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The New Comic Thread for Wednesday, July 8, 2009

1356712

Posts

  • 101101 Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    101 wrote: »
    The boys were meant to die, it keeps a balance; the basilisks get food, and in return they do not attack the village.
    The only thing I'm having trouble with is this: if the boys are meant to be basilisk chow, why were there so many stone victims? Do the basilisks eat rocks? If so, it looked like there were plenty of kids for them to eat still, and why does it have to be kid rock anyway? If the basilisks eat flesh, then sending kids in the way they do seems kind of retardedly wasteful.

    Isn't a basilisk's touch also supposed to petrify?

    I have no idea how they eat.

    On the boys thing.....maybe it works as a good cover? I think the rest of the village might disagree with the arrangement the elders have.

    101 on
  • Grid SystemGrid System Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    Druhim wrote: »
    Druhim wrote: »
    joelfinch wrote: »
    This is poor storytelling, for my money.

    The old guys come out of nowhere, even the leader's name comes out of nowhere. Totally anonymous until the third-last panel, what's the point?

    The leader never "let the boy live" - he got whomped by the basilisk and wasn't in control of the situation from the outset.
    why did we need to know the leader's name earlier?
    the leader was prepared initially the let blondie die as he was ordered to do, but changed his mind when he saw all the boys rally and fight together because he realized they were braver than the village elders
    I think the point is that introducing his name now is particularly pointless. It likely wouldn't have added anything earlier, but it definitely doesn't now.
    because it's natural they'd use it in conversation with him?
    seems pretty reasonable to have the elders speak to him in a fairly realistic way
    you're reading too much significance into something very simple and normal
    Well, maybe. I don't think leaving the name out would have taken anything away from the conversation though, and to me it feels kind of like finding out at the end of Blindness that the eye doctor's name is Bob and his wife is Lucy. Except that might have had some thematic significance or something. This just feels like it was thrown in for no good reason. Verisimilitude is all fine and well, but people talk to other people without using names all the time.

    You're right that it's not a big deal, but I do see where joel is coming from.

    Grid System on
  • The Sneak!The Sneak! Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    robothero wrote: »
    I don't like your tone, Sneak. I don't like it one bit.

    :(

    The Sneak! on
  • AbracadanielAbracadaniel Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    vrst wrote: »
    Druhim wrote: »
    101 wrote: »
    The boys were meant to die, it keeps a balance; the basilisks get food, and in return they do not attack the village.
    The only thing I'm having trouble with is this: if the boys are meant to be basilisk chow, why were there so many stone victims? Do the basilisks eat rocks? If so, it looked like there were plenty of kids for them to eat still, and why does it have to be kid rock anyway? If the basilisks eat flesh, then sending kids in the way they do seems kind of retardedly wasteful.
    you're over thinking this
    do you over analyze everything in your life for hidden significance?
    do you by any chance follow astrology?

    Yes, because mindlessly digesting a narrative is much better than reflecting on it.

    You're that guy at movies, aren't you?

    OH FUCK THAT'S NOT REALISTIC IN THAT FILM WITH SPACESHIPS AND ALIENS AND GIANT ROBOTS

    Abracadaniel on
  • DogDog Registered User, Administrator, Vanilla Staff admin
    edited July 2009
    Maybe basilisks do eat petrified humans.

    Unknown User on
  • vrstvrst Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    Smart Hero wrote: »
    vrst wrote: »
    Druhim wrote: »
    101 wrote: »
    The boys were meant to die, it keeps a balance; the basilisks get food, and in return they do not attack the village.
    The only thing I'm having trouble with is this: if the boys are meant to be basilisk chow, why were there so many stone victims? Do the basilisks eat rocks? If so, it looked like there were plenty of kids for them to eat still, and why does it have to be kid rock anyway? If the basilisks eat flesh, then sending kids in the way they do seems kind of retardedly wasteful.
    you're over thinking this
    do you over analyze everything in your life for hidden significance?
    do you by any chance follow astrology?

    Yes, because mindlessly digesting a narrative is much better than reflecting on it.

    You're that guy at movies, aren't you?

    OH FUCK THAT'S NOT REALISTIC IN THAT FILM WITH SPACESHIPS AND ALIENS AND GIANT ROBOTS

    No, what you are referring to is called suspension of disbelieve. That's something else than suspension of logic.

    vrst on
  • Octopus MelodyOctopus Melody Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    It appears this arc needed a block of expository text at the very beginning giving every character's name, hobbies and personalities along with explaining the socio-economic-political nature of the society instead of letting any of that happen naturally. Tell, don't show is the key to good writing.

    Otherwise how could anyone tell that the scoutleader, seeing the blonde kid under the claws of the monster, leaping onto its back and blocking it's eyes so the other kids could attack it, is at all "saving the boy" ??? Or that a community would have old guys leading it ???

    Octopus Melody on
  • The Sneak!The Sneak! Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    Smart Hero wrote: »
    vrst wrote: »
    Druhim wrote: »
    101 wrote: »
    The boys were meant to die, it keeps a balance; the basilisks get food, and in return they do not attack the village.
    The only thing I'm having trouble with is this: if the boys are meant to be basilisk chow, why were there so many stone victims? Do the basilisks eat rocks? If so, it looked like there were plenty of kids for them to eat still, and why does it have to be kid rock anyway? If the basilisks eat flesh, then sending kids in the way they do seems kind of retardedly wasteful.
    you're over thinking this
    do you over analyze everything in your life for hidden significance?
    do you by any chance follow astrology?

    Yes, because mindlessly digesting a narrative is much better than reflecting on it.

    You're that guy at movies, aren't you?

    OH FUCK THAT'S NOT REALISTIC IN THAT FILM WITH SPACESHIPS AND ALIENS AND GIANT ROBOTS

    He's disliked the comics from the beginning, so he's not exactly reflecting on the comics so much as looking for minuscule things to scrutinize.

    The Sneak! on
  • Grid SystemGrid System Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    Druhim wrote: »
    101 wrote: »
    The boys were meant to die, it keeps a balance; the basilisks get food, and in return they do not attack the village.
    The only thing I'm having trouble with is this: if the boys are meant to be basilisk chow, why were there so many stone victims? Do the basilisks eat rocks? If so, it looked like there were plenty of kids for them to eat still, and why does it have to be kid rock anyway? If the basilisks eat flesh, then sending kids in the way they do seems kind of retardedly wasteful.
    you're over thinking this
    do you over analyze everything in your life for hidden significance?
    do you by any chance follow astrology?
    Does it bother you that I'm thinking?

    Grid System on
  • The Sneak!The Sneak! Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    It appears this arc needed a block of expository text at the very beginning giving every character's name, hobbies and personalities along with explaining the socio-economic-political nature of the society instead of letting any of that happen naturally. Tell, don't show is the key to good writing.

    Otherwise how could anyone tell that the scoutleader, seeing the blonde kid under the claws of the monster, leaping onto its back and blocking it's eyes so the other kids could attack it, is at all "saving the boy" ??? Or that a community would have old guys leading it ???

    My Litchi is a beast now. You should play with me later.

    The Sneak! on
  • SzechuanosaurusSzechuanosaurus Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited July 2009
    Druhim wrote: »
    101 wrote: »
    The boys were meant to die, it keeps a balance; the basilisks get food, and in return they do not attack the village.
    The only thing I'm having trouble with is this: if the boys are meant to be basilisk chow, why were there so many stone victims? Do the basilisks eat rocks? If so, it looked like there were plenty of kids for them to eat still, and why does it have to be kid rock anyway? If the basilisks eat flesh, then sending kids in the way they do seems kind of retardedly wasteful.
    you're over thinking this
    do you over analyze everything in your life for hidden significance?
    do you by any chance follow astrology?
    Does it bother you that I'm thinking?

    Thinking, breathing, posting; there are many things you do which bother Druhim.

    Szechuanosaurus on
  • HunterHunter Chemist with a heart of Au Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    Maybe the sacrifice isn't necessarily the edible kind. Maybe the only thing the cool basilisk on the prowl wants is to kill a little boy or add his stone visage to his little statuary garden of death.

    Hunter on
  • DruhimDruhim Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited July 2009
    Druhim wrote: »
    Druhim wrote: »
    joelfinch wrote: »
    This is poor storytelling, for my money.

    The old guys come out of nowhere, even the leader's name comes out of nowhere. Totally anonymous until the third-last panel, what's the point?

    The leader never "let the boy live" - he got whomped by the basilisk and wasn't in control of the situation from the outset.
    why did we need to know the leader's name earlier?
    the leader was prepared initially the let blondie die as he was ordered to do, but changed his mind when he saw all the boys rally and fight together because he realized they were braver than the village elders
    I think the point is that introducing his name now is particularly pointless. It likely wouldn't have added anything earlier, but it definitely doesn't now.
    because it's natural they'd use it in conversation with him?
    seems pretty reasonable to have the elders speak to him in a fairly realistic way
    you're reading too much significance into something very simple and normal
    Well, maybe. I don't think leaving the name out would have taken anything away from the conversation though, and to me it feels kind of like finding out at the end of Blindness that the eye doctor's name is Bob and his wife is Lucy. Except that might have had some thematic significance or something. This just feels like it was thrown in for no good reason. Verisimilitude is all fine and well, but people talk to other people without using names all the time.

    You're right that it's not a big deal, but I do see where joel is coming from.
    it doesn't matter if leaving his name out wouldn't have "taken anything away" from the story
    it's natural for them to address him by name
    that's all

    Druhim on
    belruelotterav-1.jpg
  • masterofmetroidmasterofmetroid Have you ever looked at a world and seen it as a kind of challenge?Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    Are people actually using the scoutmasters NAME as an example of bad writing? It is not an uncommon practice in any universe for mysterious overlords to call you by name to remind you that they can. It's a subconcious reminder of them being a higher rank. The fact that no one elses name pops up in naturual conversation is pretty damn irrelevant.

    masterofmetroid on
  • darleysamdarleysam On my way to UKRegistered User regular
    edited July 2009
    Look, it works like this:

    Basilisks (fictitious creatures that apparently we can argue about for entire threads) kill or eat things in some way or another. Otherwise they would die.

    These particular ones are appeased when fed children.

    We don't need to go into the minutiae of exactly how a basilisk kills or consumes these kids. Maybe he turns a bunch to stone and eats just one? Maybe he can also un-petrify them to eat them at another time? Maybe he eats stone, but didn't want to eat the ones that are there?

    Either way, it's not a real creature. As such, the authors are allowed to bend these apparently diamond-strength rules how they feel.

    darleysam on
    forumsig.png
  • DogDog Registered User, Administrator, Vanilla Staff admin
    edited July 2009
    Does anyone here know how basilisks eat?

    I want to get to the bottom of this mystery so I can potentially send the writer an angry email about how they are not following Lookouts canon.

    Unknown User on
  • 101101 Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    Hunter wrote: »
    Maybe the sacrifice isn't necessarily the edible kind. Maybe the only thing the cool basilisk on the prowl wants is to kill a little boy or add his stone visage to his little statuary garden of death.

    I imagine basilisks using the boys as trading cards.

    EDIT: I'm suprised that people are somehow using the fact that the scoutmaster got called by his name as some sort of criticism.

    D:

    101 on
  • Octopus MelodyOctopus Melody Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    The Sneak! wrote: »
    It appears this arc needed a block of expository text at the very beginning giving every character's name, hobbies and personalities along with explaining the socio-economic-political nature of the society instead of letting any of that happen naturally. Tell, don't show is the key to good writing.

    Otherwise how could anyone tell that the scoutleader, seeing the blonde kid under the claws of the monster, leaping onto its back and blocking it's eyes so the other kids could attack it, is at all "saving the boy" ??? Or that a community would have old guys leading it ???

    My Litchi is a beast now. You should play with me later.

    Your Litchi was scary already, and now I have a stick so I'm having to re-learn everything.

    Octopus Melody on
  • Grid SystemGrid System Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    Druhim wrote: »
    you're over thinking this
    do you over analyze everything in your life for hidden significance?
    do you by any chance follow astrology?
    Does it bother you that I'm thinking?

    Thinking, breathing, posting; there are many things you do which bother Druhim.
    Finally, my life has meaning!

    Grid System on
  • DruhimDruhim Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited July 2009
    Druhim wrote: »
    101 wrote: »
    The boys were meant to die, it keeps a balance; the basilisks get food, and in return they do not attack the village.
    The only thing I'm having trouble with is this: if the boys are meant to be basilisk chow, why were there so many stone victims? Do the basilisks eat rocks? If so, it looked like there were plenty of kids for them to eat still, and why does it have to be kid rock anyway? If the basilisks eat flesh, then sending kids in the way they do seems kind of retardedly wasteful.
    you're over thinking this
    do you over analyze everything in your life for hidden significance?
    do you by any chance follow astrology?
    Does it bother you that I'm thinking?
    did you understand why I referenced astrology? I'm not criticizing thinking as you feel I am, I am (as I specifically stated) criticizing over analyzing things that are actually quite simple and straightforward

    hence my asking if you're into astrology, since it's a practice based on reading non existent meaning into natural phenomenon

    Druhim on
    belruelotterav-1.jpg
  • SzechuanosaurusSzechuanosaurus Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited July 2009
    Maybe turning kids to stone is the basiliks version of cooking?

    Only it's a really bad cook so most of the kids are overdone or still raw in the middle or something so he doesn't eat them, which is why there are quite a few stone kids in the woods.


    Also, I think we should start a Cult of Druhim.

    Szechuanosaurus on
  • ResIpsaLoquiturResIpsaLoquitur Not a grammar nazi, just alt-write. Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    darleysam wrote: »
    Smart Hero wrote: »
    The scoutmaster hesitated when the basilisk had the blonde kid pinned. He was supposed to let the kid die as was their agreement with whatever mysterious forces dwell in the forest. Upon seeing the rest of his 'students' rally to aid the blonde boy, he changed his mind and helped them to kill it, against the elder Lookout's wishes.

    Which I like because you can actually see his reluctance in those panels. It seemed out of place until you see that yeah, he was meant to be watching them die.

    Looking back, one thing I missed was the comparison between his getting swept off by the vile chicken and, not far later, his incredible moves required to disable the beast. Had I thought about it more, I could have guessed that he was playing patsy and that the intention was for at least one of the boys to die.

    ResIpsaLoquitur on
    League of Legends: MichaelDominick; Blizzard(NA): MichaelD#11402; Steam ID: MichaelDominick
    PwH4Ipj.jpg
  • HunterHunter Chemist with a heart of Au Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    101 wrote: »
    Hunter wrote: »
    Maybe the sacrifice isn't necessarily the edible kind. Maybe the only thing the cool basilisk on the prowl wants is to kill a little boy or add his stone visage to his little statuary garden of death.

    I imagine basilisks using the boys as trading cards.

    EDIT: I'm suprised that people are somehow using the fact that the scoutmaster got called by his name as some sort of criticism.

    D:

    I'll trade you a pudgy little dark haired stone boy for that goofy looking ginger kid statue.

    Hunter on
  • Grid SystemGrid System Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    Druhim wrote: »
    Druhim wrote: »
    101 wrote: »
    The boys were meant to die, it keeps a balance; the basilisks get food, and in return they do not attack the village.
    The only thing I'm having trouble with is this: if the boys are meant to be basilisk chow, why were there so many stone victims? Do the basilisks eat rocks? If so, it looked like there were plenty of kids for them to eat still, and why does it have to be kid rock anyway? If the basilisks eat flesh, then sending kids in the way they do seems kind of retardedly wasteful.
    you're over thinking this
    do you over analyze everything in your life for hidden significance?
    do you by any chance follow astrology?
    Does it bother you that I'm thinking?
    did you understand why I referenced astrology? I'm not criticizing thinking as you feel I am, I am (as I specifically stated) criticizing over analyzing things that are actually quite simple and straightforward

    hence my asking if you're into astrology, since it's a practice based on reading non existent meaning into natural phenomenon
    Now I think you're the one overthinking.

    Grid System on
  • TaramoorTaramoor Storyteller Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    Graauuughh ba-krawwkk cawkraaaaa is Basilish for "To be continued"

    Taramoor on
  • DogDog Registered User, Administrator, Vanilla Staff admin
    edited July 2009
    Maybe Basilisks don't actually eat, but their internal need for food is satiated by the petrification process.

    Unknown User on
  • DogDog Registered User, Administrator, Vanilla Staff admin
    edited July 2009
    And maybe the amount of energy produced through petrification is a direct correlation to the age of the victim?


    What now, brown cow.

    Unknown User on
  • HunterHunter Chemist with a heart of Au Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    It's amazing that people are literally arguing over the biological processes of imaginary creatures. Here's a hint about how the legends, stories, citations, and so called facts about these things came about. They are made up.

    A wizard did it.

    They hate garlic.

    They can't cross running water.

    Silver kills them.

    They feast upon the frightened essence of the boys once they turn to stone.

    Rosebud was his sled.

    It was the scoutmaster in the forest with the candlestick.

    Hunter on
  • DruhimDruhim Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited July 2009
    Druhim wrote: »
    Druhim wrote: »
    101 wrote: »
    The boys were meant to die, it keeps a balance; the basilisks get food, and in return they do not attack the village.
    The only thing I'm having trouble with is this: if the boys are meant to be basilisk chow, why were there so many stone victims? Do the basilisks eat rocks? If so, it looked like there were plenty of kids for them to eat still, and why does it have to be kid rock anyway? If the basilisks eat flesh, then sending kids in the way they do seems kind of retardedly wasteful.
    you're over thinking this
    do you over analyze everything in your life for hidden significance?
    do you by any chance follow astrology?
    Does it bother you that I'm thinking?
    did you understand why I referenced astrology? I'm not criticizing thinking as you feel I am, I am (as I specifically stated) criticizing over analyzing things that are actually quite simple and straightforward

    hence my asking if you're into astrology, since it's a practice based on reading non existent meaning into natural phenomenon
    Now I think you're the one overthinking.
    yet I'm the one that understands the comic just fine

    Druhim on
    belruelotterav-1.jpg
  • MathildaMathilda Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    Maybe they're herbivores and just really like turning things into stone.

    Mathilda on
  • DavoidDavoid Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    Or maybe they're just meanies?

    Davoid on
    rqv6.png
  • DogDog Registered User, Administrator, Vanilla Staff admin
    edited July 2009
    More like Basidicks am I right?

    Unknown User on
  • DruhimDruhim Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited July 2009
    maybe the basilisks bought the boy statues at Home Depot

    Druhim on
    belruelotterav-1.jpg
  • HunterHunter Chemist with a heart of Au Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    robothero wrote: »
    And maybe the amount of energy produced through petrification is a direct correlation to the age of the victim?


    What now, brown cow.

    Maybe it's just pay back for all the eggs the little bastards steal from the forest. It's about killing human children for revenge.

    Hunter on
  • joelfinchjoelfinch Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    Smart Hero wrote: »
    The scoutmaster hesitated when the basilisk had the blonde kid pinned. He was supposed to let the kid die as was their agreement with whatever mysterious forces dwell in the forest. Upon seeing the rest of his 'students' rally to aid the blonde boy, he changed his mind and helped them to kill it, against the elder Lookout's wishes.

    I completely get that this, or something like it, is the intended story. But it comes out of nowhere.

    There are enough pieces for us to be able to assemble something like a coherent story around them ourselves, but the fact that we have to is precisely why it's not good storytelling.

    My entire point is that the "twist" is slapped on. A good twist would be if at least some signs were there all along and we didn't notice them until afterward, eg.

    - significant glances between the elders as the boys set out (or any mention of the elders at all)
    - any mention before the attack, however cryptic, that the blonde kid is the chosen food item
    - the leader is the only one who *doesn't* get attacked by the basilisk

    When the leader gets knocked out, and then jumps up at the first opportunity and kills the beast, that doesn't scream conspiracy to me, it's exactly what I'd expect him to do.

    This was like a whodunnit where it turns out to be a character we don't even meet until the last page.

    joelfinch on
  • HunterHunter Chemist with a heart of Au Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    Druhim wrote: »
    maybe the basilisks bought the boy statues at Home Depot

    If you're already at Home Depot, then why not hire little Mexican el lookouts to do the job for like 1/3 the price.

    Hunter on
  • DogDog Registered User, Administrator, Vanilla Staff admin
    edited July 2009
    joelfinch wrote: »
    There are enough pieces for us to be able to assemble something like a coherent story around them ourselves, but the fact that we have to is precisely why it's not good storytelling.

    It seems like most of us have no problem putting two and two together here.

    Unknown User on
  • SzechuanosaurusSzechuanosaurus Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited July 2009
    Maybe it's a mating display.


    Actually, that's a fairly plausible scientific explanation. Oops.

    Szechuanosaurus on
  • Grid SystemGrid System Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    robothero wrote: »
    And maybe the amount of energy produced through petrification is a direct correlation to the age of the victim?


    What now, brown cow.
    Shouldn't they send really old people then (not necessarily the ruling cabal, either; the village is sure to have some other old people)? Or if it's an inverse relation, infants?

    I'd buy your petrification process theory though. It actually makes sense, if you think of it as a means of draining energy from the victim. He turns from something alive and energetic into something wholly immobile and dead.

    Grid System on
  • HappylilElfHappylilElf Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    Maybe like certain reptiles they injest rock to assist with the digestion of I can't go on this entire line of debate is too ridiculous.

    HappylilElf on
This discussion has been closed.