The Sticks Awards: BotH 301-400

[Nazzo, the 102nd]

Hi, and welcome to The Sticks Awards - The Best of the Hundred!

The Sticks Awards are given to the best strips of all times, chosen by the polls here in the Playground. Read the The Sticks Awards Results Compilation (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34791) thread for more details and previous results.

To vote, simply post your favorite strip of the current 4 on the thread. You have 3 days to do it.

The poll will close on February 28th, 11:00 AM forum default time.


The Best of the Hundred 301-400

306 Power Word: Annoy (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0306.html)
327 The Test of the Mind (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0327.html)
367 Innocent Man (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0367.html)
387 The Cliffport Redemption (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0387.html)

[Nazzo, the 102nd]

Holy gosh! This is hard! I can't decide yet... I'll think a little more. :smalltongue:

[Woof]

/snicker
327 it is

[LordSintax]

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0306.html
Power Word: Annoy.

Gotta love poking fun at the inconsistencies within the magic system

:vaarsuvius: "sob..."
"should we tell him about the 350 gp worth of ink he used?"

[Fitzclowningham]

367, please.

[tahu88810]

387 FTW! hahaa...
"Why thog's pants turn purple?"

[FireDrake]

I'm going for 327: The Test of the Mind, because it's ingenious

[Kurald Galain]

Should I tell you about the 306 gp worth of pixels I used?

[Curunir]

As 306 is one of my all time favorite...

[ZFR]

367: Innocent man.

:thog: not nale. not-nale.

[Qov]

How tastes vary. I wouldn't rank any of those in the top five of the hundred, but 387 is my clear favourite of those four.

[warmachine]

327. An inventive solution.

[Zordrath]

306 had me roaring with laughter, so I vote for it :smallsmile:

[Vargtass]

Indeed this was hard. I have to go with 367. Three out of the four would be worth supporting in my mind. With my luck, the fourth will win...

[SKarious]

Oh, I've waited so much for this day.
Go 367! Go the distance!
This is the one strip I still can't reread without cracking up.

[David Argall]

Nale nail Not-Nail in jail... 367

[Lira]

It's a tough choice, but I'll vote for 387.

[memnarch]

tough decision...... 387.




Go random picking!

[kabbor]

I was about to say that there is no question which one is best, but, of course, there will be plenty of questions!

For Me, there is no question: 367(Innocent Man) is still brilliant.

Sorry, 306 was never one of my favourites; Maybe it is familiarity that has bred contempt for 327; and, well, is 387 here for its quantity?

[Chronos]

Although I'm a fan of Vaarsuvius, I don't think e was really at es best in 306. And the logic problem in 327 wasn't set up properly, which diminishes from Haley's solution. That means that it's Thog and Elan for the win, and they did it better in 367 than in 387.

So I vote 367.

[Icewalker]

387 definitely, only that can stand against it is 367 for Thog's insanity plea. 387 just has so many great moments.

...And then they punched a clown!

[mockingbyrd7]

If 387 doesn't win, I am going to cry. 306 was pretty funny, 327 was as well (but 326 was much better in my opinion), 367 was another amazing one, but 387 had me laughing in every single panel.

Some of Thog's best quotes, some of Elan's best quotes, character development, plot advancement, extremely funny, dramatic, creative, and triple length. No contest.

[hajo]

To vote, simply post your favorite strip of the current 5 on the thread.
There are only 4 strips in this list:

The Best of the Hundred 301-400
306 Power Word: Annoy (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0306.html)
327 The Test of the Mind (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0327.html)
367 Innocent Man (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0367.html)
387 The Cliffport Redemption (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0387.html)

Okay, okay. You can vote on the 4 strips listed
Then I vote for 327 :smallsmile:

[Shades of Gray]

306.








(how did I need a page for that?)

[SlightlyEvil]

The Thog & Not-Nale strips are both hilarious, but I think I have to go for 387. Magic Pants for the win!

[AlisdairM]

The line-up for the best of this century is probably the best yet.

I could easily pick 306 for playing its one joke to breaking point and beyond, or 327 for cliché abuse. And while I would normally vote a single-page strip over a multi-page for gettings its point across with least effort, I still have to vote #387 as each of the 3 pages would independantly win my personal best-of-century.

Ultimately there are no losers in this set though, and I would be happy with any of them showing up as winner (even though I never voted for 327 myself, it was always a close call)

[Nazzo, the 102nd]

There are only 4 strips in this list:

Okay, okay. You can vote on the 4 strips listed. :smallbiggrin:

[Wolfe]

Hooray for Thog and Elan's zany whirlwind adventure! 387!
:thog: + :elan: = win

[RMS Oceanic]

I'll go for 387 for the clown punching, and a write in for 393.

[Shishnarfne]

I think that I have to take 327 myself... It's one of the more creative solutions to that riddle that I've seen...

[MOD]

I vote for 387.

[gusk]

Tough choice but i'll go with #306: Power word: Annoy

[Glyde]

367 for sure.

[serpent615]

#327 for the most brilliant way of answering that EVER

[Nazzo, the 102nd]

As much as I love the other ones, I'll go with 367 this time.

Sorry, 306, 327 and 387. I still love you all. :smallfrown:

[kukn]

All four options are deserving of victory. But short and sharp lead the race imho, despite the Thog and Elan brilliance combo. Hard choice, but I'll go for the one with a larger portion of the party and vibrant graphics...

I vote 327.

[battleburn]

It's got to be 367 Innocent man (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0367.html)

[Reigheena]

My vote's for 327

[greecetrap]

Oh, gosh.

I have to go with 387.

I love 327, but 387 just gave a a TON of laughs.

[carebearbecky]

387

:smallbiggrin:

[happyturtle]

387 change thog

[Felixaar]

Im going with 387, though 367 comes a close second.

[Niknokitueu]

#327 for me. Haley for the win!

Have Fun!
Niknokitueu

[Forealms]

I vote for 387. Too awesome.

[TroyXavier]

Tough one here though I'm not really much of a fan of 367, so I'll go with 387 if only for the Prison Changed Thog bit.

[Damastes]

387. And then iron bars hit the clown

[dish]

Although none of my absolute favourites have ended up in this final, these are (obviously) all good, so it's a difficult choice, but I'll go for 387.

[kabbes]

387 567890

[Bavarian itP]

327

I like Haley's tongue.

[Yendor]

I'll take 327.

[Morgan Wick]

I waited a few days to clear my mind and make a decision since I couldn't decide between 327 and 387.

And 387 is just too funny to pass up.

[Burley]

387
Besides the general hilarity/character development of multiple Thog, I just like how Thog's chest looks like a sleepy face.
-_-

[phobiandarkmoon]

thog vote not-nale, 367

[Superglucose]

367, followed by 306. Power Word Annoying is just amazing, and shows my gripes with the idiotic way spells are done in 3.5 (just the fluff part, really. I never had a DM make me keep track of how many pages were in my spellbook.)

But 367, for :thog: at his greatest. "What is offal?" CLASSIC!

[Ikialev]

387. ^^

And I don't know, what means 'offal'. >>

[Iliad]

387 for me. Thog and elan. Priceless.

327 came second

[Mc. Lovin']

327 for me, I actually spent ages thinking of how to solve that before this comic ...

[Nazzo, the 102nd]

The poll is closed.

And 387 is teh winner! It was a good battle between 367 and 387 until the first votes of the second page, when 387 got an invincible golden lead. It was by this time that 327 started to challenge 367's second place, and guess what: a tie for silver! 306 takes bronze.

Thank you all for voting. Now, on to the 500s!



306 - 6 (11.11%)
LordSintax; Kurald Galain; Curunir; Lord Zordrath; Shades of gray; gusk

327 - 12 (22.22%)
Woof; FireDrake; warmachine; hajo; Shishnarfne; serpent615; kukn; Reigheena; Niknokitueu; Bavarian itP; Yendor; Apelord69

367 - 12 (22.22%)
Fitzclowningham; ZFR; Vargtass; SKarious; David Argall; kabbor; Chronos; Glyde; Nazzo, the 102nd; battleburn; phobiandarkmoon; Superglucose

387 - 24 (44.44%)
tahu88810; Qov; Lira; memnarch; Icewalker; mockingbyrd7; SlightlyEvil; AlisdairM; Wolfe; RMS Oceanic; MOD; greecetrap; carebearbecky; happyturtle; Felixaar; Forealms; TroyXavier; Damastes; dish; kabbes; Morgan Wick; Burley Warlock; Luena; Iliad

[Morgan Wick]

... and, well, is 387 here for its quantity?

I think this was one of the reasons I voted for 397 in BotQ. I wouldn't be surprised to find that people have higher expectations for long strips. Thing is, I think TCR comes close to fulfilling those expectations. And I know there are also people who love double and triple strips and give them GREATER consideration, so maybe it balances out. (And besides, Burlew does them all, so does it really matter?)

I still don't see what people see in 367 that makes it an all-time great strip other than Thog's line, and I kinda expected it to be forced out completely by the quality of the other strips. Instead 306 is clearly the runt of the group. 327 may have been hurt by the fact that its supporters took a while to crawl out of the woodwork. Combining 327 and 367's votes would have given a real challenge to 387, but I don't think they really take away votes from each other, and if anything, 367 detracts from 387 and vice versa.

If Nazzo ever does a "best of all time" between all the BotH winners, the winner of the next hundred (which is really the 400s even though it's the fifth hundred...) might be a favorite for Best of (at least) the current 500. We've got the confrontation between Hinjo, Shojo, and Miko (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0406.html), which leads to Miko losing her paladin powers (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0407.html) in two favorite strips for many, which itself leads into the fight scene in #408 and 409. The preparations for battle (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0413.html) give us a strip that's just too funny, while 415-416 brings similar funny from the other side. We have double entendres (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0418.html), plot importance (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0420.html), Elan's "brilliance" (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0421.html), a major V-factor strip (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0424.html), and at least one moment for Belkar (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0435.html). Not to mention W.E. Coyote's Law of Cartoon Inertia (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0437.html). And a funny Haley-Elan moment as well (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0438.html) And of course, a certain Belkar strip (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0439.html) that spawned a nickname and is cited as many people's favorites. We're not even halfway yet! We still have Roy's death (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0443.html) and Elan's song (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0445.html), the entire 447-449 attack on the gate, a great parodic moment (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0456.html), the final destruction of the Gate (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0462.html) and Miko's resulting redemption (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0464.html), and plenty of other character moments for the duration. And one strip (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0496.html) that isn't even part of War and PC's.

But we'll start with the wrapup to the Linear Guild battle and build to #406 in #401-405, which includes Roy's shock at all the recent plot movements (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0401.html), the explanation thereof (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0402.html), preparing to meet with Shojo (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0403.html), the fate of the Linear Guild (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0404.html), and talking about surreptitious actions (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0405.html) at the worst possible time. All good but not necessarily BotH-worthy strips - 404 is the weakest while 402 and 405 are the strongest, though don't count out 403. A bit hard to handicap...

[Nazzo, the 102nd]

If Nazzo ever does a "best of all time" between all the BotH winners, the winner of the next hundred (which is really the 400s even though it's the fifth hundred...) might be a favorite for Best of (at least) the current 500.

This is a perfect idea, you know. After we finish this hundred, we might do a "best of the five hundred", or something like that. :smallbiggrin:




(A lot of comments about the 401-500 strips)

I'm just curious... You read the entire hundred again before making your comments? If so, I am so proud. Because that's the spirit of the Awards: to read the strips again and again and again. Oh, and vote. :smallbiggrin:

[Morgan Wick]

This is a perfect idea, you know. After we finish this hundred, we might do a "best of the five hundred", or something like that. :smallbiggrin:
Actually, I was thinking of figuring out something once the strip was over (and for some reason I was thinking you probably had some form of "best of all time" already in mind even though you'd never mentioned it)... if we did do a "best of all time" it would be highly dependent on when Rich ends the strip. Which is nearly certain to be at #1000 or some point after. We'd have a problem if he didn't end at a multiple of 100, or even a multiple of 500, and unless he went to and ended at exactly 2500 you couldn't just have a continuation of the five-strip polls.

For example, if he ended at 1000 we have two 500 polls and then a runoff, or even do a retro poll. But if he ends at 1100 we have eleven hundreds, and that's a prime number, so we either have to have an unequal distribution of strips between polls, or one massive 1100-strip poll. Even at 1200, do you do an unequal distribution to maintain five strips per poll, two 6-strip polls, or three 4-strip polls? Or four 3-strip polls for that matter? And what about 1250? How do you deal with those odd 50 strips?


I'm just curious... You read the entire hundred again before making your comments? If so, I am so proud. Because that's the spirit of the Awards: to read the strips again and again and again. Oh, and vote. :smallbiggrin:

Actually, I just skimmed through the list of strips in that hundred and remembered what strips were highlights, and peeking in again to refresh my memory, and I only really got through #440 or so. The list I gave was nowhere near a complete list of contenders. I left off Tsukiko's application (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0446.html), another one for the Belkarite crowd (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0450.html), a character moment for Redcloak (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0451.html), a strip that would be a contender for the Quarter in any other Hundred but that will be lucky to win its group of five (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0453.html), fourth wall bending (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0454.html), illusions and T-shirts (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0455.html), the Linear Guild's moment in the sun (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0458.html), a long and critical strip (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0459.html), Miko's escape (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0460.html), Miko's arrival (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0461.html), Tsukiko's non-vengeance (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0465.html), Xykon's receipt (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0466.html), plot (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0467.html) moments (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0468.html), Haley's moment of awesome (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0470.html), the end of "our long luteless nightmare (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0471.html), the power of a name (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0472.html), several moments in one (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0473.html), discovering Roy's body (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0474.html), the entire 475-477 sequence, V guides Elan to character development (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0478.html), Redcloak takes over (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0480.html), Elan's weak taunts (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0481.html), and Belkar's stupidity (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0483.html). That just takes us to the end of that book; pretty much the entire 485-500 stretch has at least some strips of value. See 486, the entire induction into Celestia, 494, the one I mentioned, you get the idea.