Oculama

Props on the most haunted-looking bowling alley I've yet seen put to comic. The bowling montage was fun to read, even not knowing the song involved, and I think there was JUUUST the right amount of lighting to keep it clear what was going on without getting things to muddled. Similar to your opponent's comic, I think I might have struggled with parsing the situation if I didn't already know who blackjack and the mimic were already, but you do get around to clarifying who's who by the end, so I think it still works. The actual vehicle of Blackjack's defeat is a bit of a thinker - not so far as why the G-man revokes his powers, but moreso how the mimic's powers would have let them pull of that sly little gambit. I thought it was a very clever way to pull off the kill!

You've done some deft work mixing humor and spookiness here; the visual gags are all A+, but never at any point detract from how eery the gas station is. I laughed through page 2, but still felt a chill down my spine on page 3. I think the nature of the mimic might have been a bit unclear from this comic alone if I didn't know the character from their profile already, but I think the comic still works regardless. The ending here walks a fine line; it could have been anticlimactic, but Blackjack's unapologetic practicality brings the gag/ final strike home nicely. We love to see a practical protagonist!

I really love parts of this comic and am left a bit sad by other parts, I do like the body horror but in the end I do wish there was a good bit more character acting in this but the environments are hard to not praise and really sell the whole idea of just "Nope" in this comic. At first it took me a second to understand that your opponent was the gas station I think it could have been a bit more clear with a good bit of dialog to show and the ending was a bit abrupt also I really wish to see your coloring for this character because it is soo clean!

This was such a unique take on the comic and I did enjoy the bowling for the soul aspect. The 3D models are unique way to go with as a story telling medium but for as simple as the story was I am a bit confused by the ending where it seemed both characters died by the end but maybe thats a future problem to deal with with the character over all it kept it simple and was a good bit of fun to read through with a unique and silly twist but at the same time was a bit empty.

This is a real fun comic. I really enjoyed all the lil jokes in the background, blood pump, 100% off of flesh, no robots it worked really well to have you understand that the Mimic was going to be the entire gas station, so you did very well with showing us all that fun stuff before the reveal. I would watch out a bit with the written dialogue, it was very readable for the most part just a few lines in which it was looking like it was starting to mesh together. Still readable but if you have a wordied comic it might come to bite ya. And your use of black spotting was superb, I reallllllly love what you did on page 3, it made the reveal of the mimic and the reaction after that will pack a nice punch. Great job on this.

OH Wow I wasn't expecting a full 3d rendered comic out of you I am super impressed. I can tell that you've listened to what people were saying on the last comic you have improved a great deal. Something you can still improve upon is how you use lighting though, there were parts of this comic were the background was pitch black and having characters be put in shadow made it a little hard to diferentiate between where everyone was and threw off composition a few times. Giving a nice background that doesnt fully clash with our ability to see the characters would really help improve your comics. Apart from that I really love the obsurditity of this comic If you told me one of the matches was going to be a full bowling match timed up with a song I wouldn't believe you but here I am readign just that. You did a great job on this, can't wait to see your continued improvement

I really liked the concept of a grim reaper guy trying to do his job. I also really liked that he was like nope this is way to much for me.

Good use of visual story telling and showing us how creepy this place is. Also intresting take on Mihnea's character

I will say I do wish there was more interaction between the two characters. I get the joke which was funny. It's just ashame that we didn't get a bit more. Like maybe like 2 more pages after the lazer would of been nice to flesh it out more. maybe

Regardless I really loved the art you did it was very clean and pretty to look at. Good job with getting a nice fun comic done in a week. props!

This was a fun comic with a fun character.

I really liked the punclhline with the soul contact that was a good laugh from me haha! It was also a creative way to kill of your opptanent.

My only complaint was it kind of dark at times and it was a bit hard to see the characters at time.

I will say it was impressive to see you make fully 3d models and backgrounds in a week so good work on that one mate! You have a very fun writing style and I would love to see what you can do further!

I also liked the blowing

This comic gave me a good chuckle, just full on Noping out of the entire situation, a situation even a reaper doesn't want to deal with.
You're art work throughout all 5 pages were consistent, and I think you made effective use of your toning and use of black.
I think i may have wanted to see more about how your opponent got into that predicament, but the set up does help the overall joke.
I think it was a nice first round entry and it gave me a good chuckle at the last page.

I look forward to reading more comics from you! You got a fun sense of humor!

I really enjoyed this entry from you and thought it was such a fun idea. I also really enjoyed your 3d sculpt/Take on Blackjack's design. You made it look really slick! The color palate choice fit the overall tone very well too, it had a great feel.
I Would possibly suggest maybe a little more value in contrast in some areas? some details got lost in the black/darkness to the point where I had to go back and re-read to understand who was speaking in the end. I didn't realize there was a reaper outline at first on the final page. The ending text felt a little flat and placed on quick as an explanation to wrap up the comic.
I also have a hard time with endings myself, so I get that can be tricky. But I can also understand that as a factor from the time limit,
Overall I enjoyed the entry you did for this first round, not what I was expecting and look forward to more.

I can't even begin to imagine how hard it is to make a whole comic in 3d, I'm not that girl. So kudos just on that! The models were a bit simple (obvi), but effective! The lighting was cool for when the music started, it certainly added to the vibe. I think at first, I thought I was supposed to follow the comic as the lyrics happened, but the words in the comic and the words in the song didn't 100% match up, and it moved me along too fast anyways! So I just kind of let it play while I gave it a read at my own pace. V fitting song, especially for Blackjack!

You had some good set ups and payoffs in your comic, the bonds for the souls, and the bowling ball into poor Blackjack's head. I will say I don't really get the mimic's deal yet. I think it's supposed to be kind of alien and unknowable, but it doesn't seem to give us much to go off of. Between the end of page 5, and onto page 6, I'm not really sure what's happening. (I do love the hellish synthscape line though, just a cool turn of phrase) I'm guessing some kind of scuffle between the two of them and the mimic changing out Blackjack's bond? Or is it the bond itself? I think it could help in the future to try to add a little clarity to some scenes like that, but I also know it's short deadlines and you're working in 3d, so I can't really hold it against you! Great work!

It's a bummer you didn't have time to do your whole original idea, but what you did get done is good! These small deadlines are rough for everybody. The setup for your comic is v good, although your opponent is sort of conspicuously absent. The funny part about the mimic is that it could be anybody, and the first time I read your comic I almost thought that was happening, like the mimic copied Blackjack and got his phone somehow, and was trying to get Blackjack killed. But then I remembered I was reading your comic so Blackjack probably wasn't going to die lol

I did like the little jokes you got to fit into your pages. BJ's target being Han Solo'd, Blackjack just noping out of there. We could all use an orbital laser sometimes, amirite? Your artstyle is also very appealing to me, it's clean with loads of fun shapes. That panel of Blackjack's silhouette in the doorway looks great! Your comic was cool, I'd love to see more of your work in the future! (Maybe on a longer deadline?)

CleanWholesomeFun - Very nice and clean comic! I love the grayscale and simplicity of it. The spot blacks and tones were used sparingly but worked really well IMO. The story had a lot of potential and I was so invested on it. I wish there was just more that happened as opposed to fixing everything with a touch of a button. I also did not see Mimic anywhere in the comic explicitly but I think I understood that it could be one of those objects in the gas station [hmmemoji]? Overall you got such a nice art style that is always a delight to see and you were very successful in depicting this empty gas station setting that left me dreading for what happens next!

Mihnea- Whoa your 3d rendering skills is just impressive. IDK how you did this all in one week. The premise you set was very unexpected. The bowling alley setting felt so ominous with the darks that you used and whenever the word "SPARE" popped in the panel, it felt so...threatening? It really did not give me that relaxed and playful feel that I would often expect from a bowling alley due to your choice in lighting and I really loved that. This is a Death Match after all. I think the text font choices and placement could use some improvement though. I like the unique way you're delivering comics to the site. It is very revolutionary. Well done!

Your art style is just wonderfully pleasing to look at. This comic in particular is a pitch-perfect mix between elegant simplicity and rendered details. Your framing is so well chosen, no detail feels out of place and I always feel like I'm looking at what I'm supposed to.
Although I like the punchiness of the story, I'm left a little confused and I'm still not entirely sure of the Mimic's place in the story. However, I think you said you weren't able to finish your original idea, and I think you came up with a fairly clever redirection that works in its own way. I definitely wish we had gotten to see some of your original plan because you have some really nice tension building and some juicy worldbuilding tidbits here.

I love the unexpected and wild bowling premise, and the final twists and turns are incredibly creative. I think the reveal of the "killing blow" made me gasp out loud. This was a super entertaining round and I absolutely love the overall wackiness.
As someone who knows nothing about bowling though, I could have really used some sort of explanation of the rules or what is generally happening. Maybe some anime-style monologues explaining their strategy. I also think the panel of Mimic switching the death warrants could have been a bit clearer, maybe closer up since it's a key moment.
Although I really like your 3D models and set, I feel like you could work on your paneling and camera choices to make it feel more "comic-y," for lack of a better word. Just some space between the panels and maybe some speech bubbles would go a long way.
I also think you really need to light your scenes a bit more so the shadows are not as harsh, as it can sometimes be hard to see what is going on. A simple 3-point lighting system or even just an ambient light would improve the visibility a lot.
That being said, it's super impressive that you built and rigged a blackjack model for this and it looks amazing. The sheer amount of work that went into this is honestly mindboggling. I think splitting your time to be like 5% more... "post-production" would make these look way more polished, but as is it's a charming and engaging round.

A solid showing with a great detailed and creative setting! I will always enjoy the "everything is a mimic" usage whenever it comes into play lol. I will say a bit more of a conflict or interaction between the two characters would have been a nice add on but the story as a whole is straight forward open and closed so not truly needed to get the idea across. I think little bit more explanation of what either of the characters were doing there would have help a little as well.The nuking from orbit was especially creative and clearly the only way to deal with a mimic that size.

I must say a 3D comic is a rare and welcomed sight indeed! I love the character models and the setup is very creative for the match up lol. the lighting and song work well with the bowling match to the death while the story is easy to follow and love the creativity of the ball throws I was a bit confused at one point when the star spawn went to attack blackjack but was able to follow everything after that pretty well. the humor of the segment with death was great and I love that the wound was fatal but the death pact was keeping him going

Aaaa your spot blacks, your fearlessness with your inks makes me happy. I think it really helped build the anticipation and mood as we follow our inrepid reaper into that unnatural gas station. There were so many visual details that left me asking so many questions. Bone bin? Blood pump? what the heck is going on here? I'm intrigued and I wanna know more!
Also this has to be the most realistic reaction to some pretty unsettling stuff. A NOPE in a death tourney is something you don't see often, but considering the stakes, you think you would?? Sorry to see the deadline caught up with you, but for what you managed, the start really got my curiosity engine revving.

I didn't think bowling alley's could be spooky, but maan you not only delivered, but you gave it a soundtrack to boot. XD I am ever astounded with your forays into 3D for comics and this is no exception- also modeling these in under a week?? YOU MAD LAD. The mood and lightning I think really drives this home, but I wonder if it tipped over a little too much to visual detriment. As moody as the lightning served, I did have a tough time discerning the details and events panel to panel. Considering your opponent I wouldn't of minded some vaporwave neon here and there to punch up some of the moments between them as they bowled.

Short, sweet, to the fucking point, I wont lie, i kinda read this comic and was confused by the end seeing as how attached i am to the little chest that i completely forgot they were a Mimic that could really be anything LOL. Thats bad on me tho for forgetting.

Regardless of this i enjoyed the punchy comedy and the surreal vibe of the affair with a funny little punchline to top off the 'NOPE' vibe. The only thing i could have wanted was more :-] More body horror that is. yeah i think that would have made it better.

I FUCKING LOVE THIS COMIC I LOVE IT EVERYTHING ABOUT IT, EVERYTHING.

I absolutely adore how instead of the classic 'Board game with death, chess with death' set up there is that premise completely flipped on it's head in a balls to the walls hilarious comic! I love the unique death you give the classic 'Immortal' character as well, a high bar to reach and you fucking shattered it through and through!

I also really like how the dark rendering of the environment sort of elevates the mood, all the focus is spotlighted on them and their in-the-moment actions, in a bowling ball game to the DEATH!! The only real complaint i have is that with the modeling of your opponent's character, they are already very dark in color, and it can be hard to see against the very stark blacks of the background! Try lightening them up or adding a filter for contrast that can make your opponent stand out against the back drop! you have some of the most unique comic entries i have seen out of these and you will only get better! Big fan of the 3d models!!