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Penny Arcade - Comic - The Wolf, Part Three By Tavis Maiden
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Registered User, Administrator, Vanilla Staff admin
Registered User, Administrator, Vanilla Staff admin
Penny Arcade - Comic - The Wolf, Part Three By Tavis Maiden
Videogaming-related online strip by Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins. Includes news and commentary.
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My question for this particular universe is "Are the monsters they hunt always evil?" We can assume that the things they do are for the safety of the people they're meant to protect, but being dangerous is not the same as being evil. And since there has already been demonstrated a rift between the Lookouts and the Daughters, with both sides given fairly sympathetic positions, it seems to imply the Lookouts are not necessarily the "good guys". Also, there's the Thornwatch, described as "oath breakers"; but I assume they'd left the Lookouts for personal reasons rather than, say, simple cowardice.
I guess I'm wondering if the stories will ever hit a point that reveals to the reader that, like many other valued institutions, the Lookouts are no longer what they started out to be. They still provide a necessary service, but there are acts and attitudes behind the veneer that are not in line with their stated goals.
I've got some super edgy headcanon going on here, guys. So edgy.
No, I don't think most of the monsters the Lookouts hunt are evil. I think most of them are just hungry. The comics certainly haven't shown any evil intent for most of them. They'd need to show them killing and/or causing mayhem without needing to for me to feel they are evil. This "wolf" seems pretty hungry. The sphinx is driven to riddle. I don't know anything about huge owl-panther. And that treephelant was probably not doing anything to anybody. It's a fantastic version of man settling a new territory.
I think we need a name for the culture the Lookouts are from.
Maybe there are good narrative reasons for it, but I'm not feeling like that background is there enough. I'm pretty obsessive about PA, so if *I'm* not seeing this stuff, then I have to imagine that normal people are totally freakin' lost.
Looks like you'll have to find other sources of free entertainment.
Also LOL @ wanting more "Gabe and Tycho on a couch playing a vidja game" comics because the side projects don't have enough story.
It's not that they don't have enough story, they have zero story. And at least the "vidja game" comics are consistently funny.
On a non rhyming note: 'The Wolf' has a notably singular description for a baddie in this realm. Other beasts (Basilisk, Tree-Lion) seemed to have been recurring problems around which poems and training games were developed.
If there is only one Wolf, but he fucks off after getting a belly full of kids, my initial read of this being a sacrifice disguised as a mission may still be the case.
Why is there no lookouts wiki
Because none of the comics offer enough definite information to create an article bigger than a "stub."
Exactly, you just solidified my point. Is it too much to ask for a little narrative? Some background? If the reader is constantly asking "why" then you'd better set aside some time to reexamine your plot structure, because dramatic fight sequences do not equal story.
Look dude, I have my own problems with the way the Lookouts stories are executed, but ultimately this site is entertainment Mike and Jerry provide for free. They are going to make comics about what they want, whether that's video game joke-a-day or Lookouts or Automata or whatever, and if you don't like it you're free to take all the money you're not spending elsewhere.
In this case your criticism is particularly off-base because a big part of the reason Tavis is filling in with a Lookouts story right now is that Mike has been seriously ill. Bitching because a guy takes a break from producing entertainment for you that you pay nothing for because he's been sick is a pretty shitty way to behave.
Ah, apparently that Cryptozoic series was just 6 issues. I thought it had been ongoing.
I actually forgot about the Cryptozoic series. Would be interested to know if it firms up any of the details about the setting but I am guessing it doesn't very much just because nobody ever pops up to say "In the Cryptozoic comics..." when we're confused about stuff here.
Sorry, but your argument that "this content is free" yet it somehow can't be subject to criticism is really weak. Automata and Lookout have been around for a long time, and Gabe continues to evolve as an artist, but in terms of story it's as if they've regressed to a point that they cannot even grasp the concept of beginning, middle, and end. It's just a shame because the worlds they created are pretty cool, but the execution is horrendously lacking.
I agree. It's the same argument structure used to defend other media / productive work: "This food is not flavored." "Well, why don't YOU become a master cook?" Even the 'free' part is wonky - I could argue I have invested time (I think time investment is also valuable) reading the comics even from a money making perspective the creator are supported: ads on the site / ads on their YouTube channel. I think the criticism from Godfella was a bit ham fisted in the first post and hit some nerve, but was well explained in further posts.
My feeling is that the creators (Jerry and Mike) are hanging between two extremes (not counting attending and organizing events like PAX, or creating merchandise and videos) - The Gag every two days comic strip and their dream projects. What I want to see is that they invest more time in the later. While PA is based on current events and has to be created spot on, the later can be preproduced and fleshed out over a loong time span. Then they could use PA as launch platform for something which has a foundation. Currently it feels I only get some insight in these fantastic words through broken glass pieces.
Would I read an ongoing Lookouts webcomic? Sure. Would I want PA to do storylines that take a couple months to resolve so we can get "more story?" No, because I too like the Gabe/Tycho comics and would miss them if they went away for months at a time...unless the story that replaced them was really good.
I figure Mike and Jerry don't owe us a non-stop stream of a certain kind of comic. And I don't say that because it's free entertainment. I just say it because it's their project and their site and they can do what they want and know that it's likely that at least 50% of us will be satisfied with whatever they come up with. Comics like this give them a chance to write/draw things other than yet another Gabe/Tycho talk about a video game comic. They have their fun for a week or two and then they go back to business as usual.
If you miss Gabe and Tycho that much, do what I do and hit the "random" button a few times and read some of the classics.
-Tycho Brahe
Did people used to hate the CTS strips too, or do they fall under the 'classic category now? ;P
they reminded me of adam savage in a trenchcoat and fedora
It's pretty sparse in terms of the poem/story aspect. And the art is really not working for me. I really wish Jerry and Mike would helm the Lookouts stuff versus constantly farming it out to others.
I like stories that don't try to adhere to expected categories.
I really like the little details in them.
The kid skins on the ground in the last comic were a great touch.
As has been mentioned, both in news posts and here in this thread, the reason this was "farmed" was because Mike was violently ill and unable to create for a period. He's on the mend and the last one of these is tomorrow and then, if he's feeling up to it, Mike will be back working and everyone can complain about that.
That girl
In the Cryptozoic comics, the girl's latent connection to the Forest allows her to subdue the monster, which shows that her Daughter abilities are very much present and developing - and she doesn't have her older Sisters to guide her through the process. Given what we've seen of this world so far, it's a good bet that that will be very dangerous, both for her and for everyone around her.
The "reveal" you're talking about showed that the flowers in her hair are back, and they're blooming.