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Strip Search - Elimination #7
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Apparently, Rob Liefield himself doesn't understand why he's still getting paid good money to make bad art.
... but I'm taking it into its own separate post because I had been planning on going back and finding the quote and probably rephrasing it. Not going to rephrase it now that I hit "post" and someone may already have seen the statement, but here's what I was referring to:
*sigh*
Or the line "this next job will be great"?
My interpretation was that this dinosaur was rollerblading for their job as opposed to doing it as a passion project (competing for medals). And yet I was told that was a crazy interpretation. I think it is the only one that makes any sense logically.
And while it is a more serious strip without a punchline, I don't think it is genius or particularly meaningful. Nor is it expressed well if people are unsure how to interpret it.
In that sense, you can compare a moving comic and a funny comic and say one is better than the other in conveying its message.
If the creators wanted to rig this show for Lexxy, don't you think they'd have eliminated Tavis? the audience was split 50-50 on that decision, and it was clearly a close match. Nobody would have blinked at that. Eliminating Lexxy, and banking on a double "bad-comic" showdown would just be mad.
On a separate note, does anyone have a link for a webcomic that Lexxy has done? I know she has one in development, but I would love to read her work.
Lexxy's was a good cartoon, but Monica's had poetry. Lexxy's made a joke, but Monica's tapped my humanity.
^^ Couldn't have phrased it better myself.
Penny Arcade lost on this one.
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FYI: Image above links to my webcomic, and is (mostly) SFW. Steam ID: Obos Vent: Obos
Zombie Lexxy's rampage continues!
On one hand, Lexxy's made me laugh right away. I admit to not getting the gist of Monica's until someone pointed out the narrative. I think I didn't catch the references to the past glories and therefore the ending didn't make as much sense. Going back to it now, I agree that it's a beautiful story. I don't think Mike and Jerry only want funny (they have plenty of serious strips in PA), but funny is what grabs them (mainly Mike). Thunderdome contestants who go for an interesting narrative (Mac, Lexxy's first comic, Erika, Katie's second comic, etc.) do not succeed unless the competition is weak.
So, yay, Lexxy... well deserved. Monica, keep making comics!
Obviously Mike is toying with the strippers in the Thunderdome for some entertainment value, but it is clearly tongue-in-cheek. But when it comes to choose a winner, we've seen that he was emotionally affected by the realization he'd have to send someone home.
He apparently takes this far more seriously that I think people realize. To suggest that he is dishonest in his statements and just picks whoever he wants to add drama is to call him a liar, and doesn't jive with everything we've seen from Mike and Jerry over the years.
For better or worse, they're transparent, especially when they're imperfect.
Monica's was good too but it took me too long to figure out what was going on. I don't mind puzzling over the significance of a comic, but I don't like having to read it twice just to understand the narrative. Boxes. dinosaurs. something about the economy.... what? I would say that the quality of her artwork was far superior but the flow wasn't nearly as clear.
I don't know about bonkers, but the interpretation I believe to be correct is that the dinosaur had found a job, but not one that used his roller-skating skills. This would explain why he was so sad and needed to be comforted, and why all the lights were already lit. It seems to me that he is sad that he can't make his roller-skating passion into a career, but decides that this doesn't mean he has to stop doing it altogether.
Then there is a mention of a job, and then we see the dinosaur skating late at night.
If the point was as others have suggested that this is a deep, motivational comic about continuing to pursue your dream, why does the dinosaur seem so depressed about it?
The dinosaur pulls out the skates and isn't happy about it. He is putting on the skates when he is told he should be happy about THIS JOB. Then he goes skating at night and doesn't seem happy about it.
There's your problem right there. The dinosaur is actually putting the skates INTO the box.
He was giving up on his skating dreams for a more steady job. Which is important to do given the state of "THE ECONOMY".
So, you see him tossing and turning, hearing the voices of everybody telling him he's doing the right thing giving up the skating.
But in the end, he's not ready to give it up entirely.
it's like a ferris wheel in here. everyone's going in a circle.
His new job is something other than skating, so he is unhappy.
So he is skating at night to make himself feel better.
The streetlights have nothing to do with anything, other than to show it is night.
FYI: Image above links to my webcomic, and is (mostly) SFW. Steam ID: Obos Vent: Obos
idk, the boxes of medals made the line "You were serious about rollerblading?" line fall short too. At high level the comic is a good "never give up your dreams!" tale. But once you drop the altitude the logic starts to break apart.
So just enjoy it for what it is.
Well, I think he's putting the skates into the boxes, not taking them out. (In the third panel, he's not holding them. He takes them out again just before he goes out skating). And I think he's depressed because he hasn't decided yet in that panel that he can keep pursuing his dreams. He's listening to all the detracting voices saying that he should be happy for any old job, and you can't make a living as a roller-blader. But I'm perfectly content to disagree with you; you just were asking what the alternate interpretation was and nobody else was answering.
EDIT: I can see how you might think he has put them on already for panel 3. But then he takes them off again? Maybe. But I still don't think so, and I still don't mind if you do think so.
Here my take on the Dinosaur Rollablades, that was probaly one of the most awesome things they've pulled out so far, it's kinda based on an ending in Chrono Trigger done in the traditional 90 minutes
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The dinosaur has been a professional rollerblader, and achieved success (trophies)...but cannot support his family, and has to give his dream up to get a REAL job to 'pay the bills'.
Thus he and his (wife? g/f?) are boxing up all his old gear and awards; she reassures him it's for the best.
Then he's sleeping, and all the arguments that convinced him to give up rollerblading keep going through his head - all the 'give up your dreams and live in the REAL world'...
...and something snaps; he gets up, uncrates his rollerblades and goes out into the cool night to do what he loves, even if it cannot support them.
It's poignant, and I've seen other poignant comics put up...and usually they don't win over a something with a laugh.
I think it's beautiful - keep your dreams alive in SOME way, never give up on them totally - and touching, but yeah, it's not quite the 'gag' comic that Lexxy drew.
To be honest, PA is looking for a style (as much as they can do poignant - automata, lookouts, etc.) that's "bread and butter" joke-a-day comix that keep the servers paid for, and foot the bills, etc.
They were BOTH good...as always, and if *I* had to pick one, I'd be pulling my hair out.
And holy ****, Monica! ^_^ The only thing she could have done to top that was to get up, walk over, put her finger over Mike's lips and say "Shhhhhh. Shhhhhhh." XD
I actually wasn't talking about you. You were arguing with someone else about the degree to which Lexxy's comics are polished or not. I think her gestural and emotive characters are an artistic choice, but it is certainly less polished than her other work.
I objected, instead, to the use of the word "unfinished", as in, there were either mistakes or additional lines required to tell her story.
If you look at both of her 90 minute comics, they both employ a very similar art style, with consistent artistic choices between them. I'm sure given unlimited time Lexxy may have changed her style. But maybe not. Maybe the point of these comics, for her, is to be free, fun, and gestural.
The point I was trying to make was that Lexxy's art shows deliberate design choices, convey a lot of meaning without an overabundance of lines, and overall, never leave me with the impression that something vital is missing from the work. Therefore, it is as finished as art can ever be.
Like you said - polished is a word that does not convey judgement. It is a statement used to compare varying degrees to which a drawing has been "cleaned up". That is not the word I objected to.
Unfinished, however, is a word that conveys a value judgement. It says that the work is incomplete, inferior, and not able to stand on its own.
The two words are not the same.
Schubert's Symphony No. 8 in B minor, aka "The Unfinished Symphony" strongly disagrees with that assessment.
But seriously, these walls of text must come down... :P
Unless she died in a fucking related incident.
Yes another one. Why? Who wouldn't want to draw a zombie riding a roller skating dinosaur wearing a propeller hat?
I enjoyed Lexxy's comic, it gave me a chuckle, but it isn't something that I'm going to remember outside of the competition. Monica's comic elicited the greater response from me, even though it wasn't one based in humor. The imagery of putting away your dreams and accepting that you've got to take the more responsible route flies against the cliche of "follow your dreams and you'll succeed!" that often pervades entertainment media. Then to see him wake up, pull the skates back out, and go skating through the night (possibly the only time he has to enjoy his hobby) is powerful stuff.
Monica earned that win, but Lexxy stole it away by knowing how to cater to the judges.
If Monica had more time and a chance to do a 2nd draft to tighten up the story line I think her comic would have been the best one seen yet.
(I also could have very little idea of what I'm talking about. I didn't watch her to report here, but seeing all the tomes written about the subject today, I feel I might be able to add a bit of actual information. You should watch her for yourself; it's an amazing process.)
I see a number of people saying things like this supporting Monica, and nobody stating the opposite view, so I'm going to put out the unpopular.
I'd easily remember Lexxy's over Monica's. Lexxy's was imaginative and crazy, and I'd not seen literal dinosaur footwear before that I can recall (though I'm sure anybody can dig to find prior art there). It's got the "stick" factor of an off-the-wall Far Side. Monica's told something that's been told a million times. It did carry that same "follow your dreams" thread effectively, though some didn't see it as clearly. But it didn't really bring anything new to the table, so I don't think it passes the memorable test.
Sure, that might be a bit cold to say given that she's showing her own cartooning dreams, but let's look at just the reader, detached from the author. It's something that's been banged on about all our lives. In reality this tale often exists as a false dichotomy for purpose of artificial drama, or are decisions we've already worked through and the story trope is too simplistic to cover the depth of and respect the actual experience. Just because a struggle is real doesn't mean it's automatically new and profound to everyone else -- just talk to any teenager for as many examples as you'd care to see (again, I'm old). Yes, it's appreciable and at some level relatable, but not memorable to me at least; it falls in line with every other basic retread of that idea. It's still a quite good comic and is a staggering visual accomplishment in the time allotted, but Lexxy's is more entertaining, less trite (more imaginative reuse of its just-as-tread meme), and yes more memorable.
Having said all that, Monica is awesome for pursuing her dreams the way she is (ie, being on the positive end of the story in the strip), and the effect that putting her own experience on paper had on Mike was genuine and touching. Reiterating from an earlier post, Mike is very sensitive about artistic spirit and wants to support that, and that sensitivity came through in this episode. But this is about what was actually put down on the page.
You can disagree with all that, and I'm sure many will as it gets into touchy territory. But I haven't seen it said before, and that's my explanation behind an opposing view of the "memorable" judgment.
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She's spontaneous, bluntly honest, fun, and funny, and I'm certain will be sorely missed in the house.
And her art was very good in this strip. Huge quantity, lots of variety, and great use of greys at the bottom.
This one actually works pretty well with no text - or if you want to play with it and add your own dialogue, go ahead!
If you want to pass this around, I added twitter and facebook buttons and stuff to my comic page - because sharing stuff is awesome.