Shock Value

Skatologist

Choke On Your Nazi Cookies
Jan 25, 2014
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MarsAtlas said:
Lightknight said:
The problem is that this creates a conflict of interest. They are minimally invested in keeping Critical Miss going and are motivated to have viewers migrate to their own series.
Yes, its not like they make money off of Critical Miss or anything. Besides, even if they were, having a stable income as an artist is overrated.

Lightknight said:
The only problem I'd point out is that Erin could be considered a Critical Miss character and this spin off could be considered part of the franchize that the Escapist already has rights to.
They worked this out before the first EDA was published. The artists own everything about EDA. EDA Erin =/= CM Erin
You know, not to go all doom and gloom or anything, but suppose a certain trilby wearing content creator on this site wanted to go independent. Who would have rights to what? I'm aware CM, The Big Picture, and Escape to the Movies are owned by the site while stuff like the Jimquisition or EDA obviously were not, but I do wonder about ZP sometimes.


88chaz88 said:
Skatologist said:
My only question is...who reads a physical newspaper after 15 years on the internet? Shouldn't the dad just be on a laptop or something? Why haven't we evolved this cliché?
Because it's funnier. The fact he's sat there stereotypically with a newspaper while claiming he's from the internet not creates a surreal image. It makes the statement funnier as it's unexpected. It's also reminiscent of a well known internet meme itself.

It's as if a guy with a CAD avatar started explaining webcomic humour. It's ridiculous.
Oh I was aware of this, I actually enjoy absurd humour qite a bit, I just wanted to pretend to nitpick something that seems rather minute from a strip that literally has a teen planning a school shooting to get his father's attention.
 

Kristoffer Mattila

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Mar 28, 2010
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Skatologist said:
My only question is...who reads a physical newspaper after 15 years on the internet? Shouldn't the dad just be on a laptop or something? Why haven't we evolved this cliché?
But he's a dad and that's what dads do. Read newspapers all day, every day.
 

DEAD34345

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Aug 18, 2010
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Skeleon said:
That's... not funny. Acting like spree murderers do it for attention... or something? It may sometimes be a factor, I guess, that's what the media keeps saying, but still... gee. Not exactly shocked, just... disappointed.
I don't think the comic was making a point about school shootings at all, just a point about shock value. I doubt you were supposed to read that much into it.

OT: Yeah, I totally failed to be remotely shocked or offended by this, which I guess just totally proves the point. What actually did shock me is that the comments here have so far been utterly mundane too. Where are the all-caps death threats?

Is this really the internet or did I get lost somehow?
 

GabeZhul

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Mar 8, 2012
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Lunncal said:
OT: Yeah, I totally failed to be remotely shocked or offended by this, which I guess just totally proves the point. What actually did shock me is that the comments here have so far been utterly mundane too. Where are the all-caps death threats?

Is this really the internet or did I get lost somehow?
Oh, right, sorry. Let me scratch that itch for ya.

*cough*

YOU DIRTY COMMUNIST KITTY-DIDDLERS! HOW DARE YOU JOKE ABOUT THE INCREDIBLY TOUCHY SUBJECT OF HIPSTER DADS! THAT'S IT! I'M GOING TO GO OUT NOW, GRAB MY KNIFE AND I AM GOING TO EFFIN SHIV ONE OF OUR CHICKENS AND MAKE SOUP OUT OF IT! SOUP!

YOU MADE ME DO IT! IT'S YOOOOOOOUUUUUR FAAAAAAAUUUUUUULT!!!

*cough*

On a different note... Mmmmm... Chicken soup...
 

Lightknight

Mugwamp Supreme
Nov 26, 2008
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Andy Shandy said:
Let me get this straight, if I've read this correctly you honestly believe that Grey and Cory are purposely tanking their successful comic as some sort of pseudo-promotion of their new comic?

I mean, this wasn't my favourite CM, but come on.
I'm talking about the last few weeks, not today's specifically but as a series of direct attempts to rile up their standard audience. People against school shooting [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/comicsandcosplay/comics/critical-miss/13596-New-Xbox-One-Controller-Comic] Their attempt to offend has grown significantly beyond anything I recall in the past. This is why I'm asking if this range of offense is typical. I've heard of some pretty legendary pieces they've run that got people all hot and bothered but from what I understand, there is usually a buffering between them.

Anyways, from a business perspective this makes sense if they are planning on striking out on their own. They have a patreon running that has nearly reached their desired amount. If people jump ship from CM to EDA then that should only support those endeavors.

However, I generally find the cartoons I linked funny. Today was a bit much but not personally offensive the other ones have been pretty humorous and not anything I care about. I'm just postulating about the possibility. The idea that this could be a savvy business move banking on the idea that making CM less enjoyable will elevate EDA as a comic. I have to admit, it is working on me. I am starting to look forward to EDA and not really looking forward to CM as of late.

Sorry if posing the question/scenario frustrated you in some way. But in the college of business I saw case study after case study of successful business practices that looked dumb from the outside but ended up playing out flawlessly by directing their consumers to a new target. This is practically textbook if so. It's most commonly seen when companies are trying to get their consumers to transfer to another more expensive service they also produce.

It looks like from their Patreon page that they are concerned about the possibility of the Escapist firing them and them having nothing to fall back on. That's a very understandable fear. Would I consider something like this were I in their exact shoes? Hmm... probably not. I probably wouldn't produce inferior art on purpose. I don't really see them doing that either now that I think about it. They generally stick to their own values and anyone else be damned. so that's a pretty strong point in the premise I'm presenting being wrong.

MarsAtlas said:
Lightknight said:
The problem is that this creates a conflict of interest. They are minimally invested in keeping Critical Miss going and are motivated to have viewers migrate to their own series.
Yes, its not like they make money off of Critical Miss or anything. Besides, even if they were, having a stable income as an artist is overrated.
Perhaps they are planning to leave anyways. Tanking CM to push their new IP would provide more stable ground for the move. If the CM creators are upset with the Escapist over the way GamerGate went down then this isn't a stretch to imagine.

On the other hand their Patreon confirms that they have no desire to stop producing CM. So as I've been stating, I could just be entirely jaded about this. If I were a betting man, I'd most likely bet on me being wrong or not bet at all. The hallmarks are there for this to be a concern.

Lightknight said:
The only problem I'd point out is that Erin could be considered a Critical Miss character and this spin off could be considered part of the franchize that the Escapist already has rights to.
They worked this out before the first EDA was published. The artists own everything about EDA. EDA Erin =/= CM Erin
They worked out an agreement with the Escapist regarding an IP they own? If so then they're in the clear. If not then there's still a potential issue.
 

Def25

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Feb 24, 2015
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If you want to shock people show some cleaveage and make a trans joke.

For some reason that thing is more effective than school shootings atleast in the internet.
 

CaitSeith

Formely Gone Gonzo
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Jun 30, 2014
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Shouldn't be there a third one with long hair, pale skin and saying "I hate you all"?


Or is it too subtle?
 

Dalisclock

Making lemons combustible again
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Feb 9, 2008
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Lightknight said:
FYI, these are all terrible ideas. But just like you pointed out in the cartoon, you just aren't shocking us until you go all the way. We are of the internet and our values have been shocked to the point of frying.
Well, they could always bring back WGDF and watch the world burn.
 

Lightknight

Mugwamp Supreme
Nov 26, 2008
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Dalisclock said:
Lightknight said:
FYI, these are all terrible ideas. But just like you pointed out in the cartoon, you just aren't shocking us until you go all the way. We are of the internet and our values have been shocked to the point of frying.
Well, they could always bring back WGDF and watch the world burn.
They hinted that they were going to recently. That's the only massive controversy I really remember.
 

nyysjan

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Mar 12, 2010
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Hilarious until the last panel, which just made me sigh and erase it from my mind to make the joke better.

Still, one of the funnier ones of Critical Miss (that seems to be pretty hit and miss with its jokes with me).
 

IamLEAM1983

Neloth's got swag.
Aug 22, 2011
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If anything, the comic made me wonder why we have so many attention-seeking hellions around, now. Don't most parents give plenty of opportunities for their kids to actually blow off steam or express themselves? Like, I dunno, suppertime debates or constructive hobbies?

That said, yeah. I wouldn't bat an eyelash if one of my relatives told me they're looking to transition and are also secret Wiccans who would rather focus on animistic beliefs. I think the moon could turn into a giant chocolate bunny that I'd be all "Oh, okay."

Until the tidal shifts hit us, that is. At which point we'd all be screwed.
 

BreakfastMan

Scandinavian Jawbreaker
Jul 22, 2010
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BlackIronGuardian said:
Is Anal Death **** a band?
Nope. But Anal **** and Death are both metal or punk bands, and there is probably some band out there called Anal Death or Death ****, so it works. :p
 

Sleepy Sol

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Feb 15, 2011
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Colour Scientist said:
BlackIronGuardian said:
Is Anal Death **** a band?
If it isn't, I call dibs.

We're gonna be a ukelele folk ensemble.
How about being a Fleetwood Mac cover band? That sounds pretty apropos for a name like Anal Death ****.
 

josemlopes

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Jun 9, 2008
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Lightknight said:
Andy Shandy said:
Let me get this straight, if I've read this correctly you honestly believe that Grey and Cory are purposely tanking their successful comic as some sort of pseudo-promotion of their new comic?

I mean, this wasn't my favourite CM, but come on.
I'm talking about the last few weeks, not today's specifically but as a series of direct attempts to rile up their standard audience. People against school shooting [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/comicsandcosplay/comics/critical-miss/13596-New-Xbox-One-Controller-Comic] Their attempt to offend has grown significantly beyond anything I recall in the past. This is why I'm asking if this range of offense is typical. I've heard of some pretty legendary pieces they've run that got people all hot and bothered but from what I understand, there is usually a buffering between them.
Its called having a sense of humor.

Also, this one wasnt about school shooting, or about people against school shooting, in the last panel for the joke to work ("I'm running out of things to get pierced, Dave") it had to be them doing something shocking to drive the point of the rest of the comic home. It doesnt matter what it is and in no way is it about standing against something, it could be a variety of things as long as it was something that could be considered shocking (and as most comments in here show, this isnt even shocking in a webcomic, we are already like the dad in the comic).

So yeah, it seems like the lack of sense of humor blurs the point of the actual joke, something that also recently happened with Pillars of Eternity where the joke was at the expense of the "Hero in bed" and yet some people thought that the transgender was the one being mocked.