Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Open Thread: Something Blue
It's nice to see Skull, it feels like it's been a while since we've seen him, but there's not much to say about the latest strip. The joke works; I like Skull in the last panel.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Multi-Tasking
So, I missed a few:
The Fitting. I think Jae looks nice. The dress is pretty complicated, and doesn't sit quite right with the rest of the strip, but whatever. It looks special, like a lot of time went into it. It's nice.
Have Your Cake... So... Brent's bachelor party consists of Francis and a boob cake. It's kind of awkward that we don't actually see the boob cake, but it's a family show I guess. We can talk about boobs, but not see them.
The idea of a one-boob cake is kind of funny though. I kind of assumed there would always be two. I will have to make sure to ask next time I buy one.
I happened to be watching Scott's live feed when he drew Brent's nose in the second panel. It looks odd because we're seeing the underside of it. Makes sense, but it still looks odd.
Honored Her Offer: This isn't supposed to be the bachelor party, is it? If it's not, it seems like a waste of a great opportunity for some really juvenile (or gaming-related) gags. If it is -- what's with all the broads?
I really like the double strips. There's room to breathe, room for the script to get its point across.
The Fitting. I think Jae looks nice. The dress is pretty complicated, and doesn't sit quite right with the rest of the strip, but whatever. It looks special, like a lot of time went into it. It's nice.
Have Your Cake... So... Brent's bachelor party consists of Francis and a boob cake. It's kind of awkward that we don't actually see the boob cake, but it's a family show I guess. We can talk about boobs, but not see them.
The idea of a one-boob cake is kind of funny though. I kind of assumed there would always be two. I will have to make sure to ask next time I buy one.
I happened to be watching Scott's live feed when he drew Brent's nose in the second panel. It looks odd because we're seeing the underside of it. Makes sense, but it still looks odd.
Honored Her Offer: This isn't supposed to be the bachelor party, is it? If it's not, it seems like a waste of a great opportunity for some really juvenile (or gaming-related) gags. If it is -- what's with all the broads?
I really like the double strips. There's room to breathe, room for the script to get its point across.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Open Thread: Maturation
I don't really have anything worth saying about Maturation. Comment away if you like.
Friday, April 25, 2008
A Mouth Full of Tacts
So, not unexpectedly, Brent mans up in the most mature manner possible (A Real Mouthful). This isn't bad, I guess, it's just predictable.
I appreciated Scott's comment, and can appreciate where he's coming from, but I don't buy the idea that you have to break new ground to tell a satisfying story.
Let's take a look at the whole mother thing. (Those 300 words want out.) "How could I let you marry a man I've never met" is perhaps the least interesting motivation that I can think of for Jade's mom. It makes the character only one thing: Selfish. One dimension does not a rich story make.
An alternative: Jade's mother is single and rich, but estranged from her daughters and incredibly lonely. Without telling Jade, she cancels all the existing wedding plans, and makes alternative arrangements: An outrageously extravagant trip or cruise to an exotic locale, for the entire wedding party, with the ceremony taking place on the same island on which Castaway was filmed. (I've been there, actually. Not a bad choice.) A month of wedding and travel with her daughters and their friends -- What could be more perfect!
Unfortunately, she neglects to take into account her daughters and their friends. She also neglects Brent, almost pushing him out of the picture entirely in her need to be close to her daughter in this most important time for family.
After an initial moment of "Oh my god so cool!" Jade and Brent realize that, because of the length of the trip and the suddenness of it all, many of their friends wouldn't be able to make it, and they can't live with that. A wedding isn't about the glamour of the ceremony, it's about the people around them.
After some hemming and hawing, they have to break through the alpha-Mom facade to tell her they just can't do it. This gives us the perfect opportunity to use the "I'm sorry" moment I dislike so much in a way that provides tension, and moves the story forward:
It's a perfect opportunity for Brent. Both Jade and her mom (and the readers) are set up to expect "Sorry, but that's the way it is." Some folks might even expect Brent to rub it in her face a bit. But. Brent ends up offering an olive branch to Jade's mom because it's just as important that she be there as everyone else.
Tears all around. Enter Robbie.
I appreciated Scott's comment, and can appreciate where he's coming from, but I don't buy the idea that you have to break new ground to tell a satisfying story.
Let's take a look at the whole mother thing. (Those 300 words want out.) "How could I let you marry a man I've never met" is perhaps the least interesting motivation that I can think of for Jade's mom. It makes the character only one thing: Selfish. One dimension does not a rich story make.
An alternative: Jade's mother is single and rich, but estranged from her daughters and incredibly lonely. Without telling Jade, she cancels all the existing wedding plans, and makes alternative arrangements: An outrageously extravagant trip or cruise to an exotic locale, for the entire wedding party, with the ceremony taking place on the same island on which Castaway was filmed. (I've been there, actually. Not a bad choice.) A month of wedding and travel with her daughters and their friends -- What could be more perfect!
Unfortunately, she neglects to take into account her daughters and their friends. She also neglects Brent, almost pushing him out of the picture entirely in her need to be close to her daughter in this most important time for family.
After an initial moment of "Oh my god so cool!" Jade and Brent realize that, because of the length of the trip and the suddenness of it all, many of their friends wouldn't be able to make it, and they can't live with that. A wedding isn't about the glamour of the ceremony, it's about the people around them.
After some hemming and hawing, they have to break through the alpha-Mom facade to tell her they just can't do it. This gives us the perfect opportunity to use the "I'm sorry" moment I dislike so much in a way that provides tension, and moves the story forward:
It's a perfect opportunity for Brent. Both Jade and her mom (and the readers) are set up to expect "Sorry, but that's the way it is." Some folks might even expect Brent to rub it in her face a bit. But. Brent ends up offering an olive branch to Jade's mom because it's just as important that she be there as everyone else.
Tears all around. Enter Robbie.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
The Return of the Last Panel Twist!
Ugh. This is my least favorite form of the last-panel twist, the Unexpected I'm Sorry. (Yes, I just made that up, but you know what I mean, right?) There's never a surprise; he'll either man up or wimp out.
I predict he will man up (wimping out seems pretty much out of the question), and one of two things will happen tomorrow:
1. Brent will say, in effect, "I'm sorry but you're no longer invited to our wedding."
2. Brent will say, in effect, "I'm sorry I'm not the man you had in mind for your daughter, but I love her with all my heart, and she loves me, and as a mother isn't that all you've ever really wanted?"
My money is on #2. I'd like to see #1. I'd love to see something original.
I predict he will man up (wimping out seems pretty much out of the question), and one of two things will happen tomorrow:
1. Brent will say, in effect, "I'm sorry but you're no longer invited to our wedding."
2. Brent will say, in effect, "I'm sorry I'm not the man you had in mind for your daughter, but I love her with all my heart, and she loves me, and as a mother isn't that all you've ever really wanted?"
My money is on #2. I'd like to see #1. I'd love to see something original.
OK, I am caught up.
So, I admit that I had read Maternal Obligations before going out of town, but it depressed me, so I procrastinated posting about it.
"How could I let you marry a man I've never met."
That. That's what did it. It's a new addition to the "most unbelievable reasons for canceling a wedding" list, along with the "poorest excuse for a plot twist ever" list.
I have about 300 more words to write on this, but I think it's best if I just get over it.
Mommy Issues did nothing to lessen my funk, but I did like Brent's grimace in the fourth panel. I have a whole essay written called "PVP Characters Spend Far Too Much Time With Their Mouths Open." Ok, not really, but I wish I did.
(A non-critical note to Scott: there is a typo in the first panel.)
Breaking Point is what it is. I'm glad that we're breaking away from the mother dramatics.
One comment on the script:
If their parents are divorced, why is Miranda looking for him? I assume he's invited to the wedding, but why would he show up with the mother? In addition, "Where else?" implies that the mother is expected to know where the father is, which, seeing as they are divorced, doesn't make sense. "Who knows?" would have been a more likely response. I was confused for a sec -- she seemed to be awfully blasé about her husband traveling and womanizing.
Mr. Fixxit: Holy crap -- this is bizarre but Brent in the first panel was something of a revelation. He's smiling. Smiling! Surely he has smiled before, but I honestly don't feel like I've seen that look on his face before. He usually has this droopy mouth that implies his world-weariness (see every other panel in this strip), and the glasses usually do nothing but add a cynical edge to whatever look he has on.
I really don't know why, but he looks like a whole new Brent in panel one.
Deus Ex Machina: I'm not sure how the title relates, but whatever. I don't really have anything to say about this one; it's needed transition.
The Wedding Planner is very well done. I am back on board with the storyline with this strip. The mother was a painful road to take to get here, and it's still kind of corny, but it works.
(I forgot to mention: Hooray for double strips! More!)
"How could I let you marry a man I've never met."
That. That's what did it. It's a new addition to the "most unbelievable reasons for canceling a wedding" list, along with the "poorest excuse for a plot twist ever" list.
I have about 300 more words to write on this, but I think it's best if I just get over it.
Mommy Issues did nothing to lessen my funk, but I did like Brent's grimace in the fourth panel. I have a whole essay written called "PVP Characters Spend Far Too Much Time With Their Mouths Open." Ok, not really, but I wish I did.
(A non-critical note to Scott: there is a typo in the first panel.)
Breaking Point is what it is. I'm glad that we're breaking away from the mother dramatics.
One comment on the script:
If their parents are divorced, why is Miranda looking for him? I assume he's invited to the wedding, but why would he show up with the mother? In addition, "Where else?" implies that the mother is expected to know where the father is, which, seeing as they are divorced, doesn't make sense. "Who knows?" would have been a more likely response. I was confused for a sec -- she seemed to be awfully blasé about her husband traveling and womanizing.
Mr. Fixxit: Holy crap -- this is bizarre but Brent in the first panel was something of a revelation. He's smiling. Smiling! Surely he has smiled before, but I honestly don't feel like I've seen that look on his face before. He usually has this droopy mouth that implies his world-weariness (see every other panel in this strip), and the glasses usually do nothing but add a cynical edge to whatever look he has on.
I really don't know why, but he looks like a whole new Brent in panel one.
Deus Ex Machina: I'm not sure how the title relates, but whatever. I don't really have anything to say about this one; it's needed transition.
The Wedding Planner is very well done. I am back on board with the storyline with this strip. The mother was a painful road to take to get here, and it's still kind of corny, but it works.
(I forgot to mention: Hooray for double strips! More!)
Back Online
Sorry folks, I had to go out of town suddenly.
I haven't read all the comments yet, I haven't even read the strips yet. I will catch up and get back to you.
I haven't read all the comments yet, I haven't even read the strips yet. I will catch up and get back to you.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)