The Stick Awards II: Second Edition (#0331 - #0340)

[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 331 through 340.

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 March 4th, 4pm EST. Any votes made after that will NOT count toward the totals.

Last week, 327 The Test of the Mind decided that the best way to choose who was the winner this week was by applying its special brand of persuasion. Or should I say, pincushion.

Enough looking into the past, however. Now it is time to look bravely into the future! See what our destinies are! See what trials and tribulations must be endured as we divine who is deserving of winning....

.THE STICK AWARDS II: 0331 - 0340

331 For the Future
332 The Ephemerality of Memory
333 The Bright Side
334 If You Want Something Done Right
335 A Grand Experiment
336 Bedtime for Elan
337 Brief and to the Point
338 Tactical Priorities
339 C.P.P.D. Blues
340 You Should Have Seen What He Did With the Corsage

====

For ease of reading, What Haley Said, courtesy of the thread of the same name.

Spoiler

Show

#331
Bfqe zqp M rt et fjketfj wi kljjzf?
What can I do to restore my speech?

#340
Vrqxx rtegqxg abqvo lvqkul hte fx'qx LVKMM jhskeo nrxhu qtmx qxyklkbe wbsxl...Obgl, fx ltns
Three hundred forty strips, and we're STILL making cheap rule revision jokes... Gods, we suck.

[Gift Jeraff]

It's a toss-up between 337 and 339 for me, but ultimately I lean toward #337 because jokes about the art style are pretty common in—

[ChristianSt]

I started to recap this bunch and thought this is going to be a though decision again. Belkar in 334 is just awesome, and Nale's sending shenanigans are damn funny, too.

But after seeing that 339 - C.P.P.D. Blues was in there, it was an easy call. The CPPD is just hilarious!

[I'm really looking forward to the Kickstarter story featuring the CPPD ]

[Jaxzan Proditor]

Lots of good ones in this round. I will vote #335

[martianmister]

331jyyyyyyyyyyyj

[nogall]

331 is obviously the most important one, plot-wise.
Between 332, 334 and 335, it's a toss-up. Guess I'll go with 334, once again for the off-panel violence.

[Bird]

This is a strong bunch! Love the Durkon-Roy bonding of #333, Julia gets a great moment in #337, and #340 helped us all bring Wizard Guy into our hearts.

Finally though, it must be 335

For you see, I theorize that the halfling does not possess a true sentient brain, like you or I, but rather a simple lump of nerve tissue that serves as a primitive "proto-brain"...

No, I never thought Vaarsuvius was right, but this is comedy gold. (Though, as often happens in the "funnier" OotS strips, I adore the setup but am indifferent towards the punchline at the end of the page.)

*

Meanwhile, I'm disappointed over last round's winner. Really didn't like Haley stooping to Belkar's level by solving barely-even-a-problem with violence against an innocent. Ah well.

[Duck999]

Ooooh, that was a close one. I have tokgo with 334 for the ominous stepladder and happy ending,

[Meph]

Well, 338 and 339 both had a close spot. And the 333's "I fail to see what difference it makes" was truly worth it.
But 331 wins.

[thatSeniorGuy]

It was a toss-up between 337 and 339, but I went with 337.

Godammit 333 is so sad now.

ETA: nicely played Gift Jeraff.

[oppyu]

331

Very, very close contest between 331 and 337 here. Watching Nale freak out about the word limit on Sending while Roy facepalms is hilarious. However in 331,the Kobold Oracle is comedy gold, there was awesome plot foreshadowing, and the Azure City bit at the end is great. What got 331 over the top in the end is how annoyed Elan is at Roy for interrupting the Oracle's dramatic and insulting plea to Tiamat.

[137beth]

It's a tough one! 331 was great for the amount of plot it introduced. 335 has the memorable theory about Belkar's mentality. 337 made me laugh violently the first few times I read it. And of course, 340 gave us Wizard Guy.

Ultimately, I'm going to have to go with 331, just for the shear level of impact it had, while still being funny.

[NobodyWasTaken]

I guess I'll vote for 337, since it's my most likely favorite to win.

[DaggerPen]

This is a really, really tough one. The punchline of 335 has had me howling with laughter on multiple occasions, and Roy's strictly worded shenanigans are fantastic. But ultimately, as a whole, Nale's complete and utter failure with the Sending spells does it for me. Count me in for 337.

And a hearty chuckle to Gift Jeraff.

[Emanick]

339: C.P.P.D. Blues introduces the Chief. Easy.

[Killer Angel]

331
for the plot AND some good humor.

[Sylian]

For me, there are two comics that stand out: 331 and 337. 331 introduces a lot of plot points, while 337 is really funny. While 331 is interesting and all, I think I'm going to give 337 my vote this time, since there are more interesting plot strips than 331 around, and 337 is so funny. So yeah, 337.

[Torrasque]

337 for Nales incompetence at sending.

Good batch though.

[FLHerne]

I love the CPPD, and will vote for them later on, but for this round it has to be #337. Nale is great when he's --

[Sir_Leorik]

"Oh mighty Oracle of the Sunken Valley! Hear my plea so tha-"

"That's quite enough. I'm not interested in mammals sucking up to me. All right, have you got the cash?"

"Yes, do you want to count it?"

"Nah, I'm going to do that later, and I just checked ahead to make sure it's the right amount. Oh might Queen of Dragons! Please answer the question of this internet forum dwelling pondscum!"

"Is that really necessary?"

"Absolutely."

"Which comic should I vote for in this week's "Stick Awards"?"

"Comic Number Three Hundred and Thirty One."

"Thanks!"

No. 331

[littlebum2002]

337

I love the running Sending gag

[LadyEowyn]

331 has a LOT of important predictions, so I'll go with that one.

But I agree that 337 is really funny.

[mythmonster2]

337 was indeed hilarious, but 331 is the one for me this time.

[davidbofinger]

#339. It's a gag-oriented batch, and some good gags in it, but the CPPD carry it for me.

[Demoman]

Originally #333 until recent comics just made that almost tearjerky.

I'll pick #337. Roy's expressions were gold.

'd it!

[Dromuthra]

#335 "Wild empathy check! Wild empathy check!"

[Sylian]

I love the CPPD, and will vote for them later on, but for this round it has to be #337. Nale is great when he's --

*counts the number of words*

I see what you did there.

[cheesecake]

337

......

[David Argall]

Some competition, but 337 seems best, and may win too.

[Loreweaver15]

It was rough picking between #333 and #337, but I'm gonna have to go with #337.