Thread "The obligatory "why are you reading" thread" in forum "Purgatory Tower"

Posted at 8:06AM, Jun. 16, 2007

:kitty:

As the subject says, just for my own curiosity: Why are you reading PT? The story? The art? The characters? Still waiting for a hot steamy love scene between Cai and Margensen (don't hold your breath)? Horrified fascination, like when you pass a car wreck on the road? Something completely different?

Posted at 2:06PM, Jun. 17, 2007

:D awesome idea kitty! :) ok, for me, its everything. I LOVE the storyline. its very unique, and the character development rox! the art is simply fantastic. it will take me till im 60 to be as good as you! probly the best part, is that you maintian a dialogue with your readers, and respond to most, if not all of the posts. it really helps us to enjy the comic more, and its always great to have insight from the artist/author. generally, all of it builds up to be a great atmosphere, which is very rare on an internet comic. as for the hot & steamy love between cai and margensen, naah. marg seems too scholarly. if cai made advances i doubt he'd reciprocate… i think we will be seeing some romantic interest involving aisha though.. and relatively soon, since my plot sense is tingling. well, there you have it! thats why i like PT.

PS: did you make this thread just for a self esteem boost? you had to know we've got nothing but good reasons to be loyal fans :P

Posted at 4:06PM, Jun. 17, 2007

…No, I didn't make this thread for a self esteem boost. :/ It's just curiosity, like I said. I don't want flattering answers, I want honest ones. If everyone says they're reading for the art, then it's probably a sign that I need to work on the writing, etc.

Posted at 6:06AM, Jun. 19, 2007

I'm not gonna flatter you or anything, but I do know how to be honest.

I'm reading Purgatory Tower because when I first saw it on SmackJeeves, I thought to myself "-That's- how I wanna draw and color". So, you're a bit of a role model, and though your art and coloring are top-notch, I also like the story and the characters. Another thing I like is that you don't seem to cut corners- you draw new poses and facial expressions and perspectives all the time, and I can appreciate that.

Posted at 7:06PM, Jun. 19, 2007

…No, I didn't make this thread for a self esteem boost. :/ It's just curiosity, like I said. I don't want flattering answers, I want honest ones. If everyone says they're reading for the art, then it's probably a sign that I need to work on the writing, etc.

well, i voice most of the things i think need work in the wall. just to voice my brutal honesty here, i think that sometimes the proportions could be better, and sometimes you dont add enough curves into the action, so everything looks sort of stiff sometimes. the coloring is awesome, and ill get back to you on the story line, after i search it through for any obvious cliches. but right now, its hard to say how the storyline is, since not a whole lot has happened yet. but right now, my verdict is this: AWESOME coloring/shading, great proportions, so far AWESOME storyline, and AWESOME feedback from you.

Posted at 3:06PM, Jun. 28, 2007

Hmm…
To keep it simple… What is there you can dislike? I can't come up with a single thing I don't like about this comic. And although I haven't posted alot on anything (not in here nor commenting the pages) I have read quite a lot of the webcomics out there, liked some, hated some. But there are only about three of the close to 15 comics I regulary check for updates that I really can't wait for. One of them is Ctrl+alt+del and another one is Chris Hazelton's comic Misfile, and the third is (can you guess?)… PT!
Great work, keep at it!

Posted at 7:06PM, Jun. 28, 2007

Hmm…
To keep it simple… What is there you can dislike? I can't come up with a single thing I don't like about this comic. And although I haven't posted alot on anything (not in here nor commenting the pages) I have read quite a lot of the webcomics out there, liked some, hated some. But there are only about three of the close to 15 comics I regulary check for updates that I really can't wait for. One of them is Ctrl+alt+del and another one is Chris Hazelton's comic Misfile, and the third is (can you guess?)… PT!
Great work, keep at it!

Thanks! I'm happy to hear you're enjoying the comic. Misfile is one of my favorites, too. :)

Posted at 10:07AM, Jul. 4, 2007

First rule of Comics

if you have 2 female leads
Go to hot steamy lesbian sex scene

:P

well mainly i read it because the story is mysterious, interesting and have a great flow.

Posted at 12:07AM, Jul. 10, 2007

I got a reccomendation for this forum from another webcomic writer, and I loved it from when I saw the home page. The drawing was wonderful, and the dialogue was captivating, even completely out of context. Then I went back and read the rest of the comic, and… wow. I loved it.

One thing - it was sort of hard to tell which character is fused with what animal. Maybe I'm just dense, but it took me a while to figure out that Aisha was a squirrel. :P

Posted at 9:07AM, Jul. 10, 2007

I got a reccomendation for this forum from another webcomic writer, and I loved it from when I saw the home page. The drawing was wonderful, and the dialogue was captivating, even completely out of context. Then I went back and read the rest of the comic, and… wow. I loved it.

One thing - it was sort of hard to tell which character is fused with what animal. Maybe I'm just dense, but it took me a while to figure out that Aisha was a squirrel. :P

Yay! Welcome! I'm glad to hear you're enjoying the comic so far. :D

As to it being hard to tell what animals they are, yeah, I agree that it's not always obvious right off the bat(although Aisha certainly gets easier to tell now that Cai has pretty much permanently replaced her name with "Squirrel", hehe). What animal they are isn't really important story-wise, except in the case of a couple of them, and those will be made very obvious during the course of the story. =3

In the meantime, their animals are listed on the character page, if you're curious. ^^

Posted at 9:07AM, Jul. 14, 2007

I'm curious what will happen next:)

Posted at 8:07PM, Jul. 31, 2007

I first saw the comic in Topwebcomics. I took a look and loved the art here, the detail is fantastic. Also, the story line is interesting, easy to follow (but not simple), and well-paced.

Oh, an inconsistency: the character page says Cai is 24, but Chapter 2 Page 19 says she is 26. If a woman is going to lie about her age it is usually the other way around!

(No avatar, no quote, yeay - a newbie.)

Posted at 3:08PM, Aug. 14, 2007

Its a rare occation for me to genuinely surf, but thats how I got to PT (I'm not a comic-book kinda person).

The first page (with the doors) drew me in, and I'm now genuinely inquisitive in finding out what happens next! The story is shaping up to be well rounded and interesting with worthwhile characters, the lush artwork backs it up to the point where re-reading the story so far is enjoyable :-) More of the same, please!

Posted at 2:10PM, Oct. 8, 2007

I found this comic by clicking on an ad somewhere else on DrunkDuck, and I got hooked pretty quickly. :P For me, it's really the characters that keep me reading, though… They're unique, and really alive in a way that most comics miss. ^_^ I like the way Aisha seems to take everything in stride (and "not too seriously," as the description says…) But at the same time she's not too aloof to an unrealistic degree – everything around her touches her, but she doesn't let it touch her -too much.- That's a fine balance and one that makes her really great… Margensen is always cool and calm, but he avoids just being a regular "Spock" character because he always retains some humanity – even when he's calm, his face always seems expressive, there's the hints about the ties between him and Cai, his ambiguous past, even little things, like when he winces and stutters in today's comic because of physical strain ("m-miss Cai?" ) He manages to be all cool and detached without coming across like he's a robot or something. :P

And Cai is just plain awesome. :D In some ways she's closer to the usual archetypes than Aisha and Margensen – she's the "cool tough guy with a secret softy side." But her personality is just so nicely balanced – she gets incredibly angry at Aisha, but is reasonable enough not to kill her on a whim; she can be cool and unemotional, but isn't afraid to make it obvious that she cares about Margensen and will defend him, and cared about her brother in the past, etc. – that she just really comes to life. She's actually my favourite. ^_^

So yeah, the characters keep me reading because you just really managed to make them very realistic and alive… Everything else about the comic is great too. :P But the characters stand out. The art is really really beautiful, but there are other comics with a comparable quality of art out there (though this one is definitely up there). The plot is interesting, but again, it's a "heroes on a mysterious quest fight baddies and learn to get along" thing – this is a unique take on it, sure, but still. It's the characters though that make that art -really- appealing because you really care about the people it portrays, and it's the characters that truly bring the plot to life and make it meaningful…

Posted at 5:05PM, May. 3, 2008

I honestly forget how I found the comic originally. I think it was linked by another comic I read, but I don't know which one.

As for why I keep reading it, that's easy. I love the characters. They all have something about them that makes me want to know more about them. They also have great personalities and quirks. I think I about died laughing from the antics of Cai alone.

That really describes the whole comic, now that I think about it. You've done an excellent job of building suspense, and it really makes me want to know more.

There are a lot of other things which, while not 'necessary' are still very nice to have. You've got an excellent art style which makes your work very pleasing to see. I'm especially impressed with the range of motion you put your characters through. They get blown up, tackled, disarmed, and chased down steep rocky hills. They do flips, duck to the ground, trip, duel, turn into trees, and occasionally walk off cliffs. And it all looks real.

You also have a great way of including humor without being a 'joke a day' comic. Given the seriousness of the story (criminals desperately struggling for a shot at freedom while godlings and mutation-causing spirits interfere) you could easily be forgiven for creating a grim, bloody tale. Instead, there's a sort of cheerful, humorous bent to the whole thing. Even the fights tend to have a sort of cheerful sadistic humor to them, especially when Aisha is narrating or Cai is involved in any way. It's all very well done.

Posted at 10:06AM, Jun. 1, 2008

Hmmm. first post. Don't worry, I don't post all that much on other boards, I won't be a constant nuisance to anyone. :D

Well, considering I'm not a real fan of the fantasy genre, it's quite remarkable PT drew my attention.

With all due respect to the other artists here, it's safe to say the sheer quality of PT's artwork is of a very different level than most of the things I've seen on the site or most other comparable sites; the first couple of panels already give away something special is about to happen here : the quality of the drawings is very high, the love for detail is stunning, and it lacks "easy solutions" which so many other artists will use to save time. Also, the superb colour job done on this comic makes it even more eye catching. As first impression count, this one's got knock-out looks.

The introduction into the story by means of a narrative form is something I have a weak spot for : most of the stuff I tend to like is told the same way, and although this can work as a limiting factor in terms of story telling, it's really up to the artist to pull it off. I'm happy to say that so far, the story hasn't been hampered by it. The sarcastic tone of Aisha's musings is always on tee with the idea of a street-smart criminal who's used to make it out there in spite of her weaknesses by maximizing the assets at here availability (speed and wits). The way the character is carved out in just a couple of panels pays tribute to the artists' talent at both characterization and drawing skills and her unwillingness to let quality slip.

As far as the story and characters go, the "cute art" conflicted immediately with Aisha's description of herself and the others as convicted criminals as "Lifers", something which raised my attention even further, as it held promise that there's a lot more going on than just good looks.

What I _really_ like is the way facial expressions are used : in the first chapter for example, the panels zooming into the eye expression are excellent : Aisha's emotional range going from "hopeless determination" to "utter despair" on the first fight scene, or Cai's "shocked surprise" to "tormented sadness" to "barely controlled rage" when she finds the pendant say -so much- more than words would do and give away that indeed, there's more to it than meets the eye. Although typical for the narrative story telling, Aisha's comments on the situation at the fight were actually pretty much overkill : the drawings spoke for themselves and served both to let the artist shine at her abilities and allow the characters to come alive.

Also, most (but not all) action scenes feel right and that's not easy. There's some oddness in some panels in terms of anatomically possible poses, but most of the time they fit the bill. Equally important : the action always stays -easy to follow- something which isn't easy at all as very few artists can do this as well as this one does.

As I wrote before, the fact the art isn't deteriorating or is becoming sloppy is very important too. The artist seems to have her mind set to produce a "high as possible" quality and I find it comical to read her comments when she's expressing her doubts and problems with this or that panel, but she's always right. When looking at the intro panel for example, I noticed something's odd with the towers' angle (the statues left and right of the door seem "off angle/slanted more" in regards to the rest of the building to me) only to read she wasn't overly happy with that either. It made me grin and realise she's very determined to do the best possible job here. Considering I can't draw to save my life, such an attitude works quite humbling and deserves my deepest respect.

In terms of story, not all that much has happened really. We're hinted in many ways a lot is going on underneath, but so far the story can go either way. I'm hopeful though, as the artist does have a cryptic "there's a reason for the physical behavior of the tower, the exact situation of the convicts ect ect ect " answer ready for the seemingly "faulty situations" the characters are put into. This raises my curiosity and hopes this story will not turn out to be a run-of-the-mill D&D variation rush job with the story being neglected and camouflaged by the excellent art. The interaction between the protagonists also feels good, no "overacting", no "I'm trying far too hard to insert pointless humor here". Sometimes less is more, and this works here. In fact, it's _so_ well done it's easy to stick up with what is, for the time being, a very stereotype set of characters (hey, the "quick squirrel ?", the duality of the feline, ect …) ; there's a definitive promise present the characters will be allowed to grow beyond the current setting. I'm hoping the voyage as well as the sheer as-yet untapped potential here will be unfolding in the months/years(?) to come. If that's no reason to hitch a ride on this train, I don't know what is.

And in the end, PT works as the perfect antidote for the only other comic I'm reading these days (Kirkman's TWD). It couldn't be more of an opposite if it tried, and it deserves to be around for a very, very long time. A small contribution for something this nice which is presented to us for free has seldom been this deserved and has been made.

Edited as my non-US keyboard layout didn't do all that well on Aisha's name and kept throwing something very different back at me when posting it here. (?)