Goblins

[Burrito]

Sonova crap! I guess the old thread was eaten by internet termites.

Anyway, Goblins, awesome comic, and it is being updated more often. If anybody hasn't already, check out the live feed of comic being drawn. Pretty sweet. The author posted this about the comic on his site Goblins....

Saturday, September 20, 2008
Goblins Announcement / Drawing Marathon

Well, the time has come. I am hereby announcing that Goblins is my sole source of income. In otherwords, Goblins is officially my job now. Yeah, this is a little scary. Having a dayjob felt like being on a boat out in the middle of the ocean. With no conventional job, I feel as though that boat is no longer there and now it's up to me to tread water on my own...

...with my family sitting on my shoulders.

However, if I want Goblins to really grow, I'm going to have to make this leap sooner or later. I can't always treat it like a hobby and expect it to become a career on its own.

I have to point out a very important fact though. This does not mean that updates will be upgraded to three times a week. For now, let's try to get things back to the good old days on once a week. Once I'm on top of that, we'll see what happens. I'm not making any promises expect to say that I'm currently drawing seven to ten hours a day, seven days a week. Feel free to poke your head into the live feed (the link is at the top of the page) at anytime if you'd like to see me drawing the upcoming update (spoiler warning).

To mark this occasion, I'm going to be doing a 48 hour drawing marathon from Friday, Sept. 26, noon, until Sunday, Sept. 28, noon (Pacific time). I will leave my drawing table only for bathroom breaks and I will stand only to periodically stretch my legs. Eating will be done at the table while I work (non-gooey foods only, we don't want to ruin the drawings) and sleep... well... sleep just won't happen until the end of the marathon. Yes, I will probably be a drooling pile of gibberish by the end of this blatant publicity stunt. The live cam/mic will of course, be pointed at the table the whole time. If, in the the later parts of the marathon, I become so tired that the quality of the drawings start to dip, I'll draw something else. Maybe a short comic about being too tired, maybe doodles of the hallucinations that I'll be seeing, who knows. But I will keep drawing steadily for 48 hours.

This marathon which, as I mentioned earlier is a shameless, blatant publicity stunt, should help to springboard me into a more reader friendly update schedule.

And now it's time for me to tread water.

As always, thanks for reading.
~Thunt

[Castel]

Wow, so we might actually see the end of the whole Goblinslayer thing before the end of the year? Awesome.

(Also, Crazy Publicity Stunt FTW)

[Ravens_cry]

I am not the biggest fan off the goblin slayer story arc, for the first few months I wanted to get back to the Dwarf 'Paladin'. I have never before felt so chilled by a drawing. It was like a total deer-in-the-headlights moment. I hope they explain WHAT the FLIPPITY-GIBLITS the Goblinslayer is. I mean, half man, half wood, all kinds of crazy? No makee sensee to me-ee.

[Nerd-o-rama]

I fail to see how a 48-hour working spree will produce worthwhile results.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a programming project due in 48 hours. Time to crack open the Red Bull...

[T-O-E]

I want need Goblinslayer to die and for Fumbles to be cured!

[Tempest Fennac]

I hope Thunt knows what he's doing (quitting his job and then doing a 48 hour marathon like that could be a bad idea).

[Paragraph]

I fail to see how a 48-hour working spree will produce worthwhile results.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a programming project due in 48 hours. Time to crack open the Red Bull...

So, you're a programer for Microsoft? I'd SWEAR some of the stuff they produce is the result of 48-hour-sessions with too many mind-enhancing drugs.

Goblins is one of my favourite Webcomics, mostly for art, clear comicstyle but still blatantly brutal, which is - honest, I guess. No scrapes like in OotS (nothing against those), but real broken bones and blood.

Alliteration attack!

I'm looking forward to the results of this madness, thanks for pointing it out, I mostly read just the comic. Regular updates - dreams coming true?

Simon

[Arioch]

You know what I miss about Goblins? The humour. It used to be really funny. Now it has no humour at all, just blood and angst. Well-written blood and angst, but blood and angst nontheless. Bring back the funny, I say!

[T-O-E]

You know what I miss about Goblins? The humour. It used to be really funny. Now it has no humour at all, just blood and angst. Well-written blood and angst, but blood and angst nontheless. Bring back the funny, I say!

Yeah, I enjoy the angst but I think a little humour would be good. Maybe bring Minmax, Forgath and the other three adventurers back every couple of comics?

[Paragraph]

You know what I miss about Goblins? The humour. It used to be really funny. Now it has no humour at all, just blood and angst. Well-written blood and angst, but blood and angst nontheless. Bring back the funny, I say!

Well, maybe he has jumped the shark, if this is the right trope, no? Becoming serious and all that. He did this pretty soon in the course of the comic, during the battle in the goblin's camp, relapsing with his last look at the human and the dwarf, and staying the course during all the later arcs, that incidentally only focus on the goblins now. I never saw this as a problem. His toning up of violence just would not fit well with funny, I think, while maybe being able to produce black humor, also totally undercutting the message.

Simon

[Tempest Fennac]

"jumping the shark" refers to ridiculous things happening. It's often done to try and stop viewership decline in TV shows (the term comes from an episode of "Happy Days" where The Fonz jumps over a shark pit on water skis). I'm not sure if there is a term for becoming more serious.

[T-O-E]

What about cerebus syndrome?

EDIT: I just multi-classed to ninja.

[Arioch]

Well, maybe he has jumped the shark, if this is the right trope, no? Becoming serious and all that. He did this pretty soon in the course of the comic, during the battle in the goblin's camp, relapsing with his last look at the human and the dwarf, and staying the course during all the later arcs, that incidentally only focus on the goblins now. I never saw this as a problem. His toning up of violence just would not fit well with funny, I think, while maybe being able to produce black humor, also totally undercutting the message.

Simon

I think you're looking for Cerebus Syndrome. Some people doubtless think that he did Jump the Shark, but that's different.

I really liked the humour of the comic, so it came as something of a kick in the head when he suddenly dropped it with no warning.

[Paragraph]

Ah, yes, I remember the Cerebus article, jumping the shark is negative ONLY.

I don't know, did you follow goblins from the beginning? I started in when it was the end of the Dies Horribly-arc, so the transition from humour to serious was not comic-by-comic for me, with long tedious waits in between. I didn't really notice, to tell the truth. It's just two sides of a coin: A good funny comic and a good serious comic - it flipped, and that's it.

Simon

[Tengu_temp]

Cerebus Syndrome hit Goblins like a truck, but it's still a good webcomic - not as good as it was before, but still worth reading. (Although I'd love to see the humour return, myself... maybe when this arc ends things will get more light-hearted?)

Let's see how this thing will work out. On the one hand Thunt will have more time to make the bloody updates now... and on the other, since Goblins are his only way of income now, he might concentrate even more on squeezing every penny from his webcomic instead of making new strips.

[Tempest Fennac]

I started reading through the archives during Big Ear's fight with that guy who had the axe initially. I tend to prefer humourous comics, but it wouldn't really fit at the minute. I'm pleased that Thunt has apparently stopped having prolonged fight scenes which are nothing but nameless mooks obbing to important characters, though.

[Kurald Galain]

Well, I'm just saying, but given how abysmally slow his pace of updating used to be, saying "it's going to be faster now, honest" really isn't all that difficult a feat.

[Tempest Fennac]

To be fair, it is hard to draw something like Goblins while working full time (especially considering the level of detail in Goblins).

[Gez]

Ah, yes, I remember the Cerebus article, jumping the shark is negative ONLY.

There's two ways to jump the shark, and one is only sorta negative.

The Good Way: you've peaked. The series is going to degrade from now on because it is impossible to stay at the level attained in the Shark Jumping.

The Bad Way: you've rock-bottomed. The series is doomed now because no matter how good it tries to be afterwards, it'll still be burdened by the failure reached in the Shark Jumping.

Either way, the series should end very quickly after the shark jumping. Note that, as with everything subjective, a same episode can be interpreted as a good shark jump by some people and a bad shark jump by others.

[Lissou]

About Goblins updating more often... Just don't hold your breath, people.

I've watched thunt pretty much every day on the live feed. And I can say that for the past... Week and a half? Two weeks? He's been drawing, inking, coloring or otherwise working on the comic at least 8 hours a day. Possibly more, because I usually needed to go to bed, to work or whatever before he was over (sometimes he was still at it when I got up or came back from work, and people could testify he hadn't stopped in the middle).

So, what I mean is... Yeah, it's very slow updating, but it also takes a freakingly long time, and I know he's making an announcement NOW, but I think he stopped working a week or two ago or something. Because it would have been impossible for him to work so much on the comic while having a day job.

I do hope it means a more "business-oriented" Goblins, though, by which I mean book 2 published in print form, more shirts, some mugs or posters (or both), and so on. Little by little, of course, I wouldn't want him to stop working on the comic itself (he wouldn't want either, though), but that would be really neato.

Also, come by on the feed if you want, even for just a bit of time. It's really neat, plus you might get to hear about some stuff he's planned for the comic that will happen in 3 years or so (on that note... The man's a freak, he has planned absolutely everything in his story. So, no need to try suggesting something to him. I mean, you can try if you want, but don't expect result, he won't change it. He has stated that even if someone happened to guess exactly what was going to happen, he wouldn't change it. Everything is written down, including some of the dialogue for strips that will come in years. It's pretty much set in stone, especially if you're asking for him to change something in the very close future.)

Anyway, Thunt is great. Actually, don't come on the feed, please. let us be a select club :P

[Burrito]

Anyway, Thunt is great. Actually, don't come on the feed, please. let us be a select club :P

Heh, yeah, I know what you mean. I've been watching the feed regularily now for about two weeks. I even log in to chat now and then. I really like that you get so much more insight as to why a panel was drawn in a a certain way, why the speech bubbles are done in such a way, etc. It is pretty dang cool. Heck he will even answer questions and interact with those logged on.

[Nerd-o-rama]

I started reading through the archives during Big Ear's fight with that guy who had the axe initially. I tend to prefer humourous comics, but it wouldn't really fit at the minute.

Yes. Mixing comedy and drama poorly is not the way to bring back comedy roots. You really have to think about your genre.

Unlike other comics whose commentary threads I frequent on occasion.

[Inhuman Bot]

On the announcment: Awesome!
I like this comic alot, it's right up there with tOotS and Concerned!

I liked the goblinslayer arc somewhat, but I want to see what happens with that dwarven paladin! and Minmax and the cleric whose name I forget. And Dies horrably.

I have to agree, though about the "paladin". He's very evil, (if a paladin could be) and scarily fanaticle. when he killed Taps and the Orc merchants group.... I decided that he has to go down hard, and soon. Preferably involving fire.

[Tempest Fennac]

It will probably be ages before the Paladin gets killed considering what happened in his first apperance. Whcih comic were you refering to in regards to commentary threads, Nerd-o-rama?

[Nerd-o-rama]

The one about the man renowned for humor just misplaced enough to engage disgusted commentary without actually making anyone stop reading.

[Tempest Fennac]

Thanks (I never read that one to be honest).

[Sholos]

If he wants this to be a steady source of income, he'll need to post more than once a week. The strip isn't that awesome. Thunt needs to practice drawing so he can get faster, or cut way down on the detail level.

[T-O-E]

Anyone else completely addicted to Thunt's chat?

Idiosa!
There is a cat in my pants.
Beware the marijuana bears!

[Lord Seth]

If he wants this to be a steady source of income, he'll need to post more than once a week. The strip isn't that awesome. Thunt needs to practice drawing so he can get faster, or cut way down on the detail level.

Well, in terms of an update schedule, we also have to count comic length. For example, to take two sprite comic examples, Bob and George updated daily, while 8-Bit Theater updated three times a week. That doesn't mean Bob and George had more content per week, because 8-Bit Theater had comics about three or four times the size of a normal Bob and George comic. So once-a-week is fine, as long as we get enough content each week.

EDIT: I've started reading the comic, and...wow. Kore makes Miko look sane.

[Sholos]

Does 8-Bit constitute 100% of the author's income? Even then, it still updates more than once a week.

Also, the amount of actual material is another thing. Thunt has this horrible tendency to copy Dragonball Z's style of fighting. That is, lots of pretty pictures without much getting done. A single fight might last four or five strips. That's entirely too long if you're only updating once a week and you're using as big a strip as he is.

Basically, he either needs to speed up his strip, update more frequently, or use even bigger strips (meaning that he'd need to learn to draw faster). Otherwise I see his plan falling through very quickly.