Well this is just plain funny

Hello all,
At the beginning of the week I added my own little funny thought of Scott taking Miranda's role and screaming "but I AM pretty!"

Now someone more talented than me has made that into an a visual media.



Thanks to Kovac for the link, creating it (?) and doing a great job

Indy and Feminism at it's Finest

He Says She Says

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It's Beautiful

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Magic Box

Perkins and Fowley

Art - I liked the embrace of the "lovers" in the first two panels even though I don't know why Miranda's hand changes between panels, as panel 2 in weird. All the characters themselves were drawn very well and I loved Chet's actions in panel 3 and 4 especially interacting with the monitor. Also, the shading was done well throughout as well.

So no major nitpicks . . . DAMN!

Story - Continues the story well from the previous strip as Miranda's ego needs a soft place to land. I also like the fact that Chet is in fact a lummox as I'd rather see another Skull type then another snarky member of the PVP cast

I agree with RW that this was a great punchline as it presented another pop culture reference (I know it's a pop culture strip) and addressed the fact it might have sailed over the head of some people (Francis' reaction) and basically said "don't worry about it". A clever little play on some of the jokes in the past from PVP, well done.

Side note - Is it bad that I get the Wild Kingdom references right away and I have no knowledge of Doctor Who? Please don't revoke my nerd card.

Thin Skinned - Ironic i say!

Beauty is Only. . .

Art - I liked the shading as it was kept consistent with the light from the monitor. Also, the backgrounds and set pieces were done well with good detail and I like Miranda interacting with the door frame in panel 1. Nice little touch including the line graph on the monitor as well.

Miranda's bug eyes were ok in panel one because she is angry/indignant about what was written about her. Also, her hand in panel 3 and 4 is ok because she is gesturing towards the screen, but seems a little disproportionate due to it being a little long.

Story - A nice strip as the combination of the internet and Miranda's ego would tend to be a bad thing.

With all the things we've seen from Scott though with comment pages and critic sites I imagined him (in cartoon form) saying "But I AM pretty"

Do it yourself it'll make you chuckle.

Well . . .

Yo guys,
This isn't a strip critique, and I know some of you are happy about that, but it is a general opinion relating to something involving. For those of you that want the background of this subject Scott posted a few comments to a story about a political cartoonist getting released/fired from a newspaper and that's here

Now from the posts it is easy to see that there is history, likely a new school/old school spat that happened months to years ago that Scott (if it is the real Scott) held onto and now that people, through no action of his own, have fallen down and he has taken the time to kick and gloat over.

I'm going to steal something I heard from a podcast with Adam Carolla and Bill Simmons. They talked about a theory where if a person is described by his first name twice in a row it is a hidden code that the guy is an asshole. The most famous being "It's just Manny [Ramirez] being Manny". If you think about it though it is very true because if you have someone in your life and describe an action as "it's just blank being blank" 99% of the time they are being a dick.

In these same podcasts they (mostly Simmons) have talked about the downfall of newspapers with people who have been in that business and a few themes have emerged that make sense for the real reason of newspapers hitting the shitter.

First, the biggest thing of the internet that killed newspapers? Craigslist and other classified sites. A lot of the revenue that newspapers got were from their classifieds and when a FREE, popular, and national alternative came about newspapers couldn't compete.

Also, newspapers did drop the ball in the early days as they kept their content free on the internet and now the "information should be free" mantra they can't really start charging because information is just out there. After all, why pay 50 cents for a paper when you can zip on the internet and read the stories you want for free?

Plus the fact that editors tried to copy the internet by getting the information out as fast as they could (through blogs and other avenues) instead of being the crap out of bloggers with quality played right into that downfall.

I'm not saying that webcomics and other things didn't play a role in newspapers going down but the reasons above have greater weight. It's like a remora eel taking credit for a kill when the Great White is sitting right next to it.

Back to Scott though, as people might say that his comments were petty, not needed, petulant, argumentative, drama producing, etc and you'd be right. I have gotten into spats with a "Scott" and "Kurtz" here too and banned from his former boards for "trolling" and seen that myself. I got my back up from stuff until I realized that what was going on, that no matter how much I argued it's like yelling into the wind.

He, and other people like Buckley, etc., etc., are programmed perfectly for the internet as they act like drama kids in high school when you tell them you didn't appreciate their performance when you critique them. They also act as supreme rulers of their own little worlds including blogs, webcomics, and videos, but they actually don't offer any influence outside of those worlds.

The funny thing is when those same people that slighted them, or they percieved to have slighted, have a downfall of their own, which they had NOTHING themselves to do, they act like Conan the Barbarian when he says that the is best in life is "To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women". Scott even made a SHIRT that acted as his flag for this, whether it's meant to be ironic or not.

In this situation, and with most things that we see, it's just Scott being Scott.

Comments are EEEEEEVVVVILLLL!

Hey guys,
I was at home yesterday making calls because I am a) getting married in November b) probably putting a bid on a house c) another thing that I don't want to mention because people I know reads this (like i said NOT NOT NOT pregnancy, phew). When I got a call for one of those 3 and had to run out at 4pm, when I planned to relax on my half-day and do an update.

I'll try my hardest to do reviews daily next week but I may need to ask for help if I can't.
Anyway:
The Photo Shoot

Art - I really liked the art in this strip as all the problems I usually complain about don't arise. Both Francis and Jade's hair are done well, my only problem is I don't like having whole pieces of Francis' hair shaded instead of edges. With the jagged edges shading just the edge looks better.

I love Jade's posture throughout this strip as well. Her hands are good, her three fingers are together but they don't come to a point to make them "fused". The crosses arms, rolled eyes in strip 2, angry pose in strip 1, and evil glare in the final strip is pitch perfect for her character and was missed in the first strip of this arc.

Story - Again liked this strip as it kept the momentum going and all the characters played their role: Jade being the moral authority and mother hen, Miranda is being the bimbo and attention whore, and Francis is playing the smart kid and horny 19 year old teenager.

This arc is doing well as the story takes advantage of the fact that these people (and Scott's) have been together for such a long time and know each other's tendencies, character, and what buttons to push. Add that Brent notes that he's moved from his past persona (Office Skeeve) to his current state (sorta-mature married guy) has been good.

No Comment

Art - Not as good a Thursday's strip but still good. I understand why Francis' hair is shaded the way it is in panel 1 as he is next to computer but in panel 2 having half his head shaded that dark is odd.

Miranda with bug eyes appears in this strip as well but it is ok because she is excited so it actually MATCHES the emotion behind the expression.

All the other set pieces are done well as the monitor and the shading of the monitor on the wall are great. I also like how Miranda interacts with the office chair and shows a natural lean onto it. All hands, except Miranda's hand on in panel 1 which looks jumbled, are done well throughout the strip too.

Story - Hey he's moved onto comments sections and away from people like us! I do find this funny as the comments section to DING! is some of the greatest material I've read related to web-comics in the past year :). That combined with the comments thread of the political cartoonist being released (see above for comments) makes sense from it being prevalent in Scott's world.

I'm kind of intrigued in this story thread in terms of PVP as well. Miranda has always been the sexpot and gotten away with most things due to her looks with very little crap (outside of relationship problems) sticking to or bothering her. Having her confidence rattled by a comments section could become very interesting depending on which way the reaction goes.

Passing the Torch

For the times I have noted his lateness in the past this strip was right on time and I was pleasantly surprised to see it up and ready to critique at 8am when I got into work. Full critique to come at lunch.

Changing of the Guard

Art - As much as I wrote about the last two strips I liked this strip a lot.

I like the position of Francis leaning on the wall as it is well done especially with a back view of Brent in his office. Also, the "Skeeve" badge has great detail both in close-up and panned back, and likely there is not a total reference shot for that. I also liked the facial expressions, especially in panel 3, as the quality continues to be raised in the characters showing human emotion..

The one complaint I have is the lack of consistency with Francis' hair being shaded. For the past two strips his hair is shaded, as is Brent's in this strip, but in this no shading in any panel.

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