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He's also selling merch and reprints, not just new content. There are other full-time-job-and-only-income-source webcomics out there that update a lot less than OOTS (Dresden Codak, anyone?) and yet it works. Selling new books isn't where most of the money is. Especially if you're a print-only grognard like Rich Burlew. Heck, here's a perfect example:  Look at the copyright line. That's a guy who's been going at it for 12 full years, going on 13. It's also been his full-time job since 2004. He has yet to collect any of his strips into a book. He thrives on selling plushes, posters, prints, with donations and ad money to the side. What Burlew does seems to be working alright for him, despite his non-optimal business choices and his health issues.
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Jan 4, 2014 22:58
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reignonyourparade posted:Its funny that Julio straight up TOLD him about Elan's "wouldn't it make a cool story to defy STORIES THEMSELVES!?" but Tarquin still doesn't get that because of his desire for a perfect story, this lovely ending is actually the best ending of all. What he really doesn't get is that this isn't a terrible ending, even on his terms--it's the hero literally riding off into the sunset while the humiliated villain impotently shakes his fist and yells. He just can't see himself in that role.
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Jan 4, 2014 23:06
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Cat Mattress posted:
Well, he has released several comic-book sized Super Stupors collections (which, as I recall, are actually mostly new comics after the first book), he just hasn't managed any for the main comic.
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Jan 4, 2014 23:11
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Carrasco posted:What he really doesn't get is that this isn't a terrible ending, even on his terms--it's the hero literally riding off into the sunset while the humiliated villain impotently shakes his fist and yells. He just can't see himself in that role. Tarquin's problem is that he had exactly one scenario in his head...The Empire Strikes Back. With him as Vader and Elan as the hand-chopped-off Luke. Turns out this was more Flash Gordon with Ming shaking his fist at the ship carrying Flash and Dale flies into the sunset.
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Jan 4, 2014 23:24
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This is not related to like, anything, but whenever I remember Elan is a grown-rear end man and not the 12-year-old kid he acts like, suddenly I read his lines in Jack McBrayer's voice. Jack McBrayer can pull off some badass fuckin' lines. Angela Christine posted:Didn't you read? It's "a nightmare". The mark of the graphic designer is the ability to tell the difference between about twenty minutely-different variants of Helvetica, and get really insanely angry about using the wrong one.
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Jan 4, 2014 23:39
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Cat Mattress posted:There are other full-time-job-and-only-income-source webcomics out there that update a lot less than OOTS (Dresden Codak, anyone?) You're making GBS threads me. Six comics in 2013 seriously earned him enough merchandise money to support himself?
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Jan 4, 2014 23:49
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NihilCredo posted:You're making GBS threads me. Six comics in 2013 made him enough merchandise money to support himself? Didn't he have a wildly successful kickstarter at some point? e: Yeah he got 530k out of a goal of 30k to fund a single DC comic volume. Assuming he's not just faffing about, his obsessive comic creation process is probably 300% worse when he's doing it for a print comic. Alliterate Addict fucked around with this message at 23:53 on Jan 4, 2014 |
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Jan 4, 2014 23:50
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NihilCredo posted:You're making GBS threads me. Six comics in 2013 seriously earned him enough merchandise money to support himself? People who masturbate to schoolgirls, steampunk and futurism are very reliable sources of income, I suppose.
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Jan 5, 2014 00:02
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Carrasco posted:What he really doesn't get is that this isn't a terrible ending, even on his terms--it's the hero literally riding off into the sunset while the humiliated villain impotently shakes his fist and yells. He just can't see himself in that role.
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Jan 5, 2014 00:13
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CommaToes posted:Elan having no emotion on his face when he states that he isn't a twin, and the fact that Tarquin will live is kinda disturbing. Despite what T thinks, Elan did have character growth in the desert. In the pyramid he finally figured out that he won't be able to save his family, by having a fantasy life where he did reunite his family and seeing what that would look like. Seeing his father murder his brother cemented the idea that his fantasy reconciliation isn't going to happen. His father repeatedly trying to murder all his friends helped too. Elan has come to terms with the idea that his father has to die.
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Jan 5, 2014 00:49
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Angela Christine posted:Despite what T thinks, Elan did have character growth in the desert. In the pyramid he finally figured out that he won't be able to save his family, by having a fantasy life where he did reunite his family and seeing what that would look like. Seeing his father murder his brother cemented the idea that his fantasy reconciliation isn't going to happen. His father repeatedly trying to murder all his friends helped too. Or that he doesn't need Tarquin to adopt Roy in order for them to be brothers, because the order of the stick is his family. Belkar is basically that rear end in a top hat big brother who'll be a dick to you constantly but wreck anyone who messes with you... but will they all get puppies?
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Jan 5, 2014 01:28
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This was a pretty satisfying climax! I think at this point I'm happy with just about any further resolution Rich does regarding Tarquin. We might never see him again, or he might make an inconsequential cameo in the epilogue, or he might actually come back in a story capacity. He could wander lost in the desert until he dies, or Sabine might kill him while he's vulnerable (maybe even take his place - wouldn't Sabine killing him, shapeshifting into him and then ruining his legacy be the best revenge?), or Ian could find him in the desert, or his group could turn him out for being too unpredictable, or he could just stew on his defeat, a broken and irrelevant man (well, still a powerful tyrant, I guess that takes out some of the sting). I also like the idea that maybe the loose ends surrounding him (the favor he owes, his manipulation of the Empire of Blood, having access to one of the rifts, his persecution of Ian, etc) are being intentionally discounted to show how Tarquin thought that by worming himself into the plot he could become "safe" or at least get some plot armor, only for the story to subvert that expectation. The only thing I don't really want to see is for him and his friends to go full Linear Guild. That plotline was always Elan's development arc, and he's really got enough development at this point. It might help bring home the idea that Tarquin really is too blind to see he's just falling into Nale's mini-boss role, but I think by this point we're all fully briefed on Tarquin's flaws. I have to wonder how understanding Haley is about Elan's almost terminal desire not to kill his family members. Even here he couldn't really bring himself to kill his dad, he acknowledged he'd live. Tarquin being alive poses a real problem for Haley and her dad, and she's a whole lot less forgiving (ref: Crystal).
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Jan 5, 2014 01:49
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Dolash posted:I have to wonder how understanding Haley is about Elan's almost terminal desire not to kill his family members. Even here he couldn't really bring himself to kill his dad, he acknowledged he'd live. Tarquin being alive poses a real problem for Haley and her dad, and she's a whole lot less forgiving (ref: Crystal). Elan is opposed to needless killing in general. He wouldn't even kill this prick. Plus, you're forgetting that killing Tarquin wouldn't solve anything in the long run and would just play into his obsessive need to control Elan's personal narrative.
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Jan 5, 2014 02:14
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How's she going to get the bounty lifted on her dad, though? Hm. Maybe if the entire empire of blood goes broke?
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Jan 5, 2014 02:48
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Mr.Pibbleton posted:Or that he doesn't need Tarquin to adopt Roy in order for them to be brothers, because the order of the stick is his family. Belkar is basically that rear end in a top hat big brother who'll be a dick to you constantly but wreck anyone who messes with you... but will they all get puppies? This actually makes me kind of sad because by the time Belkar completes his character development where he is genuinely the friend that always without hesitation wrecks the poo poo of said people he'll likely die; this kind of reminds me of Doctor Who in that while the stories strength is in defying conventions they are like Death itself, you cannot outrun them forever.
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Jan 5, 2014 04:13
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He's a master thief. Having a bounty on his head probably isn't that much of a disruption of his daily life.
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Jan 5, 2014 04:17
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Dolash posted:Sabine might kill him while he's vulnerable (maybe even take his place - wouldn't Sabine killing him, shapeshifting into him and then ruining his legacy be the best revenge?) I was going to say "Nah, because he wouldn't know about it", but it's D&D so whatever hell he ends up in would probably torture him by showing him said ruination in realtime on a plasma screen. That said, the only way she could "ruin" his legacy would be by letting the EoB be overthrown and forgotten. Being inordinately good or bad would both at least render him memorable.
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Jan 5, 2014 04:19
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Dolash posted:Even here he couldn't really bring himself to kill his dad, he acknowledged he'd live. Tarquin broke his sword, so I don't think killing him was really an option here. Unless Elan decided to bludgeon him to death with the lute. vvv The fall didn't kill him, so stepping on his hand wouldn't quite make up the difference. Otherkinsey Scale fucked around with this message at 04:41 on Jan 5, 2014 |
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Jan 5, 2014 04:31
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Carrasco posted:Tarquin broke his sword, so I don't think killing him was really an option here. Unless Elan decided to bludgeon him to death with the lute. Or, y'know, stomping on Tarquin's fingers with his foot. Did anyone else crack up at that panel of Tarquin catching the arrows? The expression is just perfect in that situation.
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Jan 5, 2014 04:39
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Regalingualius posted:Or, y'know, stomping on Tarquin's fingers with his foot. I totally cracked up, not just because of the expression, but because Tarquin has been doing that stupid arrow-snatching thing for some time now, but I never imagined it would actually intersect with the plot. Or that Haley would exploit it by drawing her bow with her leg.
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Jan 5, 2014 04:43
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Carrasco posted:Tarquin broke his sword, so I don't think killing him was really an option here. Unless Elan decided to bludgeon him to death with the lute. V maybe with a few spells or some of the crew members? Someone's got a knife somewhere. e: Anyone else can't shake out of their head that Tarquin must have Simba's fathers voice? (From the Lion King? "Scar/Elan help me!"?) Raenir Salazar fucked around with this message at 04:45 on Jan 5, 2014 |
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Jan 5, 2014 04:43
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Carrasco posted:Tarquin broke his sword, so I don't think killing him was really an option here. Unless Elan decided to bludgeon him to death with the lute. V could probably smoke Tarquin by herself in a few rounds, tops. I was thinking this was gonna end with V casually floating over and picking Tarquin up with Bigby's Hand of Dangling Paternal Figures Precariously or something and asking Elan if he wanted Tarquin to live or die.
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Jan 5, 2014 04:49
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Glory of Arioch posted:V could probably smoke Tarquin by herself in a few rounds, tops. I was thinking this was gonna end with V casually floating over and picking Tarquin up with Bigby's Hand of Dangling Paternal Figures Precariously or something and asking Elan if he wanted Tarquin to live or die. Really? You really think that's in character with both the point of the arc and V since he had a change of heart(and would give rise to humorous setups for jokes)? This is the end of stick+tarquin interaction for a while.
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Jan 5, 2014 05:36
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Ursine Asylum posted:I was going to say "Nah, because he wouldn't know about it", but it's D&D so whatever hell he ends up in would probably torture him by showing him said ruination in realtime on a plasma screen. So yeah, I'll take odds that's how his story ends. Combed Thunderclap posted:I totally cracked up, not just because of the expression, but because Tarquin has been doing that stupid arrow-snatching thing for some time now, but I never imagined it would actually intersect with the plot. And yeah, that's the sort of thing you can do when you're a 15th level(-ish) Rogue with a bunch of archery-related feats.
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Jan 5, 2014 05:59
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FMguru posted:Tarquin has always been unable to understand that he's just a mini-boss, an obstacle for the heroes to overcome in order to get the real fight. It's perfectly correct for the minor villain to end up as you describe, except Tarquin refuses to acknowledge that he's a minor villain in the great scheme of things. Pretty much all of his mistakes flow from this misunderstanding.
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Jan 5, 2014 07:05
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FMguru posted:Dying alone, unmarked, lost in a trackless desert and disappearing from history (after barely rating only a footnote in it) is pretty much the worst possible fate for Tarquin from his perspective. Tarquin's not in any danger. At his level he can jog nonstop out of the desert over several days with no ill effects.
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Jan 5, 2014 07:09
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That might be the sort of thing Rich is willing to bend the rules a bit on for the better narrative, if he feels like it. Just have him get lost and wander in circles for a while. Then again, his remaining friends will probably be able to track him down and pick him back up. Sabine killing and replacing him seems like it could be a good legacy-killing move, since she could get him remembered as a bumbling fool or useless drunk. Tarquin wants to be a legend, but probably only if it's a flattering one.
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Jan 5, 2014 07:32
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Dolash posted:That might be the sort of thing Rich is willing to bend the rules a bit on for the better narrative, if he feels like it. Just have him get lost and wander in circles for a while. Then again, his remaining friends will probably be able to track him down and pick him back up.
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Jan 5, 2014 07:33
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FMguru posted:Sabine may not have the time for a long impersonation - she's still working for the IFCC and they're going to make their next move pretty soon. Maybe impersonate Haley and lead Ian to him?
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Jan 5, 2014 08:00
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wiegieman posted:Tarquin's not in any danger. At his level he can jog nonstop out of the desert over several days with no ill effects. Not to mention a vast portion of his army is like a mile away at most and probably actively looking for him. and some of them can fly.
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Jan 5, 2014 08:35
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Lurdiak posted:Not to mention a vast portion of his army is like a mile away at most and probably actively looking for him. and some of them can fly. I don't know about "actively looking for him", it would depend on if Laurin ported to them to give them an update, or ported to that mage from earlier so that they could try to double-up on V. Also, what exactly is the airspeed velocity of a laden airship? 
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Jan 5, 2014 15:26
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Edit: haha, completely wrong thread. Thought I was in Who Greenlighted somehow
greatn fucked around with this message at 16:45 on Jan 5, 2014 |
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Jan 5, 2014 15:28
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greatn posted:And just who's the president in 2015, future boy? I think you're in the wrong thread, mate.
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Jan 5, 2014 15:29
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ikanreed posted:Really? You really think that's in character with both the point of the arc and V since he had a change of heart(and would give rise to humorous setups for jokes)? This is the end of stick+tarquin interaction for a while. I meant instead of what happened in the last strip.
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Jan 5, 2014 20:23
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I really wanted Tarquin to get something similar to the Disintegrate + Gust of Wind treatment, but since I never have to hear from Nale again I suppose it's not that bad on balance. Tarquin's inevitable reappearance will be annoying but hopefully it's as an actual villain and not as this meta-meta-commentary on narratives.
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Jan 5, 2014 20:50
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melon farmer posted:I really wanted Tarquin to get something similar to the Disintegrate + Gust of Wind treatment, but since I never have to hear from Nale again I suppose it's not that bad on balance. Tarquin's inevitable reappearance will be annoying but hopefully it's as an actual villain and not as this meta-meta-commentary on narratives. I can honestly see Tarquin either never returning or returning only to be defeated in 5 strips.
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Jan 5, 2014 20:56
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Does Tarquin's group have an official name? Hoe about the Asymptotic Guild?
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Jan 5, 2014 21:40
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Raenir Salazar posted:e: Anyone else can't shake out of their head that Tarquin must have Simba's fathers voice? (From the Lion King? "Scar/Elan help me!"?) Considering Mufasa is voiced by James Earl Jones, who also voiced Darth Vader whom Tarquin is very heavily based on, I'd say that's pretty spot on.
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Jan 6, 2014 01:23
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I like Team Blood, Sweat, and Tears but there's no official name of them, no.
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Jan 6, 2014 01:32
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Tarquin's group is probably named something that wouldn't be out of place for a rock band.
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Jan 6, 2014 01:47
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