#1221: "Witnesses to our victory!"

[mad2physicist]

Originally Posted by Silverwalker

It's comments like this one that make it clear that those who take the time to sign up to forums for a comic in general are not the least bit representative for the average reader. The average reader takes a few seconds to read the comic and smiles. He has things to do. He doesn't need to feel important by always talking about how comics get worn out, the jokes are too old, the writer isn't doing it right, blah blah blah. You see these complaints in every comic forum, always the same things. Those who act like this have no life.

Actually, you see this all the time from those who appreciate fine art. Just because most people denigrate comics as a low-brow medium does not mean that they are. True art knows when the artwork is complete and does not add to it just for the sake of keeping things going.
Bill Waterson, one of the best cartoonists of all time, agreed, and that's why he quit doing Calvin and Hobbes after just 11 years or so.

Originally Posted by Silverwalker

The Simpsons really nailed it with that fat, loser comic-book guy whose claim to importance is to pull down stories he gets to enjoy for free. "Worst episode ever!" You know that's a real phrase from a Simpsons forum? The writers thought it was so typical that they included it in the show.

First, 'enjoy for free?' If so only because he pirated them. We have to pay for the Simpsons by paying for cable or buying the DVDs. They sell it to the tv networks, who sell to the cable companies, who sell to us. NOT free entertainment. Secondly, the Simpsons have written some monumentally bad episodes. I love the show, but they have definitely had some of the worst moments on TV as well.
Also, the Simpsons fans generally object to cases where the writers obviously care less about character and consistency than a peacock.

On a completely different topic, I do apologize to Brian! I didn't realize just how early the 'four white mages' joke had been mentioned. At the time when I read that, I had thought it was just a little side-joke, not a setup, and then I forgot about it. So I thought that this joke had been only set up from like episode 300, not episode 7.

[GrandMasterPlanetEater]

Longest setup? Eh, I dunno. I'd call that less of a setup and more two separate jokes referring to the same thing. Still funny.

[AngelFoodBB]

Originally Posted by Kurosen

Once on the forum to directly address the concern and once where other people with the same concern can see it is "often"?

The front page, yes. That's the indicator that you actually care. Normally when people don't care they don't care enough to tell people more than once they don't care. So it seems either you made the ending up not long before the comic, which isn't very likely, or you actually do care if people believe you did.

[Nuklear Waste]

Originally Posted by Deciheximal

Longest setup? Eh, I dunno. I'd call that less of a setup and more two separate jokes referring to the same thing. Still funny.

Well, Black Mage says 4 white mages would never work, and then, lo and behold, it did. It's definitely more than just two jokes referring to the same thing--I think that would be both jokes mentioning 4 white mages and only being connected through the reference, rather than one joke following up on the other.

Yeah, a "true" setup would probably be like throwing something into space and then, 9 years later, it lands on a character, but I think it still qualifies.

[Kurosen]

Originally Posted by AngelFoodBB

The front page, yes. That's the indicator that you actually care.

I said I don't?

As I've explained, I find it ridiculous that people think it's sooo outlandish to set up something and then deliver the pay off...which consists entirely of "waiting." It's not particularly hard to do. I find it extra ridiculous because I do things like this all the time. That this one is so unbelievable to some seems silly.

[stapler942]

I agree. Didn't we just witness a similar payoff to a joke made near the beginning a bit ago? I'm thinking of the "it's never nighttime around here until we stay at the inn" gag.

[UndrDog]

Sorry about this, but here comes a butt-load of separate thoughts.


I distinctly remember that comic and thought it could have a baring on the end of the comic. However I thought BM read "Four Mages" and not "Four White Mages". If I wasn't so sure that Brian had this planned from the beginning I would think he pulled a red ninja on us.


I think the people who "want something new" after 8-Bit are anticipating the loss of the nostalgia factor that 8-Bit brings us three times a week. Personally I love Warbot but 8-Bit inherently has running gags and character interaction that Warbot can't emulate. HIKYM is a completely different genre. Atomic Robo is amazing! But harder to get a fix three times a week.


In short I can understand why people are upset. I'm upset too, but all good things must come to an end.


Everyone here should go back and replay FF with all White Mages.


...however in a desperate attempt to get future 8-Bit without a huge commitment from Brian... How about little side stories for Fighter, BM, RM, Thief, WM, and Black Belt. The length of the Trickster and King Steve segments maybe?


Last thing. Anyone read the latest bit of news on the main page? Did anyone else read "A comic store in O-Town" and immediately think of "Rocko's Modern Life"? Tell Heffer "Hi" for me Brian!


/end of rambling.

[Solid Snake]

Hint to Brian: By responding so frequently and almost exclusively to those who foolishly question the integrity of your narrative (or however you'd like to phrase it,) you're merely fueling the fire of those who are criticizing you. (The vast majority of whom are trolls trying to irk you for the lols.)

I mean I'm just sayin', I think you're far better off not saying anything at all. Those who appreciate your work will tend to give you the benefit of the doubt by default (or at least offer you constructive criticism with actual merit), but regardless of what you say, plenty of others will line up to take potshots. Never mind the fact that they couldn't write anything half as successful as 8BT if they tried. (Well, that's true for me as well, but we'll ignore that point.)

If you keep givin' 'em cookies, they'll keep asking for glasses of milk.

[stapler942]

As a side note, it occurs to me (and this is just speculation) that part of what made comic 007 such a great setup was how little it drew attention to itself. What do I mean by this? Well, readers might have been inclined to remember 007 as the debut of BM's Hadoken, a staple of the entire series (as with the comic that introduced sword-chucks). Buried under the most obvious development is a one-liner that you would never expect to be mentioned twice.

[Bob The Mercenary]

Okay, this is really getting on my fucking nerves now.

You know the first 8-bit flash animation they made? Yeah, the "four white mages" line was in that.

Do you really think Brian is enough of a scumbag to go back, change a comic to fit a joke, and claim not only in the title of the comic, not only several times in this thread, but on the front fucking page that it was planned from the start? And even if he did modify #7, what degenerate antisocial shut-in would actually care enough to take him to task on it? Even further than that, who would care if he cared?

It's always been a theory of mine that there is no such thing as stupidity, just various stages of ignorance. This thread, however, is putting my theory to the test.