A picture of Tarquin getting shot.

[Luna_Mayflower]

Could somebody make that. Thanks.

Also, as a side note, I think the Giant has fallen down his own hole lately. Back in the strips where Haley lost her voice, we had the part of her say that it just wanted to get back to the comedy. That was the voice of the people of the forum. But now, the Giant has fallen into the same trap. He needs to lighten up the atmosphere of child-murderers, evil-doers and soldiers with something fun for a change. Maybe Elan can be made into a dinosaur like he always wanted! :smallbiggrin::smallconfused::smallcool:

[FlawedParadigm]

He's wrapping up a book. Drama is a thing that's going to happen. Right about now, my funk-soul brother.

[Luna_Mayflower]

He's wrapping up a book. Drama is a thing that's going to happen. Right about now, my funk-soul brother.

Noooooo. Noooooo! *Kisses* :smallsmile:

[FlawedParadigm]

Noooooo. Noooooo! *Kisses* :smallsmile:

Well, that's official, I just got my first forum kiss.

[Chuikov]

Maybe Elan can be made into a dinosaur like he always wanted! :smallbiggrin::smallconfused::smallcool:

At this juncture, goofy comedy with absolutely no drama at all would induce some pretty severe mood whiplash. It would also feel pretty wildly out of place in the current story arc.

Just wait for it. I'm sure there will be lighter strips eventually. Just...not during the storyline about Elan's dad being the utterly amoral blood-soaked tyrant of an evil empire.

[Purgatorius]

At this juncture, goofy comedy with absolutely no drama at all would induce some pretty severe mood whiplash. It would also feel pretty wildly out of place in the current story arc.

Except maybe for this: http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0904.html

[Solse]

The official term for it (and by official, I mean the one that TVTropes uses) is Cerebus Syndrome (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CerebusSyndrome). It's not a bad thing to become more dramatic over time; and while DCF was fun and all, it's nice to have an actual, deep plot.

[theinsulabot]

I also haff potions

[F.Harr]

Except maybe for this: http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0904.html

Well, that WAS before Tarquin showed up.

[Chuikov]

Except maybe for this: http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0904.html

Yeah, but compare that to this:

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0012.html

There are no straightforward gag strips like that anymore. Even on a relatively light-hearted strip like the one you linked to, they're in genuine danger of getting killed by a giant Silicon elemental and acknowledge such. The stakes are too high for strips that are 100% aiming for a laugh, without injecting some drama and actual danger into the mix.

Yep. Cerebus syndrome. Though it should be pointed out that, while the comic has definitely tipped much more towards the serious stuff, I can't even remember if there's ever been a strip which is pure drama, without even a single attempt made at getting a laugh. Drama and humor are still very well balanced.

[FlawedParadigm]

Pure comedy strips happen towards the beginning of books. Like this one; we had Aton, sex taint, and cart of gophers, along with Durkon versus the palm tree, Belkar's sweat woes, et cetera. You don't put pure comedy in the middle of the climax though, unless you really want people scratching their heads and greatly diffusing the dramatic tension. I'm sure we'll see some pure comedy before #950.

[King of Nowhere]

well, if oots didn't have a good plot, i won't be reading it. jokes alone can only bring you that far.

[Newwby]

well, if oots didn't have a good plot, i won't be reading it. jokes alone can only bring you that far.

Agreed. It's not the jokes that have me checking daily for new comics, it's the ongoing and gripping storyline.

[jere7my]

The official term for it (and by official, I mean the one that TVTropes uses) is Cerebus Syndrome (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CerebusSyndrome). It's not a bad thing to become more dramatic over time; and while DCF was fun and all, it's nice to have an actual, deep plot.

How does "Cerebus Syndrome" not refer to the creator of a work going crazy and filling his magnum opus with off-topic sexist rants?

I think it's a better example of Just One Chair On The Executor's Bridge.

[Excise]

How does "Cerebus Syndrome" not refer to the creator of a work going crazy and filling his magnum opus with off-topic sexist rants?

Only because he wasn't crazy yet at the time when the term was made up.

[FlawedParadigm]

Only because he wasn't crazy yet at the time when the term was made up.

Which probably means it should go to sliding scale of comedy vs. drama, really.

[Warren Dew]

I've complained about excessive drama and lack of humor at times in the past, but I think the current major arc is being wrapped up in a much better way. Except for the few people who loved Nale, I don't think his death was overly dramatic. Tarquin is good for several humorous panels per strip if you don't overreact to the fact that he's evil to characters with names just as he has always been evil to nameless slaves.

[jere7my]

Only because he wasn't crazy yet at the time when the term was made up.

Is that true? Reads was released in 1993 and 1994, in the very early days of the web. Sim went off-the-rails misogynist well before Television Tropes was invented.

[Gift Jeraff]

There has been a lot of good humour in the recent strips, IMHO:

"--then let me friends go. Dinnae kill them too. Tha's me last request. Tha's all tha matters."

"What's real...is that my family is screwed up and broken. And it's not going to just get magically fixed, ever."

"NERRRGHHALLL! SSAVE MEEE!"

"I never wanted him dead. Ever."

[RadagastTheBrow]

At this juncture, goofy comedy with absolutely no drama at all would induce some pretty severe mood whiplash. It would also feel pretty wildly out of place in the current story arc.

Just wait for it. I'm sure there will be lighter strips eventually. Just...not during the storyline about Elan's dad being the utterly amoral blood-soaked tyrant of an evil empire.

Actually... Part of the current drama is, well, Tarquin intentionally layering on the drama. Does V know Polymorph? Because, if so, we can maybe get Elan turning into a giant dinosaur for practical purposes, AND the shift to comedy would be just the sort of "Make him fall in a decidedly non-badass way" solution Elan's looking for. Except, well, for the part that would involve eating his dad. Elan probably wouldn't go for that. Maybe we'd need a Belkarsaurus, too.

That, or :vaarsuvius: "Summon 16-Ton Weight."

[Gorbad Ironclaw]

There has been a lot of good humour in the recent strips, IMHO:

"--then let me friends go. Dinnae kill them too. Tha's me last request. Tha's all tha matters."

"What's real...is that my family is screwed up and broken. And it's not going to just get magically fixed, ever."

"NERRRGHHALLL! SSAVE MEEE!"

"I never wanted him dead. Ever."
How is that humour? Unless there's something I'm missing here...

[Solse]

How is that humour? Unless there's something I'm missing here...

I'm pretty sure that's sarcasm. Never interpret anything that Gift Jeraff says as serious.

[Mike Havran]

What kind of a shot it should be? I'd prefer Five Star General (http://www.drinksmixer.com/drink3510.html), but most of the stuff will do.

[Bird]

Pure comedy strips happen towards the beginning of books. Like this one; we had Aton, sex taint, and cart of gophers, along with Durkon versus the palm tree, Belkar's sweat woes, et cetera. You don't put pure comedy in the middle of the climax though, unless you really want people scratching their heads and greatly diffusing the dramatic tension. I'm sure we'll see some pure comedy before #950.
Yes, bingo.

The Giant does a phenomenal job of managing humor and drama. Personally, I'm a fan of the more dramatic direction the strip has taken. That's what keep me anxious for the next page.

[Bulldog Psion]

What would they inoculate Tarquin against, though? He's already got rabid narcissism.

[martianmister]

Back to the topic:
DON'T LOOK!DO NOT LOOK IF YOU'RE A MINOR! EXTREME GRIMDARK!http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn265/martianmister/20120101213817Tarquin_zps3153dc1e.png (http://s306.photobucket.com/user/martianmister/media/20120101213817Tarquin_zps3153dc1e.png.html)

[Michaeler]

Is that true? Reads was released in 1993 and 1994, in the very early days of the web. Sim went off-the-rails misogynist well before Television Tropes was invented.

But probably not before the term Cerebus Syndrome was in common use among creative types.

[Goosefeather]

Is that true? Reads was released in 1993 and 1994, in the very early days of the web. Sim went off-the-rails misogynist well before Television Tropes was invented.

Right, but the term pre-dates TV Tropes.

Incidentally, it also makes an appearance in the work (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0242.html) of our own (non-TV-Tropes-reading) Giant.

[Warren Dew]

Is that true? Reads was released in 1993 and 1994, in the very early days of the web. Sim went off-the-rails misogynist well before Television Tropes was invented.
Cerebus was a paper comic, not a web comic.

[jere7my]

But probably not before the term Cerebus Syndrome was in common use among creative types.

That's what I'm asking—do you have an example of that? I've known about Cerebus for over 20 years and I'd never heard the term "Cerebus Syndrome" before this thread. Absent evidence to the contrary, I would assume it was a Television Tropes invention.

(After a little digging, it looks like it originated on a site called Websnark (http://www.websnark.com/archives/2004/09/faq_lexicon.html), c. 2004. Nothing comes up on Google from before 2004. That's the same year Television Tropes debuted, and ten years after Reads.)


Incidentally, it also makes an appearance in the work (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0242.html) of our own (non-TV-Tropes-reading) Giant.

That's a reference to Cerebus, not to the term "Cerebus Syndrome".


Cerebus was a paper comic, not a web comic.

Uh...yes? I've got half a bookshelf full of the phone books and a pile of individual issues.

[FujinAkari]

(After a little digging, it looks like it originated on a site called Websnark (http://www.websnark.com/archives/2004/09/faq_lexicon.html), c. 2004. Nothing comes up on Google from before 2004. That's the same year Television Tropes debuted, and ten years after Reads.)

Wikipedia credits it to "Why Serious Things Happen in Funny Webcomics: Investigating the Cerebus Syndrome", a paper written by Jason Turner-Maier on Feburary 22nd, 2004 in a publication by Stanford University.

Television Tropes wouldn't be launched for another two months and so it does appear that the term predates it, albeit barely.

[FlawedParadigm]

Wikipedia credits it to "Why Serious Things Happen in Funny Webcomics: Investigating the Cerebus Syndrome", a paper written by Jason Turner-Maier on Feburary 22nd, 2004 in a publication by Stanford University.

Television Tropes wouldn't be launched for another two months and so it does appear that the term predates it, albeit barely.

Few things are more beautiful than a well-researched post.

[Happy Gravity]

Wikipedia

Few things are more beautiful than a well-researched post.
If only...that would make college so much easier.

Just playing around, don't get mad. :3

[Michaeler]

That paper does not seem to be listed on Google Scholar. I don't suppose anyone is reading from Stanford Uni who could (legally) get us a copy to peruse? It would be enlightening.

[NihhusHuotAliro]

Well, that's official, I just got my first forum kiss.

Still haven't got one of those.

Still haven't gotten a real-life one kiss.

Only time anyone ever asked me out what when said person confused me with my cousin.

[F.Harr]

well, if oots didn't have a good plot, i won't be reading it. jokes alone can only bring you that far.

True.


How does "Cerebus Syndrome" not refer to the creator of a work going crazy and filling his magnum opus with off-topic sexist rants?



HA!


I'm pretty sure that's sarcasm. Never interpret anything that Gift Jeraff says as serious.

Yeah, just look at the name. I took it seriously at first, too.


Still haven't got one of those.

Still haven't gotten a real-life one kiss.

Only time anyone ever asked me out what when said person confused me with my cousin.

Oh, let's not get into a fight for who's the least loved. You and me will just start a club.

[Tiiba]

Back to the topic:
DON'T LOOK!DO NOT LOOK IF YOU'RE A MINOR! EXTREME GRIMDARK!http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn265/martianmister/20120101213817Tarquin_zps3153dc1e.png (http://s306.photobucket.com/user/martianmister/media/20120101213817Tarquin_zps3153dc1e.png.html)

And it's literally true, too.

[Luna_Mayflower]

Back to the topic:
DON'T LOOK!DO NOT LOOK IF YOU'RE A MINOR! EXTREME GRIMDARK!http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn265/martianmister/20120101213817Tarquin_zps3153dc1e.png (http://s306.photobucket.com/user/martianmister/media/20120101213817Tarquin_zps3153dc1e.png.html)

What a stabbing cabin.

[Gift Jeraff]

Back to the topic:
DON'T LOOK!DO NOT LOOK IF YOU'RE A MINOR! EXTREME GRIMDARK!http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn265/martianmister/20120101213817Tarquin_zps3153dc1e.png (http://s306.photobucket.com/user/martianmister/media/20120101213817Tarquin_zps3153dc1e.png.html)

I'm surprised this hasn't been taken due to inappropriate content and/or leaking spoilers from future strips. . .

[SaintRidley]

There has been a lot of good humour in the recent strips, IMHO:

"--then let me friends go. Dinnae kill them too. Tha's me last request. Tha's all tha matters."

"What's real...is that my family is screwed up and broken. And it's not going to just get magically fixed, ever."

"NERRRGHHALLL! SSAVE MEEE!"

"I never wanted him dead. Ever."

Two humors, if I'm reading you correctly. I detect mostly black bile with a little tinge of yellow bile from Malack. This strip needs to get its gall bladder checked for melancholy.

[4here4]

I am personally a big fan of the dramatic turn in the strip, but I want to see some more Zykon. I'm absolutely dying to see what he's been up to since he teleported away. Once the giant wraps up the current scene, I hope he'll grant us a brief peek at the lich's escapades.

[Skarn]

Yeah, but compare that to this:

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0012.html

There are no straightforward gag strips like that anymore. Even on a relatively light-hearted strip like the one you linked to, they're in genuine danger of getting killed by a giant Silicon elemental and acknowledge such. The stakes are too high for strips that are 100% aiming for a laugh, without injecting some drama and actual danger into the mix.

Yep. Cerebus syndrome. Though it should be pointed out that, while the comic has definitely tipped much more towards the serious stuff, I can't even remember if there's ever been a strip which is pure drama, without even a single attempt made at getting a laugh. Drama and humor are still very well balanced.
That's probably because back then they were "new to the game", trying to learn everything and screwing up a lot. And arguing over the meanings of terms like "level". Also learning to play (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0034.html).

Since then, things have changed. They became more experienced so there's fewer things to joke about, they've become emotionally invested in the plot(going from what they thought was a minor clichè villain to "the continued existence of the world is at stake"), their subplots got filled out, most of the characters have developed to be a bit less one-dimensional, etc.

So yes, Cerebus Syndrome. Though I have no clue why it's called a syndrome when it seems like a perfectly natural progression of the plot. The story was never truly 100% comedy in the first place, even if an individual chapter might have been.

[F.Harr]

So yes, Cerebus Syndrome. Though I have no clue why it's called a syndrome when it seems like a perfectly natural progression of the plot.

I don't know. Maybe 'cause it alliterates.

[ReaderAt2046]

Yeah, but compare that to this:

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0012.html

There are no straightforward gag strips like that anymore. Even on a relatively light-hearted strip like the one you linked to, they're in genuine danger of getting killed by a giant Silicon elemental and acknowledge such. The stakes are too high for strips that are 100% aiming for a laugh, without injecting some drama and actual danger into the mix.

Yep. Cerebus syndrome. Though it should be pointed out that, while the comic has definitely tipped much more towards the serious stuff, I can't even remember if there's ever been a strip which is pure drama, without even a single attempt made at getting a laugh. Drama and humor are still very well balanced.

Actually, I believe there have been two. This (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0464.html)and This (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0877.html).