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Camp Weedonwantcha by Katie Rice — Whittle

DogDog Registered User, Administrator, Vanilla Staff admin
edited April 2014 in Camp Weedonwantcha

imageCamp Weedonwantcha by Katie Rice — Whittle

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  • DecitronDecitron Registered User regular
    "Spikes are out of fashion. What you want is a pilum. Pilums are coming back in a big way."

  • TzivyaTzivya Registered User regular
    For a moment, I worried Katie's April 1 joke would be not including a kitty, then I found it.

  • Eric the PrezEric the Prez Registered User regular
    Always good to see the kitty. I dont do spikes either, so last year :p

  • TrueStopwatchTrueStopwatch General Nuisance MassachasattsRegistered User regular
    What about harpoons? Do you do harpoons?

  • hajenhajen Registered User regular
    and when a shrink ray gun comes in the next airdrop, i can make toothpicks.
    the cat is really a frog -- April Fools

  • PohtHehdPohtHehd Registered User regular
    edited January 2020
    i have been noticing that a lack of direction is really killing this comic. many potentially interesting plot lines are created or hinted at but are pushed to the side for less interesting one offs. given the format of the comic i expect this to be the continuing trend. the problem for me is those ARE interesting plot lines that could be delved into and could certainly provide better punchlines than "I don't do spikes.". unfortunately we will never see the eventual culmination of some of these campers finer personality traits because of the lack of any real motive besides "they are campers and there are no parents" which is a very weak motive indeed.

    this wouldn't be a problem if the one offs were entertaining and made the most use of "everything explodes, now its normal the next day" format of shows(i.e. family guy) and comics(i.e. penny arcade) where in those creative works they are able to push their characters motives on the surface and below further because it will just revert to normal the next "day"(episode/strip).

    today's comic seems like a very good example of when this comic started heading downhill with it's weak cheap one off gag that replaces earlier character traits(wasn't Malachi super apathetic like 3 or 4 strips ago? now he industriously tries to survive, that is quite the 180). overall this weakens the comic because i can just assume we will never see these spears again or Malachi's new calm and motivated personality. which would be fine but the trade off for no definite character should be powerful comedic atmosphere that we simply don't get and will likely never receive.

    my expectations of this comic were high because of the authority installed by the creators of penny arcade, who i reference as a framework for the one off strip because they do it quite well and are consistently hitting the funny bone.

    im not sure if it is irony but you would think the comic they picked, one that follows a similar format to their own, would be doing the same to my funny bone but its not and it is quite disappointing.

    sincerely,
    whatevs

    p.s. if the location of a "hidden" artifact is the main draw of a comic...you have to be thinking the creator is probably putting their energies towards something else.

    well?

    PohtHehd on
  • RedCrow7RedCrow7 Registered User regular
    When I was a kid, this is what I thought whittling was, just turning sticks into a pile of wood shavings.

  • slammywammyslammywammy Registered User new member
    edited April 2014
    @pohthehd...

    tell us how you really feel.

    slammywammy on
  • droopybunsdroopybuns Registered User regular
    Pohthehd's creation- that incredible posting. Think of how much brainpower he channeled. Thank you. You got to get that off your chest- but we get to truly understand the nature of your existence. Your body exists for no other reason than to carry your asshole around and make it available to us, the readers.

    Thank you for presenting your wrinkled asshole to all of us. It really is an incredible sight. Just a truly wondrous asshole. 10/10.

  • ButterfrogButterfrog Registered User regular
    I just learned a new word...

  • KatieJRiceKatieJRice Registered User regular
    PohtHehd wrote: »
    p.s. if the location of a "hidden" artifact is the main draw of a comic...you have to be thinking the creator is probably putting their energies towards something else.

    Thanks for taking the time to write out your thoughts about the comic. Camp W is still in it's early stages and still developing into itself, so I can only hope you stick around to see what happens. If it's not the comic for you, that's alright too. The only statement you wrote that I don't accept is your opinion that my attention is elsewhere. I spend a great deal of time creating the art for each page, and probably more time than you'd believe futzing around with story details with my cowriter. I love working on the comic, and it definitely has my attention.

  • TubeTube Registered User admin
    As someone who is pretty hard to please on the comic front, I've found Camp Weedonwantcha to be an unreserved joy from the start and hope that the direction of it doesn't change due to people complaining that it's not like the kind of things that they like.

  • PsykomaPsykoma Registered User regular
    PohtHehd wrote: »
    wasn't Malachi super apathetic like 3 or 4 strips ago? now he industriously tries to survive, that is quite the 180)

    Yeah he was.
    Because he missed his birthday.
    That arc was resolved with a very sweet and awesome comic.


    I love the comic so far, Katie does great with black humour without overdoing it (even when showing a child likely dying falling off a zipline...)

  • PowerpuppiesPowerpuppies drinking coffee in the mountain cabinRegistered User regular
    favorite comic so far, great joke

    sig.gif
  • BrewerBrewer Registered User new member
    Just wanted to say these comics are genuinely heartwarming and enjoyable. I think it takes a lot of talent and effort to craft such endearing characters, even in the one offs.

  • Twenty SidedTwenty Sided Registered User regular
    edited April 2014
    In more direct reply to the criticisms above:
    The point is that Malachai hasn't matured. He's always been a kid playing kid games. He expects his birthday to be commemorated even though that's just a rote luxury in his circumstances. And he's not whittling because it produces anything useful. He's whittling because it's just another game to him.

    Twenty Sided on
  • samillikensamilliken Registered User new member
    I lurv your comic. I am a Den Leader/Webmaster for a Cub Scouts pack, and have already linked to a prior comic on our Facebook page -= and now this one will be going out soon, too, because it is *so* what happens when you teach 3rd grade boys how to whittle. Keep it up!

  • mushymushy Unprofessional Houston, TXRegistered User regular
    I did this as a kid all the time. I never understood why we would use one sharp object to make another though. So I just use the pointy end of what I got laying around

  • ZyxxZyxx Registered User regular
    I actually have a feeling that sooner or later things are going to come together more cohesively. This comic is still fairly new, at least as I personally reckon these things, and we're still well within a very reasonable setup period.
    Right now we're just seeing bits and pieces of the world the campers inhabit, and I think it's fair to say we don't have much less information than the campers themselves do. As it says on the "Meet the Campers" page, Malachi doesn't know why or even HOW he got left there; it's not unreasonable to assume he's not the only one with that problem. A couple campers' pasts have been brought up, but Colin's story contradicted the images we saw and the two kids the other day were obviously just boasting. There may not be any clues in the camp as to its actual purpose or its geographical location: in that case, what else is there for the kids to do besides survive and try to keep themselves entertained?
    I, for one am enjoying it more than enough to keep reading, wherever it winds up going.

    On a lighter note, does anyone else get the idea that Seventeen doesn't wear anything besides that shirt and is just obliviously flashing everyone all the time?

  • Twenty SidedTwenty Sided Registered User regular
    edited April 2014
    I just sort of wonder if there are generations of kids that obligingly die off and are replaced by the next generation. But that doesn't hold together on close examination. You'd expect some veterans to be around since there are regular supply drops. They wouldn't necessarily be in the best shape, but you'd expect to find them. So it implies that the camp is relatively new and/or there are many different campsites that are kept isolated from one another.

    Or I'm overthinking this and the setting is just a device to put these characters under the microscope and all the loose ends are intentional.

    Twenty Sided on
  • SIXytSIXyt Esq STLRegistered User regular
    Decitron / April 1
    "Spikes are out of fashion. What you want is a pilum. Pilums are coming back in a big way."

    not ashamed to admit it I had to google this

  • AberrantWolfAberrantWolf Registered User regular
    Just want to voice my perspective that I love the tiny snapshot nature of the comic. Comics with large overarching plotlines are great, but I also enjoy ones like this, where the characters seem to exist in this timeless space, and you are shown what seems to be tiny, enjoyable glimpses into what their lives are like. I feel like the strip doesn't NEED more cohesion, as too much cohesion might jostle our sense of what it possible (or not) in the world as presented.

    I know some people have voiced opinions against the format of the strip, so I just wanted to chime in and voice a counter-opinion that the artist is doing fine and should continue on as-is without trying to please everyone. :)

  • stevejb68stevejb68 Registered User new member
    I was a scoutmaster for many years. One of the former troop members sent me the link to your web comic thinking I might enjoy it. He was right. I love it!
    I have seen so many Scouts whittling like this over the years. Heck, I have done it many times myself. I never did spikes either, but I did do stakes.
    Keep up the great work

  • Spyke66Spyke66 Registered User regular
    Why is Malachi the only one with shoes?

  • Laika ClementineLaika Clementine Registered User regular
    I think it's to symbolize how Malachi's the "new kid" and has yet to fully adjust to the unpredictable nature of this camp and his general tendency for neatness that contrasts him from his more wilder peers Spyke66.

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