The Stick Awards II: Second Edition (#0231 - #0240)

[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 231 through 240.

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 December 2nd, 4pm EST. Any votes made after that will NOT count toward the totals.

Last week, 223 Love, in the Abstract had many insightful observations about its fellow contestants for this award. The most shocking statement of all was saved for last when it declared that it had already won the competition long ago. Who will win it this week? Only by you voting do we find that out.

It's time once again to celebrate the best that this comic has to offer by voting for....

.THE STICK AWARDS II: 0231 - 0240

231 From the Mouths of Babes
232 Because They Got Lonely in the Bag
233 No Thread Left Untied
234 The Ultimate Sacrifice
235 Oddly, He Can Still Get Dressed in Under a Minute
236 Mean Girl
237 Growing Some
238 You Try Rhyming 'Assassin'
239 Roy's Angels
240 Next on Fox: When Whores Attack!

[Muenster Man]

Some good ones here, but I really enjoy Roy's punchline in #231

[Mike Havran]

I don't like this batch very much. #239 is okay-ish.

[ChristianSt]

Really nice round, I like especially the part around 235 (the first panel is just too awesome), 236 (I really like the punchline) and 237 (It is just funny how Haley makes fun of Roy and V doesn't even has a clue why).

After thinking a bit about it, I go with 237


PS: I just wanted to thank Porthos for managing this fun contents. It is a really good reason to reread some more OotS - and who doesn't love to have a reason to do so

[mythmonster2]

Actually didn't like this batch that much, but I spose I'll go with 239.

[Bird]

233, 233, a million times 233.

Elan had nicked that belt YEARS before in real-world time. The incredible length of the brick joke, the pure pride and joy on Elan's face, the apprehension on Roy's...I just lost it when this this page came out in 2005. One of my favorite memories of the comic.

[Meph]

232
This has never been among my favouites parts of the comic and it's among the ones I have read the less. But it was it, and I cannot tell what "it" is.

[oppyu]

236

I was torn for a bit; while Haley riffing on woman!Roy was funny, it seemed lacking in much else. The character touch of Haley freaking out over Elan's injury to the point of not even noticing that Roy was a woman at first tipped it over the edge. Oh, and the long-awaited return of 'Roy has boobies!'.

[thatSeniorGuy]

Hmm, none of them really stand out for me; I guess I'll go for 236.

Oh and Porthos, I think you mean "It's time once again to celebrate the best that this comic has to offer by voting for...."

[Plerumque]

Mmm... going to have to go with 236 as well. Great contest, by the way.

[Emanick]

Really tough contest. Action sequences are always hard because the whole tends to be so much more than the sum of its parts - and comparing the value of those individual parts is therefore pretty tricky. But Haley's harassment of Roy make 236: Mean Girl stand out to me the most, I think.

[ImperatorV]

"Slut"

237 for me.

[Ghost Nappa]

I think I'm going with 234.

Why? Because this is Character Development for Roy. This is a similar situation to Elan getting kidnapped in the woods. Except now, we see Roy willing to go out on a limb to save Elan. He's more than willing to die in the closet right then and there, but once Elan gets hit he immediately moves to something of great inconvenience to himself in order to save someone that he previously would have not done so.

It's one of the first visible changes in character we see amongst the Order and it wasn't until I read the commentary in No Cure for The Paladin Blues that explicitly pointed this out. I didn't make the connection before that and was amazed that such an important and subtle change went right past me.

That and it's coming after a Brick Joke. I was not reading the comic to get the same delay in pay-off, but even years later it still has a long time to pay-off.

[Gift Jeraff]

#234 with #239 a close second. Admittedly a weaker batch after all those great ones.

[Tundar]

235

Gotta love Roy being a woman for less than 3 rounds and already getting pinched by a male.

236 was a close 2nd though.

[nogall]

Vote, vote, vote
vote on 238

[Sir_Leorik]

234

There's a reason why the Deva chose this incident to show how much Roy had grown as a character. He went from not caring if Elan was in trouble, to sacrificing something he felt very strongly about to save Elan's life. This strip, along with # 293 and 442 are important milestones in Roy's character development.

[Killer Angel]

233.
Only because Roy's face was priceless...

[littlebum2002]

Seriously? Is it even a contest?

234

Elan's curious, Roy's finding new and exciting ways to disappoint his father, it has everything!

[David Argall]

236. Not really great, but the competition is not that stiff.

[NobodyWasTaken]

I guess I'll vote 236 this time

[martianmister]

236 Mean Girl

[pita]

232, because any punchline involving Banjo is awesome.

[astralmeson]

235 seems to be the best of the batch.

[Tris]

Voting for 240

[Sylian]

234 - The Ultimate Sacrifice.

[DaggerPen]

I vote for 238 You Try Rhyming 'Assassin'. The competition wasn't terribly steep, but I liked the song.

[Porthos]

Emanick mentioned above that action scenes can be tricky to judge, and that must have been true as I look at how scattered the voting was. Even so, there were two standout contenders, and they just happened to be the ones I am more inclined to go with. Pretty evenly matched, so it might depend on what mood I am in as to which I like better. I think I will go with 234 for the continuing character development of Roy over the, admittedly quite funny, snark of Haley.

And with that....

VOTING IS NOW CLOSED!

236 Mean Girl is the winner this week! It now moves on to the Best of the Hundred tournament.

Full Results are as follows

...THE STICK AWARDS II: 0231 - 0240
{table]|Comic Number | Votes Received | Vote Percentage |
|

231

|

1

|

3.70

|
|

232

|

2

|

7.40

|
|

233

|

2

|

7.40

|
|

234

|

6

|

22.22

|
|

235

|

2

|

7.40

|
|

236

|

7

|

25.93

|
|

237

|

2

|

7.40

|
|

238

|

2

|

7.40

|
|

239

|

2

|

7.40

|
|

240

|

1

|

3.70

|[/table]

Please join us for the next round of voting for Strips #241-250 here.

PS::: For the first time, we have a real logjam in 3rd position, with six strips each getting two votes. And for, I think, only the third or fourth time, each strip received a vote. Pretty much showing what Emanick commented above.

And while I am here:

PS: I just wanted to thank Porthos for managing this fun contents. It is a really good reason to reread some more OotS - and who doesn't love to have a reason to do so

Great contest, by the way.

Thanks for the kinds words from you both. Nice to see people are enjoying these little trips down memory lane.