The Stick Awards II: Second Edition (#0651 - #0660)

[Porthos]

Welcome to The Stick Awards II: Second Edition! :smallsmile:

The Stick Awards are handed out to the best strips of all time as chosen by our fellow Playgrounders.

This week we are covering the comic strips 651 through 660.

For full details about the Stick Awards, please check out the main thread here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=283609).

To read more about the original Stick Awards, created by Nazzo, the 102nd, please read his thread here. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34791)

To vote in this thread, simply state which comic of the ten listed is your favorite. Bolding the number of the comic (Like this) helps it stand out.

Voting for this week will close on December 7th, 4pm EST. Any votes made after that will NOT count toward the totals.

Last week, http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g68/Cats_Are_Aliens/Banners/DarthV.png 642 Choice (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0642.html) was given the option to either retire gracefully from the scene and deal with the most important things in its life or to seek further glories, honors, and conquests on the field of battle.

Well when put that way, is it any wonder that chose to solider on to the Best of the Hundred Tournament? :smalltongue:

While one strip has made a perhaps fateful decision, there are still many more strips whose destiny is undecided. But for one batch, at least, it will become a little clearer as they take part in....

.THE STICK AWARDS II: 0651 - 0660

651 Two Eyes in the Dark (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0651.html)
652 No Respect for the Wicked (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0652.html)
653 Fun While It Lasted (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0653.html)
654 Cages (Steel and Otherwise) (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0654.html)
655 With a Critical Eye (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0655.html)
656 It Probably Squeaks, Too (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0656.html)
657 Second Chance (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0657.html)
658 A Bird in Hand (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0658.html)
659 Flight of the Phylactery (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0659.html)
660 Lucky Breaks (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0660.html)

[Jaxzan Proditor]

There is a lot to love in this section. O-Chul is awesome, MitD is awesome, Darth Vaarsuvius is awesome; even Xykon is awesome. It's difficult to pick a strip to vote for. However, I think I will pick #657=#657, as much as I love 651.

[Bird]

653

I quite enjoy Xykon's psychoanalysis of Vaarsuvius, as well as his explanation of how he handles threats. I find the page more naturalistic & dynamic than the "power is power" monologue, too.

[Gift Jeraff]

#657 Second Chance

[Emanick]

This is such an excruciating decision. This section is easily my favorite part of the book, and two or three of these would be Best of the Hundred contenders in my book. Ultimately, I think I'm going to go with 657: Second Chance, partly for the monologue but mostly because of the pathos Rich manages to create in the normally-so-talkative Vaarsuvius's stick-figure, black-and-white facial expression. This is really the first moment when V begins hir long, tortuous road back towards redemption. It's pretty tough to atone for genocide, but risking your life to help save a paladin is about as good a start as you could ask for.

[Brumagris]

#660 Lucky Breaks, I spent good five minutes laughing the first time I read it

[NobodyWasTaken]

A lot of goodness here, such as 653.

[Meph]

It takes me a really elegant tail-coat to stand up and wordlessly longly plause the Giant for these ten particular strips.
Yet my vote knows no hesitations today: 652. I could have told you it years ago.

[Killer Angel]

652 for me too. But the whole ten is excellent.

[littlebum2002]

659 for Blackwing finally gaining a permanent place in the comic

[Sylian]

This is a tough one. I haven't decided yet, but I'll vote for 51, 52, 53, or 54. I'll have to come back to this one later.

[nogall]

power may equal power, but 651 = vote

[AGD]

I am voting for 659.

[Emperordaniel]

My vote is cast for 654.

[ChristianSt]

Really nice set of strips.

I'm torn between 657 (Xykon's "Power equals power." speech is great) and 654 (MitD actually calls "O-Chul").

So as a compromise I'm voting for 651 - Two Eyes in the Dark, featuring both and and an extra funny punchline!

[asorel]

657. Let us not conform to the nonconformity.

[ImperatorV]

Oh man. Power=Power or "Guess what spell I cast before giving this to the bird."

Gonna give it to Power=Power though, such a classic.

657

[Angelalex242]

657

Because Power is Power, and only actually leveling up is power. Let this be a lesson to you, kids. Don't use Hax. It never ends well.

[thatSeniorGuy]

...

Why does there have to be so much awesomeness packed into one set of strips? First we have O'Chul and MiTD. Then we have the Xykon vs Darth V fight. Then we have O'Chul being awesome. Then we have O'Chul continuing to be awesome. Then we have Blackwing returning. Then we have one of the most long-standing jokes in the comic owning Xykon.

...

Whelp, it seems that 659 wins it for me.

Mindfully,
tSG.

[martianmister]

659 Flight of the Phylactery

[GuySmiley1970]

654 for "A Good Man" and "O'Chul!"

[David Argall]

Not my favorite 10, but I think I will go with 659

[Mike Havran]

Power equals power and strip #657,

[137beth]

Wow. Most of these strips could win almost any other match-up, and several of these could rightly deserve to be best of the thousand.
In the end, though, my favorite strip in the entire series is the most powerful one:
657

[declinator]

Oh wow. I'm overwhelmed by the choice of this group of ten... I have deep sympathies for 657, but in the end I have to vote for 651, just for all the possibilities it opens up for future strips. :mitd: has a heart and a mind.

[Dushara]

654 has always held a special place in my heart.

[AvatarVecna]

I have to agree: 654 is a moment of wonderful development for MitD. Not to say that the rest of these strips aren't loaded with awesomeness...

[Sylian]

654 for the interaction between O-Chul and MitD.

[Porthos]

So many great all timers here. So tough to decide. Feel like I should give my vote to the Darth V/Xykon fight, but I simply love the O-Chul/MitD interaction too much. 651 is simply beautiful for all of the symbolism, but 654 gets my vote. When we saw it, almost all of us thought O-Chul was marching to his doom. But he not only faced it with dignity, grace, and honor, but he also made sure to reassure a friend. Not only that but he put the finishing touches on his attempts to "save" the MitD from the path he might have otherwise embarked on.

Face certain doom without a backward glance?
Try to make a lasting impression on your friends you leave behind and be an inspiration to others?
Plant the seeds for further rebellion after your almost certain death?

THAT is how a Paladin acts. If Miko was the deconstruction of the SLASH SLASH SLASH school, O-Chul is the reconstruction of what the class aspires to. And for that it demands my vote.

And with that....

VOTING IS NOW CLOSED!

:xykon: 657 Second Chance (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0657.html) is the winner this week. It now moves on to the Best of the Hundred tournament.

Full Results are as follows

........THE STICK AWARDS II: 0651 - 0660



Comic Number
Votes Received
Vote Percentage





651

3

11.11





652

2

7.41





653

2

7.41





654

6

22.22





655

0

0.00





656

0

0.00





657

8

29.63





658

0

0.00





659

5

18.52





660

1

3.70




Please join us for the next round of voting for Strips #661 - #670 which can be found here. :smallsmile: