Dominic Deegan, Mk. XLVII: A Flat World From Recycled Scrap

[rocketpony]

I wanted to complain about the lightning dissipating between p6 and p7, but I don't actually know enough to comment on it. So instead: where are they? Where is this taking place? That's a really high ceiling in p6.

BONUS FUN TIME QUESTION: So, you can slap somebody with a dormant enchantment, to be activated at an undisclosed date, eh? Imagine if this were, say, part of formal indoctrination into being a wizard. Deegan doesn't have it, of course, because his mother is anti-government, and Luna doesn't have it because she had no formal instruction in magic, but imagine if this were a cultural part of being a wizard. They'd say they do it to keep the population safe - in the event of a mindbreak or whatever, just shut the wizard down until they can get help on the scene. So the king could be painted as a little sinister (who seriously suggests mind control as a safety?), and people would have a reason to think Dominic's weird (he doesn't have a safety)

[Turcano]

Also, obligatory "saving" slay!

[MReav]

You know, I wish Mookie didn't introduce that whole "won't mind control humans" bit. He's violated it at least 4 times now.

[Morty]

Originally Posted by Zaq

This is because I said I liked the Maestro, isn't it?

Yep. You only have yourself to blame.

[Traab]

On the one hand, we got to see a power gap between maestro and miranda. The entire thing struck me as her basically blocking his attempts ot kill her while trying to reach him somehow. If she had been on the ass end of an ass kicking I would have been very upset, but even taken totally by surprise she had no problem blocking him. Kinda makes you wonder, if he had stayed a good guy, would he have been useful for anything but mook disposal like the students, and basically everyone but main caste?

On the other hand, yes, I too instantly jumped forward to the now holey maestro standing up next comic and regurgitating tentacles as the attack continues. And, DJ probably should have stuck with a statement like this, "I dont like enchanting my fellow humans, but I will do what I must to see my plans succeed." There, we get a bit of empty expression of regret, a greater good setup, and there is no plot hole with all these damn humans being enchanted that has to be plugged with tentacles or something.

[Humbug]

Originally Posted by MReav

You know, I wish Mookie didn't introduce that whole "won't mind control humans" bit. He's violated it at least 4 times now.

I think it's Mookie's flimsy excuse as to why DJ doesn't just mind control the entire Deegan cast and get them to slit their own throats or something. Problem is, 95% of the available characters are human, so we have DJ flip flopping between "I refuse to enchant humans!" and "I enchant humans but not really because"

[Mr. McGician]

WHAT? Since when does DONOVAN know anything about swords? Or anything about fighting at all for that matter? And where did he even get the sword anyway? This is stupid, Mookie, stupid!

Oh, wait, let me guess. He read a comic/played a videogame where someone threw a sword and it pierced someone else's stomach, and he decided it was cool.

[Zaq]

Originally Posted by Morty

Yep. You only have yourself to blame.

i knew Mookie was reading this thread.

In that case . . .

HEY MOOKIE! YOU KNOW WHO ELSE I LIKE? LUNA! YOU SHOULD TOTALLY DO THE SAME THING WITH LUNA, BECAUSE SHE IS A GOOD CHARACTER AND THIS WOULD BE STRONG WRITING! I WOULD REALLY BE SHOCKED BY THAT! OK, that last part is true.

[Traab]

Originally Posted by Mr. McGician

WHAT? Since when does DONOVAN know anything about swords? Or anything about fighting at all for that matter? And where did he even get the sword anyway? This is stupid, Mookie, stupid!

Oh, wait, let me guess. He read a comic/played a videogame where someone threw a sword and it pierced someone else's stomach, and he decided it was cool.

Please tell me you are kidding. Donovan has been shown using a sword, or talked about how he has used a sword since before maltak. Wasnt he originally going to duel during the battle for barthis thing against scarletti? There is a lot to complain about in this comic, donovan using a sword isnt one of them. At least make fun of him for throwing the damn blade like a javelin. (Seriously, look at the motion effects, he threw it like a dart, not like he was sending a sword spinning at maestro)

[SaintRidley]

Well, at least Donovan shut up the mouthpiece of Mookie's attempt to retcon his way into following his own rules and charactertraits/motivations.

[Bobikus]

Originally Posted by T-O-E

Dave doesn't enchant humans. He has to turn them into monsters first.

Makes sense.

Because Humans are superior and making him not fully human makes him easier to enchant. DD is a comic about human superiority in a fantasy world.

[random11]

I suspect this scene was to make Donovan to something useful.

Since he did his part and he does not have any beam attack capability, I expect him to dissolve into the background soon.

[Mewtarthio]

Originally Posted by Humbug

I think it's Mookie's flimsy excuse as to why DJ doesn't just mind control the entire Deegan cast and get them to slit their own throats or something.

No, the Deegans would just shake off the mind control through HEROIC WILLPOEWR! I'm fairly certain that the real reason for that "restriction" is that Mookie doesn't want anyone to think that Warlord Mustache might have been an innocent victim of mind control.

Yep. This entire plot hole is because Mookie wants to demonize the Damaskes.

[Traab]

Originally Posted by Mewtarthio

No, the Deegans would just shake off the mind control through HEROIC WILLPOEWR! I'm fairly certain that the real reason for that "restriction" is that Mookie doesn't want anyone to think that Warlord Mustache might have been an innocent victim of mind control.

Yep. This entire plot hole is because Mookie wants to demonize the Damaskes.(more)

There, I had to fix that for you.

[Bobikus]

The Damaskes weren't human. Siegfried had shark teeth

[T-O-E]

Well he literally demonised Siegfried so that's already happened. Warlord Moustache was consumed by a demon which also counts.

[Lord Seth]

Am I the only one who has kind of liked the strip as of late? Dominic being captured and the other characters having to rescue him is kind of cool because normally it always seems to be Up To Dominic, so having the other characters be the ones leading the current charge is actually a nice change of pace. Previously whenever the other characters got focus it was in inconsequential arcs like the thing with Greg and his band.

Okay, granted, after Dominic is rescued he'll probably be the one to ultimately save the day, but having him actually be in a vulnerable state and having to be rescued by the other characters is a decent shift.

[Bobikus]

The idea of the main hero needing to be saved by the supporting cast could be cool, but the execution in this arc is if anything even worse than normal.

[Traab]

Originally Posted by Bobikus

The idea of the main hero needing to be saved by the supporting cast could be cool, but the execution in this arc is if anything even worse than normal.

In all seriousness, it may be a combination of the format this story is being told in, as well as the pacing thats the problem. I have read a number of stories that turned out like this. The big damn hero is captured, and suddenly it seems like everyone he ever helped or knew all link up in a grand battle to save him. Its just rarely done in comic form with one tiny bit a day, which makes it all drag on for longer than its taking in universe. Think about it. Its what happens when we go from an archive binge as a new reader, and start reading it one update a day. It goes from a passable comic, to a horror show, because the speed at which we get to enjoy the next comic is greatly reduced.

Ugh, I am probably not explaining myself very well, but I hope you get the gist of what im talking about. Basically, it seems worse because each update only covers a small amount of action, which makes the entire arc draw out way longer and ruins the pacing even more. Imagine if you had to wait a day every time you finished a page of a book to read what happens next. I bet that would drive you insane in short order.

[Bobikus]

If he was a competent writer he'd be able to adjust the pacing and flow to fit the format he's been working in for 10 years.

[Johnny Blade]

Originally Posted by T-O-E

Dave doesn't enchant humans. He has to turn them into monsters first.

Makes sense.

I guess that's also why he keeps the Battlecasters in the dark about the whole thing?

"I was going to tell you that you were mutating, but then you were mutating already so I thought, '**** mutants anyway, subhuman scum that they are.'; and so I didn't."

Seems to check out.

Originally Posted by Wraith

Elemental Changeling, perhaps? Maybe he got so engrossed in lightning magic that he found a way to become one of them, like Jacob the Necromancer looking for a way to become an undead, or something.

This theory doesn't explain 1) why nobody else knew about it before now 2) why it's supposed to be so sinister as a revelation 3) why it's NOT tentacle time, but it DOES continue to paint King DJ as a racist, so in DD:OfH thats probably enough for it to get by.

Yeah, that would kind of work, but go against the tone of the Maestro's line today, whereas the king enchanting him but being okay with it because the Maestro ends up being not-quite-human would only go against any kind of reason, which Mookie isn't very attached to anyway, or the king's characterization, which he appears to have completely forgotten by now.

[Rhapsh]

Originally Posted by Traab

Think about it. Its what happens when we go from an archive binge as a new reader, and start reading it one update a day. It goes from a passable comic, to a horror show, because the speed at which we get to enjoy the next comic is greatly reduced.

You use such terrible language to describe this comic. Terms such as "passable" and "enjoy" do not apply to Dominic Deegan, no matter the pace. I get what your saying, and the day to day pacing really hurts the story. But that story is already terrible to begin with.

And generally, when doing these "all side characters gather to save main character" bits you actually have a likable side cast. I mean, Dominic's students, that random dragon, the Maestro, who cares about these idiots. They weren't established as real characters before, so who cares that they are back.

[Johnny Blade]

I loved that dragon. Whenever it appeared, it brought hilarious stupidity with it. It was like bad webcomic Santa.

[Rhapsh]

Originally Posted by Johnny Blade

I loved that dragon. Whenever it appeared, it brought hilarious stupidity with it. It was like bad webcomic Santa.

Okay, I suppose I should explicitly state that my position is that of legitimately reading Dominic Deegan for the writing/art. The majority of us here read it because it is utter garbage and a source of endlessly amusing failure.

In that case, ya the Dragon was great.

[Johnny Blade]

I know what you meant, I just had to honor the dragon's memory.


And I think nobody, genuine fan or not, really has any strong opinions about Mookie's students or the Maestro that go beyond "kinda cool" or "kinda stupid", so yeah.



EDIT: On that note, I hope we cut to Szark next so Bronto the Butler can die for more drama. (It's like Mookie decided to follow the George-R.-R.-Martin-aping school of writing that posits that the higher your body count, the better your work.)

[T-O-E]

Originally Posted by Johnny Blade

EDIT: On that note, I hope we cut to Szark next so Bronto the Butler can die for more drama. (It's like Mookie decided to follow the George-R.-R.-Martin-aping school of writing that posits that the higher your body count, the better your work.)

Mookie actually commented on that idea. I couldn't remember whether it was his justification for not killing off Luna or Dex. Took me a while to find since he still hasn't added chapter breaks to Malktak.

Originally Posted by Mookie

To kill off, or not to kill off. January 6, 2010 Posted by Mookie
I get the impression that people sometimes mark the bravery and/or quality of a writer by his willingness to kill off major characters. As I was coming closer to the end of The March Across Maltak I found myself struggling with this concept. I often found myself thinking, "I should kill someone off to really make a powerful ending."

I came very, very close to killing Luna. Frighteningly close. In the end, as you can see from today's comic, I decided not to go through with it. Call me a coward if you like. Call me a weak writer if you like. I know some of you have been calling for me to kill off a main character or two.

When I thought about it further, killing Luna would have destroyed Dominic. I'm seeing the effects of that level of loss with my grandfather lately, and to be honest it's not something I want to be writing about.

I don't believe that the bravery or quality of a writer is measured by his "main character body count." I believe it's measured by the strength of his story and the emotional investment of his readers.

As always, I leave the judgment of the quality of my writing to you, my readers.

And for what it's worth, Luna was technically dead for a bit there. [ME: WHAT? THE STAKES OF YOUR STORY ARE SO LOW THAT THEY'VE ACTUALLY BEEN NAILED INTO THE GROUND. VALUE OF LIFE AND DEATH, DRAMATIC TENSION ETC ETC.]

That's all from me for now.
Rock on.

Also this:

His justification of not killing Dex.

Originally Posted by Mookie

"The real world is bleak enough these days as it is. My webcomic doesn't need to add to any of that, even if it seemed like I was going that way for a little while."

The comic that goes with the newspost mentions "emergency equipment." What does that entail? A couple of scrolls? Some kind of electric guitar powered defibrillator?

I give it pretty good odds that Szark or Bronto will die, possibly sacrificing themselves. Homophobia is insidious.

[Trazoi]

Originally Posted by Lord Seth

Am I the only one who has kind of liked the strip as of late? Dominic being captured and the other characters having to rescue him is kind of cool because normally it always seems to be Up To Dominic, so having the other characters be the ones leading the current charge is actually a nice change of pace. Previously whenever the other characters got focus it was in inconsequential arcs like the thing with Greg and his band.

Okay, granted, after Dominic is rescued he'll probably be the one to ultimately save the day, but having him actually be in a vulnerable state and having to be rescued by the other characters is a decent shift.

My issue is that this is very similar to Dominic being depowered in Maltak, and any situation where I can honestly use the phrase "I think this idea was better handled in March Across Maltak" is a bad situation.

[Acanous]

ANYTHING involving Maltak is a bad situation.

[Nerd-o-rama]

Originally Posted by Trazoi

He strikes down his enemiiieeeeees--!!
--With the Sword of Centuries!!
Rock on and geek out.

All I could think of was the ending of Peasant Quest, really.

Bonus points if the Maestro politely points out that he is immortal next comic before rending Donovan into a bloody paste.

[Traab]

Originally Posted by Rhapsh

You use such terrible language to describe this comic. Terms such as "passable" and "enjoy" do not apply to Dominic Deegan, no matter the pace. I get what your saying, and the day to day pacing really hurts the story. But that story is already terrible to begin with.

And generally, when doing these "all side characters gather to save main character" bits you actually have a likable side cast. I mean, Dominic's students, that random dragon, the Maestro, who cares about these idiots. They weren't established as real characters before, so who cares that they are back.

Comments like this just make me eyeroll. It honestly works a lot better when a new guy starts reading it from the start and just plows through it. Everyone who has been a regular poster has seen it happen over and over again. They read the entire archives, come here, proclaim that its not that bad, or that they like it. Then within a month it degenerates into another snarker. No matter how you read it it clearly isnt pulitzer material, but taken as an uninterrupted story it apparently entertains people enough to make them read it up till whatever the current end point is.