Oculama

Your art pulls a lot of weight here; giving the setting an appropriately solemn/ dream-like quality, and also lending Hamsa a spooky and unknowable energy. I'm also a big fan of how you have implemented Hamsa's vocalizations. Sort of silent-film vibes that really work with the chill-paced story. I was a bit challenged in fully following the story at points; the portion with Hamsa leading the Boat Man to a place to die more or less tracked, but after two read-throughs I still found myself a bit puzzled by the last two pages. Is this Hamsa stopping a grave robber or the like?

Regardless, those final pages go a long way in creating our impression of Hamsa, and its an impression that definitely leaves a reader wanting to see more of them, IMO. Great work!

Stupendous stage setting here. This is knockout work establishing the two main players (and a small side-cast to boot) with just the right amount of words, and a very intriguing mood. Hamsa is intimidating and unsettling without seeming out of place in this bright environment, and the Boat Man feels equal parts a danger and a victim by the end. I LOVE the jump-cut from the Boat Man re-affixing his head to him tied up by the monks. Visually things got *slightly* muddled for me once we get the faster-paced action; Boat Man whacking Hamsa with his head took me two takes to properly parse, and the strings cutting up the monks, while VERY cool in execution, similarly took me a moment. It leads to a great end for Hamsa though, and a super cool walk-off for the Boat Man, so it wraps up strong regardless.

Oh man Don I really love what you built here, and like literally, the panels you have of the monastery are beautiful, they are very simple shapes but that combined with your use of tones is what really make them look magical. And your story is so fascinating, I really want to see what could possibly come next for Boatman, will they ever find their resting place? You really set up and enhance the character here, you could do so much with them and I am super excited to see what you do with them if you move forward and what your opponents might do with them as well. Great job Don

This is a really nice comic, I love how the comic itself parallels the feelings being brought up in it. It has a very serene feeling to it, even in a death tournament there's this really quiet calm understanding and I think that's like profound. Although it does get a little hard to read at times, a using different line weights would help clear that up or just going over the lines again like you have done in some panels. apart from that this is a really good comic and I look forward to seeing who out of the two of you moves on and what you'll continue to bring with you if you do move on to Round 2. Great job

This was a really good comic man!

I really loved the pacing and flow of it. You really played with your character's need of dying in the right place and hamsa and the other characters react to that is just so good.

On top of that you did a very good job with character interactions It felt very solid.
You made it so that both characters felt like they exist in the same world. Like they fit together like cloves.

Over all the you did a very good and solid comic that makes me want to keep reading and see what happens to boatman next. :D

I really liked the idea of what you where going for. Since Boatman want's to die I thought it was very sweet of Hamsa give him what he wantted.It was a nice character beat for both of them.

I will say that while I like your art style I was a bit confused on what was happening at times. And had to read it a second time to figure out what happened to boatman. Like maybe having a clear focused shot on boatman's tome would of helped

There could of been a bit more interaction between Boatman and Hamsa has what we got was pretty intresting.

Over yall it was pretty good

I absolutely loved this. I'll have to begin with the fact that the art was way better than the cover let on! I loved everything from the atmosphere to the dialogue. The way you populated the comic with villagers was amazing, topped only by how you managed to greatly showcase their collective beliefs and ways of being. It felt like a unique location, and their blind faith in their guardian made for an entertaining role reversal later in the comic.
The only thing I can even remotely nitpick about this comic is the fact that Hamsa's "thoughts" seemed a bit too much like dialogue in that sense that they were used a bit too often and as a means of almost direct communication.
I felt like I was as much of a tourist as the Boatman, which I might add I am in love with too. None of the characters are too normal as results of their strong beliefs and objectives.

I have to say, your character has caught my attention the moment he was submitted. In fact, this was one of the matches I opened first, and you did not disappoint. You gave the boatman a fitting end, well-tailored and a comic where both characters feel at home. The artstyle has a lot of charm, although I did feel it was a tad bit rough at points, it still looked great in the bigger/more detailed shots, especially those featuring Hamsa!
Also I'm a sucker for side-action, so the small epilogue at the end really resonated with me. It's a really nice additional pinch of sugar to the already sweet and charming interaction between the two characters. I'd say you wrote (or drew) a very good death, as I can not fully bring myself to call it a kill. It was a nice moment of solace, and the scene was set splendidly with the sounds and how well they were written.

The artwork is, as is standard for Don, incredibly expressive. The point docking is for the climactic action sequence: Boat Man's straw shawl and Hamsa's body do not mesh well, making it difficult to see exactly what happened on the pyre. I'd be willing to make it a half-point reduction, but as that's meant to be the dramatic finale, I think it's fair to take a full one.

Character-wise, the writing's great. Boat Man especially gives a great view of his mindset and Hamsa is appropriately mystical and intimidating. I especially liked the bit of its strings bisecting the man trying to get its sword back for it. For me, though, the main storyline didn't flow super well. The transition of the monks from "he's a cool dude, he just smells funny" to "flame-broil his ass" felt abrupt.

Overall, though, a very enjoyable read that gives Hamsa a satisfying end and makes me want to see more of Boat Man.

For the most part, Mav does a good job of keeping things legible even with the sketchy approach. Props for making it clear what I was looking at even with uniform, raggedy lining. It did take me a bit to grok exactly what was happening with Hamsa yanking the tomb robber away, though.

Writing-wise, it's a nice little tale of Hamsa giving Boat Man the rest he desires. I would have liked to see a bit more of Boat Man's personality, or at the very least more of how Hamsa's religious mindset matches Boat Man's death-seeking outside of the hymn.

The comic is solid on its own, but it can't help but pale in comparison to what it could have been. While it feels reductive to say "this, but more" as my main critique, sometimes it be like that.

Don this comic is so intriguing and makes me think of so many fun ways to write this character I really loved the whole misunderstanding and how it shows people how people were so easily swayed by their fear even though they already had been trading with each other. There is soo much good in this comic I think it is hard to find what could be hard, I feel at times like when BoatMan kills the puppet Im not exactly sure what happened in the shot, and Im also not sure why the puppet god is suddenly invested in the temple and just shows up if the place was always a temple. What this comic does it does really well!

This is an interesting comic and I do appreciate a slower burn kinda comic that focuses less on action. A lot of the art was very loose Im not sure if that was due to time restraints or if it is an aesthetic choice but at some parts it is very hard to read in some spots and I wish the ending was a bit more impactful than just a tomb in the end I feel even without action the ending could have been a bit more impactful for both characters. Overall it is a neat way to see a comic and good job on finishing a comic on such a short time limit!

This was a nice entry.
I really appreciate how you chose to do a lot of the word bubbles, it was a good look visually and you placed them pretty well throughout the comic and the scene where they meet, the "would you like to join me" and Thwump, was a scene I enjoyed quite a bit.
Admittedly, I think between some of the sketchier pencil work, there was some lost clarity on what was happening, and admittedly I wasn't exactly sure what was going on in the story fully, and I was a little confused with the ending untill another read through, Im assuming that was a grave robber that hamsa was stopping?
Still a very nice entry to read!

This was a very strong first entry and a lovely comic to read. Your visual consistency was very good and your panel flow is very nice.
The splash of read you used in the comic was also used very effectively I think. And that ending was very cool.
My only critique I can think of, and I want to start off you have very good sense of action and the flow and movement in your characters in the fight scenes are great. That being said, with some of the looser/sketched line work, I think there was a little loss of clarity in some areas. Most notably the final 3 panels on page 7. I think a little more variation in line width between the foreground and background characters would have helped parse out what was happening a bit.
I really enjoyed this first entry and I am looking forward to more, I had a great time reading it.

Man, what a cool vibe your comic has. I wasn't sure what to make of Boat Man just off of his reference, but he seems a perfectly chill dude just looking for a nice place to rest! You did a great job of making your characters feel like they're part of a bigger world, which I find a bit hard sometimes in this whole huge multiversal setting, so great job! Your pacing and flow is great, and your art is loose with great energy, and just enough detail to know what's going on. I think the only place I kind of had to look closer was the bottom of page 7, where Hamsa cuts off Boatie's head and then Boatie smacks him with it, which is badass for the record. You made your characters work so well together, your comic really was a treat to see! Great job ♥

Your characters complement each other so well, it's great you two got paired up! I love Hamsa's entrance as the world's largest creepiest spider doll, just to sit and chill with nice old Boat Man. And really it's very sweet of it to keep watch over him like that. This is really a cute story, you know, in kind of a creepy and macabre way hehehe.

The ideas and writing in your comic were very good, but I think your art could have been a little bit more clear. I love how well you gave everything texture with such a thin brush, but I think varying your line weights could really help differentiate figures and put emphasis where you want it. Or maybe having your background lines be a bit of a lighter color to give more contrast? Page 4 for instance, I think is pretty effective with your layout and making the rocks look like rocks, etc. but then on page 5, it took me a second to realize what and where everything was. It also wasn't immediately clear that those were grave robbers at the end there, but I got it on another read through. A little bit of clarity, or making things a bit more apparent can go a long way for your audience that doesn't know what's in your head! Obvi we have teeny tiny deadlines to contend with, so take what I say with a grain of salt. Great work though! I'm excited to see more comics from you ♥

Don - wow, this is such a heavy comic. Both the art and the writing are spectacular. Your monochromatic art is such a nice backdrop to that pop of red you used for Hamsa's strings. I liked the visuals in the last 3 panels of page 7 but I am afraid I wasn't clear on what really happened. I was able to deduce what it was though upon reading further. At first, I wasn't sure how these two characters were going to interact with each other but the premise you set up really made it as if their stories were already intertwined from the get go. Amazing work!!

Mavell - Damn, I got chills reading this comic for real. There were no huge fighting scenes or explosive dialogue in the panels but the setting and visuals that accompanied them made it so haunting. I really like the vision you had here, I just wish you had more time to polish the panels for sure!! The splash page of Boat Man followed by the black page felt really powerful in the context of things. And was that Hamsa protecting Boat Man's last resting place from the thief in the last part? That is so bittersweet. You did a really great job!

This has to be one of more intriguing match ups in this tourney yet. Both these characters feel cut from the same cloth, if not the same genre of old world fantasy. They gelled really well! You feel in your element in this comic and it shows panel to panel. This is a freedom of genre and concept I think plays to your strengths and interests and it shows. From the harbor hugging town aged and weathered by surf and time, I especially liked your artistic license with your opponents character. The use of their hand symbol manipulated into a blinking eye/face that could emote was VERY cool. And that three panel progression of Hamsa's burning demise on the final page was a nice bow on the immolative tale you spun here.
I think if I had a note, it'd be that your story and character tone meander for just a moment. You have such an old world vibe in how all the characters speak, it made the dialogue over 'you're too judgey!' feel too modern in retrospect. Who knows, maybe The Boat man has those lapses where they fall out of space and time. I have zero idea as to the nuts and bolts of this character and that just further intrigues me for more.

I think the singular color used throughout the comic simply being that red thread was a neat choice. Paired with the subtle light source and shadow made for an ominous foray into this cavern and cultic catacomb. Mausoleum of the blade just sounds bad ass. If I had a note, it'd be that I'd love to see your inkwork more defined just to more clearly get across your story. As it stands there are moments where you really drive that detail home, especially with your own character, but overall, your panels are looking more like thumbnails and sketch pages than the final comic .Most evidently on page 6. If the characters hadn't of told me that those figures were corpses I wouldn't of known.
Nonetheless, this was such a subtle guide by the hand to an opponents demise I didn't expect and I rather enjoyed. I look forward to more outside the box methods of approaching this tournament :D

A very nice showing! an easy to follow story loved the characters and the dialogue and great use of your opponents cult to move the plot along. you also did a great job of creating banter between the two characters which worked well with creating a depth for both of them. the only part I found a little confusing was the fighting sequence after boatman got set on fire but everything else was very easy to understand. you did a great job off making me like both the characters and even the finisher for hamsa was very tasteful and was a fitting end.I hadn't know much about boatman at the start but I'm eager to see what happens next after this comic!

great establishing shot for the cave and the calm meeting of the two is quite nice! I like the establishing shots of the cave and cult base (that opening panel for page 5 is great) but wish I could've gotten just a small amount more for the first page to establish the size of the cave/tunnel they are sitting in. I think the pleasant meeting between the two lends well to a mostly wordless story but I would say I was uncertain as I think there a total of two times that we are supposed to know a bit of time has passed and it took me a second or two the understand( the time between the two sitting together and then talking and I assume page 7 is also supposed to represent the passing of time but I think it would have been easier to just put a panel of "some time later" etc etc. explaing a bit more of hamsa I think would have been good as well as I get the main reason for why boatman is there but not much input from hamsa

HEY HO YOU BIG BITCH CONGRATS ON WINNING MY HEART WITH THIS SHIT.

This comic rocks my socks and floods my DOCKS bro I need the Boatman in my LIIIIIFE, The way i really did not know what to expect from this mans but owoagh,,, i feel like it only helped because i was a really big fan of his way of speaking, it really felt like a man scorned and just wanting to ressst AAAA LET HIM REEEST!! Hate this world for treating my boy wrong give him his 2 cents and float him across the river styx already ;(

BOATMAN, BOATMAN, THATS WHAT THEY YELLIN'

Love the world that is built with this entry, the expansion of the monasteries that made Hasma what they are and how their care and empathy for their opponent shines through as a great bit of characterization

Especially within the environment of the death tourney, and with competitors with little regard for life, Hasma is here and breaks the mold as respecting the lives of a dead and weary traveller. I was a really big fan of the narrative in this story, and i fucking love the way these characters interact throughout all of it, you made a fantastic comic!! BELISSIMO BITCH!!

This is an amazingly solid round!!
I love Boatman as just this weird guy who wants to be left alone and die in peace and people just won't give him a break. The philosophical barbs that he trades with Hamsa work really well to develop both of them. I really love the inclusion of the monks, they feel developed and complex while supporting the main themes of your story. I'm not sure how to articulate this but the way you kill Hamsa feels so final and so... respectful? for lack of a better word, it's a beautiful reflection of the character that feels like the perfect end to its story (even if it isn't, haha).
The art is very good as well... your draftsmanship is SO impressive and the simple shading works really well, and the splashes of color really pop! There's so much motion and impact in your action and so much emotion in the dialogue scenes, it all feels powerful and meaningful. Really good stuff.

This is super solid and the story feels like a small, tucked away moment in time, which I really like.
Despite the sketchy lines and the loose shading (which feels very economical), the visuals are always clear and your art style is really nice. I like the slow pace of this comic as well since it's sort of Boatman's final repose. I love the idea that they have this gentle understanding and Hamsa becomes a protector of his final resting place, you do really well to capture the serene feeling that I think you were going for.
My one thing is I think I might like to see some more shot variety. You have a good balance but I think a few more closeups instead of predominantly medium shots would make the story feel more immediate, plus save you time on drawing backgrounds haha. That being said, the way you have it now feels a bit distant which does contribute to the feeling of like... unimmediacy?
Sorry if this one was a bit vague, this was a great comic, I think your character has a super cool design and I'm excited to see more stuff from you.