Thursday, March 13, 2008

Ok, I'm a little spooked now.

Not by the story, or the newly nighttime setting (which is very nice: Alone in the Dark), but by my enjoyment of this storyline. I still wish we'd had more paintball (and I'd argue to Scott that more paintball strips would have both satisfied expectations and given him some easy strips to write), but the continuing story in the forest is very worthwhile.

(One thing: I don't understand the "painting troll tonight" line -- I understand it means they will be going after Skull with the paintball guns, but is that line a particular reference to something?)

I know it seems like I've been shitting on PVP for the sake of shitting on it, but I have seriously/honestly had problems with every other strip and story I've commented on since I started this blog (and for a long time before that).

But the past week or so has been much better than average, very enjoyable, and I'm actually looking forward to the next days' strips.

PVP did not make me sad this week.

9 comments:

Another Whiner said...

It took me a couple of times to get the "painting troll" line. I think it means that they will be shooting Skull, thereby they will be painting him. Because he's snapped so he needs to be brought down.

But, yes, I did find the line confusing.

Otherwise, while I still have nitpicks, this has been enjoyable. If only it could be even close to on time. :(

Anonymous said...

Yeah the line was a bit odd.

And it's fine FSM, we're enjoying it too so don't feel like you have to find something critical to say just to please us. We love to comment on the good, the bad and the ugly PvP strips.

My word verification was "suxuc" I get some really odd ones sometimes.

Anonymous said...

Isn't he just replacing "hunting" with painting?

Adding the stars was a great touch. I hope he gives the characters flashlights though, the woods are very dark at night.

I'm still waiting for the end of the arch before deciding if I like it or not. I mean, Skull could get shot in the nipple and they all go home for all we know.

Brett Schiller (Sage) said...

I agree that this take on paintball is interesting, but a couple interactions in a regular arc were missed as well. Miranda/Reggie, Max/Cole, and Francis could have been one offs then the dislocated nipple could have happened. (Btw where did robb go, he was supposed to be invited)

The fact that this arc is looking very intersting and is funny, doesnt save the fact that the previous one was a little lacking (again I go back to Lost, I like the whole experience of the show but from episode to episode it can range from mediocre to awesome, as with these last two arcs)
Like I said before Scott's drawing chops have never been called into question, the starry night scene is very nice. we only complain that we want more with coloring. Ding! looks very good overall because he has time to color it.

Anonymous said...

I liked the line. It's syntax is a little awkward to read, so it took me a second to decipher. But once I did, it made me chuckle a little.

There's a standard moment in the monster movie milieu where the heroes are preparing for the encounter with the monster. Usually, it's big men loading up even bigger weapons. Substitute "painting Trolls" for "hunting [insert monster here]," and you have the standard line given in some variation at this moment.

What the line in the strip does is comically undermine the whole moment for the PvP crew and at the same time mock a standard part of monster movies. It conjures an image of the PvP crew, in all seriousness, "locking and loading" their paintball markers to go on the hunt for what they assume to be a deadly troll (who we will probably find out is actually just having a tea party).

The effect loses points for the awkwardness of the new phrase, but it's still a fairly clever attempt that I approve of.

Anonymous said...

It is an awkward line, yes, as it is fairly meaningless in itself. I mean, how does shooting a stoned troll with a paintball gun help matters? Does it enable them to corral him? Does paint magically subdue stoned Trolls? Will the impacts jolt him out of his stupor?

It's all a bit vague/confusing at the expense of a line trying to sound 'cool'.

Anonymous said...

Marines, we are LEAVING!

There's a new strip up. That's a lot of text. :S The problem with having so much text is you're more likely to make an error.

Fourth panel Brent: "Heh, heh... that was from Aliens. Special Edition... It was a actually from deleted scene..."

joule said...

The "painting troll tonight" has the exact same phrasing/metrics as "The lion sleeps tonight" from the Lion King, so I guess Scott went for that. I just can't pronounce the frase without doing the rythm.

Anonymous said...

The only problem I have with Night Games is how quickly Brent leaps to the correct scenario. How would he know that Skull has snapped? It's just as likely that something else is out there and got both Skull and Francis.

It would have been nicer if Marcie had found some indicator that Skull had been there, tying Francis' disappearance to Skull. Even just Skull's footprint would have been nice.

Of course, it's possible that Kurtz is actually setting up a non-Skull monster, but I find that unlikely.

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