Order of the Stick

[Hanacker]

Like Dave says, go back a bunch of strips and read them through. The Roy in heaven arc, say. IMO he’s got an astonishing control over an absurdly complex story, and that really shows when you read it in a decent chunk.

I guess some of us just aren’t happy with the change from a comic with a straightforward story that was about a single party (and occasionally about the bad guys) to one eith an absurdly complex story and a horde of minor characters. It’s still very high quality and the only webcomic I read on a regular basis, but I liked it more when Belkar and Roy would be in almost every episode. I had to go back and check to even remember where Haley and Belkar were. Imo (and with my fairly bad memory), there’s just too much going on and we get new strips too infrequently to try to keep track of everything now. I probably would be happier just waiting and reading them all at once, but that isn’t going to happen.

[Dave_Markell]

I take things in arcs. The Banjo as god of the orcs was dumb.

You have no taste, Dirt. Banjo is great. I love every strip he’s ever been a part of.

[Sarkus]

I guess some of us just aren’t happy with the change from a comic with a straightforward story that was about a single party (and occasionally about the bad guys) to one eith an absurdly complex story and a horde of minor characters. It’s still very high quality and the only webcomic I read on a regular basis, but I liked it more when Belkar and Roy would be in almost every episode. I had to go back and check to even remember where Haley and Belkar were. Imo (and with my fairly bad memory), there’s just too much going on and we get new strips too infrequently to try to keep track of everything now. I probably would be happier just waiting and reading them all at once, but that isn’t going to happen.

I think this is more or less my opinion. When the strip was updating more often than a few times a week he could get away with all of this, but at this pace it’s just hard to keep track of it all. Goblins, which is a very good webcomic as well, suffers from the same problem, though on a smaller scale. It updates once a week at most so the fact that there is a character seperated from the rest seems like a forgotten character when it is so long between any mention of him.

In the end OOTS is a webcomic, not a collection of books and I’d like to think it’s being written for the primary audience and not a secondary one. Not that I’m going to stop reading it, but I don’t think there is anything wrong with pointing out how it might be better.

[Andrew_Mayer]

I do agree that what I thought was going to be a short side trip has become a major detour.

To be fair though, it’s only been a single arc since the fall of the city. If he gets the band back together in the next 10-15 strips I’ll be okay with it…

[Equis]

I do agree that what I thought was going to be a short side trip has become a major detour.

To be fair though, it’s only been a single arc since the fall of the city. If he gets the band back together in the next 10-15 strips I’ll be okay with it…

Doubtfully. In that regard, there’s still the matter of Roy’s resurrection from being an animated golem trapped in some guy’s fortress to be dealt with.

Then they actually have to meet up. I’m worried that it won’t be till strip 700 before they really get back to together.

[Sebmojo]

I guess some of us just aren’t happy with the change from a comic with a straightforward story that was about a single party (and occasionally about the bad guys) to one eith an absurdly complex story and a horde of minor characters. It’s still very high quality and the only webcomic I read on a regular basis, but I liked it more when Belkar and Roy would be in almost every episode. I had to go back and check to even remember where Haley and Belkar were. Imo (and with my fairly bad memory), there’s just too much going on and we get new strips too infrequently to try to keep track of everything now. I probably would be happier just waiting and reading them all at once, but that isn’t going to happen.

Yeah, fair enough. I suspect he didn’t feel like he had much more to say with the old crew having bickery adventures.

[Guido_Jones]

De gustibus, etc. Seemed a bit poignant to me.

I just don’t care about that character dying. It’s like the added love triangle subplot that Jackson put into the LOTR movies for Aragorn: there is only one way this can end, so the subplot is pointless.

I would have found it much more interesting to keep her around, secretly plotting ways to kill Haley and steal Elan. But whatever, one less subplot character to have strips dedicated to is even better.

[nixon66]

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0595.html

Well that takes care of a bit of the side plot crap quickly. Yay.

[Andrew_Mayer]

You’ve got to admit… sometimes he’s just one step ahead.

[Sarkus]

While I appreciate the apparent awareness on the part of the author that maybe these subplots are getting tiresome, I feel disappointed that he used Vaarsuvius to resolve this one rather than having Elan kill the guy one strip earlier. While that may have been more predictable, it would also have been more powerful.

Oh well, on to the next group of characters.

[Dirt]

Well, Vaarsuvius is Chaotic Good.

[Jamie_Madigan]

Hey! That was a suit of +5 armor that he just dumped overboard!

Also, I heart V.

[Dave_Markell]

WTG V!

[Rimbo]

Hey! That was a suit of +5 armor that he just dumped overboard!

Also, I heart V.

That doesn’t make you gay, does it? Or doesn’t it?

[_scout]

… When the strip was updating more often than a few times a week he could get away with all of this …

Anybody ever thought that the whole story/plotline(s) was/were written with the regular three updates a week in mind and that he just can’t update it that often due RL circumstances and that going around and changing the plotline would be a bummer because of all the goodness that we now sadly just read one by one opposed to being as a planned series?

Anyway Yay for V (no that doesnt make me gay) but this as well as Elan punching the bad guy (forgot his name but he’s dead now anyway) reminded me of two Firefly series with Malcolm Reynolds, the punching was in Shindig and the killing the bad guy “just because” was in Train Job ;).

[strategy]

I just don’t care about that character dying. It’s like the added love triangle subplot that Jackson put into the LOTR movies for Aragorn: there is only one way this can end, so the subplot is pointless.

You mean the Aragorn-Arwen-Eowyn subplot that Tolkien put into Lord of the Rings books?

[Kalle]

Trial of the century, starring Vaarsuvius. coming right up. I can’t see Hinjo not dealing with it, though the fallout isn’t exactly predictable.

[wahoo]

For me, while this sidetrip has mostly focused on Elan as the character, it’s really been about V, in that X-Men Phoenix rising type of way.

I’m hoping he goes in another direction than a trial for V and deals a bit more with the implication of V’s power and the cliche of the wizard more powerful than everyone else combined.

I do think Elan is probably my favorite character now, a classic 1950’s hero.

[Rimbo]

For me, while this sidetrip has mostly focused on Elan as the character, it’s really been about V, in that X-Men Phoenix rising type of way.

Or more like that Raistlin kind of way. In which case, I hope you’re wrong.

[Guido_Jones]

You mean the Aragorn-Arwen-Eowyn subplot that Tolkien put into Lord of the Rings books?

There was never any doubt who Aragorn was going to end up with in the book.