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Prometheus
Judge for Infinity Chasm
This comic has some really lovely art about it and a wide use of varying line weights that i really appreciate! Your page compositions are varied and fun, the story flows well from page to page with these fun little subversions along the way. You have a good way of punctuating the humor in these pages and it makes the comic feel all the more powerful for it!
This comic mostly avoids one of the easiest pitfalls I find in comics with its simplistic style and thick lines, combined with the usage of various tones in the background-- See, many of these comic panels would have felt rather empty without these tones, or could have even run the risk of looking visually dis interesting should you have overused the same toning tricks, but you narrowly avoided this and had a lovely style that fit the different tone patterns you used! Those tones only enhanced the comic that I saw, and that's really what won you the round, the polish on the art and an overall satisfying read!
It certainly wasn't the humor, cause I cannot lie, i do not like tax evasion jokes LOL. It just makes it feel the encounter wasn't entirely befitting the OCT.
Prometheus
Judge for Infinity Chasm
Firstly, i appreciate that the comic's continuation from the first round is nice and snappy, characters do not take up too much time regaling us with catch-ups or recaps of the story so far. I also appreciate that the Tag-Along Character, while still present within the story, does NOT get so much screen-time as to distract from the interactions had between you and your opponents character!
That being said while i do appreciate many of the gags in the comic, i wish the relationship between the characters was more direct! Having Saal cause much of the mayhem was a solid start, triggering the traps that Sandmouse would then deal with, but what ultimately lead to my decision was that the relationship felt a bit tenuous, they interact more with other characters in the comic than they really do to each other, which was unfortunate because if there was a more direct line of connection with Sandmouse having to actively react to Saal going through some kind of obstacle course within the underground i feel as if the comic would be all the stronger for it!
The compositions of many panels also feel really empty, like the camera doesn't zoom in on many moments like on pages 2,3, & 7. This causes these pages to look quite empty, combined with the lack of detail can make the pages stand out more as unfinished compared to other pages within the comic! I do appreciate the use of the gradient map style coloring though, the color usage had some good choices and it felt right for a cozy underground story with not many stakes.
Page 4 also had one little note that made the pacing of the story just a bit awkward, the art that depicts the sequence of the button press while Sandmouse is being chased by the big cat, the button that is pressed is extremely small within the composition! I almost entirely would have missed it on my first read through and I think that details like that should be brought to the forefront of at least a panel or two. Its an element of the story, so show it off! Smack that shit in front of the reader--
bluegill
Footini, I love the continuity of the start and end of your comic, everyone just falling deeper into the chasm, along with how you incorporated Sandmouse's setup from R1 with marking out danger in the chasm. Sandmouse placing a little flag on Saal's hat at the end was super cute, really great job on the casual interactions between all the characters!
Also just wanted to say that Saal was so fun to draw, I really enjoyed making a comic with them
Comment posted: March 6th, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Wolkemesser
@BLUEGILL - This one gets my vote for funniest conceit of the tournament so far, easily. The connection to the chasm might be tenuous, but the concept and execution are so amusing that I desperately want LRS as part of the Junction world.
The layered concepts here are great - you set us in the chasm, but hard-left to a comedy mundane antagonist, which in turn morphs into a comedy heist, revealed to be a plan within a plan that gets...roundly rejected. It's a terrific story to deliver in six pages, and you make every panel count, and a hoot to boot!
As good as the idea and storytelling are, your art is not slouching in the least either. The masking for the portions where Saal is explaining her plan (within and without the plan ;)) is adorable, and I love your take on Saal and her Parry's in your style.
Your textures are a standout too - the opening narration page is great, with the sky and rock textures really grounding us in the chasm, and I adore the pattern you picked out for the underside of Saal's hat and cloak - subtle, but feels appropriately organic AND hypnotic for a mage of the mind.
AWESOME comic all around, and definitely one of the most creative I've seen in the IC tournament to date.
Comment posted: March 6th, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Wolkemesser
@ Footini - Pure fun with this one! Props first and foremost for getting a nice slapstick tale going sans dialogue - it's a good showcase of your skill with communication through action and POV. I also like the different takes on the chasm setting throughout here - you've got the tunnel falling again (classic), and the more placid section of the chasm caves that feel almost magical.
(REALLY like the mushrooms in the color section - of the Takashi Murakami variety~?)
The slowly growing party is a big selling point for your comics to date, imho. Two casters and a mouse feels like a compelling group to follow. I'm a fan of the borderline accidental context for them joining up - no need for explicit interaction when the cave is throwing the same hazards at everyone~
(WHO is putting buttons in our beautiful caverns??? TT - TT)
Finally, love the small gags within the comic - the flag bit on page 7 is such a great classic bit of acme-esque humor I couldn't help but laugh aloud at it. Really good job with this round - I enjoyed it!
Comment posted: March 6th, 2025 at 9:02 PM