Sticky: OOTS #6666 - The Discussion Thread

[martianmister]

New comic is up. :smallsigh:

[rgrekejin]

...if this is an April Fool's thing, you're a little early, at least from the timezone I'm sitting in.

[oppyu]

Why something obviously fake instead of 'OOTS #883'?

[Water_Bear]

I love how neatly Rich managed to wrap up the plotlines of the strip, especially the Tarquin-Haley romance, in so few strips. Clearly he's come a long way as a writer.

Change the title! it needs to be 883 to be believable!

[Mutant Sheep]

...

*rolls around on the floor laughing at Water Bear*:smallbiggrin:

[JackRose]

I love how neatly Rich managed to wrap up the plotlines of the strip, especially the Tarquin-Haley romance, in so few strips. Clearly he's come a long way as a writer.

Change the title! it needs to be 883 to be believable!

I was especially impressed by how he handled the whole Belkar/V romantic subplot, all without confirming V's gender one way or the other.

[Gift Jeraff]

The inverted colours and blood pouring out of the non-euclidean panels were kinda distracting. Overall, good strip, though. I wonder what the IFCC is up to.

[Kolero]

I still can't believe the whole Tarquin/Haley thing, but in hindsight it seems so obvious. Good thing Haley still has that free pass from Elan to make out with a villian though. :smallamused:

[Mutant Sheep]

I still can't believe the whole Tarquin/Haley thing, but in hindsight it seems so obvious. Good thing Haley still has that free pass from Elan to make out with a villian though. :smallamused:

I could have sworn she used that on Redcloak, though.:smallwink:

[TaiLiu]

I did not expect purple blood. :smalleek:

[Emanick]

Oh, my...

Oh, my sweet...

I didn't think it would get any worse when Rich decided to bring back Durkon as a weretreant this time, but this is just ridiculous. :smallsigh:

[MaximKat]

On the bright side, V's gender question is finally put to rest.

[BeethroBudkin07]

I was honestly a bit dumbfounded at how the weasel that Miko encountered early in the strip managed to come back to lay the finishing blow on Xykon. And then the fact that MitD was a pigeon all alongreally surprised me, but looking back, the hints were all there, weren't they?

Truly, Rich is the writer of our generation. Kudos on this strip!

[TaiLiu]

On the bright side, V's gender question is finally put to rest.
Untrue! There are heavy implications, but V's gender is still not certain.

[Sniffnoy]

I really have to wonder how the "character appearance count" thread is going to handle Elan and Nale being merged into Neallaen...

And I'm still not sure what to make of the revelation that Thog is Right-Eye's daughter.

[MaximKat]

Untrue! There are heavy implications, but V's gender is still not certain.
Really? Is this going to be another "Tarquin is not evil" thing? Do you need, like, 200-foot-tall flaming letters or something?


pigeon
City Face? :smallconfused:

[Emanick]

I really have to wonder how the "character appearance count" thread is going to handle Elan and Nale being merged into Neallaen...

Or Belkar being transmuted into two identically-statted kobolds, Rakleb and Yukyok, for that matter.

I guess this technically fulfills the Oracle's prediction that Belkar would cease to live before the end of the year, but it still feels kind of cheap to me.

[Feddlefew]

Untrue! There are heavy implications, but V's gender is still not certain.

We just learned more about the elven reproduction cycle than (most) of us ever wanted to know. What more do you want, anatomical diagrams? :smalleek:

[HuskyBoi]

We just learned more about the elven reproduction cycle than (most) of us ever wanted to know. What more do you want, anatomical diagrams?

Actually, if you look just behind the green-haired elf in the second panel, there ARE anatomical diagrams. And if they're of Vaarsuvius then... woof.

[Sniffnoy]

And then the fact that MitD was a pigeon all alongreally surprised me, but looking back, the hints were all there, weren't they?

Actually, I'm not sure that's really the MitD. If you read carefully, you'll notice hints that Redcloak made a fake MitD a while back -- probably sometime inbetween strips 709 and 823. I think it's pretty clear that the real MitD is a starling.

[Geordnet]

You're both wrong! The MitD is obviously a Tarrasque/Pelican hybrid! :smalltongue:




The inverted colours and blood pouring out of the non-euclidean panels were kinda distracting. Overall, good strip, though. I wonder what the IFCC is up to.
Did you miss the panel where they took their hoods down? :smallconfused:

(Although, I don't blame you: there's so much to parse through, and it's going by so fast.)

[Sniffnoy]

Or Belkar being transmuted into two identically-statted kobolds, Rakleb and Yukyok, for that matter.

I guess this technically fulfills the Oracle's prediction that Belkar would cease to live before the end of the year, but it still feels kind of cheap to me.

Are you sure they're identically-statted? I had assumed that Rakleb was Neutral Evil and Yukyok was Chaotic Neutral, though I admit it's hard to tell. But I guess they could be otherwise identical.

At least we can be sure that Neallaen is True Neutral, right?


Actually, if you look just behind the green-haired elf in the second panel, there ARE anatomical diagrams. And if they're of Vaarsuvius then... woof.

They might be anatomical diagrams of the tree they're attached to, y'know.

[Geordnet]

Are you sure they're identically-statted? I had assumed that Rakleb was Neutral Evil and Yukyok was Chaotic Neutral, though I admit it's hard to tell. But I guess they could be otherwise identical.
Well, they were (probably) identical before Yukyok started his Pun-Pun ascension, and Rakleb became leader of Tucker's Kobolds... :smalleek:

[Shadowknight12]

You know, I really didn't expect Roy to die for the sixth time. Like, he was falling, sure, but he's Roy, dude falls all the time, right? Then splat.

Elan's banshee choir really gave O Buddy Roy a fresh spin. He's been such a more complex and faceted character ever since he took those necromancer levels.

[Gettles]

I am in awe of this.

I mean, Roy was the Dark One in disguise and Miko was right all along. I never saw it coming. Either way, her and Redcloak make a pretty cute couple.

And on a side note, some might say the 5500 words used to explain Roy's actions might have been a bit excessive, but I felt it flowed pretty well.

[SaintRidley]

You know, I really didn't expect Roy to die for the sixth time. Like, he was falling, sure, but he's Roy, dude falls all the time, right? Then splat.


I don't know. Pretty predictable if you ask me. He dies almost every time. Okay, not that one time way back in the desert, but that's the only one. Not counting that one, five falls = five deaths, and fall number six didn't surprise me. I think Rich has officially jumped the dragon on this one.



Durkon's father being half-treant. That was surprising.

[ti'esar]

7.5 out of 10 stars.

[zimmerwald1915]

My, the updates sure have been coming fast since Rich got that bionic hand, haven't they?

[Scowling Dragon]

I loved the epilogue, where they reveal what the Order has been doing after 20 years after defeating Blopugon (Man was he a surprise villain!).

Mr Scruffy works as a CEO in a candy factory. Exactly how I viewed it in my head.

[Zmeoaice]

What do you know. There really were players behind the characters.

[Akari Itagami]

Rich's introduction on Anel in the middle of strip 883 totally caught me off guard!

[Pokonic]

I found Helga and the Greysky city cleric showing up with a small army of Loki followers to help Durken really touching.

[Kolero]

I am in awe of this.

I mean, Roy was the Dark One in disguise and Miko was right all along. I never saw it coming. Either way, her and Redcloak make a pretty cute couple.

And on a side note, some might say the 5500 words used to explain Roy's actions might have been a bit excessive, but I felt it flowed pretty well.

At least that explains why Roy was morally justified attacking Miko after she fell. I mean, as a god, he pretty much gets to set the rules...

And I agree, RC and her make a great couple. If you look closely, you can see the little banjos their holding. I guess that means they worship the same god now :D

[Bastian Weaver]

I don't know about you guys, but I miss the story arc when Elan thought he was a superhero, and Belkar was stuck with the Surprise Child. Now those were great strips. Compared to those, the stuff starting from 6012 is kind of... boring. Maybe Rich really should've finished the storyline on 5555 like he was going to before OoTS became sponsored by the Illuminati.

[Bulldog Psion]

This thread is awe-inspiring. :smallbiggrin:

I really liked the part where the Dark One/Roy almost surrendered for the sake of unrequited love for the Guy with Halberd, but decided not to after that diabolically inspiring speech by the Fruit Pie Sorcerer. Such depth of character, such an exploration of deep yet universal themes.

Bozzok's adoption of the reincarnated Eugene Greenhilt as his son kind of blindsided me, though.

[oppyu]

My favourite part was when Jenny joined the order as Elan's bard substitution while he was off on his solo adventure in the Plane of Ranch Dressing. I still tear up every time I read her death scene though :smallfrown:

[Mike Havran]

Man...I wonder why it took Korio (for those who left before the end of the 3000's, she's daughter of Pompey and the Empress of Blood) so much time to learn to use that one-shot antimatter-powered ray gun. I mean, if she had zapped Xykon before it dawned on him that he is in deep love with Tsukiko, we could have been spared much pain. Don't get me wrong, the whole Scouring of Tartarus subplot was fun, but what happened between the two after Malack the Young brought her back to flesh was...um...ugh. :smalleek:

[Savil]

Awesome, haven't had this much fun since the strip where Snarl joined OOTS as a party cleric :smallbiggrin:

[Bastian Weaver]

Actually, It wasn't Snarl, it was the Daddy of Creature in the Darkness. There were cryptographic hints in the titles of strips 2184 to 3925.

[CoffeeIncluded]

What about how Elan ended up defeating Tarquin the first time through the power of rock music? Though I'm still not sure why he had Durkon edit his lyrics instead of V...or where he got the electric guitar from.

[Grey Watcher]

Personally, I just can't believe he ended this strip without Hilgya's daughter completing the Resurrection spell on Xykon's remains. I mean, if he comes back, will he still have the magic-nullifying disease? And what effect will it have on his personality and all that character development he got in the 5700's?

[Howler Dagger]

Actually, It wasn't Snarl, it was the Daddy of Creature in the Darkness. There were cryptographic hints in the titles of strips 2184 to 3925.

If you read the numbers in base 6, it clearly explains

that it was Durkon's treant brother.

I still don't fully understand the OOTS Musical Adventures Arc.

[SavageWombat]

OH GOD!

I'm in the FUTURE!

And I have almost SIX THOUSAND strips to catch up on!

[Nimrod's Son]

Roy's sword going all green-magic like that was such a Deus Ex Machina. :smallmad:

[Aolbain]

What do you know. There really were players behind the characters.

I you sure? I thought it was really obvious that David Morgan-Mar had killed the Giant by #6645 and taken over.

[stsasser]

I you sure? I thought it was really obvious that David Morgan-Mar had killed the Giant by #6645 and taken over.

Thumb wars for the websites were a less than optimal choice by the Giant.

[Byzantine2]

I found Helga and the Greysky city cleric showing up with a small army of Loki followers to help Durken really touching.

But the way they got wiped out within one panel of arriving by the Sphinx was hilarious. And the next panel Darth V managing to tear through hundreds of strips, in a moment we weren't looking, to get to the future to try to kill Tarquin was so unexpected...

[Kieran Cage]

I can't believe that no one else has commented on the panel that showed all of the people believed killed by the Snarl had just been hiding in O-Chul's beard this whole time.

For me, that was the part that blew me away the most. That, and Tsukiko achieving divinity in the afterlife as the Goddess of Self-Delusion.

[Byzantine2]

I can't believe that no one else has commented on the panel that showed all of the people believed killed by the Snarl had just been hiding in O-Chul's beard this whole time.

For me, that was the part that blew me away the most. That, and Tsukiko achieving divinity in the afterlife as the Goddess of Self-Delusion.

Nah, I totally saw the Goddess thing coming. But the revelation that the world Blackwing saw was actually hidden on a spore in O-Chul's beard was quite surprising.

But then I was just as surprised that the Snarl was actually an elephant named Hortan.

[AngryHobbit]

I realy can't believe I am feeling sorry for Xykon! :smallfrown:
And seeing the Dark One's/Roy's REAL plan, it's no wonder that Redcloak snapped completely.
BTW, don't you think Lee, Cedric and Neero look really cute under the hood?

[Incom]

An interactive flash? I'm not sure whether to squeal in glee or complain that Giant is copying Andrew Hussie. Wonder how that's going to work in the books, anyway...

[Jay R]

I love how neatly Rich managed to wrap up the plotlines of the strip, especially the Tarquin-Haley romance, in so few strips. Clearly he's come a long way as a writer.

I don't know. I thought they way he handled the Tarquin-Lien break-up was a bit contrived. Roy had no reason to do that - he seems perfectly happy with Sabine.

But I thought it was really sweet how Haley professed her love for Tarquin in 200-foot-tall flaming letters, using disembowelled chickens.

And putting in all in the foreground of the long-awaited battle between Xykon and Baron Pineapple made a great contrast.


I still can't believe the whole Tarquin/Haley thing, but in hindsight it seems so obvious. Good thing Haley still has that free pass from Elan to make out with a villian though. :smallamused:

Only technically. I think she used that up with vampire Durkon. Elan's the only one who still doesn't realize that he's a villain now.

And it took me awhile to understand panel 17; it was extremely complicated. I finally realized that's the salesman, finally delivering Roy's order of a ranseur, halberd, trident, partisan, awl pike, bill hook, batwing corseque, fauchard, military fork, fauchard-fork, naginata, nagimaki, fukora yari, voulge, scythe, bardiche, pole axe, lochaber axe, Bohemian earspoon, bec de corbin, ox tongue, spetum, glaive, guisarme, glaive-guisarme, guisarme-glaive, glaive-guisarme-glaive, glaive-glaive-glaive-guisarme, longspear, and Lucerne hammer. And I particularly enjoyed the fact that Roy was eating spam, eggs, sausage and spam at the time, and had a dead parrot. (The Giant's artwork has gotten much more detailed lately.)

[Procyonpi]

I loved the epilogue, where they reveal what the Order has been doing after 20 years after defeating Blopugon (Man was he a surprise villain!).

But not as surprising as the MitD being Bane.

[thisisnotspam]

My favourite arc was 1811-2052 at the begining of which Elan wakes up in the real world and realises the whole adventure was a dream and that he's actually a banjo-playing children's birthday clown.

Yet his dream inspires him to stand up to his tyrannical father,win the local rap-battle chapionship, ask the redhead next door for a date and help his friend Ray Hiltgreen deal with the death of his little brother.

But the arc gets even better when he starts seeing Belkar the halfling ranger around and realises that this is actually a dream throught which Belkar is trying to contact the order from the afterlife where he has managed to ascend to sexy shoeless godhood of war.

Not sure if the title "Rhyme and PUNishment" was that appropriate for the book though...

[Silverionmox]

I'm glad that Durkon returned to life eventually. Of course, it was foreshadowed that Redcloak and the MitD would resurrect him for a threesome.

[gorocz]

The Lincoln references could be a bit more subtle... I mean, now that Black Mage is the president (still can't believe that wasn't just a one time crossover strip) he actually wears a top hat which shades his face? And what about that "Four score and seven genocides ago..." thing... The choice of zombie Thog as his VP was pretty obvious though...

[Codyage]

I know the prophecy is over now. Especially with the whole Mr.Scruffy's child also being named Belkar. Then that climactic duel at the end.

To think none of that could have happened if Elan's mom in his secret plan didn't come to force Tarquin's hand...in marriage to Haley.

[The Pilgrim]

Wow! V's gender has been revealed at last!

And Haley's mother is a celestial, after all.

[AdmiralCheez]

It's not that I haven't been enjoying the past few thousand strips, but I can't help but feel that the comic is just stagnating at this point. I mean, just take a look at all the plotlines we've already mentioned here. Some of them have been pretty great, and that's awesome, but others (Roy/Celia Divorce Proceedings arc, I'm looking at you) take so much longer than they need to. I mean, really, 300 strips just to introduce new lawyers after the Rodriguez/Jones split?

I'm probably in the minority, though, so feel free to disregard anything I say. I just wanted to get this rant out of my system. That being said now, I thought this particular strip was pretty great, actually. Keeping making more like this one!

Also, why did you let #6666 come out on April 1? Some people might think it's a joke strip.

[stsasser]

F5 F5 F5 F5 ...

[Aolbain]

Thumb wars for the websites were a less than optimal choice by the Giant.

Indeed, but who would have thought that DMM had such magnificent thumbs.

[Snails]

Roy's sword going all green-magic like that was such a Deus Ex Machina. :smallmad:

Well, at least that part will be postshadowed in #6969. That is one happy sylph.

[Nimrod's Son]

OH GOD!

I'm in the FUTURE!

And I have almost SIX THOUSAND strips to catch up on!
PROTIP: If you're one of those weird "plot before rules jokes" people, there was just over seven straight years where Rich returned to his roots and did nothing but gag-a-day dungeon crawling strips, so feel free to skip from #3636 to #5180 if you're only in it for the story.

Personally, that was the Golden Era for me. That time Elan got a four ten strips in a row, I really didn't see coming.

[Gift Jeraff]

PROTIP: If you're one of those weird "plot before rules jokes" people, there was just over seven straight years where Rich returned to his roots and did nothing but gag-a-day dungeon crawling strips, so feel free to skip from #3636 to #5180 if you're only in it for the story.

Personally, that was the Golden Era for me. That time Elan got a four ten strips in a row, I really didn't see coming.

Yeah, those were great, but I really wish there could have been a change in scenery. I mean, did they really need to stay in the pyramid until Strip #6246? :smallannoyed:

[SaintRidley]

Yeah, those were great, but I really wish there could have been a change in scenery. I mean, did they really need to stay in the pyramid until Strip #6246? :smallannoyed:


Reread #3590. They went to a different pyramid that just looks the same, but really they were sitting in a room at an inn in Cliffport. V's mental breakdown projected itself onto everybody else and basically conjured an illusion-enchantment that would have made Girard blush.

[M.A.D]

Reread #3590. They went to a different pyramid that just looks the same, but really they were sitting in a room at an inn in Cliffport. V's mental breakdown projected itself onto everybody else and basically conjured an illusion-enchantment that would have made Girard blush.

Really? I thought they were all teleported back to the room where they began once they cleared the fifth floor with Blackwing's death?

EDIT: You're right. It was V's illusion. Still, it was an epic fight! I especially liked the part where Belkar finally cast a spell with his own Wis modifier :smallbiggrin:

[The Pilgrim]

Six thousand stripes and they haven't reached Girard's Gate still. Man, this arc is getting really long. Book 5 is gonna be the Encyclopedia Belkarrica.

[Flame of Anor]

I thought the return of Miko was well handled (especially the part where the Giant simply turned off the forums for a year). I don't think any of us could have anticipated that magnificently tragic scene where she kills Redcloak and the ghost of Samantha while they and the Snarl all have sex together. I mean, who knew ghost touch condoms even existed?

[GigaGuess]

Never saw O-Chul, of all things, being Xykon's real phylactery, though. Seriously...

[Tvtyrant]

I can't believe the MitD was just a human sorcerer with a really low int score...

[Guy Incognito]

I think we've hit a bad time in the comic right now. I mean, way back in the early 5000's, there was loads of stuff going on. Dead Belkar had just completed his afterlife quest to free the souls of the Dark One, and you can't deny, the lineup of Celia Greenhilt-Toormuck, Inkyrius, Mikobot-9000, Durkon as a were-hydra, and Emperor Scruffy was the best in the strip's history, possibly outdoing even the "classic" one. Ever since the High Priest Kraagor storyline, it's really been dragging its feet, and that recent Monster in the Dark plotline felt like a retread of strips 3622-3813 - come on, did we really need another retcon of his identity? I swear, there's been six Monster storylines. And did Turquoisecloak have to die? I know it's an uncommon opinion, but I really felt he was the best character out of the Future Order, even if that arc was generally kind of stupid. And while I appreciate Rich's commitment to secret codes and messages, having the first letter of every sentence spell out "you will never know Haley's real race" was a bit mean.

Still, though, I think we might be seeing an uptick. It looks like Snarl-V is finally dead, and we can get back to Count Xorcor.

[NihhusHuotAliro]

Yeah, and who, of all of us, saw Nalelan (the merging of Nale and Elan) being the one to figure out that O-Chul was Xykon's phylactery? That means, that since Lian is pregnant with his son, that the daddy of the MITD, was this close to swallowing O-chul. Bad daddy! bad daddy! That makes the kicking-out of the MITD's dad from the position of party cleric much more reasonable.

Also, if O-chul had died, then all the people "killed" by the snarl who were really just hiding in O-chul's beard would have been dead.

Though, if Jenny hadn't come in to be the sixth member of the Order right then, she wouldn't have died, and we wouldn't have all cried.

Yeah, do you think we'll ever know whether Haley is pregant, and if so, with Elan's kid or with Tarquin's?

Yeah, who would have thought that Hilgya's daughter would have rescued the weasel that Miko left behind all those strips ago. Amazing how that came back in the final battle. Of course, we should have known that the tree-hating dwarves plus the Cleric of Loki would have come back to rescue Durkon from were-treant-ery.

Thog is Right-eye's daughter, wow, that makes his attacks on Vaarsuvius really tragic, considering how Vaarsuvius made out with Redcloack way back when. Belkar sure got jealous there, didn't he. Oh well, that was neccessary for the plot, or else Reklab and Yokyok wouldn't have split so as to disrupt the prophecy, and without Yokyok heroically saving himself to reveal that Roy was the Dark one in disguise; we would never have been able to understand how Roy died for the sixth time. And if Roy hadn't died for the sixth time, Eugene Greenhilt would never have been reincarnated; and thus, couldn't be adopted by Bozzok, prompting Bozzok'r return to good. And if Bozzok didn't return to good, then he would have stopped the Cleric of Loki from coming back to rescue Durkon.

And if Durkon hadn't been rescued, he wouldn't have been able to stop That Guy With A Halberd from convincing Roy/The Dark One to surrender. Even with Fruit Pie the Sorceror's inspiring message, I don't think Roy was going to turn without Durkon's intervention.

[NihhusHuotAliro]

Was my timeline good, or did I miss something?

[Ellye]

Does this finally confirms that V is Blackwing's familiar?

[Hiro Protagonest]

Worst strip ever. 10/10.

[SarahV]

Am I the only one who's really disappointed that Rich didn't meet his $20,000,000 Kickstarter goal to make a live-action TV series chronicling the first 6,000 OOTS strips? I really thought we were going to make it. If only Crayola hadn't pulled their sponsorship deal at the last minute. :smallfrown:

[137beth]

Does this finally confirms that V is Blackwing's familiar?

I don't know. I still think that there is a possibility that V is Haley's familiar, and that Quarr is Blackwing's familiar. I guess it is also still plausible (based on strip 3352) that adkenwtok is V's animal companion, although #4621 seems to contradict that.

[Enero Irontoad]

My, the updates sure have been coming fast since Rich got that bionic hand, haven't they?

Yeah, but they would be even faster if he could get bionic hands for all his clones too.

[JSSheridan]

When Xykon finally took over the world and Roy was killed off for real, I was about ready to throw the towel in on this comic, but seeing Tarquin and Ian working together on a resistance in the Western continent turned out to be interesting.

I wonder what Haley, Elan, and V are up to now?

[Toxinthegreat]

I really think this strip linked excellently with strip #4783. The whole Miron being half Owlbear thing really caught me off-guard then, but now it all makes perfect sense. It also made sense that Tarquin wanted him on his team, what with Tarquin's secret lust for Owls, it's a shame that he cheated on Haley with Miron though, they were such a cute couple...

[Flame of Anor]

what with Tarquin's secret lust for Owls

ah yes...



http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m58ta7JMYP1rtuel5o1_500.jpg

[Starwaster]

Come on guys, no spoilers. I haven't had a chance to read #6666 yet.

[Nilehus]

Come on guys, no spoilers. I haven't had a chance to read #6666 yet.

Then don't read the thread. We decided this in the Great Forum Wars of 5500, where people kept posting about how O-Chul was Tarquin's third son and Vaarsuvius' real wife. GOD.

[Geordnet]

you can't deny, the lineup of Celia Greenhilt-Toormuck, Inkyrius, Mikobot-9000, Durkon as a were-hydra, and Emperor Scruffy was the best in the strip's history,
Oh yes, you just got to love that cat. :smallbiggrin:
(And not just because you'll get burnt to a crisp if you don't...)


Yeah, after Belkar's first death I was kinda worried for the little guy there, but I should've realized that Tarquin's sense of style would mandate a cat to grace his evil lair. :smallsmile:

Still, I was as shocked as the rest when it turned out that Mr. Scruffy actually had been using subliminal mind control on Lord Sojo all along, and decided that this time it would be better to rule openly. :smalleek:

[Sunken Valley]

Now who is going to make all of these discussions of the future fit in continuity with each other?

[MartectX]

Now who is going to make all of these discussions of the future fit in continuity with each other?
Erm... Rich's grandson posted in the News about this, ya know...

[Torrasque]

It's not that I haven't been enjoying the past few thousand strips, but I can't help but feel that the comic is just stagnating at this point. I mean, just take a look at all the plotlines we've already mentioned here. Some of them have been pretty great, and that's awesome, but others (Roy/Celia Divorce Proceedings arc, I'm looking at you) take so much longer than they need to. I mean, really, 300 strips just to introduce new lawyers after the Rodriguez/Jones split?

I'm probably in the minority, though, so feel free to disregard anything I say. I just wanted to get this rant out of my system. That being said now, I thought this particular strip was pretty great, actually. Keeping making more like this one!

Also, why did you let #6666 come out on April 1? Some people might think it's a joke strip.

I totally agree, Rich and his clones are just phoning it in by now. Not to mention all these posers in the forums these days. I bet half of the people posting here didn't even read the comic untill Rich started including hardcore stick figure porn in every other strip.

[Dire_E_Coyote]

It seems like half of the plot twists lately were necessitated by the Giant's decision back in OOTS #5101 to update the characters and the whole world up to D&D version 6.7 rules -- now monks are by far the most powerful class, with sword-and-board fighters coming second, and full spell casters lagging far behind the power curve.

Still, the Giant handled it all masterfully.