Oculama

Okay so maybe I dont read bios enough but it didnt strike me until reading both comics to finally understand that Myrtle was mute and I was sadly confused by the dialog but I have to say even being confussled the interactions and art was absolutely amazing to seen and the sense of humor of Myrtle handing him a school binder of spells was really cute. Overall this was a great comic but sadly my lack of knowledge really held myself back from fully enjoying the interactions on the first read but I had an amazing time and maybe the confusion just made the magic feel more magical.

This was a good comic and I realy love Myrtle and her turtle and by reading this comic I fully understood the characters but I was still pretty confused by all the actions all the characters went through for something maybe understanding isnt the goal for magic maybe thats the point but I also didnt really understand anyones actions or reactions I am assuming the guard is another Myrtle because Im not sure why they look so similar to each other or why else they would know each other again maybe its not important but it just left me a little confused it looks really good and I am glad the gift from Dougal is still around!

The colors are definitely my favorite part of this comic; they were bright and vibrant but also left the scenes easy to parse, which I appreciate! I would say my major critique is that it was a bit hard for me to understand that myrtle was trapped at first. Some of the magic was a bit too abstract for me to exactly understand. However I found the overall story flow to be understandable and the character interactions to be charming! Myrtle is very cute and Saal was also extremely appealing, even respectful of her privacy which was a neat twist.

Footini I could not stop laughing and smiling at all sorts of things in this comic, such as Saal just being carried in a little backpack hahahaha. You have this really oldschool cartoony vibe that just sells so much of the interactions 4 me.

My one critique is that it was a bit hard for me to understand what exactly was happening between the two sort of storylines presented, one that seemed to be in the past and the other in the present? It was hard to understand how much time had passed, though maybe I'm just missing context on the characters.

I did however have a really fun time! I felt most of the action and driving motivation of characters was fairly easy to understand, and I thought the page with the stars and moon was very impressive :)

Inky - Gosh I can't get enough of your style and colors. They look straight out of a children's book and the font you use meshes so well with your art. A match made in heaven. Saal looks so pretty in your style too! The story did leave me with more questions than answers though. I do wonder the same thing as Saal and the circumstances surrounding their encounter. But in the end, it only made me want to see more of these two.

The three-ring binder brings me back. I remember when it was all the rage and every kid had it. So yes, it was really THAT powerful lol! Great job!!

Footini - Dude, you just keep leveling up. The black and white inks look slick as heck and very polished. The umbrellamp (tm) was such a neat idea too! I love seeing these two go on an adventure. I do wish I had more context on why Saal was aiming for all that magic. I guess it's something that will be revealed to us later on and I cannot wait to see where it leads them. Gorgeous visuals from pages 12-14!! I do love this development of Saal being able to understand Myrtle. I think it opens a lot of possibilities for these two in the future. Well done!

Reading this was such a treat, I'm SO GLAD I get to review this. The colors, textures and overall whimsy is such a treat to pore over. Its refreshing t see such rich color. You're clearly not afraid of your brights or even pushing the limits of your palette theming. Everything has these rounded toony edges to it that I really appreciated. Little details that gave both wizards their own personal touch was also something that was fun to discover like that crescent moon teacup- VERY nice.
Also what a delightful little sur[rise that Myrtle doesnt speak. It really allowed the reader to get to know your wizard through Saal and what they observed and/or interacted with. A roundabout way to be sure, but I personally loved the mystery of it. Not to mention you arent spoonfeeding us the answers. You let the questions stand and allow the reader (at least for now!) infer their own answers.

If I had one complaint, it'd be something I think both you and the opponent share. Your ending. Maybe its just me, but I was left with Saal posing a question that feels like it needed a next page. Overall it didnt sit as an 'end', but perhaps that was the intent? Still tho, Great comic, I want more!

I think one thing these two comics share is really darling gimmicks and doodads that give the characters some amusing moments. Like Myrtle's musical note flute (what are those really called?) or Lamp umbrella, LAMP umbrella. Gosh I need to see this in every Junction boutique and store please.
Love your effect with the starscape. It wasn't hyper realistic and fit your inking style in a nice graphic way. What was your process for achieving that neat iridescence?
Your inks are good and I know deadlines are a constant mouthbreather huffing down our necks, but I'd honestly encourage a smaller pagecount if it meant getting some of your stronger pages here. Your quality does waver, but that's the nature of an impressive page count and press of time, yeah?
If I had one complaint, it'd be something I think both you and the opponent share. Your ending.I had to re-read because I'm not sure what went down from realization of myrtles name to explosion (since I don't see Saal in the fireplace scene at the beginning.) it may just be missing an obvious tell, so I'd love to know what it is. Still all in all be proud of such an undertaking- you two totally brought some rad comics!

GREAT job on capturing the magic and whimsy of a world two characters like this feel right at home in. From the first page the colors and layouts tell of a setting that is intricate and unpredictable in a super-fun way. And you put in enough spoken and shown detail to make Saal's life feel like a very full and involved one beyond what is seen on page. My only real hiccup on reading through this was that the action on the first two pages, while very well-rendered, is a bit tough to follow, and it took me two read-throughs to fully understand what was happening therein. My favorite part of this comic overall is how well you work the dynamic between these very different spellcasters, while still convincingly showing they would enjoy each other's company. That little smile of Myrtle's at the end says it all, really~

You've done very commendable work making the relationship between Saal and Myrtle very endearing up front, and keeping it enjoyable throughout as they share the excitements of this adventure. I think it says a lot that, by comics end, I find myself very concerned over whatever has driven a bit of tension/animosity into the relationship. Your environments too are very good, conveying a very magical sort of extra-dimensionality in black and white. While the overall story is highly and perfectly enjoyable, I do find myself confused on a few points throughout the story, even after a second read-through. I'm not sure I fully understand the ramifications of what Saal does with her spell, nor what Myrtle is demanding of her at the end. On the plus side, these unknown bits leave me more curious what more there could be to the story rather than outright frustrated, so a good job if leaving the reader wanting more was the objective.

PS - The turtle toaster...(lol)

Absolutely beautiful looking. It's been so long since I've seen a full comic from you and this one did not disappoint. You have these very gorgeous chunky lines that I think makes your work look so disarmingly sweet. I really love the colors you're using. They're very bright and poppy, which gives it a really strong appearance. Your layout work could use a little more development.

In the future, since you're playing Myrtle as mostly silent - why not just push to do a completely silent comic? I bet it would be an excellent challenge for you. There's a little bit of a difficulty there but I think it would be rewarding. On the whole, this was an awesome little comic and you did a great job. Really great work!

Really intriguing bit here. I don't fully understand the story, but I can't deny that I was enjoying it very much. The greyscale turned out very nice for the most part - I think your gradients are definitely the weaker path utilized here, but the other brushwork is very nice. You used them very well. The other aspect to be careful about is the artifacts on your lineart you have on some of your pages. Mostly it pops up at page 9. I have no idea if Procreate prevents you from coloring underneath like that but I would say try to be careful about that and adjust your borders when doing that under the lineart to prevent that from happening. Your characters were looking quite good, although there is a few sizing issues here and there. The backgrounds were a little weaker as it went on, try to be a little careful with that in the future. On the whole, this was a good comic! I'm excited to see you do more. Good work!

Your expertise with colors and linework/variation are AMAZING! I loved that I could spend so much time on each page discovering new things about it with how much love and detail you put into the characters,background and tones an absolute treasure. Furthermore I love how much of a whacky first meeting this was between the two characters, I know a bit about Saal already from other works but would have been cool to have a blurb explaining why they are both there as I assume its because myrtle's portal/teleportation magic is uncontrollable or Saal's castle disrupted their intended route.( which I also loved how you represented the different plane/junction hops by having Myrtle bounce off the sides of the page). The dialogue between the two is cute and I love the hint of a deeper backstory for myrtle and cant wait to find out more about them after that rainbow fragment spirits/past lives/timeline?

I love the the opening of your comic! going from present to the past is a great way to tell a story and I love that it establishes a past between the two characters and while being comical definitely can see how the two could have maybe grown apart from how subtle nefarious Saal's actions and dialogue were throughout. The greatest thing IMO is your ability to display a large range of emotions and expressions( the last panel of page 2 is a FANTASTIC example!) for both characters especially since one of the characters doesn't speak in the traditional sense. The 3 part structure of your comic was great as well and loved the action and comedy mixed into the middle. I was little bit confused at the ending as I felt there was moment missing as to why myrtle wanted Saal to fix the star but I loved everything throughout the entire comic these two comics went SUPER HAM

TYPING THIS IN THE LAST 25 MINUTES BECAUSE I FORGOT REALLY BADLY AAAAAA

This is a relly polished and visually pleasing comic! Your lineart, colors and the way you draw characters and backgrounds is very, very appealing and 'animated'. However, I did feel as though the story was missing "something"?

Off the top of my head, the 'conflict' here isn't really resolved, and the comic just kind of 'ends' in the middle of a conversation.

But I did enjoy the interaction between Saal and Myrtle. It was very sweet, and Myrtle is very cute, and the implied lore is very interesting. Would love to see more.

TYPING THIS IN THE LAST 19 MINUTES BECAUSE I FORGOT REALLY BADLY AAAAAA

This comic had a very interesting plot going on, lots of entertaining visual gags, and very dynamic interactions between Saal and Myrtle.

However, it has kind of a similar issue to Inky's comic. The ending isn't really 'satisfying'; I was more or less confused as to what happened, I didn't even notice the switch between 'past' and 'present' at first. (This can be made clearer by making the past and present visually different, like a different hue or palette).
Was this whole silly adventure a dream Saal had while unconscious? What DID Myrtle mean by "fix them"? I honestly don't know.

But aaah, maybe it's just me. Regardless of that, this was very entertaining :) I can't wait to see more comics involving Saal's crazy adventures.