Reasonable Comics For Reasonable People

[dubious_wolf]

You know you don't actually have to be mean and offensive to do comedy. Look at XKCD, they have been in business a lot longer than you and are still good and not offensive as far as I know.

XKCD is highly offensive.

I find your statement about XKCD being offensive to be offensive.

HA! loved it!

 

[The Bread is Delicious]

There doesn't seem to be much Love from Grey and Carter.

You mean Grey and Cory, right? Or was that just hyperbole trying to say Grey has enough bitterness for two people?

I like to pretend this comic is a call for people to be more level-headed and reasonable when discussing issues, especially in the relatively trivial sphere of gaming. I know it's really a passive aggressive and snarky response to all the people who dared to be insulted and upset by their previous comic and the massive flaming thread that resulted from it, but I like to pretend it could be something more.

Part of what was frustrating about the "White Guy Defense force" comic is that such aggressive, dismissive, and insulting caricatures of different viewpoints or opinions like the ones found in that comic are already far too common in these discussions. They are a major part of why so many discussions devolve into pointless flame wars like the thread on last weeks comic. We need far more encouragement of the attitude of mutual respect that can bring forth actual discussion and growth found and subsequently mocked in this weeks comic.

This comic would have been brilliant if it wasn't for the subtext of "Oh well, people got insulted so I guess we won't try to do anything funny ever again." It's a shame.

I think you may be over looking some context of the medium itself. You sight that the comic makes use of caricatures; are caricatures in themselves not meant to be gross exaggerations of what they depict? They aren't meant to be taken seriously, or if they are, taken with a huge grain of salt.

On the other hand we are talking about a comic here, a medium who's history is founded on a basis of sarcasm and ridicule. Pick up any newspaper today and you will find political cartoons doing the same things to politicians that Grey and Cory are doing with this comic here. Is everything depicted true? Hell no. Is it offensive? Usually to whatever person or group it comments on. Does it get a point across? You bet it does, as can be seen by your comment and the comments on the last comic. It isn't a particularly subtle medium; comic writers and artists have to convey a point that some people could write pages about in a few frames. That isn't easy, and can be forced into coming off as more haphazard than careful, but their point is made, showing how carefully it was constructed and therefore it is a success. If you are looking for, as you said, "more encouragement of the attitude of mutual respect that can bring forth actual discussion and growth" and by that I'm guessing you mean civilized and sophisticated discussion, I think you are looking at the wrong medium to provide it, and also remember that the internet doesn't have the best track record as a whole if you are looking for clean discussion, although the Escapist has been a pretty good place for it overall.

That all being said, there are comics meant specifically to entertain, but even those tend to delve into deeper meanings on top of the literal arcs they depict.

You know you don't actually have to be mean and offensive to do comedy. Look at XKCD, they have been in business a lot longer than you and are still good and not offensive as far as I know.

It is funny that you mention them specifically as not offensive because I was unfamiliar with this comic and looked it up. Hit the random button once and this one happened to pop up, http://xkcd.com/1197/ . If that isn't making fun of adobe then I don't know what it is doing. Just proves my point about comics being a medium built on sarcasm and ridicule. Some of the comics may be specifically for entertainment value, but then that is the point they are trying to make.

If their point is something beyond face entertainment value, comics are far more likely to ridicule something in a comedic way because it catches eyes and conveys a message. People also like to hear some of society's more serious problems in a lighter form of comedy than raw.

Overall, great job Cory and Grey. The comics are funny, have great substance, and have some fantastic artwork to tie it all together. That sounds like a successful comic to me. Keep up the good work!

 

[Tallim]

3.5/5 stars. honestly this comic has gone so far downhill it is ridiculous. i am not reading it anymore.

grey carter used to write about serious important topics and now he has turned into a coward who only writes moronic pc things to please everyone. he is worse than the oatmeal.

As good as GTAV then.....

It's an ok comic I suppose. I read through the panels in a stoic manner and acknowledged the point.

 

[Malty Milk Whistle]

After the last one I guess some epic backpedaling was necessary.

Oh come on, this is as far from backpedaling as humanly possible.
It's cycling.
With a jet attached.
Whilst screaming "YOLO" at the top of your lungs.

 

[Krantos]

There doesn't seem to be much Love from Grey and Carter.

You mean Grey and Cory, right? Or was that just hyperbole trying to say Grey has enough bitterness for two people?

Yeah, that was just a mistake on my part, I meant Grey and Cory. Sorry.

 

[StriderShinryu]

I approved of this comic. I would also love to see that strawman become a meme image posted repeatedly on the forums whenever his name is invoked.

 

[BX3]

Is it... are... are we....

*Phew*, good. I'm a little bit nervous to walk around here anymore. Last time I showed up, there were just dead worms and open cans everywhere, and I didn't know how to deal with it, so I got out of dodge.

 

[The Bread is Delicious]

There doesn't seem to be much Love from Grey and Carter.

You mean Grey and Cory, right? Or was that just hyperbole trying to say Grey has enough bitterness for two people?

Yeah, that was just a mistake on my part, I meant Grey and Cory. Sorry.

Just wanted to clarify, the second seemed a very strong possibility the more I thought about it, haha. Grey's cynicism does seem to be quite formidable in its own right.

 

[Darth_Payn]

What's this? Honest, open, rational discussion of problems in the video game industry? What madness is this? First Jim Sterling gives us a Jimquisition not about gender or publisher dickery, now this?! WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?!

Oh don't worry, Mr. Strawman, you'll still find plenty of work in political cartoons. And YouTube comments. And on cable news. And on prime time cartoons when the episode gets political. Man, does this not look good for us.

 

[Eric the Orange]

I approve of this new direction the comic is taking. Keep it up with the calm rational discussion chaps.

 

[Agayek]

Reasonable Comics For Reasonable People

A mild comic that won't hurt your tum tum.

Read Full Article

This is really pedantic and irrelevant, but once I spotted it, I just had to ask:

Why does the Strawman's magazine have a penguin of all things next to Weird Al?

 

[Ticklefist]

After the last one I guess some epic backpedaling was necessary.

Oh come on, this is as far from backpedaling as humanly possible.
It's cycling.
With a jet attached.
Whilst screaming "YOLO" at the top of your lungs.

Maybe it's going over my head. Last week's post equated a frustrating group of posters to a murderer. This one condemns such strawmanning. It's not self-referential and seems to be pointing the finger away from itself instead of toward it, but it's still quite the about face.

 

[Vegosiux]

Why does the Strawman's magazine have a penguin of all things next to Weird Al?

The fact that it makes no sense is the perfect proof that it's exactly what had to be there. It is Weird Al we're talking about, after all.

 

[Agayek]

Well, its about parody. Weird Al does parody, so I assume the penguin/duck/swan/birdthingy is somehow related to a noteworthy parody or series of parodies.

Yea, that's my assumption too, but I don't remember there being any penguins involved in any major parodies, so I was hoping Grey would chime in and tell me.

Or reveal that it put there for the sake of being pretty.

Either works really.

Edit:

Maybe it's going over my head. Last week's post equated a frustrating group of posters to a murderer. This one calls out such strawmanning. It's not self-referential and seems to be pointing the finger away from itself instead of toward it, but it's still quite the about face.

1) It wasn't equating anything to murder. It was mocking them by taking their position and normal behavior to the logical extreme. This is known as satire and/or parody. It was drawing attention to the ridiculousness of their behavior, not condemning it as equal to murder.

Seeing such says a lot more about you than the comic.

2) Even if it had, that isn't a strawman. It's being self-righteous and an Appeal to Extremes fallacy, but it's not a strawman.

 

[Vegosiux]

Maybe it's going over my head. Last week's post equated a frustrating group of posters to a murderer. This one calls out such strawmanning. It's not self-referential and seems to be pointing the finger away from itself instead of toward it, but it's still quite the about face.

Actually, this comic is more along the lines of "Well people got upset over our last one, so we're just going to put a placeholder 'politically correct' thing here and use it to passively-aggressively mock people who took issue with our last one".

Thing is. If this comic was serious, it would have been awesome. Because it would drive the point home that level-headed discussion is needed, that clear communication is paramount, and that strawmen ineed need to lose employment. THAT IS AN ACTUAL, LEGITIMATE POINT.

But in the context of recent events, I can't take the comic seriously. It's a parody again, and again, it's a parody that's gone wrong and been misdirected. A bit like the "worst chiropractor ever" comic would have been funny if not burdened by the references, but the moment I figured out what it referenced, it suddenly stopped being funny and started being pretentious. Context is a *****.

Of course word of the author might correct me, and tell me I'm wrong, and that he tried to make a serious point about the need for communication. In which case I will offer apologies for misinterpreting the comic. But if this is a parody directed at the people who took issue with the last one, it's just more self-gratifying, pretentious bullshit.

 

[Something Amyss]

*Sigh* Another one selfishly living off the government benefits paid for by hard working Americans.
Thanks Obama.

Hey! Hey! You leave that strawman alone! He's worked his head off and what has he got? A bad back from all those beatings!

OT: This comic offends me because reasons.

...Not really, but I can definitely see people being bothered.

 

[Ruzinus]

Remember when comics were about being amusing and not about fighting nonexistent enemies? What exactly is this in response to? The "shitstorm" the last comic generated? Except, there was no shitstorm. I mostly skipped through pages and skimmed the topic for it, but what I saw was mostly a lot of people predicting a shitstorm, one guy banned for a post that said the comic was flamebaiting and... yeah no, that's all the post said, a couple rational responses against the subject of the comic... and mostly a big old argument about the Zimmerman case. Guess what? The Zimmerman case is a COMPLEX THING. Of course it generates long discussions. That's not equivalent to a shitstorm.

I saw no rage generated from the last comic. Maybe there was an isolated piece or so of it that I missed from my cursory examination, but it sure didn't create any storms or stand out against the things I mentioned above.

Which leaves the question: What the hell is this a response to?

But whatever, the community seems to love it. And if these people need an "other" to hate, a nonexistent one is probably the most harmless one.

 

[Mr F.]

I like to pretend this comic is a call for people to be more level-headed and reasonable when discussing issues, especially in the relatively trivial sphere of gaming. I know it's really a passive aggressive and snarky response to all the people who dared to be insulted and upset by their previous comic and the massive flaming thread that resulted from it, but I like to pretend it could be something more.

Part of what was frustrating about the "White Guy Defense force" comic is that such aggressive, dismissive, and insulting caricatures of different viewpoints or opinions like the ones found in that comic are already far too common in these discussions. They are a major part of why so many discussions devolve into pointless flame wars like the thread on last weeks comic. We need far more encouragement of the attitude of mutual respect that can bring forth actual discussion and growth found and subsequently mocked in this weeks comic.

This comic would have been brilliant if it wasn't for the subtext of "Oh well, people got insulted so I guess we won't try to do anything funny ever again." It's a shame.

Agreed. I just rolled my eyes at the last comic and moved on without responding, because I knew they were just trolling for views. This comic would have been clever if the last one was funny, and not agonizing for anyone other than manginas to read.

Are you being sarcastic? Or did you just seriously call me a Mangina. And quite a few of my friends. And all the people who liked last weeks episode.

mangina
Web definitions
A derisive term for a man with a pronounced feminine side, or a weak masculine side.
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mangina

Yeah. What the hell man.

Grey, if you are reading this, enough webcomic artists have turned the medium into a joke

Ok, I am leaning more towards sarcasm unless you mean to say that turning Webcomics into a joke is a bad thing, particularly webcomics like this one which exist to amuse.

by pulling this crap. I know you're better than this. The viewership might be down, but please have some integrity. Please don't jump the shark, if you haven't already.

(inb4 the next comic mocking that last statement)

That's all I really have to say.

All you had to say was "I am going to casually insult anyone who found last weeks comic funny". Awesome. Stay classy.

This weeks comic, whilst less entertaining then last weeks, still got a weak smile out of me. It is hard to beat last weeks comic though.