Phil the Foreshadower

[Detrinex]

In the strip that reveals Roy and Belkar are to be incarcerated as gladiators, Phil in the last strip comments on how short the sentence is,shown here:


You'll be done in two weeks, tops!

Phil may be a bit off, but perhaps the Giant intends to slay Belkar by 777 (Roy was killed at 444). What do you think?

[Zevox]

...er, what's the logic here? There doesn't seem to be any connection at all between the two weeks remark and your guess at Belkar dying in comic 777.

Zevox

[Dr.Epic]

a few things...

1. Comic time is not proportional to strips. Time differs between each strip (hell, it differs for each panel). By strip 777, five minutes could have passes or a few months from the present 745.

2. Roy died in strip 443. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0443.html)

[Cizak]

...er, what's the logic here? There doesn't seem to be any connection at all between the two weeks remark and your guess at Belkar dying in comic 777.

Zevox

^This.white text

[Bogardan_Mage]

a few things...

1. Comic time is not proportional to strips. Time differs between each strip (hell, it differs for each panel). By strip 777, five minutes could have passes or a few months from the present 745.
Seems to me as though that fact is essential for the OP's suggestion to work, since far more than two weeks have already passed since the comic in question. Although I notice Phil only gives them one week, not two. In any case, though, 777 can only be interpretted as an arbitrary (though aesthetically pleasing) figure. This is yet another of those speculation threads where someone goes about explaining the logic behind a particular conclusion only to, at the end, pull some detail out of the air with no idication of the logic behind that.

[Zevox]

Seems to me as though that fact is essential for the OP's suggestion to work, since far more than two weeks have already passed since the comic in question.
And where the heck are you getting that from :smallconfused: ? That doesn't seem like it would fit with the events we're seeing at all - why would Tarquin wait more than two weeks to have his three-day festival? Plus Roy told us here (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0741.html) that Gladiatorial games are held on the weekends, and he expected they wouldn't have to fight because the group would get the information from Tarquin and get them out before then, and it's implied that he's only wrong because the festival is causing them to hold special games in the middle of the week. If more than two weeks had passed since they were sentenced to the arena, they'd have fought twice already.

Zevox

[Obani]

I think he means that more than two RL weeks have passed since the comic in question to the current one.

[Souhiro]

Well, the Giant usually pokes funny about strips with special numbers. In comic 100 haley complaints about it (She just headbutts a teen and unties herself) And in 666, instead of IFCC discusing their evil plans, we only have Roy and Haley having a friendly chat.

So Belkar will meet his fate ONLY when the giant wants. But I think it would be near the end of the volume.


And sorry from my awful gramar, and feel free to correct me. I'm an evil spaniard from the vile Spain.

[Xykeb Zraliv]

Well, the Giant usually pokes funny about strips with special numbers. In comic 100 haley complaints about it (She just headbutts a teen and unties herself) And in 666, instead of IFCC discusing their evil plans, we only have Roy and Haley having a friendly chat.

So Belkar will meet his fate ONLY when the giant wants. But I think it would be near the end of the volume.


And sorry from my awful gramar, and feel free to correct me. I'm an evil spaniard from the vile Spain.

I...don't know where you're getting that from? Sure, he made jokes about how docile the 100th and 600th strips were, but that's about it. There really was no discernable reason to suddenly cut to IFCC at that point; unless you're saying that it was intended from the very beginning of the story arc that Haley and Roy would have a friendly chat in strip 666 (which in itself is an odd notion...), it just would not have fit to do anything that didn't include Roy, considering he had been raised just prior to that. Additionally, nothing really plot-essential happens in any of the other same-digit strips. The only thing that really comes close is Haley reacting to Roy's death.

[Gandariel]

actually also strip 200 was planned to be the one with the Miko fight...

[Xykeb Zraliv]

actually also strip 200 was planned to be the one with the Miko fight...

Which is not relevant to my point. If the claim was that Belkar might die in strip 800, that would be a bit more notable, but as it is, it's not. The idea was that it might be in strip 777, which makes no sense because no other particularly important event occurs at 111, 222, etc.

On that note, however, while most 100th strips do have either an important plot point or a joke about a lack of an important plot point, they are not necessarily required to. Strip 700 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0700.html) is a great example.

[littlekKID]

The idea was that it might be in strip 777, which makes no sense because no other particularly important event occurs at 111, 222, etc.
maybe it's becuase it's the number of the moose...

[Bogardan_Mage]

I think he means that more than two RL weeks have passed since the comic in question to the current one.
Yes, that's right. I'm sorry I didn't make that clear, but I would have thought the context would easily rule out any other interpretation.

[137beth]

I...don't know where you're getting that from? Sure, he made jokes about how docile the 100th and 600th strips were, but that's about it. There really was no discernable reason to suddenly cut to IFCC at that point; unless you're saying that it was intended from the very beginning of the story arc that Haley and Roy would have a friendly chat in strip 666 (which in itself is an odd notion...), it just would not have fit to do anything that didn't include Roy, considering he had been raised just prior to that. Additionally, nothing really plot-essential happens in any of the other same-digit strips. The only thing that really comes close is Haley reacting to Roy's death.

Uh after the IFCC was introduced, some people speculated that they would show up in #666. That speculation is exactly what the giant pokes fun at. Its the same here--people get worked up about how "something important must happen in #777!" when nothing of the sort happens.

[Zevox]

Uh after the IFCC was introduced, some people speculated that they would show up in #666. That speculation is exactly what the giant pokes fun at.
...and how on earth did he poke fun at that? There was no joke regarding it in comic 666. It was just a typical comic.

Zevox

[Procyonpi]

The giant doesn't bother making important plot events line up with fancy numbers. He just writes the plot at whatever pace he feels like. I highly doubt he even knows which strip Belkar will die in yet.

[Xykeb Zraliv]

Uh after the IFCC was introduced, some people speculated that they would show up in #666. That speculation is exactly what the giant pokes fun at. Its the same here--people get worked up about how "something important must happen in #777!" when nothing of the sort happens.

The Giant has shown in strip 100 and 600 that, if he intends to poke fun at how people expect important things from landmark strip numbers, he will actually make note of it. Saying that he is deliberately making unimportant strips specifically to spite the people that think that something should happen when the strip number happens to be comprised of the same digit is questionable at best.

[Zevox]

The giant doesn't bother making important plot events line up with fancy numbers.
Comics 200, 300, 400, and 500 indicate this is not always the case. Especially 200, since the Giant stated explicitly in NCftPB commentary that he intentionally wanted that event to occur on #200.

Zevox

[137beth]

Comics 200, 300, 400, and 500 indicate this is not always the case. Especially 200, since the Giant stated explicitly in NCftPB commentary that he intentionally wanted that event to occur on #200.

Zevox

All of those are multiples of 100. How many important events have happened in multiples of 111?

[Zevox]

All of those are multiples of 100. How many important events have happened in multiples of 111?
None. You'll notice I never claimed they did, I was simply responding to a blanket statement saying that the Giant never plans to have specific events occur in specific comic numbers, which is plainly incorrect.

Zevox

[Boogastreehouse]

maybe it's becuase it's the number of the moose...

A Møøse once bit my sister...