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So it's happening again. I'm getting the urge to create a brand new comic. Relax - Supervillainous is not in any danger of abandonment. I'm just looking for a side project to work on in between Supervillainous strips. Something in black and white in order to get strips out in a fairly timely manner. However, I'm really torn on this, because I've got three comics equally vying for my attention, and I'd enjoy working on any of them. So I'm putting it to you guys, my original fanbase, to help out. Here's the concepts:

Huzzah! - Think Cheers in a fantasy environment. Saul and his niece Emma open a roadside tavern and inn, but don't learn that the road is one often traveled by adventurers. Huzzah! Quickly becomes a hub of beasts, mercenaries, and heroes, much to the chagrin of poor Saul, who wanted his tavern to be a respectable place. I even worked up a test strip for this:



Thrunk: Great Galactic Warrior - Thrunk is an infamous space hero, battling great threats across the many occupied worlds of man in the Pandaros Galaxy. He's jaded, easily annoyed, and surly, but always follows his moral compass. He has traveled the galaxy, searching for a quiet existence, but after encountering Bean, the living legume, he's pulled back into a life he hoped to leave behind. It doesn't help that the space-faring, driven Merna Meander, one of the most notorious members of the Homeworld movement, tries to recruit Thrunk into her search for humanity's long-lost planet of origin. It's completely over the top, lampooning both fantasy and science fiction tropes. This one doesn't take itself seriously at all.

Pixel: If you've been here for awhile, you know this one. It's in my sig. It was my first passion project, and I always seem to come back to it. It would get done right - a better opening storyline laying out why Kevin Stanton is kind of a prick, and would flesh out the rest of the cast a bit better. Honestly, Supervillainous made me a better writer in terms of dialogue, and that needs to be Pixel's strength.

Gimme a vote. Unlike every other election you've ever participated in or ever will participate in, your vote will actually count this time.

I'll say that I think I like Pixel the most (though I don't necessarily want its plot to be rewritten), but that might be because I'm already familiar with it.
Of the remaining two, are you saying that Thrunk: GGW would be something like Bill the Galactic Hero? If that's the case, its success will probably depend on how frequently you can successfully lampoon the tropes. As for Huzzah!, will it be mostly about the core cast (Cheers-y) or about how the core cast of regulars deals with non-regular visitors (Callahan's-y)?

--Patrick

Never heard of Bill the Galactic Hero. Really, Thrunk would be more in the vein of Korgoth of Barbaria, but set in space, with the violence handled more in the style of Ren and Stimpy.

As for Huzzah, Saul, Emma, and a few regular adventurers would constitute the core cast, with different ancillary characters rotating in and out.

Don't know Morgoth of Barbaria, but my vote is cast for Thrunk.

--Patrick

PatrThom said:

Don't know Morgoth of Barbaria, but my vote is cast for Thrunk.

--Patrick

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Mine too, although your entire description of it had me completely uninterested in it. It's only your intended purpose -the lampooning of tropes - that hooked me.

By the way, are you aware that the search for humanity's long lost homeworld was a common theme throughout Isaac Asimov's novels?

Yes, and it's another concept I was planning on poking fun at.

Zappit said:

Pixel: ... It would get done right

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Gruebeard said:

It's only your intended purpose -the lampooning of tropes - that hooked me.

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This was my thought as well, that there would be more mileage in trope lampooning than there would be in outsider-of-the-day shenanigans.

--Patrick

Zappit said:

Never heard of Bill the Galactic Hero. Really, Thrunk would be more in the vein of Korgoth of Barbaria, but set in space, with the violence handled more in the style of Ren and Stimpy.

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Ssso... StarBarians?

Oh, so that's what that .GIF is from.

--Patrick

And there's a tie...

Zappit said:

And there's a tie...

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Sorry, didn't realize the vote was an actual vote vote. I have now voted.

--Patrick

I dunno. lampshading tropes can be great fun, but it's also something that can easily become tired and has been done about 45,254 times before. And when/if you take it further, it causes hosts of issues continuity-wise. Just loo kat OotS - arguably one of the best webcomics out there, but there're still little bits of can't and won't because of its early days.
A *good* fixed cast with continuous new travellers passing by is a very easy set up for a gag-a-day (or week or whatever) style comic, allows a lot of flexibility, still allows longer-form stories if and when needed, and - as far as I know - this specific theme and setting haven't really been done to death yet. my vote's for Huzzah! - though the intro comic didn't have me immediately hooked, either.

Bubble181 said:

I dunno. lampshading tropes can be great fun, but it's also something that can easily become tired and has been done about 45,254 times before. And when/if you take it further, it causes hosts of issues continuity-wise. Just loo kat OotS - arguably one of the best webcomics out there, but there're still little bits of can't and won't because of its early days.

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It's not so much making fun of tropes as the main goal of Thrunk. It just won't take itself seriously at all.

Okay, results are in...

...And a most interesting development has occurred. @aaronmocksing and I will be starting a Geek Life back up again in comic strip form in the near future. We've already produced a couple, and a strip format works much, much better. So there's that.

I'm going to take a shot with Thrunk! And the official title will be: Thrunk! Mighty Space Warrior. The production rate will be slow. I'll be working in between Supervillainous strips and will be creating much more detailed pages. I might even take a swing at color.

Big new thing for this thread. I'm going to be posting development sketches here, and in some cases, asking for your input regarding designs. You guys voted, and you'll get a voice on this new, completely off-the-rails sci-fi comic.

Let's kick it off with a couple sketches of Bean, the de-facto sidekick. Not necessarily a final design, by the way.

Huh. An Ender reference. Wasn't gonna like it, but then I saw the picture and I do.

So uh, yeah. That's my pointless input.

Choice time! Choice time! I've been working on Thrunk's design, and have a couple potential looks. There were a few key ideas I needed to hit:

Thrunk is big. Really, really big.
Thrunk looks like he spends a lot of time outside.
Thrunk is top heavy.

So here's the first two ideas. Let me know your preference.

Personally prefer A over B. Apollo over Hercules.

--Patrick

I prefer the first look, but pretty much just because of the hair and more defined muscle. I think I prefer the second design's legs/pants color.

Definitely A.

A!

A it is!

Zappit said:

A it is!

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--Patrick