We're in the ninja endgame now.
Page 30
After several updates worth of self-congratulations, it's time to take 2004 Tim down a few pegs. These are probably my least favorite five pages in this story but don't worry there is good stuff coming up!
Panel 1 here is an obvious copy/paste of the establishing shot on page 4. I'm not giving 2004 any grief on that one. That's just smart. The rest of this page is pretty MEH though. Locke looks weird without his glasses on and the body language of that casino employee as he's getting pulled behind the wall is just not how people move. 2004 Tim was going for some of that Looney Tunes style humor that RL sometimes does here but it is NOT working.
I do still love subbing out sound effects for a fight and the "stealing a cigarette" bit is definitely inspired by Hudson Hawk a move that apparently everyone hates but I really like.
Page 31
This page is okay but 2004 Tim seems to be having a hard time with those Shredder helmets for some reason. Kind of phoning in the backgrounds here too.
Page 32
There are an AWFUL lot of shadows and silhouette effects in this block of pages. 2004 Tim must have been getting sleepy. Or more likely wanted to do something else. I always took summers off from RL and this story is almost over so I'm betting it's getting nice out and 2004 Tim doesn't feel like drawing all that detail. I definitely remember phoning in Locke's face in panel three. It wasn't turning out so I just filled it in. It doesn't look horrible but it's totally a cheat.
Oh hey, John Clark is totally the name of the character Michael B. Jordan played in Without Remorse. Not a coincidence. I loved that book back in the day.
One thing I will give 2004 is I'm seeing better hands on these pages. They're not great but that's something I still struggle with and I can see improvement here over the earlier arcs.
Page 33
Okay, this page is the best of the bunch. I like that there's no dialogue and the action is easy to read. I've always liked that "anime character skids to stop effect" and panel three is yet another attempt at it.
The elevator bit is yet another homage. This time to one of my all-time favorite movies, The Blues Brothers. Specifically this scene:
The music sound effects match the muzak and everything. I remain a stickler for musical sound effect detail.
Page 34
The actual draftsmanship on this page is okay but the action is hard to follow. Locke is dropping down from a vent outside the elevator door, kicking the ninjas into the elevator, and then pushing the button to send them down. Not only did I need to read this page twice to get that (and I drew it!) but that plan is going to buy Locke, what? a minute? Either way that's what's happening if you, like the creator of this comic, did not follow.
Locke looks weird in the last panel. That Spider-Man pose isn't quite working but I do like that he's stopped laughing because that's kind of the point of this light on talking sequence. Locke is no longer treating this like "Oh cool! Ninjas!" and has figured out he might die if he doesn't stop these guys.
Also: notice Locke's right wrist. It's that white piping that I remember removing! I thought I only removed it from a few pages but I apparently I went back and removed it from this whole story except this one panel! Whoopsie!
NEXT TIME: Boss Fight!