An ode to the American Breath of Fire II box art
April 23, 2012
12:00 am
Okay I lied, the comic will stop being late whenever I stop being completely sick of drawing it. Word to the wise, pop culture video game gag comics are probably the least fulfilling thing to work on this side of OCT’s. Colour version will hopefully be up tonight, I just didn’t want to go through Wednesday without updating.
One more heavy handed morals strip because I’ve got the sinking feeling a handful of people still don’t get what this arc is about (Or at least the ones who are updating the TVtropes page).
For the uninitiated, the original American BoF II box art;
Versus the same character in-game;
Annnnnd…. Pony Walter Sobchak shirts;
Put some salt on it, that will make the slime tatse much better.
Y’know, I always wondered if the different colored slimes tasted like different fruits(and or berries); Green slimes, apples, Orange slimes, mangoes(Just to shake things up), red, strawberry, and so on and so forth…
The Red Slimes are allegedly red because they are carnivores, this may affect something.
No, I think these ones are from Dragon Quest, so they’re red because they’re female. That is all.
No, I’m pretty sure the are Square Enix slimes, considering who the big bad(s?) is(are?)
Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t Dragon Quest slimes and Square Enix slimes synonymous…?
Are they confusing Dragon Quest slimes with Final Fantasy flans/puddings?
Squeenix slimes are called flans, are are significantly more resilient to physical damage.
Uh… Dragon Quest is/was made by Enix, the other half of squeenix…
And yeah, red slimes are female and red because they eat more meat than the smaller, less-evil blue slimes, according to 1, 4, 8, and 9, at least.
Flans are completely unrelated.
Actually, in the monster encyclopedia in one of the games, 8 I think it was, it mentions that the she-slimes are red because they eat a lot of meat.
I’m pretty sure the slimes are from Dragon Quest. As for the she-slimes, I don’t remember anything specifically stating that their colour was because they ate meat, but because they live in a different area, or because of some sort of mutation.
if thats the case i wodent eat the yellow onse cose i think thats gona give me a lemmon face
In Japan they have Blue Slimes as snacks, but they’re meat pastries.
The Atelier series proves it by having slime pudding and the like. Granted, the stuff needs to be cooked.
I thought salt would just make them bubble like snails :p
Well, color or not, that is one memorable last panel.
Yay, Katt! I always liked her because she doesn’t wear pants.
..among other things I liked her for.
Oh, that’s Katt! It’s been so long I didn’t recognize her and thought he was another Nomura-infested guy for a minute there…
She, I mean. Jeez.
Well hey if you don’t wanna do the comic, change it, stop it, make it bi-weekly, whatever you have to do. :P
We won’t hate you for it, I promise.
Yeah we’re not some kinda asshole fan who gets pissy over a small change
Well, some of us probably are, but the rest of us will slap them until they shut up.
Seriously, if you’re tired of the comic, then it’s time to change it up. Put the current storyline on hiatus and just do whatever the heck you want! When you get bored, you change the subject, and then come back to it later with a fresh pair of eyes.Believe me, everyone will benefit from it, especially you. We’re all behind you, Coelasquid… at least the ones who count! ;-)
I concur.
I have lurked this from the beginning and never gotten up the nerve to post. I decided to now because of this comment.
This comic is epic. Probably my MOST fav comic on the net. NO JOKE.
That said if you are bored with it perhaps it is time for you to take a hiatus or something. When it stops being fun it’s just not worth it anymore. Besides that hard to do your best work when you hate doing it at the time.
I’ll love you no matter what Squid. For serious.
I may have been a show creature since this thing has begun but that doesn’t make me or any of the other lurker fans adore your comic or you any less.
Go with that you feel and remember….
It’s dangerous to go alone. Here take this! -hands still beating heart-
-facepalms- That should have been *shadow* creature.
Cure my typo skills….
No worries Squid. We won’t hate ya for changing it up. Granted, if you decided to do a strip about the intricacies of making cardboard,… >.>
First time poster as well here.
This anon has said everything that needs to be said. I’ve been hear since comic #3 and damn I don’t want it to burn out. Take a break if you need one, I seriously do not want this awesome baby to crash and burn.
As other people are saying, Vacation for some weeks or months or however long you need. You will be remembered. We anons do not forget..
One, take a vacation or something. Even JK Rowling got a little tired of the magic world. You have to let your manly creative juices replenish. Forcing them out may cause you to use them all up so that they stop flowing. You will lack the ability to laugh at overly macho things let alone draw funny strips. Two, get a pee on. I have been saying this from day one. When ever you need help you have your pee on to do the not so fun stuff. When ever you get frustrated you can beat him like a dirty rug. Why do you think big company’s like DC and Marvel have interns?
Pee on? I think you mean peon, or minion, either one works, though I fully agree with the sentiments. Though I would be saddened to see the comic go, I understand things can get tough
Anything one is inspired to do can get boring and hated. Breaks are just as important in training because it allows the muscles to heal and not over exert themselves. The same goes for creativity. You see this sometimes with books that have a very flat ending. I don’t mean characters do things you don’t like. I mean the writer ties up all the loose ends with five sentences. (Read Hawaii) This break might be a week or it might be six months. It needs to be as long as she needs it. I think we should support her by sending her coca-cola codes that she can turn in towards free air miles. then she can go to the manliest places on earth… or Hawaii which was settled sometime between 300–800 BC.
I have to agree. If you’re that tired of this, I say the best thing to do now, is either to quit If you did quit then sure you’ll be missed but I think enough of us will understand.
I am a long time reader and was always too shy to post. I love this comic, it’s one of my absolute favorites, i think I’ve shown it to every one I know ha ha.
But I also agree with many others here, if a break is needed then you should definitely take one. And not get upset if some people miss the punch line so to speak, some of us are reveling in all of the references to things new and old and are just too shy to pipe up about it! I know I was :x
Man I have no idea what happened when I constructed that sentence. Anyway yeah just take a break or quit. Nobody will begrudge you.
Yeah, if it’s a chore to write I’d say go on hiatus after this arc until it’s fun again. I’d rather a comic everyone enjoys later than one that’s a pain in the ass now.
(If I go on hiatus the story that I’m sick of won’t be any more done later)
Might be you need to just sit down and run a little marathon of it. Crank it out quick as you may. Perhaps find someone to do coloring for you, even if just for a bit. Making such an amazing comic is a joy, I’m sure. Sometimes it’s probably a bit of a burden as well.
Well, and this is just me talking, have you considered having the Commander and his ever-growing band be attacked by robot pandas? I’ll grant that, unless the pandas were forcibly robo-tized, it has jack-all to do with the current body image theme but it might at least be ridiculous enough to make you grin as you write and draw it?
Again, just me talking.
If it’s just this story arc that you’re sick of, just cut it off and reset. Everyone loved the strip when there weren’t storylines, I’m sure we’ll be fine with it.
If it’s the comic itself that makes you sick, well … I love the comic but the thought of you being miserable while making it spoils the enjoyment. I’d rather you be doing what you enjoy, especially since it’s for free.
Eh, so pull out a deus ex machina from your hindquarters, wrap it up, and move on.
The point is, we love you and your work Coleasquid, and derive much enjoyment from this comic. But we don’t want you to feel chained to something that’s burning you out. We don’t want you miserable just to entertain us.
So take a sabbatical, end this storyline with a magical poof cloud that returns everything to normal, crank it out in a marathon of black and white strips, whatever you need to do to keep from burning out.
Just because I’m sick of these middle connective bits doesn’t mean there aren’t parts further along I’m looking forward to drawing. I don’t want to cheap out on it like that, and telling me to just quit and Deus ex machina everything back to normal doesn’t help anything. I just want people to understand that this thing is tough to work on right now so I stop getting “you ruined my Monday by not updating on time” notes.
Those wankers who are ‘You ruined my Monday’ saying should just sod off, I check daily (even though I know better than to do so, just more convenient to reload all my followed webcomics than pay attention to silly things like schedules :D) so I don’t really get the ‘Monday Shakes’ from not seeing MGDMT. This isn’t to say I wouldn’t miss it if it walked away, but I love what you’re doing here and the humor is generally fresh to me.
At any rate Coela, Stay Strong Brother! (Err Sister? :D)
“Those wankers who are ‘You ruined my Monday’ saying should just sod off”
Seconding this. I don’t mind checking in once a day to see if we got new goodies. People who complain about awesome things that also happen to cost them nothing more than the 0.5 seconds it takes the page to load need to STFU.
Those idiots should go and read VGCats. I swear to god that one only updates when the 9 planets of the solar system align or something…
You’re updating weekly. Of course the text says you’re updating on Monday, but weekly’s fine.
Also, look at this (WARNING: TvTropes link. You have been warned)
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SeriesHiatus
Specifically, look at every example OTHER than the “webcomics” section. Those are people paid to produce stuff. For a living. And they still take a break when they needed to.
People seriously bug you over updates? in my opinion, every new comic from you is a treat, no matter when it shows up. You are an incredibly talented writer, and i enjoy both your art and dialogue. I hope you get through this rough patch and feel better very soon.
Ack!
I didn’t mean for it to sound like I was telling you what to do. (and I’m so sorry it came across that way. I know how irritating that can be). What I was trying and failing, to say is that whatever you want to do, we don’t want you to running into the wall out of some sense of not wanting to disappoint us. (well, except for the crazy “you ruined my Monday” folks. Seriously, some people need to chill. This is free entertainment of a very good quality. I will happily take updates however often they come.)
I’m familiar with the painful slog part of the creative process. Sometimes that’s just what has to be done to get back to the fun part again. And I apologize again for not being clear before, it was intended to be reassuring and yeah, I can see how it could have come across as something totally different.
It is impossible to ruin a Monday. You can only elevate it from the rock bottom baseline it begins with. Tuesdays can be ruined, but it’s rarely noteworthy if they are. Wednesdays can go either way, and Thursdays… You know, the more I think about it, every day of the week is just dreadful. We should take what we can get.
DanShive, you are the truest of the true philosophers. I couldn’t agree with you more, I just couldn’t.
Honestly I only check every two or three weeks so that whenever I look, I’ve got something to read. If people hafta cry about late posts they can start watching Soap Operas, new episodes, everyday.
Keep em coming Squid, at whatever pace you choose.
(PS, just to spite the crybabies id change my post day every damn week)
*thoughtful*
You know, if you look at Grant Morrison’s epic late 1990s run on JLA, it’s fair to say that a good part of his success was in knowing how to cut out those “middle connective bits”, and just jump right to the awesome.
On the other claw, when that’s done badly, you get Cry for Justice.
Honestly my comic reading consists of waiting for several weeks then reading all of the updates. So I never really care as long as it is about one comic or something a week.
Seriously, agreed. If you don’t like doing it anymore, don’t. It’s silly to keep doing something that is making you unhappy, esp. if it is to please random internet strangers. That’s just weird. : /
So, yeah, basically, as a solid fan of this series (I daily check for updates, even though I know it doesn’t update daily) I think it would be fine to quit doing it for a while.
I know you guys have all the best intentions at heart, but suggestions to “just quit” when I’m in a rough patch irritate me more than motivate me. I’m not a “quitter” type, so please stop suggesting that.
Squid, I have to agree with a previous comment. I keep up with a number of comics–LICD, Looking for Group, Power Nap, XKCD, Battlepug, Vinny–and this is, by far, my favorite comic. It’s the only one that consistently makes me laugh. I’d hate to see it disappear.
Are you planning on releasing a compilation book of strips? I want one!
Well to be fair, from what you said it seemed more like you were sick of the entire comic itself and that you had been for some time, not just this part of it.
Exactly.
That didn’t read like “I’m tired of this arc.” or even “This part of this arc” or anything like that.
It sounded like “I am so tired of drawing video game based comics, this is the least fulfilling thing ever, I don’t know why I bother”
We all enjoy your work. Sorry that there are people who complain that it isn’t updated on mondays or whatever.
Good god, what have I started… 0_0″
I’ll read it as long as you want to write it — you’re doing good work here. People who gripe because the comic they’re reading (for free!) isn’t up to their scheduling demands are rude and stupid. Ignore them, and listen to the rest of us.
There’s a difference between quitting and deciding you could be doing something more productive…. Annnnnd if you wrote a comic about Blue & Co. I would not be adverse at all. Hiatus=/=quitting.
Blame MLP FIM animators for the last one.. they were actually in an episode(in the background).
It was only the one. But either way so what?
Not that there’s anything wrong with that. The animators liked the Big Lebowski, and decided to have a reference to them. Then the fanbase, being what it is, decided to have a shirt made because they like the movie too. So blame the fanbase for the shirt that doesn’t really affect you in the long run.
Not to say I didn’t sigh a little when I saw it, but I don’t buy merch like that anyway.
I wasn’t saying there was anything wrong, just where he came from.. the animators instead of the fans.
And that is why My Little Pony is cancerous.
I think you should be more concerned with your terminal case of mad before you start worrying about cancer.
At least it’s mostly benign.
And so a pony appears on MGDMT for the first time. It begins…
*braces for flames*
The flames shall be retarded, that is walter sobchak, secondary protagonist of th second greatest movie of all time.
No matter who you ask that is a manly ass pony.
The only real problem is it may effect his bowling ability
Well the did need at least one male to reproduce…
Not detract too much from your joke, but there’s loads of male ponies in the show. It just focuses on the female cast for obvious reasons.
Big Mac is prominently featured in the show, so he’s one brony that gets some lines. It’s not ENTIRELY about the female cast, although they are the protagonists.
I’m glad we just got past the whole CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS thing. I was literally sick of watching tiny ponies running around getting in trouble.
They are all castrated tokens though,
and I like the show.
Well, that’s probably the manliest pony ever.
Either him or the one the fans have nicknamed “Roid Rage”.
Hey! Some of us swear by the name “Blast Hardcheese”, for obvious reasons.
~D.
YEEEEAH! D:<
Well, in the main comic. But didn’t Coela post that picture with Garrus riding… Pinkie Pie? on a cake before?
That wasn’t canon though, this shit be canon
Walter Who?
Also, yes. The damning effects of pop culture upon self image. And representing people in ways other than they actually are.
He’s from the big lebowski, as for the image its a reference to the best scene in the movie in which he pulls out a glock inside of a bowling alley and tells the rival player to mark the frame zero for stepping over the line.
Not a Glock, an M1911. Stupidly pedantic of me, I know, but they’re both so distinct looking (well… maybe not the M1911 due to all the knockoffs and direct descendants it has, but a Glock looks like nothing else but a Glock) that if one can’t tell them apart, it’s probably best not to be specific and just say “a gun”.
But Glock just sounds so much cooler :P
The M1911 was the US military’s standard sidarm from 1911 (hence the name) to… somewhere in the late seventies IIRC (I’m not a gun nut, just an artist who occasionally has to look up random stuff for reference), when it was replaced with the Beretta M9 (another very distinctive looking gun, like the Glock).
That is to say, in Walter’s case it’s perfect that that the gun he carries around would be the same one from his old army days. You almost couldn’t expect anything else from his character. :)
Yeah sorry I realize the mistake now, I will rectify my gun related comments in the future
Sounds like you were out of your element.
And so they have found their remaining party members
Nomura outbreak AND pills that make you every little girl’s fantasy? I can just see a big boss at the end being a giant, pig-tailed teenage girl with the ambitions of a mad scientist. ‘Cept in this case she wants to get rid of our manly men, not take over the world. (that comes AFTER she turns the male population into her bishie harem)
STOP! You’re giving Coelasquid ideas. O_o
You mean like in Those Lacking Spines? :)
I was thinking that.
Oh dear heaven, it’s a fate worse than death!!!! Everybody run!!! The world is being taken over by mad scientist teenagers with no better sexual outlet than bishie boys!! AHHHH!
Oh god it’s like middle school all over again.
…And we shall call her Sthepanie Meyer
Like Professor Princess on Transformers Animated? XD Oooo if Optimus Prime ever shows up that’s gonna be awesome….
You mean like THIS: http://cjblackwing.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/arakawa-09-0813-stella-fns-2.jpg
Ponies with facial hair always make me a little uncomfortable.
But all ponies have hair on their faces.
Hahahaha. pwned!
Pwny?
Ten Internets to Gryffindor.
Gold slimes are tastiest.
Gotta watch out for those metal slimes, though.
But… so… much… experience… can’t… stop….
I think that shirt might have given me ghost cancer. Why? Just… WHY?
It’s like people making characters, historical figures, etc into lion king characters but somehow creepier.
Could be worse! They could make them into “Kimba the white lion” characters! (i saw some on tv years ago)
OMG I barely know anyone who knows Breath Of Fire these days…we played number one back on the Nintendo and the cartridge art wasn’t much different. XD Good times.
Big fan of your comics, if you’re tired of video game gags, just Jared and Commander and Mr Fish could get up to enough shenanigans being themselves and I’d totally hit that like the fist of a mighty god.
Cheers!
Yes! Breath of Fire love! 2 wasn’t my favorite of the series, but the box art is hilarious.
This comic is lovely. Ryu especially makes me giggle. ^_^
Coelasquid, I think this is a great arc, and I’m looking forward to seeing what you do with the rest of it. I encourage you to persevere (at whatever pace works for you)!
You shouldn’t worry about TV Tropes. As near as I can tell nobody who actively works on it is able to actually discern the meaning behind any kind of work, they’re too caught up in fitting everything into an archetype.
My feeling is, the whole is more than the sum of its parts. TVTropes describes the parts, but is too shallow to actually grasp the whole in any meaningful way.
We try, but it’s not like the wiki is one group of people. There’s thousands of contributors. The quality of the articles depends on who’s contributing to them.
Notice the “Analysis” tab of any given page for a work being blank aside from The Ugly Barnacle’s.
Even after reading this, I’m not sure what that tab’s supposed to be for. Is it to analyse the work in question or the quality/accuracy of the page describing it?
The work, concept, creator or trope in question. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Analysis/Analysis has a complete list of all of the currently-analysed pages.
Oh, okay, so it’s a catchall. Yeah, I’ve never seen it actually used.
It’s a wiki, so it only gets changed by people who have a desire to change it. Its entire thing is about interconnecting archetypes with various media, so it’s never 100% accurate (and occasionally someone who’s completely misunderstood edits a page and then you have stupidity on public display). Especially when it comes to moral, political, or ‘values’ topics that have any sort of room for interpretation. This is why they had to categorize entire tropes as unusable for main pages, and moved them to a subsection called YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary).
I don’t mind the whole trope thing, I just wish people would stop USING THEM to describe EVERY DARN THING!!!!
But that’s the point. Nothing is truly original. No matter if you’re trying or not, every story is similar to another in some way.
You’d think people were smart enough to understand the concept behind something without having to resort to pointing it out IRL.
I’m not talking about TV/Anime/Writing, I’m talking about I hear people using tropes to explain REAL LIFE garbage. Come on, dorks – don’t compare real life to some trope. I GET IT.
Agreed. I may follow TV tropes and update it unhealthily, but I think Real Life stuff should be kept to the tongue-in-cheek pretending it isn’t real stuff and phrasing things like somebody wrote it.
Yeah, but TV Tropes has become ridiculous. It has became so bloated and self-referential that it’s comparable to saying there are no new anything in the universe since they’re all made of atoms.
Atoms? HA! Nothing but quarks and leptons with delusions of grandeur.
And…. Zap wins my internets… damn. I need to go win new ones before I can comment again? Is that the game? There isn’t a game is there? It’s just a thing people say… I, uh, I knew that.
There’s no need to be a jerk just because someone likes something you don’t. Besides, I’m sure plenty of people only learned about this comic because of TVTropes.
Will these new members stay in the party?
You gotta beat the guy who played Hercules to fix that? Eesh.
Also that Pony Walter Sobchak needs a Colt handgun on that T-shirt…and I just realized the pun of that gun being a Colt.
Gods, that t-shirt – it’s using the “OBJECTION!” font, isn’t it? It’s like an unholy three-way crossbreed of misdirected nerd culture.
Nerdgasm is the proper term
I wish ponyfags would just die.
Jesus Christ I don’t even know what to say.
Why don’t you say something about your relationship with your father? I’m sensing some repressed anger issues here and talking about it would probably help.
If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all. Or we’ll bop you one right on the head!
Want people dead for their taste in TV shows? Weird
The more extreme fans are no weirder than any other extreme fan of any other fandom
That’s okay. We love and tolerate you even if you’re wrong.
We’re gonna love and tolerate the shit out of you!!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/64783044@N03/6164267140/
No. Shhh. You’re being unreasonably abrasive to the nice, if somewhat misguided, man. Calm down and let him be.
How is me loving and tolerating some dude to death abrasive? Rapid Dash would totally be abrasive if it came to that!
RAINBOW DASH.
Jesus, I just watched this show yesterday with my 2 year-old. I don’t even!
Wishing death on him reduces yourself to his level. Rainbow Dash would be abrasive, but she wouldn’t kill him or beat him up for being a jerk, any more than she killed or beat up Gilda. She’d just shun and make some disparaging remarks that the rest of the cast scolds her for.
Unless he acted on the threats, of course, but that’d just be creepy IRL.
The point of the image and the entire thing I posted was we’re going to do this thing until you get annoyed and go away or join us. Until you’re one of us. The power of love and tolerance.
You are taking my words way to literal there. I’m not planning on killing anyone, just killing the resistance to ponyism.
Why kill the resistance when you could, y’know, ignore it?
People like or dislike things that you do or don’t.
Not exactly a hard thing to understand.
This is, really, one of the reasons I don’t identify as a “brony”.
Sure, I like the show, but some people take it way too far,
demanding an all-or-nothing response.
It’s a friggin’ television show. There are better things in the world to obsess over.
That goes both for fans AND detractors.
Agreed. I may identify as a Brony, but I also recongize that not everybody is going to enjoy it, and the more you try to force somebody to enjoy something they don’t like, the more they’re going to resent it and resent the people who do enjoy it.
Don’t just love and tolerate the people, you also have to love and tolerate alternate points of view and preferences.
I guess resistance is the wrong word.
I’m trying to get rid of the intolerance.
The reality is that I know everyone has particular dislikes and likes, but people who go out of their way to hate something enough to be verbal about it really either:
1. Secretly love it and are afraid of being identified with it. So they try to distance themselves from it by outwardly pretending to hate it.
2. Are nuts enough to do something stupid to hurt all fandom of anything.
There’s a fine line with “not being a fan,” and “being a hater.” Haters gonna hate, but you don’t have to be quiet when they verbally bash your preferences. Being too non-confrontational eventually allows people to walk all over you and destroy what you love. Besides, I love feeding trolls. They are so fun! And eventually, they admit their love and trollness.
I’m more annoyed the guy put being gay in the negative zone than ponies are for gay people, anyway.
And here is the beauty of democracy, everyone argues for little reason. Please just stop this nonsense internet.
Was that really necassry? Particularly using a word like that?
Geeze.
What word? Die?
Man, I’m going to die me some die to die the die die die.
You do realize that obliges you to lead into “If I were a rich man” from Fiddler on the Roof.
Hmmmm. Wouldn’t that be more appropriate if I said, “Ta di de di de di de de di de di!”
No, the word he stuck pony in front of.
I found that slightly annoying. Like being gay is the negative thing you attach loving ponies to. WTF does sexual preference have to do with a show that has absolutely no sex in it? LOL
That actually depressingly makes sense. The logic chain is “ponies are for little girls, stereotypically feminine. Guys who like stereotypically feminine things are, stereotypically, homosexual. Thus, guys who like ponies are homosexual. I hate homosexuals. Therefore, I hate guys who like ponies”.
Granted, there are at least two obvious critical logic failures in that chain, but the existence of the chain of thought is fairly clear.
While I understand what brings out this sentiment, I believe you are well over the line, here. Provided they do not get in your face about it, ponyfags [sic] should be approached with a live-and-let-live mentality
What have you against pony sobchek? Its both cute AND manly… like an ewok
“Superman” is obviously a pony anti-Semite.
I think Superman is just a repressed brony.
don’t insult superman he HE KILLED JIMMY OLSON he threw him into the sun he’ll do it to you too :p
Heh. Actually, fans designed the shirt based on a reference made in-show. Lots of “Big Lebowski” enthusiasts working on that program, apparently.
Ahahah the Walter thing was more of a cheap gag to cap it off with. Honestly I thought it was kind of a cool cameo in the show (Also kind of twisted when you realize there is a canon Jesus Quintana pony running around Equestria). But when it come down to it, you can find a pony, Disney Lion, or beautiful anime bishounen for just about any character out there online…
Also, oh man, Zebra Girl? You’re legendary :D
Yeah, I thought it was kind of cool, too. Fun little shout-out to a completely unrelated fandom.
And hey, you’ve heard of me! I appreciate that, man. You’ve got a great comic here.
Joe England! Are you for real? Man if you’re the real Joe England, I just want you to know that I love your comic!!! I’ve been reading Zebra Girl for over five years now, and it just keeps getting better! Thank you so much! Keep up the awesome work!!
P.S. If you’re not the real Joe England, you’re probably still pretty cool. Jus’ sayin’.
Yeah, it’s me. Thanks, I appreciate it!
Huh. Not often you see comments from other creators on other works. Cool.
So cool. First I communicate with one of my favorite book authors, then I communicate with one of my favorite webcomic artists. I must be lucky!
It’s rather cool, because they also did a bowling episode featuring The Big Lebowski characters on Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends.
Late or not (I’ve got RSS so I get my weekly dose regardless ;) ) I’m loving this story arc. Keep up the good work!
The principle of eat what you kill will become problematic when they reach the part with poisonous slimes.
Eh they have enough potions
No, the principle of eat what you kill will become problematic when they get to Zombie Bishonen!
Brainssssssss! Makeupppppppp!
Brains, Makeup, *AND* Free Meat!
Holy shit, Ryu’s face is killing me. I almost choked in laughter.
Jesus Christ, the big guys looks like some sort of Fallout character :V
YAY!! Rinpoo-chan!! :D
If you never do another comic again it’s OK, I can die happy now with this comic.
Did I ever tell you how glad I am that you’re getting into the BoF games? I did? Well, I’m telling you again. Series needs more love.
I wonder if CB and Ryu’s problems could be fixed just by getting the other guy’s curse source to work their magic on the opposite crowd? Probably, but then it’d be a much less interesting arc.
That’s a shame you’ve enjoyed making these comics, all I can say is that I’ve enjoyed reading ’em and I look forward to seeing more.
I have a question: wouldn’t Ryu II’s aliment and the Nomura syndrome cancel each other out?
Nah, I think that would just result in some bizarre hybrid. Everyone still wouldn’t be their original selves and it wouldn’t solve anything.
Ryu was cursed, not infected. Possibly the magic in the curse is keeping anything from interfering with his appearance.
Commander Badass remains awesome – I’m impressed by the way you’ve drawn the JRPG version so his expressions and actions are still instantly recognizable as the Commander.
I give up, until I hear otherwise OCT stands for Osomething Cable Television or Osomething Conspiracy Theories.
Original Character Tournament. Comic tournaments online.
Sometimes actually good. Mostly an exercise in character creation, management, writing, and…management of popularity contests.
Also a waste of time when you realize you’ve produced a graphic novel’s worth of material that you can’t use for anything because it depends on 32 other players to make any sense.
Sometimes a good read, though. I have always liked that the basic premise of it is two authors/artists trying to get an audience to choose which version of the story they liked better. Of course, I can also see why you’d consider it a…waste.
Because American Kirby is Hardcore lol.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AmericanKirbyIsHardcore
Y’now… I’d pay good money to be turned into a pony… specially if a Pegasi…
And there are many people who would pay to become effeminate Nomura men. And there are many who would pay to become Early ’90s Videogame Boxcover Burly Badasses.
The problem isn’t being transformed, its being transformed AGAINST YOUR WILL. Its like the difference between sex and rape – one is consensual, fun, and beneficial, the other is a horrifying denial of the victim’s privacy and fundamental rights.
Well put.
You heard it here first, folks. Being turned into an Early ’90s Videogame Boxcover Badass hurts as much as being raped.
Seriously, you think putting on that much muscle withing seconds would be fun? You’d have the stretch marks of a pregnant woman deep enough to be considered stab wounds.
I think you may be missing the point.
Or just extrapolating it to ridiculous levels for a cheap laugh.
Ah, Reductio Ad Absurdum, how I haven’t missed you…
If someone found a way to make that hapen, they could probably find a way to make it not hurt either.
It probably would. Ever had growing pains during puberty? Imagine your entire body molding and changing physically. It would have to hurt like nothing else.
I realize that, specially Marv(regarding the Nomura men part), but still… a pony! This is #2 on my “Things that I would apply on the whole humanity to improve it in every single way” list…
i’d pay money to become a good comedian
Am I the only one who immediately thought of Stargate at the mention of Blue Jello?
I come from the future to tell you that no, you are not. I was totally expecting a Stargate joke.
That aside, scrolling down to see the original US BoF II box art nearly gave me a heart attack. I am now glad that I got the GBA version instead. So glad.
Now they just need a white mage.
They already have Jared playing potion monkey, as long as they have a good suppy of high level potions they’ll be fine.
Giant bugs?
Oh shit, watch out for Queen Larsa. I don’t think the car has a small enough hitbox to be taking her on!
I feel like such a nerd, knowing Slimes do in fact taste good. Especially the Gem Jamborees.
is that grimacing dude horribly constipated or something?
That’s the way US artists interpreted Ryu from BoF back in the 90s. Nothing like himself.
Man, I thought back then the box art was silly. I’ve never seen the original Japanese version though. I like it much better.
This reminds me of the awful NA Suikoden I box art.
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/63903/lets-play-suikoden-episode-24-the-end
You do realize this will just be categorized as Anvillicious, yes? Oh, wait, it’s there already.
Several mentions of 90s console boxart and no-one’s brought up Bad Boxart Megaman? For shame.
Dat musclegut!
*fist bumps* I almost want the game just for that.
Tonight’s role of Megaman will be played by the 1996 Albanian weightlifting champion.
Actually, looking that up, the 1996 Albanian Weightlifting champion, Ilirjan Suli (their representative at the ’96 olympics) actually looks quite a bit better than Bad Boxart Megaman.
So, the moral is not to change people just so they’ll sell better? or something of the sort?
You know, thanks to Katt, I somehow knew exactly where this was going… And I chuckled… really fucking hard…
I feel stupid, I thought the gag was that was Meryl and Van from Escaflowne.
hahahahahaha oh god i cant breathe
fuck yeah, walt! best pwny shirt EVER.
Wow the American art version of BoF2 really screwed it up there.
You’re sick of doing the comic? That makes me sad. :( It’s too awesome to get sick of, right? Right?!
Pony Walter?
NOTHING IS SACRED.
;_;
Aww, Coel. Well, I’ll love you even if you stop making the comic or change it like crazy. As long as I get an occasional dose of the CDR, really.
Also, for the record, you are suspiciously good at drawing ponies. Makes a bro wonder if you’ve got some Pony fantumblr laying around in a dark crevice of the interweb……
I think its more that they are suspiciously easy to draw than anything else. I have fine motor problems and my art looks like it was drawn by a third-grader using his non-dominant hand, and even I can draw a halfway decent pony.
There is that, too. It’s like the American version of Sailor Moon-style of anime.
What do you mean suspiciously? Like there’s some sort of conspiracy revolving around Coelsquid drawing ponies?
I mean, I’d still read the comic even if all the characters were replaced with ponies for awhile.
Nah, more like a joke based on the fact that the person responsible for the popular and easy to draw form we enjoy today is named Faust.
I’ve drawn tons of ponies, they’re on of the most popular things I requested for at cons. Plus those Gijinka I did for a WaiCon auction that went for nearly $400…
Oh hey I got this weird text spam advertisement, advertising some knockoff drug… so I grabbed the source code…
I don’t care what anybody sez. When I get stuck on a storyline, I ask myself “What would Al Bundy do”? then I come and read this for inspiration. Then just before I repeat the Cagney Grapefruit I have to go rock the Geezers. Coel, Thanks for reminding me Hero’s are supposed to be Manly Men instead of scrawny Titanic remakes.
Please tell me where I can get that shirt! And if they did put Walt in an episode of MLP, I gotta watch that.
It’s on WeLoveFine, along with most of the other Pony shirts.
He was in as a wordless cameo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7EYArRCvNU
It’s Walter, if they put him in a kid’s cartoon as a cameo, they have to make him mute. Or else the children will learn things they don’t need to know.
motherofgod.jpg
I don’t know if I should be impressed, or scared.
Walter Sobchak… as a pony… in a Phoenix Wright pose…
I’m sorry that’s just reference overload
The first panel, you have no idea how pleased I am to see him say that.
The commander is becoming one of my favorite characters.
I agree with the others who say put the comic on hiatus for a while. We would appreciate weekly posting of other things you are doing, sketches and so on, just so we can stay in touch with you, but any true fan will agree that you should enjoy writing it and if you don’t, then a well-deserved break is in order. Things like grief over a pet, overwork, and stress, make the muse unmanageable.We understand. The only thing that would make us sad is radio silence for a month, and that’s only because we start to wonder if something else is really wrong.
Take care of yourself! You deserve it!
Don’t worry about frequent updates. The fact that you are doing this at all is greatly appreciated.
Besides, I have the patience of mountains and a frequently checked Google Reader to let me know when you update. Take your time!
Just kill Gackt in your comic and everything will be back to normal. ;-P
Slime Sherbet!
Tried making a videogame themed food this reminded me of it.
I wasn’t even aware that this comic had an update schedule- I check it on and off, whenever, and it puts a smile on my face whenever an update does show. Keep it up!
TVTropes is mostly populated by people who miss the point, purposely or otherwise, so it’s probably best to not judge whether your moral is effectively being displayed based on its page on there. Keep truckin’, Coelasquid, if only because nothing is quite as satisfying as finishing a project.
There was a brilliant, funny comic called Elf Only Inn that made fun of IRC chat room roleplaying and later MMOG gamers. It was the best thing I ever saw on the web for the funny. This comic helped fill the hole that EOI left when THAT author got suddenly sick of his project too. I’ll be very sad if you get tired of making me grin, Squid. What’s so bad about drawing this, exactly?
I must say that I always look forward to reading this comic and it is by far my favorite. With so much over the top feminism nowadays, it is refreshing for a guy to get to read some over the top manliness. However I agree with the others in if you are getting tired, do what you will.
Walter Schobak was a background pony in one of the CMC episodes, so…not really a fan ponification
Whatever’s goin down, you got support. Don’t go forgettin that too soon
Man, half those arm muscles don’t even exist! Silly America.
Liefeld syndrome.
It makes me wonder… if we threw Gackt at Rob Liefeld, would they just kind of create this void of anti-matter?
Funny thing is I grew up with the SNES and I didn’t know of this cover because most of the game I managed to find had ripped off labels (I never quite understood why). This is pretty shocking to me.
I’m pretty sad you seem to be on fumes about Manly Guys, Coelasquid, or at least that’s what I understood, but I’ve been a fan and a follower for quite some time now and won’t stop following your work.
Now I gotta get on with the times and use them Timblers and Twotter and all of them newage infosocialitification hijinks…
I love your work. It makes my day whenever you post regardless of what day you do. Thank you for all of your hard work and effort. :D
I like your comic. I like it for its art and story, as well as the very wide ranging inclusion of characters from, well, you know all your sources! You have me do a lot of searching, and I’m supposed to be a geek. I don’t know how you remember all of that.
If you feel like stopping the story or series, it’s fine with me. I am mature enough (and most of your readers are too) to wish you to work on something you love, rather than something you don’t. A happy Coleasquid is better than an unhappy one.
Nice i LOVE the BoF references. Took me a minute though. That is definitely one of my fav franchises. Think you slip in any Tales jokes into this arc? Mybe make it so alot of the guys from the Tales games were test subjects or samples used to either test/create the virus LOL.
Is it wrong that I came back again today to see the comic in color?
Survey says!
NO! – 100%!
A winnar is you.
Poor Ryu2 has the same problem that affected Mega Man during his early years :(
… oh the other hand, yay Katt.
Good luck on getting through this patch, Coela. Your perseverance is appreciated by everyone! I, for one, really enjoy this arc and although you’re sick of drawing the comic at this time, it means a lot that you still want to and still are doing so. You’re awesome!
Ryu is only sixteen? He and Jon Snow must have the same disease.
I think Martin has said that he regrets the ages that he gave to some of the characters. The Stark children were too young.
Great comic.
Ah, I love this Breath of Fire comic. I’ve always been a huge fan of the series. Seeing the difference between the artworks was always interesting.
Stop the comic if you feel the need to. Sometimes its best to end things rather than end up hating it. I, for one, read it for the awesome writing and drawing, not really for the fandoms. If you make another comic, I’d still follow it for that.
“Okay I lied, the comic will stop being late whenever I stop being completely sick of drawing it.”
I like this comic a lot. I’m always happy to find an unread page at the top of my RSS feed. Nevertheless, I’m not bringing you much money. This comic isn’t your job as far as I know. If you are sick of it, do something else with your free time. I’ll be a tiny bit sad if this comic stops; but I won’t complain; and neither will anybody sensible. (Okay, so the Internet is full of people who aren’t sensible. They don’t really matter and should be ignored.)
I don’t know how many comics it’s been since the commander’s transformation but I never get sick at looking at his forehead shades. It cracks me up every time and I might be a little upset when they eventually go on their merry way.
I really had hoped the pony fad would die out sooner then later, but it looks like its in it for the long ride. I’ll just have to watch my favorite characters withstand this abuse and yell encouragements from the side lines.
Its like bishification but most places that have that i dont frequent as much.
How long until bad box art megamen pops in even the Prof. Rock Xavier.
The fact that you made references to Breath of Fire 2 (and Breath of Fire at all) warms my heart so deep. And the fact that both Katt and Ryu are in this comic made me squee a little, I will admit. I’m an old BoF fan; 2 is my favorite, followed swiftly by 3. Thank you for making my week complete. And also writing a comic that hasn’t stopped at amusing me on many levels. You’re amazing.
I have to say the thing that makes me saddest is when a creator gets sick of doing thier own comic. If you need a break or simply to change the day that you update please do Coelasquid. Your webcomic is one of the inspirations for my own webcomic. I thought of the concept before Manly Guys but seeing the success of your concept help me stick to it. I don’t wanna be a shill so I won’t leave a link unless someone asks.
You should some day include Guts from Berserk. Though the sword is ridiculously huge he’s still pretty badass
Coelasquid, I just want to say I have tons of respect for you, especially for you pressing on and fighting through this section. I write novels, which are different but do have some things in common, so I kinda know how difficult it can be to keep going when you’ve burned out on a section. That’s probably the major thing that makes or breaks a writer, and something I’ve been struggling with. Seeing you handling it so well has kinda inspired me to work harder.
So, thanks, and keep up the good work.
Montage. Best answer
Montage.
That’s the very same ailment Kirby suffers every time one of its games gets released in america.
If NaNoWriMo taught me anything, it’s that sometimes you have to power through the parts you hate to get to the parts you love ^^
I totally understand being upset by the hiatus callers, sometimes you just gotta do it.
I’m totally digging the story if it helps :p
A curse? More like a giving if you tell me.
I just thought yall should know. They’re making an The Expendables 2. They’re adding in Jean Claude Van Damme and Chuck Norris. I’m gonna be over in the corner, exploding with childish glee if you need me.
Have you thought of including Guts from berserk someday? Though the sword is pretty huge he’s still badass
The only real tip I can give is to grind your way through, it’s hard as hell, I know, but the feeling of being able to make it through is really rewarding. Kinda how I do with my studies. I really want to take a sabbath year (as they call it in sweden for 1 year of lease), but I can’t because otherwise I will have to restart everything since I’m one of the last going this study program.
I do not know though if you have a helper for the inking or coloring part when you do the comic, but if you don’t then maybe you should look for someone who’d want to do that. I’m sure there are plenty who’d love to help out and also be able to polich up their inking/colouring skills. At least for the parts of arcs you find to be more of a chore than fun to do. That way you spend “less” time working on it and focusing more on what you like to do in comic creation.
Anyway, regardless of what you decide to do, I’m pretty certain that your fanbase will support you. I love the comic and I don’t mind having to wait a few extra days for each page. If people whine over that it’s not done on in time for a monday, just ignore them for being ignorant over how hard it is to keep up a comic at this level, regular.
The blue haired guy may not have Nomua syndrome but he should probably see a doctor because he looks like he’s having a stroke.
turn the hunks into bishis and the bishis into hunks…. makes sense
YOU CAN NOW OWN MY SOUL FOR THE PONY REFERENCES.
MERRY CHRISTMAS.
I remember the Breath of Fire 1 boxart threw me like that too. Ryu all jacked up… Nina was a super buxom 20-something sex goddess… Gobi was a fishman ready to bust some skulls in… Ahh, I love that you touched on this, Coelasquid.
Crossovers make the world go round?
I can only assume these things stack and we’ll end up with a bunch of over-muscled bishi ponies.
They didn’t need to make Walter Sobchak a pony in order to sell shirts. I would’ve bought it if they just stamped regular ol’ Walt pointing the gun with the quote at the bottom.
Okay, the comments section of this one is really starting to rub me the wrong way so I’ll just make this clear.
Walter Pony was actually in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic during a bowling scene along with pony versions The Dude, Donny, and Jesus. The creator of the show really likes The Big Lebowski so she decided to put that in there as a shout out, all in good fun. The shirt was put together by fans but the design is not a fan creation.
It’s your choice whether to watch or like ponies or not, but at least be better informed.
(though since The Big Lebowski, FiM, and Ace Attorney are three of my favorite things, that shirt does tickle my nerd-fancies in a positive way)
Weird… I was just playing Breath of Fire II the other day O.O
For some reason I didn’t think anyone even knew that game. I liked the first one though, you got to turn in to mad dragons for as long as you liked, but it was so easy I felt like I was cheating.
Aww Katt!!
Missing the green eyes though.