Oculama

I like the sketchy scribbly brush you used. You should try pushing that even more, I think you would benefit from doing more tooth and grit to your line work. It's a little more clean on the last page and that feels weaker overall. Naturally, you did make mention of this being a very tight deadline on your end, so keeping that in mind, you did a solid job there. Sometimes we get off-weeks and they happen during drawing times. Better luck next time and good job with what you ended up doing.

Despite you saying that you lacked a contingency for fighting each other in the first round, you did quite well! I like the limited color choices, it's very appropriate and feels in line with your video game inspiration points for this comic. I wasn't expecting Eckert to be kind of psychotic and fourth wall breaking in a way that feels like a tutorial talking to the player of the "game". It's a fun choice and well done on your part. I recognize this wasn't the first round you had wanted to engage in, but I'm excited to see what you do with the next round. Great work!

Very cool setup for this one - the escape room is a natural cousin to the death game, and you came up with an intriguing one for your round one comic. A logic puzzle is a neat approach too, with a bit of a philosophical bent that makes this a layer deeper than your typical escape room challenge.

It was quite ambitious to pull in OCs from across multiple matchups for this round, and while they don't all shine equally, I'd say they shine appropriately for the story you're telling, showing enough personality and involvement in the story to make the setup feel like a convincing escape room situation, and make the room feel appropriately full.

I like the illustration work on the room - the setting reads very cleanly, and I enjoyed the bomb as a visual prop - though you did a nice enough job making solving the problem seem critical enough that the actual material threat behind it was more a reinforcement of the danger than the sole load-bearing story element propping it up.

The varied colors for each character was a nice compromise for differentiating a variety of human character designs - definitely helps parse the dialogue and action from page to page. The dark auras on the characters was another nice distinguishing mark - a cool visual intrigue for the reader to enjoy while the OCs puzzle out the room.

I also like how unexpected Gloom's death feels, even though it's a predetermined outcome. You sold his confidence enough that I did think he might have had a chance of making it through the escape room itself unscathed, only to fall to a threat outside.

The redshifted panel was my favorite part of the comic, overall - the color palette of the preceding pages is not overly muted, but is subdued enough that the sudden flash of red is as jarring as you'd want it to be at the moment of death.

Great to see another OC from you hit the tournament scene. Thanks for sharing :)

This is a very visually appealing comic across several elements.

The repeated use of the head-on hallway shot with the two doors is really effective, especially considering the sparing use over a six pages. It punctuates the loneliness of the apartment setting, and Gloom's mannerisms around Eckert's chumminess add a layer of social awkwardness to the tension you're already building up through the artwork and the very fact that this is a death games tournament, and a fatal outcome is a given, as the reader well knows.

The comic overall does a GREAT job of cultivating a very chilling apt. horror atmosphere - I'm reminded of series like Hell Girl or Hotel Complex C. You make great use of the shadows and vignettes throughout to make the world of the comic feel almost oppressively constricted to the two apartments and the hallway between them. There's a constant undercurrent of tension between Gloom and Eckert, and while Gloom feels like clearly the more unsettled of the two, it kept me genuinely guessing which of them was going to go after the other until the final (and, admittedly, first) stab.

And what a stab panel! It's some of the simplest lines in the comic, but the seriousness of the moment is not in anyway undercut by that. It puts me in mind of a Gigi D'agostino or Toeten Hosen animated music video - serious stuff happening in a soft-edged style, but not any less serious for it, even if the cartoon-y aesthetic lends a dark humour to what's happening.

The lead-up is excellent too - solid job on the staircase sequence (seriously - understated, but the layout is wonderful), and the rush, while also simplistic, works really well).

VERY cool addition to this tournament, and some of the best mood-setting of the round. I'm deeply enjoying Gloom so far.

I like that you have gone for an ensemble cast of characters stuck in a bad scenario and gives a feeling of no one can be trusted if not just flat out shown. I do enjoy your character but I do have to admit there was a bit too much dialog for my smooth brain. I did enjoy how you depicted your opponent as being more brash over all it was a good comic and your should be proud!

I had a lot of fun and hope to see more of this character I cant help but show my bias towards a more creepy pasta styled horror kinda murder game, I really enjoy the over all tone and dread this comic puts out so far it was a lot of fun for me personally but over all I am a simple creature and enjoy a very straight forward comic that leaves room for mystery!

ANGELICAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! <3

*AHEM

Sorry, that was terribly unprofessional of me...

Anyway this was pretty good! The match being an escape room was a really good idea. At first, I wasn't a fan of the cameo inclusions, but you made great use of every character involved while also keeping the focus on the main Stars of this round! All while also making the round fit within the theme of your character. Good stuffs.

The Artwork was good, a few awkward poses here and there, but nothing that was distracting. The bird fun fact was a fun page to boot.

But there is a major issue I'd like to point out, and that's the fact that Angelica is more of a "this is a drag" type of contestant and not so much a "I'm too good for this" type. Like, her parrying an explosion is fine and dandy, but does she really care i- (/shot)

I had no idea what was going on.

Don't get me wrong, I could follow the story beats but like, I couldn't really work out some other details. Is Gloom supposed to be a cyborg now? Is he working for the guy he's talking to over the phone or is he being manipulated by him? How did a few hellos lead Gloom's friend to come to the conclusion that he did? Maybe these were questions that you intended for your readers to have, but it just took me out of the story. Especially with the apparent removal of the death games as a premise.

Your art work was really good! It sets the tone well and the efforts you put into the shading, lighting, and negative spaces are very much appreciated! The final scenes deserve a lot of praise as it got me feeling the same way I feel whenever I walk into a dark hallway. This is some really good stuff!

MIIIIND GAMES. It's unfortunate that you and Lucky were matched up so early, and so that you both had to rethink your storytelling approach. There's a lot of intrigue and setup regardless, and the cheeky fourth wall breaks were not too intrusive. I dig the 999 references, but you made it your own here, and the death game that was introduced is an interesting one! (also, I dig the cameos of the other characters!) I hope that you and Lucky can someday get to draw what you were planning on regardless.

Like I stated for Cro-lba's piece, it's a big shame that you were matched up too early, since I recall that you both had story ideas for your characters, on top of the short deadline. I like the use of solid colors in the panels, especially with the minimal use of red and white. The ending is slightly abrupt, but it's still a good start. I hope that when you have enough time, you can expand upon the story you wanted to do!

Nice start to to the Tourney Cro!
Nice take on the escape room concept. Interesting twist on how the mechanism for the lock worked.A nice way to introduce Eckert's concept. I also like how you introduced several of the characters participating in the tourney. The gag at the end was also funny, nice little touch of meta.

I liked the use of color to differentiate the characters and have them pop against the grey background of the comic.
Overall, very strong start!

Nice lookin' comic Lucky!
I liked the grayscale look of the overall comic, and your use of hatching to create texture in the comic was really nice. Also your silhouette layouts were really nice,and just a touch of color at the end for dramatic effect was really nicely done.

Admittedly, I was really sure what was going, the set up didn't feel real clear to me. Did they have a closer relationship then just being neighbors, and that's why Gloom needed to cut ties? I wasn't sure exactly why Gloom needed to kill Eckert. I also wasn't sure what Eckert was worried about being right about.
Nice looking comic with a nice use of hatching!
Thank you for sharing lucky!

I love me some mind games and this was no exception! I'm surprised at myself as I saw the twist coming from the start, maybe that's just because I had a similar twist in my own comic but it made me feel smart regardless lol. I know you were bummed out that you fought Lucky Nothin first round but honestly I'm confused as to why it would matter so much. You seemed to have recovered from this setback regardless, and now I can only guess how this unexpected matchup has changed the trajectory of your comic's story.

I had to read over it again only to realize that there just wasn't much to talk about. I can see where you were going with the idea of your character but sadly there just wasn't that much to hook me on your death game premise as it almost seemed like there wasn't much of a death game present. I think you almost had it though. Explaining the premise is the burden of round 1, and if you can find out a way to explain it quickly then you've already got a good head start. While I got the gist, I would've liked to have seen just a little bit more.

Cro – I love Escape Rooms, so I was thrilled to see you use one as the premise for this comic! What I didn’t expect was to walk away learning something about terns—that was such an unexpected but interesting detail. The character interactions felt natural, and you did a great job making their individual personalities stand out. Usually, the shock factor comes with the kill, but the way you pulled off that twist at the end was so clever!

Lucky – I’m not sure if it was intentional, but I loved how the mood of your comic perfectly matched Gloom’s name—dark, black and white, and deeply ominous. I did find myself wanting a bit more context on the relationship between Eckert and Gloom, but overall, I thought page 5 was particularly well done. The 'grant wishes' premise adds a strong motivation for contestants to commit acts they normally wouldn’t, which makes for an intriguing setup. I also thought using the internet as the game’s medium was a clever choice—it opens the door to multiple settings without being confined to a single room or structure. Really well thought out!

An impressively dense story told with a small page count. The inclusion of multiple other characters in the comic provided some nice extra opportunities for banter, but I did find some of the early exposition to be a little hammy and stilted. The framing of your comic around the (deadly) lesson of knowing vs guessing is what really elevates this comic for me and gives me a lot of hope for future rounds. There is a good formula here and Eckert is a unique character that can deliver a "this is the point of this comic" speech better than other character's in the tournament.

Compared to the opponent, this comic passes by lightning fast, though it's only two pages shorter. Overall I though the story was very enjoyable, albeit simple. I think there are better ways to illustrate the anonymous dialogue as coming from the phone like what we see on page 4. For example, some text on an earlier panel to hint at the idea, or a harder panel around the text might better communicate that the text is being projected on a screen rather than it perhaps being an evil spirit voice in Gloom's head. That slight trip up and ambiguity at the middle weakens the sudden attack on the next page.

Its a big undertaking to want to introduce all the participants in this tourney in your comic. And to handily color code them so we know who we're looking at if we're working with a minimal palate
I personally loved seeing a pretty straight laced character break the fourth wall in this. Too often we see pulling back the veil is more relegated to comic relief or toons, but I think taking a professor grade philosophical approach despite the dash of silliness is a fresh new angle. This went from death games to mind games really quickly (Did Mary Belle lick her finger on purpose, or by mistake smudging the number??). Interested to see where this goes.

Wow. I didn't expect such a dark push into some ominous theming and style! I gotta know the texturing bush you used page to page and enhanced as we progressed through the story. It really added to the atmosphere of what I think you were trying to achieve. I think painting your opponent as a concerned neighbor makes what happens to him at the end really twist the knife, figuratively and literally. I like that you don't straight up answer what it is Gloom is listening to or suffering with because it offers the readers so much to speculate over. Is it hallucination? An wrong turn into the dark web? Actually a death game? You've hooked me to want to know more. Great job!

I will admit some biases here in that i am usually never in any way a fan of meta-plots or characters breaking the fourth wall, but i felt as if this comic did a good job mitigating large amounts of that by leaving it until the very end of the comic. Otherwise, the comic actually did quite a good job of selling the vibe of an actual death-game! Usually the usage of other characters can almost take away from the dynamic of a Character and Their Opponent, but this instance it not only feels natural to the usual structure of a death tournament, but it also feels earned and clever with the execution of the death. Good work

The premise of this person's death game being an online / digital death game that participants join and take part in over the phone is a very interesting premise and a great framing for a quick-n-dirty comic! Though i feel as if due to the nature of many of the page compositions looking a bit empty and unshaded, it does lose a bit of the potential the comic had. The highlight color does add a good bit to pulling together the vibe and selling the impact of important moments, so good work!

This was a very fun comic with a very tight delivery on its concept. I saw the execution coming the moment "know" was mentioned and that's not a bad thing; I was very excited to see how the doubt would be sown. Starting with this many talking characters in one room is a bold choice but I think it worked well. It meant more people could mess with the outcome rather than just the two competing characters.

The colored figures with a white background was a good way to distinguish stuff in the time limit, but the smudge behind them was a little distracting for me. Panels and text flowed well, though careful with where you place the first bubble like on the bird facts panel on page 3. It's a bit low on the left so it can be easy for the eye to catch one of the other two first.

The 4th wall break was funny, though self-deprecating humor can be a bit hit-or-miss.

If you move on, I'm really excited to see how you juggle a big cast going forward and where this leads from its initial locked room premise.

I really like the gloomy (heh) tone of this comic and a lot of the heavy shadows. That combined with the sparse dialogue gives it a nicely ominous feeling. Even the more rushed pages, like page 5, have clever visual choices. As simple as it is, I really like the silhouettes and stairs look and the swapping between white space, black, and the splash of red breaks up the page nicely. I like the hallway background a lot.

While I'm really intrigued by the story, a few more panels to sell them talking/meeting and what Eckert was working on could make it a bit more clear. Then again, that sort of thing may be on me more than the story!

Enjoyable comic and I'm eager to see what you do next if you move on.