Maybe he's doing it in honor of Steve Carrell leaving The Office... or something.
Hey I found a good one! http://www.pvponline.com/2004/08/11/august-11-2004/
Hey I found a good one! http://www.pvponline.com/2004/08/11/august-11-2004/
[Webcomic] PVP Discussion
- Thread starter Dei
- Start date
figmentPez
Staff member
Kurtz tweets:
"The talking head "confessional" is a new thing I want to add to the strip for sure. It's nothin I want to do every day or days in a row."
Ugh.
"The talking head "confessional" is a new thing I want to add to the strip for sure. It's nothin I want to do every day or days in a row."
Ugh.
J
Jiarn
It's like he's like one of those famous people that you liked when they were good. Stuck around when they started to wane, kept telling yourself it was a phase that would pass and it'd go back to the awesome that it used to be. Then eventually got smart and walked away, watching him dig deeper and deeper into the ditch he creates around himself.
I realize I never read much of the pre-2005 PVP until looking at the archives tonight, and I actually need to stop since I'm going to bed and it's hard for me to fall asleep if I've been laughing. This is good stuff. At least half a week's strips are laugh out loud funny, and the others are at least smile-worthy. Maybe I'll start from the beginning at some point and have a read-through.
Panel 1: Phil sits at his computer, staring blankly at the screen
Panel 2: Phil looks somewhat puzzled by what he is seeing
Panel 3: Phil looks dead on at the reader
Speech balloon: I don't know if this is even supposed to be funny?
PvP is like the Simpsons, wherein around 40% of it is pure gold.
The Skull one was kind of funny, the Miranda one was... not good at all. It certainly wasn't funny.
Added at: 11:51
You know what I realized though? Scott is trying to create those few "things" that his readers look for and enjoy. Bloom County had Deathtongue and presidential races, C&H had crazy imagination worlds and the insane rides in the wagon, etc. In fact it feels like he's been trying to find his "things" for a few years right now because he wants to be like his hero's. The problem is it feels so forced in strips like this.
I think my problem with the strips is it breaks the "show don't tell" rule quite blatantly. People stating their own actions and interests is the height of awkwardness. Ideally, the punchline panel would still defy the expectations of the set-up but not by just telling us. It is like there is all this build-up (actually, there's hardly enough build-up) and then the last panel simply unties it all without any dramatic release.
Here's a different take on it:
Jade: Here, I got you this.
Miranda: Anne of Green Gables?
Jade: It's my favorite book. I want you to read it. (I would rewrite this line. Jade shouldn't have to say this. I'm keeping it in to just change the last panel)
Miranda: I spent two weeks one morning trying to start a novel. I don't like to read. (WTF? I don't think this line is right...)
Jade: Just...try again. For me.
Jade: It's an amazing book and I would love if one day we could sit and talk about it.
Miranda: Uuuuuh! Fine, I'll try. But no promises.
Last panel:
(Dramatic turn)
Miranda is enjoying the book in her room with giant coke-bottle lens glasses, squinting.
or
(Comedic turn)
Miranda (at Robbie's): Robbie, do you have this on DVD?
Robbie: Sure, would you prefer Anne Does Green Gables or Anne's Wet Dream Fables?
(don't judge me! I'm making a point!)
Kurtz can definitely do better and if he says he wants to work on his writing he should seriously reconsider this approach as a recurring gag.
Here's a different take on it:
Jade: Here, I got you this.
Miranda: Anne of Green Gables?
Jade: It's my favorite book. I want you to read it. (I would rewrite this line. Jade shouldn't have to say this. I'm keeping it in to just change the last panel)
Miranda: I spent two weeks one morning trying to start a novel. I don't like to read. (WTF? I don't think this line is right...)
Jade: Just...try again. For me.
Jade: It's an amazing book and I would love if one day we could sit and talk about it.
Miranda: Uuuuuh! Fine, I'll try. But no promises.
Last panel:
(Dramatic turn)
Miranda is enjoying the book in her room with giant coke-bottle lens glasses, squinting.
or
(Comedic turn)
Miranda (at Robbie's): Robbie, do you have this on DVD?
Robbie: Sure, would you prefer Anne Does Green Gables or Anne's Wet Dream Fables?
(don't judge me! I'm making a point!)
Kurtz can definitely do better and if he says he wants to work on his writing he should seriously reconsider this approach as a recurring gag.
Exactly.
I think it's a simple case of him trying to work on something he doesn't care about anymore. Hasn't he said it multiple times that PvP (essentially) finished with Brent and Jade's wedding, and everything since then has more or less been treading water instead of getting out of the pool?
He should do a Max Powers spin-off strip about Max re-framing his wandering to Brent and Cole as set against a post-apocalyptic landscape where he fought for his life daily against various geek mutants. He could call it "Slightly Dysfunctional Max".
He should do a Max Powers spin-off strip about Max re-framing his wandering to Brent and Cole as set against a post-apocalyptic landscape where he fought for his life daily against various geek mutants. He could call it "Slightly Dysfunctional Max".
I was kind of hoping that the confessions would actually be the character talking to someone - particularly if it was Skull talking to Miranda and vice versa. Like, Skull's 4th panel would be in response to Miranda asking, "So what are you REALLY doing here?" ; Miranda responding to Skull asking, "So, are you going to read it?"
J
Jiarn
This place is too detrimental to his ego. He'd never visit here after those first few months of transition and everyone was ripping him a new one.
Honestly, while I didn't think so before, I think he kind of needs something like that, a come-to-Jesus moment, as it were. The lolbat coloring book thing, while lame for readers, was a serious douche move to his advertisers, especially with him putting so much time and effort into other things that are clearly secondary.
He clearly has to re-prioritize and restructure. I know he's still got a shiny new "I'm in Seattle with my friends!" thing going, but his friends are also running a business, and he's there to work, in the end.
He clearly has to re-prioritize and restructure. I know he's still got a shiny new "I'm in Seattle with my friends!" thing going, but his friends are also running a business, and he's there to work, in the end.
North_Ranger
Staff member
I have to say I'm not too keen on Kurtz shifting his art style from the more comic book style to this quasi-realism. The guys still look cartoonish, the girls are starting to look more real, and Skull... well, you can't really make a giant blue troll with few visible characteristics look realistic.
To me it feels like he's trying to go for the art style of Frank Cho... and failing at it. But that's just me.
To me it feels like he's trying to go for the art style of Frank Cho... and failing at it. But that's just me.
No, it definitely isn't just you.
I would if it meant I got to hang out with the PA guys on a daily basis.
Added at: 01:51
To say nothing of Kris Straub.
Yeah, I think thats a great idea. Scott seems like he really values the input of those he trusts so maybe it's time to end the thing that has nowhere else to go (PVP) and start something new. Maybe the Trenches will suffice, but I'd much rather see him stop doing something he isn't 100% into and start rocking something else.
I palmed my own face. Feeling that this wasn't enough I palmed the babys face...then the cats.
Still insufficient.
Part of me hopes that the last panel will be a confessional-style panel with lolbat saying "lol u mad?"
