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Penny Arcade - Comic - Fish Are Friends

DogDog Registered User, Administrator, Vanilla Staff admin
edited January 2019 in The Penny Arcade Hub

imagePenny Arcade - Comic - Fish Are Friends

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

Read the full story here


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    shandesashandesa Registered User regular
    Considering he's been the butt of the joke for dc fans for so long, Tycho's reaction is reasonable.

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    ZenigataZenigata Registered User regular
    It never does cease to amaze me, as a person who has zero interest in any movie the second it's all about "superheroes" that they keep pumping so many of these out that we've gotten to a point where they made a serious Aquaman movie. I guess all the less popular and more obscure ones are going to get their own movie one day and just because it's a hero movie loaded with CGI people will throw money at it.

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    Skull2185Skull2185 Registered User regular
    I'm not normally interested in DC's terrible attempts at movies, but Aquaman and Shazam seem to be an attempt to pull away from the weird edgelord grimdark cinematic universe they tried to create. Not interested enough to hit up the theater, but I'll definitely check out the movie once it's available digitally.

    It helps that Momoa himself is just insanely charismatic, and his portrayal of Aquaman seems at least partially based on the Brave and the Bold goofier version of the character.

    Everyone has a price. Throw enough gold around and someone will risk disintegration.
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    TofystedethTofystedeth Registered User regular
    Zenigata wrote: »
    It never does cease to amaze me, as a person who has zero interest in any movie the second it's all about "superheroes" that they keep pumping so many of these out that we've gotten to a point where they made a serious Aquaman movie. I guess all the less popular and more obscure ones are going to get their own movie one day and just because it's a hero movie loaded with CGI people will throw money at it.

    Yo, this is a pretty goosey take on movie audiences. There's a ton of people on this forum you just insulted by implying we have no capacity to think critically about something as soon as superheroes get involved. If comic book movies aren't your thing, that's fine. But enough of them (particularly DC stuff) have flopped and been panned by both critics and audiences alike that it's evident we do actually exercise judgment. The fact that superhero movies are so popular lately has more to do with fact that lately, they've figured out how to make them good movies.

    steam_sig.png
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    QuidQuid Definitely not a banana Registered User regular
    There have been excellent movies with lesser known, frankly absurd, heroes like Ant-Man and Guardians of the Galaxy. Meanwhile BvS and Justice League were reviewed (relatively) horribly. The quality of a movie has nothing to do with the popularity of the hero.

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    SpinelesSSpinelesS Registered User regular
    I really thought an Aquaman movie would only exist in Entourage....
    Does Queens boulevard and Medellin also exist in real life yet?

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    MercadeMercade Registered User regular
    I love that it’s raining in the Aquaman strip. Also, those reflection/blur effects in panel 2 are well done. I still can’t believe this is 100% iPad.

    Switch: SW-1909-0466-9585
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    MercadeMercade Registered User regular
    And to what Zenigata said, it isn’t worth grousing about the deluge of superhero movies. I agree to a point, but entertainment is a business like anything else and if they can basically print money by cranking them out, so be it. Let people have their stuff. There are still plenty of other great movies coming out on the regular to enjoy.

    Switch: SW-1909-0466-9585
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    FireballDragonFireballDragon Registered User regular
    Regardless of the current movie, people seem to really sell Aquaman short in general.

    He could flood an entire battlefield in mere seconds (Water makes up 90% of the planet's surface, mind you), and summon all sorts of scary-ass sea monsters like sharks and giant cephalopods to do his bidding.

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    ironheadironhead Registered User regular
    Regardless of the current movie, people seem to really sell Aquaman short in general.

    He could flood an entire battlefield in mere seconds (Water makes up 90% of the planet's surface, mind you), and summon all sorts of scary-ass sea monsters like sharks and giant cephalopods to do his bidding.

    There's also the whole, less interesting but very relevant, super strength, super durability and extensive combat training thing. Also Aquaman was good movie and I highly recommend seeing it.

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    Hahnsoo1Hahnsoo1 Make Ready. We Hunt.Registered User regular
    I can't read "Fish are Friends" without mentally thinking about it in an Australian accent. :D

    8i1dt37buh2m.png
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    BentonGreyBentonGrey Registered User new member
    Poor Aquaman just never gets any respect:
    https://bentongrey.wordpress.com/aquaman-primer/

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    dennisdennis aka bingley Registered User regular
    edited January 2019
    I mostly agree with Tofystedeth but when I see Venom with a Rotten Tomatoes 28% critics rating and 84% audience rating, I sometimes wonder. Of course, that may just be because everyone who wouldn't like it was warned off strongly enough, though with near $900 million worldwide that gets hard to believe.

    And even though I agree with what Quid said about them, both the movies he/she mentioned made massive bank. Going down the list of Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, Suicide Squad, and Justice League, not a single one of them dipped below $650 million worldwide. And BvS solidly outperformed Wonder Woman. The gap between BvS and WW is almost the same as between WW and Suicide Squad.

    I know a lot of people hate critics reviews, including Jerry and Mike quite frequently. For me, I find that my tastes typically line up (Tron Legacy being my most memorable exception). But when I see the above, I do wonder about a certain core audience that actually will see and enjoy almost any superhero movie. I have to say "almost", though, because Fantastic Four at least gives me hope.

    And then I look at the Transformers movies, which I think are pretty good examples of "superhero" movies, even if they stray a little from the usual costuming. Those are movies that seem to earn more money the worse they are critically received. To read their worldwide grosses at boxofficemojo is to call into question the entire field of cinematic criticism.

    And as to "why do you care what people like, how does it hurt you?" - I generally 100% agree with that. Don't get mad that people don't like the same things as you. But I do feel a bit of a twinge when it comes to movies, as there is undeniably a groupthink when it comes to Hollywood movies, and if a certain trend is following a formula it can be very difficult for other movies to argue against it. They end up getting change to fit the money-making mold better. I suppose I'm not morosely hopeless, though, given Deadpool's success.

    dennis on
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    QuidQuid Definitely not a banana Registered User regular
    Action movies that emphasize special effects and spectacle with mediocre to bad writing have generally made huge amounts of money for decades. It’s not really anything new. The average movie goer simply likes them.

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    LucascraftLucascraft Registered User regular
    Aquaman was a really fun movie. Jason Momoa is super charismatic, he plays the role very well, he doesn't take it too seriously, and he makes lots of quips and goofy oneliners throughout the show. I bet a lot of it was probably improv too. Just Jason being Jason and having a fun time with it.

    Also the special effects were good, the combat was pretty fun, and Amber Heard is gorgeous and I hope she gets more opportunities to play Mera in the future.

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    dennisdennis aka bingley Registered User regular
    edited January 2019
    Quid wrote: »
    Action movies that emphasize special effects and spectacle with mediocre to bad writing have generally made huge amounts of money for decades. It’s not really anything new. The average movie goer simply likes them.

    Yeah, that's a totally fair point. I'm more addressing Tofystedeth's statement that superhero movies are popular because they've figured out how to make good ones. And that because critics have panned the bad ones, we (always fuzzy who "we" is, but still) exercise judgment. It seems more because they've figured out a formula for making profitable ones, in the same way those action movies were near-universally "profitable" even without being (critically speaking) "good."

    dennis on
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    MarcinMNMarcinMN Registered User regular
    Lucascraft wrote: »
    Aquaman was a really fun movie. Jason Momoa is super charismatic, he plays the role very well, he doesn't take it too seriously, and he makes lots of quips and goofy oneliners throughout the show. I bet a lot of it was probably improv too. Just Jason being Jason and having a fun time with it.

    Also the special effects were good, the combat was pretty fun, and Amber Heard is gorgeous and I hope she gets more opportunities to play Mera in the future.

    Quips and one-liners? See, when you describe it that way I would expect the DC fan base to hate it, yet I haven't seen many complaints. Granted, I haven't really been seeking out Aquaman commentary either. I haven't seen it yet, but I imagine I'll get to it in the next couple weekends.

    "It's just as I've always said. We are being digested by an amoral universe."

    -Tycho Brahe
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    RingoRingo He/Him a distinct lack of substanceRegistered User regular
    Occasionally I wish I was still in an old facebook group that had some Zack Snyder DC superfans just to see if their brains have exploded yet from the changes to the dc movie verse

    I think I am probably happier not knowing

    Sterica wrote: »
    I know my last visit to my grandpa on his deathbed was to find out how the whole Nazi werewolf thing turned out.
    Edcrab's Exigency RPG
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    DrascinDrascin Registered User regular
    dennis wrote: »
    I mostly agree with @Tofystedeth but when I see Venom with a Rotten Tomatoes 28% critics rating and 84% audience rating, I sometimes wonder. Of course, that may just be because everyone who wouldn't like it was warned off strongly enough, though with near $900 million worldwide that gets hard to believe.

    Oh, I can tell you why that is.

    Venom is fucking ridiculous. Audiences love a good B-style ridiculous movie, cause it's funny. Critics, however, rarely do.

    Steam ID: Right here.
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    dennisdennis aka bingley Registered User regular
    edited January 2019
    Drascin wrote: »
    dennis wrote: »
    I mostly agree with Tofystedeth but when I see Venom with a Rotten Tomatoes 28% critics rating and 84% audience rating, I sometimes wonder. Of course, that may just be because everyone who wouldn't like it was warned off strongly enough, though with near $900 million worldwide that gets hard to believe.

    Oh, I can tell you why that is.

    Venom is fucking ridiculous. Audiences love a good B-style ridiculous movie, cause it's funny. Critics, however, rarely do.

    Yeah, but Catwoman was ridiculous. As was Batman and Robin. The list could go on and on. There are plenty of "good" B-style ridiculous movies that don't go on to gross $900 million. So I think that's a little too simplistic an explanation. I have no fucking idea what the right one is, though.

    dennis on
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    HevachHevach Registered User regular
    Quid wrote: »
    There have been excellent movies with lesser known, frankly absurd, heroes like Ant-Man and Guardians of the Galaxy. Meanwhile BvS and Justice League were reviewed (relatively) horribly. The quality of a movie has nothing to do with the popularity of the hero.

    To an extent, it's easier with these kinds of heroes. Iron Man and Thor were hardly known outside of comics, Captain America was well known but poorly understood, Ant Man wasn't well known to begin with and they went with the even less well known Scott Lang over Hank Pym. The Guardians of the Galaxy weren't even big enough to be in the 616 universe. On the DC side, Wonder Woman hadn't gotten serious exposure in decades (with several major retcons along the way), and Aquaman's gotten more screen time on Family Guy cut away gags than in theaters.

    When audiences don't actually know what to expect, there's a lot less ways to fuck up.

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    MarcinMNMarcinMN Registered User regular
    edited January 2019
    dennis wrote: »
    Drascin wrote: »
    dennis wrote: »
    I mostly agree with Tofystedeth but when I see Venom with a Rotten Tomatoes 28% critics rating and 84% audience rating, I sometimes wonder. Of course, that may just be because everyone who wouldn't like it was warned off strongly enough, though with near $900 million worldwide that gets hard to believe.

    Oh, I can tell you why that is.

    Venom is fucking ridiculous. Audiences love a good B-style ridiculous movie, cause it's funny. Critics, however, rarely do.

    Yeah, but Catwoman was ridiculous. As was Batman and Robin. The list could go on and on. There are plenty of "good" B-style ridiculous movies that don't go on to gross $900 million. So I think that's a little too simplistic an explanation. I have no fucking idea what the right one is, though.

    I think Venom is kind of like Deadpool in that he has a larger than expected fan base who wanted to see him get a proper movie treatment. Sure, we kind of got Venom in Spider-Man 3, but it wasn't a very good Venom and he didn't get a whole lot of screen time. This time around he looked better, he wasn't just the villain in a Spider-Man movie, and he wasn't played by Topher Grace. I think that was enough to get the fans to the theater.

    MarcinMN on
    "It's just as I've always said. We are being digested by an amoral universe."

    -Tycho Brahe
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    TofystedethTofystedeth Registered User regular
    Jesus Christ take me out of the quote tree

    steam_sig.png
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    dennisdennis aka bingley Registered User regular
    edited January 2019
    Jesus Christ take me out of the quote tree

    Did what I could. Sorry 'bout that. Mainly @-ed it because I can never remember how to spell more than about the first three letters of your name. :biggrin:

    dennis on
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    TofystedethTofystedeth Registered User regular
    Is fine. It's just when it's still in the quote tree 3 levels down.

    steam_sig.png
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    DrascinDrascin Registered User regular
    dennis wrote: »
    Drascin wrote: »
    dennis wrote: »
    I mostly agree with Tofystedeth but when I see Venom with a Rotten Tomatoes 28% critics rating and 84% audience rating, I sometimes wonder. Of course, that may just be because everyone who wouldn't like it was warned off strongly enough, though with near $900 million worldwide that gets hard to believe.

    Oh, I can tell you why that is.

    Venom is fucking ridiculous. Audiences love a good B-style ridiculous movie, cause it's funny. Critics, however, rarely do.

    Yeah, but Catwoman was ridiculous. As was Batman and Robin. The list could go on and on. There are plenty of "good" B-style ridiculous movies that don't go on to gross $900 million. So I think that's a little too simplistic an explanation. I have no fucking idea what the right one is, though.

    I did specify "a good B-Style movie" for a reason. Venom is silly but it's well done silly, with a lot of moments to appeal to the audience and a genuinely amusing main character. Catwoman was... not.

    Steam ID: Right here.
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    dennisdennis aka bingley Registered User regular
    Drascin wrote: »
    dennis wrote: »
    Drascin wrote: »
    dennis wrote: »
    I mostly agree with Tofystedeth but when I see Venom with a Rotten Tomatoes 28% critics rating and 84% audience rating, I sometimes wonder. Of course, that may just be because everyone who wouldn't like it was warned off strongly enough, though with near $900 million worldwide that gets hard to believe.

    Oh, I can tell you why that is.

    Venom is fucking ridiculous. Audiences love a good B-style ridiculous movie, cause it's funny. Critics, however, rarely do.

    Yeah, but Catwoman was ridiculous. As was Batman and Robin. The list could go on and on. There are plenty of "good" B-style ridiculous movies that don't go on to gross $900 million. So I think that's a little too simplistic an explanation. I have no fucking idea what the right one is, though.

    I did specify "a good B-Style movie" for a reason. Venom is silly but it's well done silly, with a lot of moments to appeal to the audience and a genuinely amusing main character. Catwoman was... not.

    I feel we're just going to have to agree to disagree on this one. I was going to list a bunch of other movies, but it's probably a bit much for a comic thread.

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    SunrizeSunrize Registered User regular
    dennis wrote: »
    Jesus Christ take me out of the quote tree

    Did what I could. Sorry 'bout that. Mainly @-ed it because I can never remember how to spell more than about the first three letters of your name. :biggrin:

    Until you said this I never realized it wasn't "Toysofdeth". The eye does funny things!

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    cB557cB557 voOOP Registered User regular
    Probably worth considering the role the monsterfucker demographic may have played in the success of Venom.

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    H3KnucklesH3Knuckles But we decide which is right and which is an illusion.Registered User regular
    cB557 wrote: »
    Probably worth considering the role the monsterfucker demographic may have played in the success of Venom.

    I'm almost afraid to ask what you mean by "monsterfucker"?

    If you're curious about my icon; it's an update of the early Lego Castle theme's "Black Falcons" faction.
    camo_sig2-400.png
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    baudattitudebaudattitude Registered User regular
    H3Knuckles wrote: »
    cB557 wrote: »
    Probably worth considering the role the monsterfucker demographic may have played in the success of Venom.

    I'm almost afraid to ask what you mean by "monsterfucker"?

    Don't mind me, I'm just in this thread to watch someone's last shreds of innocence be ripped away by the internet.

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    dennisdennis aka bingley Registered User regular
    H3Knuckles wrote: »
    cB557 wrote: »
    Probably worth considering the role the monsterfucker demographic may have played in the success of Venom.

    I'm almost afraid to ask what you mean by "monsterfucker"?

    Would it help if I said the term is absolutely not obfuscatory?

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    V1mV1m Registered User regular
    No. No it would not.

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    H3KnucklesH3Knuckles But we decide which is right and which is an illusion.Registered User regular
    edited January 2019
    H3Knuckles wrote: »
    cB557 wrote: »
    Probably worth considering the role the monsterfucker demographic may have played in the success of Venom.

    I'm almost afraid to ask what you mean by "monsterfucker"?

    Don't mind me, I'm just in this thread to watch someone's last shreds of innocence be ripped away by the internet.

    Man, I've been online since '95, I know there's whack shit out there. I just figured they couldn't meant it in the most-literal sense as I sincerely doubt the motion picture will offer any fanservice for goop-bodysuit-alien fetishists.
    dennis wrote: »
    H3Knuckles wrote: »
    cB557 wrote: »
    Probably worth considering the role the monsterfucker demographic may have played in the success of Venom.

    I'm almost afraid to ask what you mean by "monsterfucker"?

    Would it help if I said the term is absolutely not obfuscatory?

    But apparently I guessed wrong.

    H3Knuckles on
    If you're curious about my icon; it's an update of the early Lego Castle theme's "Black Falcons" faction.
    camo_sig2-400.png
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    cB557cB557 voOOP Registered User regular
    H3Knuckles wrote: »
    H3Knuckles wrote: »
    cB557 wrote: »
    Probably worth considering the role the monsterfucker demographic may have played in the success of Venom.

    I'm almost afraid to ask what you mean by "monsterfucker"?

    Don't mind me, I'm just in this thread to watch someone's last shreds of innocence be ripped away by the internet.

    Man, I've been online since '95, I know there's whack shit out there. I just figured they couldn't meant it in the most-literal sense as I sincerely doubt the motion picture will offer any fanservice for goop-bodysuit-alien fetishists.
    dennis wrote: »
    H3Knuckles wrote: »
    cB557 wrote: »
    Probably worth considering the role the monsterfucker demographic may have played in the success of Venom.

    I'm almost afraid to ask what you mean by "monsterfucker"?

    Would it help if I said the term is absolutely not obfuscatory?

    But apparently I guessed wrong.
    We live in a post-Shape of Water world. Anything is possible.

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    MichaelLCMichaelLC In what furnace was thy brain? ChicagoRegistered User regular
    cB557 wrote: »
    H3Knuckles wrote: »
    H3Knuckles wrote: »
    cB557 wrote: »
    Probably worth considering the role the monsterfucker demographic may have played in the success of Venom.

    I'm almost afraid to ask what you mean by "monsterfucker"?

    Don't mind me, I'm just in this thread to watch someone's last shreds of innocence be ripped away by the internet.

    Man, I've been online since '95, I know there's whack shit out there. I just figured they couldn't meant it in the most-literal sense as I sincerely doubt the motion picture will offer any fanservice for goop-bodysuit-alien fetishists.
    dennis wrote: »
    H3Knuckles wrote: »
    cB557 wrote: »
    Probably worth considering the role the monsterfucker demographic may have played in the success of Venom.

    I'm almost afraid to ask what you mean by "monsterfucker"?

    Would it help if I said the term is absolutely not obfuscatory?

    But apparently I guessed wrong.
    We live in a post-Shape of Water world. Anything is possible.

    In the end, who was the real monster?

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    TofystedethTofystedeth Registered User regular
    MichaelLC wrote: »
    cB557 wrote: »
    H3Knuckles wrote: »
    H3Knuckles wrote: »
    cB557 wrote: »
    Probably worth considering the role the monsterfucker demographic may have played in the success of Venom.

    I'm almost afraid to ask what you mean by "monsterfucker"?

    Don't mind me, I'm just in this thread to watch someone's last shreds of innocence be ripped away by the internet.

    Man, I've been online since '95, I know there's whack shit out there. I just figured they couldn't meant it in the most-literal sense as I sincerely doubt the motion picture will offer any fanservice for goop-bodysuit-alien fetishists.
    dennis wrote: »
    H3Knuckles wrote: »
    cB557 wrote: »
    Probably worth considering the role the monsterfucker demographic may have played in the success of Venom.

    I'm almost afraid to ask what you mean by "monsterfucker"?

    Would it help if I said the term is absolutely not obfuscatory?

    But apparently I guessed wrong.
    We live in a post-Shape of Water world. Anything is possible.

    In the end, who was the real monster?

    Turns out it man.

    steam_sig.png
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