Oculama

Its always fun to see an artists finding their feet with comics and I can tell you're trying new things- which I think a tournament is a great place to experiment. You have some great dynamic angles in some of your panels, namely the top of page 6 with that extended hand. While you offer some great spacing later in the story, your first page feels too congested by comparison with all the dialogue that doesn't even fit in your paneling. I know if a tournament time is of the essence and deadlines require paring page count down for time, but I really feel that first page could've been split into two in order to let the events breathe a bit better. I'd also recommend adding some sound effects as I think your action without lacked the impact I think you were going for. Seeing that punch sequence on page 7 done quietly felt like it was missing something
Still , its wild to see improvements in live time and can only imagine what your next comic will look like. Looking forward to it

I think your character Laurie lends themselves to allowing you to do what you do best, which is add all those teeny tiny little details. Which the big details are nothing to scoff at. I love your establishing shots of our city environment before these two assassins throw down.
I think you handled the revelation that the Messengers skull is bullet proof a bit better than your opponent and in a more organic way. A surveillance bug and a shot taken only to result in failure. He knows someone tried it and going on to speak to them about his augmentation was a really clever way to depict it. It definitely helped that you made him SCARY. Truly a fantastic reason to disengage and make a break for it.
Speaking of dialogue, I thoroughly enjoyed how subtly you infused Laurie's growing panic as their professional speak simply devolved into their desire to get away. A professional, but still holds self preservation paramount which explains their fear. It's not often you see a comic in tournies like this where the artist has their own character fail, but this was SUCH a good vehicle to get a peek at Laurie's backstory- not to mention the unusual relationship they have with this vermin entity. I need to know more- can't wait!

This is your strongest comic to date. Your story, while straightforward, is perfectly serviceable. There's not much to glean from The Messenger, they're exactly as presented - unstoppable G-Man who's mysterious and all-powerful.This can work but without any emotional hook to grab on to, it's bound to fall short in the storytelling department. The audience ends up lacking something to relate to with it. While there's nothing wrong with this for The Contract, its worth considering in the future.

Artistically speaking, this is again, your strongest comic to date. However, there is a lot of room to improve here. Your colors, while appreciated, still have a messy scrawl to them and need stronger definition. Legitimately, whatever tools you have at your disposal could use an improvement. The only reason this digital work is more acceptable is that by the nature of your using them, you don't leave large gaps of white unfinished looking parts that happen in your traditional work. Strive to improve more and take the time to slow down and consider what you're using and how best to use it. Unless the painting was done on your phone, you can afford to take the time to adjust your brush size to have more careful strokes. Fundamentally, you should be practicing a lot more. If you can take the time to work on these things, you will find stronger dividends waiting at the end of said practice. You had a lot of attempts at dynamic movement and posing here. Take more risks and chances on the unfamiliar like that.

Hopefully, you carry the energy you had in this comic forward to your other works. Good work.

It's been a real treat seeing your work again, Ledgem. Artistically speaking, this is a much more serious feeling piece compared to all of Elly Cure, but the mood is carried very well, even more than the first round of this. You did a terrific job with all of the little details and animals. The action and movement was really on point and it was a terrific read as a result.

Great work on the story so far, Tricia. You're really doing a stellar job with this story and this character did a great job establishing more about themselves this round. It would have been a shame to miss out on this particular bit of character building, but thankfully it was delivered. Currently, my chief concern is that the character feels very established and static, not sure where they'll be able to grow from here in the final round, but that's just a challenge to overcome ultimately.

For the both of you, excited to see what you end up doing in the finals. Best of luck and great comic!

Mr-Apotheosis - Nicely done on the colors. I like the muted tones as they really gave me that sleek and clinical vibe The Messenger exuded. It's the classic deal gone wrong comic and what's not to like! I did have a hard time reading the text though, so maybe try a different comic font next time. The art could also use some polish (particularly on the parts where I can see the sketch lines) but overall very nice and great effort!

Ledgem - What an exciting comic through and through. I love how you showcased Messenger's abilities and made it look like it was impossible to defeat him. Of course, I knew Laurie would/should have the killing blow but as the story progressed, the odds were increasingly stacked against her and I had no idea how she was going to get out of this. The payoff was satisfying and one that I did not expect. Superb art, though I would've preferred that the panel where Messenger KO'd Laurie was more dynamic and impactful visually. Nonetheless, this is an amazing comic and I absolutely enjoyed every second of it.

I really liked how you used colors for lighting, it did a lot to set the mood as you moved from location to location! Your paneling is really good, and I think I said this last time but the flow/timing/visual storytelling of your comic feels very satisfying. Really good job of keeping the back and forth between the characters exciting! Each character gets a lot of fun/cool moments to shine. I like how Laurie's gremlin personality bounces off the Messenger's cold professionalism. The beatdown on page 7 was BRUTAL and I think the action looked especially good on that page.
One thing that might be helpful to work on is maybe cleaning up your work digitally after you scan it to get rid of some of the pencil marks and specs? Great comic, very fun to read!

I feel like every time I see Ledge art you've just gotten better and better!
Ah man you made the Messenger so creepy and intimidating, especially with the digging out the bullet thing! The dialogue is really good as well. Lots of cool bug usage with info gathering.. The chase scene is really good and has a lot of energy, and I really like seeing the reactions of the various civilians. The hivemind having a wide emotional range is interesting to see, and I'm excited to see more of Laurie's relationship with her pals!
HORRIBLE DEATH SCENE JESUS CHRIST (positive)
I think I would have liked to see some more colors creep back in at the very end where Laurie is being cute- The red is great in the creepy scenes, but feels a little off during happy scenes.
>tfw you know you'll never get to hug a raccoon like that :(

Your character feels like it’s the most connected with the theme of the tournament and the round you made really fits that theme as well. You did a lot more with the framing and action for this comic and it’s a big improvement from the previous round. You handled your opponent well too, showing her resourcefulness and cunning nature. The messenger is quite the interesting character and currently still very enigmatic I’m curious to learn what exactly he is.

This was one wild ride I’m still making sense of! I wasn’t sure how people would handle a character like The Messenger but you made him a really fun antagonist to watch! The death was incredibly brutal seeing the way the messenger was slowly losing the battle against the creatures made my skin crawl! I hope if you move on you show us more of Laurie's origin. I’m curious what got her into the life of assassining in the first place.