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title: Making Things Difficult; alt-text: "Favorite mastectomy breast prosthesis idea: a fake boob containing a spare rechargable battery, accessed via a nipple USB port. Complete with a ring of LED charge indicators in the areola!"
acosta02 said...
I just can't understand the point of this comic. Okay, okay. It's obvious enough that Randall went to the doctor with Megan yesterday, so we all know the inspiration. But what's the joke here?
No, stop typing your response. There's a tradition that showing a man her breasts earns a woman a string of beads... during Mardis Gras. It's not Mardis Gras. It's not Mardis Gras for another 2 months. You wouldn't do a Halloween comic in Augus- well, maybe he would. Who knows.
Sorry, but I want to go back and mention the stupid first box again. Loo, we get it. Cancer. It's sad, but it adds nothing to this comic at all. In a comic that's already about twice as wordy as it needs to be, this is just more useless information crammed in for the sake of... I don't even know why. Clearly this isn't something that actually happened, so it's not for accuracy's sake. Maybe it's there so that fans can say it's not nice to criticize the comic.
I hate this comic's pacing. All this comic really needs to be is:
"You're looking great! Remove your top so I can check how the incision is healing."
"Sorry Doc, you know the rules."
Then the doctor pulls out some beads and she takes off her top. Also, the comic is published during Mardis Gras to establish context. That's all you really need (also I would change the doctor's awkward dialogue, but I'm just talking pacing).
As it stands now, it's just atrocious. NEITHER line of dialogue is necessary in the last panel, and the third panel actually makes me angry. "This is so ridiculous"? Of course it is, it's a joke in a comic strip. The cartoonists' goal here should be to make the reader think that, not to hamfistedly establish that the joke is funny before you tell it. Imagine a conversation like this:
"Wow man, what happened to you?"
"I broke my wrist and fractured my hip. I'm about to say something facetious, by the way. You should see the other guy."
Alright, that's all I have to say. I'm going to go have nightmares about Megan opening her coat to reveal some kind of wormhole now.
Also this turned out really long. You can use it as a guest review if you want.
I'm actually okay with the pacing.
ReplyDeleteNot being familiar with Mardis Gras (other than knowing it's some kind of festival thing in New Orleans), this comic completely baffled me.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the alt-text creeped me out. Randall just wants to be able to say he has a cyborg girlfriend, doesn't he?
Not one mention of the alt-text? It completely legitimizes Robs constant attacks on Randall being creepy and weird about sex. Aside from...You know, the rest of xkcd.
ReplyDeleteAs a weird foreigner, I have no knowledge of this "Mardee Grass" you're talking about, but if what the guest review says is true, then the comic contains a grave mistake: The doctor is a woman, not a man. I know that it's a woman, because she has long hair, and that is the only way Randall can differentiate sexes in his comic.
ReplyDeleteT-Jack: It's tranny-randy.
ReplyDeleteAnd this is some sick disgusting doctor/patient boob-milk foreplay fantasy that he has.
@ Michael
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm not sure what to say. I think I pointed out a few obvious mistakes, but I'm willing to hear out your view.
@ Anonymous 1:23
Yeah. I guess I didn't really want to touch that one, but it literally can't be read any other way than "I want to suck [energy] from your titties." Weird, weird, weird.
@ T-Jack
That's something I wanted to mention but falls outside just a critique of the comment, and more into Rob territory. I can't help but feel the comic was supposed to have a male doctor? But then it would look like Megan was trying to attract him, rather than just being WACKY and QUIRKY. Alternatively, perhaps Randall was afraid of appearing to condone the tradition; this would also explain all the superfluous dialogue designed to hammer home how reluctant the doctor is.
"You wouldn't do a Halloween comic in Augus- well, maybe he would. Who knows."
ReplyDeleteHe did make a Christmas comic on October 1st, didn't he?
It's Mardi Gras, no S. If you're going to critique someone else, get the basics right.
ReplyDeletewell i think theres only one thing to be said about this bullshit i bet that none of you actually know who rob is and this whole blog is actually a joke cuz they are brothers.
ReplyDeleteyou all being played so nasty what tools.