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Penny Arcade - Comic - Grace, Part Five

DogDog Registered User, Administrator, Vanilla Staff admin
edited July 2015 in The Penny Arcade Hub
imagePenny Arcade - Comic - Grace, Part Five

Videogaming-related online strip by Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins. Includes news and commentary.

Read the full story here

Sterica on

Posts

  • LittlestarsLittlestars Registered User regular
    So. Guessing that glowing trinket is the titular nightlight, the bane of the evil that lurks under beds.

  • OrphaneOrphane rivers of red that run to seaRegistered User regular
    it looks like a lacrosse trophy to me

  • LittlestarsLittlestars Registered User regular
    I've refrained from writing my own headcanon like so many others because I don't write headcanon. But I'll go ahead and propose that it is indeed a lacrosse trophy, and that it is also a spider-slaying nightlight specific to Grace. Maybe her mother's nightlight was, I dunno, a whisk. As a child, my bad guy killer was a box made of legos; contained within was a kind of bad guy antimatter.

  • OrphaneOrphane rivers of red that run to seaRegistered User regular
    edited July 2015
    i was being jokingly literal about the trophy

    yeah it's clear that that particular trophy has some importance to grace, probably as a totem of her accomplishment. i can't quite read the words underneath her name on the trophy, but it looks like "Most <blank>", which is usual trophy text, but i'm still curious as to what the 2nd word is

    it's quite probable that each guardian approaches their monster-slaying their own way with what's familiar to them, in the same idea that a home filled with a family and memories has an energy, an aura, a magic all its own in many folk/fairy tales

    the usage of color is outstanding imo; i wonder if the particular usage of pink and green on the monster (while admittedly pretty standard for monster hues) don't also hint at Grace facing (literally) her potential demons regarding her mother's passing?

    Orphane on
  • PAX_SkeletorPAX_Skeletor Melbourne, AustraliaRegistered User regular
    Orphane wrote: »
    I can't quite read the words underneath her name on the trophy, but it looks like "Most <blank>", which is usual trophy text, but i'm still curious as to what the 2nd word is

    Trophy Text is 'Most Assists'. Perhaps Grace used to assist her mother in dealing with 'spiders' also, which would make the wording in the first comic make a bit more sense too?

  • OrphaneOrphane rivers of red that run to seaRegistered User regular
    Orphane wrote: »
    I can't quite read the words underneath her name on the trophy, but it looks like "Most <blank>", which is usual trophy text, but i'm still curious as to what the 2nd word is

    Trophy Text is 'Most Assists'. Perhaps Grace used to assist her mother in dealing with 'spiders' also, which would make the wording in the first comic make a bit more sense too?

    ah, thanks for clearing that up

  • zepherinzepherin Russian warship, go fuck yourself Registered User regular
    edited July 2015
    I feel like making up words is more fun.

    In my mind the trophy says, "Grace is handing out red assed beat downs on the corner all day every day."

    zepherin on
  • Ryan@Ryan@ Registered User regular
    Looking back, the lines of the pupil in the eyes almost look like they could be reflective of "tears falling"; this could be a manifestation of sadness and remorse; potentially even the mom herself if Grace didn't speak the words she wanted her to.

    I don't know if she'll "destroy" it so much (the way the father did in the original 1-page story) as much as banish it with a building light from the trophy, that could be her "thing", I'm not sure, but I'm eagerly awaiting the finale to find out.

    I have to say, this is a fantastic premise for a short-run comic, or even a videogame. I understand that extrapolation on our part making these into personal demons (comments about the pink/purple being reflective of the mom, before I made my post), but if they're not personal, and just "whatever happens to crawl out based on amount of negative energy, or children, in a given location" it could be interesting to see this expanded in how the nightlights handle things, and if they could ever work together to make "safe zones" for families.

  • RichardWolfRichardWolf Registered User regular
    This is the darkest version of Inside-Out ever.

  • TheDrifterTheDrifter Registered User regular
    edited July 2015
    Orphane wrote: »
    it looks like a lacrosse trophy to me

    Checks out. Lacrosse is Algonquin for "bloodsport."

    TheDrifter on
  • HunterZHunterZ Registered User regular
    The left-handed Power Glove is a myth! A MYTH!

  • Skull2185Skull2185 Registered User regular
    Grace is so fucking rad!

    Everyone has a price. Throw enough gold around and someone will risk disintegration.
  • Soul SanctumSoul Sanctum Registered User regular
    Still not understanding this series.
    Kids fight monsters and some lady died?
    Ok then.

  • YoungFreyYoungFrey Registered User regular
    Still not understanding this series.
    Kids fight monsters and some lady died?
    Ok then.
    Somebody in the family fights monsters. It could be anyone in the family, in this case it's the daughter, and that might be because her mother used to be doing it and dies.

  • ArtoriaArtoria Registered User regular
    edited July 2015
    YoungFrey wrote: »
    Still not understanding this series.
    Kids fight monsters and some lady died?
    Ok then.
    Somebody in the family fights monsters. It could be anyone in the family, in this case it's the daughter, and that might be because her mother used to be doing it and dies.

    And the mother didn't even die from fighting monsters, It was cancer that took her.

    Artoria on
  • YoungFreyYoungFrey Registered User regular
    dragonsama wrote: »
    YoungFrey wrote: »
    Still not understanding this series.
    Kids fight monsters and some lady died?
    Ok then.
    Somebody in the family fights monsters. It could be anyone in the family, in this case it's the daughter, and that might be because her mother used to be doing it and dies.

    And the mother didn't even die from fighting monsters, It was cancer that took her.
    It makes sense from a reality perspective if not a narrative one. If her job was killing monsters, she was likely good at it.

  • RaveBombRaveBomb Registered User regular
    I kinda hope that we hear the words that Grace's mom was looking for. Maybe punctuated with the impending beatdown?

    To riff slightly off of B5: I stand *smack* between *smack* the *smack* darkness *smack* and the *smack* light! *smack* *smack* *smack*

    However, I suspect that Friday's strip is going to be more of Grace tucking in her brother and wishing him goodnight, or something else that's "normal".

    I'm off to pirate more music, steal software, and knock down little old ladies, then later I'm going to cover my self in Yak's blood, and lay in a pentagram, while reading some Marxist literature and praying to a heathen god.

    tata
  • FortressGCFortressGC Registered User new member
    edited July 2015
    I disagree that the Mother ever fought the monsters. In the First Panel, the Father asks for Grace because a Spider is in the hall blocking his studio. At this point the Mother is healthy. I would assume that if the Mother were the Nightlight, then the Father would have just asked her, as Grace was still very young and the it seems the entire point of Nightlights is to protect the young and helpless.

    The only theory that makes sense is that Grace has always been the Nightlight and possesses some esoteric quality that makes her able to fend off these Nightmares. The Mother jealously guards her Daughter in the first panel because she is aware of what her Daughter is forced to do. However, Grace lives in a loving environment and is filled with the emotions she needs to fend off the nightmares.

    The Mother dying brings grief into Grace's life for the first time. My best guess is that the Mother knows her Husband is a broken man and will only be shattered further by her passing and fears that the grief of her dying will strip Grace of the purity or esoteric quality that makes her the Nightlight. This would explain why she is so desperate to have Grace repeat a certain phrase to her(My best guess is that it is a private family saying that has intense meaning for them alone) before she dies so that she can move on with the comfort that her Husband and Son will be taken care of.

    In this last panel, we finally see Grace confronting a Spider and using a totem to "assist" her. The artwork is phenomenal here. It brilliantly shows her trepidation slowly morph into resolve as she accepts her role once again. She has lost the loving relationship of her parents and the warm glow of her Mother, but she still has a Father and Brother to care for and pride in herself now to carry her forward.

    FortressGC on
  • TheCanManTheCanMan GT: Gasman122009 JerseyRegistered User regular
    The "spider" in the first strip was a real spider. That's just something parents do with young kids. They ask for their help with simple tasks, and both parents playfully fighting over who gets Grace's help was just a happy young family being playful. That's why you can't tell who the family's Nightlight is in the first strip. Because it doesn't have anything to do with being the Nightlight.

    I don't think it's ever been made clear who the original Nightlight was. It could have been the mother, and after she died Grace took over for her because the father was too broken to do it. It could have been the father at first but now he's too broken to carry on so Grace has to take over for him. Either way fits everything we've been shown so far, and honestly I don't think it really matters for the story. The mother's death has force Grace to take over as her family's protector.

  • lionheartssjlionheartssj Bartertown Chief Merchant BartertownRegistered User regular
    I really like the distance perspective in the second panel. Great stuff, Mike!

  • GabrielGabriel Registered User, ClubPA, Penny Arcade Staff, PAX Staff staff
    I'm sitting here working on the last page and reading these comments. I love you guys.

  • KeroanKeroan Chicago, IllinoisRegistered User regular
    I really love the connotations that come up with her last name of Nettle. Nettle is a kinda hairy plant (again with the hair being an important part of her image), but one that "stings" when you touch it, showing her role as a protector. Personally, since nettle causes a histamine reaction, I like that it brings it back to her mother for me; since I had sensitive skin as a child, my mom was always telling me to apply an antihistamine to some part or another! I always have some anti-itch gel around because of her.

    That stinging isn't a direct pain either, but a burning pain (... I may have touched some once) and it makes me think that Grace is a strong but gentle spirit, that she isn't going to fight anyone with a sword but is more suited toward a role as shield. She's a deterrent and not a straight out thug. You can see that in her protecting her brother from her father's pain in the 2nd comic.

  • tbloxhamtbloxham Registered User regular
    The sequence is definitely improving, but it still lacks the narrative 'punch' of the teaser comic. The art is great, but it just doesn't quite work with the kid protecting the other kid. Why doesn't the brother just look after himself?

    "That is cool" - Abraham Lincoln
  • SalurielSaluriel Registered User regular
    I just have to say, this is one of the most lackluster side-comics you guys have ever produced. There are no characters, so we have no reason to care about them. The new father in the Nightlights preview comic had more character and identifiable traits than all the characters in "Grace" put together.
    Who is the dad? What's his personality like? Is he kind, mischievous, intellectual, absent-minded? Who is the mother? Is she dedicated, flighty, fun-loving? Is she a homebody or does she like to do other things? Who is Grace? We know nothing of her personality other than that her mom died, which made her sad, and that she's determined to protect her little brother.

    This stream-of-consciousness sequence shows a lot of events but it gives us no real reason to be invested in them. Kid fights monsters. Yeah, that's cool, but there's no emotional or narrative reason to care beyond, "Ooh, action sequence!"

    To draw a rather odd parallel (one that just popped into my head), the difference between Pacific Rim and Robot Wars isn't that Rim has a higher budget, better special effects, or even that it's better acted. It's because Rim gives us reason to care about the characters and their struggle. We get to feel the characters' pain and really understand what makes them work. Hell, Robot Wars arguably has a bigger plot with a lot more going on, but it fails because it doesn't give us reason to care what's going on.
    Likewise, "Grace" just doesn't give us reason to care about the characters. I spent more time wondering how the father supports his children in that deep of a depression - whether they have a care worker, if they're on welfare - than I spent intellectually or emotionally on any of the characters.

    Perhaps Gabe and Tycho are just too deep into the story, in that it makes perfect sense to them, but there's just something major missing from this sequence that prevents me from becoming immersed in it.

    Lookouts and The Eyrewood also lacked information, but they provided that unquantifiable spark that gives reason for investment in the story, promotes suspension of disbelief.

    I'm sorry for this lengthy diatribe, and especially sorry if it comes off sounding like an attack. I love the work you guys do and I know, from the introductory comic, that you have the potential for something great with this. It's just seemed to all go sideways.

  • fortyforty Registered User regular
    edited July 2015
    Are all the doors and walls in this universe incredibly soundproof or are these hulking monstrosities and the melees involved in vanquishing them just illogically quiet? I know in the house I grew up in, if my dad were beating down some grizzly bear sized monster from the abyss with a baseball bat while I was just outside the room, I would be able to hear quite a commotion and pretty quickly deduce that some serious shit was going down in my room each time my dad asked me to take a few extra minutes getting ready for bed while he closed himself alone in my room.

    Or maybe in the sixth strip we'll find out that the various protectors are defeating the monsters over a nice, quiet game of Gin Rummy?

    forty on
  • YoungFreyYoungFrey Registered User regular

    forty wrote: »

    Or maybe in the sixth strip we'll find out that the various protectors are defeating the monsters over a nice, quiet game of Gin Rummy?
    I think we all know what game it is...
    217501306_JWUAY-1050x10000.jpg

  • Rhesus PositiveRhesus Positive GNU Terry Pratchett Registered User regular
    I like the ambiguity of the first strip's spider, and I'm fine with both interpretations.

    [Muffled sounds of gorilla violence]
  • SanguineAngelSanguineAngel Lord Centre of the UniverseRegistered User regular
    edited July 2015
    I think Grace is a pretty great and heartbreaking character and it seems like Gabjerry have managed to convey a lot in the confines of few panels. She's a natural caretaker as we witnessed in the first strip, though I'd lay money it really was just spiders she was dealing with in those happy times. Through tragedy, the role of guardian has been foisted upon her, for both her younger brother and sadly her own father - lost in his own grief.

    I suspect the monsters are an embodiment of the character's own fears, grief, hangups etc. Where they might simply loom in our minds in real life and lend occasions greater significance, they are apparently manifest in this universe. In the teaser, the new father discovered a new role as protector for his child. He now saw 'monsters' were he did not before and discovered the determination to face them down.

    I think for Grace, clearing the spiders was a simple thing that defined a part of her role in her family, and she shared that with her family. Her mother charged her with a continued role as caretaker and so the role is now forever tied to the tragedy of her mother's death. The role is no longer a happy one but in the process, Grace's intrinsic responsibility has bloomed, though perhaps before her time and robbing her of a happy childhood.

    SanguineAngel on
    steam_sig.png
  • timmywiltimmywil Chattanooga, TNRegistered User regular
    After reading that news post, I feel as if a book has been shoved up my ass...but(t?) I liked it.

  • metroidkillahmetroidkillah Local Bunman Free Country, USARegistered User regular
    I like the ambiguity of the first strip's spider, and I'm fine with both interpretations.

    Not allowed! You must choose a side!

    I'm not a nice guy, I just play one in real life.
  • SpaffySpaffy Fuck the Zero Registered User regular
    timmywil wrote: »
    After reading that news post, I feel as if a book has been shoved up my ass...but(t?) I liked it.

    I thought it was damn near jibberish.

    Loved the comic though. 'Most Assists'.

    To her dad.

    With spiders.

    Plenty of her to go around.

    ALRIGHT FINE I GOT AN AVATAR
    Steam: adamjnet
  • bwaniebwanie Posting into the void Registered User regular
    why am i looking at gabe and tycho being 90-ies cool?

  • halkunhalkun Registered User regular
    edited July 2015
    bwanie wrote: »
    why am i looking at gabe and tycho being 90-ies cool?

    It's a 404 because Dog can't find the proper comic and no one has bothered to tell an admin to go fix it.

    Maybe @IcyLiquid may want to take a look into this.

    halkun on
  • HeWhoSeesHeWhoSees Registered User regular
    I have so many questions about the world of this story. I know darn well pretty much none of them will really be answered. It's driving me completely bonkers. AND I'M LOVING EVERY SECOND OF IT! ^_^

  • fortyforty Registered User regular
    bwanie wrote: »
    90-ies
    nooooo

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