This one is for Night Archivist!
First off, I'm loving the seamless grid character art across the episode thumbnails! That was one of the first things I noticed.
I have to say it. He shouldn't have been fishing out there alone; that's the epitome of HORROR FILM FUEL.... that is all.
Lmao, I got it. KATs Diner. Take a shot for every cat found in the panel! I love it.
Again, I can't speak too heavily to comics, as it's not my area of focus, but I can give you my honest experience as a reader.
I really liked how you broke the panel borders with the floating speech bubbles. It made the transition from Rowan's diner entrance to the initial dialogue feel smooth. I almost wonder if it was intentionally done to indicate a left-to-right flow without any guesswork by the reader.
Reading the diner scene made my head explode (in a good way). I literally enjoyed bouncing around, connecting the dialogue.
You've done a great job setting up this waitress as that creepy NPC before the BGM changes in a horror game. Because if you ask me, in this moment, who done it?
It was her. 10,000% she killed them all.
Rowan's multi-pose composition in the Flyers panel is not only sick af, but the transitions between beat and dialogue are sooo smoooth. Top-tier beat pacing.
Even with shorter episodes, you've successfully established a clear escalation chain that's got readers on the edge of their seats.
WOW- I had to stop my feedback midway because it just clicked for me. Hahaha, the 'SLAM' on the car window was the sfx of the door shutting.
Lol, I was definitely like, why does Rowan's car window have 'SLAM' in vinyl?...........
Moving forward.
The escalation chain that got cha readers on the edge of their seats;
- Old man got got fishing alone on the lake
- Enter lead Rowan
- CATS
- Shady waitress (with a suspicious amount of information)
- That ain't no gator/bounty lore
- CATS
- Missing person flyer wall
- Who tf is Jeff? Cop? Lifeguard? The Chad??
reads episode 5
Oh.. that tracks.
I love the autopsy report breakdown. I also kind of dig that the structure isn't completely clear. You make the reader put on their detective hat and play a game of spot the difference.
It makes reading the comic almost feel physically engaging.
Forcing the reader to interact with your story without even realizing it. God-tier shit. Keep that.
I'm enjoying how you're layering the exposition without giving too much information. Allowing the reader to connect the dots makes the pinch points feel earned.
Lmao, saying your whole family died out there by the claws of a demonic-looking creature, then sending Rowan that direction (with your son's bike so she gets to danger faster) in the same breath is WILD.
Whew, what a ride!
I'm looking forward to your next episode! Thank you for sharing!
