alwaysbebatman
2017-11-13, 08:59 PM
With the return of Hilgya and the revelation that Durkon's dalliance with her resulted in a child (probably) a lot of people are commenting on the impressive long timeframe of the callback, and comparing it with others of the sort.
I think it would be well to sort these callbacks into categories for apples-to-apples comparison...
A) Character Returns
Sometimes a character makes a return to a story after a long absence, either because the character was forgotten (but then remembered), or they just wanted you to THINK that.
1) Hilgya Firehelm
Last appearance: Strip #84, July 4th 2004. http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0084.html
Return appearance: Strip #1105, Nov 13 2017. http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1105.html
Hilgya's return in today's strip definitely counts as an impressive example of this.
2) Floyd Lawton AKA Deadshot
Last appearance: Batman #59 June 1950.
Return appearance: Detective Comics #474, Dec 1977. http://www.wymann.info/comics/051-DetectiveComics474.html
Floyd Lawton was sentenced to prison at the end of his first appearance, and remained there until finally escaping 27 (real-world) years later. An impressive gap, but unlike Hilgya, Floyd was ACTUALLY forgotten.
3) Lord Tedd
Last appearance: Strip #455, Nov 7, 2003. http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=455
Return appearance: ?????
El Goonish Shive's Dan Shive has admitted that if he had to do it all over again, he wouldn't have introduced Lord Tedd so early on in the comic. He hasn't appeared on panel for almost 14 years, but still waits in the wings as a character who is bound to be important. Eventually.
B) Fling returns with Child
Hilgya's child is PROBABLY Durkon's and falls into this trope, popular in comedy, soap opera, and adventure serials. Many examples of this trope are retcon rather than callback, when the old fling and her child are introduced together like Green Arrow's son Connor Hawke, or the Sandler comedy Big Daddy.
1) Hilgya and lil baby Thundershield
Fling occurred: Strip #83, June 30, 2004. http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0083.html
Child returns: Strip #1105, Nov 13 2017. http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1105.html
2) Talia and Damian Wayne
Fling occurred: Batman: Son of the Demon, Sept 1987
Child returns: Batman #655, Sept 2006
19 years is one hell of a callback.
C) The other shoe delayed
When you were waiting for the other shoe to drop so long, you gave up waiting. And THEN it falls. Hilgya's return only fits with this loosely. A better example would be Belkar's fate (whenever that finally arrives) or Durkon returning home "posthumously." This may be a series-ending development: the goal finally reached: like getting back to their own time in Land of the Lost. Or finally failing to avert a dire prophecy, like Hellboy becoming the king of Hell. Or the Coyote catching the Roadrunner.
1) OOTS, Durkon's posthumous homecoming
First shoe: Durkon prophesied to return home posthumously. Strip #331, July 15 2006, http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0331.html
Other shoe: Durkon* arrives in Firmament. Strip #1084, July 20 2017, http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1084.html
2) EGS, Almost the entire premise and cast are due to the plotting and manipulation of the disembodied Magus trying to get a physical form back.
First shoe: Strip #140, June 9 2002, http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=140 Tedd succumbs to an impulse to transform his friend Elliot into a woman with a transformation beam gun. Magus hasn't even been introduced yet, but it later becomes clear Magus manipulated that impulse.
Meanwhile: Magus manipulated the boys into thinking the artifact the Dewitchery diamond would return Elliot to his gender. But the Dewitchery diamond actually separates the curse into a second person, who names herself Ellen and has the power to "spread the curse", ie can shoot a gender changing beam from her hand.
Second Shoe: Strip #671, June 10 2005, http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=671 Magus attempts to manipulate Ellen into shooting Elliot with a gender transformation beam on a mischievous impulse while Magus's ethereal form floats between. The audience infers that Magus will somehow be blasted into Elliot's body and then if he touches the Dewitchery diamond AGAIN, he'd have a physical form of his own again. But Ellen resists the impulse and the Magus's is foiled and delayed. FOR YEARS.
Other shoe: Nov 10 2017, http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=2421 Magus finally sets up a situation where Ellen blasts Elliot with a transformation beam and Magus takes over his body. FINALLY!
D) Delayed Punchline
A lot of the callback examples people have been giving are delayed punchline, where the ridiculousness if waiting that long for a punchline IS the joke. I don't think that's analogous to Hilgya, but it IS a type of callback.
1) The "Shivering with Antici..." Gag.
Set up: May 8, 2009. https://mobile.twitter.com/DrFNFurter/status/1735237290
Punch Line: May 7, 2014. https://mobile.twitter.com/DrFNFurter/status/464259582358220800
2) The Boomerang Gag.
Set up: Strip #475 https://xkcd.com/475/
Punch Line: Strip #939 https://www.xkcd.com/939/
E) The Time Travel Gag.
1) The first instance (I believe) of this gag is the Time Travel issue of Analog. The story goes that someone sent a letter saying that they had met a time traveller, and he had shown them an issue of Analog from a few years in the future. The letterhack described the authors and titles they saw. When the future arrived, the magazine arranged to make it come true to play along.
2) SMBC
Prophecy: Strp #748, March 2, 2007. http://smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=748#comic
Fulfillment: March 2, 2017. http://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/praise-his-metal-heart
Welp, those are the examples that come immediately to mind.
Any other comparisons folks feel are warranted by today's revelation?
I think it would be well to sort these callbacks into categories for apples-to-apples comparison...
A) Character Returns
Sometimes a character makes a return to a story after a long absence, either because the character was forgotten (but then remembered), or they just wanted you to THINK that.
1) Hilgya Firehelm
Last appearance: Strip #84, July 4th 2004. http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0084.html
Return appearance: Strip #1105, Nov 13 2017. http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1105.html
Hilgya's return in today's strip definitely counts as an impressive example of this.
2) Floyd Lawton AKA Deadshot
Last appearance: Batman #59 June 1950.
Return appearance: Detective Comics #474, Dec 1977. http://www.wymann.info/comics/051-DetectiveComics474.html
Floyd Lawton was sentenced to prison at the end of his first appearance, and remained there until finally escaping 27 (real-world) years later. An impressive gap, but unlike Hilgya, Floyd was ACTUALLY forgotten.
3) Lord Tedd
Last appearance: Strip #455, Nov 7, 2003. http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=455
Return appearance: ?????
El Goonish Shive's Dan Shive has admitted that if he had to do it all over again, he wouldn't have introduced Lord Tedd so early on in the comic. He hasn't appeared on panel for almost 14 years, but still waits in the wings as a character who is bound to be important. Eventually.
B) Fling returns with Child
Hilgya's child is PROBABLY Durkon's and falls into this trope, popular in comedy, soap opera, and adventure serials. Many examples of this trope are retcon rather than callback, when the old fling and her child are introduced together like Green Arrow's son Connor Hawke, or the Sandler comedy Big Daddy.
1) Hilgya and lil baby Thundershield
Fling occurred: Strip #83, June 30, 2004. http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0083.html
Child returns: Strip #1105, Nov 13 2017. http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1105.html
2) Talia and Damian Wayne
Fling occurred: Batman: Son of the Demon, Sept 1987
Child returns: Batman #655, Sept 2006
19 years is one hell of a callback.
C) The other shoe delayed
When you were waiting for the other shoe to drop so long, you gave up waiting. And THEN it falls. Hilgya's return only fits with this loosely. A better example would be Belkar's fate (whenever that finally arrives) or Durkon returning home "posthumously." This may be a series-ending development: the goal finally reached: like getting back to their own time in Land of the Lost. Or finally failing to avert a dire prophecy, like Hellboy becoming the king of Hell. Or the Coyote catching the Roadrunner.
1) OOTS, Durkon's posthumous homecoming
First shoe: Durkon prophesied to return home posthumously. Strip #331, July 15 2006, http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0331.html
Other shoe: Durkon* arrives in Firmament. Strip #1084, July 20 2017, http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1084.html
2) EGS, Almost the entire premise and cast are due to the plotting and manipulation of the disembodied Magus trying to get a physical form back.
First shoe: Strip #140, June 9 2002, http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=140 Tedd succumbs to an impulse to transform his friend Elliot into a woman with a transformation beam gun. Magus hasn't even been introduced yet, but it later becomes clear Magus manipulated that impulse.
Meanwhile: Magus manipulated the boys into thinking the artifact the Dewitchery diamond would return Elliot to his gender. But the Dewitchery diamond actually separates the curse into a second person, who names herself Ellen and has the power to "spread the curse", ie can shoot a gender changing beam from her hand.
Second Shoe: Strip #671, June 10 2005, http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=671 Magus attempts to manipulate Ellen into shooting Elliot with a gender transformation beam on a mischievous impulse while Magus's ethereal form floats between. The audience infers that Magus will somehow be blasted into Elliot's body and then if he touches the Dewitchery diamond AGAIN, he'd have a physical form of his own again. But Ellen resists the impulse and the Magus's is foiled and delayed. FOR YEARS.
Other shoe: Nov 10 2017, http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=2421 Magus finally sets up a situation where Ellen blasts Elliot with a transformation beam and Magus takes over his body. FINALLY!
D) Delayed Punchline
A lot of the callback examples people have been giving are delayed punchline, where the ridiculousness if waiting that long for a punchline IS the joke. I don't think that's analogous to Hilgya, but it IS a type of callback.
1) The "Shivering with Antici..." Gag.
Set up: May 8, 2009. https://mobile.twitter.com/DrFNFurter/status/1735237290
Punch Line: May 7, 2014. https://mobile.twitter.com/DrFNFurter/status/464259582358220800
2) The Boomerang Gag.
Set up: Strip #475 https://xkcd.com/475/
Punch Line: Strip #939 https://www.xkcd.com/939/
E) The Time Travel Gag.
1) The first instance (I believe) of this gag is the Time Travel issue of Analog. The story goes that someone sent a letter saying that they had met a time traveller, and he had shown them an issue of Analog from a few years in the future. The letterhack described the authors and titles they saw. When the future arrived, the magazine arranged to make it come true to play along.
2) SMBC
Prophecy: Strp #748, March 2, 2007. http://smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=748#comic
Fulfillment: March 2, 2017. http://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/praise-his-metal-heart
Welp, those are the examples that come immediately to mind.
Any other comparisons folks feel are warranted by today's revelation?