Issue 221 Reviews

[Huntress]

Y'know, Nut, that list thing is extremely useful. Seeing that review requests seem to get lost between reviews all the time.. in short, for the sake of the remains of our sanity, turn that list into a tradition @_@

Anyways, *drumroll* some comic reviews ^^ Don't expect anything fancy though, it's half past one in the morning...

All Ears - Christmas Crossover: what can I say? I like the joke and the art is nice and clean. No scruffy lines or carelessly drawn backgrounds like I tend to make once in a while x.X; The disco ball is particularly nice... must've taken ages to draw o.o Even if the light beams look a little.. weird. One way or another, I really enjoyed this one :3

Buzz & Bark Christmas Crossover: the art is awesome, really. The space and the moon and the smooth lines, you get my point... And the idea of the comic is cute =3
Random thought... is there a Santa in Neopia? It would actually be cool if there was, dunno, a Christmas Yurble living up in Terror Mountain with a huge bunch of Jinjahs working for him...

Spooky Christmas Crossover (gawd, why do all special issue comics have to have such long titles? o.o): ooh, Paint art ^^ Something I stink at so I can't really complain here... except for the fact that the comic could use some shading. The tree looks flat without shading. The All Ears concept is really cool though, and so is the plotline. (Even if I'm the kinda person who'd happily decorate her christmas tree with Halloween stuff and bite everyone who dares to critisize. Muhaha.)

Stuck in the Neopet House: I love the art. The sparkly tree is so purdeh... and the comic itself is pretty much fun ^^ I don't see the Kougra's part in the whole pile, really... she couldn't possibly hold the gang up one way or another. Ouch. Poor thing. Anyway, nice work ^_^

[Gav]

Huntress, I think the idea of Santa really depends on the user. Some think of Scorchio Claws (a Christmas Scorchio), some Santa Kaus (probably a Christmas Kau), and I guess the Christas Yurble is the latest one.

And I have to agree. That list by Nut is extremely useful.

[hu]

I didnt really had a chance to look at all the NT stuff, but I saw the crossover collabs. Well done all of your. It was a small crossover, but it turned out well. =) Congrats to all who participated.

[Belle]

Advent Calendar Prizes You Won't Recieve by cyneo_masters2. The first thing that came into my mind when I read the article title was, "Do I really want to read this?" (no offense meant but see, I'm a bit wary of articles in this style) but once I started reading, I realized I could chuck my doubts out the window. I loved it. ^^ It's fast-paced and it's hilarious (were you even trying? ). The Summer Snowball made me raise my eyebrow but the item description just called for a laugh. Some of the items sound ordinary enough but the author's descriptions explain all. *wiggles eyebrows* My personal favourites are Waterproof Water, Winter Paint Brush, Rainbow Fountain Faerie Quest Card (the description just made sense, you know?), and Iced Ice Cold Coffee (I would certainly want it!). :3

[Nut]

ssjelitegirl said:

All Ears - Christmas Crossover: what can I say? I like the joke and the art is nice and clean. No scruffy lines or carelessly drawn backgrounds like I tend to make once in a while x.X; The disco ball is particularly nice... must've taken ages to draw o.o Even if the light beams look a little.. weird. One way or another, I really enjoyed this one :3

Thanks for the review! ^^ I'm glad you like the art, and once again all credit for the joke goes to Tyrannitar. I know what you mean about the light beams, though. You see, I went looking for reference in Neopian disco balls and there was this one caption contest image that had beams of light shooting out and I kind of copied the idea... but it didn't work out so well. Anyway, thanks for pointing it out to me. ^^

ssjelitegirl said:

Y'know, Nut, that list thing is extremely useful. Seeing that review requests seem to get lost between reviews all the time.. in short, for the sake of the remains of our sanity, turn that list into a tradition @_@

gav said:

And I have to agree. That list by Nut is extremely useful.

All right, I'll keep it up next week.

Reviews are coming later, everyone!

[Deleted]

tamiasilverwing said:

Buzz & Bark Christmas Crossover
by leoness

Wow. Art like that shouldn't be allowed, Leoness. ^^' You could've just submitted the first frame and it would've been a spectacular comic! I mean, those stars, the moon... but what I really like about it is the message -- you don't see too many comics with morals at the end, so it was quite touching. I commend you. Way to go!

Why thank you for that nice review!
That totally made my day

ssjelitegirl said:

Buzz & Bark Christmas Crossover: the art is awesome, really. The space and the moon and the smooth lines, you get my point... And the idea of the comic is cute =3
Random thought... is there a Santa in Neopia? It would actually be cool if there was, dunno, a Christmas Yurble living up in Terror Mountain with a huge bunch of Jinjahs working for him...

Thank you for your review. That was very kind words
I don't think there's an official Santa in neopia.
Sharakh has pictured him as a red Gelert, and others have pictured him as a Yurble. So, I just made him humanoid xD
But I like your idea with the Jinjahs

[Buddy]

A review!

An Island Christmas: This story stretches across the spectrum when it comes to whether or not it's a "good" story. One one hand, it has some of the best descriptions I've seen in a story in quite a while - the way the author meticulously describes Terror Mountain at Christmas time (not just the surroundings and the tangible environment, but the feelings about it, too) is enviable. I wish every story could have descriptions as good as this one. And it was the perfect opening for the story.

However, after those three or four paragraphs of wonderful descriptions, there's really nothing else to the story. No plot, no real problem for the character to solve (although, I suppose Brandon's missing of Terror Mountain could fill that spot) - nothing whatsoever. By the end of the story, I got the feeling that the main character had begun to like (or, at least, not mind) Christmas on Mystery Island; I'm really just sort of guessing at this, though, as it was never specified as much as it should've been. This is just simply what I gathered from Brandon's thoughts and actions.

In addition, it's never really explained how he came to this assumed state of mind. I'm guessing (again) that this might be from the fact that he was singing; that the ideal of Christmas got to him, even in spite of him not being in his old home. However, again, this wasn't really explained fully and I'm just taking what feels to me like a guessing stab at it.

Overall, a story with amazing descriptions and a none-existant plot or explanation to the ending. Thus, it hits both ends of the spectrum: Great descriptions, but weak plot. And while seeing descriptions of this caliber is refreshing (descriptions are one thing many stories don't have enough of, so the fact that there were such great ones in this story is great to find), they just don't make up for not having a plot or explanation of the ending.


I may do more later. I actually read quite a bit this issue, but just never got around to writing any reviews of stuff. *lazy bum*

[Nut]

More Comic Reviews

[glow=blue,2,300]Stuck in the Neopet House[/glow]
XDD This was a very funny comic, and the art is masterful! You manage to get all of the action and humor packed into one long panel. The sight of all those pets stacked on top of each other is funny in itself, and the image is quite clear and understandable to the reader. I love the art; it’s very clean and the colors are vibrant. Your style really brings out the Neopets’ structure. I love the Shoyru’s expression, and the Chomby eating the tree is a great little detail. The shading is lovely, especially on the tree. And the joke is really funny. ^^
I’m trying to think of some criticism, but haven’t come up with anything yet… which means, I’m afraid, that this isn’t so much a helpful review as it is a collection of compliments. Be proud that you executed the comic so well, though. ^^ Excellent work!

[glow=blue,2,300]Meridellian Mayhem – Christmas Time![/glow]
XD This was very funny! I like the art—it’s a nice simple style, and is very clean and easy to understand.
Panel One: You set things up with understandable dialogue and clean art. I like how you drew Kass here; he’s very smooth. The text is a bit close to the edges of the word balloons, though. The spaces between lines look a bit too wide; perhaps you could have placed the lines closer together and left more room around the edges? I find the idea of Kass playing Santa Claus to be quite humorous in itself, especially for Jeran.
Panel Two: Again, very clean art, and the expression on Jeran’s face is quite good—he looks surprised and yet not overdone. The shading is very nice, though I found it a bit disruptive that the Santa hat’s fluffy white lining is not shaded around the edges, since it’s connected to the red fabric which has a large patch of shading. That’s just me, though; it was still very nicely drawn.
Panel Three: Wahaha! That punchline really surprised me. I seriously did not see it coming. XD The tight expression on Kass’s new Chia face is very funny. His legs look a bit splayed because the dark shoes are positioned so far to the edges of his robe, but that matters little. I wonder a bit about the wisdom of explaining to the reader that the Chia is Kass by way of the little word box and arrow; it seems to me that readers could have gotten the joke without it. A way to ensure that they understand that Kass has transformed would be to keep common elements in the scenes with Kass as an Eyrie and as a Chia. Having a background would have been one way to do this. Putting Jeran in the picture with him probably would have worked as well, but having the little drawing of Jeran in his word balloon is cute and serves to show his expression despite his being off scene, and his absence allows the reader to focus on Kass’s new appearance.
Overall: A cleanly drawn comic with a surprising and funny punchline. Great work!

[glow=blue,2,300]Spooky Christmas Crossover[/glow]
I really like how you drew this comic. It’s interesting to see the All Ears concept with Komori’s characters. The joke was very funny as well!
Panel One: It’s really nice to see how you drew the four pets here. I think the thicker outlines work well as opposed to the usual one-pixel stroke. The characters’ ears look very nice if I do say so myself, by the way.
Panel Two: XD The punchline was highly amusing to me. I like how you drew the ghosts’ glow overlapping the base of the tree. The tree does look rather flat, but that’s part of the charm of your style. It’s clearly a tree, and the purple and orange streamers look rather nice slung from branch to branch. I like how you brought in the paper bats from the backgrounds of Komori’s Halloween series of comics. It was a nice touch to see Tombstones’s head turned slightly to the left as opposed to being pointed straight at the tree.
Overall: I really liked this comic, both for the joke and for the enjoyment of seeing Spooky’s characters drawn in your style. I think you did a great job with the crossover. ^^

[bag]

ladyariel32 said:

Advent Calendar Prizes You Won't Recieve by cyneo_masters2. The first thing that came into my mind when I read the article title was, "Do I really want to read this?" (no offense meant but see, I'm a bit wary of articles in this style) but once I started reading, I realized I could chuck my doubts out the window. I loved it. ^^ It's fast-paced and it's hilarious (were you even trying? ). The Summer Snowball made me raise my eyebrow but the item description just called for a laugh. Some of the items sound ordinary enough but the author's descriptions explain all. *wiggles eyebrows* My personal favourites are Waterproof Water, Winter Paint Brush, Rainbow Fountain Faerie Quest Card (the description just made sense, you know?), and Iced Ice Cold Coffee (I would certainly want it!). :3

Thanks!!! ^_^ Yes, the names were rather bland, but I tried to be humorous. No, I barely tried to be funny. I wanted to go more bizzare than that. In a way.

Ha, My next article is also going to be list fashion...>:--)

[Ikkin]

tamiasilverwing said:

Meridellian Mayhem - Christmas Time!
by ikkin_with_attitude

I really liked this one! It took advantage of the nice, simple art style that I like. The poses seemed natural and easy, and the lineart and shading was excellent. The plot too was quite good... I didn't see that one coming. It's a good example of how something simple can be pulled off beautifully. Keep up the good work!

Thanks! I'm glad to see that people like my style, despite the lack of background (that's the simplicity you're talking about, right? Along with the cel-shading?), and that my lineart looks good to other people. My last couple of comics have been entirely computer (the other ones had been sketched by hand), so I'm glad it didn't hurt the quality.

Surprising punch lines are a good thing, I think... ^_^ I should do that more often!


***

nut said:

[glow=blue,2,300]Meridellian Mayhem – Christmas Time![/glow]
XD This was very funny! I like the art—it’s a nice simple style, and is very clean and easy to understand.

Thanks! It's nice to know that my style is liked, and easy to understand.

Panel One: You set things up with understandable dialogue and clean art. I like how you drew Kass here; he’s very smooth. The text is a bit close to the edges of the word balloons, though. The spaces between lines look a bit too wide; perhaps you could have placed the lines closer together and left more room around the edges? I find the idea of Kass playing Santa Claus to be quite humorous in itself, especially for Jeran.

Hmm... the text. I agree, the lines around the text were too close in the first panel, but I didn't want to change the art or the font size, and I didn't have much room. The spaces are big, I agree... though, that's the way Flash made them to start with. I guess I'll have to play around with settings there.

I'm glad to see that you found Santa Kass to be funny; I was hoping that he would be!

Panel Two: Again, very clean art, and the expression on Jeran’s face is quite good—he looks surprised and yet not overdone. The shading is very nice, though I found it a bit disruptive that the Santa hat’s fluffy white lining is not shaded around the edges, since it’s connected to the red fabric which has a large patch of shading. That’s just me, though; it was still very nicely drawn.

I was lazy with the hat and didn't do any real shading with it... ^_^; I tend to do that with white things; it's kind of a bad habit.

I'm glad that you liked Jeran's expression, though- it was really fun to draw.

Panel Three: Wahaha! That punchline really surprised me. I seriously did not see it coming. XD The tight expression on Kass’s new Chia face is very funny. His legs look a bit splayed because the dark shoes are positioned so far to the edges of his robe, but that matters little. I wonder a bit about the wisdom of explaining to the reader that the Chia is Kass by way of the little word box and arrow; it seems to me that readers could have gotten the joke without it. A way to ensure that they understand that Kass has transformed would be to keep common elements in the scenes with Kass as an Eyrie and as a Chia. Having a background would have been one way to do this. Putting Jeran in the picture with him probably would have worked as well, but having the little drawing of Jeran in his word balloon is cute and serves to show his expression despite his being off scene, and his absence allows the reader to focus on Kass’s new appearance.

Surprise is good!

I can't really draw Chias, and I had a bit of trouble coming up with Chia!Kass's expression, so it's nice to see that it came out well. I do think that I should have fixed the boots problem, though...

I only put the explanation in so that I didn't confuse anybody (I don't think that everyone would know that Chia Flour turns a pet into a Chia, and I didn't want anyone asking "Why is there a random Yellow Chia dressed as Santa in the last panel?"). Looking back, I should have used Jeran's dialogue to show that it's Kass... backgrounds tend to come out bad for me, and I wanted to show Chia!Kass from the front, which ruled out including Jeran.

My speech-bubble Jeran was kind of an afterthought, so it's nice to see that it worked. Though, I still wish I had sketched him out first...

Overall: A cleanly drawn comic with a surprising and funny punchline. Great work!

Thank you again for your very descriptive review!

[Lillie]

reallyawesomedood said:

The Miracle of Christmas
By Pandabearb

Wow. This story… It was pretty good. Awesome, in fact. Panda, I really enjoyed your writing style. You don’t have tons of descriptions, but when you do, they stand out. The fact that your story isn’t riddled with extensive imagery doesn’t detract from it at all. Your story was smooth and well-written, with no abruptness or awkwardness in wording. I really enjoyed this story, to be honest.

Now, onto the plot. You manage to avoid the biggest clichés in stories like this. Though Warren is a tad cynical, you can see he’s experienced much strife throughout his lifetime. You avoided making him a grumpy Scrooge who finally opens up when he’s exposed to Christmas warmth. For Warren, the transition is smooth. Lezlie’s optimistic and uplifting attitude was the perfect addition to his lifestyle. The reference to the jar of pickled olives being useless caught my eye, and I really enjoyed Lezlie’s various quirks, like her name for Warren.

This story was warm and uplifting. Like a cup of hot chocolate.

Thank you so much for the review Jason!

I had really hoped to do some reviews of my own but I'm not sure if I'll have time. Hopefully though!

[Nut]

Lillie said:

I had really hoped to do some reviews of my own but I'm not sure if I'll have time. Hopefully though!

The Christmas issue gets two weeks of reviews because there’s no issue this week, so we all have a little more time.

I notice that the Previews thread has been started. My innate sense of rivalry has been lighted, as it is every Tuesday, to keep the Reviews thread popular. I can only do my best to make this wish succeed… and in doing that, I give you more reviews! Haha!

Another Set of Comic Reviews

[glow=blue,2,300]Hog ‘N Co[/glow]
This was a nice comic with cute art. It took me a few moments to get the joke, but when I did, it was quite funny.
Panel One: A rather nicely drawn panel. I like how you draw the Sketch Kiko. The fact that you draw the eyes a ways apart, as opposed to the usual close-set Kiko eyes, makes the Kiko look inevitably cuter and allows for certain expressions to come more easily to the face. I also like how the Moehog’s mane is shaded in this panel. The fact that the Moehog’s dialogue is outside of the panel is a bit distracting, though, since the reader has to pull their eyes away from the image to read it and then connect it back to the picture. You could have easily extended the panel and included the words. The comic on a whole was rather small, allowing for less detail in the pictures. Though I don’t think the size took much away from the gag, if you want room for the art to shine, larger images would be better.
Panel Two: This panel is the next step towards the punchline. One of the Moehog’s tusks is a little thin and angled a bit too high, but other than that the Moehog is quite nicely drawn.
Panel Three: Here is an example of where a larger size would have been helpful—it’s a little hard to tell what the Moehog is handing to Karemeko due to the small scale. I like how the Kiko is tilted to one side as he (she?) eyes the bone, as it adds to his expression. His actual expression could have used more detail, though; a larger image would have given you more room to draw his features. Also, the Kiko’s short question “Bone?” seemed a bit choppy to me. “A bone?” would be a small change, but might have sounded more natural. “Yush!” is certainly quite funny.
Panel Four: This is a very cutely drawn panel, I must say. I like the Kiko’s expression here, with his big sighing eyes. ^^ The painting on the wall is a nice extra detail, and I like the little tree. However, it took me a little while to get the joke, which I believe is due to the placement of the text here. The panel seems like it should read from right to left, which confused me since I’m accustomed to reading from left to right and the other panels in this comic seemed to follow that tradition. The punchline has considerably less impact if you read the Kiko’s dialogue first. Once I figured it out, though, it was quite a funny joke. ^^ I liked the Kiko’s little thought balloon with the picture of a bone inside—it accentuates his expression perfectly.
The picture of the bone in the corner of the comic seems a bit awkward, though. I know you meant to be making fun of the bone’s classification as a gift, but I think the comic can stand alone even without that. Since the bone is positioned to the right of the afternote, it doesn’t really appear as part of the comic. I think it would have looked better on the left corner. Also, I don’t think the broken text was necessary; it isn’t meant to be read and doesn’t do anything to help identify the item (which I assume was the intended purpose). All you needed was the picture of the bone and the “Type: Gift”. I will compliment you on the way you tacked the bone onto the corner of the panel, though; it is a clever way to show the bone without giving it a panel all to itself, which would have drawn too much attention to it.
Overall: Though the layout could be improved, this is still a cute comic with a funny joke. Good work!

[glow=blue,2,300]Crazed, Whatever that Means![/glow]
Another groaner comic! And a rather funny one at that. ^^
Panel One: The way you stylized the teacher, with no whites around her eyes and a mouth full of teeth, really seems to indicate her personality. I like the chalked letters on the board. A simple setup, but everything needed is there.
Panel Two: I like QT’s expression here. She looks so happy and eager to please the teacher. The solid purple background emphasizes her triumph. I think it might have looked even better if the Pteri was centered in the panel, but that’s my opinion.
Panel Three: The poor teacher looks completely confused. It is a nicely done expression.
Panel Four: I like QT’s expression here. She looks as if she feels guilty, but doesn’t know why she’s wrong—just as she should. She also looks very cute. The joke comes immediately, and the reader has to laugh!
Overall: A very clear comic that’s great for a quick laugh or groan. The art is simple, but it tells the story well. Good job!

[glow=blue,2,300]Neopian Insanity[/glow]
Panel One: The art is lovely; your style is really quite smooth. I like how you drew the banner at the top of the panel. Most probably would have left out the wrinkles in the cloth, but you draw them in and allow the letters to fold over as well. I really like the way the Draik is drawn, especially his eyes. The Desert Aisha is also nice, though her earstalks seem a bit stiff. A slight curve in the long, thin stalks might have made them look more natural. Still, a very nice panel.
Panel Two: XD The punchline comes in an instant as the reader sees the huge shouting letters at the top of the panel and then glances at the lovely art. I must comment on the way the Chocolate Chia is drawn. It’s very smooth, and I like how the sprinkles and things are falling off. XD Poor Chia. The shading on the Chia is also very nice. Its feet look a tad large to me, but that’s just my opinion—it isn’t really enough of a detail to make a difference. The Zafara’s expression is nice; you pull off the blank eye image quite well, making them look not blank at all but fixed on the Chia. His hands seem slightly awkward to me in that they don’t quite look like they’re angled right at the Chia, but nevertheless it is all very nicely drawn.
Overall: A funny comic with very nice art! Good work!

[Spot]

ssjelitegirl said:

Stuck in the Neopet House: I love the art. The sparkly tree is so purdeh... and the comic itself is pretty much fun ^^ I don't see the Kougra's part in the whole pile, really... she couldn't possibly hold the gang up one way or another. Ouch. Poor thing. Anyway, nice work ^_^

The Kougra got dragged in as a prop last second. XD Otherwise she probably wouldn't be helping out. Eh, that's just the way it works with her. Last year she got run over by Raindorfs, so ... *continues the chain of holiday-related abuse* Thanks! ^^

nut said:

More Comic Reviews

[glow=blue,2,300]Stuck in the Neopet House[/glow]
XDD This was a very funny comic, and the art is masterful! You manage to get all of the action and humor packed into one long panel. The sight of all those pets stacked on top of each other is funny in itself, and the image is quite clear and understandable to the reader. I love the art; it’s very clean and the colors are vibrant. Your style really brings out the Neopets’ structure. I love the Shoyru’s expression, and the Chomby eating the tree is a great little detail. The shading is lovely, especially on the tree. And the joke is really funny. ^^
I’m trying to think of some criticism, but haven’t come up with anything yet… which means, I’m afraid, that this isn’t so much a helpful review as it is a collection of compliments. Be proud that you executed the comic so well, though. ^^ Excellent work!

*purrs at all the compliments* Thank you! ^^

[Huntress]

Just to remind you guys, I'd still love to get feedback on my Real Christmas comic... ^.^; Those threads tend to get very long so I don't expect people to remember.
So, seeing that it's 1 AM again and my brain doesn't go very in-depth at this time, I'll go for more comic reviews :3 Smack me if I've forgotten anyone. I'm relying on Nut's list here.

Meridellian Mayhem - Christmas Time: hehe, hard to imagine Kass playing Santa for anyone x3 Guess the spirit of Xmas really is in the air... As for the art, I can only agree with the others. It's smooth and pretty. You seem to have forgotten Kass's wings though. All in all, a great comic ^^

Hog 'n Co: yush, Neo's item infos are confusing :3 It would've been nice if you had showed all of the text that came with the bone, just for the lazy people like me who don't feel like searching for the info themselves but would still like to see it... The art is a bit crooked but still a lot better than what I could do in Paint.

Crazed, Whatever That Means: I love the plotline xD The art is nice too, even if the Kiko looks kinda psychotic in the first panel... o.o I especially like the writing on the blackboard. Looks exactly like chalk.

So On and So Forth: who would poke a meepit, seriously? o0 Even if it's clockwork. Handdrawn comics are getting rare these days so it was a nice change. The art itself is good too, only the Eyrie could've perhaps used some more emotion. His face remains practically the same in the second and third panels.

Neopian Insanity: long live chocolate x3 Simple and cute.... and the second panel is hilarious ^^

[Ikkin]

ssjelitegirl said:

Meridellian Mayhem - Christmas Time: hehe, hard to imagine Kass playing Santa for anyone x3 Guess the spirit of Xmas really is in the air... As for the art, I can only agree with the others. It's smooth and pretty. You seem to have forgotten Kass's wings though. All in all, a great comic ^^

My Kass is a lot more friendly than he should be... result of all that community service I had him do earlier in the series (if you can call it that). jXD

But... j:-[ I can't believe I didn't notice that I forgot Kass's wings. *hits head on desk*

Thank you for the review!