Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire, MK XXI - Death is not Zombies

[Slayn82]

You know, that bit with snuggly reminded me that the strongest magics are kept in the capital. Does that mean that there might exist something stronger than Mommy Deegan?

Spoiler

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Yes, and my private theory is that he's in charge now, because the Royal Knights of Callan were proved not reliable enought paws. So he created the Battlecasters to have even more power.

And he probably is the guy who thought that getting a bunch of infernomancers to help the battle in Maltak was a good idea at first place. Heck, he probably even got them some nice nobility positions in the court.

And is someone so effective, that can somehow twart Rillian, who is a so powerfull necromancer that he can take out the powers of Jacob or other mages almost freely.

Also, notice that Warlord Damaske soul probably isnt in hell - otherwise he would be in the Court of Karnak with his history- unless Karnak choosed Siggy because he had just choped Klo Thark, so bonus points for killing an angel. Or maybe the other infernomancer consumed his soul.

Of course, an effective villain could be a little too much to hope for nowadays.

[Neoriceisgood]

Since when does DD use bolding for meaningful emphasis?

That's a good question, actually, before I found this snark thread I never understood the random bolding of words.

It is random, right?

I honestly never could find anything of importance regarding the bolded words, so I figured it was just ...random bolding, just that.

[Morty]

I feel that Stoner Chief's speech about idealism and reality was either a way of saying "hey, look, a character in my comic is a realist!" or a preparation for another sermon about idealism.
Today's comic is so meaningless I have no comment.

[tyckspoon]

That's a good question, actually, before I found this snark thread I never understood the random bolding of words.

It is random, right?

I honestly never could find anything of importance regarding the bolded words, so I figured it was just ...random bolding, just that.

It used to be used for highlighting puns, just in case you couldn't identify them by their utter terribleness.

[M84]

Heyall,

If Mookie keeps padding this arc with useless strips like these, we may very well reach the end of this thread before we finally, finally get the hell out of Maltak.

Any one want to bet we'll still be in Maltak by page 50?

Edit: It's as if once he realized he was going to miss his own goal no matter what he just thought "**** it" and decided to stop trying to experiment with the art or improve pacing, which just seems lazy to me.

I never thought I'd describe an artist who kept to a weekday update schedule as "lazy", but there you go.

[ichini_sanshigo]

I never thought I'd describe an artist who kept to a weekday update schedule as "lazy", but there you go.

A large part of the problem is that the weekday update schedule is unsuited for the type of epic drama Mookie seems to want to do. Arthur, King of Time and Space manages to pull off that blend of pun/gag humor and drama (granted, using a well-known story) in a daily format, but he may be the exception. It seems like dramatic comics are more suited to larger layouts and update schedules of 1-3 times per week.

I'd like to think that less frequent updates and more space to work with would help improve the art, but that didn't happen when he switched to 5/week updates, so....

[FoE]

So what exactly did Azazia do for Luna anyway? She just gave her a bunch of background exposition (that didn't matter, because Luna didn't do anything) and tried to strangle her a couple times.

She also slipped drugs into Luna's drink. That would upset any normal person, but Luna's used to being manipulated into doing any number of horrible things against her will.

[Gez]

Luna's used to being manipulated into doing any number of horrible things against her will.

Ahah! You say that as if she had a will of her own!

[MReav]

Ahah! You say that as if she had a will of her own!

What passes for a will of her own.

[Oracle_Hunter]

Since when does DD use bolding for meaningful emphasis?

Fixed that for you

I like reading Luna's response to "I'm enjoying the silence" as "yeah, I like not having to think too"

Seriously though - Mookie is how lazy? What happened to the omnipresent ring of Inappropriate Mountains that surrounded Maltak? How about a sun, or clouds - or even a couple of sideways v's for birds?

Mookie should really put a big "THIS SPACE FOR RENT" on the background of the last 3 panels

[Arakune]

Mookie should really put a big "THIS SPACE FOR RENT" on the background of the last 3 panels

You fiend! Making him draw more!

Don't you know how difficult it is to make one strip per day without problems? It's not like a professional manga autor can submit a 15~21 page history with screen tones, real inking and an actual plot each week for about ~2 pages day worth of work, sometimes with color pages and normally with 2~3 chapters for buffer.

[Knolle]

A large part of the problem is that the weekday update schedule is unsuited for the type of epic drama Mookie seems to want to do. Arthur, King of Time and Space manages to pull off that blend of pun/gag humor and drama (granted, using a well-known story) in a daily format, but he may be the exception. It seems like dramatic comics are more suited to larger layouts and update schedules of 1-3 times per week.

I'd like to think that less frequent updates and more space to work with would help improve the art, but that didn't happen when he switched to 5/week updates, so....

It's an intriguing thought though.

He might've stopped updating on the weekends, but I think the quality might suffer more from the way he updates rather than the frequency.

The comic "could" be so much better if he'd just take his time and would stop forcing himself into the same 8 panel layout over and over. Almost always forcing himself to do eight panels every day, no more no less, kind of hinders the story telling capabilities of the strip altogether. They don't even blend into each other naturally due to the differences in pacing that arise from that.

At least that's my impression. They seem kind of detached from each other.

He should just screw his schedule and do bigger updates, a full page of a comic, if you will, taking his time and getting a good evenings sleep before putting his idea of a plot on the internet.
A different layout would also allow him to draw scenes rather than talking heads.

[Ganurath]

...or even a couple of sideways v's for birds?

Plants can't fly!

[Tavar]

Mookie should really put a big "THIS SPACE FOR RENT" on the background of the last 3 panels

Perhaps something to consider for the Unsucking?

[Trazoi]

A large part of the problem is that the weekday update schedule is unsuited for the type of epic drama Mookie seems to want to do. Arthur, King of Time and Space manages to pull off that blend of pun/gag humor and drama (granted, using a well-known story) in a daily format, but he may be the exception. It seems like dramatic comics are more suited to larger layouts and update schedules of 1-3 times per week.

I read a few daily comics with story, such as Skin Horse, the Narbonic rerun, Sluggy Freelance and Starslip. But they all tend to be combos of gag-a-day strips that also advance the story and characters. This means their worlds tend to veer towards the wacky, and it's easier as a reader to ignore small flaws in the plot if the strips do a good job of being individually funny.

Generally, I think the key is making each strip individually worth checking out. It needs either a joke or a key dramatic reveal per strip. If a comic is going to focus on the drama, then a larger format is a boon because it's very hard to consistently provide dramatic payoff in a handful of panels.

I'm not sure whether a change would help Dominic Deegan. I suspect Mookie could use a break of at least a month to recharge his batteries. But I also thought going to a weekday-only schedule would help, and instead we got Maltak.

[Wraith]

We can safely say that Dominic probably is now absent, on the grounds that everyone else has to explain everything to each other.

Daggummit, just when I was starting to get a hold of Mookie's bizarro-logic, he goes and proves me exactly wrong.

Luna is still in the Camp, ergo Dominic probably still is too.
And he's taking absolutely NO interest in his friends' ascension to Clan Chiefs, but isn't yet doing anything interesting enough to warrent the camera focusing on him in his efforts to.... scry on the Mountain's location? Ask Donovan is he has any bardic lore on the subject? Listen to Spark make a really bad pun, even?

It's almost as if this mystical mountain of power and legend just disappeared and no one cares. Even Kiya is only interested in it because Hansi is the one off joyriding inside the thing. Why is no one paying attention to one of the few actually interesting parts of this Arc (The Magic Mobile Mountain) dspite having just spent several months of panel-time searching the damn thing out in the first place? Especially since there's still no magic around for it to use anyway (as confirmed today and yesterday, by various people continuing to state that they aren't magical anymore).

...He HAS to be a clone. The only alternatives are too awfully written to be true, surely?

[averagejoe]

The same way Grench was, meaning that the previous chief before him was also a stoner. And the one before him... And on, and on.

So maybe Grench really was the best suited for the job, being the only eligible one who isn't on drugs.

That's a good question, actually, before I found this snark thread I never understood the random bolding of words.

It is random, right?

I honestly never could find anything of importance regarding the bolded words, so I figured it was just ...random bolding, just that.

To be fair, this tends to be a problem with comicbookdom in general, and not just Mookie. Some of the worst offenders are among the superhero comics that he reads.

It's not like a professional manga autor can submit a 15~21 page history with screen tones, real inking and an actual plot each week for about ~2 pages day worth of work, sometimes with color pages and normally with 2~3 chapters for buffer.

To be fair, manga authors have interns (read: slaves) to do a lot of that stuff for them. Unless things have changed significantly since Osamu Tezuka's heyday. Alas, my relevant information inevitably tends to be on the past.

I read a few daily comics with story, such as Skin Horse, the Narbonic rerun, Sluggy Freelance and Starslip. But they all tend to be combos of gag-a-day strips that also advance the story and characters. This means their worlds tend to veer towards the wacky, and it's easier as a reader to ignore small flaws in the plot if the strips do a good job of being individually funny.

Generally, I think the key is making each strip individually worth checking out. It needs either a joke or a key dramatic reveal per strip. If a comic is going to focus on the drama, then a larger format is a boon because it's very hard to consistently provide dramatic payoff in a handful of panels.

I'm not sure whether a change would help Dominic Deegan. I suspect Mookie could use a break of at least a month to recharge his batteries. But I also thought going to a weekday-only schedule would help, and instead we got Maltak.

Well, there's also, say the Overside comics (Rice Boy and Order of Tales) which update twice weekly with, I believe, four pages per update, and even in that four page stretch one often gets an update where "nothing happens." However, the tone, speech, and art of that one are all heavily stylized, so it's not entirely dissatisfying when you get an update that consists of four pages of people walking (or whatever). Granted, it would probably be even worse as a daily thing, though it could be.

[Trazoi]

So maybe Grench really was the best suited for the job, being the only eligible one who isn't on drugs.

Plus she has the added advantage of not being dead, after Stonewater completely botched up the defence of his archers in the Big Bikta Battle. Lucky for him the only Rhazgala with any clout are a stoner and his girlfriend.

Well, there's also, say the Overside comics (Rice Boy and Order of Tales) which update twice weekly with, I believe, four pages per update, and even in that four page stretch one often gets an update where "nothing happens." However, the tone, speech, and art of that one are all heavily stylized, so it's not entirely dissatisfying when you get an update that consists of four pages of people walking (or whatever). Granted, it would probably be even worse as a daily thing, though it could be.

I guess for the more artistic styles that could work. I don't read that many webcomics along that style though, so it's hard for me to objectively comment. The gag-a-day-with-story format is my favourite because when done well it gives multiple reasons to continue reading.

From what I've read, I'd say the main stumble for the gag-a-day-with-story format (aside: is there a better name for this?) is the exposition strip, where the author feels the need to give a lot of background information quickly and fills up panel after panel with loads of words. Sluggy Freelance has some particularly bad examples of this - worse than the talking head expo strips in Dominic Deegan.

Back to the comic: the general impression I'm getting from this week of comics is like a marathon runner who has already crossed the finish line and is slowly jogging down to a stop. The race is already over and there's still some momentum left to shed. but it's just not that particularly interesting to watch.

[Frogwarrior]

From what I've read, I'd say the main stumble for the gag-a-day-with-story format (aside: is there a better name for this?) is the exposition strip, where the author feels the need to give a lot of background information quickly and fills up panel after panel with loads of words. Sluggy Freelance has some particularly bad examples of this - worse than the talking head expo strips in Dominic Deegan.

Hey, even those generally had jokes thrown in. And managed to be far, far, FAR better than that one Goblins strip explaining how the weird metal creature works.

[Penquin47]

New comic.

"WHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE" "You're done being speshul. I just needed to annoy you some more."

[spectralphoenix]

New comic.

"WHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE" "You're done being speshul. I just needed to annoy you some more."

Oh, it would be so horrible if Luna was roped into being the next Crone and stuck in Maltak!

Hansi? Hansi who?

[Silverblood]

I like the vouice. It said 'chosen one' in inverted commas.

[Castel]

I decided to leave things off on somewhat of a cliffhanger for the weekend, although it's not much of one if your memory is good and you remember the last time something like this happened to Luna.

I don't remember, and I don't dare going back on the Maltak archives to check. Can anyone enlighten me about this?

Also, I'm betting someone will remind Luna about the prophecy of the dancing party. I just know it.

[Trazoi]

I don't remember, and I don't dare going back on the Maltak archives to check. Can anyone enlighten me about this?

Well, the last time someone cast a spell on Luna was when the Spirit Father buried her alive, but I think Mookie is referring to when Luna touched the wall of prophecy and met the dragon, which explained the prophecy again and how vital it was that she remember it.

Also, I'm betting someone will remind Luna about the prophecy of the dancing party. I just know it.

See above.

[FoE]

I don't remember, and I don't dare going back on the Maltak archives to check. Can anyone enlighten me about this?

It's the Dragon. He's here to Burninate Luna. (I wish.)

[Castel]

It's the Dragon. He's here to Burninate Luna. (I wish.)

Well, the last time someone cast a spell on Luna was when the Spirit Father buried her alive, but I think Mookie is referring to when Luna touched the wall of prophecy and met the dragon, which explained the prophecy again and how vital it was that she remember it.

Ooh, right, that weird dragon. I completely forgot about that thing. Thanks

[Trazoi]

I also suspect the dragon will spend next week congratulating Luna for her brilliant use of the Princess Peach Ploy, a gambit in which she defeats the big bad boss by cunningly getting captured and thus spurring the heroes into action.

[Joro]

So if Dominic is still in the camp, who's steering the mountain? Have we seen Melna since the mountain disappeared?

Edit: Melna was in Tuesday's comic, so I guess she hasn't taken it upon herself to become the Crone.
Can't say I blame Hansi for wanting to skip out on the denouement.
Here's hoping the dragon finds a way to spin things so that Luna doesn't come off as having been as useless as a pithed frog throughout the whole arc; the tortured logic necessary for that will be a work of art.

[spectralphoenix]

Here's hoping the dragon finds a way to spin things so that Luna doesn't come off as having been as useless as a pithed frog throughout the whole arc; the tortured logic necessary for that will be a work of art.

It would certainly be amusing, but odds are the dragon will just talk about how awesome she was without getting into any specifics, like pretty much all the other wrap-up we've seen so far.

[M84]

Heyall,

I was wondering when Luna would start whining again.

On an unrelated note, I've been wondering for a while now why Mookie sticks to the same strip format so often. He clearly doesn't have an editor. He doesn't have to worry about the space constraints that newspaper comic artists have to work with everyday. So why is he so afraid of experimenting with the art and layout? I mean, the end of last year had some progress in that department, but that died quickly.

Seriously, if he enjoys Protection From Editors so much, why doesn't he even try to take advantage of it?