1." Priceless" by Amelia You really sold yourself short in your description; your work was a witty parody on the Mastercard ads, not a cheap ripoff. Nicely drawn, and rather cute overall.
2. "Dark and Stormy Night" by Cyen I did think it was a little funny, even though I didn't know the characters. I was worried that you'd do the cliche and do kill the little girl and the kitten (or what I had assumed to be her mother)--the first page loaded slowly ^_- But the story was amusing, if rather strange (it would have made more sense if I knew the characters ^_^). Your drawings were very nice and well done, but I think they'd look better if your main lines were darker and the shading wasn't quite so dark, or something--they don't seem very defined, is all. But the art and story were both good.
3. "Return the Visit" by Erin Ellis That was really strange. Your art was cool in a sketchy-type way, but it wasn't entirely clear; on the second page, at first, I just thought the guy randomly got a stomach-ache or something and dropped dead ^^; Still, it seems to be an interesting look at abnormal psychology (even if I'm still not entirely sure what happened ^^;).
4. "Courtly Love" chapter XII by Julie Bihn I personally kind of liked my coloring this way (well, when I actually used multiple colors; the scenes in the dark just look horrible at first, and I apologize) instead of the more bold coloring I usually do, but I don't think other people do...? At least it distracts from my linework...^^; I am going to try to ink next month's well, but the fact that I'm sending this on the 22nd and say I"m *going* to try to ink the next one well isn't too promising, is it? ^^; Y'know how they forcefeed people charcoal to absorb poisons from their body when they've overdosed? That's what Miriam's trying to do here... Maybe I should repeat that "Courtly Love" is a learning process for me...?
5. "A Common Angel" by Kaice That was a really sweet little story, and I liked the characters a lot. You draw well and confidently, too. I personally would have preferred if you had given some more background information about the town, but I suppose that was part of the mystique (that's why it works that you just kind of bring in a random girl with a bag of bread). Anyway, I found it engaging. Nice work!
6. "Amn" by Kiata I don't think you needed to note that Amn wasn't a normal human being in your MOM intro...ah well. ^_^ That's an interesting story; your art style is really cool, not at all what I expected. It did pique my interest, actually; I wish it had been longer, which is probably a good thing. ^_^ Your simple style works well; I wish I could learn to do that...
7. "The Rain" by Kurami Actually, when I read through this manga, I thought it all looked very much like a Japanese doujinshi or something; maybe the eyes were a little smaller than the norm, but everything else seemed to be full-fledged shoujo, from the screentones clear lines and the hair to the story. That's not a bad thing; the art was very neat and well-done, but I didn't see it as a 'different' style from the 'big eyes.' The story was really too depressing for me, though it was very sweet. Your lack of balloons confused me as to who was speaking in the end scene when the mom apologizes, the first time through (I admit, I read comics quicker than I should...). Anyway, it was nicely done. 8. "Rainy Night" by Luciole Wow, your coloring's beautiful! You draw very well, too. The story was depressing (hmm, I guess that makes sense, all these rainy, depressing stories...). I would've liked the story better if the lady had gone out and run Jim down with her car or something....but I'm weird. ^_- The first time I read it I didn't care much for it (aside from the art), and I still don't like the end of page
8 (it seemed a bit cliched for her to just say 'Jim...! Where are you?'), but since I was in a more downcast mood the second time I read it, I understood it much better. Even if it was one of those stream-of-consciousness-type M.O.M. entries (I feel like the M.O.M. is glutted with them, though I shouldn't talk ^^;), I thought it was very well done, and I even like it now.
9. "On a rainy night..." by Ning Jun Yuan Hey, that was random. ^_^ I liked the talking dryer....too bad it had to get brutally murdered.....how depressing...The expressions on the faces are great, though.
10. "A Rainy Night" by Selina Now THAT'S a coloring job...quick, but the kind that people with real talent can do, well, quickly. I'm jealous... I would like to see more of this one, although you say the real comic's a different style.....
11. "Genesis Cooking! Ranma 1/2 Edition!" by Rainybutton Maple syrup with cabbage??? (Actually, I still like how that sounds....) I like your art again; I wish I knew more about your characters outside of a kitchen setting (well, or a cosplaying setting ^_-)... I also don't know enough Ranma to know all the characters you had ^^;;;
((My votes: "A Common Angel" by Kaice and "Rainy Night" by Luciole)) --Julie Duchess of Botan Rice Candy and Gadget fan (I'm currently looking at e-mail servers; please address all replies to: jbihn@u.arizona.edu) http://www.juliestudio.com