Ok, so some thoughts I haven't seen brought up. I'm probably wildly off-base, but it's time for overanalysis (TL;DR, there's much more to read into every visual and color use, family dynamic has cause/effect on monsters, and mom is already dead in strip three.)
STRIP 3: Mother's words are colored differently than normal speech. The top image has little flecks in front of the bushes (so they aren't stars). All in all, a mystical feel to the encounter.
Could it be that the mother is already gone in this page? Perhaps Grace is having a dream, and the mom reaching to her from beyond the grave?
Or maybe it's a memory, and we'll see that these are the thoughts that go through Grace's head when she's fighting a monster on the coming pages?
STRIP 1: the dad's face is illuminated by the word bubble. Also seems to have a streak of discolored hair above his ear that isn't in other panels. Literally can't go into studio. Also, he, "needs Grace." Mom doesn't have cancer yet (no ribbon).
What if dad wasn't asking to borrow the daughter at all (he's actually saying, "I'm sorry I can't take care of my own issues.")? What if he literally can't go into the studio, not just because, "eew a spider?"
The mother is making a pun. Not just, "I need my daughter to help me cook." (The daughter is just standing there, after all.) It's, "I need extra patience with you."
Cross on necklace is a sign of grace.
Grace is also making an unintentional double-entendre. There's enough of both -- daughter and the love that gives "saving grace."
That'd be why dad is smirking in response. He's being reaffirmed in love, moving from self-concern to happiness. And also accepting some good-natured ribbing.
PREVIOUS STORYLINE: "Some fathers are shields, but others... others are swords!" Old guy says he failed his child. Dad's face is purple in last panel. Has streak of discolored hair above his ear. Mike said not all nightlights are dads.
Dunno. Haven't put much thought into this one. Just some things I noticed, might not be significant.
STRIP 2: "Dad's... working hard." Pink letters on Crreeek, pink streak across painting. Just came home from funeral. Every painting is of mom.
Could be she's sheltering Clancy. What if she was also being literal, and this isn't just him grieving?
The ... could just be replacing the explanation that, "He's sad, and needs time to himself." Part of me thinks that it has much more far-reaching consequences she's filtering out.
Thing is, page one is an awful lot of exposition just to establish, "Happy family, lots of love, daughter is spider-killer." A wall of happy family photos and a text bubble would have accomplished the same thing. And it doesn't explain the glowing dad's face.
We know Grace is the nightlight, and don't really know if it's a mantle she always had (dad asked for her to kill spider), or if it was passed to her (mother's conversation and necklace are passed down to her).
So, here's an interesting thought: what if Dad is a "shield type" that the old guy talked about? His work in the studio actually serves as an anti-monster ward (also would explain why he looks distraught in the first strip; there's more on the line than just being able to paint)? And when dad can't protect the family, Mom/Grace has to step up as the "sword," killing anything that gets through.
Or, another explanation for strip one... what if (in the world of nightlight) it's the inner demons we wrestle with that actually create monsters, and dad does art as an outlet to keep from creating them in the first place? Not being able to get into the studio would lead to a much bigger problem, and everyone would know it. But no worries because as a family they've got this (you might get ribbed for causing it, though).
Goddamnit, Mike. Just...you and Jerry make me love you and then hate you so much. I wish I could write and draw stuff like this and it makes me insanely jealous but at the same time I'm picking up my tablet pen right now because I'm inspired.
Thank you for that inspiration but fuck you, too. No-I don't really mean that. Mostly fuck cancer or whatever it is that killed her.
EDIT: My biggest artistic inspirations growing up were Berkeley Breathed's Bloom County, Bill Waterson's Calvin & Hobbes, Gary Trudeau's Doonesbury, Charles Shulz's Peanuts and Jim Davis's Garfield. I'd definitely add Penny Arcade to the list of comics that have had the biggest impact on me in an emotional and artistic sense.
I'm very glad to see that I am not the only one who got lost in the first half of this arc. Still lost, but patiently awaiting resolution. While everyone else is deconstructing what their minds have turned into a labyrinthine architecture of half a story here, I'm kinda curious when we're gonna see the tween shoes that Mike so carefully researched for this story.
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GreathouseThat's my nameAtlantaRegistered Userregular
This is amazing story telling. They really nailed it out of the park on this one. Everything I complained in the last strip, they fixed in this. They can tell some amazing stories when they take their time.
I'm very glad to see that I am not the only one who got lost in the first half of this arc. Still lost, but patiently awaiting resolution. While everyone else is deconstructing what their minds have turned into a labyrinthine architecture of half a story here, I'm kinda curious when we're gonna see the tween shoes that Mike so carefully researched for this story.
If my time here has taught me anything, it's to not expect a tight wrap-up from a Penny Arcade "long story". We'll be lucky if we even see how today's monster fight turned out. We're more likely to see Grace singing her own daughter The Tradiitonal Nightlites lullaby. Liking these stories requires coming to terms with how Mike and Jerry like to tell stories. If you have to have every hole filled in and all the details fleshed out, they'll never satisfy. But if you like to have your mind explode with possibilities inherent in all the empty spaces they leave, then you are in luck.
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STRIP 3: Mother's words are colored differently than normal speech. The top image has little flecks in front of the bushes (so they aren't stars). All in all, a mystical feel to the encounter.
STRIP 1: the dad's face is illuminated by the word bubble. Also seems to have a streak of discolored hair above his ear that isn't in other panels. Literally can't go into studio. Also, he, "needs Grace." Mom doesn't have cancer yet (no ribbon).
PREVIOUS STORYLINE: "Some fathers are shields, but others... others are swords!" Old guy says he failed his child. Dad's face is purple in last panel. Has streak of discolored hair above his ear. Mike said not all nightlights are dads.
STRIP 2: "Dad's... working hard." Pink letters on Crreeek, pink streak across painting. Just came home from funeral. Every painting is of mom.
Thing is, page one is an awful lot of exposition just to establish, "Happy family, lots of love, daughter is spider-killer." A wall of happy family photos and a text bubble would have accomplished the same thing. And it doesn't explain the glowing dad's face.
We know Grace is the nightlight, and don't really know if it's a mantle she always had (dad asked for her to kill spider), or if it was passed to her (mother's conversation and necklace are passed down to her).
So, here's an interesting thought: what if Dad is a "shield type" that the old guy talked about? His work in the studio actually serves as an anti-monster ward (also would explain why he looks distraught in the first strip; there's more on the line than just being able to paint)? And when dad can't protect the family, Mom/Grace has to step up as the "sword," killing anything that gets through.
Or, another explanation for strip one... what if (in the world of nightlight) it's the inner demons we wrestle with that actually create monsters, and dad does art as an outlet to keep from creating them in the first place? Not being able to get into the studio would lead to a much bigger problem, and everyone would know it. But no worries because as a family they've got this (you might get ribbed for causing it, though).
...or maybe it's just because spiders are gross.
Steam: adamjnet
Thank you for that inspiration but fuck you, too. No-I don't really mean that. Mostly fuck cancer or whatever it is that killed her.
EDIT: My biggest artistic inspirations growing up were Berkeley Breathed's Bloom County, Bill Waterson's Calvin & Hobbes, Gary Trudeau's Doonesbury, Charles Shulz's Peanuts and Jim Davis's Garfield. I'd definitely add Penny Arcade to the list of comics that have had the biggest impact on me in an emotional and artistic sense.
Thank you both.
If my time here has taught me anything, it's to not expect a tight wrap-up from a Penny Arcade "long story". We'll be lucky if we even see how today's monster fight turned out. We're more likely to see Grace singing her own daughter The Tradiitonal Nightlites lullaby. Liking these stories requires coming to terms with how Mike and Jerry like to tell stories. If you have to have every hole filled in and all the details fleshed out, they'll never satisfy. But if you like to have your mind explode with possibilities inherent in all the empty spaces they leave, then you are in luck.