quote Aliquid:
"I wouldn't consider that to be a mistake. I actually prefer to "jump right in" to the world."
Well, yeah, but he did it in a way that only alienates and confuses readers. You're supposed to make the readers feel like they're part of the world before confusing them.
Aah, but it didn't alienate or confuse me. I found it odd and intriguing.
Your statement should be changed to "alienates and confuses some readers"
The question is... does the comic confuse too many readers?
I likes it muchly. Strong art, vibrant one might say. The ambitious leading the cynical and loyal in a perilous last battle ~ what more can one ask for. Well, avatars would be nice, I have a strange sense of brotherhood with Manpower the Temporary.
Wow, so even black guys turn pallid green when uncroaked. I expected at least a rich forest green, y'know?
It wasn't intentional to make the first kill a black guy. Manpower is just such a strong name I envisioned an Avory Brooks type character. He's pale green because all the uncroaked are pale green regardless of original ethnicity.
I know the art isn't clicking with some, but I hope no one is terribly offended by Manpower's death.
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Jamie Noguchi, artist and co-creator of Erfworld and evil monkey responsible for Angry Zen Master.
Bogroll is actually a character from one of the strips from Rob's other comic.
Has anyone else noticed that the crest or symbol of Stanley's army is a red circle inside concentric red rings? Very spare and utilitarian in a design sense. And quite bad for your health.
It wasn't intentional to make the first kill a black guy. Manpower is just such a strong name I envisioned an Avory Brooks type character. He's pale green because all the uncroaked are pale green regardless of original ethnicity.
I know the art isn't clicking with some, but I hope no one is terribly offended by Manpower's death.
Actually at first I didn't notice he was black, then when someone pointed it out on the boards it struck me as funny... IE Scream 2, where the black guy at the beginning was bothered by the fact that the first person to die in those movies are always brothers. And then he died.
Oh... I thought the child-speak was actually a speech impediment on the part of the Dictator.
A speech impediment on the part of a dictator can become the rule for pronunciation for the entire rest of the populace in a parody.
There's a wonderful urban legend that the Castilian "lisp" comes from the edict of a Spanish king who had a speech impediment. (The real reason for the difference in the pronunciation between Castilian and Latin American Spanish is far more complicated, and likely off-topic to this forum.)
Given that urban legend, I could see the creators of Erfworld making the decision that the speech impediment had spread to the entire populace.
My single favorite moment was the text-messaging diary that quacks, but really, I'm liking this comic so far.
Hmm
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After re-reading Jami's post regarding the death of "Manpower" and Alynn's post with the "Scream 2" reference I've come to the realization that regardless of what happens in Erfworld us fans are going to find some way to parallel it.
Like someone said in a previous post/topic... Erfworld is the "Where's Waldo of Jokes" however, I wonder how many Waldo's we're finding that the designers never put in.
Hmmmm....
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pal‧a‧din [pal-uh-din] –noun
1. any knightly or heroic champion.
2. the person who makes sure everyone leaves a tip.
3. the thinking gamer's character.
I like it! This looks like one of those comics that will grow really popular, keep em comin.
The scene with the dead leader and the MSN book was funny as hell BTW.
Maybe it's cuz I'm a Mac user, but I totally saw the book as a reference to Adium (http://www.adiumx.com/), Mac's multi-client IM program, as the logo is a duck and it makes duck sounds. I could be wrong there.
In any case, I really like it... it has kind of a "Billy and Mandy" feel, but better - the child-like characters, the girl who's very confident and pretty much runs things. I really like the deeper feel to it, and the jokes are subtle but very funny.
I really like the artwork - very well done. Great! Now I'm addicted to TWO comics!
I was never too sure about Erfworld. Nothing in the preview page really jumped out and grabbed me, and while the cast page had its amusing moments I decided to reserve judgement one way or another until I read the first few strips.
But I knew I was in for an...interesting read once I loaded up the first panel and saw the giant Elvises. Definitely different, but hey, I like different.
As for the other jokes, I'm not a fan of 'gross-out' humor, so the very last one didn't do much for me...though on the other end of the spectrum, the instant messaging book had me in stitches.
I liked the other, more subtle jokes, and the dialogue as well. I'm not as vehemently opposed to the 'cutesiness' as some of the other posters are, either...or at least that element in the artwork doesn't bother me. Too much of it in the dialogue might be different story, but at the moment at least it seems like most of the childishness is reserved for Lord Stanley. Of course I guess I'll be proved wrong if Wanda uses the word 'dwagons' in any of the upcoming strips.
Wanda is an awesome character by the way. Maybe even a little too awesome, because the main question I was left with is why anyone that intelligent would put up with taking orders from a mentally deficient annoyance like Stanley. (I'm wondering if his parents were a little more competent, and she perhaps started off working for them?)
As for the rest of the characters, Bogroll has potential, I think I'll like Sizemore and Jillian, (cute pun on her name, btw...I only just now got it) and just by reading his profile on the cast page I know Prince Ansom is going to drive me batty every time he shows up. That personality type combined with the too-good looks never fails to completely rub me the wrong way.
Anyway, that said, I think it was a smart move on the author's part to release several pages at once. It's hard enough hooking people with a new comic, and I imagine a slower paced one that's only updated biweekly makes hanging onto readers even more difficult.
Being able to read six pages at once was nice; I've got some idea of the world and what are probably the main characters now, and gotten to see the plot advance a little. Right now I'm thinking I'll probably continue to read it in this fashion, waiting a couple of weeks so that there's more to see...though I've said that about a lot of comics, and in reality once I get more involved in the plot that I'll probably be waiting impatiently to read every new strip as it's released. :)
And I'm betting I probably will get pretty involved with the plot, since I can already intrigued by the kind of grey area the characters have started out in, what with the traditional bad guys being the protagonists and the 'good guy' looking like he's going to be insufferably arrogant and self-absorbed... Though I'm a big fan of Goblins, so I enjoy fantasy cliches turned on their heads now and then.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Akushin Oka
With [Xykon's] level of power, he simply doesn't NEED strategy. It doesn't matter if you can beat him in chess if he answers your checkmate with a grenade.
Oh, I have trouble seeing how someone could perceive "black guy dies first" as offensive. It's just a goofy horror movie convention that has leeked into pop culture. I remember seeing a chart that took into consideration a number of factors to calculate your exact horror movie survival chance: for attractive single female caucasion teenagers it was over 90%, but went down hill rappidly from there.
It wouldn't have been terribly funny on it's own, but it was compounded by his name and the fact that he was wearing a target. Plus his death was funny on its own. I wouldn't be surprised if "Manpower the Temporary" came into use with my game group (who are all OoTS fans) as the singular of "redshirt".
The "Were's Waldo of Jokes"? Yea, that sounds about right. XD
The plural of 'Elvis' cannot be 'Elvi'. 'Elvis' is obviously third declension, not second, otherwise it would be 'Elvus'.
civis -> cives
Elvis -> Elves
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It wasn't intentional to make the first kill a black guy. Manpower is just such a strong name I envisioned an Avory Brooks type character. He's pale green because all the uncroaked are pale green regardless of original ethnicity.
I wasn't the person who pointed out the first dead guy was a black guy, but you did answer my question.
Hey, maybe the reason he smelled key lime pie was...wait, no, good key lime pie is actually more yellow. And Sir Manpower the Temporary deserves nothing less than the best. Throw that theory out the window...
I have read some complaints that it is sort of anime-ish, but I don't agree, some aspects of it made me think about some European stuff instead. I really liked page 3, really, really good. No punch line needed. Overal this comic relies a lot on the way the characters are drawn and on the ambiance. The details are remarkable for something only 700 pixels wide. The desk is awsome. I hope to see that room again, I want to see better what is there on the ceiling, and is that a pit? Seeing the door behind her on page 5 is also interesting. She was not in danger but it feels right knowing there is an escape.
The sound effects and the way the dialogs are presented are also a plus. I'm conviced by the art, I just hope to be convinced by the storyline.
I felt the need to register just to come down on the other side. The art is unbelievable. The lighting, use of unusual perspective, etc. combine to make it very dramatic. The first panel of page 3, viewing the dwagon from below, was breathtaking.
Oh yeah, and the offbeat, subtle humor I also find irresistable. Funniest panel so far IMO... the offscreen "CRACK! Coo... Hey!"
I agree with teratorn -- I look forward to being pulled in by the storyline as well. I wouldn't say I'm totally hooked by the plot so far... but I'm very patient.
quote Aliquid:
"I wouldn't consider that to be a mistake. I actually prefer to "jump right in" to the world."
Well, yeah, but he did it in a way that only alienates and confuses readers. You're supposed to make the readers feel like they're part of the world before confusing them.
I disagree. You're supposed to set the tone early, give the readers an idea of what kind of world they're about to step into. If you don't "get" giant elvises creating the world (which is hilarious to me), if that confuses or alienates you, then maybe it's not your kind of comic.
So really, the author isn't making a mistake, he's doing you a favor and saving you some time and some reading energy .
The lighting, use of unusual perspective, etc. combine to make it very dramatic. The first panel of page 3, viewing the dwagon from below, was breathtaking.
That reminds me, I meant to comment on that as well; the first panel blew me away, and in fact all of page three is great.
I hope we get to see more of Stanley's office in the future too. (And in the meantime I would recommend that anyone who hasn't done so take a look at the 'Blowing up Erfworld' thread.) I'm intrigued by the thing on the ceiling, even though I guess it's just a carving or something.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Akushin Oka
With [Xykon's] level of power, he simply doesn't NEED strategy. It doesn't matter if you can beat him in chess if he answers your checkmate with a grenade.
The details are remarkable for something only 700 pixels wide. The desk is awsome. I hope to see that room again, I want to see better what is there on the ceiling, and is that a pit?
You're in luck. See this thread. Maybe I should make that sticky.
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Rob Balder, Erfworld author/co-creator, and creator of PartiallyClips
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