Yeah... this.
[Webcomic] PVP Discussion
- Thread starter Dei
- Start date
This.
I used to do this. I had a minor villain that I would cycle into random adventures (it was an Orc Monk in an EQ D20 campaign).
Sadly, I think I may be done with PVP. I'm tired of reading it and I'm tired of not enjoying it. This is what happened to me after a few months of reading CAD, I just... stopped. I didn't even care to complain about it anymore because I just didn't care.
I think I've held on because PVP played a role in bringing me to the original version of this place and dammit, I used to really like it.
I think I've held on because PVP played a role in bringing me to the original version of this place and dammit, I used to really like it.
I dunno. I think PVP isn't exactly soaring at its historical heights but it's far from poor. Val has been approached pretty decently considering past newly-introduced characters. His artwork is still very clean and recognisable. The jokes may not be laugh out loud funny, but PVP never has been.
TLDR; PVP unchanged, better comics out there.
TLDR; PVP unchanged, better comics out there.
You just got bronzebottomed!!!!
And you were alone in that opinion. (Alone in the sense of the minority, not the only one in existance)
It'd be weird if he was the only one in existence...
It definitely is more amusing that PvP.
I don't think anyone would say his art hasn't improved dramatically. The guy can draw, it's the one thing most of us can't complain about. Though, given that his art is his biggest talent, we do get dissapointed when we see shortcuts like obviously copy-pasted panels.
Ok prepare for a shock:
I've spent the last week and a half going through the entire PVP archive. Yep. Don't ask me why. Just did and here's my feelings on it:
Early PVP, the first two years especially, was comedy gold. Nearly every single strip and gag was fantastic. I laughed, alot. I loved the simple artwork and each character was one dimensional but hilarious. Years 3+ were awkward. They weren't terrible, just "not funny". Then it finally came to a head. The Wedding Arc. The entire thing stunk. From that moment on the entire comic was just terrible. The artwork was "better" but so far removed from what PVP looked like before it "lost itself" to this new identity. The whole "Skull was Brent's childhood friend" was just a complete retcon to the entire relationship built to that point. Cole didn't remember him in the early strips and neither did Brent and other than Brent's mother making a comment on it a few weeks prior, there was NOTHING about it.
Something just "happened" at that point. Nothing was funny. LOLbat strips left and right. Kringus taking up entire months. Just no humor. Then a few years later Max is retconned some more, he's broke and needs a job at PVP? Wait what? Scott was just freeballing his entire character history and it was showing.... badly. When you screw up your characaters this badly, it's hard to not think about when you're trying fart jokes. Then there's the entire Seattle move. Ugh. Beardless Max is retconned within a month. His being gay is redone with apparantly noone "really" remembering about it. I mean they act like it's no big deal but definitely acting like it's something new. Skull spent nearly a year acting like a douchebag instead of the childlike innocent troll he was before. The entire continuity was shit.
Then, just like that, something "happened" again. I noticed it right during the Sonya and Max reunion. It.... got charming again. I have no idea how. I'm personally one of the biggest Anti-PVP people on this board and I'm finding them interesting again (with the exception of the horrid lolbat shorts). I like the characters and how they've grown. Cole being the aging divorcee finding a friendship in Francis who's a boy trapped in a young man's body. Marcy's her own person, went to college and trying to enter the adult world. Brent and Jade are into their own married but seperate interesting people groove. Max as a financial advisor and real contribution to PVP and the strip's only consistant gay character. Skull is back to his innosence. I dunno how it happened but PVP got interesting again.
Ignoring Scott as a horrible person, his strip has it's charm back that it hasn't had since the early few years. It's hard to see that now because of how bad it was and for how long but if you were to do what I did, and see it's beginning, it's rise, it's fall and what it is today, I'm sure you'd be pretty shocked. Just try not to think of Scott as a person, it really puts a damper on the comic, which it turns out, for now, is really getting better.
I've spent the last week and a half going through the entire PVP archive. Yep. Don't ask me why. Just did and here's my feelings on it:
Early PVP, the first two years especially, was comedy gold. Nearly every single strip and gag was fantastic. I laughed, alot. I loved the simple artwork and each character was one dimensional but hilarious. Years 3+ were awkward. They weren't terrible, just "not funny". Then it finally came to a head. The Wedding Arc. The entire thing stunk. From that moment on the entire comic was just terrible. The artwork was "better" but so far removed from what PVP looked like before it "lost itself" to this new identity. The whole "Skull was Brent's childhood friend" was just a complete retcon to the entire relationship built to that point. Cole didn't remember him in the early strips and neither did Brent and other than Brent's mother making a comment on it a few weeks prior, there was NOTHING about it.
Something just "happened" at that point. Nothing was funny. LOLbat strips left and right. Kringus taking up entire months. Just no humor. Then a few years later Max is retconned some more, he's broke and needs a job at PVP? Wait what? Scott was just freeballing his entire character history and it was showing.... badly. When you screw up your characaters this badly, it's hard to not think about when you're trying fart jokes. Then there's the entire Seattle move. Ugh. Beardless Max is retconned within a month. His being gay is redone with apparantly noone "really" remembering about it. I mean they act like it's no big deal but definitely acting like it's something new. Skull spent nearly a year acting like a douchebag instead of the childlike innocent troll he was before. The entire continuity was shit.
Then, just like that, something "happened" again. I noticed it right during the Sonya and Max reunion. It.... got charming again. I have no idea how. I'm personally one of the biggest Anti-PVP people on this board and I'm finding them interesting again (with the exception of the horrid lolbat shorts). I like the characters and how they've grown. Cole being the aging divorcee finding a friendship in Francis who's a boy trapped in a young man's body. Marcy's her own person, went to college and trying to enter the adult world. Brent and Jade are into their own married but seperate interesting people groove. Max as a financial advisor and real contribution to PVP and the strip's only consistant gay character. Skull is back to his innosence. I dunno how it happened but PVP got interesting again.
Ignoring Scott as a horrible person, his strip has it's charm back that it hasn't had since the early few years. It's hard to see that now because of how bad it was and for how long but if you were to do what I did, and see it's beginning, it's rise, it's fall and what it is today, I'm sure you'd be pretty shocked. Just try not to think of Scott as a person, it really puts a damper on the comic, which it turns out, for now, is really getting better.
It was VERY surreal doing this. I thought PVP was literally the best webcomic (though it was one of few back then) on the web back in it's inception. The thing that's strangest was that I was able to pinpoint exact timeframes for the changes (Funny until Wedding arc, Not funny until Sonya in Seattle) but couldn't tell you exactly what it was that caused the likes or dislikes. It was just an entire shift in feeling.
I'm not saying it's without fault or one of the best comic strips out there, but for one that's been around for so long, it's REALLY amazing to see how the characters HAVE grown into the people they are today. They maintain a bit of who they used to be, are better/stronger people due to their experiences, and are very interesting as individuals.
Ex: Brent doesn't hound over every Apple product to come out anymore, but when he removed "Meet Steve Jobs" from his bucket list? That was powerful stuff.
Francis beating himself up over Marcy's return and Marcy's attempt to seem better of than she really was? That was some deep character insight to both of them.
Cole and Francis bonding really show that Cole has let go of his hurt and pain from the past and is finding himself renewed by his friendship with the young adult Francis.
Jade has really established herself as a strong, independant woman who loves her husband despite his fault and Brent has perfected the anti-hipster yet still a total hipster nearly 40yr old husband.
It's really insane how they've changed and yet you can still see everything that made them hilarious to read in the early days
Additional: A couple of things you HAVE to do are COMPLETELY let go of paying attention to the artwork changes. I know it's hard, which is one of the reasons why I mark the Wedding Arc as an early falling point for the strip. However, there have been ALOT of ups and downs in the artwork. Alot of experimenting. If you can look past it and stay focused on the characters and the over arcing storyline though? Yeah, it's interesting.
Additional note: Introducing a "dwarf" just like that? I have to say, EXTREMELY lazy.
I'm not saying it's without fault or one of the best comic strips out there, but for one that's been around for so long, it's REALLY amazing to see how the characters HAVE grown into the people they are today. They maintain a bit of who they used to be, are better/stronger people due to their experiences, and are very interesting as individuals.
Ex: Brent doesn't hound over every Apple product to come out anymore, but when he removed "Meet Steve Jobs" from his bucket list? That was powerful stuff.
Francis beating himself up over Marcy's return and Marcy's attempt to seem better of than she really was? That was some deep character insight to both of them.
Cole and Francis bonding really show that Cole has let go of his hurt and pain from the past and is finding himself renewed by his friendship with the young adult Francis.
Jade has really established herself as a strong, independant woman who loves her husband despite his fault and Brent has perfected the anti-hipster yet still a total hipster nearly 40yr old husband.
It's really insane how they've changed and yet you can still see everything that made them hilarious to read in the early days
Additional: A couple of things you HAVE to do are COMPLETELY let go of paying attention to the artwork changes. I know it's hard, which is one of the reasons why I mark the Wedding Arc as an early falling point for the strip. However, there have been ALOT of ups and downs in the artwork. Alot of experimenting. If you can look past it and stay focused on the characters and the over arcing storyline though? Yeah, it's interesting.
Additional note: Introducing a "dwarf" just like that? I have to say, EXTREMELY lazy.
My thoughts on Val:
- Completely clashes with the "realistic" PvP Scott has spent the last 5-6 years trying to do
- Introduction felt forced
- Character is yet another attempt to shoehorn two completely different comic worlds together for no reason
- Introduction storyline was totally predictable, start to finish
- Still miles better than Shecky
- Completely clashes with the "realistic" PvP Scott has spent the last 5-6 years trying to do
- Introduction felt forced
- Character is yet another attempt to shoehorn two completely different comic worlds together for no reason
- Introduction storyline was totally predictable, start to finish
- Still miles better than Shecky
Disagree. I think the first few appearances of Shecky, as well as his very first introduction? Well paced, hilariously cliche but still amusing. Welcome as they were few and far between.
I'm going to give Val some "time" but so far I'm liking her minus the introduction.
As for the "clashing worlds"? It happens so much in this strip (though I will grant you it hasn't happened almost at all in 3+ years but still part of the early continuity of Skull's imaginary friend world and Samwise's world being able to cross over).
You have to look at it as a 10yr whole, not 3-5yr pieces.
I'm going to give Val some "time" but so far I'm liking her minus the introduction.
As for the "clashing worlds"? It happens so much in this strip (though I will grant you it hasn't happened almost at all in 3+ years but still part of the early continuity of Skull's imaginary friend world and Samwise's world being able to cross over).
You have to look at it as a 10yr whole, not 3-5yr pieces.
I Val a lot, actually. I like her design and character.
Then again, I also like the LOL-Bat stuff, so I'm probably not the best judge.
Then again, I also like the LOL-Bat stuff, so I'm probably not the best judge.
figmentPez
Staff member
She's peering over his shoulder. One of them would need to be craning their neck for that to work in real life, though, I would think.
Tuesday's is up, and it's pretty god damn funny
Me too. Did Kurtz forget to renew his domain?
My guess is that this will be just like the arc wherein Brent had to get rid of his ponytail. Eventually he found a way to get it back, but Kurtz took the opportunity to slightly change his character design.
I figure that this story arc could be pretty entertaining and will ultimately to a Brent redesign, where he either has prescription shades, which will allow Kurtz to redesign them slightly, or he'll just have straight-up glasses, which will allow Kurtz to show Brent's eyes with greater expression.
I figure that this story arc could be pretty entertaining and will ultimately to a Brent redesign, where he either has prescription shades, which will allow Kurtz to redesign them slightly, or he'll just have straight-up glasses, which will allow Kurtz to show Brent's eyes with greater expression.
figmentPez
Staff member
The eyes are freaking me out. 
