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View Full Version : 417 vs 418



ReaganStorme
2007-02-24, 09:20 AM
Lots of people saying 417 is the best... No 418 is the best... no 418 is the worst... Time to take a poll then.

Izodor
2007-02-24, 09:27 AM
I say 419 is the best....

Sage in the Playground
2007-02-24, 09:44 AM
# 1 is the best. It started it all...

ReaganStorme
2007-02-24, 09:47 AM
I say 419 is the best....

But, but, but, but, it's not even out yet!

(hehehe "but" hehe)

Pentegarn
2007-02-24, 10:11 AM
I liked both, as that wasn't an option, I am forced to abstain from voting.

bluish_wolf
2007-02-24, 10:19 AM
418 made me go "heh" at the bad puns. 417 was silly, though. If Haley died, you know that someone would raise her. So, I'll have to go with 418 even though I didn't care for either of them, really.

Midnight Lurker
2007-02-24, 10:55 AM
Mu. The question is unasked.

Norenche
2007-02-24, 11:23 AM
I think neither 417 nor 418 are the best.

PD: sorry if there are grammar mistakes.

Morty
2007-02-24, 11:25 AM
This poll requires "Tie" option. #417 is serious, and #418 is purely humorous, so no way to compare them.

Krellen
2007-02-24, 11:27 AM
418 is horribly juvenile. I'm dismayed at how many people enjoyed it.

moleytov
2007-02-24, 11:33 AM
I voted for 418 - it is about time we had a change of humour like that. And now its done and out the way, we can get back to classic OOTS comedy for another 70 strips or so...

hehehehe... strips....

Sisqui
2007-02-24, 11:40 AM
I thought #418 was just crass.......:smalleek:

moleytov
2007-02-24, 11:54 AM
I thought #418 was just crass.......:smalleek:

Since when is that not a perfectly legitimate form of humour? Sometimes we could all do with being a little more relaxed and less mature.

Sisqui
2007-02-24, 12:19 PM
Since when is that not a perfectly legitimate form of humour? Sometimes we could all do with being a little more relaxed and less mature.

I didn't say other people wouldn't think it was funny. I just didn't. It kind of struck me as something I'd scrape off of my shoe.... Just, blech!:smallyuk:

Dr._Weird
2007-02-24, 12:22 PM
418 is horribly juvenile. I'm dismayed at how many people enjoyed it.


I thought #418 was just crass.......:smalleek:

What are you two talking about? They were just talking about Shojo's ship...

:P

mikeejimbo
2007-02-24, 12:36 PM
What are you two talking about? They were just talking about Shojo's ship...

Yes, people who find it dirty must therefore have dirty minds, so if you find it offensive because it's dirty, it's your own fault. :smalltongue:

Or Freud's. Actually, yeah, I blame Freud.

Draz74
2007-02-24, 02:13 PM
418 is horribly juvenile. I'm dismayed at how many people enjoyed it.

QFT. Only I'm not sure "juvenile" is a harsh enough word.


Yes, people who find it dirty must therefore have dirty minds, so if you find it offensive because it's dirty, it's your own fault. :smalltongue:

OK, well, let's say hypothetically that I didn't find it dirty. WOW, that was THE MOST BORING Order of the Stick episode EVER! Still a horrible episode.

Pentegarn
2007-02-24, 03:48 PM
Wow. we get a serious, mature Oots, people complain. Then, the very next strip, we get a low brow, jocular strip, and people complain.

Know what I think? I think no matter what we get people will complain because it is human nature to never be satisfied with what they have.

I think people should stop complaining about free entertainment. Kind of childish to say, "your free internet comic did not satisfy me" don't ya think? Honestly, if you think the free entertainment is so "low brow" then you could always make your own comic strip your way couldn't you?

Draz74
2007-02-24, 03:58 PM
I certainly didn't complain about 417. And I didn't see other people complaining much, either. It seemed to be quite well-received, overall.

Hephaestus
2007-02-24, 04:04 PM
They were both alright... Not good, not bad, not extremely historic...

Terraxos
2007-02-24, 04:06 PM
I think 417 and 418 just prove the point I was making on the thread about 417: that humour and drama work best when used to draw contrasts with each other. 417 worked because it suddenly made us look at the reality of fantasy warfare seriously, something which OOTS hadn't done much before. And then 418 was all the more effective for being a sublimely silly comedy strip, to provide relief after the darkness of 417. Both strips worked well; but 418 was the more fun to read, so I voted for it.

Green Bean
2007-02-24, 04:27 PM
I picked #418, if only because it's fun to watch forum members (myself included) race to create the perfect inuendo about Hinjo's junk and all of its seamen.

meep
2007-02-24, 04:37 PM
For all the complainers:

Lighten up, Francis.

Norenche
2007-02-24, 05:57 PM
416 was better than 417 and 418

Awesome Girl
2007-02-24, 06:38 PM
I couldn't decide, so I just went with the crowd and picked that 418 is the best.

TheOtherMC
2007-02-24, 06:43 PM
I couldn't decide, so I just went with the crowd and picked that 418 is the best.

There's no shame in conformity, I gave in too :smalltongue:

Dr._Weird
2007-02-25, 12:56 PM
OK, well, let's say hypothetically that I didn't find it dirty. WOW, that was THE MOST BORING Order of the Stick episode EVER! Still a horrible episode.


Calm down, we were joking.

Green Bean
2007-02-25, 01:44 PM
OK, well, let's say hypothetically that I didn't find it dirty. WOW, that was THE MOST BORING Order of the Stick episode EVER! Still a horrible episode.

Now how was it boring? I for one enjoyed the subtle interplay between Hinjo and Lien. Hinjo, by opening his junk to the people with his authority has lord, represents a patriarchal society, dominating through heredity, whereas Lien, as his advisor, is a savior figure, 'sacrificing' herself by watching over the junk until its full. The junk itself is a commentary on the loss of the human soul through growing industrialization through being an unliving thing, whereas Roy, commenting on it being 'wider than expected' represents those who are shocked by the incredibly fast pace of technology.

(:smallbiggrin:)

ssjKammak
2007-02-25, 02:38 PM
Personaly i think both were very good, 418 was very humurous and although it may have been slightly childish, i for one was impressed with how far Rich managed to carry the pun and keep the joke growing instead of becoming repetitive. hehehehe maybe im just a little too easily amused.

I liked them both equally though why cant we vote even?? :)

Cheers
A friendly aussie

Tashi
2007-02-25, 03:26 PM
Well, since neither of the strips features Xykon I cannot vote for one of them. :P
The thing about #418 is that I didnīt understand it, and Iīm sure this was a problem for other non-native english speakers, as well.
Heck, the sexual meaning of junk is not even listed in my dictionary.
Of course after they said "junk" for about the twentieth time I assumed something like that, but the wit was long gone by then. ;)

bluish_wolf
2007-02-25, 03:59 PM
Well, since neither of the strips features Xykon I cannot vote for one of them. :P
The thing about #418 is that I didnīt understand it, and Iīm sure this was a problem for other non-native english speakers, as well.
Heck, the sexual meaning of junk is not even listed in my dictionary.
Of course after they said "junk" for about the twentieth time I assumed something like that, but the wit was long gone by then. ;)

From what I managed to learn, the term apparently came from 90's US slang, where "junk" could be used to replace any other noun. As such, it became a euphemism for genitalia. Completely unrelated, junk is also a slang term for heroin.

Sisqui
2007-02-25, 04:10 PM
Wow. we get a serious, mature Oots, people complain. Then, the very next strip, we get a low brow, jocular strip, and people complain.

Know what I think? I think no matter what we get people will complain because it is human nature to never be satisfied with what they have.

I think people should stop complaining about free entertainment. Kind of childish to say, "your free internet comic did not satisfy me" don't ya think? Honestly, if you think the free entertainment is so "low brow" then you could always make your own comic strip your way couldn't you?

Excuse me? I do believe the very reason for these forums is to give the readers a place to express their opinions of the strips. And people will complain about every strip, true, but it will probably be different people complaining about different strips for different reasons. You know, because people aren't all exactly the same and find different things interesting or disagreeable.

MrBean13
2007-02-25, 04:12 PM
I would say, #418 is moderate, I've seen better strips. I had to read through this one three times and only got it after I've read through the forum. It was hilarious sometimes, sure, but still there are some strips that where funny and developed the storyline. This one was just funny in his own way. But who knows, maybe these "junk-jokes" really are important for the following happenings.

Sewer_Bandito
2007-02-25, 04:19 PM
Yes, people who find it dirty must therefore have dirty minds, so if you find it offensive because it's dirty, it's your own fault. :smalltongue:

Or Freud's. Actually, yeah, I blame Freud.

Or you're like me, and you think it's hilarious because you have a dirty mind :smalltongue:

Snake-Aes
2007-02-26, 08:22 AM
That shpi fits Shojo's personality perfectly... hehe

ladysekhmetka
2007-02-26, 08:44 AM
Now how was it boring? I for one enjoyed the subtle interplay between Hinjo and Lien. Hinjo, by opening his junk to the people with his authority has lord, represents a patriarchal society, dominating through heredity, whereas Lien, as his advisor, is a savior figure, 'sacrificing' herself by watching over the junk until its full. The junk itself is a commentary on the loss of the human soul through growing industrialization through being an unliving thing, whereas Roy, commenting on it being 'wider than expected' represents those who are shocked by the incredibly fast pace of technology.

(:smallbiggrin:)

::claps:: Bravo :smallwink:

I liked both. Each had a point and served a purpose.

Guess it doesn't help that I find the pun to be the highest form of comedy :smalltongue:

Mordaedil
2007-02-26, 08:50 AM
I didn't get this comic until I saw this thread. Or slightly before. Damn you people for sullying lord Shojo's memory!

Green Bean
2007-02-26, 11:21 AM
Guess it doesn't help that I find the pun to be the highest form of comedy :smalltongue:

Actually, the highest form of comedy is 'man getting hit in groin with something' :smalltongue:

bluish_wolf
2007-02-26, 11:27 AM
Actually, the highest form of comedy is 'man getting hit in groin with something' :smalltongue:

Are you sure you two aren't confusing highest with lowest?

Green Bean
2007-02-26, 02:00 PM
Are you sure you two aren't confusing highest with lowest?

Think of it this way. You can spend weeks coming up with the perfect satire of something, and it will be subtle, unique, and ironic. Or, you can have a man getting punched in the groin by a midget. Both will make the audience laugh. Which one is more efficient? :smallbiggrin:

Luvlein
2007-02-26, 02:23 PM
I find it mature to be relaxed about the matter, and immature to freak out about other people having a laugh or two at the junk.

After all, you know, without one junk or the other, none of us would exist.

Renegade Paladin
2007-02-26, 03:06 PM
418 hurts my brain.

Krellen
2007-02-26, 03:23 PM
Which one is more efficient? :smallbiggrin:
The Todd is the most effecient form of comedy known to man. Therefore, all comedy should be The Todd, correct?

Green Bean
2007-02-26, 03:25 PM
The Todd is the most effecient form of comedy known to man. Therefore, all comedy should be The Todd, correct?

No, it just means that The Todd is the highest form of comedy.

Talya
2007-02-26, 03:57 PM
Crass is good. Dirty is good. If ya don't like that stuff, well, I'd hate to hang around you, but that's okay, you'd hate to hang around me too. The gutter is the most fun place for a mind to be...

That said, i think I found 417 better. 418 was funny, but 417 mattered.

K'tai
2007-02-26, 04:10 PM
Originally Posted by Krellen
418 is horribly juvenile. I'm dismayed at how many people enjoyed it.

Seriously people, what we have here (in 418) is two things: one: Crass double entendres that are funny (you don't have to laugh or like it), and two uh...well....another example of Hinjo's generosity and self sacrificing spirit.

moleytov
2007-02-26, 04:34 PM
^yes what he said, his junk is servicing his follower's needs.

Ampersand
2007-02-26, 04:36 PM
The thing I hated most about 418 was just the sheer repetition. If they had stopped with the "junk" talk around panel three, spent a few panels on other stuff, and then come back to it for the punch line I wouldn't have minded in the least. But it was nothing but junk, junk, junk, so that by the time they got to package I was so bored I was turning over my shopping list in my head for an engrossing alternative. Heck, even if they had used another bit of entrendre it would've been better.

Or, to use a comedian as an example, I love George Carlin's "A Place for Your Stuff" routine, but I wouldn't want to go to a show where he does it once, repeats it two more times, and finally gets to "Euphamisms" with three minutes left...

Krellen
2007-02-26, 05:02 PM
No, it just means that The Todd is the highest form of comedy.
"Highest Five!"

bluish_wolf
2007-02-26, 05:46 PM
Think of it this way. You can spend weeks coming up with the perfect satire of something, and it will be subtle, unique, and ironic. Or, you can have a man getting punched in the groin by a midget. Both will make the audience laugh. Which one is more efficient? :smallbiggrin:

That's why it's the lowest. 'Cause it's easy to do.

Aidan305
2007-02-26, 07:00 PM
The thing I hated most about 418 was just the sheer repetition. If they had stopped with the "junk" talk around panel three, spent a few panels on other stuff, and then come back to it for the punch line I wouldn't have minded in the least. But it was nothing but junk, junk, junk, so that by the time they got to package I was so bored I was turning over my shopping list in my head for an engrossing alternative. Heck, even if they had used another bit of entrendre it would've been better.

However, at times repetition can only serve to increase the humour of the situation. I feel that this is what Rich was doing in 418. As an example of repetition let me point you here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEaKjRyPjVY)

Ravyn
2007-02-26, 07:28 PM
.....a curse on my friends for turning me into the kind of person who'd say this, but...

The point of 418 wasn't the junk, it was what he did with it.

Before I start ranting, I'd like to point out that I'm usually the serious one when I meet with people. Almost definitely the sheltered one, and definitely the one who will avoid things simply because they depend too much on taboo-based humor. (I like my wordplay inventive, and usually those things aren't.) But there are exceptions to everything.

And in this case the junk isn't the punchline, but the setup thereto. (Though I, like many people, enjoy the image of an alternate last panel in which everyone realizes what they just said. On second thought, though, I think that might be why it cut to Belkar--because turning the tables on a bunch of people expecting the punchline to be "Pardon me while I wash out my brain" or the like IS highly amusing.) The format of this comic is generally that the joke is at the end, so it's not that hard to take the junk as setup. And for those of us uptight types who're put-off by pure-innuendo punchlines, it's a morbid fascination setup. "Tell me he's not going to end it the way I think he is...." At which point it's the one thing nobody expects.

That being said, I'm pretty sure a hefty portion of the reasoning behind these two strips being presented consecutively was for the contrast value. Roy isn't usually the light humor vehicle, Elan typically isn't the character of choice for bringing in High Drama, and having the two both working opposite character type... it makes an interesting image, don't you think?

Besides, it must be admitted it takes a certain amount of talent to keep making junk jokes while a. not repeating and b. making them sound like they could theoretically be 100% accidental. Taboo humor done right is rare enough to make it worth dealing with.

Either way, 417 vs. 418 is apples vs. oranges. What they do, they do well; they just do it differently.

Fronko
2007-02-26, 07:42 PM
a) As a non-native speaker, I am sure, I missed one or two of the intended puns.
b) Still, after reading it a few times, I couldnt stop myself giggling on the few I DID get.
c) In the end, all was good again, since Belkar leapt in and saved they day with another of those star wars quotes.


^^

So, all is good, folks!

Talya
2007-02-27, 08:39 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5w_DqhpMuFY

phobiandarkmoon
2007-02-28, 05:51 AM
As an Englishman, I don't immediately associate 'junk' with the American slang term definition. Instead I think of either rubbish or a boat depending on context. Thus, although I realised rather quickly what they were trying to do pretty quickly, it lost the timing factor for me.

418 was pretty meh for me. It got repetitive and boring fast. That said, if you ignore the puns it did advance the story reasonably well.

417 wins. By a long, long shot.

fwiffo
2007-02-28, 07:13 AM
As an Englishman, I don't immediately associate 'junk' with the American slang term definition. Instead I think of either rubbish or a boat depending on context. Thus, although I realised rather quickly what they were trying to do pretty quickly, it lost the timing factor for me.

Well, gee... Of course, if you don't know the term as it is used in a narrative, then narrative loses its punch.

Want to see totally unsatisfying experience with word play? Try what is supposed to be one of Arthur Conan Doyle favorite Sherlock Holmes stories "Adventure of the Speckled Band" in language other than English. Getting a little footnote 90% into the story that says "well, in English the words 'speckled band' could have had completely different meaning than we've been using so far, and now we are switching to that other meaning" totally ruined the plot. I am sure it is a great story in English, but when you can't understand the wordplay on which the story is based till it is almost over, it starts sucking rather badly. But, that has to do with the reader, not the story itself.

Mr Teufel
2007-02-28, 07:18 AM
:thog: thog want thog option!

Depends whether you like emotional/romantic scenes or potty joke puns.

Different strokes for different folks.

Norenche
2007-02-28, 07:26 AM
I needed to look at the "Urban dictionary" to know the meaning of "junk".

Hunter_Rose
2007-02-28, 11:09 AM
Since I cannot help but giggle every time I hear an English person refer to their tasty dessert spotted **** I am going to have to vote for 418. I absolutely love puns. However this is not my favorite OOTS strip, that would have to be the polearm strip that parodies Monty Python's cheese shop routine. The Giant should get major snaps for working that bit in.
The thing you shouldn't be concerned about in 418 is how Hinjo handles his junk, but how I handle my junk. I handle my junk with a gripping prowess to master it through the stormy sea of heated exploration.

it's just so easy how could someone resist :D