Sharkeh vs. death :: Pixel Art Detail

wierd...

Well the scythe and the "smoke" kinda gave me the impression that the sythe chopped off his own head. At first I couldn't tell it was a scythe and thought it was his head, then I saw that a hand was holding it. Pumpkin because its orange and blobby? I just assumed it was a pumpkin. 

I dunno, just make sure things look like what they are, put them in a readable position/stance, etc.

I can see the body just fine - but what I really can't see is the upper part where the head is. Firstly, the scythe is really big and it looks attached to his neck like a head. The scythe blocks most of the arm which is holding it, so thats not easily distinguishable. And I'm not sure whats going on with the orange thing with smoke. Is it a pumkin? I can't really tell, its just an orange blob. Just make sure everything is plain to the eye - at an angle of which we can see everything plainly for what it is. Its OK to be cliche sometimes. I could go on and on but I'll stop here.

He lives :D

Great work. I also had some readability problems.