Issue 229 Reviews

[Nut]

Out already! I still have to do reviews on last week's issue.

[Huntress]

And I never even read last week's issue o.O 'cept for the comics as always, but then we didn't have internet for three days and then I was busy making my newest pet's page.... ohyeah, excuses, excuses... I'd just love to get feedback on the fifth part of "Treasure of the Caves" and see if I can get to reviews this week. Let's hope my internet connection won't die again.

[Komori]

leoness said:

What is THIS then?
www.neopets.com/ntimes/index.phtml?section=187264&issue=229

Should I be honoured or outraged?
Or should I just say "Alas - I have no patent on the name "Mootix Madness""
<_<
>_>
I think I'll just feel happy ^^ happy that someone noticed my comic enough to make a comic about my comic xD

Anyways - I'll review comics for those who wish a review

You know, it could've been an accident. I remember quite a while ago, I named one of my comics Spooky- Trophy Troubles, not realizing that there was a comic series known as 'Trophy Troubles.' When I found out, I felt rather stupid.

But yeah, it could've been an innocent mistake. If a comic's about Mootix, and someone wants to make an alliteration, 'madness' is a common word someone would jump to.

[Kat]

Yay REVIEWS! Time to revive this, since issue 230 is gonna take a while to come out.

Loving by ladyariel32

Aww, I rather liked this story, because it's simple and yet quite touching. The point of view of the Ditsy is fluid and not too elaborate, just as a petpet's mind should be (Well, at least most petpets' minds. XD). However, there were several cuts or breaks, but they weren't too annoying or unnecessary. The ending is somewhat symbolic, in my opinion, and it really makes you think about how the story really finished.

The Tale of a Petty Thief: Part One by shadowcristal

The introduction was somewhat rushed, but the succeeding parts pretty much made up for it. The descriptions and events were detailed, but some jumps to other scenes were a bit abrupt, and I'm a bit confused as to why stealing only three valuables already makes him a real thief...but on the whole, a good start to a series.

[Nut]

These late issues just give me excuses not to do reviews...

A Comic and a Short Story Review

[glow=blue,2,300]Spooky[/glow]
Spooky has shading! I think it looks very good, even if for just two characters in that one panel. It really adds to the effect of the scene. This comic has excellent pacing, and the two panels where the silhouetted figures reveal themselves as Tombstones and Claw are really well done. I was quite surprised when they came into the light, as the way you arranged the dialogue and shaped their silhouettes did a good job of convincing me that I was reading speech from Echo and the doctor, yet you stayed true to Tombstones and Claw’s character in the dialogue. This is one of my favorite comics in this mini-series so far. Very well done.

As always, your art is terrific. Your expressions are great, and Komori looks especially adorable in the third panel. ^^ I notice the starry headboard; very cute. Komori has a great sick expression in the second panel. Details like the doctor shaking off his umbrella and the little medical bag really add to the comic. I really like the wooden door in the background, as well. It helps show that the doctor has just entered, as well as providing a nice bit of relief from the gray stone wall. Lovely. The doctor’s mouthless silence through the comic is fun to watch. He seems to have a rather distended belly in the last panel, but I do love his expression there. :3

I found the joke highly amusing, and more so because of the way it was executed. It would’ve been so easy just to have Claw or Tombstones playing some ordinary trick on Komori, scaring him or chasing him around with a scythe or something, and would have worked fine with Echo’s last words. But because you took the time and effort to plan out that little sequence with the two brothers pretending to be doctors, the comic is a lot more interesting and funny. A good part of the humor comes from the reader’s surprise when Tombstones and Claw turn around. All in all, this was yet another excellent Spooky comic, one of my personal favorites. ^^ Terrific work!

[glow=blue,2,300]Loving[/glow]

Aw, this is a lovely story. ^^ It’s sweet and touching, and full of warmth. The perspective of the Ditsy is simple, yet gives the reader a good idea of the Petpet’s feelings and thoughts. I rather liked the paragraph where the poor Ditsy is trying to move and open its mouth. Yumih’s little off-key outburst when she was naming the Ditsy (I couldn’t help being reminded of the OK Sisters there ) was fun to see, and Shirley’s wish to dance was a sweet way to end the section. Yumih’s little decorating sessions with her cardboard Petpet lend a level of realism and a sense of character to the story. I don’t think that the many section breaks took anything away from the story; it flows evenly and each part felt connected. You manage to end each break with a lingering pleasant feeling. ^^

I like the fact that we never see the Lupe in the story, only hear about him from Yumih and Nayih. This keeps Shirley’s perspective consistent, since the Ditsy knows only what his owner tells him and what he sees in the room he stands in. You did an excellent job of maintaining Shirley’s viewpoint. ^^ There were a few spots where the way you talk about the Lupe could be slightly confusing, such as when Yumih makes a comment about how just because he’s painted now doesn’t mean he should forget his old friends—which sounds as if she was his friend at one point, though from how she acts towards him it seems as if he doesn’t even know her. Another place is all the way at the end, when the Lupe is suddenly referred to as “Mab”; since he’s been nameless throughout the whole story, it seems a bit odd that he would suddenly be spoken of by name at the very end of the story, and even a bit confusing because the reader doesn’t immediately associate the name with a character. Still, for the most part you wrote about the arrogant target of Yumih’s infatuation nicely.

The ending is lovely, and definitely calls for some thought on the reader’s part. I was thinking about it for a while afterwards, turning theories of what happened around in my mind before deciding that the most likely one was that Shirley’s powerful, loving wish transformed him into the flower—which is in fact alive. Altogether, a very warm, sweet story that I enjoyed very much. ^^

[Komori]

nut said:

These late issues just give me excuses not to do reviews...

A Comic and a Short Story Review

[glow=blue,2,300]Spooky[/glow]
Spooky has shading! I think it looks very good, even if for just two characters in that one panel. It really adds to the effect of the scene. This comic has excellent pacing, and the two panels where the silhouetted figures reveal themselves as Tombstones and Claw are really well done. I was quite surprised when they came into the light, as the way you arranged the dialogue and shaped their silhouettes did a good job of convincing me that I was reading speech from Echo and the doctor, yet you stayed true to Tombstones and Claw’s character in the dialogue. This is one of my favorite comics in this mini-series so far. Very well done.

As always, your art is terrific. Your expressions are great, and Komori looks especially adorable in the third panel. ^^ I notice the starry headboard; very cute. Komori has a great sick expression in the second panel. Details like the doctor shaking off his umbrella and the little medical bag really add to the comic. I really like the wooden door in the background, as well. It helps show that the doctor has just entered, as well as providing a nice bit of relief from the gray stone wall. Lovely. The doctor’s mouthless silence through the comic is fun to watch. He seems to have a rather distended belly in the last panel, but I do love his expression there. :3

I found the joke highly amusing, and more so because of the way it was executed. It would’ve been so easy just to have Claw or Tombstones playing some ordinary trick on Komori, scaring him or chasing him around with a scythe or something, and would have worked fine with Echo’s last words. But because you took the time and effort to plan out that little sequence with the two brothers pretending to be doctors, the comic is a lot more interesting and funny. A good part of the humor comes from the reader’s surprise when Tombstones and Claw turn around. All in all, this was yet another excellent Spooky comic, one of my personal favorites. ^^ Terrific work!

:3 Bweee! Thank you for the review! I wuv indepth reviews! *huggles*

I'm glad the silhouetting worked. I was afraid people wouldn't be able to follow the dialogue, and get confused. I'm quite relieved. ^_^ This one was the hardest I've had to work out a viable composition and pacing. I'm just so glad it's appreciated.

And I'm glad you like the shading. I still don't have any intention of doing that for any other comics. I'm just too lazy.

Thanks again for the review!

[Belle]

amateurwriter said:

Loving by ladyariel32

Aww, I rather liked this story, because it's simple and yet quite touching. The point of view of the Ditsy is fluid and not too elaborate, just as a petpet's mind should be (Well, at least most petpets' minds. XD). However, there were several cuts or breaks, but they weren't too annoying or unnecessary. The ending is somewhat symbolic, in my opinion, and it really makes you think about how the story really finished.

Thanks for the review, Kat! *megaglomps* I was a bit tentative about the breaks but I couldn't help it. I'm glad they didn't seem unnecessary (at least, not too muchj ^^. I got a lot of Neomails about the ending (actually, I'm quite surprised that the mails are still trickling in at this time *is puzzled* Maybe it's because more people are reading the Times these days).

The thing is, I wanted the readers to interpret the ending in their own way (I have my own intentions, of course, but I didn't want to ruin it for anyone else) but sadly, it just confused a lot of people. ^^;

[Belle]

nut said:

[glow=blue,2,300]Loving[/glow]

Aw, this is a lovely story. ^^ It’s sweet and touching, and full of warmth. The perspective of the Ditsy is simple, yet gives the reader a good idea of the Petpet’s feelings and thoughts. I rather liked the paragraph where the poor Ditsy is trying to move and open its mouth. Yumih’s little off-key outburst when she was naming the Ditsy (I couldn’t help being reminded of the OK Sisters there ) was fun to see, and Shirley’s wish to dance was a sweet way to end the section. Yumih’s little decorating sessions with her cardboard Petpet lend a level of realism and a sense of character to the story. I don’t think that the many section breaks took anything away from the story; it flows evenly and each part felt connected. You manage to end each break with a lingering pleasant feeling. ^^

I like the fact that we never see the Lupe in the story, only hear about him from Yumih and Nayih. This keeps Shirley’s perspective consistent, since the Ditsy knows only what his owner tells him and what he sees in the room he stands in. You did an excellent job of maintaining Shirley’s viewpoint. ^^ There were a few spots where the way you talk about the Lupe could be slightly confusing, such as when Yumih makes a comment about how just because he’s painted now doesn’t mean he should forget his old friends—which sounds as if she was his friend at one point, though from how she acts towards him it seems as if he doesn’t even know her. Another place is all the way at the end, when the Lupe is suddenly referred to as “Mab”; since he’s been nameless throughout the whole story, it seems a bit odd that he would suddenly be spoken of by name at the very end of the story, and even a bit confusing because the reader doesn’t immediately associate the name with a character. Still, for the most part you wrote about the arrogant target of Yumih’s infatuation nicely.

The ending is lovely, and definitely calls for some thought on the reader’s part. I was thinking about it for a while afterwards, turning theories of what happened around in my mind before deciding that the most likely one was that Shirley’s powerful, loving wish transformed him into the flower—which is in fact alive. Altogether, a very warm, sweet story that I enjoyed very much. ^^

Thankies, Nut! ^^ I love reading your detailed reviews. I was hoping my short story wouldn't come across as too melodramatic which (I think) I managed to avoid. I'm glad you enjoyed my characterization of Shirley. ^^ Cardboard Petpets have been itching to be written about, you know?

About the Lupe. I was sort of trying to make it seem like Yumih is in denial. She pretends she knows "Mab" even though she's only watched him from afar. I should've made it more obvious, though. I reread those parts you mentioned and it does seem as if Yumih can't decide whether they were former friends or what. Glad you pointed that out, though. ^^

As for the ending...*points to previous reply*

Again, thanks for the review! ^^