Goblins XIV: Clerical Omission.

[Suvar]

I wrote this almost 4 weeks ago now... Didn't think it was that long but it is. And I hate to say it, but by now I start to believe that this is a real possibility.

"Blog post is finished, I'll post it soon" - "No, I won't after all, you'll think it's an April Fool's joke" - "But here's a creepy comic" - "Oh, the blog post? Yeah that's coming" - "Also a comic. Soon." - "Ehh, yeah, really soon" - "Like today" - "Oh I said that yesterday already? Also the blog? Ah yes, I started over on that"

Ok he might not have said all of that. But that's how the last 4 weeks felt.

Personally, I don't think the comic is ever going to recover/resume. I think he's dug himself into too deep a hole. Maybe if he gets some professional help, he might be able to gather the fortitude to return to it, but it seems unlikely to me.

[runeghost]

Think I have to bring out the big guns on this one.

The Meek, anyone?

Does Polymer City Chronicles count? It's been on hiatus since 2007...

[AdmiralCheez]

Der-Shing Helmer never said "The Meek is officially abandoned". But she did say "Now I hate working on this and I don't know if I'll ever want to draw it again". So I'd consider it pretty much officially abandoned, really.

Really? Wow, that's sad. I remember reading that one when it was still just the sketch pages. There was so much enthusiasm back then, it's tragic to hear that it suddenly became so toxic to work on.

[Janus]

Anyone ever read RPG World Comic?
It was awesome, but then the artist suddenly stopped just before the climactic battle with the BBEG. He promised to return to the comic several times, but slowly got angry about the comic and anything related to it (I seem to remember him putting a big image of someone flipping the bird on the front page).
Shame. It was a really cool comic.

EDIT
Maybe I was mistaken on the middle finger thing being an insult to the readers. Either way, TVTropes says that the comic's forums got really toxic, which probably didn't help the writer come back to the comic.

[Winterwind]

Anyone ever read RPG World Comic?
It was awesome, but then the artist suddenly stopped just before the climactic battle with the BBEG. He promised to return to the comic several times, but slowly got angry about the comic and anything related to it (I seem to remember him putting a big image of someone flipping the bird on the front page).
Shame. It was a really cool comic.

Oh yes, I remember RPG World. Probably the webcomic the premature passing of which I mourned the most.
I wish he'd at least put up some text explaining how it was supposed to end, the way they did with Chainmail Bikini.

(But yeah, I don't think he'd tried to insult his readers. At least, I don't remember that he did. Been a while though.)

[SlyGuyMcFly]

Anyone ever read RPG World Comic?
It was awesome, but then the artist suddenly stopped just before the climactic battle with the BBEG. He promised to return to the comic several times, but slowly got angry about the comic and anything related to it (I seem to remember him putting a big image of someone flipping the bird on the front page).
Shame. It was a really cool comic.

EDIT
Maybe I was mistaken on the middle finger thing being an insult to the readers. Either way, TVTropes says that the comic's forums got really toxic, which probably didn't help the writer come back to the comic.

Oh boy, that takes me back. RPG World one of the first webcomics I read, and partially responsible for getting me into webcomics in the first place, along with Schlock Mercenary, Megatokyo, DMFA and Turn Signals On a Land Raider. 'Twas a good comic indeed, very funny with some great dramatic moments and twists.

Man, I wonder if it's still archived someplace. I kinda want to indulge in the nostalgia now... I just realised I've been reading some of these for like ten or eleven years now

[busterswd]

Oh boy, that takes me back. RPG World one of the first webcomics I read, and partially responsible for getting me into webcomics in the first place, along with Schlock Mercenary, Megatokyo, DMFA and Turn Signals On a Land Raider. 'Twas a good comic indeed, very funny with some great dramatic moments and twists.

Man, I wonder if it's still archived someplace. I kinda want to indulge in the nostalgia now... I just realised I've been reading some of these for like ten or eleven years now

http://rpgworldcomic.com/d/20070611.html

Still up.

[Anteros]

Isn't RPG world the one where he killed the main cast in a random battle? It's not a great ending...but it's definitely an ending.

[ThirdEmperor]

And then Brian Clevinger read that, and thought 'Wow, what a great joke!'

[Pyra]

And then Brian Clevinger read that, and thought 'Wow, what a great joke!'

And that brings up another comic for the list - How I Killed Your Master. I was enjoying that one, and he hasn't updated it in a few years now.

I place one cookie on Thunt updating before the end of the month. With something. Maybe not the next comic, but something.

[Anteros]

And that brings up another comic for the list - How I Killed Your Master. I was enjoying that one, and he hasn't updated it in a few years now.

I place one cookie on Thunt updating before the end of the month. With something. Maybe not the next comic, but something.

I never really enjoyed any of Clevinger's work outside of 8-Bit and his Dynasty Warriors stuff. As for Thunt...does "Blog post coming soon, I promise!" count as an update?

[TheSummoner]

When he actually posts it, then it can retroactively count as an update.

So no.

[Suvar]

And that brings up another comic for the list - How I Killed Your Master. I was enjoying that one, and he hasn't updated it in a few years now.

I place one cookie on Thunt updating before the end of the month. With something. Maybe not the next comic, but something.

I'll take that bet.

Re: HIKYM - I'm the same way. I was totally digging it, and now I'm heartbroken.

[John Campbell]

Does Polymer City Chronicles count? It's been on hiatus since 2007...

I still occasionally check to see if Waiting For Bob's hiatus is over yet.

(I've got a fair list of other webcomics that I check for life signs maybe annually, but I think Waiting For Bob is the one that's been inactive the longest and not gotten an official, "No, it's dead," or just disappeared from the net.)

[Adoniis]

I don't believe for a second that Thunt sat down years in advance and wrote out a detailed script for exactly how Goblins should progress. That level of pre-planning is rare even among the most renowned of authors. However, I do believe that he has planned a general idea for where and how he wants the plot to advance.

I don't believe it either. Personally, though he claims otherwise obviously, I feel he makes a lot up on the fly. As for his supposed mental illness, if he isn't seeking professional help at this point, I'm calling bull.

All the people trying to "explain" mental illness need to stop. It works differently for everyone. Stop trying to be webMS's.

[Avaris]

I don't believe it either. Personally, though he claims otherwise obviously, I feel he makes a lot up on the fly. As for his supposed mental illness, if he isn't seeking professional help at this point, I'm calling bull.

All the people trying to "explain" mental illness need to stop. It works differently for everyone. Stop trying to be webMS's.

So wait, first you say it's bull if he isn't seeking professional help, then you say we should stop explaining it and trying to be wedMS's, as it works differently for everyone. Take your own advice before calling bull.

As of yet, we don't know anything, but it seems likely to be mental illness. If he says it's mental illness, it's mental illness. We don't have or need any more details, and it doesn't help people saying 'supposed' or saying it's only legit if you seek professional help. And how do you know he hasn't?

It's a shame the comic hasn't updated, and I doubt anyone i as disappointed by this as Thunt. Whatever is going on, he obviously still needs time to sort it before carrying on or telling us what is happening. At this stage, we don't need to know anything more.

[Killer Angel]

As for his supposed mental illness, if he isn't seeking professional help at this point, I'm calling bull. .

Sometimes it's hard to search for a professional help, even if you are aware of a mental problem. The nature of some mental illness, is that it's difficult to do things.

[TheStranger]

If you ignore all your obligations, disconnect from all your friends, can't eat, can't sleep, lose 40 lbs. in a month or two, and feel completely overwhelmed by life, I don't care what you call it or if you're getting professional help, it's a problem. So either Thunt is outright lying to us about what's going on, or he's got issues in his life that go way beyond the update schedule and lack of promised blog posts. I hope he deals with them and starts making the comic again. In the alternative, I hope he deals with them and never makes the comic again. I'm not inclined to complain about the update schedule, or the lack of promised blog posts, until Thunt deals with his issues, whatever they may be. If and when he does, and if the comic resumes, I'll gladly return to reading it. Until then, I hope Thunt's doing ok, and I wish him the best in getting things straightened out.

[Carrion Pigeon]

I don't believe it either. Personally, though he claims otherwise obviously, I feel he makes a lot up on the fly. As for his supposed mental illness, if he isn't seeking professional help at this point, I'm calling bull.

All the people trying to "explain" mental illness need to stop. It works differently for everyone. Stop trying to be webMS's.

There's a huge difference between having a story written down, which is pretty easy if it's composed only by notes, and having a script written down. The first thing is entirely possible and a few pages of notes could last years, speaking for webcomics time. And I seem to remember that Thunt said this was the case.

[sum1won]

There's a huge difference between having a story written down, which is pretty easy if it's composed only by notes, and having a script written down. The first thing is entirely possible and a few pages of notes could last years, speaking for webcomics time. And I seem to remember that Thunt said this was the case.

I think Thunt actually has a bit more than just a basic script. I think this because, while his art has evolved over time, his writing and plotting has been pretty stagnant.

[Carrion Pigeon]

I think Thunt actually has a bit more than just a basic script. I think this because, while his art has evolved over time, his writing and plotting has been pretty stagnant.

Define "basic" script. I said that, in my opinion and judging by what he said, he wrote down the story, not the script. Writing down the story could take tens of pages, but writing the script for said pages would be a lot longer. And once you write the story, the plot is defined as well.
About the writing not improving...well, if he wrote the story and doesn't edit it while the webcomic goes on, it's obvious it doesn't change (for the better or for the worse). Also, in my opinion is a lot more difficult to improve in writing than it is in drawing...you can train your "hand" drawing anything, but writing anything doesn't train you to become a better author.
I actually follow Goblins more for the storytelling part than for the visual part. Thunt improved a lot in comics art, but I don't like his style as much as I like his narrative.

[BannedInSchool]

Even if he only has the whole story outlined in notes, he could also have key points, such as Kore's helmet coming off, sketched out in an actual panel with dialog from way back when.

[Carrion Pigeon]

Even if he only has the whole story outlined in notes, he could also have key points, such as Kore's helmet coming off, sketched out in an actual panel with dialog from way back when.

It could be, but it would be uncommon to do that when writing a story and in would stretch the time a lot. Generally, an author starts with a concept, then a schedule (list? Treatment? I don't know the proper English word), a script, a storyboard, etc. It would be hell to do all that in advance, it would be more realistic to think he did just a "list", detailed or not.
By the way, since he's got the plot and it's clear he can't/won't draw it in a near future, he could release it as short stories and implement it with some drawings (just pencil), like Erfworld did. Less time and less stress. I would gladly read it.

[Spuddles]

Or maybe she's just implying that his "Condition" is likely undiagnosed. Also, while I recognize the serious of mental conditions such as depression, using it as an excuse for constantly ongoing issues leaves a bad taste in my mouth. If he's in such a mentally bad place that he can't write a paragraph over the course of a month he should probably be somewhere getting professional help.

we call those condishuns.

[Lissou]

From what I understand, he has a basic script of where the story is going, along with some specific scenes and lines of dialogue. I believe he decides on the panel-by-panel breakdown closer to drawing the page, as well as the specific dialogue (except the parts he wrote down early). He does have notebooks he's shown. I believe he's shown an old one (the story had already made it online) on stream, as well as a new one, but he didn't show what was inside of it. You can absolutely decide to believe it was completely blank, but I don't believe that's true.

He also mentioned on several occasions scenes he was looking forward to that wouldn't happen for years. So while I don't think he has everything down in so many details that it's pretty much down, I'm pretty confident that he has the storyline, the subplots and some scenes and dialogue, and only fleshes the whole thing out. I don't think "being out of idea" would stop him from continuing on that track.

As for getting medical help, we don't know if he is or not. I remember he mentioned a hospital visit soon before he disappeared, but he could have been visiting someone else. At any rate, he has Danielle to help him with that kind of things, and it's really not our place. I feel telling him to get medical help is condescending and disrespectful. If he needs medical help, he doesn't need us telling him in order to figure it out.

[Suvar]

As for getting medical help, we don't know if he is or not. I remember he mentioned a hospital visit soon before he disappeared, but he could have been visiting someone else. At any rate, he has Danielle to help him with that kind of things, and it's really not our place. I feel telling him to get medical help is condescending and disrespectful. If he needs medical help, he doesn't need us telling him in order to figure it out.

From what I've seen/learned about mental illness, sometimes people DO need a shove in the right direction. If you end up losing 40 lbs and not sleeping for a month and you can't tell that you really need help, then you need someone to get you to a hospital.

[Spuddles]

From what I've seen/learned about mental illness, sometimes people DO need a shove in the right direction. If you end up losing 40 lbs and not sleeping for a month and you can't tell that you really need help, then you need someone to get you to a hospital.

Why?

13516341634136631

[ThirdEmperor]

Because having a mental problem often prevents you from accurately assessing said problem?

But it stands to point out that we - a bunch of strangers in the Internet - probably aren't any better fit.

[Suvar]

Because having a mental problem often prevents you from accurately assessing said problem?

But it stands to point out that we - a bunch of strangers in the Internet - probably aren't any better fit.

I certainly hope he wouldn't take health advice from strangers on the internet. But then again, I don't think any of us are posting for his benefit.

[Killer Angel]

I certainly hope he wouldn't take health advice from strangers on the internet.

You should give more credit to strangers on the internet. For example, right now i'm in affair with a nigerian prince!