What's With All the W's?

[Brickwall]

Okay, I can't be the only one wondering why everything is spelled with w's instead of r's. "Gobwin", "gwiffon", "dwagon", etc. Truthfully, I think it's kind of annoying to read, becuase most people associate that with trying to be cute, and it doesn't at all seem to blend with the comic.

But obviously, our writer and author have their own thoughts on this. What are yours?

[WoDHells]

Bwhat are you twalking about? I bweally don't get it.

[TinSoldier]

You didn't put in an option for "slightly annoying but mostly indifferent."

[Khantalas]

Well, not bettew than Thog, but that's the only thing that made me hesitate befowe choosing that option.

[Brickwall]

All results are intended to be extreme. If you lean slightly in one way or th eother, choose that way. If you could honestly care less, put the third option.

[MrNexx]

I think it would sound far better than it reads.

[pestilenceawaits]

I find that the most irritating thing about the comic I like just about everything else. I think it bugs me because I know some people that talk to there 3 year old kid that way. my skin crawls just thinking about it.

[Calmypal]

I think it's wonderful, just renaming all the common monsters to have w's where r's should be and not mention it at all. Brilliant.

[Erloas]

That in-and-of-itself is just about enough to put me off the comic. Although we don't have a lot of direction yet with the comic I'm seeing it either heading to a really good place or a really bad place in a month of comics. I think this is going to be a hit or miss comic in that people are either going to really like it or really dislike it, I don't see a lot of middleground with the comic as it looks now.

I don't yet see how some of the "cute" wording, such as the w's, fit in with the look and apparent action the comic is going to have. The intent of the wording also doesn't seem to fit with the use of the wording. That might change with time, but that is how I see it this early into it.

[Demented]

I have no objection to it. They just make so much sense to me that, for the most part, I don't even see them. Much like Durkon's accent. "Transcribe my what, now?"

Not to mention I love the idea of cute things in a cute world hacking eachother into graphic bloody kibble.
It just makes sense.

[Arian]

I interpret them as a signal that these things are sort of like dragons, goblins, griffons etc, except... not.

So for the most part we can consider them to be things-with-Rs (filling similar roles?) but if they do something wildly non-stereotypical, and someone says, "Hey, a dragon would never do that!" there's the reply, "This is not a dragon."

[Fo Shizzle]

The w's don't really bother me, they just seem odd. If they weren't there I probably wouldn't think any different of the comic. (But then again it's something that makes Erfworld unique.)

[mikeejimbo]

I interpret them as a signal that these things are sort of like dragons, goblins, griffons etc, except... not.

So for the most part we can consider them to be things-with-Rs (filling similar roles?) but if they do something wildly non-stereotypical, and someone says, "Hey, a dragon would never do that!" there's the reply, "This is not a dragon."

They're not dragons, goblins, and griffons, they're dwagons, gobwins and gwiffons. There's no such things as dragons, goblins and griffons, in fact.

So yes, you voice my thoughts quite well.

[ref]

Fwee Bwian! hehe... Well, it's a different world, with different fauna. That's all.

[MrNexx]

A slightly different thought (though I like the they're-not-dragons-they're-dwagons thought):

I was thinking about the proportions of the people in the comic we've seen. In a way, they come off as somewhat child-like (or even Chibi) in proportion, appearance, and behavior. Perhaps the w's are not a sign of "cutesy", but childishness... which would certainly be borne out by Stanely.

[Jorkens]

A slightly different thought (though I like the they're-not-dragons-they're-dwagons thought):

I was thinking about the proportions of the people in the comic we've seen. In a way, they come off as somewhat child-like (or even Chibi) in proportion, appearance, and behavior. Perhaps the w's are not a sign of "cutesy", but childishness... which would certainly be borne out by Stanely.

They're in the narration, too, though. And none of the character's dialogue seems particularly childish apart from the w's. Even Stanley's - "Oh, Wanda. Don't sell yourself short. You're a great caster. You just have no head for finance. The "support plan" is how they get you." To me that sounds like an adult who's not as smart as he thinks he is, not a three year old who can't pronounce words properly. Note also that it's only names of creatures that have the w's in too - if people were talking like children you'd expect words like 'literally' or 'discovery' or 'treasury' to get mangled, too.

IMO the big heads are just an aspect of the style - bigger heads allow for clearer expressions, for starters.

[SteveMB]

They're in the narration, too, though. And none of the character's dialogue seems particularly childish apart from the w's. Even Stanley's - "Oh, Wanda. Don't sell yourself short. You're a great caster. You just have no head for finance. The "support plan" is how they get you." To me that sounds like an adult who's not as smart as he thinks he is, not a three year old who can't pronounce words properly.

True -- that reminded me of Dilbert's pointy-haired boss more than anything else.

[Jorkens]

Come to think of it, Stanley's history of promoting 'pretty boys' to Warlord could be a bit disturbing if he's meant to be a kid, too...

[Fenix]

I hawe a wewy good fwiend in Wome named Biggus Dickus.

[Flak_Razorwill]

I mentally replace the w with an r. Simple. It doesn't slow my reading at all.

Anyways, I just see the w as a kind of...how do you put it...regional dialect? It's just this universe. Badass settings have featured extensive cuteness before. Explain GIR's role as a enforcer robot who answers to an alien infiltrator working for an empire that commits genocide daily. If anything, his piggies. were even more prominent that the w here.

[Brickwall]

I'd certainly like our author and artist to come here and give their reasoning for all the W's. But, as it seems, they have not decided to come here. Maybe all will be revealed in time. Or maybe not.

[pclips]

I'd certainly like our author and artist to come here and give their reasoning for all the W's. But, as it seems, they have not decided to come here. Maybe all will be revealed in time. Or maybe not.

All will be revealed in time, or at least enough to judge the comic for what it is. Love it, hate it, shrug it off...they're all perfectly valid reactions right now. You guys don't have a lot to go on yet. What small portion there is is getting hyperanalyzed and nibbled to death. We expect a bumpy ride for a while. We hope to win back a lot of the instant critics later on.

But explanations, clarifications, rebuttals...you won't see those until after the story has run its course.

Relax, all. It will unfold. Think of it as a quirky series of commercials running during your favorite show. Check it on every update, or once a month, but don't be surprised if it draws you in eventually.

[Mauril Everleaf]

so far ive treated the w's as i treat V's gender. if the author decides to reveal why/what, then awesome. otherwise its just a continuing gag that makes the story somewhat unique. plus, did you see the creature in the second to last panel. that could not, in good conscience, be called a dragon, only dwagon would fit that creature.

EDIT: simu-posted by the man himself

[mikeejimbo]

The question isn't why do they use W's, it's why do we use R's?

[jami]

The question isn't why do they use W's, it's why do we use R's?

Indeed!

[roadkiller]

Whenever I see the Erfworld comics, I just think of children playing a war game that they don't fully understand. The entire thing has an infantile feel, like a child would expect a leader to be a "pretty boy," if only because all of the great leaders in stories that they get read to them.

If you'll notice, Wanda seems to be proportioned at least closer to normal and seems far more matured than the rest of the characters. I suspect one of the biggest reasons her head doesn't fit entirely correctly is merely because it would not fit with the rest of the comic.

I read the comic as it is without slowing donw, "W"s and all. It just adds another layer to the idea of the infancy of the comic.

[mikeejimbo]

This whole discussion reminds me of something that happened in a Dragonlance campaign...

Well, it started when, in another campaign, a dwarf bred with an orc and made a dorc. So I was playing a dwarf and was told about the horrors of crossbreeding, but I said I wanted to breed with a draconian so I could make, you guessed it: The dwaconian.

[Turcano]

"Youw fathew was a Woman?"
"No, a ROMAN." (*smack*)

[Jorkens]

Whenever I see the Erfworld comics, I just think of children playing a war game that they don't fully understand. The entire thing has an infantile feel, like a child would expect a leader to be a "pretty boy," if only because all of the great leaders in stories that they get read to them.

Sorry to sound like a stuck record here, but do you really think the dialogue sounds childlike? If anything it strikes me as being comparatively worldly and cynical for fantasy...

[Brickwall]

It sounds stupid! It sounds like somebody with a speech impediment dictated the comic! Not something I like to read.