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[Bobby Isosceles]

... twelve liquor bottles, ten frames of Raymond, and a dachshund looking at me!

[Bozack]

I'm actually alright with this as filler- have we ever seen an actual comic sketched out? We've seen the early character sketches, but I don't know if we've ever seen a full lay-out. I like how it's just part of Ray's face for one panel.

[CortJstr]

I'm actually alright with this as filler- have we ever seen an actual comic sketched out? We've seen the early character sketches, but I don't know if we've ever seen a full lay-out. I like how it's just part of Ray's face for one panel.

IIRC we got something like this as bonus material in one of the books but I don't have them in front of me right now.

[AlohaDawg]

John Allison is the king of meaningful filler. Scary Go Round is always there every day, always funny and he often creates his own content for when he's doing conventions or taking a break.

Not saying I hate Onstad, but I do appreciate John Allison's work ethic and his ability to nearly always deliver his own funny. Plus it's sometimes 'very English' and sometimes that's just really funny to me.

Sometimes I think Onstad is a visual artist doing cartoons more than a cartoonist creating visual art. All of his cartoons are really well done artistically and some of the arcs have haunting artistic values (Cartilage Head, the Super-Secret Ice Cream Shop). Even the occasionally unfunny stuff often has flashes of great work artistically.

I find the differences between the two very interesting. Scary Go Round wins as a body of work but certain individual strips of Achewood are way more artistic or way funnier.

[wombat]

Unbearable dachshund.  No no-comics complaint from me, I am a sucker for a small mammal.

[V-Adore]

That is one heck of a dachshund. Also, it is kind of interesting to see Onstad's sketches, especially compared to the cleanliness of his actual panels; I have to wonder how the Cartilage Head stuff and similarly artistically challenging stuff first looked in sketch form.

'Dawg, while I understand what you're saying (and there are certainly Achewood strips that just seem like an excuse to draw thus-and-so), how do you reconcile the blogs with that?

[AlohaDawg]

That is one heck of a dachshund. Also, it is kind of interesting to see Onstad's sketches, especially compared to the cleanliness of his actual panels; I have to wonder how the Cartilage Head stuff and similarly artistically challenging stuff first looked in sketch form.

'Dawg, while I understand what you're saying (and there are certainly Achewood strips that just seem like an excuse to draw thus-and-so), how do you reconcile the blogs with that?

This is the third time I’ve written this post – there is some combination of left-hand keys that clears posts out of the quick reply box and sends them away forever….

Interesting that you mention the blogs - I considered them when writing that original post, but I really separate them fromt the comic. I purposefully left writing out of the discussion.

I think that the blogs are interesting in that they add dimension to the characters and how we experience them. I think the strips are usually OK without them (and should be independent of them for publication’s sake).  I guess it depends on what Achewood is meant to be – a web comic or some new kind of media experience that requires a snappy 2006 sort of name.  (Unless there is one already.  I’m not so, how you kids say in your county, pelvis to these sorts of things).

Onstad has to a good degree created a sort of reality show in his head – like ‘Drawn Together’ in his house and with him in it.  The fact that he includes himself in the world he’s creating for the characters forces us to relate to the characters differently; as having some enhanced sense of realness.  Ray answering e-mail advice questions adds to this; all the written material outside the strips serves to shatter the 4th wall and allow the characters free reign of the proscenium and the theater and the neighborhood outside the theater.

I think Onstad is very likely an amazing graphic artist who is also a pretty good writer.  I tend to think, also, that he’s burdened himself pretty heavily by needing to support so much content – writing blogs in all those voices has got to be hard – and occasionally he stumbles under the weight of it. But, all in all, I enjoy it quite a bit.

[V-Adore]

This is the third time I’ve written this post – there is some combination of left-hand keys that clears posts out of the quick reply box and sends them away forever….

Ah, new boards! Gotta love 'em!

Onstad has to a good degree created a sort of reality show in his head – like ‘Drawn Together’ in his house and with him in it.  The fact that he includes himself in the world he’s creating for the characters forces us to relate to the characters differently; as having some enhanced sense of realness.  Ray answering e-mail advice questions adds to this; all the written material outside the strips serves to shatter the 4th wall and allow the characters free reign of the proscenium and the theater and the neighborhood outside the theater.

I think Onstad is very likely an amazing graphic artist who is also a pretty good writer.  I tend to think, also, that he’s burdened himself pretty heavily by needing to support so much content – writing blogs in all those voices has got to be hard – and occasionally he stumbles under the weight of it. But, all in all, I enjoy it quite a bit.

Hmmm. Yeah, I think I agree with this: that Onstad is both a talented visual artist and a talented writer but that these talents aren't quite as synchronized as they are in more traditionally talented cartoonists. I definitely think Achewood may not be as good a cartoon as some others (I'm not a big fan of Scary Go Round, but I can see the argument for it), but I question more and more whether being "a good cartoonist" is even Onstad's goal. Whatever he's doing, I'll go along for the ride.

[Noah]

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwww

[pmcd9]

AD and V, It's nice to see you kids getting along together, but ever since your dust up in the people of gravity thread, you've been overly nice to one another.  Can we take it down a notch?

~Paul

[AlohaDawg]

Well, it is the holidays.

But we <do> have a Fuck You Friday to look forward to tomorrow! :-)

Seriously,

There was a lot of stress, controversy, and emotion going in that thread, and it came at a time when people have plenty of stress, controversy and emotion going on. Feeding that beast was just a bad idea and I kept tossing it prime rib. We shouldn't speak of it again.

[Mantonio]

Well, it is the holidays.

But we <do> have a Fuck You Friday to look forward to tomorrow! :-)

Seriously,

There was a lot of stress, controversy, and emotion going in that thread, and it came at a time when people have plenty of stress, controversy and emotion going on. Feeding that beast was just a bad idea and I kept tossing it prime rib. We shouldn't speak of it again.

I say lock up that thread in a dungeon. A Dungeon!

[CortJstr]

I say lock up that thread in a dungeon. A Dungeon!

Not a dungeon. Then you'll just have any number of Fighters, magic users, and clerics down there looking for it. Maybe even a bard if we're really unlucky. We should just use a nice safe deposit box instead.

[AlohaDawg]

Can we compromise and sock it in a bag of holding?