OOTS #526 - The Discussion Thread

[The Giant]

New comic is up.

[Rumex]

Ah, the poor flumphs. They can never really escape, can they?

[dwagiebard]

The +5 joke continues...

[Tussy the Druid]

Got to love the squid thingies, ethereal or not.

[Gerli]

Ah, the poor flumphs. They can never really escape, can they?

Thanks, i didn't remember their names :D

[dwagiebard]

It's funny how the pixies in the playground are the first ones to post...

[Sequinox]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Also, more Flumphs! Gotta love em.

[Vulion]

Good god, that one made me laugh out loud!

[JasonDoomsblade]

You'd think something like that would happen. Heh. I laugh.

[Penquin47]

Hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee!

Flumphs. "Literally finding the back of my hand" bonus to Search. "Maybe my crap really does smell better". And there was a punch line, too!

[Ent]

Trees smell good. Represent.

[mockingbyrd7]

It's true, I say! My crap really DOES smell better than everyone else's!

Great strip, though I probably shouldn't have read this strip while I was eating dinner. :smallyuk:

[Nightfall]

"Truly my torment is eternal." :smallbiggrin: Great line!

And I love the flashback to Operation: Neutralize...wonderful stuff, Giant!

"Can we go right now???"

[Revanmal]

Spending weeks around a rotting Roy would be pretty bad. :smallbiggrin:

Can't wait to see how Haley reacts to seeing Roy again though. Probably involve crying.

[Danin]

First time it ever updated while I was on the site! Nice comic Rich :smallsmile:

I suppose its about time for the fourms to get disabled then? :smallbiggrin:

[Mr._Blinky]

...why is there an arrow sticking from Roy's nuts?

[Charity322]

*falls off the chair laughing*

[Mupersan]

Ah truly beautifull get a look at belkar with the clothespin

[Jonathan327]

That was a good laugh. Many thanks, Giant.

[Timespike]

That is certainly one of the FUNNIEST strips in a long time.

[teratorn]

I didn't expect the flumphs... losers even in their afterlife!

[Szilard]

Another good comic giant!

[teratorn]

...why is there an arrow sticking from Roy's nuts?

Haley's work. Rescue mission from the MitD (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0477.html).

[Doug Lampert]

I didn't expect the flumphs... losers even in their afterlife!No one expects the flumphs! Their principle weapon is surprise and hovering....

[basilisk 89]

I'm confused. I think I need to re-read some strips.

[LtNOWIS]

...why is there an arrow sticking from Roy's nuts?
Haley shot him (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0477.html). I guess they waited until after they got the Air Freshener to pull it out.

[epalmer]

I'd think that carrion would need more than just a +5 pine air freshener. And where were those monsters when Roy was falling to his death the first time?

Theep

[Megalomaniac2]

I LOL'd hard at the Ghost Flumph's fate. Also, love the Monty Python reference.

I wonder if that was THE Goblin Cleric who they swiped the freshener from?

[Tre of the Wood]

Hee-Hee:smallsmile: . Ground 1, Roy 1.

[Clertar]

Haley's work. Rescue mission from the MitD (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0477.html). Go back and check that.

I think he was quoting Belkar in that strip.

An update, and a great comic! That made my evening :smallcool:

[Malik]

E's not pinind e's bleeding dead.

Anyway enough of my bad python writing.

Great Comic as always, loved the flumphs and the ghost of lame monsters past.

[Yendor]

Heh. Belkar's got a peg on his... wait, what is that peg on? :smallwink:

[Nerd_Paladin]

The only thing more smelly, worn-out, and in need of disposal than Roy's corpse is the never-ending Flumph gag. Time to put this one out to pasture.

[Jade Falcon]

it´s really impressive how the giant cares for the little details like the arrow in Roy´s nuts :)

another hilarious strip .. can´t wait for the next one

[Charles Phipps]

Man, I'm so disappointed.

If I were Belkar, I would have enjoyed the delicious taste of Roy's meat after two days.

[Aethir]

Haha, that explains Belkar's willingness to share the cart.

[RTGoodman]

I go away for like 30 minutes to pick up dinner, and miss being here for the update. :smallyuk:


That aside, I think this is one of the funniest and best strips in a long time. And that would have been with just the first 5 panels - the rest was just bonus funny! :smallbiggrin:

[otakuryoga]

HoodyHoo!!!

I LOVEthe title of the strip

[Faramir]

I'd think that carrion would need more than just a +5 pine air freshener. And where were those monsters when Roy was falling to his death the first time?

Theep

Having brunch.



Brilliant, any strip with flumphs is a good strip :). Run! How?!

[TroyXavier]

poor Flumphs, even in death. The last panel was priceless.:smallbiggrin:

[metal_man465]

i LOL'd hard after reading this strip!

great strip giant!

[TheLogman]

That was great, simply amazing.

Hilarious, advanced the plot, and continuation of good jokes. As always, great job man.

[Hyozo]

Hilarious, as always.

[Surfing HalfOrc]

First page. Or first in the socond... xD
Good jog, Giant.

Why my first page posts are allways deleted?

Um, because it's against the rules?


Celebrating that you've made a post first (or second or whatever) or that your post is on the first (or second or whatever) page is not permitted. Doing so only creates the (false) impression that such things matter. They don't. What they do, is encourage hurried spam-like comments and a mad rush to post in the thread announcing a new comic. Posts containing such "shout outs" will be deleted in their entirety.

Anyways, Roy is taking seeing his dead and desicated corpse pretty well. I think I'd freak out if I saw my own rotting remains. :smalleek:

[Snadgeros]

But....how do they smell if they have no noses?

:vaarsuvius: Like Cheetos you diminutive wastrel!

[Chaman]

Ok, now thats funny

first one I like in months now.

seriously keep up THIS kinda work ok?

this is what I was waiting for.

be back in like three months or something to catch up.
tnx
bye

[Mobius Stripped]

Best. Onomatopoeia. Ever.

Wow. Every panel had me laughing harder than the last one (well, maybe not panel 8, but that's picking nits). Haven't laughed that hard at *anything* in a long time.

Pure win, Giant.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Buwhaha, nice.

I worry that though the flumphs were great, it was the corpse humor that really made me hoot :smallconfused:

[Kesnit]

I laughed rather loudly at that. Flumphs AND Haley's planning, plus Roy actually making a joke. Can life get better?

[Lira]

That was hilarious! XD Great comic. There were several excellent lines in this. The last panel was golden.

[SteveMB]

Nothing like motivation to get a mission accomplished....

[Shadic]

Man, why does Roy have to have good aim now?

[Dark Wolf]

Looking back at the old link now I want to know what's happened to Mr Stiffly.

[hajo]

Looks like the flumphs are really attractive :smallcool:
Just attracting the wrong kind of things from the wrong direction, every time :smallbiggrin:

[Mauve Shirt]

:smallbiggrin: That pun in the title is AWFUL.

[hajo]

I want to know what's happened to Mr Stiffly.
The MitD carried him back (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0484.html) to AC.
Perhaps he is in the 'care' of Redcloak since then.

[Theodorus]

"PININ' for the FJORDS?!?!?!? What kind of talk is that? Look, why did he fall flat on his back the moment I got 'im home?"

Priceless.

Also, nice detail with the arrow. I wonder who was willing to remove it, though.

[Utaker1987]

Sweet filler.

[Quorothorn]

"PININ' for the FJORDS?!?!?!? What kind of talk is that? Look, why did he fall flat on his back the moment I got 'im home?"

Priceless.

Also, nice detail with the arrow. I wonder who was willing to remove it, though.

Perhaps it became naturally dislodged in the course of decomposition.

[Warlord JK]

I don't care much for air freshner, but if it covers up a rotting corpse, its great :smallsmile:

[Vectner]

This is hardly filler. It explains a great amount of things the fans were wondering about. It was a great strip and a perfect flash back.

[Lizard Lord]

Man, I'm so disappointed.

If I were Belkar, I would have enjoyed the delicious taste of Roy's meat after two days.

You know, I think you can change your sig now.

If there is ANYONE that believes Roy is still alive, they really aren't worth it.

Of course, I would say they were not worth it from the very begining, but that is not the point.

[Quorothorn]

Man, I'm so disappointed.

If I were Belkar, I would have enjoyed the delicious taste of Roy's meat after two days.

Y'know, I thought for a minute that my remark was the most disturbing in this thread so far. Clearly I was wrong.

Oh, and I have to ask: where is the image in your sig from? I KNOW that picture, yet somehow I can't actually recall where it's from.

[DrivinAllNight]

Kinda cute how a clothes pin is stuck to the non-visible nose that Belkar has, but i suppose anything for the comedic effect :)

[Wolfie_1066]

ROFL That was just so funny, the flumphs and then roys body...i nearly fell on the floor

[Blaznak]

You can also throw air fresheners in your shoes to cut down on foot odor, you know...

Anyways, love the running gag on the flumphs!

Later

[Haruspex]

Wouldn't prestidigitation cover it (the smell I mean)? Anyway, funny strip in an informative way. Poor flumphs.

[DrivinAllNight]

I was so distracted by :belkar:'s nose that I failed to notice that despite :roy: bragging about being tied with the ground at 1:1, according to the flumphs, they were underground in caves, so :roy: had to fall through some sort of ground to land on the ground of the caves. Only problem now is the joke doesn't seem as funny now to me, but at least I laughed good the first time I read it :smallsmile:

[HOLEkevin]

GHOST SPLAT!

Heh heh heh…

[the_tick_rules]

i could use that freshner for my car.

[dogmac]

Poor flumph!! Even tormented in afterlife.

I have to say if one tiny airfreshner gets rid of all roy's smell, I am SCARED to think what hobgoblins have been eating (besides gouda).

[Pronounceable]

He's a ghost flumph and he's OK
He haunts all night and he sleeps all day...

[Yubari]

Cute. :smallamused: As for the strip ... Haley's plan made me smile. The enthusiastic support from the resistance made me laugh. I think quite possibly the best part, though, was imagining the astonishment of whatever goblin cleric happened to own that bathroom.

:redcloak: "Can someone explain to me why high-ranking members of a wanted terrorist organization broke into my private quarters and risked their lives to acquire an air freshener???"

[Souju]

Poor flumph!! Even tormented in afterlife.

I have to say if one tiny airfreshner gets rid of all roy's smell, I am SCARED to think what hobgoblins have been eating (besides gouda).
i'd say given the tendency for those hobbos to raise the corpses of their fallen comrades and enemies as undead, it'd behoove them to carry around air fresheners.

[FoE]

You know, it's funny that Rich keeps using flumphs to break characters' falls, but as I recall from my perusal of Fiend Folio is that flumphs had a hard outer shell that served as their natural armour. The idea was that if you hit a flumph on the top, you wouldn't hurt him. So, you know, you had to attack from underneath.

.... God, what a lame monster.

[Lunaya]

Man, I actually feel bad for Belkar in this one. If his nose is sensitive enough that he can identify people by scent...

[Bitzeralisis]

Reappearance of Flumphs.

Allusion to that Christmas choral thing with Scrooge in it.

And such a funny mission. :smalltongue: I wonder if that mission would count as a trope...?

[hanzo66]

Is it just me or did it feel like the cleric they were talking of might just be Redcloak? I just thought that he might be the cleric important enough to take Shojo/Hinjo's private crapper. Then again it might just be another Cleric.

[David Argall]

This is hardly filler. It explains a great amount of things the fans were wondering about. It was a great strip and a perfect flash back.

A great strip, yes, but definitely just filler. If we were tight for space, we could slice it out of the story and the reader would never notice. Now if the reader got hold of it here, he might well say its absence hurt the book even if it had no notable effect on the story, but it's absence would leave no unanswered questions.

[Xandro]

:smallbiggrin: The flumphs again ... ! They can't escape their faith not even by being dead.

On the other side ... the living flumphs have been spared for 180 comics right now ...!:smallsmile:

[OmegaDonut]

Is it just me or did it feel like the cleric they were talking of might just be Redcloak? I just thought that he might be the cleric important enough to take Shojo/Hinjo's private crapper. Then again it might just be another Cleric.

Haley did say it was a goblin cleric, not a hobgoblin cleric.

[Monation]

It's funny how the PC's never notice the flumphs, even when they land on them XD.
Also, I wonder where everyone went... maybe they are sleeping? Roy did say it was dark...
Pretty cool to see Roy's head is translucid, nice touch there Giant!

[Lizard Lord]

First page. Or first in the socond... xD
Good jog, Giant.

Why my first page posts are allways deleted?

That is forum policy.

[TheWarBlade]

THE BLUE SPEECH BUBBLE! HAS RETURNED! HUZZAH! Oh and the red one too.

[Rift_Wolf]

Hold on, Roy's corpse has gone from fresh to skeletal in three months? What kind of high-speed rot do they have in D&D? Or is it these Dire Maggots I've been hearing about....

[Fabio_MP]

New comic is up.

hahaha

nice one

the pine and the pluphm ghost... nice one

can't wait for the next one

[Gnomish Wanderer]

Mmm... tasty. Nothing goes better with a meal than a little Roy on the side.

[Fabio_MP]

Hold on, Roy's corpse has gone from fresh to skeletal in three months? What kind of high-speed rot do they have in D&D? Or is it these Dire Maggots I've been hearing about....

Roy corpse was exposed to open air, should go skeletal quite quickly, let me see

from wikipedia: "On the surface in tropical areas, invertebrates alone can easily reduce a fully fleshed corpse to clean bones in under two weeks."

here the link Wiki on Decomposition (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decomposition)

[Agalyon]

Heh, great comic Giant

[Jowston]

Roy corpse was exposed to open air, should go skeletal quite quickly, let me see

from wikipedia: "On the surface in tropical areas, invertebrates alone can easily reduce a fully fleshed corpse to clean bones in under two weeks."

here the link Wiki on Decomposition (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decomposition)

Thats pretty scary, and probably none too pleasant to see either.

[Mingchan]

On the bright side, there are no maggots...I can imagine nothing scarier, than seeing maggot squirming out of your eye socket...

[factotum]

Hold on, Roy's corpse has gone from fresh to skeletal in three months?

It's actually now more like four months...Roy was told he'd been dead for three and a half months, then took nine days running all the way down the mountain to see Eugene. And, as already pointed out, decomposition can happen pretty fast in tropical climates like Azure City.

Anyway, loved the strips. Flumphs are great, even when they're evil ghost Flumps...and "OK, hover faster, then!" must be in the running for a great line award.

[Dark Wolf]

On the bright side, there are no maggots...I can imagine nothing scarier, than seeing maggot squirming out of your eye socket...

That'd make him a spawn of Kyuss, which may not be covered by OGL.


Oh, and I have to ask: where is the image in your sig from? I KNOW that picture, yet somehow I can't actually recall where it's from.

It's Jack Thompson (No, not that Jack Thompson) in Attack of the Clones.

[Ascension]

Is it just me or did it feel like the cleric they were talking of might just be Redcloak?

It would have to be, wouldn't it? Isn't he the only living goblin left? All the rest are hobgoblins.

EDIT: On that note, does it bother anyone else that Redcloak is consistently portrayed as being the same size as the hobgoblins?

[Behold_the_Void]

I wonder if I'm missing something because the Flumph bit just completely fell flat to me.

The last panel had me in absolute stitches though. Man.

[banjo1985]

Hehe Python references FTW :smallbiggrin:

Nice comic,and it's always good to see the Flumph's make an appearance.

As for Redcloaksbeing the same size as a hobgoblin, that's because the Giant's goblins are ALL medium sized. It's just a fact of the setting, and it probably dates back to when he was starting the comic and decided it was easier to draw a fight scene where most of the participants were the same height.

[BisectedBrioche]

Another day, another Monty Python reference. Well actually this is the second I came across today....:smallbiggrin:

[Ancalagon]

Hmm... the running gag with the fluumphs gets a bit old. It should rest for a least a year, I fear.

Also... the current comic was some sort of filler - nothing against those but with the current pace... if you get two comics a week and one is a filler... I don't know... well, as long as there are no new fluumph-jokes (some sort of new running gag would be nice).

[ref]

Very nice comic, Giant! Ridden with jokes and a prelude to a new arch, so there's nothing you can't like.

Starting the wait for 527 now.

[Rayzin]

+5 `Air Freshener!!!:smallbiggrin:

[shylocxs]

Dude, I'm still laughing... flumphs first, +5 air freshner next...

Sometimes, Rich, you should be darn proud of the comics you right...

That, was awesome.

[FujinAkari]

A great strip, yes, but definitely just filler. If we were tight for space, we could slice it out of the story and the reader would never notice. Now if the reader got hold of it here, he might well say its absence hurt the book even if it had no notable effect on the story, but it's absence would leave no unanswered questions.

Wouldn't it?

This strip answers the following:

Does Ghost Roy have the ability to fly, or does physics affect him in a similar manner as it effects the living?
Is Roy bound to the Greenhilt Sword, or is he able to move more freely about?
Why was Belkar Willing to share the cart with a rotting Roy, PARTICULARLY with his ultra-sensitive nose?
Why was Tsukiko unable to find the secret door from the stench alone?
Can ghosts smell?

Yes, some of these questions don't really matter, but some of them seem critical to the storyline. Saying that this strip is totally unnecessary isn't accurate.

Additionally, in a comic strip that strives for humor before plot, -no- strip is filler :P

[Fabio_MP]

Hmm... the running gag with the fluumphs gets a bit old. It should rest for a least a year, I fear.

oh yes... and be forgotten by all... and then rise again at the call of the flumphthulhu.....

[Castamir]

After the easily rotting parts go away, the corpse doesn't really smell anymore.

[Arkenputtyknife]

:smallbiggrin: The flumphs again ... ! They can't escape their faith not even by being dead.
So their fate of being repeatedly landed upon was decreed by their own deity?

[Ian Pikklock]

Yeah the Flumphs are back :)
I hope they will get their revenge one day !

[Keri Thornwood]

Operation Neutralize... haha
Roy's motto: I stink, therefore I am.

[factotum]

Hmm... the running gag with the fluumphs gets a bit old. It should rest for a least a year, I fear.


Hasn't it already rested for pretty much as long as that? Since they broke Roy and Elan's fall in strip #120 I can only recall two appearances by them: the time when they were talking to the Displacer Beasts that had just hidden from the party, and then again when they were shown to be eating at a Cliffport cafe when Roy fell to his death. Three appearances in more than 400 strips, only one of which actually plays to the "running gag" you're talking about, doesn't seem that excessive to me.

[Crimson Avenger]

Beauuuuuutiful plumage, the Norwegian Blue!

Love the flumphs! Having played 1st ed, I can never get enough flumph humor.

[Omicroncubed]

Yay! The flumphs! I love those jokes :smallbiggrin:

Nice comic as always.

[chibibar]

Wow.... +5 Freshness... does that work on Convention people?!?!? (those who go probably can get the joke)

[the_tick_rules]

here's a couple questions, the OOTS have complained about having no noses in the extra strips before, so how can they smell, and what is belkar's clothes pin clipped to?

[chibibar]

here's a couple questions, the OOTS have complained about having no noses in the extra strips before, so how can they smell, and what is belkar's clothes pin clipped to?


heh.. cause its funny ;)

[Fingolfin]

Oh common, ghost splat :smallbiggrin: That was one nice scene! Also, the operation that is worth it, preciouss :smallwink:

[Lumenadducere]

I definitely enjoyed it, but I agree that it felt like filler. I was hoping to hear him speaking to Haley already.

[Healer Hobo]

Great comic, same as always. Though I wonder how Belkar found a clothspin in a stick comic...

[Carne]

You know, it's funny that Rich keeps using flumphs to break characters' falls, but as I recall from my perusal of Fiend Folio is that flumphs had a hard outer shell that served as their natural armour. The idea was that if you hit a flumph on the top, you wouldn't hurt him. So, you know, you had to attack from underneath.

.... God, what a lame monster.

Sounds like the best way to deal with them would be to flip them onto their back and attack their weak point for massive damage.

[Razorray]

lol the poor squid things.
man that mmust be a good air freshener

[Alfryd]

New comic is up.
Good work.

'electric boogaloo'. Heh.


Ah, for frack sake Roy, wipe your boots. You don't know where it's been.

[David Argall]

This strip answers the following:

Does Ghost Roy have the ability to fly, or does physics affect him in a similar manner as it effects the living?
Is Roy bound to the Greenhilt Sword, or is he able to move more freely about?
Why was Belkar Willing to share the cart with a rotting Roy, PARTICULARLY with his ultra-sensitive nose?
Why was Tsukiko unable to find the secret door from the stench alone?
Can ghosts smell?
Yes, some of these questions don't really matter,
As far as I can see, none of these questions really matter, unless the plot goes in a direction that will answer them automatically or require a explanation at that time anyway. [Say Haley wants Roy to spy on the enemy. He says ok, or tells her he can't leave the sword. Either way, the current strip is not needed.]



Additionally, in a comic strip that strives for humor before plot, -no- strip is filler
As long as there is a nod at plot, there can be filler. That does not mean the filler is bad. It can be superior to the non-filler, and the current case seems at least as good as the average OOTS strip. But there is filler in humor comics.



Hasn't it already rested for pretty much as long as that? Since they broke Roy and Elan's fall in strip #120 I can only recall two appearances by them: the time when they were talking to the Displacer Beasts that had just hidden from the party, and then again when they were shown to be eating at a Cliffport cafe when Roy fell to his death.

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0346.html
Haley drops in on a flumph.

[Kyeudo]

Roy returns to the real world! Finaly we can get some of the Oots standard dynamic back. Belkar just isn't as funny without Roy.

I expect that Redcloak is still wondering where his air freshener went.

[EloquentRune]

At this point I'm really wondering what is going on with V. Although, I am a fan of Roy and glad to see that he is closer to body.

[Majorman]

Wow, the ghost of Lame monsters past rocks! And I was just starting to miss the flumphs. Actually, I might as well start a conservation program - "Save the flumphs. LG monsters have feelings too!"

[Vuzzmop]

I was a bit dissapointed by this comic. Not that it was bad or anything, but I'm just not that entertained by filler. The name was a bit of an embarressment too. Still pretty good though.

[ishnar]

It's funny how the pixies in the playground are the first ones to post...

Pixies get a racial initiative bonus.

[FujinAkari]

here's a couple questions, the OOTS have complained about having no noses in the extra strips before, so how can they smell, and what is belkar's clothes pin clipped to?

His nose. The extra strips were not drawn by Rich, and therefore inferior to Rich's comics depicting the world :P


As far as I can see, none of these questions really matter, unless the plot goes in a direction that will answer them automatically or require a explanation at that time anyway. [Say Haley wants Roy to spy on the enemy. He says ok, or tells her he can't leave the sword. Either way, the current strip is not needed.]

How exactly is explaining why Tsukiko didn't find them NOT needed for the plot? It was a pretty major plothole until this strip.

[Souju]

just because you don't have a nose doesn't mean you can't smell
you humans always assume things work the same for everyone else as they do for you.

[Green-Shirt Q]

I'v heard of 'Pineing for the Fields', but I've never heard of 'Pineing for the Fjords'

What is a Fjord anyway? Sounds like sound kind of caramel candy.

[clem]

One question: given the rebels have clerics that are capable of casting second level spells, why couldn't they have prepared Gentle Repose on occasion to keep Roy's body a little less gawdawful?

[Carne]

What is a Fjord anyway? Sounds like sound kind of caramel candy.

Wikiedia on Fjords (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fjord)

The title is a mis-quote from this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pining_for_the_fjords) Monty Python sketch.

[Aristeidis]

Very nice comic, i wonder how the encounter with Haley will go! very nice point clem. gentle repose is a must in this kind of situations!

[humanpylon]

One question: given the rebels have clerics that are capable of casting second level spells, why couldn't they have prepared Gentle Repose on occasion to keep Roy's body a little less gawdawful?

I wonder if they didn't have clerics at that point. We only see the bandanna guy and a nameless soldier. Maybe they rescued clerics later?

[Moff Chumley]

The Giant wins yet more internets. Were quickly running out. Here, someone make me some more internets.

[David Argall]

How exactly is explaining why Tsukiko didn't find them NOT needed for the plot? It was a pretty major plothole until this strip.
It was a plothole for those who wanted it to be a plothole. For the rest of us, there are a half-dozen adequate explanations, including that Roy doesn't stink that much any more since he is more bone than not, and what little non-bone he still has is more like tanned leather than decomposing flesh. He stunk a lot a month or two back, but now the air freshener is there more out of habit than anything else.
Alternately, there are a minimum of 20,000 dead bodies around. Even after the ghouls do some cleanup, the smell of a dead body may be more normal than not.
Or Roy may simply be too far away [and behind a door] to smell.
Or ...

[WuanAnselm]

For all the people that are calling this strip "filler" I suggest you to read this thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=62432&highlight=word)

Or understand what a filler strip actually is.

[LurkerBeneath]

...Since [the flumphs] broke Roy and Elan's fall in strip #120...
Doesn't that make it Roy:2 Ground:1?
-LB

[Shatteredtower]

Between the Monty Python gag (from the Dead Horse* Sketch, yet) in the title and the overflowing toilet humour, I'm not a fan of this one. Trying to look for a bright spot. I guess I liked the delivery of the line, "Truly my torment is eternal."

I wonder why Redcloak would go to the trouble of getting a +5 air freshener if it wasn't worth the effort of casting discern location to get it back?

* Yes. I know. The name fits anyway.

[Souju]

Between the Monty Python gag (from the Dead Horse* Sketch, yet) in the title and the overflowing toilet humour, I'm not a fan of this one. Trying to look for a bright spot. I guess I liked the delivery of the line, "Truly my torment is eternal."

I wonder why Redcloak would go to the trouble of getting a +5 air freshener if it wasn't worth the effort of casting discern location to get it back?

* Yes. I know. The name fits anyway.

um, toilet jokes?

[David Argall]

For all the people that are calling this strip "filler" I suggest you to read this thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=62432&highlight=word)

Or understand what a filler strip actually is.

Read it, again. No definition of filler was offered and agreed to. Like many of our threads, it was an unsettled argument that died out, and has now restarted.

[Aerysil]

There's that image of Roy I was worried about seeing.

Way to sneak a disturbing image on us!

Just like The Ring. "Whew, I didn't have to see it." Then... "AAH!!!"

[Souju]

Read it, again. No definition of filler was offered and agreed to. Like many of our threads, it was an unsettled argument that died out, and has now restarted.

fillers are devoid of plot exposition
sure a few PANELS can be judged as filler, but in general it's like saying stopping for the horses is filler...it was a necessary step.

[factotum]

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0346.html
Haley drops in on a flumph.

That strip has a 2006 copyright, so it's more than a year old...therefore it still counts as having "rested" the Flumphs for more than a year, doesn't it? (I don't include the Cliffport appearance because that was actually spoofing the flumph joke, rather than being a flumph joke).

[FujinAkari]

It was a plothole for those who wanted it to be a plothole. For the rest of us, there are a half-dozen adequate explanations, including that Roy doesn't stink that much any more since he is more bone than not, and what little non-bone he still has is more like tanned leather than decomposing flesh. He stunk a lot a month or two back, but now the air freshener is there more out of habit than anything else.
Alternately, there are a minimum of 20,000 dead bodies around. Even after the ghouls do some cleanup, the smell of a dead body may be more normal than not.
Or Roy may simply be too far away [and behind a door] to smell.
Or ...

So what you're saying is that a filler strip is any strip which contains no information which couldn't have been ascertained through guesswork? Doesn't that make pretty much EVERY STRIP filler?

You can make up reasons for -anything-

[Rockphed]

So what you're saying is that a filler strip is any strip which contains no information which couldn't have been ascertained through guesswork? Doesn't that make pretty much EVERY STRIP filler?

You can make up reasons for -anything-

People really need to lay off trying to argue with him; He is like this for almost EVERY SINGLE STRIP. As such, he says that many good strips are filler, and yet people keep trying to convince him otherwise.

On the other hand, landing on the ghost flumph was hillarious. The last Flumph joke was in the stip after Roy died. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0444.html)

[Lunaya]

At this point I'm really wondering what is going on with V. Although, I am a fan of Roy and glad to see that he is closer to body.
Ditto. I wonder at what point are Durkon and Elan going to stage an intervention and try to convince V to get some rest before s/he passes out.

[El_Jefe]

Well, in my humble opinion...

I really like this comic.......

Flumphs rule!!!!!

"Truly my torment is eternal"....

[Milandros]

So what you're saying is that a filler strip is any strip which contains no information which couldn't have been ascertained through guesswork? Doesn't that make pretty much EVERY STRIP filler?

You can make up reasons for -anything-


No. Only those strips that show no significant character development are filler. For example, the entire war series in Azure City was filler. The entire lot could have been compressed to a single strip, so the important part - the focussing on the characters' feelings and motivation - could have immediately resumed with the main non-filler strip of Roy in Celestia. From one point of view.

No. Only those strips that directly relate to the gates and the Snarl are relevant. All the rest - all the Linear Guild nonsence for example - are filler. From another point of view.

No. The snarl and the rifts are a subplot. Only strips that involve the main motivation since the beginning of the strip - Roy, the blood oath of vengeance and Xykon - are relevant. Romance, the Linear Guild, the gates (What gates?), character development - it's all secondary. From another point of view.

No. Any strip that doesn't focus on a joke is filler. This is a humour strip. A strip without a punchline is just filler to set up the next joke. From another point of view.


Which is why nobody can agree on what's filler and what's not. The bits you particularly enjoy are the important bits. If you don't particularly like the LG, or you find the Elan/Haley romance boring, or you just don't like Roy because he reminds you of your dad, then any strip focussing on them will be filler *to you*, though not to everyone else.

Personally, I am enjoying most of it, and I'm looking at it from a slightly different direction than some. I'm seeing this as the graphic novel we're getting one page at a time, not as "today's strip". So to be filler, it would have to be a page that if ripped out of the book wouldn't change the experience at all. If I would ask "how did he get there?" or "why didn't they show that?" then it's not filler. Also, change in pace and emotion is important to writing too.

For me, the tiny refreshing snack gods, fruit pie the sorceror or answering reader letters are filler. They can be fun and enjoyable, but they have the "no real stip today, instead a diversion" feeling to them. But that's my point of view.

[Tundar]

Filler?
FFs, who cares? It's not about the goal of the journey, it's how you get there.

So if this is a "filler" I'd say: Gimme more!!
It was fun, flumps always are.

[Geno9999]

"Pine-ing for the Fjords"? What kind of talk is that? When I bought this parr... opps. watched too many Monty Python (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H6DSoqZz_s) skits.
I wonder how hard it was to get the pine freshener and what happened to the bathroom... no, wait don't answer that.

[dbmeboy]

I don't want to sound critical or anything, I just recently found this comic and am enjoying it... but it says "updates 3 days a week without warning" on the comic page and unless I miss counted there were only 2 last week and this week there's only been one (with another few hours left for the other two, admittedly). For those of you who have been around longer, did I just happen to start reading in the wrong couple of weeks, or should I be expecting more like one or two comics per week instead of the 3 advertised?

[teratorn]

I don't want to sound critical or anything, I just recently found this comic and am enjoying it...

Read the FAQ and the NEWS (on the side). We are not supposed to discuss that in this forum.

[Sutremaine]

Why did Haley shoot Roy's corpse in the nuts?

[Souju]

Why did Haley shoot Roy's corpse in the nuts?

the arrow had a rope attached i think.
if not, she was prolly trying to pin it against a ledge

[dbmeboy]

Read the FAQ and the NEWS (on the side). We are not supposed to discuss that in this forum.

Oops, sorry. Didn't mean to post in the wrong forum... though neither of the links you directed me to helped.

[teratorn]

Oops, sorry. Didn't mean to post in the wrong forum... though neither of the links you directed me to helped.

Strip schedule is a NO in all forums. The news post on 10/14/2007 (http://www.giantitp.com/index.html#RD4eKf1OFBCveGJ2pdt) gives some detail on the rate of posting. That's the goal, not always achieved. :smallcool:

[ref]

Basically, three a week on average, but highly variable.

[David Argall]

So what you're saying is that a filler strip is any strip which contains no information which couldn't have been ascertained through guesswork? Doesn't that make pretty much EVERY STRIP filler?

Not particularly. To summerize the last several strips, we would say Roy looks in on Haley and watches her attempt to free slaves and battle with Tsukiko. Roy then resolves to visit Haley as a spirit. We can cut some of the pictures, but we are getting fresh facts, such as the return of the cat, with most frames. Some of these will be important in the future. So it is hard to call much of it filler.
The current strip amounts to "Roy arrives", but our next picture will presumably be Roy and Haley [or maybe Roy & Belkar. Roy may well be limited to whoever is closest to the sword.] So Roy arriving is assumed, there is no need to picture it, and the strip becomes filler.

[Souju]

Not particularly. To summerize the last several strips, we would say Roy looks in on Haley and watches her attempt to free slaves and battle with Tsukiko. Roy then resolves to visit Haley as a spirit. We can cut some of the pictures, but we are getting fresh facts, such as the return of the cat, with most frames. Some of these will be important in the future. So it is hard to call much of it filler.
The current strip amounts to "Roy arrives", but our next picture will presumably be Roy and Haley [or maybe Roy & Belkar. Roy may well be limited to whoever is closest to the sword.] So Roy arriving is assumed, there is no need to picture it, and the strip becomes filler.
you're one of those guys that was bugged by the final battle of star wars, weren't you?

[Raider]

I just spent a good part of the last few days reading this series and love it. One of the best I've seen. Hilarious in almost every panel. Hope they keep coming.

O and loved the squid things return

[Darzil]

In my book -

Sections with no humour in a humour strip = filler.
Sections with no story in a story strip = filler.
Sections with no humour or story in a humourous story strip = filler.

My verdict - Not filler!

Darzil

[Mojique]

In my book -
Sections with no humour or story in a humourous story strip = filler.
Could it be, that you don't know how humour works? Every good gag needs a warm-up. Else you'll get something as boring as slapstick.
The magic is a) to find the correct rhythm and b) to surprise the reader (and his expectations).

[FoE]

Myself, I would have been surprised had the next strip been Roy chatting with Haley and Belkar without any hint of what happened when he descended from Paradise. Plus, the opening joke was pretty funny.

"OoooooOOOOoooo! I am the Ghost of Lame Monsters Past!"

@V: But it's a +5 Air Freshener! That means it's got magical power to boot!

[warmachine]

Strictly, an air freshener just masks a smell but the smell of a rotting corpse is too powerful. Even if the magical pine freshener did eliminate the putrid smell, it won't get rid of the insects. Maggots, beetles, mould and putrid slime. Still a gross out!

[Useless]

I was expecting to see Hayley and Roy talking or something, but that was just as good. Leaves the rebels a chance to see Roy before he sees them...

[factotum]

Strictly, an air freshener just masks a smell but the smell of a rotting corpse is too powerful.

This is a +5 Air Freshener of Pineness, though...it's magic! :smallbiggrin:

[Yrogerg]

No one expects the flumphs! Their principle weapon is surprise and hovering....

And a fanatical devotion to Lawful Good.

umm... Let's try this again:


No one expects the flumphs! Chief among their weapons are Surprise. Suprise and hovering. Surprise, hovering, and a fanatical devotion to Lawful Good.





...And the acid they can inject through their tentacles. Damn! Y'know, let's just come in and try that again.

[hajo]

I'm really wondering what is going on with V.

V is trying (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0504.html) to get thru that cloister-spell that surrounds AC, reseaching (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0508.html) better scrying-spells while doing so.
Maybe "getting more and more annoyed" would also fit as an answer :smallwink:

[humanpylon]

Strictly, an air freshener just masks a smell but the smell of a rotting corpse is too powerful. Even if the magical pine freshener did eliminate the putrid smell, it won't get rid of the insects. Maggots, beetles, mould and putrid slime. Still a gross out!

Well there goes my appetite:smalltongue:

[Bilbo27]

Love Belkar, but how about a news update? It's only been a month and a half!!!!

[Mazar]

I wonder if they could have avoided the stench problem by getting rid of the non-essential parts of Roy quickly rather than having them rot away? (I have no doubt that Belkar and his daggers would have volunteered for this task...)

The question of whether the Mark of Justice is still active, or what it considers "Roy" to be after his death is uncertain. Certainly the present reduction and redistribution of his corpse has not activated it. Skeleton? Heart? Brain? A philosophical question indeed -- where lies the seat of identity?

[Shipper]

Well there goes my appetite:smalltongue:This is a magical pine freshener so one would assume it was designed to counter all issues of slime and rot. After all it's used by an orc so it must have rather powerful anti-smelling properties.

[carabaldo]

Strictly, an air freshener just masks a smell but the smell of a rotting corpse is too powerful. Even if the magical pine freshener did eliminate the putrid smell, it won't get rid of the insects. Maggots, beetles, mould and putrid slime. Still a gross out!

but a corpse withoud smell won't attract insects at all, since insects smell their food!

[CGM3]

Here's something that occured to me:

Eugene was able to appear to Roy using the family heirloom -- the greatsword -- as a focus or "beacon". Roy is now doing the same thing... but what if a ghost manifesting through such a means is only visible/audible to another member of the Greenhilt family? Then the only person Roy could communicate with is his sister, Julia, who's nowhere near Azure City! :smalleek:

Presumably, we'll find out if this is the case in the next episode... (begins impatiently tapping one foot) :smalltongue:

[Nightfall]

"The pellet with the poison's in the flagon with the dragon; the vessel with the pestle has the brew that is true."

(Patiently waiting for Rich to borrow from The Court Jester )


I had to chuckle at your signature line, CGM3! I'll wait with you!

[David Argall]

And 527 does establish 526 as filler. Good filler, probably better than the plot relevant 527, but still filler.