Oculama

I laughed a lot during this comic - my first takeaway is that it's a great comedic piece, and a really interesting way to approach the wish-giving nature of the comet.

This moves at a really fun pace - you shift through a lot of scenes at a quick clip, but nothing feels like it moves by to fast or over-stays its welcome.

Rod and Toni have been a big sleeper hit for me in this tournament; they have a very fun individual personalities, and they mesh tremendously as a comedic duo. The way you write them captures all the strengths of the three stooges crossed with a traditional laurel and hardy-esque routine.

Rod's libido driving the structure of most of the comic is pleasantly amusing for such a well-tread gag (Mystical elf?????). The "reveal" that he hasn't been magically manipulated or enthralled by Raven was quite funny.

I LOVE the design for Steve Halley. The pillar suit outfight looks really slick, and the overall design of the character has an impeccable mascot cuteness to it. Even before seeing the full design, I started cracking up with delight on page 8 when the pillar starts breaking apart to reveal Steve as the host. The little faces on the commentary boxes are super-charming as well, and I got a big laugh at of how little he actually cared who won the contest, almost as if holding the games was the whole point unto itself. Incredibly entertaining side-character, all in all.

Top-notch physical comedy in this comic. The obstacle course was a delight, of course (I liked the contrast between Toni/Tio's serious game faces while climbing the wall juxtaposed immediately against the goofy lovestruck Rod face in the adjacent panel). Rod getting hammered across the line got another big laugh from me, as did seeing him plastered against the wall. Also a big fan of the gag of Rod and Toni excusing themselves from the fight-cloud to go talk to Steve.

Great choice to have the final page nail home the framing of the story as a game show episode. The sort of half-assed nature of the winner-determining process feels really fitting to the Big Wizard (impressive job getting the almost the whole tournament's worth of characters on the final page, btw).

Really funny comic, and a really well-crafted story. Can't wait to see what's next for these two!

There's a ton of cool elements in this comic, and you've done a good job setting out a story with a bunch of twists and turns across an alternately beautiful and and streamlined (not mutually exclusive here, of course) canvas.

I found your storytelling with the virtual meeting to be especially daring. It's a really cool visual setting at it's core, and I really appreciate the cleverness of the simplified avatars for everyone therein, both for the trick of craft that makes it easier to put out more pages without compromising your more intricate "real world" style, and for the way you integrate that simplified nature into the character's dialogue and actions.

I also enjoyed the virtual setting for the briefer visual gags and tricks, such as seeing side-character alien avatars set against Toni robbing them blind while they're occupied with the meeting, and the glitches as the meetign gets shut down.

Your depiction of and writing for Toni and Rod's dynamic constitute the strongest part of the comic, in my opinion. This story seamlessly integrates the comedic, serious, acerbic, and genuine aspects of their relationship, shifting between these without missing a beat or breaking the flow of the storytelling. The appeal of the characters in my mind is how they can shift from bickering to showing genuine care and respect to each other to pulling off some pretty badass stunts (Rod shooting apart the blood mechanism was SO. COOL.). I think you also nailed how well they compliment each other as a by-the-seat-of-their-pants action duo.

And of course some nice moments for Tio and Raven as well - I like the virtual confrontation for showing how there's still so much acid between the two of them, even when expressed in a relatively civil setting. Raven getting scapegoated by the other comet chasers was the best twist in the story - deliciously cruel how she gets used as a tool for the other aliens to untie and cooperate behind. It's a time-tested method of solidifying a group behind a single cause for fear of being cast out both in real life and in fiction, and it strikes hard here.

Very exciting comic overall, and some solid character work to boot. Thank you for sharing!

PS - Really nice final shot. Very Moby dick, specifically the book covers that capture the cosmic horror of the whale.

Keeping up the great work.
The listing of everyone's wishes provides a great way to get a cliff note on their characters, and your opponents are pitch perfect as the kinds of zany comedy jerks that they are.
Tio and Raven really feel like they're consistently making each other's lives consistently worse even when they don't mean to.
It's full of hype moments too, between the moment Raven decides to go absolutely batshit (no pun intended), the "That is a good plan" and of course, that final page.

A real laugh riot of a round!
The reveal of the mysterious test giver being a gameshow host, put there by the Big Wizard no less is a lovely comedic beat. And of course the stroke of genius of separating both teams.
"Damn, Rod is weak to manipulative women" is a good one. The twist of Rod not having been under any kind of spell was not unpredictable, but also not ineffective, and we got a rare moment of sincerity from Toni out of it.

The virtual meeting! Aaah, IDK if this is a nod to Ralph Bakshi's short lived Spicy city series, but the entire sequence felt sooo reminiscent in a great retro way. It was great to see such a unique take on interaction during a stalemate, and how actions just getting to his point weren't done in a vacuum. They were witnessed, experienced and came back to bite our protagonists in an interesting way. I'll admit, Raven bullying her way onto the Arretichan ship only for them just be ride or die alongside her is the one reach during your round that stuck in my craw, but you have so many elements to juggle here, it makes sense that bit hit the editing room floor, and I otherwise would've agreed, but it feels so pivotal to Ravens choice to take the nuclear option. I see the attempts at building this enmity during the virtual meeting before they oust her and Ravens reaction, but I wanted to see more of the Arretichans she is suddenly championing. I see the parallel of people who feel like the worlds just decided they are bad news, but I was itching to see more of it between bats and vamp.
Needless to say it goes without saying you guys went entirely too hard XD This semifinal round put pedal to the metal and did not let up, even to the last page. Your effects and animations were almost indulgently detailed with the extra time this tourney was given (the reflection on Rods helmet as he's spinning? come ON =00). While they were all fun, and I certainly commend the efforts I wonder if you needed them all, or the sheer volume diluted the punch they were meant to have if used sparingly.
But still, these are all admittedly nitpicks for a duo whose pushing the envelope on what they can do. You've crafted a very dense story here. I am on pins and needles to see how this comes to a conclusion.

Haha, omigosh, the hallowed pedestal holding the comet aloft only to turn it into a gameshow host was NOT what I was expecting, but I am here for it. XD This was just *fun*. Which is not to say, others playing this tourneys storyline straight doesnt have its own merit, but it was refreshing to see a duo just being silly and tongue in cheek. The obstacle course and utterly unhinged manner of winning in order to be left with a cliffhanger punchline is something I didn't realize I wanted to see, but it was treat to read. Toni and Rod have a great dynamic to keep the yuks coming, but wanted to see more depth and exploration of Rods whole deal, especially after seeing Rods intriguing flashback/dream in the first pages because it feels like a compelling set up without a payoff. Additionally, your opponents felt more ancillary, while I was left kind of hoping to see how they'd play out when hit with the fuzzlekins and Tictoc silly beam

Excellent work minimizing the cost of doing the art in this comic. The virtual space makes it a super strong visual approach while reducing the amount of work necessary - again, you both are performing a masterclass job on simplifying your art debt to maximize the story content. Ever since this tournament's began, you both came out swinging incredibly hard. This is an easy review to give because you did everything right, from the simplification to the animated gifs going extra hard later on. It'll be interesting to see what you end up doing next round. Fantastic job.

This was such a great read. This story was such a fun surprise and fast-forwarding the story to being on Jericho properly was such a great move in terms of unique approaches. The fun gameshow approach was such a rug-pull in terms of story, but it felt totally right due to how light and fun your comics have been thus far. In terms of general critique, it more or less comes down to some general fundamentals. Just take some time to practice more of your anatomy and posing. There's sort of a general stiffness to some of the posing but this is clearly more of an inexperience aspect than anything that's being done wrong. In addition, it'd be really super if the next time either of you make your comics you try for colors that are more environmental. All that being said, again, you both have been an utter delight to read and enjoy through this entire tournament. Please don't let it be the last time we see either of you participating on here, both characters and artists alike have been so great.Terrific work!

Will Rod ever find his dream gurl! Definitely improved from your last round, but I’m still missing the shading a bit, would have loved to see some but still good job on a colored comic in general. A very silly and fun adventure you got here, I love to see more of Toni’s and Galaxy Rod’s dynamic. Nicely done on the word bubbles too, they look much better this time around. Keep up the good work!

The story, the animated panels, the everything! You two continue to blow this out of the water! The only thing I saw, and it’s really small, is that some of the text in the word bubbles isn’t centered. Very small but I noticed it so it can be looked out for in the future. The characters are all so well portrayed, I genuinely need more of them all together, their dynamic was great. Again I say, keep up the good work!

Your artwork is super good! I really like how you draw the action! But some of the pages don't load well. I think its because they have animation? But on my computer it doesn't display correctly so it's hard to read. Sorry but I can still understand much of the story and its a good story. I like the different style of the vr chat part. And the last page is very interesting. All the characters have good personality. Sometimes I get confused with so much text on one page, but probably just me. I'm not the best at English. Good job you two!

This comic is very funny and silly! I can tell you had fun writing it! The game show part is very creative and surprising. I like Toni being annoyed with Rod I also like all the characters showing up at the end! I think maybe Tio and Raven should have more to say? They didn't talk much at the end, it would make them more interesting but what ever it's still all fun. Good job you two!

The story is rather well woven with all the characters having a strong role in it even with the somewhat wide supporting cast. Everyone of the main cast even has something greater to stand up for...even if it's an ephemeral idea of a babe based on first impressions.

Framing of the wishes of the various adventurers among the supporting cast does help a lot with "getting" their characters.

The VR space is a cheeky way to cut down on details much like the previous magic dimension trick in this tournament run and the alphabet in there did catch my interest so i might sit down and translate it back later haha.

I quite like the color coding with the speech bubbles which are simple and effective but aren't exactly viable with every color or friendly for the colorblind but fortunately the color coding isn't relied upon too much so that isn't an issue.

The spin portals were a bit jarring and harsh. maybe a smoother gradient and/or larger size paired with a slower or faster spin would alleviate that? But the spins i did like were the tumbles on page 17.

The cliffhanger is also promising!

The apparent crash or emergency landing immediately a page after the title drop got me giggling. Especially following Rod announcing he's unstoppable.

Characters and what their deals are got established relatively quickly here considering how much setup time the arrangement of the first 4-6 pages needs but perhaps the panels on page 2 and 3 could've been a bit smaller given they didn't need that much space.

the last 3 panels on page 12 is mildly shaky. the panel order with the last 4 panels on page 11 is a clearer way to go about it but fortunately page 12 is not really ambiguous so getting the panel order right won't take long.

Toni simply deciding to break the tie with nothing but an assertion during the kerfuffle is amusing

This has been an incredibly compelling story to follow! I can't state enough how impressive the quality of this comic is! I'll admit, this comic is a lot to process but I don't mean to say it's confusing. The comic had me engaged throughout it's pages and it leaves quite the promise for an all out battle in the final round. I'm definitely anticipating the conclusion of this story and wish you luck on being able to complete it!

That was a lot of fun to read, I think my favorite thing about this comic was the characterization you both have a way of making your characters bounce off each other well. The story was also enjoyable, I never found myself getting bored or distracted while reading your entry. Overall this was just a really fun read, I really like unconventional ways of tackling a tournament and I think you two definitely delivered in that regard! Great work!

I generally cannot find a flaw in this comic and I'm really trying to give a stronger critique than "good eats" but like dang lol. This comic was soooo good I think centering so much of it from Rod and Toni's POV was a really great way to go with the narrative! The comedic antics of the pair really really helped push through the Agressive turn and build up for when Raven finally had enough and decided to clean hosue which was spectacular! Tio's usage in the plot was great as well keeping up with that stubborn and untrusting nature even when around the rest of the other characters and not just Raven was great and they are quickly becoming a fave of mine! Moving on to the conflict point! amazing work on the OH SHIT! moment when Raven started blowing up the other ships when pushed to it! and the great glitching effect on all the other counsel members avatars was awesome! Furthermore! that EXCELLENT CAMERA SPINE ON FRIGGIN ROD GETTING HIT WAS AMAZING AND I LOVED IT SO MUCH! and then the action just kept coming! That Silly ass goofy one line redo was great and made me laugh

A great entry from you guys I'm really loving these two as I have a great fondness for the lovable space rogue/space dandy types and these two got it in spades <3 I think going full comedy was a great idea for this round for having such serious opponents and the setup and follow through was excellent with the hilarious suprise game show and callback to your opponents last round was super clever! the great usage of Raven wiles and Tio's sas was excellent for the plot twist reverse pairs and I really liked the gameshow goofiness that came from the whole thing! had me smiling the entire time! also Im super down bad to see if that little hint of romance? comes out in the next comic between Rod an Toni lol