OOTS #943 - The Discussion Thread

[Chantelune]

Nice strip as usual. Though Haley confessing that she pretended not to remember Blackwing just to mess with V felt a bit weird to me. I would have expected her to stick with V against the rest of the party.

Oh well, I'm more looking forward to V and Roy's conversation.

[I.care.0]

Nice strip. As usual, the punchline managed to bring a smile out of me.

[Trillium]

Ahahah, I love how this strip is Julio Scoundrel. It just describes him so thoroughly and he is epically funny. Thank you for creating this character, Giant!

[waynemcdougall]

I take it that there will be no more

Deus ex Mechane

[elros]

Why a chaos blade? Makes me wonder what the Giant is setting up.
I also forget that Elan is chaotic good. He doesn't have contempt for order like Haley so I sometimes think he's neutral good.

[turkishproverb]

Heh. Gotta love the old man.

[Idiomorph]

Shh, Haley, you're ruining the dramatic effect!!

[Shale]

Finally, an answer to the eternal question of voiceovers: "Who's he talking to? And how does he make his voice do that?"

[Grogmir]

Well, you learn something everyday... I always thought it was "Heads" not "Head".

And its not just a US Navy Tradition. Its a general navy tradition... and according to this site dates from 1708. HITTING THE HEAD

Also... Elan. WOW a talking bird.

[Kish]

Why a chaos blade?

Because Julio Scoundrel is Chaotic Neutral.

I also forget that Elan is chaotic good. He doesn't have contempt for order like Haley so I sometimes think he's neutral good.

He's one of the two most chaotic characters in the entire comic. And the other one is Xykon.

[Shale]

Why a chaos blade? Makes me wonder what the Giant is setting up.

It's not in the SRD, but I'm assuming that it's an alignment-based weapon like Axiomatic and that ilk - which means it gets a damage bonus against Lawful enemies. So Elan has a sword that's not much help against Xykon, but will get a boost against Redcloak ( and Tarquin).

[blueblade]

Poor Julio, living in a time before advanced sound effects and recording devices.

[Faltenin]

I like how this is a funny strip, but still manages to convey lots of key points for how the dynamic is evolving:
- Blackwing is "upgraded" to a full speaking-part party member
- Belkar's new familiar is probably also here for a while (it would be great if he could speak a magic word to Shazam him into full size...)
- Elan is being forced into that leading man's role, as his father wanted: control of a flying ship, epic weapon... but also needing to rely on his on strength now his mentor is retiring

Great lessons in storytelling

[zokoi]

"Chaos sabre" ?

[warmachine]

I'm surprised the author has Julio retiring. I'd have thought he'd keep him active so he can launch Julio as a successor series to OotS.

[Faltenin]

Heh - just realized this is one of the first times looks like a Ranger, surrounded by a bird, a reptile and a mammal...

[RMS Oceanic]

I'm surprised the author has Julio retiring. I'd have thought he'd keep him active so he can launch Julio as a successor series to OotS.

Julio's been adventuring for 30 years. More than possible to have a prequel.

[Torrasque]

i love it!

[kamuishirou]

"P.S. Actually, maybe I better hit the head before I go."

Awesome, Sailor jargon! Going to take practice for me to stop calling it the 'head' when I retire. :)

Keep up the great work!

[Nimrod's Son]

It appears that we now have a story problem. The nature of Julio's character means he has to always be the centre of attention, so how do we get rid of him so that he doesn't overshadow our heroes?

Our author has written himself into a corner here, it would seem.

[Doxkid]

Poor Julio, living in a time before advanced sound effects and recording devices.

Sometimes taking a few bard levels is really a good idea. Magic is pretty useful for Dashing Swordsman related things.

[thatSeniorGuy]

What, you're not looking forward to it?

Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm eagerly anticipating V's (full) explanation of Familicide to Roy and co; that eek was just sympathising for V's position (I expect that it's not going to be any easy conversation).

[i6uuaq]

I lol'ed.

Lovely end to a ****ty day. Thanks Giant!

The path of real character development does not run smoothly.

[Bulldog Psion]

Elan is a weird, weird guy.

[Jaxzan Proditor]

Haha! I love Julio, and he is rapidly becoming one of my favorite characters. Excellent comic, as always. Also, I love how Blackwing is asking for Bloodfeast's autograph.

[Hopeless]

I admit to laughing at that!

Makes me wonder whats going to happen next!

[Killer Angel]

The can part, was absolutely hilarious!

[Lissibith]

Oh Elan. I love your sense of the dramatic. <3

[The Pilgrim]

Goodbye, Julio. You will be missed... for a while.

[warmachine]

Julio's been adventuring for 30 years. More than possible to have a prequel.

Launching a new series is helped by advertisement in an existing series that is popular with the target audience, such as spotlight time of the main character. By the time OotS finishes and a new series starting, assuming that's what the author plans, a retired Julio will be forgotten. It's seems odd to deliberately drop a marketing opportunity. Assuming the author doesn't have another plan in mind.