Websnark: Look, it's been a webcomics heavy week. You knew we wouldn't get out of it without a mention of Something Positive, Narbonic or John Troutman. And Troutman's not updating! TROUTMAN'S NOT UPDATING!

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Eric: Look, it's been a webcomics heavy week. You knew we wouldn't get out of it without a mention of Something Positive, Narbonic or John Troutman. And Troutman's not updating! TROUTMAN'S NOT UPDATING!

(From Something Positive. Click on the thumbnail for full sized Seminal Cimmerian.)

It's not that Randy Milholland is indulging in a flashback in a week full of flashbacks that has me writing this.

It's not that Randy Milholland is invoking the author of Conan's suicide that has me writing this.

It's not that Randy Milholland is stepping onto Suicide Week that has me writing this.

It's not the continually interesting dynamic between Nancy and Davan that has me writing this.

It's not the Queen of Wandsesque use of Black and White for the Flashback that has me writing this.

It's not the message of the strip that has me writing this.

It's not the humor that has me writing this.

It's not even the fact that I liked this strip that has me writing this.

It's that Randy Milholland put teen Faye from Questionable Content in a position to watch Robert E. Howard's suicide that has me writing this!

Dude.

Seriously, Dude.

Posted by Eric Burns-White at December 8, 2005 7:16 PM

Comments

Comment from: AndrewWade posted at December 8, 2005 7:33 PM

Woah, I completely missed that!

Dude.

Comment from: siwangmu posted at December 8, 2005 7:33 PM

OH MY GOD. Are we sure? Is this for real? OH MY GOD THAT IS SO AWESOME. Um, you know, to the extent that witnessing suicide can ever go with "awesome," really. And I completely failed to notice until you posted this.

(Also, traditionally awesome way to snark all the aspects you're not snarking)

Comment from: Aulayan posted at December 8, 2005 7:46 PM

I didn't catch it on the first reading, but halfway through reading this 'snark, I clicked the link again because my mind went "I don't remember a black and white panel." (I read it in a hurry earlier).

Went "Dude...No way...Faye's dad didn't do it in a car." then read the rest of the snark and realized what was really meant.

Dude, seriously. That's one odd flashback.

Comment from: Zaq posted at December 8, 2005 7:48 PM

Ok, did Randy Milholland write this, or was Straub behind it? Seriously?

Brilliant, yes, yet disturbing even for SP...

Comment from: jjacques posted at December 8, 2005 7:52 PM

Shit, he ruined my Big Twist Ending!

Comment from: Ojin posted at December 8, 2005 7:57 PM

Yeah, that one kinda... made me double take a few times. 'Is it what I think it is? Is there something I don't know about Robert E. Howard, or did Randy go there'.

And yeah. It has a definate Straub feel to it.

Both awesome and creepy at the same time.

Comment from: Snowspinner posted at December 8, 2005 7:58 PM

Milholland > Me

Comment from: Archon Divinus posted at December 8, 2005 8:00 PM

I did not see that. I'm still not sure I'm seeing it. And it certainly makes this S*P a lot wierder.

Comment from: Eric Burns posted at December 8, 2005 8:03 PM

Jeph -- she could still be on hand to watch Hemingway's suicide! They'll never see that co--

Damn. Sorry.

Comment from: Miller posted at December 8, 2005 8:03 PM

Man, I was wondering who that girl was supposed to be. Totally did not get the Faye connection.

Then again, I didn't realize that was Kestrel a few days back until I read it here. Somehow, I just can't seem to recognize webcomic characters when they're drawn by different artists. I'm kinda dumb that way.

Gossamer Commons is going to confuse the living fuck out of me now that Greg is gone.

Comment from: jjacques posted at December 8, 2005 8:08 PM

I'm really gonna throw you all for a loop when it is revealed that Faye was transported back in time by the Illuminati in order to give birth to Kurt Vonnegut.

Comment from: The posted at December 8, 2005 8:13 PM

"I'm really gonna throw you all for a loop when it is revealed that Faye was transported back in time by the Illuminati in order to give birth to Kurt Vonnegut."

Of COURSE! It all makes sense now *edits flowchart*

Comment from: Allen Shull posted at December 8, 2005 8:38 PM

This discussion reminds me of Foucault's Pendulum. The fact that Eco, in a book mainly about the Templars, worked in a little "I�! Cthulhu Fhtagn!" gave me quite a bit of glee.

Comment from: Kate Sith posted at December 8, 2005 8:42 PM

Whoa.

Totally didn't catch that, cos I'm some kind of dense. But that's AWESOME.

Comment from: Will "Scifantasy" Frank posted at December 8, 2005 8:47 PM

Flowchart, hell, this is playing merry havok with my game. OK, now, it's been revealed that the Bavarians control Webcomics (power 2, resistance 4, income 2--with a "Milholland Drive" Special allowing 20 MB to be put on it once per game--Weird alignment, and +3 on any attempt to control Websnark), but looks like Websnark hasn't yet been aligned...oy. I think the Discordians might make an attempt to neutralize that, though, if not outright control...

Comment from: 32_footsteps posted at December 8, 2005 8:48 PM

Wait, that doesn't make sense at all. Everyone knows the temporal anomaly associated with Vonnegut either manifests as becoming a quantum lfieform or becoming unstuck in time.

Bah. It's like nobody bothers to read the authors they reference.

Comment from: Will "Scifantasy" Frank posted at December 8, 2005 8:50 PM

Gotta watch out for those chrono-synclastic infundibula (-um becomes -a, right? "infundibulums" doesn't sound right, and it is a Latin word...).

Comment from: Akilika posted at December 8, 2005 8:51 PM

I was wondering if anyone else had noticed that . . . *snicker*

I had more or less the same reaction. :)

Comment from: 32_footsteps posted at December 8, 2005 8:58 PM

Don't ask me, Will - I apparently can't spell "lifeform" reliably. But at least one person got both halves of that reference.

Comment from: madbaker posted at December 8, 2005 9:04 PM

I'm really gonna throw you all for a loop when it is revealed that Faye was transported back in time by the Illuminati in order to give birth to Kurt Vonnegut.

Nah, we'll just assume we're reading Scary Go Round.

Comment from: John Lynch posted at December 8, 2005 9:10 PM

This is why I love Something Positive. It's jokes like this that make me go "can he get away with doing that on the internet!?" and just sit there horrified and extremely amused at the same time.

I'm just waiting for Randy to get a girlfriend/married (is he already?) and have a kid. The second he announces his partner's pregnant he'll get a flood of coathangers in the mail.

Comment from: Abby L. posted at December 8, 2005 9:26 PM

I noticed that, and I find it totally awesome. XD

Comment from: Vannav posted at December 8, 2005 9:34 PM

I just loved the look on her face, like "oh shit, are you serious?"

Comment from: PatMan posted at December 8, 2005 9:37 PM

That was supposed to be Faye? I just figured he was adding in every disturbing detail of RObert E Howard's suicide. Mind you, I never knew he commited suicide, so I didn't have any frame of reference for thinking the girl was out of place.

Comment from: oball posted at December 8, 2005 9:48 PM

So, this makes Faye about 85 years old?

Comment from: Archon Divinus posted at December 8, 2005 9:53 PM

No, It makes her 69.

Comment from: J.A.K posted at December 8, 2005 10:21 PM

Dude, the time-travelling, remember?

Comment from: Archon Divinus posted at December 8, 2005 10:25 PM

Or maybe she just ages incredibly slowly.

Comment from: Will "Scifantasy" Frank posted at December 8, 2005 10:43 PM

Well, we are talking about a Howard, but I didn't think it would be the Howard Families...

Comment from: Robert Hutchinson posted at December 8, 2005 10:44 PM

Saying that S*P is participating in Suicide Week is kind of like saying that Penny Arcade is participating in Swearing Week.

Archon: She looks a little older than 0 in that "picture".

Comment from: Archon Divinus posted at December 8, 2005 11:00 PM

I never said she was 0, I said she 69, but she just aged at a reduced speed.

Comment from: SFaulken posted at December 8, 2005 11:08 PM

You know, speaking of the elusive Mr Troutman, somebody really ought to go find him, and find out what he's up to.

It's scary when he gets quiet.

Comment from: Montykins posted at December 8, 2005 11:17 PM

I went to the QC cast page to see if Faye's last name was Howard. Tragically (for me!) it was not.

Awesome, though. I love suicide metahumor!

Comment from: quiller posted at December 8, 2005 11:32 PM

Count me as one who didn't see that. But it is the sort of thing I should have learned to look for in a S*P comic by now. Look it is a character who has nothing to do with the actual action of the comic and has no real reason to be there. Better take a closer look. (He didn't even give a hint in his bottom comment thing. He just threw it out there to see who'd catch it. Bastard. ;->)

Comment from: Eric Astor posted at December 9, 2005 12:47 AM

Okay, feeling pedantic... the Howards NEVER went under the name Howard, and in fact, Ira Howard died quite young, leaving no heirs and giving all of his money to the Foundation that established the Howard Families.

As I said, pedantic... *laughs* There is no way I should be taking this so seriously.

Comment from: Robert Hutchinson posted at December 9, 2005 2:13 AM

I never said she was 0, I said she 69, but she just aged at a reduced speed.

Okay, I'm confused. Mr. Howard ceased to be in 1936. It is now 2005. Someone who is X years old today is X-69 years old 69 years ago, for X >= 69. Looking good for one's age is a different matter altogether.

Comment from: oball posted at December 9, 2005 2:59 AM

Yeah, I was assuming she was about 16-17 in the picture.

Comment from: Connor Moran posted at December 9, 2005 3:05 AM

Ah! but of course there's nothing that actually says that the image pictured is actually Robert E. Howard's suicide. We just assume it is because it is juxtaposed with the speech describing Howard's suicide. This could is merely another interpretation of Faye's dad's suicide (Faye's memories are suspect, remember), juxtaposed with a discussion of Howard for dramatic effect.

Comment from: gwalla posted at December 9, 2005 3:09 AM

Will: It's okay, man. Nice try. The Tralfamadorians applaud you.

Allen: Wait, what? Where's the Cthulhu reference in Foucault's? I missed that. Was it in the part in South America with the Santeria people? 'Cause I kinda skimmed that part on account of it was boring.

Comment from: andustar posted at December 9, 2005 7:50 AM

I saw that :) glad I'm not the only one.

Comment from: Pseudowolf posted at December 9, 2005 8:53 AM

I saw that and thought it looked like Faye, but since I didn't know about the suicide, I didn't know if that was supposed to be something else. Like maybe the girl was who reported the suicide at the time or something.

Anyway, as to the rest of the discussion, I swear you people are trying to turn me into The Question.

*starts going through your garbage*

Comment from: Canuck-Errant posted at December 9, 2005 9:30 AM

Aw, man! And me without my INWO cards! (Sadly, the FLGS here doesn't stock them. Nobody seems to, come to think... *eerie silence*)

Comment from: 32_footsteps posted at December 9, 2005 9:46 AM

Canuck, you're not paying enough attention. The Gnomes of Zurich have taken Control-Alt-Delete, and the Discordians used to have a stranglehold on Sluggy Freelance until the UFOs took them over with the Mind-Control Laser. The Bavarians only want you to think they've successfully maintained control over all webcomics.

Comment from: Allen Shull posted at December 9, 2005 10:11 AM

Gwalla: It was at the very end, at the climax.

I just didn't want to spoil anyone who hadn't already read it. Darn spoiler-culture.

Comment from: Will "Scifantasy" Frank posted at December 9, 2005 11:36 AM

You know, the Orbital Mind-Control Lasers would explain Oceans Unmoving...

Comment from: 32_footsteps posted at December 9, 2005 12:01 PM

It was just about my only explanation for OU, Will.

Comment from: siwangmu posted at December 9, 2005 4:58 PM

"I thought that, you know... Maybe he climbed back down..."

Comment from: Prophet of Cod posted at December 10, 2005 9:03 AM

To echo several other people's comments: I totally missed that, and I think it was because of the use of black and white. Were teen Faye's hair to have been the reddish-brown-whatever that it normally is, I probably would have caught on.

That, and when he "borrows" a character, he generally credits it at the bottom of the comic in the little text. LEETLE TEXT!

Comment from: Lindsay posted at December 10, 2005 10:27 PM

I noticed the presence of the girl in the background in the third panel, but I didn't see any clues as to her identity. As a matter of fact, is anyone actually SURE that's Faye? When S*P cameos characters from other comics, doesn't Milholland usually credit the character to it's creator in the copyright information under the comic?

Comment from: Robert Hutchinson posted at December 11, 2005 1:24 AM

(compares and contrasts)

If that's not supposed to be/resemble Faye, then Randy someone managed to get the haircut exactly right accidentally. Note the two forelocks, and the highlights/glintiness/whatever that is.

Comment from: Jonny G posted at December 13, 2005 5:24 AM

I laughed out loud when I saw today's Questionable Content strip. Does anyone else get the feeling that Websnark is at the centre of some awful incestuous webcomics ring?

Then I immediately went to check out Checkerboard Nightmare, but alas, Kris Straub has not (yet) joined the party.

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