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Hey, I am still alive. On the other hand, my computer did not successfully make the trip to Boston. So that was unfortunate. I honestly haven't read a PvP strip in about two weeks, and am woefully unprepared to make any comments. I should have a laptop by Christmas; until then I can try and put up some new threads when appropriate. Happy Holidays!

Leaving, on a jet plane.

Hey, I'm moving from Minneapolis to Boston as of tomorrow morning. I will return when I get settled/internet connected. I'm guessing that will be first week of November (no, I'm not taking a wagon east, but a lot of my stuff is following behind me) So, until then, you are in Jai's capable hands. Don't get into too much trouble, Jai. ;)

More Non-PvP Weekend Stuff

Yesterday I was nice, today; cruel. This is what happens when you project into your creative work. (Hint: Brother is a metaphor!)

Erfworld 2: Love is a Battlefield

In non-PvP news; I was extremely excited to read yesterday that the second volume of Erfworld is launching on October 28th and can be found here. There will be several changes from the first book, not the least of which is that Erfworld now has it's own website, and will no longer be hosted by The Order of the Stick. The other major change is that Jamie Noguchi, the extremely talented artist who illustrated book 1 is leaving to pursue other projects. This is really too bad, his work was evocative and really created a unique setting for the Erfworld story to be told in. However, Xin Ye has stepped in, and from what I've seen of her work so far, she should be able to ably fill Jamie's roll. Of course, the real test will be her ability to duplicate Jamie's very striking characters. As long as she can keep everybody recognizable, and maintain Erfworld's crazy surrealist style, the comic shouldn't suffer. Rob Balder is really telling an interesting story. It is wrapped in a cotton candy setting of clever worldplay and internet memes...but it also deals with very serious philosophical issues. The main character, Parson Gotti, has been deliberating over the summer on whether it's right to use his talent for warfare when he knows it will likely cause the deaths of Erfworld's denizens. If you have a true talent for something, should you pursue it at all costs, even when it hurts others? And the oldest question of all; do the ends ever really justify the means? Erfworld returns next Wednesday, and will update on a regular Wednesday/Saturday schedule following that. If a very original mixture of fantasy and comedy is your thing I highly recommend you check it out.

LOLBAT is Butler! Butler is Rex Roffle! Rex Roffle is LOLBAT! Continuity is for losers!

Since Kurtz probably doesn't want to hear it from me, I'll hand the floor to astute reader Taylortails: "I do think it's a shame that Scott chose to do the ridiculous "Lolbat as Kent" strip, since it takes away from the reveal to have Lolbat have two secret identities. Plus, frankly, the Tick did that gag better years ago." All I want to know is what kind of hours do Rex Roffle and Butler work to pull that off!

Zombies Ghosts and Ghouls

It must be Halloween! The last few weeks of PvP have left me in a bit of a bind comment-wise. I was not enthralled with the Bone-Burglar/Skull dynamic, but then I really enjoyed the zombie apocalypse story. Probably as much as I have enjoyed any PvP recently. The art was excellent, especially the subtle touches of zombification on Jade after she turned. The story was tightly plotted satire. It's nice to know that when Kurtz is forced to, he is able to begin and end an arc. I couldn't comment because, well, it wasn't making me sad. Then we got the John Hughes/Cole montage which alternated between too soon and too boring. I'm the kind of guy, as my friends can attest, who will occasionally plunge through a 400 page book in one day because I don't have anything better to do. So when I tell you that a comic strip was not able to maintain my interest for an entire five panels, well, let's just say by panel two of 'Planes Trains and Get the Hell Out of My Kitchen' I had nodded off. The Kubrick throw-away the next day was clever, but so soon after a 'good' storyline, the John Hughes/Cole bit seemed more lazy than anything else. So, I apologize. I know I'm supposed to be churning up interesting topics in the tradition of FSM, but I have been largely uninspired to post recently. Hopefully as we return to more 'regular' plot-lines we can pick up the thread again here, as well. Enjoy your weekend!

Grating On MY Nerves

Yes it is. And by 'it' I mean the use of 'Die Hard(ed)' as a verb. I'm not sure that I can tell you why it annoys me so much, only that every time Brent let it fly, I shuddered a little bit. But I quibble, and it turns out that I have come not to bury PvP this week, but to praise it. Because, lo' did Kurtz find a storyline that actually, sort of works, and lo' he has apparently discovered that low-key humor can be just as effective as Panda sex and people crashing through walls. What did I like? The first panel of Vent Sienna was good. I always like it when an artist can use body language to effectively convey a situation...and if you removed the dialogue bubbles from that panel I think it's still pretty clear that Brent is 'on a mission' and that Francis is having his patience tested by Brent. It's a nice clear and unusually dynamic set up for the strip. Then there are two panels; one in Vent Sienna and one in Grating Nerves that deserve special mention. I call them the 'appendage panels' and they are the sort of artistic departure that I would really like to see a lot more of from Kurtz. If you imagine the PvP strip as being shot by a camera, most of the shots are coming from a fair distance with a 3/4 angle. These are a little more 'hand held' I also appreciate that Kurtz has focused on toes and fingers in these two panels; not traditionally his strongest suit. I would also praise the design of the 'through the grate' shot in Vent Sienna, although in most mediums when you use that sort of PoV, it generally indicates that an antagonist is viewing the characters through the grate...which is not the case here. (Unless it is being used to play up the paranoia of Brent, in which case, kudos.) In any case, as somebody who has been less than enthused, both by the recent one-offs, and by the plot lines dealing with Cole's family life...I'm pleased to see the strip return to what it does well; an ad-mixture of strange cultural references and office hi-jinks. Now, if you really want to please me, Kurtz...I hope the Germans have a devious plan...

I Know A Little German. He's Right Over There

(Source) I wonder if Germans make up names like "Xylophone Veröffentlichen" for American companies that want to translate and publish German gaming magazines. Nein? Well, even if they do then it's still silly (Which is not a bad thing. This is a comic strip, after all) to think Glockenspiels have anything to do with A) publishing, and B) PVP Magazine. It reinforces the "faking German" theme of this strip, at least. Oh, right, point #1, panel #1: Is Cole standing? He can't possibly be only a little taller than a sitting Francis. He's not close enough to the table for his arm or loose sheaf of papers to overlap it, but the perspective of the foreground is such that Cole's supposed height must decrease as the supposed distance between himself and the table grows. This is a strange, fish-eye view of Brent -- but it's growing on me. It makes him look very expressive and cartoony, which is a good thing. Even so, his chin (Which, more than anything else, made this panel look strange) probably angles upward (Back towards his neck) too sharply. If it weren't for that, after all, Brent would look more "posed dramatically" than "seen through fish-eye lens". What is that little angled bit coming out the back of Francis' chair? If Francis just scooted all the way over to Brent's side (Yes, go check their relative positions again) -- which is a pretty funny idea -- there should be some action lines to indicate it, and maybe a little pseudo-onomatopoeia action as well. The biggest problem is the table, and this problem is in nearly every panel: It comes up to armpit height. That's just crazy! Silliness I can handle, but not this. In the last panel, you could completely remove the table without removing the impression that the characters are still seated around one. The third panel is in a similar position. If it weren't for Brent's mighty fist (And the fact that we know better), we could start cracking jokes about how the all-concealing table is a result of the artist's poorly-disguised inability to draw hands and arms.

No, Seriously, I Don't Get It

(Source) What. What! What? What?! I am doing what I can to keep my knee from jerking, but I don't know how long that can possibly last. So. One question: What IS this strip about and why is SHECKY -- no, wait, that would be two questions. Oh, to hell with it! More questions: Is this strip supposed to seem antagonistic towards Berkeley Breathed? What's the joke? What percentage of SK's readership is supposed to understand ANY of this strip? Why is there no editorial comment for this strip? Isn't this the kind of strip that needs an attached news post the MOST? Is there going to be an Opus movie? Is this supposed to be about Breathed's "Mars Needs Moms!" picture book that's being filmed as a movie? Is this just... I don't know, a "Poor Berkeley Breathed, I feel bad for him these days" strip? Why Shecky -- oh God, why? Is it irony? Is this strip funny (Or does it provide some kind of meaningful commentary) to anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Is Berkeley Breathed "on the rocks"? What comparison are we to assume SK is making by pairing Shecky with Opus? That was not my knee jerking, that was me trying to keep it from doing so. Because I clearly have no idea what this strip is on about.

Batroom Humor

Bat-tastic! It's another Batman: Arkham Asylum strip! (Source) The thug's ear is a strange color, but this panel is arranged very well. Batman looks like he's sort of high up and a little ways off; the thug looks like a thug (Although he looks as if he may be wearing a medieval tunic). SK doesn't REALLY cut loose with posing Batman, however -- such as showing only his head in the frame (Rene Engström uses that sort of thing to tremendous effect), or showing him from different distances or angles ("Angles" is not much of a real suggestion, it's merely one of the possibilities. Repetition of the same angle can help to drive the jokes home, in much the same way as the repetition of Batman's stoic expression does). In fact, Batman is hanging so low in the 3rd and 4th panels that those jokes are vaguely diminished. Seeing the earbuds set in the top of the bat-cowl really cracked me up! That was a lovely touch, even though it's pretty obvious that there's nowhere else to put them unless you want to slip them under the mask. The little musical notes have something odd going on with them, but it's probably just because they were drawn too small for the finished product's scale on the internet (So they'd look fine in the "buy a print" version or the eventual published book). That is not mustard. I thought it was mustard when I saw it peripherally, and I think that helped ruin my taste for this joke. This might be a "less is more" occasion, where the less obvious the joke is the funnier it would be. Seeing pee rain down is not really quite as funny as imagining it (Yet you could remove either Batman or the urine from the panel to give it more punch), although mileage will vary from person to person. Personally, it reminds me of an awful scene from the movie Year One. I don't want to SEE people peeing -- not even Batman (And I think he'd have better aim!) -- but I think that the concept is really funny. Still, we got three punchlines, good (And varied) scenery, solid artwork, and it was all video game-related! This was a fun strip, although the more I look at the urine (The way it's just being waved all around, augh) the grosser it seems.