Register a SA Forums Account here!
JOINING THE SA FORUMS WILL REMOVE THIS BIG AD, THE ANNOYING UNDERLINED ADS, AND STUPID INTERSTITIAL ADS!!!

You can: log in, read the tech support FAQ, or request your lost password. This dumb message (and those ads) will appear on every screen until you register! Get rid of this crap by registering your own SA Forums Account and joining roughly 150,000 Goons, for the one-time price of $9.95! We charge money because it costs us money per month for bills, and since we don't believe in showing ads to our users, we try to make the money back through forum registrations.
 
  • Post
  • Reply
1stGear
Jan 16, 2010

Here's to the new us.
Just read the entire archive and added a new webcomic to my bookmarks. Hot drat that was good, and I can definitely see why Neil Gaiman likes it.

I would advise new readers to not get turned off by the first few stories, like I nearly was. It definitely gets a lot better.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

1stGear
Jan 16, 2010

Here's to the new us.

Copernic posted:

In retrospect, the first few stories feel like Harry Potter Book One. It's a bit more storybook, a bit more childish, but completely normal for new, young characters growing into adulthood.

I'm not sure if it's intentional, but I always felt like the graphic style evolving away from the frightening semi-giger architecture of the Court felt like Annie getting used to and acclimating to her new home.

For me, it was more that Annie was just the perfect, somber little girl with a mysterious past that got away with everything and was basically the perfect definition of Mary Sue. It also seemed like its was just riding on the whole "Harry Potter, but different!" shtick and not having any substance, all of which are things that goons tend to mock.

Then the world and characters get fleshed out, you start to get more flashes of The Plot, and the art and writing improve significantly. I think its about when you meet Ysengrim and Coyote that everything hits its stride.

So yeah, kind of like Harry Potter Book One.

1stGear
Jan 16, 2010

Here's to the new us.

Really Pants posted:

Jones is a willowy blonde woman, and there's no debate whatsoever about how many trucks she eats for breakfast.

Jones is less willowy.

And is also a robot.

1stGear
Jan 16, 2010

Here's to the new us.

Dodgeball posted:

:colbert:



That sounds like exactly what a robot would say! :colbertreversal:

1stGear
Jan 16, 2010

Here's to the new us.
Green elf guy is pretty clearly an ex-member of the Court who passed the test over to the forest. Diego mentions in the big flashback montage that he's a "traitor" and Ysengrin had a similar word for forest dwellers who went over to the Court.

1stGear
Jan 16, 2010

Here's to the new us.

Stupid Boob posted:

Yeah, according to Rey, he and Ysengrin hadn't come to the forest until after the split. Elf dude was an elf before the split. And according to Coyote, the whole give up your body thing was Ysengrin's idea.

I have no idea why Diego thinks of him as a traitor, though I'm sure we'll find out eventually.

Lame! I'll have none of your red herring foreshadowing, Mr. Slidell! :argh:

1stGear
Jan 16, 2010

Here's to the new us.

DocFrance posted:

Maybe she's a robot?

fake edit: I really wish it would turn out that everyone at the court was a robot except Jones.

This should be an April Fools strip.

1stGear
Jan 16, 2010

Here's to the new us.
Yeah, while I'm not hoping Parley dies, I'm also hoping that she doesn't get away from this unscathed. It would significantly detract from Jeanne's menace if both of the girls escaped while she just kinda stands there and shakes her fist.

1stGear
Jan 16, 2010

Here's to the new us.

Kojiro posted:

That's actually a common thing with professional authors. Here's a thing George R R Martin wrote about it, though fanfic is probably the only way we'll ever see an ending to Ice and Fire..

Mild derail, but thanks for linking this. I had heard GRRM disliked fanfiction but as I didn't follow his work, I never bothered to find out why. Interesting read on the topic and his opinions are much more well-reasoned and grounded than I expected.

1stGear
Jan 16, 2010

Here's to the new us.

idonotlikepeas posted:

GC fans are prone to overanalysis because the story rewards careful examination. People can look at past events and see the seeds of current storylines very easily. That means that the current storylines likely contain the seeds of future ones. Unfortunately, that also means that it's easy to jump on every little detail because it /might/ turn out to be something important later. I think most of us have been guilty of that at one time or another.

Also, the art is pretty and overanalysis is an excuse to look at it some more.

1stGear
Jan 16, 2010

Here's to the new us.

Mr. Heliotrope posted:



I see a lot of potential for future use with this panel :v:

Yeah, I can see this basically being the loss.jpg of Gunnerkrigg Court, only good.


quote:

Oh come on overanalysis is fun, and you don't have to read it if you don't want to.

I'm not criticizing the overanalysis, I'm just adding another reason to justify it. For example, I regularly load up Dresden Codak even when I know there isn't going to be an update just to gawp at the art.

1stGear
Jan 16, 2010

Here's to the new us.

Pick posted:

Much as I love him, Coyote is clearly a much bigger dick than Ysengrin.

Yeah, as wacky as he is, Coyote is a gigantic rear end in a top hat and I think has depths of assholeishness that we haven't seen. If GC ever commits to a single, epic plot, I would not be surprised if Coyote ends up being the villain.

1stGear
Jan 16, 2010

Here's to the new us.
Slightly confused on panels 4 and 5. Was Jack going for a goodbye hug and got shut down by Anniebot?

Poor Jack. He fell for the girl who saved him from ether-spiders, not knowing she was an emotionless husk. I know the feeling. :smith:

1stGear
Jan 16, 2010

Here's to the new us.
Hello RenarDAD JEEZ DO YOU WANT ME TO PASS SCHOOL OR NOT GET OFF MY BACK

Mickey Eye posted:

Events do seem to be conspiring to piss her off. That said the homework thing is entirely her own fault. The question is if she shall do the right thing herself or if she shall get caught first. I suspect she'll get caught and be made to retake the year over the summer.

I don't know about British schools, but in America while you do get in serious trouble if you get caught copying someone's homework, you don't necessarily have to repeat the year. Unless Annie has been doing this all the time off-screen, I think she'll be okay, particularly since she's rather important to the Court.

Is the UK seriously that harsh?

1stGear
Jan 16, 2010

Here's to the new us.

qa6 posted:

So basically, even Jones has more social skills than Annie.

Jones has the latest version of the software Yes.

1stGear
Jan 16, 2010

Here's to the new us.
I think you guys are missing the bigger picture here. Right now, Reynardine is okay with the Court, primarily because he loves Surma and has paternal feelings towards Annie because of Surma. If that love gets shattered, suddenly he's not okay with the Court. If Reynardine isn't okay with the Court but is trapped there by Annie or others, Coyote and Ysengrim will get involved.

Annie's little shitfit could have pretty serious implications for the peace between the two sides.

1stGear
Jan 16, 2010

Here's to the new us.
Eh, it actually fits better as just a gift between couples, since Annie and Jack hitting it off seems to be what this chapter is building up towards.

Is anyone else kinda bothered by how the kids, particularly Jack, have visually aged? They're only like 13 or so and they seem to have shot up to late teens over the summer.

1stGear
Jan 16, 2010

Here's to the new us.

Brannock posted:

Puberty causes rapid physical changes in teenagers? You don't say.

Look, this is the last time we saw Jack. Now he looks like my goddamn senior English teacher. There is a difference between puberty and looking like you're 30.

1stGear
Jan 16, 2010

Here's to the new us.


Wow. That makes a fairly compelling argument that the Court literally grew out of actual Bismuth and not weird magic Bismuth.

Well, semi-actual Bismuth anyway.

VVVV Goddammit.

1stGear fucked around with this message at 04:43 on Aug 7, 2011

1stGear
Jan 16, 2010

Here's to the new us.
Swearing and discussions about sexual orientation. The kids are growing up so fast. :allears:

quote:

Zimmy?

Zimmy is a kid only in the technical sense of the term.

1stGear fucked around with this message at 19:29 on Aug 24, 2011

1stGear
Jan 16, 2010

Here's to the new us.

Benagain posted:

Alien space crabs watching you through mystical means probably put a damper on romance of any kind.

Bud is a total bro, I think he'd let some light smooching go.

1stGear
Jan 16, 2010

Here's to the new us.
Annie's expression doesn't match her words in Panel 2 and 4, its implied that she's the one who scooted close on the last page, and this is totally buying time so Tom can cut to the next mini-story and have the smooching be the climax of the chapter.

I don't know what's weirder, analyzing a teenage romance or doing it while the comic creator is in the thread. :ohdear:

1stGear
Jan 16, 2010

Here's to the new us.

inthesto posted:

It's also kind of hard to ignore panel 5 on this page

And since we have nothing better to than pick apart the entire comic, let's go back to the fourth treatise. Please note what each girl has in their hands and then consider what character those animals are most strongly identified with.

1stGear
Jan 16, 2010

Here's to the new us.

Saoshyant posted:

Also, seems like the player got his tables turned around. Let's see how he gets out of this one.

He's going to say something all roguish and devil-may-care and Annie's going to swoon all over the place.

1stGear
Jan 16, 2010

Here's to the new us.

Ka0 posted:

I don't know what's going to happen... so good job Tom.

I think this is the best thing to say. This page was so good it turned a predictable, if entertaining chapter, into a seething mass of theories and waiting for Friday. So yeah, good job Tom.

1stGear
Jan 16, 2010

Here's to the new us.
Well. That was unexpected.

Also, Panel 5 is the best thing. I love that Annie is as surprised and confused as the rest of us.

EDIT: For that matter, can someone avatarize Annie's face in Panel 5? Time to join the GC avatar crew.

1stGear fucked around with this message at 08:13 on Sep 2, 2011

1stGear
Jan 16, 2010

Here's to the new us.

dumb brunette posted:

Couple variations and one bonus.

Thank you!

1stGear
Jan 16, 2010

Here's to the new us.
Hey guys, Tom has made an official response to the JackXZimmy thing.

Found on this newspost

1stGear
Jan 16, 2010

Here's to the new us.
Its just such a random thing to be upset about, especially there were literally zero consequences for either Annie or Reynard. Neither of them hasn't mentioned it since then and hell, Jack was under the control of the mind spiders, it really wasn't his fault.

So Annie trying to scrabble for ground actually makes her look a lot better, because if she is genuinely trying to string Jack along emotionally over such a small thing, what the gently caress Carver.

1stGear fucked around with this message at 15:07 on Sep 7, 2011

1stGear
Jan 16, 2010

Here's to the new us.

Kismet posted:

Tom seems to have been flirting with the idea of putting some of these canvases on e-bay and expressing doubt about how much people would pay for them. I just want everyone to marvel at that sentence for a moment.

Tom, if you are reading this, auction some things. Auction a napkin imprinted with your lipstick kiss. You will make money.

Especially since I suspect even people who don't read Gunnerkrigg Court would think "drat, that's pretty" and pay money.

1stGear fucked around with this message at 05:51 on Sep 8, 2011

1stGear
Jan 16, 2010

Here's to the new us.

Benagain posted:

Tea-san, congrats on remembering that teenagers think with random hormone fluctuations.

Tom is actually 14 years old, most shocking twist yet. Also, nthing that this whole chapter rules.

1stGear
Jan 16, 2010

Here's to the new us.
Dawwwwwwwwww

why am I getting excited over 14-year olds kissing what is wrong with me

EDIT: Have to say I don't really like Annie's face in the last panel. It seems like it shifts into a completely different art style. Panel 3 is totally awesome though.

1stGear fucked around with this message at 17:12 on Sep 14, 2011

1stGear
Jan 16, 2010

Here's to the new us.
Reminder that Jones believes she could take Ysengrin and Coyote at the same time and they didn't argue too much.

Whichever mythological entity she is, she's one of the super badass ones.

1stGear
Jan 16, 2010

Here's to the new us.
Welp, they're out, end of the comic guys.

1stGear
Jan 16, 2010

Here's to the new us.
Man, I think I've heard these stories somewhere before.

Also, Winsbury gets to look forward to a jawline you can sculpt granite with.

1stGear
Jan 16, 2010

Here's to the new us.
What are you talking about guys, Ysengrin is happy as a clam. All going around catching fish with his psychic tree armor and trying to start wars between the Forest and Court and stuff.

1stGear
Jan 16, 2010

Here's to the new us.
If she was just lonely or didn't want to interrupt the moment or whatever, then why did she look at Paz, the one who mistook her for a lesbian?

I suppose its possible she just doesn't like the idea of Annie and Jack becoming BFFs and Jack rolling up in her turf, but I think its more likely that she's feeling some weird pangs of jealousy and doesn't quite understand why.

1stGear
Jan 16, 2010

Here's to the new us.

a pipe smoking dog posted:

also Llanwellyn is a really weird surname seeing as the Welsh prefix Llan is basically like the english suffix -ham or -ton.

You forget the part where Welsh is the language of insanity.

So who's Bud talking to? His wife? Jones? Eglamore?

1stGear
Jan 16, 2010

Here's to the new us.
I hope Smitty and Parley get some limits on their abilities in this chapter. Gunnerkrigg has (rightly) played fast and loose with the etheric rules so far but once characters start actively using them, they need some boundaries.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

1stGear
Jan 16, 2010

Here's to the new us.

Ironic Twist posted:

There's no way Miss Jazz Hands and Wildberry Pop-tart Hair wasn't a fairy at some point.

No dots. She even has her shoulders exposed, which I half-think was a deliberate act on Tom's part to deflate that theory.

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • Post
  • Reply