

GREAT JOB YOU TWO!!

Kozi- I had to reply to this right away because your take was really interesting, I do however stand by Rae's emotions in this scene..based on your crit it sounds like I could've executed them better lmao. I'm kinda terrible at explaining myself, so I'll just bullet point my reasoning for this, in case anyone else has a similar crit.

The vibe I was going for was "I'm happy to be alive" and gratitude towards Blue for saving her, this felt way more fitting to me for a few reasions-

~For Rae this attack was one of many random, near-death experience she's had in a very dangerous city. It wasn't an on-going threat to her life, it was nothing compared to being stalked and imprisoned by Hendrix, so why would she dwell on it? This is my attempt at developing and hardening her character based on her experiences in past comics.  
~ Her losing her sight in one eye is probably bothering her, but in the moment her cracking jokes about her situation felt a lot more in character then her expressing devastation. She isn't exactly open with her emotions.
~ As for the scar itself- If I started that final page with her waking up for the first time I'm sure she would've been shocked by her face, but I honestly didn't fancy drawing another scene of Rae freaking out. Building on her bond with Blue in a scene felt like the more interesting choice so I did the mini time jump. (other character's might be bothered by a cosmetic scar, but I didn't think that fit this one)

As for Eli, the attack by Blue directly went for the sorce of all his ghoul related guilt, in a pretty visceral way, ironically it felt a lot more traumatic to me.  

BUGGY- It utterly tickles me to see Radji's lecture influence making cameos in the recent battles. That CRUNCH and MUNCH before we see what Blue's caught sight of really adds to that grisly anticipation. I only wish the SFX and Blue's word bubbles felt like they were in universe. Comparatively they looked so clean. Speaking of dirt, your inks here have got to be my fav work from you yet. It really adds to that unsettling grit and city gloom atmosphere I think you were going for. Not to mention it made for some fun opportunities for some great silhouette and spot black work. Keeping Eli's obscured as an inhuman skulking shadow was a great choice.

Using Blue to allow us readers an inside peek of..Eli's mind's eye? Self perception? A flashback? Whatever it was had me itching to see more. I dunno if you made the further flashbacks on page 4 purposely muddled, but I was leaning into my screen, trying to suss things out. I wanna know more and I feel this comic set itself up as a perfect opportunity to DO that, but Eli defaulted to the same apologies he's been expressing since his first comic. His guilt is something we already know this and that's...all we got. I was left wanting.

FLYTEE-That first page is so rich. The crane littered city scape, the taxis, streetfronts, etc. I do wish some of this was given room to breathe and really get spotlighted though. It all feels so packed in.

The callbacks to arma and the collab were really great. This linmear (or as linear as you can make it) style of battling has made for a great read. I dig how you're typing everything together.

I think one thing that got me was that this scar match seemed to affect Blue way more than Rae. Poor Rae had a mindless zombie attack and eat her face while she was conscious and a few days later she's cracking jokes. Maybe I misread Rae's constitution, but that was painted as such a jarring experience to have Rae just smile at herself in the mirror over it.  By the last page we see Eli's more shaken by the experience between them while Rae chuckles off a horrendous disfigurement of cannibalism as festive. I've seen Rae in previous comics and battles shaken and affected by other things and that's compelling. It lets the reader know the weight of the challenges she experiences. This felt like it  was framed as little more than a 'oh shucks' inconvenience.

This was a great battle, really enjoyed both sides! Going into my Recs playlist, hehe. Also find it pretty cool that Rae technically saved the day in both comics.

Buggy - I’ve said this before, but I really love this looser, gritty style you went for! One of the biggest issues I’ve seen with your art in the past was rigid poses, but that’s almost negligible here. I think artistically I prefer your side. This style really suits the urgency and grimness of the situation. The texturing you did also reminds me of charcoal and so despite the lack of much background, it gave the impression of grime and shadows very well.

The writing side felt kind of weak to me though. There’s no context to why Rae was in a situation where she’d be separated from Blue and near Eli, and while that isn’t always necessary, I think it is for characters who are as closely entwined as Rae and Blue. The resolution was equally convenient. I’m also struggling to see what Eli’s character is beyond “sad ghoul boy who doesn’t want to eat people”. It feels like him and Rae are talking AT each other rather than with each other when she possesses him - he just keeps saying he’s sorry and doesn’t want to eat people. I’m just kind of like “okay, and?” Every battle he does this. It was odd to me as that he wasn’t shocked or scared that someone was effectively in his mind speaking to him.

Flytee - Really cool to see such a compact comic from you. You chose your panels well, I love the environmental storytelling with the cranes, the “rebuild” signs, etc, and the storytelling through dialogue too like that but about snoring Simon. And god, that scar! I absolutely love the scar!! Beautifully ironic, and it was interesting to see Blue lose her temper and be vindictive. I didn’t realise she had that side to her! Your writing and creativity earned the higher score from me

Art-wise, I actually quite liked how you didn’t focus on the gore so much. The last panel page on panel 4 was honestly more gut-wrenching to me than a gore shot would’ve been, I think, because we get to see the absolute terror in Rae’s face. However, imo there could have been a little more showing the bodies and blood and such. There was no indicator that Eli had been on a frenzy earlier asides from a little smear of blood on his face, and the subsequent throwing up. I would have expected more stains on Eli, or leftover bones, or disturbed ground, something. It was a bit jarring after the good environmental details earlier. Eli was also kind of stiff. I didn’t really get a sense of movement a lot of the time, such as the 7th panel on page 3 when he runs towards Rae and Blue. He looks a little puppet-like.

quick note- this battle had a small page limit so we could work it around our irl commitments.
I've also got to admit I found the shorter page count challenging- dealing with the pacing was rough at times.
___

Buggy thank you for the battle! It's been a pleasure ^ I'm looking forward to the mutual angst. <3

i'm legit worried about these characters lmao :'D

Pre-warning my comic has some gore in it XD

OH NO