Morgan Wick
2008-08-14, 10:36 AM
For a while on the first page I thought 496 wouldn't even place second, which would have been an absolute shocker, and as it turns out 490 has caught it to force a tie for second. Very surprised at the strong support for 477, which is higher than its numbers indicate given a high number of second choices on the first page.
With 484 winning this one going away, with over 20 votes, over such a strong strip as 496, that could mean the BotH is anyone's game to determine what could be the favorite for any future voting rounds. With that in mind, it's on to the Morgan Wick Best of the Fifth Hundred Preview:
:miko:406: A Moment of Truth (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0406.html)
First round (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=74092): 30.00% (12 votes to 407's 11; very nearly wasn't even certified the winner)
Second round (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=86180): 35.13% (13 votes to 419's 8)
Strengths: Incredibly plot-important, both for the strip's main plot and in Miko's ongoing downfall. Also, its near-loss to 407 in the opening round says more about the strength of 407 than the weakness of 406; the two of them also bested strong strips in 408 and 409. Similarly, complaints of wordiness in the opening round only really apply when compared with 407. A triple strip, which often appeals to the museum crowd, and Belkar has just enough lines that it could attract a crowd from that camp as well.
Weaknesses: Arguably came out of a weak quarter, at least compared to the rest of the Hundred, and got most of its challenge from its opening round, perhaps because other strong strips in its quarter got upset in their opening rounds. Could split votes with #464 among the group focusing on Miko. Not everyone likes triple strips and the museum crowd is likely to flock to #484 instead.
Praise for #406 "A Moment of Truth":
"...I would have had trouble picking a winner if all three had been single strips, so there is no contest when all rolled into one." -AlisdairM, first round
"None of these are among my favorites but I'll go with 406 just for Miko finally snapping as she realizes her whole life was a lie." -TroyXavier, first round
"I'll go with 406, wordy as it was, because there's no other comic that had people falling out of their desk chairs going 'Oh CRAP!'." -Swordguy, first round
"Immediately after reading 406-409 one would be tempted to vote 407, but I feel that it will be easier to appreciate how important 406 is, when read alone." -recluso, first round
"...I pick the one with the, pardon the phrase, Moment of Truth at the culmination of Shojo's years of deception." -SlightlyEvil, first round
"im voting 406 just for the epic moment" -gnomas, first round
"I'm a sucker for plot." -happyturtle, second round
"So good ones here, but 406 is just too important." -David Argall, second round
"I vote 406 for drama." -recluso, second round
"My vote is for 406, for the great exposition of zeal-gone-wrong." -Mordae, second round
"[406] is spectacular in plot, character and tension." -kukn, second round
:xykon:449: Land of the Rising... (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0449.html)
First round (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=77855): 61.36% (27 votes to 448's 7)
Second round (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=86763): 42.50% (17 votes to 445's 10)
Strengths: Won its group of five in a landslide, and not all the strips in that group were slouches, and dispatched a BotH-quality quarter - including Belkar's two devils, the Sexy Shoeless God of War, and "Oh Buddy Roy" - with relative ease. All on the strength of its last two panels, the museum-quality epic shot of a gazillion Sapphire Guard paladins lining up for a second wave with Soon leading the attack, and the proof that a lich can feel fear.
Weaknesses: Not exactly... important. (Not much of a weakness, I know, and it does have importance of a sort, but it gets magnified with this competition.) Also, doesn't attract much in the way of subcultures (the mere fact that the Sapphire Guard is the star, not Team Evil or the OOTS or someone with a name, may be a turnoff), not funny (although this isn't a funny BotH), and may have lost some votes when isolated from the surrounding strips.
Praise for #449 "Land of the Rising...":
"Who could think a stick figure comic could be epic? Or that I'd root for otherwise lame Sapphire Guard?" -M0rt, first round
"...446-7-8-9 is just an ascending series that gets better and better, and 449 just wins." -David Argall, first round
"It IS beautifully put together and Xykon's "oh ****" expression topping it all off really nailed the feeling of that moment." -Remirach, first round
"The honor of 449 is unbreakable, even by death." -Chronos, first round
"My vote is for 449, it's one of my favorite strips in the entire comic." -Lira, first round
"The look on Xykon's skull..." -Yendor, first round
"To me, it shows how deep this comic can get, even if it's only little stick figures." -greecetrap, first round
"Kick. Ass." -Forealms, first round
"In line with that, I am going to go for 449 (Land of the Rising.. (ugg! Soon! I just got it, and it's as painful as a smite evil!!)). one of the best turn-arounds ever seen." -Kabbor, first round
"These are all great comics, but 449 gets my vote for sheer awesomeness and epic feeling. Also the 'expression' on Xykon's face is priceless" -phobiandarkmoon, first round
"Exactly the way paladins should be." -Thufir, first round
"The turning point of 449 does it for me." -Vargtass, first round
"Ghost Paladins FTW!" -PhallicWarrior, first round
"I believe epic is the word?" -Jarwy, first round
"It really is epic, and it works. It works especially after all those paladins die without so much as a chance... brings tears to the eyes in a "Kick that ******* ass, Sapphire Guard!" way." -kukn, first round
"One of many points of utter badassery during the war, and a perfect karmic response to Xykon's attack." -SlightlyEvil, first round
"But I think I go with 449, for the big return of Soon and his army to kick Xykon from the castle. I remember my excitement when I first read that strip." -Nazzo, the 102nd, second round
"Belkar's Crowning Moment of Awesome [439], and Elan's song [445] are both great, but the attack of the ghost-martyrs is just too awesome to pass up." -SlightlyEvil, second round
"And kudos to the Giant for making a Skeleton look dumbstruck and scared at the same time!" -Spartacus93, second round
"Something about all the ghosts just makes me love this comic." -Forealms, second round
"'Only the honor of a paladin is unbreakable... even by death itself.' Epic." -ericgrau, second round
:miko:464: Not For Everyone (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0464.html)
First round (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=81557): 81.25% (26 votes to 465's 4)
Second round (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=87115): 42.85% (21 votes to 451's 12)
Strengths: Demolished the field in the first round, and cruised to an easy victory in the second, defeating some pretty strong strips in the process, most notably 451. The pinnacle of character development, and the seeming end of it all, for one of the most polarizing figures in OOTS history; Miko's final redemption and realization just when it was too late. May be the favorite to win - but don't take it from me, take it from David Argall: "Some of the others could win against easier competition, but 464 is the default candidate to win the best in the hundred and a serious candidate to win best of the 500.... except for 449, I don't see any of these challenging, much less beating, 464." I doubted it at the time, but as you'll see, it's not far off from my analysis of this round.
Weaknesses: A bit sappy, and may see some votes leached from it by 406, which really set in motion the events that led to it. Also somewhat tangential to the main plot by the time it happened (the flip side of which is that it doesn't resonate as much without being familiar with Miko's story to that point), and depending on your point of view, Soon may be less than a sympathetic figure.
Praise for #464 "Not For Everyone":
"464, the perfect mix of tragedy and redemntion..." -Ertier, first round
"...Miko's death is the most plot imporatant (and emotional) strip yet by in my opinion." -Lupy, first round
"I can't really see anything topping 464, and it doesn't look like I need to explain why." -Chronos, first round
"464 carries a strong message as well as being good characterisation, tragedy, story and humour." -kukn, first round (in a vote that was later redacted)
"I vote for the moral lesson: 464. I can live with that." -Niknokitueu, first round
"Soon exemplifies a paladin: compassionate even to the deranged." -warmachine, first round
"Very touching." -ZFR, first round
"Yeah definitely absolute classic." -Emperor Demonking, first round
"it's so sad i just might cry not really but it was still sad:smallfrown:" -someonenonotyou, first round
"I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm not voting for Miko, there: I'm voting for Soon. It takes a great warrior to clobber a high-level evil cleric and a higher-level lich, but it takes a great [I]paladin to tell someone that she didn't live up to her ideals and isn't getting into Heaven, without breaking her heart." -Chronos, first round
"I remember getting to the last panel and going 'Holy. Crap.'" -MyrddinDerwydd, first round
"464 of course, there is nothing really that compares to it's.....Wow factor" -Raider, first round
"Good plot, good dialogue, and a good reveal at the end." -Zed the Sharp, first round
"Huh, well I guess I must be a minority, perhaps a minority of 1 who voted for it based on Miko and NOT Soon. Soon struck me as a good paladin but also humorless and distant, even towards his allies. He's painfully correct with Miko and certainly not cruel. But I wasn't overawed by his performance. It was the sad denouement of Miko's character arc that jerked at my heartstrings. She simply, sadly accepts Soon's words, with an acquiescence she'd never shown before, and says she can live with it... just as we see she won't be." -Remirach, first round
"Well... epic... and the end of the Miko which made me fell symphatyfor her..." -Spiryt, second round
"It's always been one of my favorites out of all of OotS...and it's one that can always manage to make my cry. I liked the character of Miko before...but this one really made me feel for her." -Tricia, second round
"It puts the proper tragic end on Miko's fall." -SlightlyEvil, second round
"A poignant yet fitting end for Miko." -Estelindis, second round
"Rich handled her demise in a scarily perfect fashion. Some of the others are really funny, but for me that one stands out as one of the definitive moments in the entire story." -Deepkicker, second round
"464 wins, though, because it's a brilliant and heart-touching piece of character development and one of the moments where OotS rises to the level of a great work of art." -Sir_Norbert, second round
"The poignant end of the character that tried to do good with every inch of her being but couldn't see that was her problem." -warmachine, second round
:roy:484: At the End of the Day (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0484.html)
First round (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84392): 56.25% (18 votes to 485's 11)
Second round (unofficial count): 56.41% (22 votes to 490's and 496's 6)
Strengths: Except 406, every strip in BotH got a majority of the votes in their group of five, but only 484 did so in the quarter, and 496 could have easily won a quarter without 484 in it. A great ending to the book that provides a succinct summary of the situation to that point and sets up what is to come. THE favorite strip in this BotH for the museum crowd, the only strip in BotH with Vaarsuvius or Redcloak in it and one of only two (406 being the other) with Belkar in it, and probably the funniest strip in BotH as well, with 406 being the only competition.
Weaknesses: Perhaps a bit unfocused? And suffers by comparison with the others in the hundred; it's not plot-important per se, and it's not exactly tense and epic like 449 or 464.
Praise for #484 "At the End of the Day":
"484, soley due to Eugene." -RMS Oceanic, first round
"I like a lot of these, but the sad finale of 484 gets my vote. It really emphasizes how much everything came apart after the battle." -Remirach, first round
"Epic ending." -CarpeGuitarrem, first round
"The last panel makes it." -Ghastly Epigram, first round
"Cloister !" -hajo, first round
"I'm going to go with 484, mainly for its "One Day More" (from Les Mis) quality. Also good are Eugene's sarcasm, and the way that Redcloak's question got answered. As a bonus, it's the last strip (as of currently) to have all of the members of the Order of the Stick! (Right?)" -Zed the Sharp, first round
"I'm a sucker for a good montage, and 484 is a fantastic montage." -dish, first round
"484, for the deadpan expressions on both of the Greenhilt's faces as they look down. Eugenes comment made me laugh out loud:smallsmile:" -Ktulu, first round
"484, it just sums it all up nicely for me. Plus I like that last panel, 'Gosh, thanks so much for destroying Xykon for me son. My spirit will rest easy now.' 'Shut up dad.'" -Logalmier, first round
"I think, for making good artistic use of the medium, 484 wins by closing out a great arc." -SlightlyEvil, second round
"496 tugs the heartstrings, but 484 brings Therkla to the table. Go team Therkla!" -Ganurath, second round
"While 496 is heartwarming, 484 sums up everything since the order left the Dungeon of Dorukan, and may be the best single strip so far." -Warren Dew, second round
"No great ones this time, but 484 wins my vote for leaving us so much to speculate about :)" -Sir_Norbert, second round
"I'm going to have to take 484, just because it's yet another one of Rich's great endings." -Felixaar, second round
I started out writing this preview thinking 484 was the runt, but after seeing its strong support in the first two rounds, and writing out its positives and negatives, and the rave reviews for it, I think it really is anyone's game and I wouldn't be surprised at anyone winning, by any margin. 406 is probably the runt if there is one, but could still be a very strong factor (or could finish with virtually no votes); if pressed, I'd say 484 would still finish third, but 449 could finish third as well, and even 464 could if 406 took enough votes away from it. 406 is also a threat to 484. The order I would be least surprised by is 464, 449, 484, and 406, but that's influenced by my own personal opinions as anything, and for all I know 406 could finish with bronze, silver, or even win if it's enough of a clusterbleep. Every one of these strips is top-notch and would lose only because of the steep competition, and I stand by what I said before: the winner of this round is a strong contender for Best of All Time. Perhaps it's fitting that this epic voting round has seen every one of its strips themselves described as "epic", and that it takes place during the Olympic Games.
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