The Legacy of Dominic Deegan: The Unending Snark

[Godskook]

The idea itself isn't really novel - can't say for sure where it originates, but may have roots in ancient concepts of sacred borders and the like. Of course, most ideas have been done by someone before, so it's not really a valid criticism: what matters is how well you pull it off.

Yeah.....I find that the only two forms of "unique" that actually seem to work are necessary (typically "tragic") constraints, such as an inability to draw anything more high-quality than stickmen, but still wanting to make a webcomic, or else proper follow-through on a set of unoriginal ideas that are either as a set "unique", or else never been properly followed through before, such as My Hero Academia and it's rehashing of a long list of superhero tropes.

(Which is why M. Night Shyamalan's career suffered once he stopped having good ideas and started trying to come up with "more unique twists".)

[Celestia]

It's amazing how open and spacious this city is considering it's being forcibly constrained with limited area.

[Kantaki]

It's amazing how open and spacious this city is considering it's being forcibly constrained with limited area.

Certainly less crowded than it looked from above.
But from the sounds of it this place is rather new.
Give them time.

Or come up with theories how they keep their population small by sacrificing everyone above a certain threshold to eldritch gods to guarantee they'll have a good harvest. Paint the land red to keep it green.

[Celestia]

Certainly less crowded than it looked from above.
But from the sounds of it this place is rather new.
Give them time.

Or come up with theories how they keep their population small by sacrificing everyone above a certain threshold to eldritch gods to guarantee they'll have a good harvest. Paint the land red to keep it green.

New? I was under the impression that the changes to Maltak happened not long after the original DD story ended, meaning this city could easily be over 150 years old, at least.

[Vinyadan]

It definitely has more room than expected, and the hill looks larger and less steep. Mostly, I am wondering what they are using as shingles, because those are huge. It's a nice view, however, although I immediately couldn't help but wonder where it had been traced from.

[Traab]

New? I was under the impression that the changes to Maltak happened not long after the original DD story ended, meaning this city could easily be over 150 years old, at least.

Which really isnt that long generationally speaking. I mean, we dont know how much land they got and how numerous they were at the time. They could have been granted enough space for 15 generations of uninterrupted growth for all we know. Of course, the reverse, they got enough space to build a single judge dredd style mega city apartment complex and have to keep building up to make room, is also a possibility.

[Gez]

Of course, most ideas have been done by someone before, so it's not really a valid criticism: what matters is how well you pull it off.

I know it's the snark thread, but I didn't post this as a criticism, just a simple comment. "hey, that reminds me of something", not "Mookie totally ripped this off"...

[Celestia]

Which really isnt that long generationally speaking. I mean, we dont know how much land they got and how numerous they were at the time. They could have been granted enough space for 15 generations of uninterrupted growth for all we know. Of course, the reverse, they got enough space to build a single judge dredd style mega city apartment complex and have to keep building up to make room, is also a possibility.

Based on everything we've been told, Maltak has undergone a period of massive growth and development during this time. We don't know all the details of that, but the most apt comparison I can come up with is the Industrial Revolution. During that time, population tripled over the course of 100 years. Maltak's growth has lasted potentially twice as long. The only viable options are massive overcrowding or harsh population control. Of course, Mookie is, guaranteed, going for neither as he clearly didn't think through his own world building. Again.

[Vinyadan]

It seems to me that this town easily fits more than three times the population of any of the villages we have seen in the old Maltak, but that's hard to tell, since DD never was about those large shots until recently. I think we joked about ambushes on an open plain that only worked because the camera was always pretty close to the characters and didn't allow the reader to see the surroundings.
From the name, the actual hold is the building atop the hill (which I expect to now host the library). That's already some expansion.

[Kantaki]

Based on everything we've been told, Maltak has undergone a period of massive growth and development during this time. We don't know all the details of that, but the most apt comparison I can come up with is the Industrial Revolution. During that time, population tripled over the course of 100 years. Maltak's growth has lasted potentially twice as long. The only viable options are massive overcrowding or harsh population control. Of course, Mookie is, guaranteed, going for neither as he clearly didn't think through his own world building. Again.

As I said, sacrifices to the dark gods.
Keeps the the population low and the land green.

Or we're gonna learn that this city totally is terribly overpopulated and crowded.
Basically no place left to build anything.

Those open places you ask?
Oh no, those parks are mandatory.
Part of the contract, you see?
Build as much as a sandcastle on them and everything turns back into a wasteland.

[Traab]

Based on everything we've been told, Maltak has undergone a period of massive growth and development during this time. We don't know all the details of that, but the most apt comparison I can come up with is the Industrial Revolution. During that time, population tripled over the course of 100 years. Maltak's growth has lasted potentially twice as long. The only viable options are massive overcrowding or harsh population control. Of course, Mookie is, guaranteed, going for neither as he clearly didn't think through his own world building. Again.

Again though, we arent told yet what amount of land was granted to these towns. I was using exaggeration to cover best and worst case scenarios. It could literally be anything between "Exactly as much room as the people alive at the moment the agreement was made would need" and "Enough room that it wont be a problem for /checks watch, 150 years or so!" And currently its looking like they have PLENTY of empty space to work with. So im guessing the terms were generous indeed. Although too be honest, mookies ability to portray perspective sucks rancid eggs as we go from first sight being a crammed full walled enclosure, to the second image looking like eddoras from rohan, to wide spacious streets and lots of empty plots of land by the third image. And for all I know, those large empty looking slots of land are their crop producing areas. They cant farm the land outside the city or else a plague upon both their houses or whatever. Basically, we dont have enough info to go on and even the artwork is wonky enough to make guessing difficult.

[Silly Name]

I know it's the snark thread, but I didn't post this as a criticism, just a simple comment. "hey, that reminds me of something", not "Mookie totally ripped this off"...

Oh, for sure! I didn't mean that as a critique of what you said, it was meant to be a comment about my pedantry wasn't meant as a critique either. Tropes are tropes because they work and all that jazz.

[Celestia]

Ah, I understand now. This city maintains its population not through harsh population control but by cloning. That makes sense.

[Vinyadan]

What was the deal with the little guys again? The first one we saw was a servant, the second one is carrying bags. They kinda remind me of HP Dobbie and, in DD, that werewolf girl Nimmel liked, who belonged to a despised subtype that couldn't control her powers, and also was a servant.

[Traab]

Im now officially waiting for the other shoe to drop. Like we see this bright happy place and all the wonder and blah blah blah, and soon it starts drifting darker somehow, like we enter the slums or something.

[Vinyadan]

Im now officially waiting for the other shoe to drop. Like we see this bright happy place and all the wonder and blah blah blah, and soon it starts drifting darker somehow, like we enter the slums or something.

I think it would fit very well as a scene change, and could be a way to introduce new characters.

I think it would also be a step forward from the old "planet of hats" problem with DD worldbuilding.

[Celestia]

What an awful library. How are you supposed to find anything when the shelves aren't labeled? That's, like, rule number one.

[Gez]

What an awful library. How are you supposed to find anything when the shelves aren't labeled? That's, like, rule number one.

Maybe they are labelled, but like, in dark red on dark green and Snout is also fully colorblind so it just looks like pure black to him? All along the black and white art was a hint of another disability and we didn't even notice.

[Traab]

What an awful library. How are you supposed to find anything when the shelves aren't labeled? That's, like, rule number one.

Clearly these are AnyBooks. What you do is pick one up then state a book title. The magic of the library loads that book onto your volume and you can read it in peace. Nobody takes out the ACTUAL books, those are valuable. Im sure ink witch will lead him to the catalog so he can choose where to start.

[Kornaki]

I'm sorry but I think you lose this one. This is a trace

https://d36tnp772eyphs.cloudfront.ne...-in-Europe.jpg

And I don't see these labels you're talking about in the real thing either

[Celestia]

I'm sorry but I think you lose this one. This is a trace

https://d36tnp772eyphs.cloudfront.ne...-in-Europe.jpg

And I don't see these labels you're talking about in the real thing either

What an awful library. How are you supposed to find anything when the shelves aren't labeled? That's, like, rule number one.

[Kantaki]

New comic

Right. Snout has a date.

Also, does he even have his library card?
Wasn't most of his stuff stolen?

Not that he needs it as long as he stays in the library.
And if he actually finds something important he can write it down or one of his harem can use their library card.
Or he just gets a new one.
But somehow I fear some major "Snout's library card is gone! Oh no!" drama if he lost it at some point.

[Traab]

Snout is living his dream right now. A big fancy library full of new books for him to read, and he gets to research his cause without being in imminent threat for his life. Well not yet anyways. Honestly, he would probably be HAPPY to be the research guy and not the adventure dude. Let him stay in the library with translation dictionaries around him and slowly working his way through everything that might help the search for DD and pass on anything he finds. Just keep him filled in on any updates on that front.

[Celestia]

Oh, so this isn't just "a" city; it's the first city, making it the full 200 years old. Definitely too spacious.

[Traab]

Oh, so this isn't just "a" city; it's the first city, making it the full 200 years old. Definitely too spacious.

Again, maybe not because we dont know how much space they were granted for it. Also, if there was a rebellion or civil war or whatever, that would knock down the numbers more than a bit. The thing im bothered by is snout. What is that reaction? Is he just reading and this is his concentration face? Is he upset by this? If so, why include the article on plants in the library keeping the air clean or whatever? Seems like an odd inclusion into the article blurbs. Maybe if they were arranged so he started with reading the nice stuff like how the plants are there and it drifted into the unhappy history that would make more sense, but as it is, its kinda random.

[Kantaki]

To be honest, Snout kinda looks bored reading the info dump.
Like this is incredibly boring, written dry enough to make a desert look like the ocean and there's a wonderful summer day outside, but he has to read it now because there's gonna be a quiz about this stuff tomorrow.

[Silly Name]

Why does every book in this world has such horrible, horrible cover arts?

Why do books in this world have cover arts to begin with? Isn't it a pseudo-Medieval setting? Late Renaissance? Early Modern? I get that Mookie used to also feature rock 'n roll and electric guitars, but "consistently inconsistent" isn't an excuse.

[Traab]

Why does every book in this world has such horrible, horrible cover arts?

Why do books in this world have cover arts to begin with? Isn't it a pseudo-Medieval setting? Late Renaissance? Early Modern? I get that Mookie used to also feature rock 'n roll and electric guitars, but "consistently inconsistent" isn't an excuse.

Its not like scribes didnt do incredible calligraphy work and make complex imagery on the pages while writing stuff down. So choosing to do cover art in this world isnt that far fetched. And its pseudo medieval mixed with high magic. You literally cant just say, "Well in the 1400s in europe blah blah blah" because europe didnt have its varying empires built on magic. Its never going to be a 1:1 comparison.

[Vinyadan]

An old comparison from another poster in this forum was that the world of Dominic Deegan is like The Flintstone's, but the veneer covering modern tech is magic, rather than a stoneage-appropriate look.

Probably the only thing absent is the internet (and maybe digitalization). Otherwise, everything from long-distance communication to plastic surgery and fertility clinics seems to be available.

[Silly Name]

Its not like scribes didnt do incredible calligraphy work and make complex imagery on the pages while writing stuff down. So choosing to do cover art in this world isnt that far fetched.

Well, yes but no. Those are very clearly modern books, not medieval codices with (poorly) illuminated covers.

And its pseudo medieval mixed with high magic. You literally cant just say, "Well in the 1400s in europe blah blah blah" because europe didnt have its varying empires built on magic. Its never going to be a 1:1 comparison.

Sure, but the problem is that the "worldbuilding" is paper-thin and is not really what a fifteenth century Europe would look like with high magic thrown in the mix. It's modern-day USA with silly costumes and magic only working as the plot demands.