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Post by Deleted on Dec 30, 2006 4:17:18 GMT -5
[glow=blue,2,300] Furry Christmas and Happy *mew* Year![/glow] Teehee, this looks like a Neopian Christmas card that someone should be getting through their mail slot this winter. Maybe that was exactly the idea.  That was what I was going for - I hope that's what Dimitris wanted when he asked me to draw it! The only Neopets art in the thing is the background, which I took from a wallpaper. I drew the Neopets - no altered artwork in there at all!  ( Here's my outline...) |
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Post by Nut on Dec 30, 2006 5:25:55 GMT -5
[glow=blue,2,300] Furry Christmas and Happy *mew* Year![/glow] Teehee, this looks like a Neopian Christmas card that someone should be getting through their mail slot this winter. Maybe that was exactly the idea. That was what I was going for - I hope that's what Dimitris wanted when he asked me to draw it! The only Neopets art in the thing is the background, which I took from a wallpaper. I drew the Neopets - no altered artwork in there at all! ( Here's my outline...) *promptly crawls under a rock in embarrassment* .__. Suffice to say... that you did an excellent job of making it look like TNT's art. ^^;;;;;;; I'm really sorry... |
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Post by Komori on Dec 31, 2006 4:16:00 GMT -5
I apologize for not being able to post any reviews this time around, since Christmas is such a busy time for me. But I do want to thank everyone for such happy reviews of my comic, since everyone put in so much time and effort to write them. ;D A Spooky Christmas by KomoriI just loved, loved the expressions on every single Neopet! I love these comics, I do! And the ending was so, so sweet! I really, really loved this one! It was simple, but that simplicity made it so splendid. ^___^ Thanks! I'm glad that the simplicity was noticed. It's actually quite difficult to tell a story simply.  [glow=blue,2,300] A Spooky Christmas[/glow] Wow, the detail in the art! @_@ You really put a lot of effort into the background here, and it shows. Happy Valley looks like one of those candy villages from a storybook, with all the candy cane poles and gingerbread houses.  It’s so peaceful… like the ghosts have taken a trip away to a fairy tale. Squee. The little Bika sleigh is so cute, and I like the Christmas tree scene. The Wockies are adorable. Ooh, and we get to see the ghosts’ tower all decorated for the holidays! Squee! So much detail! (So the ghosts frame their past comics? XD) Is it me, or are your comics’ backgrounds getting more and more detailed? @_@ It’s awesome. It sort of surprised me when I got to the end of the comic and there wasn’t really a punchline, as I usually expect from your comics, but the whole comic gives this warm and fuzzy feeling that’s better than a laugh and perfectly suited to the season. The reader’s led on this happy trip through the snow at a peaceful pace, then brought safely home again and left feeling warm inside. You pulled off the storytelling sequence beautifully. I'm glad you liked the non-punchline at the end. I wasn't sure whether or not people would like having to read an abnormally long comic, only to come to an ending that didn't have much of a joke. But I'm happy it gave people warm fuzzies. And heehee, they only put past comics into their picture frames because I was too tired to come up with new images to stick in there. XD A Spooky Christmas by Komori Komori, my favorite comic writer!!! Again, another amazing comic! The art, as always, is fantastic. I love the two wockies getting their picture taking and for some reason, I love the buzz you drew. Not a funny punchline like usual but instead, it’s a very sweet comic. And it’s true! There is no place like home for the holidays! Yaay, you liked the buzz! For some reason, he was my most favorite part to draw out of that whole comic. X3 Thanks so much for the review! |
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Post by Schefflera on Jan 2, 2007 16:32:32 GMT -5
First of all, thanks to all the people who gave me reviews for "Sloth's Christmas Carol." Nut -- I'm glad to have amused you! I often feel as if my idea of humor and where to put it is a little out of step with a lot of the NT, but this one seems to have gone over well. And it actually is still supposed to be a Christmas Carol parody, sort of. Just... even more inside-out than you were probably originally thinking. I wasn't sure how many parallels I could get away with, and it amused me to have the Three try to make him worse -- or rather, to try to get him beholden to them -- and have him resist it instead. Although in that light, the last line may be getting him in trouble.  Birdy -- Thanks, glad you liked it! ngc5128 -- *glee* "What the dickens" was just about my own favorite line to write. Dan -- Thanks! I had a lot of fun with some of the language and details. This story was a little more solid than the Pant Devil one, I guess, with a serious topic (sort of  ) underlying the absurdity. I'm glad you liked the Sloth portrayal -- I was trying to write a funny story where all the characters were actually pretty scary villains, without trivializing any of them. Lau -- Thank you for the review and the specific comments! Hmm, okay, I think I included as an underlying assumption something that I perceive about the Three but didn't make a good place to explain. From all the information about them, I think that there's more than one type of thing that's to their advantage. They like it well enough that Sloth pursues wealth and power and vengeance. They don't have to tempt him to that the way they would some people. But what they'd like even better -- what they tried and failed to persuade him to do -- would be if he took the power they offer to get those things more easily, and thereby gave them power over him. The Christmas paint-job was pretty much seasonally themed spite. *g* Although I'm debating whether if he turns it to his own purposes and gets some advantage from it, they might be able to come back and try calling that a contract. *moves on to belated reviews* |
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Post by Schefflera on Jan 2, 2007 16:53:18 GMT -5
Picking and Decorating Your Christmas Tree by Amy I like the detail about going to the back where the trees are brought in, and I'm amused by the thought of Christmas trees cut from the Haunted Wood! I bet those are interesting. I also like the suggestion for themes, especially the chocolate one. Yum. And the description of the snowflake-doorknocker is really lovely. I also noticed that the article keeps coming out with these hints of scorn toward its ostensible audience. Referring to the tree-customers as "Christmas freaks," for instance, even while advising them how to get a better tree... the comment about wanting to be the center of attention because of your tree... the description of unthemed trees (which won't stand out as much as themed ones or make impressive public decorations, but do have room for affection and personalized ornaments) as boring and plain. It produces an interesting effect of subtle satire.
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Post by Schefflera on Jan 2, 2007 17:02:46 GMT -5
The 10 Worst Holiday Gifts by ngc_5128 and hurricanegirlyeah My first impression of this article was perhaps a little strange. My eye fell on the first picture in the body of the article, and I thought, "I didn't know Neopets had a "Dying House Plant" item! I wonder if it's expensive?" I wouldn't particularly like to receive it in real life, but it's sort of amusing as a Neopets item. I like the explanation of why it's dead, too -- a very distant relative, indeed! The suggestion for Glurp (ewwwww!) is also good -- sticking it in the freezer -- and I was laughing at the description of the text running all over the place. The Ugga Chair is... kind of boggling. And I thought sitting in a Meepit's open mouth or a giant hand (with lumbar support!) was scary. It also occurs to me that perhaps the pile of dirt, dirt hole, and tombstone go together.... Anyway, I had a lot of fun with this one.
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Post by Schefflera on Jan 2, 2007 17:11:04 GMT -5
Coal is a Girl's Best Friend
I... think I'm sort of confused by this one. A lot of the details and the family dynamics are neat -- the other petpets, the traditions like singing Joy awake and who puts up and takes down the decorations -- and the idea that a Pet Rock can cry (and eventually become a good friend) is especially interesting.
I can understand why Holly would try to pretend she liked a present she didn't, even if she wasn't able to be very convincing about it -- but not if she thought it was a punishment. I'm not sure why Joy wouldn't explain it sooner if it was so obvious Holly wasn't being convincing, unless she completely missed the possibility that a Christmas Rock (that sheds black all over what it touches, no less) could be mistaken for, well, the traditional lump of coal. I just didn't follow the characters' thought processes very well. The ending was very sweet though.
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Post by Schefflera on Jan 2, 2007 17:22:10 GMT -5
Christmas in the Ice Caves by myfallenrevival4
I feel a bit as if these are characters I'm supposed to have met before -- not that they aren't introduced adequately, they just give the feeling of belonging to a larger set of stories. The Oozing Candle was suitably gross, and the trap of the Sand Room was very clever!
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Post by Schefflera on Jan 2, 2007 17:43:07 GMT -5
Christmas with the Hollidays by dan4884 and ssjelitegirl
Awww! Christopher is sweet. And what a strange -- but, in a lot of ways, perfect for them -- tree they ended up with.
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Post by Schefflera on Jan 2, 2007 17:49:39 GMT -5
For a Good Claus by playmobil_is_my_life
Aww, I love it! I actually was expecting to be sort of neutral on this story at first -- I'm not really sure why -- but I'm very glad I read it. I like Logan a lot, and his co-workers. You address the existence of problems (like Logan's work at the Toy Store keeping him from his family on Lutari Island, and the need for the shelter) without ever getting cynical or making a villain of anybody. The touches of humor -- like how if the snow is a blanket in Neopia Central, it's a mattress on Terror Mountain -- made me smile, and I was cheering when it turned out Donny had figured out how to build a scooter after all. Lovely.
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Post by Schefflera on Jan 2, 2007 17:56:16 GMT -5
Christmas Tide by Laurelinden.
Like the last one, this title entertained me. I especially liked the descriptions in this, and the way they served the story, from Karby's daydreaming of home to the storm (especially the warm and cold puffs of air that must have been creating the storm, and the silver lightning) and the surprise of realizing first that they were underwater, and then that Maraqua had its own Christmas decorations and traditions. I'm not sure I would really like a salty drink like sea-salt tea, but the evocative description certainly makes it sound appealing!
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Post by Lau on Jan 2, 2007 18:15:53 GMT -5
Christmas Tide by Laurelinden. Like the last one, this title entertained me. I especially liked the descriptions in this, and the way they served the story, from Karby's daydreaming of home to the storm (especially the warm and cold puffs of air that must have been creating the storm, and the silver lightning) and the surprise of realizing first that they were underwater, and then that Maraqua had its own Christmas decorations and traditions. I'm not sure I would really like a salty drink like sea-salt tea, but the evocative description certainly makes it sound appealing! Thanks for the review, Schef. |
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Post by Schefflera on Jan 3, 2007 0:05:39 GMT -5
A Backwards Christmas by jupeboxgal Wow -- Teasila is an excellent shopper. *grin* And ooh, a totally different take on getting a Christmas Rock! Or... facsimile thereof. I'm not totally sure which, because I can actually imagine a Pet Rock petpet lying around in the path. I think I was a little puzzled by the jump from Lump (rhyme not intended ) to the gift plans at first, but it all tied together in the end. Though the asparagus does seem a bit baffling -- I think the "good" list would have been happier with those delicious jellies!
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Post by Schefflera on Jan 3, 2007 0:06:44 GMT -5
A Spooky Christmas by ghostkomorichu ...Awww. Nice artwork, and very sweet and cuddly in the end. All the cuter because I was half expecting something weird to happen.
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Post by Schefflera on Jan 3, 2007 0:29:08 GMT -5
In This Together by rainbow_dreamer OH! I remember this story from the Staff Call thread and ff.net! I was really impressed with it then, and it's still good. Nice work with the details, including the unfamiliar laws of Neopia Central and the well-meaning antagonist in the Korbat. I also liked "tossing my ears back." ...Why do I have the feeling this is some other story I should recognize?
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(Here's my outline...) 
It’s so peaceful… like the ghosts have taken a trip away to a fairy tale. Squee. The little Bika sleigh is so cute, and I like the Christmas tree scene. The Wockies are adorable. 
) underlying the absurdity. I'm glad you liked the Sloth portrayal -- I was trying to write a funny story where all the characters were actually pretty scary villains, without trivializing any of them. 
