Voting is closed.
Man, both of these were bangers.
You came out on bottom in my scoring, but don't think that's any kind of insult. Your backgrounds are moody and eerie in the best kind of way. Hell, your EVERYTHING is moody and eerie in the best kind of way. There are so many little details that don't stick out on first viewing that make the whole thing that much better. Floating temptation, and the museum of reflections', well, reflections on him are all fantastically inspired, as is the one, appropriately harrrowing, reflection we get of T-Shirt.
And T-Shirt disrupting Temptation's telekinesis, is just, chef's kiss.
That said, it is a mood piece, without much in the way of story, and that ends up being it's downfall next to Wolke's dramatic and well told round.
Impeccable artwork and visuals, again, though.
Man, this was a round where both of you put out really excellent stuff.
Usually that would mean a close call, but between two excellent rounds, you put out the vastly superior round. You both included the detail of the bus repeatedly breaking down because of T-Shirt's presence at the beginning, but you were the one to bring it to a payoff.
And the payoff is where this round really shines.
In the beginning it seems like a bit of a little fluff piece, leaving you wondering "how can they keep this up for 15 pages?".
But then shit hits the fan.
The revelation that the tour group was just a front for a human(divine?) trafficking ring, the excellent god designs, the foreshadowing by having the various staff members all have their own unique colors, and of course
"Junction Tours: Let us Take You Away"
As a terrified temptation is taken into the distance,
It all produces a fantastic final product, full of intrigue and drama.
Pengogo
The Museum of Reflection is such a huge brained monument, it's so visually creative and easy to read into, a perfect fit for a characters like Temptation and T-Shirt where so much lies under the surface. T-Shirt's ruination is on such strong display here too in the obvious and subtle ways, the whole scene uses their presence as often as possible. Also! The lighting is so good! You can almost feel the air. As a critique, Temptation's reflections are very fun but feel like they're leading up to a revelation of that character, so the twist into T-Shirt's, while extremely dramatic, leaves Temptation's own resolution slightly lacking. But that build up still works, just in an unexpected way. Very good!
Pengogo
This comic also uses T-Shirt's special interaction with the environment as much as possible, playing in the space as hard as it can. It puts so much work into making the museum a fleshed out, real place with its own stories and lives, and that pays off really well both immediately and by the ending. A critique is that while the big heavy plot is interesting enough, it feels like a big jump from all the little moments that the first half built up. Your comic was so good at selling a kid finding passion in a museum that the idea of a black market for divine beings felt almost distracting. The ending tied that together quite well though, all still working quite hard. It's wonderful!
SupremeKrispyKreme
You do a fantastic job of using monochrome to create a sense of contrast, as well as provide an atmosphere of unease and uncanniness, which I think perfectly fits with T-Shirt. I like the implication that T-Shirts very presence is starting to have a greater effect on the bus and the trip they're going on. Once again, the minimal use of dialogue also supports the tension in the comic. The backgrounds are fantastic, too. I really enjoy the visual gags on page 4 as Temperance passes works of art. The 4th and 5th page also have an excellent sense of macabre. My only real critique is that the climax/ending isn't as effective as it's built up to. Excellent work!
SupremeKrispyKreme
This comic sure was Eggsellent! I really enjoy the wholesome interactions between TShirt and Tempt in the first few pages, along with the seemingly-pointless background extras. I think the twist about halfway through the story was really fun, the reveal that all the museum staff actually had sleeping Gods inside of them, with really cool, colored designs to contrast the mostly black-and-white designs of the cast. Honestly the premise alone sounds like it could be it's whole own entire story, the idea of dormant Gods in the modern day. I think it was an interesting twist that Temptation was actually forced to travel on the bus, with the implication that T-Shirt was the one "winning" in this case. The only real critique I can think of is a minor nitpick that the "format" of the comic breaks in the last few pages: The last few pages are the same image just at different levels of zoom, that could have been easily made panels on the same page. Overall, excellent work, and I can't wait to see what happens to Temptation next!
furlitz
This is incredible atmospheric storytelling. The plot is simple in a way that really brings the mood and tone to the forefront, and those are dialed up so high that they give real gravity back to the minimalist story. The ending is such an effective culmination of that and I love how absurd it is at the same time. You give Temptation this ethereal vibe in the way you draw it hovering silently, but then T-Shirt immediately brings it down and it feels both like a punchline and like some massive existential conflict, it works so well.The art is a perfect match to the tone, I especially love the little details in how specifically the museum reflects the characters, they're nice insights into the two and they make the museum feel unknowably huge itself.
furlitz
Holy shit that was a wild turn, the scope that this comic brings in is so impressive. I like the angle that you take with T-Shirt in making them more overtly sympathetic, I love that they get to act like a kid and it's cute seeing them hanging out with Temptation, while it also supports the higher stakes that you've added into the story by making them come off as more vulnerable. I'm also really excited by the possibilities you set up in that ending, with all the sudden tension from Temptation being the only one now who knows what's going on but also the one who can't speak, it's great dramatic irony. Also lovely designs on the museum staff and their gods, they don't have a ton of screen time between them but in that time they all make such unique impressions. Also also I adore your bus driver design he feels so greasy it's great.
I swear, I think T-Shirt is a cryptid, it just hasn't been revealed yet. XD I am SO INTO this mysterious entrant into this Road Trip tournament. Their interactions, despite being observational, mundane or simply an exhale on their vape (is it a vape?? or something otherworldly?!) are unsettling in a manner that can't be articulated. They prompt more questions than answers, but in a manner that doesn't leave me thinking the comic lacks for clarity if that makes sense. I'm left wanting to read more, which I think is great incentive when it comes to votes in this tournament.
I especially love the mirroring we get with all of Temptations 'reflections' on full display in the museum of the same name until we get T-shirt lounging underneath what could very well be a huge peek into what they are. I think opening the comic with half of the name of the building before revealing it at the end is getting into levels of artistry that's showing you're getting real fancy with the spices in this tournament. Keep it up!
I think you definitely had a challenge on your hands balancing a creature of fate like Temptation and whatever enigma T-Shirt is, so I think portraying them as an actual kid was a clever move. It made them something of a sympathetic character we haven't been able to see in this tournament before.
Then we take such a radical turn that I was left a bit gobsmacked by the introduction of a whole pantheon of museum heroes. Granted you afforded yourself the impressive pagecount to give us the time to see their measure and set up a throwdown between museum staff and driver, but I feel that the aim of this tournament meandered a bit. Not to mention our main characters felt sidelined in lieu of a band of people I don't think will factor going forward.
But I see your efforts and am rather tickled by the similarities between these comics and how they mesh. The fact both y'alls museums is 'divine reflections'? C'mon, TOO GOOD.
Oh Camel, whenever I see you work I am always left in awe. Everything is so clean and well drawn first and foremost. I especially love how you drew Temptation in a way that it mimicked the artwork that was behind it. It added so much interest in the panel montage where Temptation was travelling inside the museum. And then you took us to that ominous painting above T-Shirt. The amount of detail you put in it really highlights the piece in that large panel suggesting that you want the readers to focus on it. It was the perfect visualization of T-Shirt's powers/curse.
Everything is cleverly planned in this comic from the panelling and composition. And then at the end it was revealed what the Museum's name is. 'Reflection' . [insert mind blown gif here as it all comes together] Bravo!
Wolke, Wow! I am amazed by the story and comic you were able to put together - all 15 pages of it! The lore building (if I may call it as such) that you did in this story is very intriguing, I'd love to see you expand on it more. Gods being traded as goods is such a cool concept that has a lot of storytelling potential. I also appreciate that the reader virtually did not need any prior introduction to the characters to get a grasp of who they are. The little ability notes you added next to their character are very succinct and non-intrusive. The brief friendship between T-Shirt and Temptation was very heartwarming and I felt bad for Temptation being hauled away in that bus. ;_;
Another gorgeous looking comic. I love the liminal space to your environments here and your greyscales are fantastic. I think on the whole, I'm adoring your art and everything what you're doing with it. I do think however, that the story aspect here was a little underbaked compared to the previous comic as the mood was exceedingly on point, but it didn't have a follow-through like your opponents previously had. Still, with mood and environment still on point, I really did enjoy that. Whether or not you progress on, I really wanna see more of T-Shirt. This was a great comic, great work.
I really like the story push this round! It was nice to see Temptation get involved in a larger plot for this tournament - which is something to give us a strong finale story and which I appreciate. You did a great job there and your art was better this round than the previous one. Your paneling was improved as well. On the whole, this entire round was such a strong improvement for you that I'm excited to see how much more you will continue growing and improving through the rest of this year. You did a super good job. Keep up the great work!
honestly blown away by your ability to create a really authentic atmosphere with your locations/backgrounds every time you make comics and this one was no exception! you've also done a really good job with having t-shirts very chill vibes on full display and really working in the bringer of doom/bad luck angle of the character show itself in really thoughtful ways, my one criticism for this one is probably we didnt get to see as many instances of t-shirt reflected in the other mirrors but saving that very cool reveal canvas was stellar. I will say im a bit confused by the ending as I don't know if temptation was supposed to be getting surprised or something else at the end with the handle breaking unless it was meant to show off t-shirts bad luck happening one more time.
a very fine entry for the middle of the road trip leading into a 3rd part finale went from 0-100 rq and also did a great job of nodding to all the other OC's poofing off the bus while making great use of t-shirts backstory to help push along the narrative! the museum of the divine being a nice place that naturally vibes with T-shirt is a really good choice for the comic sitting and then slapping in the big reveal that it was the bus driver all along as the big villain is actually a great plot twist for being comic relief basically for all of these comics.
Wolkemesser
Camel this is so friggin' cool!
Your environments are absolutely pristine. I said it last round but I love how you play in the light and shadows, and you're cultivating just the spookiest settings in this tournament. The emptiness of the museum (as it was with the convenience store last time) really lets the reader luxuriate in the setting as almost a third feature OC.
Floating Temptation was such an inspired choice; very A24 horror-esque, and it fits the completely empty museum so well. The soft menace of it all, even when the characters are being anywhere from neutral to kind/ polite with each other is genuinely impressive.
(Sort of related, I appreciate how the tour bus group generally sticks together at the start, as it gives the museum even more unspoken menace, and makes T-shirt/ Temptation peeling off all the more tense, especially since they read as the scariest (affectionate) of the remaining OCs. Hiding the name of the museum on page one with the Bus is a really subtle but cool touch - I missed it on the first read, but it got an audible reaction from me when I did notice it the second time round.
A lot of great individual layouts here as well - T-shirt lounging under the devastation painting is the climactic one, of course, but I also love the energy of all the tour members disembarking from the bus - tense and uneasy, but lends something heartwarming to them all bunching together as they move through the museum.
The "Museum of Reflections" conceit gives this so much re-read value. I appreciate so much the faberge eggs, the businessman painting, and the madonna-esque figures as reflections of what Temptation is, and it's really flattering (from a creator perspective) character analysis without ever saying a word about it.
It was awesome to get another match against you; T-Shirt was great to write, and your story for the round is one of my favorite comics Temptation has ever been put in.
Comment posted: July 16th, 2024 at 10:10 AM
Piñata
Mm, smoked egg. Best of luck y'all!
Comment posted: July 9th, 2024 at 11:00 AM
Oculama
Round Two's Theme
MUSEUM OF X: Telephones, condiments, gas stations, trains. The great history of everything has been catalogued in our society, and now you get to learn it.
Comment posted: July 8th, 2024 at 12:35 AM