Oculama

You have really killed it this year with the stories you've been telling. This new adaptation of Mingo in his new demonic (vampire?) form has been super interesting, especially since it gives him such a breadth of intrigue to play around with and this first round really shows what you can play with here from a writing standpoint. The interactions are good and the story is suitably goofy but with a tinge of setting up something greater, which is what we always want with these tournaments.
Artistically, this isn't the strongest thing you've created, but these colors are so terrific. Especially the exterior black-light colors, which makes for a really surreal Hell. You do some really good looking character work here as well, you just need to reach that next level in your anatomy and understanding your characters.
This was a good little comic! Nice work!

Nice to see Tembel is protected by Digimon at the Gates of Heaven. Tembel's boundless optimism and can-do-attitude is just as fun as it was previously in the first Black Diamond. The Chief's design is super amusing. Furthermore, you really got your opponents and provided a solid afterlife and resolution for them. If this was their last comics, this would be a good ending for both of them and that's something that feels very unique to you with this story.
Really, nothing stands out here as a problem or as something that can't improve with a bit of time management. Ideally, future rounds will allow you to narrow your focus and not branch out with so many characters to manage. It's a bummer that some pages were unfinished, but that seems to be the case for everyone here in general, so don't beat yourself up about that. This was a great entry! Terrific work!

A great little story. Really feels like a continuation of the hi-jinx these two got up to during The Double Black Diamond and its made all the better thanks to your usage of your opponents. Poker in the afterlife is a very fun basis for a story. It makes for a good vehicle to display the sort of crafty, sneaky, type of stories these two get up to. They're both super fun together. You did a nice job with your opponents' characterization as well.
The art leaves a little bit to be desired, but this also feels like we're seeing some more improvements on display. The 3 weeks clearly agreed with you here, even with the pages that are unfinished. The next time you get in one of these comics, it'd be great if you could work on practicing your line-widths a bit. You are a little inconsistent in some spots, which is probably due to the brush you're playing with more than anything. See about adjusting the settings of it, if not outright trying other ones.
This was a good comic! A nice solid entry. Good work!

HANH? What's this? An incredibly entertaining comic? The answer may shock you! Even though you weren't able to finish every page fully, they still are packed with a great load of character and energy, I mean that final panel on page 9 fuckin' kills me, the panels before really supporting with Tembel's great intensity throwing everything in to contrast Gin and Sophi's casual accepting of the key. The dialogue between characters is TIGHT, each feeling fully realised and used to great effectiveness, the banter is just bloody beautiful is what I mean (The "shut your eyes" back and forth is real fun).

The worldbuilding on the white diamond throughout is captivating without bulldozing over the characters in service of it, which is a real good job! It has me curious to see this story continue to wherever it may go! Especially with your great grasp on character writing.

Mingo or uh... Karl's laissez-faire attitude throughout this comic is an absolute hoot, supported even better by the contrast of Sophi's intensity and Tembel's unbridled pure-heartedness, like two comedic foils from either side, a real pincher maneuver of funny har hars. Sometimes some dialogue feels a tad out of place, like someone is responding to a sentence that wasn't said or. For instance Sophi's "hey chill buddy" I imagine is in response to Karl's "the real reason you're here" however with Sophi's dialogue inbetween those two statements, it had me a bit lost one what she was talking about. Additionally breaking up your speech bubbles could help with some of the pacing, no less or more words, simply splitting dialogue such as Karl's "oh wait the coin trick... watched and be amazed" into two or three bubbles can make that clearer to read, and the intonation of that speech more salient. STILL!!! This dialogue does rock, and gives me back to back giggles and gaffs without feeling like it's supstituting the overarching plot of the stolen "M".

Integrating the other contestant outside of this trio was fun! And didn't detract from your opponent's involvement, being used to support it instead. With the mysteeerious benefactor or whatever they may be at the end speaking to Sera being a wonderful hook I'm glad to bite onto, curious to see where it leads! Your art and colours are bombastic and loud in a good way, expressions super nice, really supports the silly goofy atmosphere you're making here. Heck yeah!

We've got back to back bangers in character dialogue here, all unique in their own ways and I love your interpretations here. Karl being a passive observer/"role model" of sorts as they keep bumping into Tembel is great, and the lifless bodies unmentioned in the background is morbidly hilarious. The art is stellar as always, posing on point and expressions expression-full! A shame you couldn't get to every panel but even in the roughs you maintain great clarity and energy, some background shots can feel a bit empty, sprucing them up with a few more aesthetically aligned bips and bobs could help flesh them out, that or simply re-framing you panels to be a bit more close up. Either way the background details that do exist still give a great sense of space and hold a few key-sillies I'm quite fond of (I mean "hot penguin sluts"? Come on now this is comedy gold).

Tembel's struggle within the confines of "God's Will" was always a super fun and interesting read throughout their run while they were alive, now indeath the thread shifts while the core remains the same. Which is to say Tembel bumping up against this big headed baby-ass is sure to be interesting, and I'm super curious to see where they head! (Side not their dialogue being the smoke from their cigar is a fun and neat detail hai hee!)

What conniving little pair of hustlers! I really enjoyed your to-the-point reasons for the dead rising to the challenge of the white diamond and the rather mundane means to get a ticket out to the land of the living via a card game. I gotta say those various white diamond portal designs were super unique. Tembel was as pure and naive as I hoped he would be, and Mingo continues to headline as our resident fail guy and you really drove those roles to suit your poker game story. If I had one note, I would focus on your inkwork. Granted, the deadline makes for a hurried process, but I'd encourage you to make a more bite sized story to allow yourself the time to really hit those inks in a more purposeful and impactful way. Spotblacks and thick clear lines would really make things like your character figures and environments more distinct

Gosh I really enjoyed the banter if this. the little fits, arguments and ranting just felt natural, which isn't easy. To say nothing of going that extra mile to feature other participants in the White Diamond was super fun. I got a good laugh at Mingo trying to convince Sophi Music was just a drinking buddy. You have such a knack for marrying opposite ends together. A disagreement in a bar with the backdrop of hell, neon and a serpent mecha shouldn't work but you somehow have me hooked on how this is going to pan out.
Leaning into how good Tembel is really made swarmy character like Shophie shine with how ready she was to throwdown gundam style for a fight. I gotta say I'm left wanting more of your backgrounds. You implemented a taste of them and I was left incredibly curious as to this neon kitchy afterlife? hell this lot is residing in. Like neon cross headstones? Baller.

The laugh I made when I spotted the freakin Digimon angels. XD Honestly, the tongue in cheek jokery fits so well with the environment and vibe you've created for little Tembel. I LOVE the design of his Chief- I half wish they were just a flying head. The design of their holo screens, and furnishings giving a rather stylistic nod to the logo/design of the white diamond itself is a nice hold over from what you did for the black diamond. Tembel as expected is such a goodly if not naive ray of sunshine. I wondered if having to pick up an old and dead character and diving into a comic would be difficult but you made it seem like Tembel never left your head. Its VERY cool to see him here for a last hurrah. Utilizing your opponents to dispatch each other was a clever way to continue Tembels infamous legacy of getting people hurt just by being around. This was an ambitious story and I'm sorry you didn't get to all the pages you wanted to, but I'm thrilled this story is still fully realized at least to this reader.

Xeno - This was delightful. I had a smile on my face while reading it. The only critique I have is of the artwork. The quality is inconsistent throughout and the rougher pages were a bit hard to decipher. I understand that time limits really make it hard. I do think you made the great decision to focus on completing the narrative instead of making it pretty with an incoherent story. I enjoyed this comic overall. The characters are a lot of fun and I think you played well off the premise of the tournament.

Didi - I am one of those who appreciates a bit of a background (or a carefully and appropriately placed exposition if you will) whenever I read a comic. I appreciate it when the author assumes this is the first time the audience comes across their comic, so I am glad you did it here. I can tell that the time caught up with you as well but everything was still pretty readable at least. I sure am delighted to see Tembel return and seeing him cause mayhem even in the afterlife is quite delightful. I did not expect that ending though lol. I kinda felt bad for Sophi.

Pizza - Admittedly, I thought the comic started a bit slow for me but the more I read, the build-up really got me hooked on what was happening. Mingo , Sophi and Tembel are like three live grenades in a pod. I think you did a great job showing that in your comic lol. The art is a bit rough in certain parts but I appreciate the clarity of each panel. There was no question about what was happening. I love the scenes with the giant robo-serpent. Overall, a very fun comic!

Great work on this. I can def tell there is a step in the right direction going here, and I very much enjoy the shorter more concise comic that you put out here than some of your larger more ambitious comics. For one, you completed alot of this comic which is always a great sign but I also felt like your action and panel layouts where easier to follow on the eyes, and your readability of whats going on in scene has approved. I do think theres a bit more you can improve upon there, mainly with your bubbling. As of right now I feel like your text bubbles can be a bit spiratic and are still more in line with how you set up your action in the past. I would suggest looking further into leading your readers eyes, and formatting your bubbles on a smoother journey, to help your readers readability of the comic. Very good work on this, loved the inclusion of Wolkes litle penguin guy. Very fun comic!

First of all there is so much damn charm in this comic. I dont know if its cause we've fought so many times so closely together recently but I love this comic so much. Theres very few comics where I feel like an artist takes a character and hits them with a style they were just born to be drawn in and I feel like that is exactly what happens to sophie in this. Wow does she it into your style and I ADORE this comic for that reason. the art is great and the story is very well done but you made sophie look like your own OC and I cannot gush about it enough. Theres a bit of the comic which is unfinished but like it can easily be played off as a stylistic choice and you get away with that in this one so it doesnt hurt too much. Really great job on this pizzaman, Loved this comic!

Speaking of comics I love, I LOVEEEEE this comic. It feels like its been so long since we got a comic from you and then we got some Deidre and then this and its giving me LIFE again! There's a few parts in the comic in which I felt like the dialogue gets really crowded in certain panels, and theres some unfinished art but it's not too bad and youve got a large portion of this comic done and looking snazzy! This comic is so fun, really loved how you wrote everything here and I think it also highlights Tembels amazing personality and showcases 2 very important details. 1. Tembel is a problem in the greatest way. 2. You are a problem in the greatest way. Something about seeing the Hot penguin sluts in the background as a gag brought back memories of tembels old run and specifically that baby punch. Just showcases how much of a comedic god you are. Amazing work, really excited to see who comes out on top in this match. LOVE this!

A fun little romp!
The art is sketchy, and your perspective and anatomy is frequently so close to right that it falls all the more flat, but it does have a dynamism to it, and you got all the characters, especially your opponents, spot on.
Tembel falling for the incredibly faulty logic of "if he's not alive, he can't die" is both hilarious and in character, and the reveal that he's Mingo's guardian angel is quite fun.

This was really good!
Your art needs work, but your comedy here is ABSOLUTELY on point. Tembel being Sophi's boss was a fun twist, and their dynamic was delightful.
Hits include
"I thought our nemesis was OSHA"
Karl's chill, nonchalant attitude is very fun too. Quite in contrast to how he was when he was alive, but just as fascinating a character.
The reveal that Sera's also working with "the Horror Show" is a fun hook for a future round.

Well written and well drawn (well the finished parts at least)
I would dock you more points if the whole thing wasn't still legible.
It's nice seeing Tembel becoming more skilled and respected, even if he's still a bit silly.
Well. More than a bit.
I hope we get to hear more about God being dead. I'm not entirely sure what you meant by that, but I assume you're setting that up for later. Sophi's struggle and feelings were genuine and heartfelt, and the initial joke with Karl revealing his vampiric nature as soon as Tembel turns his back coming back as an even better joke was great.
The way Chief's dialogue came out of their cigarette was fun and surreal in a way that felt interesting and cool.