Round 2 Final Standings Part 2.

-By Ian Shires -
Dogman And Lester deserves some talk before I make a decision on it. It started out Round 2 soft, with the first 2 No vote from the judges in the round (there eventually was only one other, but it didn't matter because the other did not end up above the line) and slow voting followed. By April 13th, I included on the standings report: "I don't know what to say about Dogman and Lester, they seem to be giving up. I'd love to see some fight from the project.". They remained in last place till other projects posted, and then maintained it's position ok...starting to generate some stronger voting.
Then, on April 20th, for the first time, they moved UP in the standings. It was short lived, as all the rest of the projects came in then, and many took off on their journeys up the standings. Meanwhile, we start seeing some new drawings, and other explanations about the project, which showed me this project indeed wanted to be there. It indeed went toe to toe with 3-yes projects, and held it's position well.Now, I'm gonna go way out on a limb right now, and state up front, this project does not seem like something I personally would ever seek out to read. I don't find the characters artwork turned in on a level that would sustain a series at this time. I do however like most of the additional artwork turned in as the round went on, as pieces of art. I have solid reservation that the sequential art resulting from this project has any chance of winning.That said, I don't know everything. I am fairly confident that the project not just brought in it's own fans, but connected with the SPA community enough that I know there were voters from other projects, and long time members, rooting this project on. However. I am looking at the bigger scheme of things too. Let's look at the rest of the numbers...
13.) 253 Votes (+25) - 55 Voters ( +3) Earthman - Judges Vote: 3 Yes.
14.) 247 Votes (+12) - 50 Voters ( +1) Mr. Man - Judges Vote: 2 Yes.
15.) 236 Votes (+16) - 46 Voters ( +1) Diary of a Teenage Heroine - Judges Vote: 3 Yes.
16.) 227 Votes ( +8) - 29 Voters (5NC) Project Mercury - Judges Vote: 3 Yes.
17.) 184 Votes (+16) - 45 Voters ( NC) Monsters of Love - Judges Vote: 3 Yes.
18.) 165 Votes (+14) - 36 Voters ( +2) Dead Duck - Judges Vote: 3 Yes.
19.) 164 Votes (+21) - 61 Voters ( +2) Nevil Von Dunst - Judges Vote: 2 Yes.
20.) 161 Votes (+21) - 47 Voters ( +2) Boulder Colorado - Judges Vote: 2 Yes.
*************** *******The Dreaded Line**************** ************
21.) 143 Votes (+23) - 37 Voters ( +5) Dinos - Judges Vote: 2 Yes.
22.) 130 Votes (+15) - 30 Voters ( +3) Thread of Valor - Judges Vote: 2 Yes.
23.) 108 Votes (+13) - 32 Voters ( +4) Quick Draw - Judges Vote: 2 Yes.
24.) 96 Votes ( +5) - 37 Voters ( +2) Chaoskind - Judges Vote: 2 No.
25.) 68 Votes (+11) - 23 Voters ( +2) EAST - Judges Vote: 3 Yes.
26.) 26 Votes ( +3) - 12 Voters ( +2) APOC: Hel's Kitchen - Judges Vote: 3 Yes
27.) Parahero Will be a Back Up Feature in Mysterious Visions Anthology.
If I were to cut Dogman, it would effectively bring DINOS back into the top 20. I honestly feel that Dinos belongs above the line, and, it is unfortunate that it is not. Is that enough of a reason to cut a project I don't actually care for? Well, Dinos only has a few less actual voters than Dogman. So, if Dinos had gotten in earlier, they could easily have been above the line. Neither project really set the world on fire with number of voters, but, we also know how hard it is to actually get people in here voting.I think Dinos is going to be a funny comic to read. I also think it failed to really connect with it audience. I read many a person saying that they got the jokes, but didn't laugh. Dogman, stood up to me challenging it to do better. I can respect that. It is for those reasons, that I am going to make my decision in FAVOR of Dogman and Lester moving on to Round 3. I am not going to cut it. It will be in Round 3.