THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)
Fun Stuff => ENJOY => Topic started by: JD on 15 Aug 2009, 22:52
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Ends on September 11th
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It still bothers me that he wrote out Tim.
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This is SGR's 9/11.
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I was wondering when this would happen.
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Scary Go Round is one of those comics that I loved to check up on every month.
I hope Carrot gets to go to that university.
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The teenagers, they grew up so fast. :|
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I'm really excited about the new project! I check John's blog every day for NEWS but he is being very tight lipped! All I have read is that it will be awesome and also not be the end of Shelley Winters! He said he could probably actually continue it under the same name but he felt like a bit of a fresh start. Less than two weeks to go now...
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Scary Go Round is probably the only webcomic that I really care about.
Hope the new one is good, but I mean lets be honest, it will be.
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I've been really disappointed that the last SGR arc is focused on the kids. He moved the focus away from the adult characters without any resolution for any of them. The entire thing feels anti-climatic too, like John realised he couldn't do what he planned with the arc and did something else instead. The creepy, otherworldly genderless child that implied a huge change was coming ended up being a regular (but deranged) human child that kidnaps and eats postmen. What started out as a great build up had a sudden and disappointing climax that felt like a rushed attempt to shoehorn in some new characters for the next project.
Shauna and Lottie were handled brilliantly, though. Those two characters are fantastic. It's just a shame that with the heavy focus on those two characters, everything else related to this arc feels underdeveloped.
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SCG was one of my fav webcomics but its Daily very very serial nature meant when I stopped reading webbies regularly I couldnt just pick up anywhere and starting from the beginning is ALOT of work since being daily there is a lot of content to go through.
That being said I always found the the art very crisp and delightful, though with the natural progression of art and the way he recreates characters, Im not so sure Id even recognize half of them anymore. But the dialog was always snappy and entertaining. Now that there is an end-goal in site, perhaps its my duty to see it through to the end this time around.
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I'm checking the blog everyday as well!
I may be sad that SGR is ending, but I love Mr. Allison's humour & art so much that I'm way more excited about something new & what it will be!
I also have a little crush on him, despite having very low musical compatability on last.fm. (These things are important for me.)
I agree the focus on the girls has been a frustrating, but I kind of trust he knows what he's doing & that it will end in a wonderfully happy making way!
(I like someone being on a webcomic forum & saying another webcomic is the only one they care about as well, that made me giggle a little.)
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I've been on this forum for ages despite not actually having looked at the QC comic in years (I dont even know what he art looks like anymore as I have the forums direct linked)
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SGR has always been my favorite webcomic next to Achewood, and I have to echo Sox's thoughts about this arc feeling rushed, and Poh not living up to the expectations that were built for him. I suspect that this arc could've gone a whole different direction if Michael Jackson hadn't've died right after John introduced him as a character.
But I can't be entirely disappointed because Shauna and Lottie's written dialect is utterly brilliant.
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I was kind of hoping this would mark the end of Shelley, but alas, it looks like she'll be crossing over to the next one. I just hope we get some kind of closure for the rest of the cast.
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Baw, these last couple ones are getting sad.
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So, it's all done. Thoughts? Memories? Most favorite storyline of all time?
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Probably when Ryan went to visit his dead girlfriend.
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I suspect that this arc could've gone a whole different direction if Michael Jackson hadn't've died right after John introduced him as a character.
This arc was completed before Michael Jackson died then released on a buffer.
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Also, MJ has been a character for a while, we just hadn't seen him properly before.
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Ryan is back and he's got a beard and he's married?
Holy shit.
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Who wants odds that he's married to Amy?
(also I'm prepared to give this comic a lot of chances but seeing as how much I disliked all the stuff with the little kids in the last SGR story I'm shamefully unconfident)
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I am still excited about the hot girl hawking the Rock O'Clock shirt on the front page occasionally.
Hee.
But yes... I am excited to find out what Ryan's been up to!
I wonder what's gonna happen once we catch up and meet all the characters? I hope it is a return to the macabre of old SGR.
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Did anyone get the limited edition print-only comic? I desperately want to know what happened to Erin and Bob Crowley.
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I am still excited about the hot girl hawking the Rock O'Clock shirt on the front page occasionally.
Hee.
But yes... I am excited to find out what Ryan's been up to!
I wonder what's gonna happen once we catch up and meet all the characters? I hope it is a return to the macabre of old SGR.
Every time I see that I yell out, "HOLY FUCK I KIND OF KNOW HER!!"
Man, I'm so bad at catching things. I didn't realized that was Ryan until Khar pointed it out.
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Did anyone get the limited edition print-only comic? I desperately want to know what happened to Erin and Bob Crowley.
Someone answer this.
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Who wants odds that he's married to Amy?
Alright everyone, pay up.
EDIT: Ryan is so Americana. I love it.
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I am still excited about the hot girl hawking the Rock O'Clock shirt on the front page occasionally.
Hee.
But yes... I am excited to find out what Ryan's been up to!
I wonder what's gonna happen once we catch up and meet all the characters? I hope it is a return to the macabre of old SGR.
Every time I see that I yell out, "HOLY FUCK I KIND OF KNOW HER!!"
Man, I'm so bad at catching things. I didn't realized that was Ryan until Khar pointed it out.
quote tunnel woo
First glance I was like huh sure looks like lunchy.
oh and yep kinda eh
on another note I'd add that the phrase "Bad Machinery" perfectly describes my feelings about my highschool experience.
I'm not sure if John reads this forum but if he did happen to have a peek I'd say Good Comic keep it up.
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Who wants odds that he's married to Amy?
Alright everyone, pay up.
EDIT: Ryan is so Americana. I love it.
That's like betting the sky is blue.
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I basically cannot read the new thing. I blame myself and not Mr. A. I will shortly be entering into therapy to find out what personal deficiency is not allowing me to enjoy the new thing and conquer it.
I do appreciate, however, how SGR got less about fantasy and monsters and Shelley near the end and more about small precocious children having adventures. I appreciate this in the way that I appreciate a girl treating me real bad so I dump her and not the other way around. I will also be discussing this in therapy.
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I think the tone & colouring reflecting the tone are beautiful to look at. He has also stated that he is setting things up, so when asked to be patient (something I'm bad at) I'm trying my best to be patient.
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I'm not worried at all about Bad Machinery not living up to Scary Go Round because I remember when John Allison pulled this same stunt before. Bobbins started out as a office-romance kind of comic but eventually went into more fantasy/adventure territory, at which point Allison decided to end Bobbins and start a spin-off focused on that comic's secondary characters, Rachel and Tessa. Within a year or so, Rachel and Tessa were minor players in this new comic, Scary Go Round, and the core cast was almost entirely the same as the primary Bobbins cast: Tim, Shelly, Amy, Fallon, Ryan, etc. And then SGR evolved on its own, quite naturally, to be better than Bobbins had been before.
I'm fully expecting to see the same thing happening with Bad Machinery. I can't imagine that Allison will be able to stop writing stories that feature the SGR cast any more than he could stop from featuring Bobbins cast members in SGR.
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The artwork is great and I really liked Scary Go Round, so I'm willing to be patient with it and see where it goes. I don't expect it to be as quirky and fantastical as SGR, but it still seems like it's going to be a fun comic.
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I don't know what it is but I have a hard time following Bad Machinery. I am trying my hardest to stay interested, but find myself skipping days. I was totally in love with SGR around the time of the jellyfish adventure, too. Is it still possible to find in the archives?
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I read the first 3 months of SGR and my reaction is: "Why is this good?"
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If you read the first 3 months of any well-respected webcomic you will probably think that. You tend to have to give webcomics a wide berth when you are starting out with them, especially ones that have been running as long as SGR.
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I don't know what it is but I have a hard time following Bad Machinery. I am trying my hardest to stay interested, but find myself skipping days. I was totally in love with SGR around the time of the jellyfish adventure, too. Is it still possible to find in the archives?
Yes click the link that says SGR Archive
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Yeah. I found it. Should have edited that entry to avoid looking like an idiot, but I am lazy!
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I read the first 3 months of SGR and my reaction is: "Why is this good?"
I will agree that SGR is a little difficult to get into (it took me two attempts) but when you actually sit down and appreciate the comic it is easily one of the best out there. Stories may take a little bit of time to develop but for a webcomic that ran for over 7 years, 3 months is hardly a fraction of the story.
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Try to work through Templar Arizona
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Try to work through scoop out your brain with a plastic spoon
I really tried to get into Templar Arizona, but none of the characters meant anything to me because I was completely caught up and like none of them had any true depth, they had quirks. Granted this was maybe 1-2 years ago, maybe its different now.
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I just realized after reading the strips where Ryan and Amy go to the Farmers Market thing that I am bit pissed off that I never got to see the moment where they started to date and got together.
I mean that would have been a really nice moment when Ryan realized that Amy liked him in that way and they got together.
Now they are just married and BORING. They talked about their horrible situation when they couldn't afford to buy vegetables and stuff. That time period would have been interesting reading.
It's so weird. I don't really want to listen to a stories about really young kids or older married couples. It's the stuff that is in between that makes the best stories and I feel gypped!
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That old woman has SOMETHING to do with the strange goings on at the soccer stadium. That much is for sure.
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She is a Russian Gypsy. It is her curse. Her fake eye is a magick 'un.
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et ceteras
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Look at the size of that beard
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The only definitively positive thing I can say about Bad Machinery so far is that it has become the webcomics world leader in excellent beards
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So, a mysterious woodland monster? Why do I feel like Bad Machinery is well on its way to turning back into SGR?
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Because they are in the same universe but with new (and some old) characters.
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Except for that The Englishman has stated numerous times in various interviews and blogs and such that the whole idea of stopping SGR and starting under a new title was to signal a shift in tone and subject matter, much in the same way that he went from office romance/slice of life with Bobbins to supernatural/mystery with SGR.
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Maybe he was scared that he was losing readers and so he is bringing back the classics. Alternatively, it is a drug cartel putting LSD in the water. None of the events are actually happening, everyone is just really fucking high.
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AHHHHHHH CMON FUCK A GUY
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Yay, a demon!
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Hamilton Percy cameo! Holy shit!
(Hamilton Percy was the madman with the company that seemed to do nothing but move around large empty boxes who employed Shelley back when she was a zombie).
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(He also employed Eustice in the possible Pyramid scheme and took over the location of Hugo's company with his own)
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He was also complicit in a white slavery trafficking operation out of the Isle of Wight.
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Except for that The Englishman has stated numerous times in various interviews and blogs and such that the whole idea of stopping SGR and starting under a new title was to signal a shift in tone and subject matter, much in the same way that he went from office romance/slice of life with Bobbins to supernatural/mystery with SGR.
That being said, SGR ended up being not a little bit romance-oriented itself, and (IMO) was a lot closer to Bobbins tone-wise at the end of its run than it initially started out as. It's not impossible to see BM doing the same thing.
Except for that The Englishman has stated numerous times in various interviews and blogs and such that the whole idea of stopping SGR and starting under a new title was to signal a shift in tone and subject matter, much in the same way that he went from office romance/slice of life with Bobbins to supernatural/mystery with SGR.
Isn't the change from Shelley & Co. to Jack & Co. a good enough shift in tone and subject matter? Two different worlds right there. From his website:
Q. Will you be bringing back all my favourite characters from Scary Go Round?
A. Certain characters are just done and will never come back. One or two are part of the new comic, but not central to it. Others might cameo, but Bad Machinery is a different sort of comic about a different generation and I think if I begin to wheel out old familiar faces, it will be a sign that things are going wrong creatively.
See, I don't think that's reasonable of him to say BM would be going "wrong" if it turned into a continuation of SGR. The Bobbins/SGR characters are basically the ones he's spent his whole creative life with, so I don't think anyone could blame him if he keeps coming up with stories for them.
As far as the change from Shelly & Co. to Jack & Co... just remember SGR began with an explicit shift from Shelly & Co. to Rachel and Tessa & Co.
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Erin? ERIN? ERIN? (http://www.scarygoround.com/index.php?date=20091224)
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I remember her being bigger.
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Silly John Allison, Women came out in 2008.
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This is my least favorite time for the comic. It's nice you like music Mr. Allison, but I needs mah stories.
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A lot of comics just don't update at all at this time, don't bitch.
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Yeah so the Erin thing has finally stuck a hook into me. Unfortunately I haven't read the mini-comic, but I can't help feel that Erin's been adversely affected by her stay in the nether. No-one can remember her for starters, but also I think she's probably up to no good :(
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A lot of comics just don't update at all at this time, don't bitch.
But it's not an update, it's word document with a character that hasn't shown up in this series yet.
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I wonder if Bob Crowley got out as well?
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A lot of comics just don't update at all at this time, don't bitch.
But it's not an update, it's word document with a character that hasn't shown up in this series yet.
Man he does this every year I think you can survive a week without your stories
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I like the albums of the year. It's one of my favourite bits. I'm happy he is still doing it.
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I like the albums of the year too but looking through the archives he seems to have gotten the years wrong on a few albums.
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Yeah is it me or does Achewood actually suck now? There are still some really solid turns of phrase in individual panels but it feels like Onstad just isn't trying to write stories anymore. I get the impression his heart isn't in it anymore?
It is cool if you quit making comics Chris Onstad, as long as you do something else, and do it well.
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Ok, Erin flitted in and back out and now BM sucks again.
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Yeah is it me or does Achewood actually suck now?
Suck is farther than I would go, but I wouldn't dispute that the sporadic updates are hurting the comic. It doesn't help that he set such a high standard for himself either. After all, there was a time when I'd check constantly because there was always the chance he might go on a tear like the time he cranked out Ebay Platinum Reserve immediately followed up by the Scientific Dong Study in what I think was a month or two. These days you might get two proper strips and a flow chart in a given week. Perhaps he should look into doing something else for a while. He's certainly wringed enough stories out of the Achewood cast that I could hardly blame him for feeling a bit painted in these days.
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Well put Alex.. you can almost feel that urgency that Chris has about making money from achewood when the 'golden era' of achewood was long before any of this assetbar crap came along. he could have at least called his 'premium package' the 'platinum reserve achewood' but nooo..
at any rate... about Bad Machinery... I have this nasty tendancy of finally getting into a comic mere months before it dies off. as with SGR, I finally plowed through the whole archive only to find the story being finished! I hate when that happens. I did the same thing with Sconeborough(http://sconeborough.lmfao.org.uk/ (http://sconeborough.lmfao.org.uk/)) and it's irrrrrrritating. I love SGR and often go into the archives to re-read some of my favourite storylines. still trying to warm up to BM but the focus on the younger kids is making it hard to identify with.
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Yeah, I honestly just don't care about them all that much. The two main girls are turgid little bints. About the only ones I have any sort of interest in are Mildred and Jack. I have a feeling Jack's gonna become one of the main characters along the way, if not already, but if it keeps focusing on Shauna and Charlotte without developing them further than "stereotypically annoying, mouthy kids" then I'm gonna be disappointed. This is really annoying to me mainly because SGR was my favourite webcomic and I know that John A is a top-class guy trying his best to make good stuff. I really *want* to like it, but unfortunately I'm finding that at the moment at least it is not to my taste.
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I say we need more episodes with Shauna's little half-brother.
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FOOTBALL MAN!
WHAT DID YOU DO WITH MRS BISCUITS?
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THERE ARE SEV'RAL WITNESSES
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Oh hey thanks for reminding me I haven't read BM in ages. I agree with the people who say it is getting better as it goes along, and some of the art has been just perfect. I died laughing at the panel where the boys are at Linton's place and his mum tickles Jack. Also Mildred's face in the last panel of the most recent comic. So cute!
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Bad Machinery is getting better but I would like to enumerate my problems by requesting you all re-read a chapter from the best period of Scary Go Round, perhaps Bulgaria (http://www.scarygoround.com/sgr/ar.php?date=20050314)
Every page man. Sometimes every panel.
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Ah, Hristo, Yes. Was flattened by Communism.
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Gets worse! Hung for five years as decoration in office of Mikhail Gorbachev.
Actually man, current stuff is getting pretty gold.
"word has it at the depot you're losing your edge, man!"
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I definitely agree that it's not of the same consistent brilliance that Scary Go Round reached at its peak, but I do reckon it's already improving on the quality of SGR's twilight months, which I guess was the point? Today's strip was great.
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oh fuck i don't know why but i bust out laughing at the last panel of today's comic
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It is because it is hilarious! Sonny floating adrift from his bike, set for very bad things indeed is a masterstroke.
Also I am pretty sure Mildred is becoming my favourite character because of she gets the best facial expressions and she also seems to be potentially criminally insane ("I don't see how you can charge for TRIANGLES")
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MRS BISCUITS!!!
Sergei, what have you done?
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It's OK, she's a Likho and can fly, she'll be cool.
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Early-teen Romance?
In My Mystery Comics?
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I definitely like Bad Machinery more than SGR.
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Early-teen Romance?
In My Mystery Comics?
It's more common than you think.
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Ok, I am liking it again now,
Curse you, Mr Allison!
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I say we need more episodes with Shauna's little half-brother.
John Allison I think perhaps you are reading this thread, no?
BORB
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I definitely like Bad Machinery more than SGR.
I'm not quite at this point but I'd agree that BM is as good already. I feel like it's somewhat inevitable that the newer comic will grow to be my favourite and I really hope he sticks at it.
A few years ago a crazy woman killed the drummer of my favourite band of all time. As a result, the band folded and later emerged as a different group with similar personnel. When I heard the music of the new band, part of me was privately disappointed because it wasn't what I had been expecting and I hadn't quite let go of the previous incarnation. It was obviously very good but it didn't feel like it was mine and thus I couldn't identify with it entirely, at least not in the way I had with the music by the departed band. A couple of years down the line, I went back to those records by the newer group and I couldn't believe how great it was. Nothing had changed about the records, the only thing which had changed was me, as a person.
Sometimes the best thing about art is when it waits for you to come around. On occasion, not immediately embracing something as genius is a good thing because it may very well mean that you will one day return with a fresh perspective and the payoff will be that much sweeter. Whilst I don’t always understand why I am being challenged by art, when it happens I am always mesmerised with hindsight and immensely grateful for those who take risks with their creative endeavours.
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The epilogue to the first story got me on-board properlike. That there was obviously tentative FEELINS between Shauna and Jack was cool, but the whole Girls vs Boys solvin' problems angle was really unexpected and welcome, because the two of them meddling in the supernatural goings-on of the town and dragging their friends along with them almost makes up for the departure of Shelley's maniacally cheerful meddling, bringing the town back into balance.
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To be fair, that angle had been mentioned in the last SGR story and mentioned several times over the course of that first BM story
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Yes but I wasn't paying attention because it was different.
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Why is this one of my favorite webcomics all of the sudden?
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John Allison is probably poisoning you.
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I'm okay with it.
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For me it was the last panel of this strip (http://www.scarygoround.com/strips/20100414.png)
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onetwothree...
...AWWWW
(Dobby!)
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d'awwwwww
But there's menace in dem bushes, missus.
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It is ok!
The Enchanted Pencil Mildred will save the day!
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Yeah that makes me wonder if it's gonna wind up being one of them "NO MILDRED, THE MAGIC WAS IN YOU ALL ALONG" things and set up a magical Mildred vs the obviously up to no good and possibly demonic Erin at some point in the future.
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Clarification: That would be totally awesome.
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Oh man the last three strips have been gold. Mildred's parents ensured a punchline in every panel, and the last two have been Ryan at his best. Seems like Allison's really hitting his stride with these.
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Make it last four
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Ehhh, this better lead into something good.
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It already has. Don't you remember those "animals" in the sketch?
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See that is what I was thinking it was gonna be about, but it sort of feels like this page is a little unnecessary?
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Well, we don't know how the cricket pavillion caught fire yet.
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I believe we were given a pretty big clue here (http://www.scarygoround.com/?date=20100512). Then again, I could be wrong, I am just assuming that we are seeing the smouldering near the building and that it is the cricket pavilion.
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The determined, semi-crazy look in Sonny's eye in the last panel of today's strip is fantastic.
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Ah, that newspaper clipping reminds me of the great old incompetent Tackleford establishment of the past.
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Oh nooooooo :(
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So I guess John A is taking a break from BM after this arc. I'm bugged because I grew to love this comic and thought it would lead to endless possibilities because the cast would grow older over time. I was vaguely hoping that this would become something which you could literally live with for many years, in the manner that I did growing up with the cast of Bobbins and eventually SGR. However, I'm sure these characters will return since they all inhabit the same universe. I'm also sure that whatever he chooses to do next will be great.
I sort of feel like the long story arcs and cast of kids meant it was always going to be a tough sell to the webcomic audience, which is attracted by sex and profanity first and foremost. With Esther going off to university, I guess that we're going to be in that kind of territory again, which will hopefully make it more commercially viable as a project.
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John A never gets the love he deserves. It's a constant source of chagrin that a great deal of his blog/news posts involve him talking about how his various projects have been moderate failures and he needs to rethink. It's also quite apparent that he's got a pretty serious distaste for the "sell t-shirts to make comics" webcomix business model. I hope he has far more luck in print, although I worry about BM's ability to connect with kids. Maybe I'm not giving kids enough credit, but I feel like John A's style is a little too dry and verbose for young tastes?
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without hesitation I would describe Bad Machinery as the best webcomic on the internet right now that I'm aware of, except for perhaps Achewood in its prime. If he started going all Bryan Lee O'Malley with Bad Machinery I would buy every volume. Twice.
I also introduced my 11 year old sister to Bad Machinery and she loves it! I mean, she listens to Justin Bieber and was belting Teenage Dream in her room this morning! If it's not too dry and verbose for my sister it shouldn't be too dry and verbose for anyone
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without hesitation I would describe Bad Machinery as the best webcomic on the internet right now that I'm aware of, except for perhaps Achewood in its prime. If he started going all Bryan Lee O'Malley with Bad Machinery I would buy every volume. Twice.
I think Homestuck is better. That would be harder to do in print though.
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last comic for a while is up! I'm gonna miss it, Jack was really growing on me
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Jesus Shit the most recent "Giant Days" is so, so good. Every panel, guys.
"Oh no, she's gesture illiterate!"
"I just wanted to tell you what time it is...
IT'S
GO
TIME"
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Why do I love Daisy so much?
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"Flipping hell, what's in this thing? Nazi gold?"
Third comic in and I'm already enjoying it.
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New avatarrrr
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newest one is awesome, love the record on ester's matches
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Did I catch a Riki-Oh reference in the strip where the Head Girls reveal their fighting abilities?
"You should realise that the warden of a prison must have the strongest kung-fu!"
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I am very much enjoying getting to read Bad Machinery five times a week, I am very much enjoying Bad Machinery
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Fair to Moderate Machinery.
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Pretty Good Machinery.
Preeety Preeety Pretty Good Machinery
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Little Claire for President... of my heart :mrgreen:
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Love Little Claire, she needs to be used extra sparingly, though.
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So, I thought bad machinery was going to end?
Apparently not. Mr. Allison commented on my blog post citing that it won't be!
Not sure if that is news to anyone else. I for one am extremely pleased. :mrgreen:
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What made you think that it was going to end?
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John A wrote a blog-post a while ago about how Bad Machinery wasn't picking up new readers and asking people whether they thought it was worth continuing and what changes to pacing etc. they thought he might make to attract newbies.
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Ok, I was mucking around and I made these, if anyone wants them:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/KharBevNor/Littleclaire3.gif) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/KharBevNor/Littleclaire2.gif) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/KharBevNor/Littleclaire1.gif)
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Definitely would, if I didn't already have the best BM related avatar already
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The best thing about thinking of the voices of any SGR characters is when you remember that Tackleford is in Yorkshire.
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Holy shit John Allison's royal wedding coasters.
(http://cache0.bigcartel.com/product_images/34840018/300.png) (http://shop.scarygoround.com/product/regal-wedding-coaster-pack)
The lower right. Is so brilliant. I love that man.
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She wouldn't miss it even for High Tea.
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He epitomised William so hard there, he epitomised the shit out of him
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Little Claire, how could you?
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I love her backpack. Ith fantathtic.
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The new one took a turn I did not expect. Since I can't find a forum for John Allison, I say to you here: Yikes.