I think I like Cherry's forehead.  The high forehead is kind of a "male" trait, it's the only tip-off that Cherry's not a girl.  

srsly, I read both comics and didn't know he was a dude until I went back and read the character's profile the next day..

Dude! i love the forehead... it makes it distinctively you.

Thanks for the kind words, everyone.
I knew the flashback wasn't very smooth, but I wasn't sure on how to fix it. Now I do!
I'm glad the style is appreciated. This is the first time using this style for me too, like the good doctor. It feels good so Im happy it also looks good.
About Cherry's forehead though: I want him to have a high forehead on purpose. How can I draw that and make it look natural instead of a graphical error?

DrDavid: I totally loved it! The story was fresh and energetic without anything big happening.
I read what people said about your lines and stiffness of your character, and having given it some thought, I think the problem is that they don't go together. Wobbly lines clash with stiff poses. So either go full wobbly, or full stiff. Personally, I enjoy the stiffness, and it reminds me of old illustrations. So my advice is to go one way or the other, see which feels the best to you.

First off I have to say, I was listening to music when I started reading this and the first song that pop on was Cherry Lips by Garbage. I smiled.
Reavz I liked the story. I just have to say try to work on your continuity a bit. Page 9 tripped me up, I was to busy realizing that Cherry was having a flashback that I didn't notice the transition from inside the apartment to outside. You also had some pretty good boarders but on page 7 and 8 you dropped them.

Dr I like the style your going for. I'd just say that your characters are looking a little blocky, which is helping pronounce your stiffness. I'd also suggest using some prospectives that aren't so flat.

Good job to the both of you, can't wait to see where you take these characters.

np dude One thing that may help in addition to anatomy studies is familiarizing yourself with using a line of action

http://www.drawinghowtodraw.com/stepbystepdrawinglessons/2010/03/how-to-draw-cartoons-in-action-for-comics-and-animation-with-line-of-action/

the same thing is also very helpful for figure drawing/gesture drawing, not just cartooning.

@ RoflQu - I will definitely work on my arms, and my handwriting is something I should probably not do so quickly (though it's very tempting when you're on a deadline, haha).

As for the lines, I can't say I COMPLETELY agree because the lines are sort of conciously drawn that way. When I work in this specific style, I think it would have a different feel if every line were completely straight or if the line weight was less varying. It's definitely something for me to think about though! I haven't been drawing in this style very long (pretty much the birth of Jake was also the birth of this style!) and I still have some kinks to work through, so I'll definitely consider what you said.

@ angieness - yeah I sort of started to notice the shoulder thing near the end of the comic, as it was sort of hard to draw some poses using that 'straight line rule', and I definitely agree I should fix that. I'm gonna get back to anatomy drawing this week because doing this comic made me realise a few body parts I need more practice with!

Thanks for both the criticisms & positive comments everyone, I appreciate the input!

well for me I think the problem was I thought the flashback took place in the present since she was going to work so I'd thought it wasn't a flashback. But afterwards she's like why did I remember this? so it disrupted the flow slightly for me because I had to go back and read the previous pages to read it in context as something that occurred in the past. It's not bad, the flashback and the comic itself were still very good, but that's my reasoning for being bothered by it.

I see people commenting on the flashback scene but just to put in my two cents, I thought it was great.  It doesn't follow a linear flow of storytelling but I feel it follows a more realistic scenario.  That's the way the human mind actually works and as romantic as it is to associate relevance to flashbacks, I feel this comes out au natural.  I may just be blowing smoke out my ass but I like 'stream of conscious' narratives.

Reavz-I really thoroughly enjoyed this comic. I was unsure of what direction you were going to take the character and I'm glad you took a more serious route. The pacing was fairly spot on until the flashback scene since that felt like it came out of nowhere. Perhaps including something that would have triggered the memory or reminded her of it would have helped. I do agree about the hair being too far back a few times on her since it looked a little odd on that first page. But overall great first comic, I can't wait for the next.

Dr. David PhD-I thought the story was cute, it was pretty funny to see that both you and Reavz did sort of a similar story premise initially. I do agree with what others have said about the stiffness of your figures. I think one thing that will help is to stop treating the shoulders as a straight line, I think that's a big part of why they look so stiff since it looks like everyone has some 80s shoulderpads on. Pay attention to how shoulders work and are used expressively and don't be afraid to exaggerate. Since you have a looser and more cartoony style, exaggerating things will give your art even more life and loosen your figures up. Overall a very fun comic, I enjoyed it and it was a good first comic.

OH HELL YES.

You kids did a bang up job i just wanted to come here and say that.

My god, Reavz, that was sexy!

and Dr. David, you had a strong first showing as well!

You both made me a fan of both of you!

Reavz, you've turned me into a fan.  That was a pleasure to read.

Dr. David, your style is so fun and unique, but your characters kinda feel stiff in some scenes.  Try and bend them a little more in future comics, still really enjoyed it though!

I'm just parroting what's already been said haha.

I´m very impressed artwise and even more by the storytelling. great job!

Reavz: Wow, new kid is turning heads! This is a fantastic first comic and one of the best ones I've seen in a while! You have some very nice anatomy going on and I love how simple your people are, but all the emotion you have them express. You've got a very clean and simple style and it's really nice to read.

I loved the flashback, but I think it could have been segued better or in a way that wasn't so obtrusive to the narrative. However, I loved the ending, which has a whole lot of impact to it and says a lot about Cherry's character.

The Lady and the Tramp moment is wholly unrealistic, but it's really funny to me for that very reason and I think that was your intent. So, points. I also really liked grandma landlord, although I think she could have had a few more wrinkles, but it wasn't like she didn't look the part.

This was a serious treat to read and I can not wait for your next comic on the site, man. Welcome to the site!

Dr. David PhD: Wow! What a good first comic. Welcome to the site! Way to go on opening up with that daring perspective shot, it was a really great view. I'm a big fan of your style here. You've got a very nice simple rubberhose style that looks great. Your story was really amusing to me and I liked the way you made the interaction between Cherry and Jake.

I'm not a fan of your arms in a few cases. Specifically the cover page and any examples of that afterward. I think it seems a little odd with your style, especially since it's sort of an ugly bump to me. Just doing a completely straight noodle is fine, especially since you're going for a very simple style.

You need to work on your handwriting a bit. It's not UNREADABLE, but it could use a little work.

I also don't like your computer lines. It just looks like really sloppy digital inks and I've never been able to go for them because you have these odd dips in size or quality at spots and it just hurts your image as a whole. Somethings end up being a thicker line width than the things behind them, while maintaining the same denseness in real life. You need to practice maintaining a tighter control with your lines on the computer, because it's not gonna help you in the long run. (Or work traditional, whatever comes first.)

This was a super first comic and I had a lot of fun reading it, man. I can't wait to see you participate in this again soon.

Ok, so I read your comic Raevz without knowing anything about Cherry. I like youe cartoon style, its very unique and very cool looking. Your color choices are complimentary to your style and the story pacing was awesome. This was a very strong opening comic, then I found out that Cherry is a dude in your bio. TOTALLY didnt pick up on that in your comic so if thats what you where going for...than bravo, Regardless ,...I started hearing the theme song to the crying game in the background of my head. Very well done comic.

Dr. Dave, I will mimic alot of what has already been said. I liked your entry as well and I think your style is very unique and catchy but a little stiff in spots. Stiff is NOT what you want in any cartoon style from Disney to Warner Bros. to ren and stimpy...push being more fluid. Other than that its funny that the two of you went in similar directions story wise. Nice work all around!

Just to start, I was suprised we both went in the housing direction, haha! Great minds think alike >:3

It's so cool to be able to read someone else's take on my character, and your style was definitely flattering on Jake.  I liked the story as well, I felt so bad for Cherry at the end. ;_; Also, kudos on 12 color pages, I admire your work ethic & speed, that's seriously awesome!

@ Le Fred & Slaggle - Yeah, that's something I have to work on but I'll definitely try to improve on my poses in the future! Thanks for the crits!

I feel bad for Jake no matter which side it is.

Reavz, that was amazing. I thought that the art was consistent and well done. The pacing was perfect. I definitely want to see more from you.

Doc, Nice job as well. I think your style is pretty neat, but to echo what Fred said, the poses felt a little stiff at times.

All around, awesome first battles. Keep it up.

well hey, good job you guys! I enjoyed both of them them comics.
Dr., one thing I find odd is that you have this cartoony style that looks so loose, yet your characters are so stiff. And giving noodle arms only does so much for that. Anatomy work would do no harm either. Look at cherry on page 5, he has his legs coming out of his chest... On the positive side, I really loved your humour, you have some pretty clever bits here and that jake seems like an adorable little guy.
Reavz, you give Cherry such a big forehead, it looks like he's balding at times... the flash back sequence kind of comes out of nowhere and doesnt really fit in the narative in a natural way, mostly breaking the flow. Though it does show that he's russian, bonus points for russians. Loved the transition in page four, the effect is really well done, showing nicely Jake's tension and disorientation.

Good luck and welcome, you two!

Alright, I've got everything uploaded and I sent in battle thumbnails. I'm excited to see what Reavz thinks of my comic/see what he's done!

There's a quality downgrade in the last 3 pages (mostly just there's no shading), because I got a little too ambitious, haha. Hopefully it doesn't affect my scores too adversely!

This is the only comic that was due during the downtime! Please get your comics in ASAP! I hope to put this up in the next day or so but don't want either party to receive a default due to site technical issues.

Oh god lol

Gonna have to kick it into overdrive on this one if I wanna make this deadline, haha

EDIT: Been having trouble with my internet today. I'm putting up the frst 2/3s or so in case my internet craps out, which is enough for me not to have to default at least! I'm still working on the remainder but I will probably be posting those very late (as in like 30 mins before the deadline) if my internet doesn't crap out!

Sweet XD GL

very excited for this one!

This should be cool!

Good luck you two.

Right on, way to jump right into work you guys, can't wait to see this!

Oh yeah.

Sweeeet, can't wait to see this you two

Hey alright! Let's see an awesome fight you two!

New kids on the block. :0

Hopefully we'll have a bunch of hits.