Friday, May 9, 2008

From left field...

... comes an unexpected story, one with potential to be interesting. (Case File MCMLXXI-XXI) It's going to be kind of the opposite of A Wonderful Life, where Skull gets to see how the world is better because of him, then has to leave it.

Or will he?

Of course he won't. He's the freaking franchise. So, as a mechanic for suspense it's a non-starter, but it will be interesting to see where it goes.

It looks promising, but in the spirit of pessimism I give it a...

-- 50% chance of George Baily-like reminiscences followed by a reprieve from the soft-hearted marble statue man (see -- the joke writes itself!)

-- 40% chance that Skull is initially excited to go home, but recants and spills the beans to the gang and they somehow find a way to foil the marble statue man before the reception is even over

-- 10% chance of Shecky showing up to bug the hell out of us.

35 comments:

Sean said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Or shecky leaving in skull's place.

I do expect a shecky storyline soon, but we'll see.

RC said...

Maybe Brent has finally grown up and doesn't need Skull. Maybe this will be the start of a new chapter in PvP. I think that would be cool.

Unfortunately we'll probably end up with everything back to normal like a sitcom.

http://bitsmack.com

Anonymous said...

There's no "maybe" there. Brent has grown up and doesn't need Skull. That's the point. The question is how they're going to get Skull to stay anyway, not whether the mythological organisation is mistaken in its assessment.

And the comic does need Skull to stay. His role is a stereotypical one, but one that adds interest to the regular cast nonetheless.

Anonymous said...

Hey, I like Shecky. D:

Reed said...

It won't happen, but how cool would this be:

Skull - Gone for a year.

Jade - Pregnant

Skull returns to do the same job for Brent and Jade's son.

Anonymous said...

So it's Friday and his promise of Ding being back on schedule every Tuesday and Thursday seems like a bust.

Skull isn't going anywhere. Though reed's idea does sound pretty cool :)

R.W.McGee said...

No more Skull! No more Skull! No more Skull! I'm happy just at the idea of it =)

Anonymous said...

Honestly, I'm genuinely excited for this storyline. I'm hoping Skull needs to convince statue man that Brent hasn't really grown enough as a person, or somehow set Brent's development back.

Alternate possibilities include Skull being transferred to Francis, or disappearing for a while.

Either way, this has probably been planned for quite a while, so we're unlikely to see Paintball Neckbeard again.

Brett Schiller (Sage) said...

It'll be interesting to see if it does go down where Skull has to go away if he stays away, after all Colossus came back for the X-men (unless he's a Skrull duh duh dunnn!)

Scott did a good job of following through with the wedding storyline since he has declared that CAD will bail on its pregnancy storyline (even though adding "married" instead of "extended relationship" to a couple is less daunting then adding a child). So if he does go down that path without a twist, I'd commend him for fully for having the marbles for taking out his most beloved character.

Its like Shultz decided that Snoopy was just not necessary any more

Kree said...

Don't forget the chance that this is all an elaborate con in an effort to kidnap Skull.

It is obvious that he won't leave, but it would be interesting to see his role in the group change a bit.

Anonymous said...

Of course, this was all foreshadowed weeks ago when Brent's mother recognized Skull...

Anonymous said...

Seems a little odd to upstage such a key event with a Skull storyline. True, the marriage arc has been both terminally dull and trite (the only thing happening being the drawn-out appearance of 'Sitcom Mum') but I get the feeling that at least Scott felt it had some great importance/deserved reverence.

Unknown said...

"Of course, this was all foreshadowed weeks ago when Brent's mother recognized Skull..."

Actually this was all "foreshadowed" in the cast page for years. The fact that Skull was assigned to a young Brent may not have been mentioned much in the strip, but it was never meant to be a secret to the readers.

Another Whiner said...

You know, if Kurtz wanted to end the series, this would be a great way to do it. Skull has completed his mission. Show's over. But we just got the whole "Give me 10 more years" speech, so that can't be it. It'll be something very predictable instead.

Anonymous said...

So far, this storyline has been worth it just for the expressions on Skull's face. It's great to see some real emotion in the characters instead of the perennial deadpan. Hopefully, that'll carry over once the other characters get involved.

Anonymous said...

I'm just afraid that Skull will be faced with a choice, and have to become "mortal" to stay with The Gang.

Anonymous said...

François: I didn't mean the Brent-Skull connection in general so much as the fact that Skull would have to leave now that he's fulfilled his mission.

Anonymous said...

This Monday is going to be weird - getting just the one strip instead of the usual three.

Anonymous said...

Maybe it will feel better when you get two on Tuesday and none on Monday. Good to see that taking weekends off is helping Scott keep up.

Anonymous said...

Well, there was the strip called 'The Calm...'. Could this be the storm? To try and stay, will Skull try to ruin the marriage?

Anonymous said...

I must be slow, because I just don't see where anybody gets the "Its a Wonderful Life" or even "A Christmas Carol" feel for what's coming next.

I see a Skull-on-the-run set in my mind. With obligatory 'Beatles' or 'Monkees' soundtrack.

Anonymous said...

I'm sure Francis could use a case worker.

Anonymous said...

Props to Kurtz for the foreshadowing, this isn't entirely out of left field. Normally I'm the first to criticize him on these lame storylines without points, but it looks like he was thinking ahead!

Anonymous said...

well I was hoping Scott would be reading these comments from the past two posts and take the hint. Through some miracle of comic strip magic there would be a strip on time today. But there was an unexpected emergency. He had to go to Seattle. I'm sure Emerald City Comic Con was a last minute decision and he had no idea it was this past weekend. Otherwise he would have had time to prepare and work ahead. You know like Brad Guigar and Dave Kellett apparently did. They were at Emerald City also but they also had strips up this morning. Once more Straub is suffering from his association with Kurtz and has missed another deadline.

It's like the man makes everyone around him lazy and unprofessional.

Anonymous said...

Oh wait, I missed something on his blog until just now.
"Don’t forget that we’re on a M-F schedule now. There will be no weekend strips. See you on Monday (unless you’re coming to the con)."

I guess he means whomever went to the con gets a pass for posting a strip on time come Monday.

I would say "another Monday, another late strip", but I guess he's only late on days ending with "Y"

Anonymous said...

haha, whats tomorrows excuse? an ice cream truck drove by?

Anonymous said...

Today should be interesting since it's also a Ding! day.

Anonymous said...

I guess you guys haven't noticed that in the past 2 years, he almost always posts at the end of the day. But I guess you can cry yourselves to sleep.

Mike Vogts said...

"It's like the man makes everyone around him lazy and unprofessional."

Wow, how sad is your life that an online comic strip missing a deadline send you into such a fit?

Anonymous said...

Kind of funny how some people have to paint a simple comment to being such a pivotal event in the commenter's life. eg. "...cry yourselves to sleep", "...send you into such a fit".

Anonymous said...

To TheOriginalJes & Mike Vogts I'm not crying myself to sleep or being sent into a fit about this webcomic. I'm commenting on the continued laziness and lack of professionalism of it's creator. I'm commenting on how it seems he drags every one else around him down to his level.

Don't even start with the whole "...guess you guys haven't noticed that in the past 2 years, he almost always posts at the end of the day." If I want any of that fanboy apologetics I'll post over in the PvP forums. If he doesn't get a strip done until late afternoon or evening he shouldn't post it as today's comic, he should cut the loss, post it as tomorrow's comic and use his new one day buffer to keep working ahead.

Late is late. I really enjoy reading the comic. I really enjoy listening to Scott and reading his work. I think he's a swell guy. But if he wants PvP to keep paying the bills he should think about getting his act together and posting on time. I expect missed deadlines and flimsy excuses from the "hobbyist" and amateurs on ComicGenesis or Drunk Duck, but if you are presenting yourself as a professional and making comics is your day job, do your damned job! I do mine everyday as do millions of other people across the country. He's got a job that a lot of people would kill to have and he's killing it.

Anonymous said...

His "job" is an entreprenuership (i.e. his own company). His only mistake is letting everyone know all the little bs details of his life and work. "Ding" is his contract work to be handled between him and CrispyGamer.

Do you tell Verizon (or your preferred provider) how to provide you with cell service? If not, then why not? Really, why not?

Anonymous said...

"I guess you guys haven't noticed that in the past 2 years, he almost always posts at the end of the day."

Actually I have noticed, and I'm pretty sure it's because he's behind schedule, given that late postings eventually roll into missed days.

As for your comment about Crispy Gamer, I suppose the issue is between them and Scott. As you fanbois so often like to say they shouldn't complain about something thats free, except OOPS! Crispy Gamer is paying Scott for Ding!, and he hasn't been delivering.

That being said, credit should be given when it is due, and Scott did get a new PVP and Ding! out today, so congratulations are in order.

Anonymous said...

"except OOPS! Crispy Gamer is paying Scott for Ding!, "

So, let Crispy Gamer complain.

A perfect example of a bad web-comic (in this regard) is Pet Professional (Jason Salsbury). He went through how many artists (?) and would go for months between updates. All the while, bragging on his site and at pvponline how he posts regularly 3x/week.

He announced his year one book in April 2007, and to my knowledge, hasn't updated since.

Now that's a bad business model for a free product.

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