Crowning moments of heartbreaking

[ReaderAt2046]

In my opinion, the saddest scene in OOTS is where we come on the scene of V's massacre of the Draketooth line.(http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0841.html)

What really makes it hit home for me is the little girl with the pigtails. If you'll notice, she has exactly the same hair color as the lady next to her. Mother and daughter? And from the way they fell it looks either like V struck while they were hugging each other, or the mother felt it coming and was trying to shield her little girl. So sad! :(

[Tannhaeuser]

I think in terms of purely literary effect the death of the Family Draketooth loses in pathetic force by its very magnitude (though, conversely, it gains in horror). In the cliché but perceptive words of Tucholsky, "The death of one man: that is a a catastrophe. A hundred thousand dead: that is a statistic." That is why I personally am not nearly so saddened as shocked by massacres such as the wholesale slaughter of Azure City's paladins or the Draketooths as I am by (say) Therkla's or even the unlikable Miko's deaths. The former are perhaps more shocking, but the latter are more grievous.

[Mike Havran]

I have yet to find any truly heartbreaking moment. But the way Samantha's dad was killed was pretty disquieting for me. He was a relatively decent guy (for a bandit leader), who loved his daughter even though she was rotten to the bone. And when she proved to be too stupid to live, he naturally lost his temper and was offed without a second thought.

[veti]

I think we'd all agree that individual events are far more tearjerking than mass deaths. (Otherwise, the fall of Azure City and wholesale slaughter of its defenders would surely qualify as the biggest single loss-of-sentient-life event. Not the paladins, there were only a few dozen of them, but the rank-and-file soldiers who died in the battle and its immediate aftermath.)

Note that ReaderAt2046 talks about a mass death event, but to make it 'heartbreaking' they pick on a single isolated detail - the mother/child pair.

I would nominate:

• Therkla's death. She was so young, and her life was so blighted by Kubota even before she died. She never had a chance. For anything.
• "I still need to fix everything"
• From Start of Darkness: "Goodbye... Redcloak." (I don't think it's a spoiler if I don't talk about the context.)

[Snippy]

From Start of Darkness: "Goodbye... Redcloak." (I don't think it's a spoiler if I don't talk about the context.)

This.

Spoiler

Show

Redcloak's whole story-line in SoD is pretty sad, but Right-Eye's death is probably the only time I could consider OOTS 'heartbreaking'.

[karkus]

What really makes it hit home for me is the little girl with the pigtails. If you'll notice, she has exactly the same hair color as the lady next to her. Mother and daughter? And from the way they fell it looks either like V struck while they were hugging each other, or the mother felt it coming and was trying to shield her little girl. So sad! :(

If it makes you feel any better, there was (I think literally) no way that they felt anything. I'm pretty sure that a direct quote from the strips was that they didn't even realize that they were dead.

[Incom]

The deaths of:
Miko
Haley's Mom
Therkla (her whole arc, really)
Roy
Right-eye

Notably not the death of Shojo, that was more shocking than saddening. (Well, Roy too if you pay attention to tropes, but it's hard to read O Buddy Roy without crying at least a little.)

V's marriage breaking up.

Hilgya/Durkon being sunk. Not so much that it was sunk, but in what way.

Basically everything Redcloak does that isn't Evil(tm).

"Mr. Stiffly? Mr. Stiffly! O-CHUL!"

[NZNinja]

This.

I honestly expected him to find a way out of it, right up until I reached the bottom of panel 1.

[Silferdrake]

It might not be a strip were someone dies or anything, but this one always managed to twist my heartstrings a bit. Poor Haley...

[suzaliscious]

Yeah, no ... "Goodbye Redcloak" beats pretty much anything the online strip has to offer [and that has plenty of heartbreaking moments too.]

[Blue Lantern]

This

[MoonCat]

The (botched) execution of Enor and Ganjii, and Belkar talking to Mr. Scruffy in the arena.

[Dr.Epic]

The (botched) execution of Enor and Ganjii

That would have been heartbreaking if it weren't for the final panel of those strips. The speed by which those crossbow bolts fires is so ridiculously and unrealistically slow it completely ruins the mood. It completely takes you out of the scene. Those crossbow bolts seem like they're traveling like 1 mile per hour; those things would barely break the skin at that speed if you by some ridiculous circumstance didn't dodge them which you had more then enough time to do. The sad thing is it's an easy fix. Rich could have easily expanded the panel where Tarquin says "Kill them both." to be the last panel. As is, those slow crossbow bolts completely break the mood and ruin it for me.

[MoonCat]

That would have been heartbreaking if it weren't for the final panel of those strips. The speed by which those crossbow bolts fires is so ridiculously and unrealistically slow it completely ruins the mood. It completely takes you out of the scene. Those crossbow bolts seem like they're traveling like 1 mile per hour; those things would barely break the skin at that speed if you by some ridiculous circumstance didn't dodge them which you had more then enough time to do. The sad thing is it's an easy fix. Rich could have easily expanded the panel where Tarquin says "Kill them both." to be the last panel. As is, those slow crossbow bolts completely break the mood and ruin it for me.

Really? Because for me, the final panel was what really did it. In my head, I put it in slow motion while Sadness Music of InevitabilityTM played in the backround. That panel was what made it for me.

[ti'esar]

Really? Because for me, the final panel was what really did it. In my head, I put it in slow motion while Sadness Music of InevitabilityTM played in the backround. That panel was what made it for me.

And, taking this to one further level, I find that Sadness Music of InevitabilityTM rarely works for me. I also think that strip would have been more effective if it ended on Tarquin's panel, although not to the degree that Dr.Epic seems to.

As for the actual topic, I agree that the scene from SoD being referenced is much more depressing than anything in the online comic (not that that's a bad thing).

EDIT: Who is King Zeal, and why did I confuse him/her with Dr.Epic?

[Jay R]

Heartbreaking awesomeness was breaking out in panels 4-8 here, until it was swamped by naive and innocent loving awesomeness.

[Kaemon]

Hand downs, these two words from Start of Darkness:

Spoiler

Show

"Goodbye... Redcloak."

[Sith_Happens]

Start of Darkness. All of it. Yes, even the funny parts.

[Winter]

Start of Darkness. All of it. Yes, even the funny parts.

The cool thing on Start of Darkness is that even the funny parts often have a bitter tone.

What further makes it better than the online strip is that it does not have to end with a punchline and even better, that not each page has to be "closed". If something takes two pages or four, it does. Makes for a much better continuum to tell a story.

I wish Rich made another book in that style (it does not have to be dark as SoD).

[veti]

What further makes it better than the online strip is that it does not have to end with a punchline and even better, that not each page has to be "closed". If something takes two pages or four, it does. Makes for a much better continuum to tell a story.

I wish Rich made another book in that style (it does not have to be dark as SoD).

The online comic quite frequently runs 2-3 or more strips in one shot.

I agree that SoD has a different tone and tempo from the online strip, but I wouldn't agree that that makes it "better". It's just a (slightly) different storytelling style.

The punchline-per-day format is - well, it's a type of writing discipline that's characteristic of many webcomics, and Rich's skill at it probably has a lot to do with his success. I like it. To me, it gives the online comic a particular feel and charm of its own, very different from printed comics (which I seldom read nowadays, partly for this very reason - hack writers will drag scenes on for page after page, before delivering a payoff that's simply not worth waiting for).

Obviously this is all very subjective, and Rich will write what he wants in the style he wants. I think, at this point, I trust him to tell a story that's worth my time to follow, whatever format he adopts.

[skuishe]

Maybe not the crowning moment, but one that really stuck it to me that doesn't really get mentioned is Miko's bonus New Year's strip in War and XPs. She's trying! =(

[Winter]

The online comic quite frequently runs 2-3 or more strips in one shot.

That is not the point. One "piece" takes all the time it needs and does not get broken into "one page, a joke at the end" pieces.

I agree that SoD has a different tone and tempo from the online strip, but I wouldn't agree that that makes it "better".

Nice to know. I still can think it to be better?

[ReaderAt2046]

Also Sabine's last words to Nale in this strip:(http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0860.html)

"I love you, forever..."

What makes it really sad is that Nale can't even hear Sabine, and has no idea what she just said to him.

Also doubles as an Establishing Character Moment, as it conclusively proves to me that Sabine is not anything like a real devil, as no true devil could understand love, or even loyalty.

[factotum]

as no true devil could understand love, or even loyalty.

Why? Just because they're evil doesn't mean they can't feel emotions, and other demons/devils etc. we've seen have definitely shown them (see Qarr). As for Sabine, I think it's pretty well established by now that she's is a succubus, which is a type of demon.

[Sith_Happens]

Also doubles as an Establishing Character Moment, as it conclusively proves to me that Sabine is not anything like a real devil, as no true devil could understand love, or even loyalty.

Nitpick: She's a demon. Devils most definitely understand loyalty: It's that thing that keeps you on a bigger devil's less-bad side.

[Zrak]

That would have been heartbreaking if it weren't for the final panel of those strips. The speed by which those crossbow bolts fires is so ridiculously and unrealistically slow it completely ruins the mood. It completely takes you out of the scene. Those crossbow bolts seem like they're traveling like 1 mile per hour; those things would barely break the skin at that speed if you by some ridiculous circumstance didn't dodge them which you had more then enough time to do. The sad thing is it's an easy fix. Rich could have easily expanded the panel where Tarquin says "Kill them both." to be the last panel. As is, those slow crossbow bolts completely break the mood and ruin it for me.

I agree that it would've been more heartwrenching were it to have ended on Tarquin's panel, but I don't see why you have the impression the crossbow bolts are moving slowly.

[darbythegambler]

I honestly find one of the most heartbreaking, and terrifying, moments to be Tsukiko's death I love you all! I love you! Why don't... you love... me? mind you, she's not even a character I like (I also have not read start of darkness yet)

[Zrak]

Tsukiko has her fair share. That strip is especially sad when viewed in concert with her explanation of why she loves her undead. The latter is sad because of her delusion, at first, but it gets worse when you realize she loves them because they're the only "people" that haven't betrayed her or hurt her. This makes the saddest part Redcloak reminding her that the only creatures to really show her any decency were under her magical control. It's a sad moment for her, but a sadder reminder that, even with the best intentions, people with free will can't really help but hurt, betray, and disappoint one another. Of course, you have to take Tsukiko's opinion with a grain of salt (creating mindless magical "children" is obviously not a sane way to deal with human imperfection), it's still kind of a sad reminder of our limitations.

[ReaderAt2046]

Why? Just because they're evil doesn't mean they can't feel emotions, and other demons/devils etc. we've seen have definitely shown them (see Qarr). As for Sabine, I think it's pretty well established by now that she's is a succubus, which is a type of demon.

I use the terms "demon" and "devil" interchangeably when referring to the kind that exist IRL. And I'm not saying Sabine isn't a D&D demon, I'm saying that she isn't a real one.

Tsukiko has her fair share. That strip is especially sad when viewed in concert with her explanation of why she loves her undead. The latter is sad because of her delusion, at first, but it gets worse when you realize she loves them because they're the only "people" that haven't betrayed her or hurt her. This makes the saddest part Redcloak reminding her that the only creatures to really show her any decency were under her magical control. It's a sad moment for her, but a sadder reminder that, even with the best intentions, people with free will can't really help but hurt, betray, and disappoint one another. Of course, you have to take Tsukiko's opinion with a grain of salt (creating mindless magical "children" is obviously not a sane way to deal with human imperfection), it's still kind of a sad reminder of our limitations.

You know, I'm not entirely sure the wights were mindless. I rather suspect that if neither Tsukiko nor Redcloack had been controlling them, they'd have left Tsukiko alone.

[Tundar]

Therkla followed closely by Start of Darkness.