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Post by idonotlikepeas on Oct 19, 2009 4:39:55 GMT
Sounds like a shitty ass comic to me. I wish there were mods in this place, and not just that asshole who makes the comic abusing his power all the time. Yeah, what's with that guy? He is a pooty head. He should make a comic about friends who are gamers and wisecrack at each other while saving the universe with their psychotic animal or robot companion. It would be the most original and groundbreaking comic ever.
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Post by spoonvonstup on Oct 19, 2009 5:46:35 GMT
Is it me or has Jack just trapped Annie in a place away from the safety of all the adults that are watching out for her? I'm pessimistic is what I'm saying. I don't think that Jack will attempt to try anything nasty on Annie in the house, though. The proper way of doing that would be to get her alone, rather than with a crowd of other children about (and I don't think that Jack would stoop to disposing of all the other children just to keep them from interfering); we also don't know for certain if he even intends harm towards her, beyond some mean remarks. (It still depends, I believe, on whether he was simply a rattled boy who came to Annie asking for answers and was rudely rebuffed, as his defenders argue, or whether he was tainted by his experiences in the nightmare city and turning darker all the while.) It could have been worse: He could have just programmed the laser cows to incinerate anyone over the age of 15. All things considered, and knowing who we're dealing with here, I'd say the teachers are pretty lucky. I'd rather disagree about that; I don't think Jack is quite so bloodthirsty. Either because he's not a bad guy (the optimistic view, and the one I agree with), or because he's smart enough to know that committing mass-murder in such an obvious way wouldn't get him very far (the pessimistic view). I'm not sure I agree with pessimistic premonitions. I felt like the second-to-last panel on today's page was an echo of the last three panels of this page. Jack/Annie performs an amazing feat to help everyone. Enthusiastic response from Winsbury, et. al. Reply? "Okay." / "Eh, whatever." While, of course, the responses are not exactly the same (Annie's is extremely akward, especially coupled with the entire next panel focused on her walking away; Jack's can easily be interpreted as [false?] modesty), I prefer to see a sort of mirroring similarity. Why? Well, because Tom put Annie in the second-to-last frame, and had her listening (if we really look at the panel, we see that the main focus is actually Annie in the foreground, while the conversation occurs behind, almost off-screen, not prominent enough to warrant faces). Tom also let Annie get a good look at herself in terms of socialization (and its effects on Kat) in this chapter. Because Annie has just recognized this anti-social behavior in herself, I feel like she may be more likely to see it in those around her. There is also the matter of Annie's particular position. In each frame, she's turned about the same degree, though facing opposite directions. It also helps that, in the more recent comic, she is looking backwards (towards Winsbury and Jack, yes, but also perhaps metaphorically towards the past). Am I reading too much into this? Maybe, but I like the possibility. At the same time, I am aware that if Tom really wanted us to see it the way I did, he could have made the mirroring more exact. As it stands now, it is merely a passing familiarity that triggered the further speculation of: Annie and Jack have finally experienced a formal mirroring in the narrative, and now a conversation (or a more productive/positive interaction) might have a chance to occur. Then again, it is also interesting to note that Winsbury thanks Annie with a "Wow, thanks, Carver," but thanks Jack with a "Cheers, Jack." Perhaps the differing levels of familiarity (last name / first name) merely indicate that Winsbury is better friends with Jack (ie: not particularly friends with Annie). Perhaps, however, it indicates that Jack is generally better accepted than Annie (again, this wouldn't be a surprise). If this last is true, it certainly reduces the probability of my first response assumptions. The different responses also indicate that Winsbury is more impressed with Annie's blinker fire than Jack's caged-dome-of-laser-doom. This would be odd, except if we remember that Winsbury may have seen Jack do this kind of thing pretty often. ALSO: Wow, those lasers look like they required a lot of patience to look so great. I am so pleased that Tom puts such an incredible amount of detail into every page of his (free time?!??!?!?!) comic.
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Post by warrl on Oct 19, 2009 8:19:40 GMT
Genuine question: Anyone else here (other than Casey) has a complaint against me? Well, you're annoying, but not important enough to me that I'd bother complaining.
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Post by todd on Oct 19, 2009 22:18:34 GMT
As long as we're on the subject of figures from Greek mythology:
To Aris - I remember your comments on Theseus some years ago at "Ask Greg" at Station 8 (you didn't have a high opinion of him, and had a short debate with Greg Weisman on him). How did you feel about Chapter Two's depiction of Theseus, in Basil's story, as a drunken lout and partycrasher?
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Post by spoonvonstup on Oct 20, 2009 0:59:19 GMT
I know I'm not Aris, so I won't offer my opinion on Theseus, but for those of you really interested in Greek mythology, I would definitely recommend Roberto Calasso's The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony. It is positively fantastic, especially for weaving together an intricate and sophisticated exploration of Greek literature and thought. Stunning fiction, but also an analysis and interpretation to blow your socks off; even better, his index of sources at the end contains all of the must read/original source material for those who want to know what the myths actually say.
Personally, however, apart from Basil in Chapter 2, I'm not sure I've felt the influence of the Greek Pantheon at all in Gunnerkrigg's mythos.
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Post by Aris Katsaris on Oct 21, 2009 1:21:17 GMT
You're the second person to recommend this book (the first one being one of my favourite commentators Adam Cadre), so I have just placed this in my Amazon.com basket. :-) I don't really have anything to comment on it, positive or negative. I was amused by it - but the whole point there was that he was nothing like in the myths. But since you brought up my old comments on Theseus, let me tell you I have revised somewhat (and upwards) my preferred characterization by him -- after reading Mary Renault's book. Link to my livejournal entry detailing such. Theseus would be ruthless but also extremely purposeful -- he wouldn't be merely seeking to destroy a monster in search of glory, but also seeking to eradicate the mystique of Cretan power (a Crete ruled by a king enthroned by divine omens, protected by impossible machinery like Talos, who held the symbol of his nation in an impregnable labyrinth) and would seek to replace it with his own view of human destiny - one that was fashioned by human willpower and heroism and capability alone. In short Theseus: A ruthless cruel man, who never saw a woman that he didn't feel he was entitled to abduct -- but who had a very strong sense of purpose. Not a drunken lout in my version :-) You know my Gargoyle fanfic, Names and Forms, about Minos and his rise to kingship... I had once planned a sequel to it that would detail my version of the Theseus and the Minotaur. One common thing between that story and GC's version of the Theseus-Minotaur would be that Theseus would indeed have been more of a guest that tragically abused his host's hospitality than a prisoner. Other than that they differed. I worked backwards from what the Gargoyles universe offered -- the idea of the New Olympians grouping all those disparate creatures, and I had figured that Dionysus' army was the only reasonable origin for how all those creatures came together. But if some of those creatures were the Minotaur's descendants, as the series made clear... ... and Theseus left Ariadne to Dionysus, as mythology tells us... ... then the most simple conclusion was that Ariadne had an incestuous relationship with her brother, Asterius (the Minotaur), and was pregnant with his child when Theseus abandoned her to Dionysus. ... and probably it was the discovery of that monstrous incest (to Theseus' eyes), that both led Theseus to drag her from Crete (thinking he was liberating her from a cruel fate) AND to abandon her (when she made it clear to Theseus that it was only Theseus she saw as a monster). So, yeah -- my preferred version of the story? Far different than the Gunnerkrigg Court version. As is only appropriate as my own version would cause much of the readership to have a problem with that chapter. :-)
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Post by todd on Oct 21, 2009 10:42:40 GMT
Thanks, Aris.
Of course, much of the additional comedy of the GC version came from the obvious anachronisms (I think we can safely assume that they didn't have gift-wrapped presents and sofas in Minoan Crete).
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