1021: Return of not-lazy art

Alt-text: The investor elevator pitch is "Wheeeeeeee! Elevators are fun!"

Another two weeks have passed and here I am, writing another review and hoping that this will not become a trend. Now, to be honest, I actually was going to write about several strips that came after 1016, but I only had, like, one or two things to say about each at most, and I didn't want to give you guys lackluster reviews. Though I guess I could talk about them now, before I get to today's comic: 1017 was just a picto-blog entry designed to give the "nerdy" xkcd fans something to rave about, 1018 was just a dumb non-joke that had been done much better in Black Books and 1020... well, I'll just respond with this and leave it at that. With that said, let's get to the matter at hand.

As has been already said in the past, it is a position of the xkcd-sucks blog that we give credit where credit is due, and, well, this is what got me to write this in the first place. 1021 is really damn good. The first thing you'll notice is that it hasn't been drawn on a computer, but rather using the good ol' paper and pencil – just like in Ye Olde Days of xkcd. And it is drawn well, too. Not only did Randall convey the scene of a beach beautifully, he did so that his trademark stick figures don't stick out in the detailed environment like a bare ass in the bushes. This comic proves that he can draw well, he just usually chooses to half-ass it instead, like his fanbase is not worth the hassle.

The comic is also handled well content-wise. Not only are Beret Guy's latest wacky shenanigans something that, at least in my opinion, fits his character, but they're presented without a single line of dialogue, something that we don't see all that often in xkcd, and almost never done right, but here it works. I'm not sure if I really get the joke properly or if the punchline is really just "Haha, Beret Guy, you're so silly! You can't sell gulls!"; a quick Wiki search tells me that the word "gull" can mean a type of a sailing dinghy, but that term appears to be rather obscure. Nevertheless, the joke seems adequate to both the scene and the character of Beret Guy.

The alt-text is kinda stupid, but this is the kind of strip that would best profit from not having any alt-text at all. After all, this is a strip that manages to be good with almost no words. Best keep it that way.

This comic is both satisfying, because it is a really good one, and infuriating, because, well, the other ones aren't. For the longest time I had been wondering how could Randall make a living off of something that he obviously didn't even put any real work into most of the time (yes, I am a little jealous). However, I would understand it had every xkcd strip look like this one. This style simply looks better than the sterile computer-aided drawings, and it fits the stick drawings better, too. Maybe we could get such strips more often? Please?

1001: The real 1000

SinbadEV said...

1001 is hilarious... still laughing at it. Sorry, I'm sure there are ways it could be criticized but I'm not gonna look for them.

Don't worry, man, I got this.

***

Alt-text: 'ARE YOU TURNED ON YET?' 'I DON'T THINK SO--ARE YOU?' 'MAYBE A LITTLE!' 'OK, FIVE MORE MINUTES.'

Okay, as SinbadEV said, this is actually a pretty decent comic. It does have a fair share of problems, but it's still an appropriate "real 1000th strip".

What I like the most about it is its perfect pacing and execution of the joke. The first three panels depict the consequences of a stupid decision (a man and a woman spinning on a bed a bit too fast) and the last panel reveals the decision itself (to build said rotating bed at home after seeing one on TV). Randall even managed to avoid all the usual pitfalls. No post-punchline dialogue, no banner that says "PARTY", no unrealistic speech. Well, okay, it seems a bit stiff to me, but not nearly enough to ruin the comic for me.

The art is pretty good, too, at least for xkcd's standards; I have to point out the ripples in the sheet and the screams of "AAAAAAAA". On the other hand, it isn't very well depicted that the bed is, in fact, spinning, apart from a mediocre blur effect, and the big faceless heads in the first two panels really seem out of place, like in just about any other well-drawn xkcd strip ever.

The weakest past of the comic, though, is the alt-text. It's not funny, it's just really, really stupid. Shame, especially since there are many things that the alt-text could say that would fit the comic a lot better. Here, let me try: "An unidentified flying object has been sighted near Boston. One of the passengers of the circular spinning vehicle has been reported to say 'WHEEEEE!' ".

All in all, this is probably one of the best strips Randall has drawn in years, and I'm glad that it has come right after the horrendous 1000 "comic". Please keep the quality up, Randall.

Comic 961: In Memoriam

Title: Eternal Flame; alt-text: There's always the hope that if you sit and watch for long enough, the beachball will vanish and the thing it interrupted will return.

I held off on reviewing this because I thought that maybe, MAYBE, Randall would do his tribute on Thursday and post another update on Friday. Silly me.

Still, what's to say about this? Not much. It's well done. It's simple. There are no wasted words, no forced punchlines, no irrelevant setups, no art failures, no nerd pandering, and the timeliness is spot on. It reminds me of classic xkcd, before Randall started trying too hard.

It's a good comic.

Comic 954: Classic Hat

I'm sorry to all of you who came here expecting hate. That's not going to happen, because I really enjoyed today's strip.


Title: Chin-Up Bar; alt-text: Those few who escaped found the emergency cutoff box disabled. The stampede lasted two hours and reach the bottom three times.

Maybe I'm up too late. Maybe something in my brain snapped. Maybe...man, I don't know. All I know is that I'm going to gush about this comic, so be prepared.

Ask and you shall receive, right? Not two strips after we complain about how dull and stupid Mr. Hat is getting, Randall posts this! And...it's perfect. The pacing is just right, Mr. Hat is obscure and quirky with ultimately sinister motives (that go well beyond making "stud finder finder" jokes), the joke is held off until the last panel, and the alt-text does exactly what an alt-text is supposed to do. This honestly might be the best xkcd in HUNDREDS.

This, in my mind, is classic Hat. We reference Comic 169 here a lot, where he just friggin' shanks a guy, but the Mr. Hat that I remember is a bit nutty, a bit random, and more than willing to go to extreme and convoluted lengths just to cause a little (or a lot of) chaos. And the thing I love about this is just how nonchalant he is about everything. In Comic 952, he might be nonchalant, or he might just be a massive dick. It's hard to tell, because anyone making that response would do so in the exact same way. Not so in this one.

It's also nice that Randall sets the scene naturally through the flow of the strip. Of course Mr. Hat would pick the longest escalator in the country to do this on, but the way we learn that is very smooth and elegant. The guy behind him is trying to make small talk on a tedious ride, and Mr. Hat responds in kind. It's logical. It makes sense. It's realistic dialogue. As the exchange progresses, we begin to feel the hesitation and awkwardness of the second guy through judicious use of beat panels. As I said above, the pacing is perfect.

And finally, his mission accomplished, Mr. Hat leaves. He doesn't stand there watching. He doesn't look back as he descends. He's sown his chaos, and now he's done. It just underlines how utterly senseless the whole act is, especially to him.

Now, the one thing I don't get is why the second guy follows Mr. Hat down the other escalator. But hey, if that's the worst I can say about a (10 panel!) strip, that's not bad. This comic made me laugh, and I'm not going to criticize just for the sake of criticism.

Of course, if one of YOU feels critical enough to write a guest post, my email's at the top of the page...