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Post by Daedalus on Aug 10, 2015 23:48:11 GMT
I'm wondering about Anthony's emphasis on "They lived in places unreachable by physical travel". Does he mean compared to the other beings he parlayed with, or compared to himself, or something else entirely?
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Post by ih8pkmn on Aug 11, 2015 2:54:03 GMT
I'm starting to see why, up until this point, every chapter in GKC would jump to a different story arc or plot element. As much as I hate to say it, Tom can't really write a long, multi-chapter arc without some breaks in between. This whole business with Anthony has been going on for two and a half chapters, now, and it's gotten so old that it remembers when Never Chamberlain was Prime Minister. I miss the Robots of the Court, I miss Shadow II, I miss Kat and Paz, I miss Parley and Smitty's weird relationship dynamic, I miss Winsbury and Janet... I miss the general sense of humor this comic had, even in facing dark themes like death and grief. Look no further than The Realm of the Dead and See Ya! for this kind of thing; the place that deals with what happens with ghosts and negotiates with afterlife guides is viewed like a cheap Halloween store by Kat, and even in reality, it's all just smoke and mirrors, made so that restless souls have a purpose before they pass to keep the world going around. These last three chapters have been almost utterly humorless, other than the occasional bit of unintentional humor, such as Anthony's attitude towards his daughter being so over-the-top it's at super villain levels, or the fandom's reaction to said treatment. I have a feeling this would be lessened if Antimony wasn't the POV character for a chapter or two. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is: Get On With It! |
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Post by faythofdragons on Aug 11, 2015 3:37:02 GMT
Same here. This is the same level of creepy, that is to say, some of the worst entities we've seen in GC's universe so far. (Until Tom shows how they in fact do possess some softer sides and troubles away all the manicheism, of course  ) Plus Tony's statement in panel three: "I thought I found what I was looking for" Unless he was looking for the psychopomp that took Surma. He thought he found what he was looking for when he finally found the psychopomps, but it was really Annie that took Surma through. |
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Post by sapientcoffee on Aug 11, 2015 4:57:42 GMT
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Post by sherni on Aug 11, 2015 5:30:22 GMT
So... the skeleton and insectoid that Tony meets, are they people or creatures? And did they hurt Tony's face? At least that explains part of what happened to him. I wonder where he is. Does going into the ether take a penalty for people who don't have the ability? Is he in the ether (as we know it) at all? Or is he in some twisted Zimmingham of his own?
And what exactly is the skeleton on the left? Mole? Bat?
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Post by linchie on Aug 11, 2015 7:18:31 GMT
I'm starting to see why, up until this point, every chapter in GKC would jump to a different story arc or plot element. As much as I hate to say it, Tom can't really write a long, multi-chapter arc without some breaks in between. This whole business with Anthony has been going on for two and a half chapters, now, and it's gotten so old that it remembers when Never Chamberlain was Prime Minister. I miss the Robots of the Court, I miss Shadow II, I miss Kat and Paz, I miss Parley and Smitty's weird relationship dynamic, I miss Winsbury and Janet... I miss the general sense of humor this comic had, even in facing dark themes like death and grief. Look no further than The Realm of the Dead and See Ya! for this kind of thing; the place that deals with what happens with ghosts and negotiates with afterlife guides is viewed like a cheap Halloween store by Kat, and even in reality, it's all just smoke and mirrors, made so that restless souls have a purpose before they pass to keep the world going around. These last three chapters have been almost utterly humorless, other than the occasional bit of unintentional humor, such as Anthony's attitude towards his daughter being so over-the-top it's at super villain levels, or the fandom's reaction to said treatment. I have a feeling this would be lessened if Antimony wasn't the POV character for a chapter or two. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is: Get On With It!To be honest, last two chapters were two of the shortest in the history of this comic (about 20 pages each, compare to Torn Sea, which lasted for 64 pages - and which was the story arc I was really tired of) So, you may consider them like a regular chapter being cut into two parts, the same setting and plot-theme is helping it. Anyway, story could not move on just like that, without giving readers a satisfying revelation of Annie's new status quo. Could be interesting to shift perspective to Kat or other characters to look to the problem from the other side though Sub-plot about Annie's relationship with her family was the one I was looking for the most, so last three chapters are like guilty pleasure for me, haha |
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Post by antiyonder on Aug 11, 2015 8:18:26 GMT
I'm starting to see why, up until this point, every chapter in GKC would jump to a different story arc or plot element. As much as I hate to say it, Tom can't really write a long, multi-chapter arc without some breaks in between. This whole business with Anthony has been going on for two and a half chapters, now, and it's gotten so old that it remembers when Never Chamberlain was Prime Minister. I miss the Robots of the Court, I miss Shadow II, I miss Kat and Paz, I miss Parley and Smitty's weird relationship dynamic, I miss Winsbury and Janet... I miss the general sense of humor this comic had, even in facing dark themes like death and grief. Look no further than The Realm of the Dead and See Ya! for this kind of thing; the place that deals with what happens with ghosts and negotiates with afterlife guides is viewed like a cheap Halloween store by Kat, and even in reality, it's all just smoke and mirrors, made so that restless souls have a purpose before they pass to keep the world going around. These last three chapters have been almost utterly humorless, other than the occasional bit of unintentional humor, such as Anthony's attitude towards his daughter being so over-the-top it's at super villain levels, or the fandom's reaction to said treatment. I have a feeling this would be lessened if Antimony wasn't the POV character for a chapter or two. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is: Get On With It!I'm half and half. Should things not change soon, a shift on focus characters as you say would be better. Though I'm at least enjoying this chapter if only because some questions are getting answered. |
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Post by todd on Aug 11, 2015 12:49:29 GMT
Anyway, story could not move on just like that, without giving readers a satisfying revelation of Annie's new status quo. Could be interesting to shift perspective to Kat or other characters to look to the problem from the other side though I think there's not much hope of switching to other threads while the current situation continues - and it doesn't look as if it can get resolved soon. Certainly the state of things with Anthony and Annie seems too complex to be wrapped up quickly. (Also, Tom would have to handle the resolution carefully, to make certain it doesn't come across as "Annie cheated repeatedly, but because it would create problems for the story if her punishment lasted long, we'll drop it - the way we wouldn't do for someone who wasn't a major character".) I'd speculated at one point that Tom might fix the situation by having Anthony take Annie away from the Court (with the indication that he thinks that its etheric phenomena hold too much distraction for her from her studies) and that the story continue without her, making Kat the full lead (with maybe Paz serving as the etheric girl in the partnership) - though many of the plot-threads are so dependent on Annie that I don't think that would work. And the readers would be constantly wondering when Annie would return (unless Tom went for something like "the plane carrying Annie and Anthony away from the Court crashed; both were killed" - which probably wouldn't work well either). Since Tom had planned this shift long ago, we must assume he knows what he's doing and this isn't one of those cases of the author having discovered too late that he wrote the story into a dead-end. (While "Gunnerkrigg Court" has probably been compared to "Harry Potter" too often, I can't help wondering if this point might be the counterpart to the point in the Harry Potter series where Voldemort was restored to full strength at the end of "Goblet of Fire" and the series shifted its focus almost entirely to the consequences of his return and moved away from the "wizard school" elements like Quidditch and house points and magic sweets.) |
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Post by Trillium on Aug 11, 2015 15:10:43 GMT
I've been waiting for Anthony Carver to show up since Ch. 6. We've had hints here and there about him. Now he's here, causing upheaval in Annie's life. We're finally getting some background on him and maybe Surma. I've been waiting for this and I love exposition. So yea Tom, thanks for bringing him into the light so we can get a look at him.
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Post by mordekai on Aug 11, 2015 16:03:00 GMT
Anthony: "I found the Afterlife Guides, but I had to pay terrible toll to do it!"
Donald: "You mean, like that time Annie crushed an ant in order to summon them?"
Anthony: "You have to take a deadly poison in order to have a near-death experience and...Wait...an ant? Have you said an ant?"
Donald: *Nods*
Anthony: "I... think I will go to that corner and cry in mourning of my needlessly ruined heart, liver and kidneys..."
Donald: I think you don't even need to kill an insect. I think Jones knows how to contact them. And Annie can contact them by staying near a dying person or animal. And Brinnie..."
Anthony: "SHUT UP!!!" *SOBS*
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Post by Jelly Jellybean on Aug 11, 2015 16:16:18 GMT
Anthony: "I found the Afterlife Guides, but I had to pay terrible toll to do it!" Donald: "You mean, like that time Annie crushed an ant in order to summon them?" Anthony: "You have to take a deadly poison in order to have a near-death experience and...Wait...an ant? Have you said an ant?" Donald: *Nods* Anthony: "I... think I will go to that corner and cry in mourning of my needlessly ruined heart, liver and kidneys..." Donald: I think you don't even need to kill an insect. I think Jones knows how to contact them. And Annie can contact them by staying near a dying person or animal. And Brinnie..." Anthony: "SHUT UP!!!" *SOBS* Donald: "And Kat walks around that place like she owns it..." Anthony: *whimper* |
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Post by Deepbluediver on Aug 11, 2015 21:38:05 GMT
My "arm-wrestling for keeps" theory is suddenly sounding far more plausible than I would have ever wanted to admit.
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Post by TBeholder on Aug 14, 2015 21:34:46 GMT
I'd speculated at one point that Tom might fix the situation by having Anthony take Annie away from the Court (with the indication that he thinks that its etheric phenomena hold too much distraction for her from her studies) and that the story continue without her, making Kat the full lead (with maybe Paz serving as the etheric girl in the partnership) - though many of the plot-threads are so dependent on Annie that I don't think that would work. The main problem with this is that Anthony turns out to be not as sneaky as he thinks. While news about such development may be of extreme detriment to his health - and possibly his phase state too, depending on whether Coyote or Kat finds out first. |
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