Needs work
Glad you like it so far. I've received one positive email from a customer this morning, so that's a good sign.
The higher resolution pictures are a good step to go, I think. I'm not sure what you guys are using to read the files, but hopefully you can shrink the pages easily if you find them too big (like you want the entire page on the screen instead of just half of it).
I'm hoping this data corruption is just a glitch, but we're working on fixiing it
I've reuploaded the file and submitted a help ticket with our server people. Hopefully they have some answers. I'd like to see some sort of reasonable resolution before I start the marketing push for it.
How's the new artwork, Ticklefur? It's a lot different than what we've done in 7-10. I think a lot of folks had gotten used to the look of the characters, so I hope the new style isn't too jarring. Dave and I talked about this a bit before...we were both a little hesitant about such an abrupt change in he beginning, but it's really grown on us throughout production.
Now that I've come off the tickle high, a more in-depth review...
First off, I
like the huge page format. The bulk of the other tickle comics on the market (with
Bandito's Bounce Chix and
Scavenger's work being notable exceptons) have small page formats that, if laid sideways, don't even begin to fill the screen. I won't even go on about those ridiculous and badly-done half-pages put out by Tomato Dragon and others. Talk about a rip-off.
Overall, I was pleased with the artwork, especially the colours and lighting which were soft, warm, and inviting. The artist does have to work on his facial expressions and anatomy, however. Not huge mistakes across the board, but enough for a trained eye to notice.
While the tickle action was nice, the artist could have done more work with the hands to really show that the twins were tickling. On a personal note, I'm not fond of gag balls (too harsh for me) but I know others will like it. I prefer lots of laughter on my tickle pages.
The implied sexual air was nice, but could have been much better. You have all these gorgeous scantily-clad women, one of whom is stripped naked and tickled out of her mind, and all we read is "oh, the cruelty, how can she endure our torture." And what's this about "the horror"? What horror? This is sexual-tickle-torture, not tentacled monsters from hell eating people...
Further, I honestly can't see Katie getting worked over by the twins like she is and
not orgasming, repeatedly. We've discussed this in the past, but I'm very frustrated with the lack of open sexuality in tickle comics. These are, after all, FETISH comics. As in
sexual fetish.
Sexual. Yet throughout most of the tickle comics on the market, all these "naughty vixens" seem quite chaste, if not virginal. Which is utterly ridiculous (again, the
Chix and
Scavenger (sometimes) break this mould).
I know you've mentioned not wanting to fall into a rut, but you have. After 70 pages of
The Agencies (I'm counting from the start of Issue 7) there hasn't been one orgasm, one Ler openly lusting after and "having" her Lee, not one ticklee breaking and begging for her tickles, not one woman loving what's happening to her, not one truly erotic and sexual scene. Only in the very last panel of
Ruthless does the Lee say "please don't stop." And then of course we have to wait *again* for the next issue.
I also agree with TheQuillFeather in that after all this anticipation, and a year-plus of waiting, Succubus is not tickled even a bit. The panels spent on the Magistrate should have been used for Succubus, at the end of the book. I really hope Succubus gets tickled like nobody's business next issue, and that that issue is released ASAP. Anticipation is good, but pushed too far it become frustration, and people walk away. Look at Lost. Their ratings nose-dived because viewers got fed up with all the mystery BS, and gave up on the show. Same for the Mulder/Scully angle, and the Mac/Harm romance in JAG. They all pushed too far.
And with what's been revealed about Succubus' personality, not to mention her looks, powers, etc, it would seem only appropriate and logical that the sexual content gets upped greatly. I can easily see the twins subtly coming under Succubus' power, getting seduced, and their tickle "torture" becoming a tickle three-way of pleasure with Succubus in tickle bliss. The next issue of
Ruthless I also hope goes into full-on sexuality as well. And (my personal taste again) in a softer, more condusive setting. Cold, hard steel and concrete, to me, does not seem like a good place for ticklegasms.
There is nothing "dark" about sex. It's the most natural thing in the world. Tickling is just one wonderful, kinky aspect of it, and I think tickle comics should bask in the sexual; not hide, disguise or even be embarrassed by it.
The Bounce Chix are existing proof of this (BC #3 will blow people's minds, trust me).
I have done my best to be supportive, and my criticisms are meant to improve, not bash.
Respectfully yours
🙂
