Content Warning: Murder, Blood, Gore, Foul Language
Also for Molo who I like lowkey studied when I was starting out in all these silly little OCTs.
Voting is closed.
This was a really fun read! I love when characters fuse backstories or use matchups as a way to explore the past. It was great seeing more of how the queen of hurts developed and used her power. I loved the contrast between her initial more messy/explosive like portaling and her more refined, hard edged, and precise but powerful portaling during her second fight with Null Haunt.
My one critique is that this one did end rather abruptly; it would have been nice to see some final reaction, repose, or something about the queen of hurts finally getting this closure.
I really liked the shot we saw of the close up of her rainbow eyes when her glasses were slashed, and also the panel of her pushing Null Haunt through a bunch of portals at once on page 9. I feel you built this comic around some very strong images.
once again hitting it out of the ballpark- i love how the null haunt is always like the villain, seen from the outside. I also love how you use your opponents portaling power in this. It's very creative and shows that you were thinking about how the other side would act and react and it makes for a fun power conflict.
I was a bit confused by what happened on page 11 with the big thing that interrupted queen's attack? I'm not sure what was going on there...part of the problem might be that I still can't click on character's profiles from the comic pages on oculama yet so there may be some basic powers or gear that I just don't know for all these characters.
I really love how you use such limited colors to make the sunglasses/lasers/portals pop! I really like how succintly you established the characters and conflict, especially that first page that ended with the laser shot and popped bubblegum. really well done!
It's not easy to make the specific movements in a fight choreography intricate and easy to follow while also making every beat an absolute seat gripper, but you do it better than most OCT-ers out there. One isolated area where I think the action loses a touch of that clarity is when the haunt calls the spaceship in to disrupt Hurts' escape; what the object is exactly is not super-easy to discern from the angle shown without having read the previous haunt comics. I don't know if it would be a bridge to far to show the ship outside the temple, or foreshadow its use later some other way (and of course acknowledging the time constraints of theses comics), but setting it up earlier might add a little punch to this point where the haunt takes back control of the fight. Beyond very minor points like this, you've done something incredibly polished, intricate, and substantial (15 pages of this quality???) that you should be super-proud of.
This is in intriguing one! With not a lot of words or wasted verbiage you've made a convincing setup for the Queen and the Haunt to come to lethal blows. I like the mood you cultivate in the present section by the absence of other people...it really does something cool for the fight. My main gripe here is that I'm left with a ton of questions! Not necessarily ones that detract from the story here, which I think is simple to follow and delivers what it sets up at the outset, but ones that I think could really add some great flavor to the comic. Why was the Haunt after her parents? Why did they seem to know it was coming? What happened to everyone in the city in the current day? What were they planning to do in the past to help? The quick and brutal fight between Hurts and the Haunt is a great punctuation to the comic on its own, mind you. The last full panel of them both in the interspacial space, the haunt sinking into oblivion, is really well composed, your colors as always on point!
THERE IS A LOT TO LOVE HERE!! REALLY ENJOYED THIS!! ONCE AGAIN YOU ARE GREAT AT WRITING CHARACTERS AND MAN THAT EMOTINAL ENDING WITH QUEEN OF HURT WAS!!! YUM YES!! LOVED IT!
But I really love how you used queen's powers in an intresting away as well as touching upon her moatives.
The colours was also very nice espically when you did the painted background. You also did a really good job with the fight scenes every fast and impactful
I also really loved the final page with the painter.
I guess my only complaint is that I would like to see null take more trophies or at least cut back to that.
This was a tough match up some very emtional
This was some really nice backstory inculded here! I really liked that we got to see the begining of Queen of hurts story it was very enaging. It was very intresting how you weaved null into the story and making him the main reason of what she became.
The fight was also pretty intresting, however I am slightly confused why Null was still hanging out on the same planet all this time.
But it did give some emotinal weight for queen.
I will say I felt like the fight should of lasted longer with maybe like a little thing after the fight with Queen. I felt that would of added something to her arc.
Really great action here, it's clear and easy to tell what's going on and exciting! Good limited use of color, it feels stylish and consistent through the whole comic. Molo comics always feel "professional quality" to me, you make a lot of really smart choices with how you portray stuff that just makes for a nice comic reading experience.
This is maybe just personal preference because I like cartoony stuff, but it would be cool to see you experiment with some more exaggerated, asymmetrical facial expressions.
The portal gun strike is really creative! Both characters get a bunch of cool moments and you really sell them both as badasses! Queen especially comes across as cool and coldblooded in a fun way.
I really like the way you use color and texture, especially in the scenes of the city! Lots of cool shots that really sell the emotion of the scene in a creative way.
I like your backgrounds, but I think working on perspective could make them even better. I feel like the action on page 8 would be a little clearer if the first few panels were a bit more zoomed out? The final fight with the Null Haunt feels a little too quick but still satisfying especially given the time constraints.
Letting your opponent be a part of your backstory is cool as hell and really builds up some fun emotional stakes!
You have some fantastic compositions and panels in this one. I especially love the reflection of Null in Queens glasses. It really popped with the minimal use of color in only showcasing the choice of pink for your opponents benefit. Also small things like the choice of 'ZAT ZAT' for Queens laser gun sound effects. Very clever. You have some high flying action here and small details that you take the TLC and time to plot out panel to panel like Queen dispensing with her gun cartridge's and flinging her gun into her portals. Some fascinating maneuvering of action and events that could've so easily been tough to follow, but you make it look effortless. You've been such a stand out contender throughout this diamond tournament and it seems you haven't stopped for breath. Wonderful showing
Dang. That backstory had me on the edge of my seat as we go from past to present and come to fated reunion between these two. You don't expect to have character development expanded upon in a death match, so color me impressed we got to know a bit of Queens pathos in a really intriguing way. I think you did a good job in that respect giving the reader context between these two and their reasons for even encountering one another. This narrative had such a great build up of action, but I feel we never got to the climax of events. We go through the portal with them and are left wondering after their fate. I'm uncertain if that was intentional or a consequence of the deadline, but man oh man did it leave me wishing there were more pages. You were up against quite a formidable opponent but I think you really held your own and came in swinging with this comic. Great job!
Hot diggity damn this match blew my socks off! I don't even know where to start. Your art is fab as always, and the pops of hot pink and the rainbow teleportal really make those panels jump out! (I literally have your last panel on page 14 as my desktop background now, god DAMN is that gorge!) Your settings are always well established and realized, I love how every one of your comics feels like they could have ONLY happened where you put them. Also! Your alien space nuns are adorable! A shame they're all goo now. You also always use your opponents in creative badass ways that really plays into their personalities and power sets and it's no different with the Queen! I hope to one day be able to do action scenes as well as you pull them off consistently, whew. Great comicking, you both absolutely fucking killed it!
What a top tier fucking battle the both of you pulled out here! My jaw was literally dropped going through both of your comics. Your use of color and texture is always so cool, and *really* kicks in anytime you draw The Paint, it just looks so rad. Your layouts are also creative and effective as always, pages 4 and 5 both have layouts that help communicate info in a very cool way! I love the use of the flashback to see the Queen's past, and how you used how fucking terrifying Null Haunt is to help make the Queen who she is. One thing I might say is you could have pushed the colors a bit more to really differentiate the past timeline from the present, but it's a nitpick, the way you did it is FAB! Also, super rad way to kill off your opponent, I think it's so funny you both disintegrated each other in The Paint lol
Despite the toned-down manga-like art style, the comic still carries out a reasonable plot. Molo once again tells their comic to focus more on his opponent ever since 'Commander Leyland', yet, it's really fitting for 'The Null Haunt' as a character due to its predatory nature. Another pros from the comic, is how you're able to draw their fighting abilities choreography really well! Despite its art style, another extra point that Molo uses is how they incorporate Myeth Technique on putting distinct color, in which in this case is the 'paint realm' rainbow colors to represent Null Haunt's opponent nature, and also tells a focal point for the audience to emphasize their attention on it.
Aside from its amazing art, this comic also presents good lore digging. It turns out all along, 'The Null Haunt really has a solid connection to the Queen of Hurts. It's a slow-paced comic that showcases how haunting and terrifying The Null Haunt poses as a threat. The plot also built a solid emotion on why The Queen of Hurts is driven this way. This entry, however, only consists of 10 pages, and half of those pages spend on the flashback expositions. The fight also felt a bit anticlimactic for a "death" tournament, as it is not clear what happens to The Null Haunt.
Reading this was a treat. Your story is very solid and I think it kept a good pace. Everything in your story was very clear, and it was easy to follow the action.
It's a shame your backgrounds disappear around page 9, it feels like you did not have a lot of time to finish your comic and had to skip essential parts of the process, but the panels you omit backgrounds from don't /extremely/ need them. The pink spot colours really elevate your art, and help guide the eye through the page.
The final count-down sequence is really good, but your overclocking initiation panel is easy to miss - I admit this is nit-picking, but I was trying to reach the word minimum when I started this - I think that final sequence would have been more clear to me on the first read-through had you made more of a spectable out of beginning the overloading of the gun! Best of luck forwards.
- QQQ
Your story was solid, and I think it was easy to follow. I really liked that you tied the characters' backstories together in the beginning, it gives both of the characters purpose in being there, and having conflict. That said, it feels a little like the Null Haunt has a personal grudge against the Queen of Hurts? Though that could be me reading subtext that does not exist.
Your backgrounds are really good and I like the way you do the portals. I think your lettering can improve, but it is nothing that takes away from the experience - perhaps work on tightening up your sound effects graphics, or making your speech bubbles contain more line shifts so they are not so horizontal/rectangular? You will quickly grow :) Best of luck forwards
- QQQ
Another ultra-kinetic offering from Molo. Null's animalistic, almost frantic onslaught really jumped off the page and contrasted nicely with Queen's more reserved style. Both of their finishing moves were appropriately over-the-top, and as someone who's extremely fond of seeing large vehicles used as blunt objects, I was glad to see the ship get the assist.
Setup was minimal, but effective; we got a clear picture of why Queen and Null were there, plus a nice extra bit of characterization for Queen when she zorched that poor nun. Also, and I don't know if this reflects badly on me as a person, but I adored the one little panel of the attendant getting yeeted out the millionth-story window like they'd just thrown off the Emperor's groove.
Overall, a very strong fight that saw both parties use every resource at their disposal. An appropriately pyrrhic win for Null and an appropriately ferocious bit of defiance from Queen.
Excellent use of colors as usual and a terrific less-is-more approach to Null's entrances using only the black speech bubbles.
Tying Null into Queen's backstory was a nice touch, especially in how the sheer terror it represents forced Queen to develop her abilities in the first place. I have to say, though, the final confrontation left me wanting a bit more. Both characters are known for their deep arsenals, and to see their bout boil down to a brief knife fight and a rugby tackle was a bit unsatisfying.
A very good effort, but one that needed just a bit more. A little more insight into what drew Null to kill her father in the first place, a few more ebbs and flows in the final bout, a little more set up to make Null's final fall more impactful.
Molo - Your action-packed approach to comics does it again. This was exciting from beginning to end and it really plays like an action movie sequence in my head as I read through every panel. Your decision to keep the comic mostly black and white with a pop of color was such a good choice in this case. The way you utilized the portals was nothing short of badass and that killing blow was BRUTAL! I am also loving the font you used so much. It's so crisp and clean! A part of me wonders if more spot blacks would've made this comic look more complete so to speak. But I love it so much regardless!
Wow Ninja! Way to go delivering a full-colored 10 page comic! You really killed it in every round. I am very impressed with the amount of effort you brought to the table telling us Queen of Hurts' story and the lore surrounding her. Those flashback pages really gave this encounter a huge impact overall. I gotta say, that bottom panel on page 9! Looks gorgeous af! I do know that it was implied that Null Haunt met its demise in that other realm but it does make me wonder if he is really dead. Perhaps a more definitive killing blow before Queen of Hurts sent him to oblivion would've sold it better. But I digress, this was a great comic and the hard work you put into it in both writing and art really shows!
Another outstanding banger!
Love seeing some humor in this one, it's not like you needed it but it's pretty cool how you can switch between modes so easily and just pops up that extra little bit of entertainment value. As I'm sure everyone will mention, the setup of the death is really interesting and creative, and I'm particularly impressed with how naturally it's set up with purely visual cues.
Art is incredible as always. I really liked the more action focus in this one, and you have a weird knack for making body language both subtle enough to be believable but also easily legible in a way that I literally don't think I've ever seen before. On one level I know that the black and white is probably due to time constraints but it feels like a very intentional stylistic choice, especially with the pops of color for Queen of Hearts and her abilities. I'm super impressed with how efficient your detail placement is, making everything read so easily. It just feels so well-suited to monochrome.
You really get the sense that these are two well-equipped characters operating at full capacity against each other, and that is just so satisfying.
This is another visually captivating round from you! Once again I'm impressed with how your comics are not just like, a scene, and operate outside of "real time" if that makes sense. You have a wonderful storytelling sense that feels audience-forward, like you're always considering the best way to portray the story that isn't necessarily the most obvious one.
I liked seeing this delve into the Queen's backstory - I love the expansion of Xerxes and how this gives more context to your first round. I'm not caught up on the lore but this certainly makes me want to see more!
I also liked seeing you try your hand at more of an action piece and this came out super nice, I particularly love the panel of Queen of Hurts tackling Null Haunt into the portal.
man you have been swinging constant haymakers with every comic you've put out this tourney and there was no let up on this one either. the threat of both combatants was on full display and the action from panel to panel was great. I especially liked the setup that kept in line with queen's character points. I liked how well you were able to show Queen keeping calm and cool under constant threat from null even when she got bested in the end. The count down used for building the tension of the ending was a super effective way to bring the comic to a very satisfying and gory climax.
I love that you answered molo's artistic haymaker with a great uppercut of your own! using queens backstory to intergrate Null was a great idea and made if personal and had me rooting for her to the end. your opening sequence was great in terms of setup and scale! the tones for the shades on the building and the city looked great. the dialogue was able to convey the terror of being a dead man walking. Special notice to page 9's last panel which was done in great detail and super unique see! whichever one of you comes out on top this round your both winners!
InkySlime
Both of these comics were an absolute treat to read. What an incredibly badass match up.
Molo - Fantastic pacing, great writing and your action sequences are always so much fun, especially this one. Brilliant killing move dude.
Ninja- Great writing as always and I loved getting a little bit of queen's Backstory. Also that last panel on page 9? Loved loved loved it.
These were really great, thank you both so much!
Comment posted: March 14th, 2023 at 6:42 AM
Piñata
I cannot wait to see what comes of this match up!
Comment posted: February 27th, 2023 at 1:10 PM