The Stick Awards II: Second Edition (#0631 - #0640)

[Porthos]

Welcome to The Stick Awards II: Second Edition!

The Stick Awards are handed out to the best strips of all time as chosen by our fellow Playgrounders.

This week we are covering the comic strips 631 through 640.

For full details about the Stick Awards, please check out the main thread here.

To read more about the original Stick Awards, created by Nazzo, the 102nd, please read his thread here.

To vote in this thread, simply state which comic of the ten listed is your favorite. Bolding the number of the comic (Like this) helps it stand out.

Voting for this week will close on November 23rd, 4pm EST. Any votes made after that will NOT count toward the totals.

Last week, 628 Every Parent's Worst Nightmare explained in great detail just why it was it was pinning other contestants underneath its claws. The judges, being no dummies here, decisively decided that it perhaps it could be mollified with a one-way ticket to the Best of the Hundred tournament. And if not, well, they'd worry about that another day.

For today though, now that strip is receding into the distance, it's time to see just which strip amongst the next set is worthy of moving on as well. What depravities will they stoop to claim the prize? No idea. But the way to find out which it will be is to vote in......

.THE STICK AWARDS II: 0631 - 0640

631 Who Doesn't Get Ten of These a Week?
632 My Three Fiends
633 Where Do You See Yourself in Five Million Years?
634 The Wrong Reasons
635 I See a Red Robe and I Want to Paint it Black
636 Shattered, Shattered
637 It Only Shows Reality Programming
638 A Dragon's Victory
639 If They Pull a Knife...
640 Madness

[hamishspence]

639, for showing just how far V has come.

[Jaxzan Proditor]

I'm torn between between #635, for that awesome first panel and title, and #639 for Familicide. I think I'll come to a decision later.

[Bird]

It has to be 639. There has not been a more memorable moment in Order of the Stick.

[Emanick]

Familicide will win, but I'm going to go with 634: The Wrong Reasons. For me, the decision V makes in that strip is at least as important as the one s/he makes to commit Familicide, if not more so.

[Deliverance]

I'll have to go with 633: Where Do You See Yourself in Five Million Years?

It may not have the sheer stunning power of familicide or V making his choice, but every time I read the fiends telling V how they are only interested in a even trade just to follow up their persuasion with a throwaway "by the way, we are testing this cooperation thing to tear downs the heavens later, but don't worry, that's a long term game" I cannot help but crack a smile. :)

[Emperordaniel]

639 If They Pull A Knife... is one of the most momentous strips in the comic to date - arguably, the most momentous - and as such, deserves this win.

[oppyu]

640 - "Every living creature that directly shares your bloodline is dead. Every living creature that is directly related to any of those creatures is also dead. Anyone who could possibly make a claim to be part of your family is gone now."

"Now no one will come to avenge your defeat. No one will lament your passing. Think about the fate you have brought upon your family as you suffer in the afterlife. This - and no less - is the price of threatening my family. Disintegrate."

That is cold, V. Cold and awesome (in an evil way).

[Gift Jeraff]

#633. I just really really like that strip as a whole.

[NobodyWasTaken]

Yeah, I'm going to vote 634.

[Timy]

Holly crap....

these bunch have several strips which I would vote NOW for the best of 1k...

It is not fair to have to choose now between them...

I'll come later !

[Killer Angel]

639 is EPIC, but 634 is "V. sells his soul"
634, then.

[AGD]

640 becomes my Vote.

[ChristianSt]

And V goes to town...

That being said, it still wasn't an exactly easy choice. The first panel of 635 is just awesome (and would make an awesome poster!).

That being said, my vote has to go to 639 - If They Pull a Knife.... Up that point V's action was somewhat "ok-ish". Sure, the Faustian deal is a pretty bad idea in itself, but Familicide is a whole new level of "that is a line that just isn't to be crossed". Just saying "Casting Familicide is Evil" isn't enough - probably it breaks the alignment system: Familicide is so much more than Evil; compared to it "Selling your soul" feels Neutral and "Doing nothing" seems Good.

This is one of the most "WTF" moment the comic has to offer - even without considering the ramifications and impact it still has, it is a top favorite for "strip that will win this whole Stick Award".

[nogall]

I know 639 will win, deservedly so. So I'll throw some love instead to 635: darth V first appearance, great dialogue and great soundtrack.

[declinator]

It's a shame that there has to be one single winner in this decade of strips, I could see a number go the BoH grand final. Ah well. Epicness (epicity? epicability?) of 639 or textbook temptation of 634... or 635, 640,... I think I'll also hold back my vote and sleep on it.

[Sylian]

This is a strong bunch of strips, and it's a shame that only one will make it to the Best of the Hundred tournament. 639 gets my vote.

[martianmister]

638 A Dragon's Victory

[LadyEowyn]

Almost all of them are amazing, but it has to be 639, as the central moment in V's arc and a major key to the plot of the next book. And for its very impressive amount, detail, and variety of artwork, too, and planting clues (e.g., half-dragons, including non-evil half-dragons) that people argued over for months.

[Jaxzan Proditor]

All right, I've come to a decision. First of all, this whole arc is one huge set of awesomeness, and I wish I could vote for almost all of them. However, sadly I must choose. 635 is great. That first panel sends chills down my spine to this day. However, the enormity of what is done in #639 makes it worthy in my eyes. Also, those many panels that could go on forever are very effective.

[Cartographer7]

Aw man, I love the IFCC and was expecting to vote for them, but then it got to Darth V and Familicide, and they just got outclassed :(

639

[littlebum2002]

640 for the look on the IFCC's faces. V even scared Evil Outsiders with that spell.

[declinator]

OK, so I slept on it, and I see no way around the casual monstrosity that is the familicide spell used by Vaarsuvius here. Thus, I'll settle for 639 (albeit with no small regret that the boundary separating the groups of ten strips could not have been between this one and 634... I would have preferred 634 over 628...).

[Michael7123]

My vote has to go to 639 for familicide. This was my favorite section of the entire comic.

[Mike Havran]

#634 because I like the nonchalant way the Fiends crushed V's delusions of doing the pact for noble reasons.

[Meph]

Woha. Ten master class strips, now I'm in awe (to quote a fragment). Some of them part of those I often enjoy in my head, once in a while, since I read them the first time. At work, driving or anywhen else. And although it's not painless to cut nine of them off my vote, it goes to 634.

[thatSeniorGuy]

Oooh, tough one between V turning into Darth V, and Familicide. Familicide, i.e. 639 wins out though.

[137beth]

Wow, this is a tough one!
634 is a critical point in V's development...
but so is 639. And 640 makes what happened in 639 really clear.

And 637 is where Qarr convinces the IFCC to hint at what they are up to...


Any of these could win almost any other matchup. Ultimately I am going to have to go with 634, though.

[asorel]

I'm going to have to say 639.

[Timy]

Well, I guess it would have to be 639...

First I was sadden that so many strip was so awesome in the same bunch but honestly, I would rather have only 1 of them advance to the best of the hundred in order to have no competition between them ^^