Raining Cats and Dogs
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Mika does not like herself - in fact she hates herself. She's been dumped by her sixth boyfriend in the last year, is penniless and now unemployed thanks to an office mishap where she accidentally turned her co-worker, Parker, into stone. Oops - that tends to happen when you're a Gorgon! As if her waking hours weren't terrible enough,her sleep are plagued by a recurring nightmare that won't let her even get a good nights rest! At least Mika can take some solace in the company of her friends; Apple, the tough but humble vampire rokurokubi who sucks life energy; Febe, a normally quiet yokai girl who has the habit or transforming into a frightening cat creature when angry or upset; and Akiha, a bold and uninhibited human Yakuza. Together they wind their way through the everyday wonderland of dating, work, after-hours adventures and everything in between.
Just FYI to everyone - screens nine through the end have nothing to do with Sho's comic. They're some of our test screens that were accidentally posted. If you're reading this and you don't see those screens it's because we fixed the problem. Sorry!
You used the same frame twice and the one chick didnt have anything under her name. <- F'ing with you. I agree with Blue I love you drawing and coloring style come to ATL if ur not and knock at CN's. I want thins on TV. Ill start the protest Im drawing up signs right now.
I can see this as an anime series on adult swim or somethin. Cool idea.
So beautiful. Love all of the color.
The picture on the dresser seems to recurr too often. A lot of poster mode and lack of graphic storytelling. The perspective of the troubled female not getting action or love is nice,but the graphic doesn't get beyond pretty display pieces. The only panel with a dynamic, is the one with the snake-haired character. Eight pages and limited area may have contributed to the problems. A standard comic format may give you the space to really work the story. Nice lighting and backgrounds but please put forth more story and graphics to support the story. I may find it hard to do this when it comes to my turn also. Comics aren't as easy as people might think. You actually have more story in your writing about the concept than you have in your comic. There is a sequence for the comic in your concept writing.
I love your work. I've been extremely jaded with the "Manga" style, but it's nice to see someone push that aesthetic further rather than trying to copy their favorite artist. I've been a fan of your work since picking up your sketchbook at San Diego and I look forward to seeing more from you. Keep it going!
Thank you Mpd57 and everyone for your crits and comments , all will be taken in account :)
High Moon , is definitely good !Fair winner . I cant wait to keep reading it myself , aswell as all of the other stories here in Zuda . I am really happy there is a wide open variety of stories /styles allowed here .
I truly appreciate the opportunity and time everyone put in here...and..definitely better font choice next time ;)
This one had my vote right up untill yesterday. It's very difficult to put your only vote to one comic when they all have their own merits. I initially gave this one my vote because of the natural realistic voice that I could hear in my head while reading it. I think a distinctive voice can really draw you into a story that you might otherwise not be drawn to. High Moon seems to be top of the list because of it's artwork, but I've never been a fan of artwork alone (in a comic), I'll look at ART for that, and I do like reading, so I'll go to books for the written word. These are COMICS or supposed to be, so I'll need some kind of interaction or balance between the two.
Needless to say the voice here is not enough to sustain my interest and the complete lack of understanding of the format is annoying. What I'm trying to say is: If that's all you had to say fine (i like what you're saying), but why drag it across eight pages. The art ends up repeating itself, good art though it is.
I'm going to vote for the creator who I think best appreciates this new format, a format I really like, but I can see people struggling with and complaining about it for no apparant reason. I still hope to see more of this story somewhere, but perhaps just not on Zuda. I'd continue to look at ALL the stories here, wherever they appear next, just to see how (and especially if) they develop. Good luck all the same Sho.
loved it!
keep on going on your own rhytm!
my best wishes for you
:)
Manga anyone?
BrentCraig wrote: Sooooo...Blue = "depressed?" Ohhhh! That's deep, Man! Wow!
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The point of my post was not to gauge the relative depth of the comic based on its color palette, but to simply point out the fact that one of the reasons for the heavy use of the color blue could be to reflect the depressive nature of the main character. If the comic had been in bright pinks, oranges, and yellows there would've been a clashing of mood and setting; so, in my opinion, the artistic team made a good decision to use the blue. But of course you're being sarcastic and over the top because anything that doesn't suit your own personal taste really doesn't merit readership of any kind, correct? (~_~)
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––Jernell
Brent: so troll's :) like Leprechaun's (which is cool so do I) but don't like Medusa's? How deep is any story in 8 screens?
cujr112002 says: I think the artistic choice to go with the blue panels were to directly reflect how the main character was feeling internally. She's depressed over relationship issues and maybe even some unknown demons in her life, which we have not been made privy to yet.
Sooooo...Blue = "depressed?" Ohhhh! That's deep, Man! Wow!
BrentCraig says:
Oofah! Utterly impossible to follow and with that thin, stylized typeface, completely illegible. Why is everthing so blue? One star because I can't give you zero.
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Once again BrentCraig I feel that you're a being a little harsh in your post. I do agree that the font may have been a little too delicate for this format, but I read all of the comics in full-screen and I was able to read every word of this one with ease. So actually I wouldn't describe the typeface as being illegible.
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I think the artistic choice to go with the blue panels were to directly reflect how the main character was feeling internally. She's depressed over relationship issues and maybe even some unknown demons in her life, which we have not been made privy to yet. Anyway, it's a generally rule of thumb that your setting helps create mood in your story so it should not be arbitrary. It should give us some insight into the character and I think the creative team handled this well.
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––Jernell
Oofah! Utterly impossible to follow and with that thin, stylized typeface, completely illegible. Why is everthing so blue? One star because I can't give you zero.
I enjoyed your comic a great deal, and I'd enjoy seeing more of it!
I agree with people who've said the writing is authentic; I also think the storyboarding does a great job of reflecting the way people's thoughts skip around when they're emotionally frustrated.
I do wish there'd been more panels total, but I think you used the space well overall. Great entry!
I really really like the character design but the story is awful. The font is awful too.
Great art, bu, man, whatever happened to good old American style comics?
Art & style are very well done. A soft quality with an eye for detail. Unique concept. Not my taste in story but I can see where people will be interested.
Stunning art.
This is pretty cool.
nice style, the inner monologue box lookin' like journal entries was a nice touch.
cant wait to read the rest of the story.
Loved the art. The idea is pretty cool too. I would really like to see what you could do with that.
The lighting temperatures are wonderful. Great work by the artist. Story is not for my demographic.
I liked it but the font has to change. I had to blow it up several times just to read it
Sho,
I can definitely appreciate both Eastern and Western styles of art. Your character designs are top-notch and consistenly beautiful. My favorite screen has to be Number 5. I'm totally transfixed by the reflection in the painting in the upper left corner. Really amazing stuff here.
I do agree though that the colors are a little too noisy, though they are consistent throughout and create a beautiful atmosphere.
To all the Sex and the City comments, I actually caught an episode last night and comparing it to this strip is a little difficult. Whereas Carrie & company are witty and funny, the characters here seem...oddly mean. I got the impression that I was trying to be scared off from what I believe was setting up to be a comedy.
There really wasn't much comedy here at all.
The main character's introspection could use some wit. You can complain and still be humorous. I'd suggest tweaking the monologue and make it funny so that readers won't feel like they're reading their little sister's diary (except for the booty call part).
Great potential here! Good luck!
I love the ending.
Well, it's like this. The drawing works but regardless of the fact that I dislike manga type comics I have to say that colours are way too much here. They are way to strong and they suffocate the drawing... with a smart use of colours this could as well be a really good one
This one is interesting. It has a sexy look.
I am not a manga fan--but your rendering of the panels is excellent and so is the pacing. The font, as noted before, made it difficult to read. Still, I look forward to more.
not interesting. manga style is wasted here. maybe it would work in black and white. dialogue hard to read.
Normally I would run away screaming from manga style art, and spending my cash on it: I doubt it. I always thought the stories were too hard to understand. Sex in the City I get: now make the friends mythic creatures, and I can understand that. The best thing about Zuda is the mass audience, there should be something for everyone. Genre's you might not think you would like, give it a try and hey kick-ass story! Those of us that like the comics that may not be automatic #1 contenders, can do our part by sending it to a friend. I found some cool new comics I wouldn't have found without Zuda. I hope the next batch of comics to be voted on is just as diverse as the first 10.
I was having trouble with the story until I read your comment here:
"( maybe a site with more "sex in the city" - fans?)"
Now I understand the plot a lot better. Until I read that I couldn't figure out why the group of friends was introduced and what purpose they were going to serve. But yeah, now I can see what you were going for.
Uh, I think the reason I missed that part of the story is because the art is so different from the more conventional drama utilized in a show like Sex in the City. That show had a very stylized look and your art is wonderful, but very different from the look of that kind of show. Plus I was kind of hoping her friends would be other Gorgons, heh. Instead of other kinds of anime characters. Still, you do have a Oh My Goddess vibe going, and I liked that story well enough.
And wow, the colors come out very well on the screen.
I like the art on this one, it's very surreal and almost glossy. The story is one I'm not particularly excited about, but I think that's because I'm not sure where this is headed.
Well I hope the Zuda audience isn't set in stone already. I'd like to see it be as endlessly diverse as the net allows it to be.
The trouble is that there needs to be a 'winner' in this sort of genre to really draw people in and establish a consistent audience. If the same sort of comics keep winning then eventually all were going to have is people that like those comics voting because everyone else has left, disheartened.
Hi Everyone , thank you so much for taking your time to read this (and the rest) of the great first 10 selections on zudacomics !
I have been reading all crits and comments , taking note of everything .
I am really sorry the fonts dont read well unless goes to full screen , mea culpa , I was not careful enought to make sure it read smaller...but alas , is done...one's gotta learn from my mistakes .
Story : I know some of you did not like the story , others did , all I can say is that I agree with those who might have thought this story may work better with a different audience ( maybe a site with more "sex in the city" - fans?)
Still ,I think is in variety is the taste and I thank you all for giving it a chance!
Overall, I like it. Very pretty pictures. Just not enough of them. Ditto on the words. Would need something different on the letters. A lot of the words were hard to read, with a few that were impossible. Bravo on taking the chance. Felt like a nice morsel of a story. That's pretty good at this stage. I like your experiment here.
It seemed like a slow set up for one joke. By the time got to page 5 and realized it was all in jest I thought it was cute, but for the first 4 pages I thought is was just going to be a whiny introspective look on relationships and was lulled into boredom. If the reveal had been on page 2 or 3 I think it would have had a bigger pay off.
I liked the art it seemed a little fresh some kind of east-west hybrid.
I'll check out the next one. I think the Medusa seeks man is a good start just pick up the pacing a little and I'll be back for more.
Hello Sho: The art, color, and story are all very good. The font for the letter's makes things hard to read even in full screen. Screen 7 the words under her friends names were almost unreadable. Sex and the City, meets Friends; in Manga-land. Nice. The fantasy-drama style soap opera is also a nice different direction for Zuda to go in with you. The story didn't seem slow pace wise to me: it fit the character, she was just waking up, and then blam! life shot all to hell again. Good work.
Also...isn't Apple supposed to be the Vampire rather than Feebe (Febe?). Page 7 Vs. the Synopsis. Fight!
I was hoping for some nice stylised art here after looking at Ms. Murase's other work...it just seems rushed though. Like a few of the other competitors it could do with some more time spent on it. The linework has some nice qualities, but ultimately is too sketchy to allow the fairly loose colouring job to work.
I think the comic could be popular. I'm not sure Zuda has the audience to support it yet, something in this sort of genre (open ended adventure/soap opera) needs to get an instant win to foster that sort of readership I think.
Very pretty art, but the font used made it hard to read and drew me out of the story.
Great art and colors! However, I'd like to see more secuential art, instead of mostly pretty pin-ups. Terrible choice of font for the speech; it's nice and goes along with the girly mood of the story, but it's a pain to read. Looks nice and the set up of the story it's great and have good rhythm. The depressive personality of the character is well defined through the story, it tells a lot with just a few words. A little bit too manga for my taste, but it gets my vote.
The speech bubbles is it's weakest point!
I think the art here, particularly the lighting, is fantastic. It's got kind of a fussy, dreamy aspect to it that sets the mood perfectly.
-Blue is the new black and white-
I'm starting to see a trend on Zuda. Good artists, really good artists in some cases ... who desperately need a writer. Much like Dead in the Now, I love the art, really love the colors and interesting use of blues, think the character designs are fantastic (I know I remember Mika from somewhere in my personal life ... snake hair, fangs and all. I think I'm still trying to forget)and the concept shows promise. In effect, I consider all of those elements semi-pro to pro level ... really nice stuff. But the writing is just painful. The pacing and storytelling are lacking and I think many people would walk away scratching their heads at this. Keep in mind, I've read lots of manga. I'm not willing to accept that it's "manga style" as an excuse for poor storytelling. It's a shame because, other than the writing, this could be a winner.
beautiful artwork, not the clearest, but beautiful, the most polished on the Zuda site. Being a boy, it's probably not aimed at me, but so what? Thanks for putting it up!
Fun! Beautiful artwork and nicely paced. Anxious to read more. I'm curious where this is going.
I Love this selection. A huge Sho Fan!!
I came on the site this morning to vote for your strip and leave a comment, and mpd57 once again said everything I was going to say! Anyway, your strip left me with a happy buzz after I read it, so it's an easy vote for me. Thank you.
Beautiful artwork that's perhaps a little rushed here and there. Not the finished article, but the panel of Mika with her snake hair is pretty spectacular. The writing is probably the best on the site - very natural, very real, very convincing - however due to the huge panels and lazy layouts there's not enough of it to read, kinda like 4 pages worth spread out over 8 - I really like it tho', top 3 for me!
I really like the artwork on this book. I wouldn't change it, it is distinctive as is.
There is good writing here. Were I a single 20-something female, I would probably like it. The writer's target audience is not a 30-something married man, so I can't really relate to it.
I wouldn't read it again, but i think it's good writing.