-
Re: Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire, MK XXI - Death is not Maltak
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Domochevsky
What, like a Saiyan half/quarter/eighth-breed? The dividing point being intelligence. :smalltongue:
Like that, except I know next to nothing about Saiyans, except a certain Super Saiyan wolf. :smalltongue:
And I just thought that the baby probably wouldn't wait to be born before displaying magic powers... I'm thinking that'd be how Dom and Co would find out...
-
Re: Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire, MK XXI - Death is not Maltak
Quote:
Originally Posted by
M84
Oh, Mookie knows exactly what he did to Hansi. He just doesn't care. In Mookie's mind, Hansi deserves this fate as penance for being a jock that badmouthed Luna once, as if being impaled once wasn't bad enough already.
I don't quite get the anti-jock sentiment this time. Instead the impression I get is that Mookie had planned for there to be a tragic cost at the end of the arc, but somehow managed to make it through the whole of 2009 without figuring out what it would be. So what we get is a series of dramatic blows and rebuffs in an attempt to fudge exactly the right amount of drama. That's why Hansi is dead, then he's back, then he's chained to the mountain. And why Luna is dead, then she's back, and now she's barren. Too much pathos, then not enough, then just right! :smallwink:
Quote:
Don't underestimate Mookie's resolve to shoehorn in ridiculous DBZ style fight scenes whenever he thinks it would be "cool" or "metal". This is the guy who went out of his way to defend wildly inaccurate arrow trajectories in one strip and had Stonewater act like a moron by leaping into enemy forces with a shield because Mookie wanted to make him Captain America.
I'm still waiting for Grench to ask Stonewater why she has a significantly smaller extended family now. I know I'll be waiting forever.
I'm guessing if that plot is realised, the seductress will have to end up some kind of infernomancer so Luna can go all sorceress on her butt to resolve the issue. It's rather ironic that in a webcomic where the lead protagonist has no physical combat prowess that most villains are defeated in a big battle.
-
Re: Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire, MK XXI - Death is not Maltak
I'm in despair. Dominic Deegan has left me in despair.
-
Re: Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire, MK XXI - Death is not Maltak
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Frogwarrior
Like that, except I know next to nothing about Saiyans, except a certain Super Saiyan wolf. :smalltongue:
And I just thought that the baby probably wouldn't wait to be born before displaying magic powers... I'm thinking that'd be how Dom and Co would find out...
Saiyans produce exponentially more powerfull offspring when interbreeding with other races... like, say, humans. And half-Saiyans produce even more powerfull quarter-saiyans. :smallwink:
(Although "more powerfull" is relative. They have just a WAY easier time to reach Super/Mega/Ultra levels at younger ages. The first generation has to do it the hard and manly way through training/rage. But in the end it's still grandpa Goku (50+) saving the world mostly because the editors didn't let Toriyama off the hook.)
And yes, i consider DB/DBZ (DBGT doesn't exist) to be a way better told story than Dominic Deegan. At least it sticks to what it knows. :smalltongue:
-
Re: Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire, MK XXI - Death is not Maltak
Great, now luna has something else to wangst about. And you all know that this isn't going to stop her from having children. At worst, she and dom will have to adopt some little orcs and humans. And that's assuming she doesn't just suddenly get all better because it's too depressing, or some such.
-
Re: Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire, MK XXI - Death is not Maltak
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Trazoi
I don't quite get the anti-jock sentiment this time. Instead the impression I get is that Mookie had planned for there to be a tragic cost at the end of the arc, but somehow managed to make it through the whole of 2009 without figuring out what it would be. So what we get is a series of dramatic blows and rebuffs in an attempt to fudge exactly the right amount of drama. That's why Hansi is dead, then he's back, then he's chained to the mountain. And why Luna is dead, then she's back, and now she's barren. Too much pathos, then not enough, then just right! :smallwink:
This. It's not that Hansi is getting punished for being a jock, it's just that he's redshirt enough for Mookie not to care much about what happens to him, as demonstrated when Luna recoils in horror at the thought of something similar happening to her - "But, but, I'm a main character!"
It's really just a function of the caste system - tragedies aren't as tragic when they happen to someone lower down on the ladder. Granted, Hansi has always kind of been lower-second caste, in part because of jockishness, so being a jock did help him along. But it's more a function of the redshirt factor than anything else.
The nameless orcs, of course, are even lower on the ladder, so nobody cares that thy got slaughtered in a civil war engineered by Dominic.
-
Re: Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire, MK XXI - Death is not Maltak
Aaaaaaaand my good day... stops.
-
Re: Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire, MK XXI - Death is not Maltak
Heyall,
Quote:
Originally Posted by
AgentPaper
Great, now luna has something else to wangst about. And you all know that this isn't going to stop her from having children. At worst, she and dom will have to adopt some little orcs and humans. And that's assuming she doesn't just suddenly get all better because it's too depressing, or some such.
Now you've got me comparing Luna to Angelina Jolie.
Well, Lord only knows that there are probably a lot of orc orphans now thanks to Dominic's "genius" planning and Luna's (in)competence.
Edit: @Trazoi:
I agree with you on that last point. Why did Mookie decide to go down the "resolve everything with big fights" route when his lead protagonist is supposed to be an intellectual who wants to avoid fights? And it's not like Dominic is a Badass Bookworm; he sucks in combat if he's not on a mental/spiritual plane. It would be like if Xavier was the main character focus and The Hero in the X-men franchise instead of the Mentor.
-
Re: Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire, MK XXI - Death is not Maltak
New comic!
SUENESS. OVERLOAD.
BZZZZZRT.
Must eradicate last panel before it corrupts the rest of the interwebs.
"I helped the land become fertile, and I guess it took a lot out of me." "Or maybe I became barren so the land could become fertile." Yup. I, uh, I got it.
-
Re: Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire, MK XXI - Death is not Maltak
New... ugh, "comic."
IT HURTS LIKE A SICKNESS!:smallfurious:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mookie's Newspost
Every writer will tell you that, after a while, your characters write themselves. That's not totally the case with me, as I often struggle with dialogue and getting it just right. Instead my characters let me know when the time is right for them to say certain things.
:smallannoyed:
-
Re: Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire, MK XXI - Death is not Maltak
"...and it's all because of me. What I've lost is nothing compared to what I've achieved..."
I'm really hoping that this epilogue will explain what Luna did. You know, point out where she took initiative, made and executed a plan, acted proactively, or gave any indication that she had the faintest clue what she was doing. Because this whole unexamined designated hero thing is getting a tad grating.
-
Re: Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire, MK XXI - Death is not Maltak
Thank heavens for small mercies. It's far better to have a few comics of smug superiority than a whole entire arc of wangst.
On the other hand...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mookie's Newspost
And here's just a tiny spoiler for you folks, since you've been with me for this long journey and through this year-long storyline.
The dragon said she'd never be pregnant.
He didn't say she'd never be a mother.
Raise the likelihood of a future "Raising Baby Dominic" arc from "very likely" to "damn near certainty". :smalltongue:
-
Re: Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire, MK XXI - Death is not Maltak
Heyall,
Wow. Just...wow.
The closest I can get to describing how this latest helping of Sueness is "bile rising".
What was the point of including this "price" if it has all the emotional impact of "...huh. Oh well."? It's both arbitrary and utterly pointless!
The comic is still ignoring/downplaying the body count too. Seeing Luna gushing over herself and how she "saved" (not even gonna go there) the Orcs is pretty unnerving.
Edit: Okay I admit, an entire arc of Wangst would probably be worse due to sheer length. Let's just hope we're not in for an entire arc of Luna being even more insufferably Sueish than usual (I did not think that was possible but then this arc happened and all bets were off).
-
Re: Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire, MK XXI - Death is not Maltak
Dat's funy.
I guess Luna's contribution was that her borrowed magicness showed the orcs how their magic was supposed to work and give them hope that the good old days will return? A non active messiah figure that's helps by inspiring. It's a hobbling lame duck even so but that's the best I can think of.
-
Re: Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire, MK XXI - Death is not Maltak
Quote:
Originally Posted by
M84
What was the point of including this "price" if it has all the emotional impact of "...huh. Oh well."? It's both arbitrary and utterly pointless!
Because it enables Luna to act the hero, silly! Look at how brave and selfless she is! :smallbiggrin:
It's pretty much a mirror of Dominic's "disabilities". Of course it loses it's impact when Mookie points out in the same newspost that Luna's almost certainly going to end up a mother anway (probably by adopting a half-orc, half-Semashi orphan.)
Quote:
The comic is still ignoring/downplaying the body count too. Seeing Luna gushing over herself and how she "saved" (not even gonna go there) the Orcs is pretty unnerving.
If I was being charitable, I would say Luna's speech here is her way of trying to convince herself that the sacrifice was worth it. Unfortunately it doesn't come across with the bittersweet feel it needs to sell that interpretation. Instead, it comes across as Luna's usual brand of smug Sueishness.
I'm not that miffed by the "Luna is awesome" though, because it was pretty much guaranteed there would be one. I thought it was going to be given by someone else, rather a speech given by Luna praising herself, but hey, that's Luna for you.
Quote:
Let's just hope we're not in for an entire arc of Luna being even more insufferably Sueish than usual (I did not think that was possible but then this arc happened and all bets were off).
Honestly, how could it be possible for Luna to get any more Sueish than this arc?
No wait, scratch that. If I write that for real, I just know it will be proved true.
-
Re: Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire, MK XXI - Death is not Maltak
Have either of them ever expressed a desire for children before?
This doesn't even rate as inconvenience, much less tragedy.
-
Re: Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire, MK XXI - Death is not Maltak
I started on a rant.
Then I stopped.
I'm done here.
-
Re: Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire, MK XXI - Death is not Maltak
Mookie really hates having his characters feeling depressed, doesn't he? Luna is awful cheerful at the thought that she can't bear any babbies.
-
Re: Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire, MK XXI - Death is not Maltak
I like this better as the price for failing some kind of "should she be allowed to have children" test. The dragon's just humoring her.
-
Re: Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire, MK XXI - Death is not Maltak
Quote:
Originally Posted by
T-O-E
I like this better as the price for failing some kind of "should she be allowed to have children" test. The dragon's just humoring her.
Instead she's going to end up indoctrinating someone else's children. :smalltongue:
I think of it as more the dragon's way to snuff out the Travoria line. After all, with one exception they've all turned out evil and twisted. Lawyer Travoria is merely neutral and twisted.
-
Re: Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire, MK XXI - Death is not Maltak
"...and it's all because of me!" ...guh.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Trazoi
I'm not that miffed by the "Luna is awesome" though, because it was pretty much guaranteed there would be one. I thought it was going to be given by someone else, rather a speech given by Luna praising herself, but hey, that's Luna for you.
Hee. This makes me feel a little better. And now I'm imagining a comic that's just eight panels of Luna and Dom standing around waiting for someone to praise her, ending with Luna just shrugging and deciding to go ahead and do it herself.
-
Re: Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire, MK XXI - Death is not Maltak
*Facepalm*
Well, at least we're spared a pregnancy arc, I guess.
So we're not even going to get an explanation? "Maybe making the plains fertile made me barren, or maybe it was the Hukthak, or maybe I'm barren because I made the plains fertile?" Mookie totally thought this up at the last second, didn't he? Her heavy price consists of "Oh, that's sort of a bummer. I guess we can always adopt?"
Still no mention of Hansi living the rest of his life in a cave, the war dead, or the orcs losing their entire magical tradition overnight.
-
Re: Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire, MK XXI - Death is not Maltak
So I return from a day's power outage to discover that the biggest repercussion in this year-long, torturous abomination that has the temerity to call itself a story arc is that Luna apparently can't get pregnant.
God, I ****ing hate this comic. (In before "God has nothing to do with this.")
-
Re: Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire, MK XXI - Death is not Maltak
And Mookie has already confirmed that she will instead get to grow her foul spawn in hideous, foul-smelling vats:
Quote:
And here's just a tiny spoiler for you folks, since you've been with me for this long journey and through this year-long storyline.
The dragon said she'd never be pregnant.
He didn't say she'd never be a mother.
(Or it could be adoption, but she's supposed to be a strong spellcaster, so bring on the abominable perversion of magical science!)
-
Re: Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire, MK XXI - Death is not Maltak
Well, personaly i find this comic decent enough.
Quote:
Still no mention of Hansi living the rest of his life in a cave, the war dead, or the orcs losing their entire magical tradition overnight.
The alternative for Hansi was to be dead, i suspect caves isnt that bad again, and the war dead is not really Lunas fault, but more either Dominic or Stonewater who are totaly incompetent at leading anything though a war.
As for the cultural loss, the only traditon that died was Aktamancy, since the last Aktamancer died.
The orcs still have most of their remaining casters hanging around, so when the magic of the land heals, then the magical traditions can be ressurectet.
-
Re: Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire, MK XXI - Death is not Maltak
Quote:
Originally Posted by
lord_khaine
[...]and the war dead is not really Lunas fault, but more either Dominic or Stonewater who are totaly incompetent at leading anything though a war.
She got herself captured by the Spirit Father, after being beaten up by Neilen... all while in God-Mode Sue.
If you're looking for incompetence, look no further, for Luna is the peerles paragon of pure ineptitude.
Edit:
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Trazoi
I'm not that miffed by the "Luna is awesome" though, because it was pretty much guaranteed there would be one. I thought it was going to be given by someone else, rather a speech given by Luna praising herself, but hey, that's Luna for you.
MookieDominic did tell her: "You're amazing."
Ugh. The more I read that last row of panels, the more I want Luna to suffer a gruesome death. With fire, if possible. :smallannoyed:
-
Re: Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire, MK XXI - Death is not Maltak
Quote:
Originally Posted by
lord_khaine
The alternative for Hansi was to be dead, i suspect caves isnt that bad again, and the war dead is not really Lunas fault, but more either Dominic or Stonewater who are totaly incompetent at leading anything though a war.
The problem is that so many have given much to restore Maltak. Many orcs gave their lives or their magic to fuel the rebirth. Hansi ended up effectively chained to a remote mountain that has ended up who-knows-where. It was a group effort, with the entire population of Maltak seemingly getting involved at some point, with a great cost for all. Yes, Luna was the focal point of all this, but she seemed to be just a conduit for Maltak to focus its own forces. For most of the arc she was acting like a puppet. She needed everyone else to bail her out and set things right.
As the dragon told her and as Luna herself said at the pivotal moment: "We are all in this together".
But today? Luna is all "Families will prosper instead of suffer, and it's all because of me. Me, me, me."
That's why I think the only charitable way to take this is that Luna really is shaken deep down and is trying to convince herself that her personal loss is okay. But unfortunately it doesn't come across like that (why does she look so happy? Why would she keep such feelings from Dominic?). Instead when you consider all the other sacrifices everyone else made and what little Luna actually did it comes across as amazingly arrogant.
It's why I find it so hard to have any sympathy for Luna at all. Despite the dislike many have here for characters like Jayden and Greg I find it hard to hate them, because at their core they're at least nice and somewhat humble for the most part. But Luna? Uuggggghhhh. :smallyuk:
-
Re: Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire, MK XXI - Death is not Maltak
Heyall,
Personally I think this week's strips are the worst in this entire arc (so far).
Monday: the Giant Naked Scabby Fat Guy in a Dragon Costume -- failure on an artistic level.
Tuesday: Out-of-the-blue Diabolus Ex Machina in a lazy attempt at drama, not unlike the Miscarriage of Ctrl-Alt-Del infamy.
Today: ...well I've already mentioned why I hate this so much. As have most of the others on this thread.
I'm not surprised that this dragged out epilogue to the already awful Maltak arc sucks. I just didn't think it would suck this hard.
Does anyone have the courage to go through the entire arc again to see if other strips match this week's in sheer brain breaking awfulness? I sure as hell don't.
Edit: Though at least this week didn't have naked Luna. Thank the Internet for small favors.
-
Re: Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire, MK XXI - Death is not Maltak
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Trazoi
Instead when you consider all the other sacrifices everyone else made and what little Luna actually did it comes across as amazingly arrogant.
"They beat me up violently for an hour!"
"Suck it up, you wuss. How dare you bring your petty problems in front of my inhuman torment? They put me in a ridiculous outfit and laughed at me!"
-
Re: Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire, MK XXI - Death is not Maltak
Quote:
That's why I think the only charitable way to take this is that Luna really is shaken deep down and is trying to convince herself that her personal loss is okay. But unfortunately it doesn't come across like that (why does she look so happy? Why would she keep such feelings from Dominic?). Instead when you consider all the other sacrifices everyone else made and what little Luna actually did it comes across as amazingly arrogant.
Well, it is hard to deny that it sounds a little arrogant when you considder how much other people have contributet to this, but Luna spend most of this time either alone or stuck in a hole, its not unlikely she doesnt know how much other people have paid for this victory.