The Sticks Awards 441-445

[Nazzo, the 102nd]

Hi, and welcome to The Sticks Awards!

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 5 on the thread. You have 3 days to do it.

The poll will close on April 10th, 8:00 PM forum default time.


The Sticks Awards 441-445

441 Getting Ahead and Staying Ahead (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0441.html)
442 We Can Do This the Easy Way... (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0442.html)
443 The First Step is a Doozy (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0443.html)
444 He's Dead, Jim (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0444.html)
445 A Song for the Departed (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0445.html)

[Lira]

My vote is for 445.

[lord of kobolds]

445, by a lng shot. i would just love to get a recording of elan singing that!:smallbiggrin:

[Szilard]

441 or 444...I'll go for 444 For the flumps.

[Felixaar]

The 443rd Step is a Doozy.

[dogmac]

If 443 doesn't win, I shall sulk.

A LOT!

[CasESenSITItiVE]

although i loved 445 so much, i'll have to put my vote on 444.

[Page606]

Gotta be 445

[Calinero]

I am horribly, horribly torn between 443 and 445, but have to go with 445. The idea of Elan showing his loss through a song is just too touching to pass up.

[Chronos]

445. It's a wonderful tribute.

[Catskin]

"So how about we just call this thing a mulligan?"

No?

"Meteor Swarm."

442 gets my vote.

[TroyXavier]

444. Turning point in the comic.

[PhallicWarrior]

442 and 445 are both awesome, but in the interest of maintaining my maturity (For once.:smallbiggrin:) I must choose the ultra-dramatic 442.

[Sethis]

442, definitely.

[dragoncmd]

I vote on halarity, not plot, so 441 definatly.

[ThePhantom]

442, very nice and powerful last image

[Hell Puppi]

445, for the time elan kinda doesn't screw up

[thestarvingpoet]

I'm for 443.

[kabbor]

When I saw the names, i immediately thought 'It's "Buddy Roy" for sure'.
Problem is, i forgot about 443 (First Step is a Doozy). That one has got to be a contender for Best of the Forever.

Someone who has "No Cure,," has got to tell us how that was massaged into the book!

[David Argall]

442 in a close race over 445.

[Sludge-o-matic]

442. The mulligan proposal is awesome.

:xykon: : "I know those paladins have filled your head with that "end of the world" nonsense, but I´ll level with you: I like the world, some of my best evilness took place here. I wouldn´t mind it ruling it, in fact. I´m certainly not gonna destroy it unless I get really REALLY bored"



:roy: : "Bloodthirsty halflings would probably get along fine though..."

[Curunir]

442, definitely.

second that.

[AlisdairM]

It has to be 443, despite strong competition from a very dramatic set.

This strip demonstrates how pushing the boundaries of the web-comic format can give a dramatic effect not found in print comics. The long, vertical panel maintains a much stronger sense of continuity and distance, than a sequence of traditional disjoint panels.

And of course, the whole effect only works so well because the story driving this strip is so well told. Add a dramatic, unexpected final twist, and you have a winning strip. Then you throw in the final panel with the sword to underline the effect - tragic yet beautifully told.

While I'm not sure something so plot-specific should win "best of 100" or best-of-the-best, it is one of the top 5 most memorable strips for me, every time I read beginning-to-end. It deserves to be recognised (even though I suspect O Buddy Roy will steal it in the end!)

[Morgan Wick]

When I saw the names, i immediately thought 'It's "Buddy Roy" for sure'.
Problem is, i forgot about 443 (First Step is a Doozy). That one has got to be a contender for Best of the Forever.

Someone who has "No Cure,," has got to tell us how that was massaged into the book!

No Cure was the previous book. This is the book that isn't out yet.

[Jawajoey]

I choose you, 442!.

[Vargtass]

Very difficult. All but 441 are strong competitors in my opinion. I choose 445, for the exquisite sentimentality, paired with humour, both in the lyrics and the punchline. I also specifically like the cinematic feel of the sudden stillness over the battlefield.

[Sampi]

445. Among Elan's finest moments.

[RMS Oceanic]

If 445 doesn't get it, I'll huff and vote for the worst strip that makes it through to the final.[/HRC]

[kukn]

Damn, this is seriously as hard as it gets.

445 is beautiful, and I love Belkar at the end.
443 made me sit and stare first time I read it. It really hit me like the ground, just as unexpected and sudden.
442 is full, no overbrimming with awesome, probably Xykon's best moments ever. Foreshadows Roy's death.
441 has a great punchline.

So what do I vote? I'll go for the most original, most emotionally strong strip...

443.

[warmachine]

442. Character exposition for teh win with a bonus moral: just fighting the good fight doesn't stop callous evil and brute force.

[Yendor]

445, absolutely.

[Niknokitueu]

Reading them all, there are too many good ones.
Still, for me it has to be:


















443
Have Fun!
Niknokitueu

[memnarch]

442 for me.

[Reigheena]

My vote's for 442

[Jarwy]

445 A Song for the Departed, surely.

[AutomatedTeller]

I think 445.

I have sung "O buddy roy" to myself.

This is just a great set, though. My first thought was 442, and 444 is great. I honestly didnt' expect Roy to die.

But "Oh Buddy Roy" takes the cake. And Belkar.

[Mordae]

Having a certain fondness for bards, I have to vote for 445 because this is Elan's finest--nay, his only!--hour to really shine. This is the true power of bards: to captivate their audience and make them forget that there is anything else beyond the song, the story, the other reality that the bard has crafted.

[Forealms]

445

Not even Elan drags me to vote for this. Go Belkar.

[Deme]

445 : I find that usually, a character's death does not make me cry. It's the mourning from the other characters that moves me, when done well. That was done well. Also, I like Elan.

[SlightlyEvil]

445. The song is great, and Belkar's punchline is funny without really breaking the moment.

Also, beats the hell out of anything Tolkien ever put in LotR. YES I WENT THERE!

[Remirach]

It has to be 443, despite strong competition from a very dramatic set.

This strip demonstrates how pushing the boundaries of the web-comic format can give a dramatic effect not found in print comics. The long, vertical panel maintains a much stronger sense of continuity and distance, than a sequence of traditional disjoint panels.

And of course, the whole effect only works so well because the story driving this strip is so well told. Add a dramatic, unexpected final twist, and you have a winning strip. Then you throw in the final panel with the sword to underline the effect - tragic yet beautifully told.

While I'm not sure something so plot-specific should win "best of 100" or best-of-the-best, it is one of the top 5 most memorable strips for me, every time I read beginning-to-end. It deserves to be recognised (even though I suspect O Buddy Roy will steal it in the end!)

Well, you sold me. I'm for 443 as well.

(I wonder if these would turn out differently if, instead of rating "best-of-five," we rated each strip individually from 1-fair through 5-excellent and then averaged the results? Probably not -- we'd have a million 4.5s -- but it's sad that so many great strips which are stacked next to one another have to be eliminated in the first round.)

[Kurald Galain]

443 for me as well.

Although the last panel of 444 is also highly funny :smallwink:

[phobiandarkmoon]

445. I was singing that for days

[Dragon48]

442 Gets my vote. Though it was tough choosing between those 5. :x 443 came at a close second for me. >_<

[Paladin29]

I´ll say 445... it reach my heart... sniff...

[OITS]

443 - but the others are brilliant too.

[Jorgo Mono]

Tough one, but;

442

[hajo]

441 Getting Ahead and Staying Ahead (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0441.html)
442 We Can Do This the Easy Way... (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0442.html)
443 The First Step is a Doozy (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0443.html)
444 He's Dead, Jim (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0444.html)
445 A Song for the Departed (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0445.html)

I vote 441 "Absolutely no effect"

[Zed the Sharp]

443.

It's a shame that 445 is in the same group; I'd love to vote for both of them.

[Saint Nil]

Without a doubt 445.

[Chazzie]

Although 443 was a real shock and powerful as a comic, I vote for 445. It was extremely moving.

I have yet to sing the song, though; I think I will after school.

[Cuttlefish]

I have to go for 443. Because it was so unexpected. And because I always laugh at the Bag of Tricks.

[Qov]

I vote 443.

The vertical layout emphasises the fall and cleverly prevents us from accidentally seeing the end, and the actions he takes during the fall are like a mini-review of the plot so far. I thought the title was weak, though.

[LerkySuntreader]

445. A deep touching moment that is rare, yet neccesary in everything. Also I sing this song sometimes:smallsmile:

[Pip]

445.............

[Morgan Wick]

For a while there I was becoming surprised at the support for 442, which was running neck-in-neck with 445. Then 445 pulled ahead on the second page and the museum crowd woke up and pulled 443 even with 442. Heavy voting round: I count 20 votes for 445 and we still got two other strips with over 10.

446 likely had quite a few people in stitches and turns out to be rather critical, and 450 appeals to the Belkar crowd. But 447, 448, and 449 are going to get virtually all the votes, especially 448 and 449. I would not be surprised to see the latter two run neck-in-neck in the front of the field, with 447 getting five-to-twelve votes, and 446 and 450 looking like runts when they'd be strong contenders in any other group of five. (447 could itself look like a bit of a runt, as most of the crowds that are likely to appreciate it might appreciate 449 even more.)

Man, how's this for a BotQ? 435, 439, 445, and the winner of 446-450 all in one voting round. And the latter three will have all escaped very strong groups of five. It's a strong enough round that the great 439 could very likely peter out, with 435 leaching just enough Belkarite votes away from it to make a difference in perhaps the strongest class in any round so far. Whichever strip comes out of that should be a strong favorite in BotH.

[Mauve Shirt]

445. It's incredibly moving, and Belkar has a punchline that doesn't cheapen it.

[Nazzo, the 102nd]

The poll is closed.


441 - 2 (3.70%)
dragoncmd; hajo

442 - 13 (24.07%)
PoofBunny; PhallicWarrior; Sethis; ThePhantom; David Argall; Sludge-o-matic; Curunir; Jawajoey; warmachine; memnarch; Reigheena; Dragon48; Jorgo Mono

443 - 13 (24.07%)
Felixaar; dogmac; thestarvingpoet; kabbor; AlisdairM; kukn; Niknokitueu; Remirach; Kurald Galain; OITS; Zed the Sharp; Cuttlefish; Qov

444 - 3 (5.56%)
Szilard; CasESenSITItiVE; TroyXavier

445 - 23 (42.59%)
Lira; lord of kobolds; Page606; Calinero; Chronos; HellPuppi; Vargtass; Sampi; RMS Oceanic; Yendor; Jarwy; AutomatedTeller; Mordae; Forealms; Deme; SlightlyEvil; phobiandarkmoon; Paladin29; Saint Nil; Chazzie; LerkySuntreader; Pip; Mauve Shirt