I already posted it! I just didn't give it it's own thread!
But onto more funny.
At Blizzard's World of Warcraft website:
Quote:Every once in a while, a portal will open up between game worlds, allowing characters from one video game to be transported into another. World of Warcraft is no exception. When the Dark Portal opened, Orcs came through. This one, however, brought something different. One of our players has captured what looks to be a pair of plumbers trying to find their way home.
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)
Oh, well it really only makes sense if you've actually seen the shows. Okay, the guy on the left is Harry Potter. I've never read the books, or seen any of the movies, but I do know he's a wizard. As well, for some reason I actually know that the first book, in America, had a name change to the Sorcerer's stone, from Philosopher's stone in England. Yeesh... shelter then from a little mythology history why don't ya... Anyway, that stone is what all alchemists (prototypical chemists basically) have saught to create. The elixer, and so on. It was supposed to do pretty much everything according to what a lot of alchemists in old Europe used to think (and some current day alchemists who don't realize science has seen the flaws in alchemy and ditched everything that didn't work, turning it into chemistry). It could bring someone back to life, give eternal life, eternal youth, all knowledge in the universe, transmute any material into any other material instantly, all that stuff. Whether in that anime or in the real world, it was a legendary item with a misleading name because it referred to a theoretical substance someone might make one day. Of course in the real world we eventually found out the flaws and so on so...
Anyway, red coat guy is Edward. The suit of armor is Al (not a robot). As kids, they lost their mother to illness. They were expert alchemists though. They thought if they just knew what made up the body (salt, water, carbon, so on) they could bring their mother back to life. However, they screwed up, like everyone else ever has. Their mother was not returned, just a mutilated version of her body that died shortly afterwards. However, the recoil of the attempt transmuted all of Al's body into that form as well as Ed's leg. In an attempt to at least save his brother's life, Ed transmuted his arm into a seal between Al's mind and a suit of armor in the corner. With the seals and the ability to attach something like a "soul", the whole alchemy thing in that anime seems a lot more like magic than it is supposed to. Alchemy really is supposed to be a science in that world, but if they were going to make that world's physics operate like that, some consistancy would be nice. For example, perhaps he could have transmuted his arm into some sort of pulley system inside the armor, some way for the attached soul to actually CONTROL the armor perhaps?
Anyway, the guy with the X shaped scar on his face (and it seems to me in anime, artistically speaking, you can substitute tanned or untanned skin for actually drawing a scar any time you want) is a serial killer. I'm really not sure why he's there. I think another Harry Potter character talking with those two would have been more interesting. I mean, Scar already knows the deal with those two. Oh, he's a serial killer because alchemy is a sin against his god, and he is punishing the evil military for using it (they invaded his country years ago to free it, or something... actually the whole military vs middleeastern country with extremist ideologies seems to be some sort of allegory...). He basically stops at step 2 in alchemy where you break something down and... yeah it's a pathetic semantic way to avoid actually having to admit you are using the devil's arts but...
Well, now you know, more than you wanted to.
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)
What's so great about this strip, though, that it needs to be posted twice?
(Of course, I have some of those questions about Fullmetal Alchemist... I mean, it's good. I've seen some episodes. But I know some people who really like it, and I'd say 'it's quite good, but not SO so great'...)
It didn't "need to be". I posted it once, he didn't see it and posted it himself without realizing I already did.
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)
And yeah, it is a weakness when a comedy has to engage in dreaded continuity. Penny Arcade shows up in like the middle of the joke and leaves before the punchline. I love that.
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)
No, it's not a weakness. It's good. I prefer comics that actually try to tell a story... humorous story sure, but a story. Continuity is good. ... it just makes for tough posting on forums, given the backstories involved... it only works for something like 8bit where I know everyone's read it. :)
... huh? That's just 'random weird', not so much 'funny'... sorry, but PA just isn't that great. Oh, it's okay (and better than VGCats), but not as great as its reputation would suggest. I've said it before and my opinion hasn't changed... sorry. :)
I just prefer comics with story, and plot, and things like that..
Part of the very design of Penny Arcade is to shun plot entirely. You wouldn't give Looney Toons a continous story arc would you?
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)
PA's no Looney Tunes, though... I mean, you do have a point,but I like story.
... wait, I got it. :) Looney Tunes has each episode as a story... PA has each strip. Similar? No, not when a Looney Tunes episode has far more content than dozens of PA strips...
Anyway, yes, I like some things that don't have a continuing plot, sure. I just think that overall I like the ones that do more.
Well, I agree with ABF that I like comics with a plot and a story, but I'm not quite as critical about it; I'm not unable to enjoy stuff that's just random. Humor with a plot > all.
Black Mage is more evil than his clone made purely from the evils within him!
... I predict that the clone Black Mage destroys itsself from the pure volume of evil in the end or something like that, as BM keeps saying evil things he did that it missed... :)
Either that or we're getting set up for a big boss fight, but the first way would be funnier.
But ham is now a unit of measurement! That has to stand for something in this crazy mixed up world of imps and business cats.
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)
I think BM has to defeat him in a way not involving murder. Or BM had a Fighter moment and stabbed himself rather the the guy who looks like himself. OR he'd rather kill himself then not be evil. I think it looks like option 3.
Yeah, looking at it, that does look like what he did... he'd rather die than destroy his evil? Heh... but what now? He can't really die, since he's a main character and anyway, last time he died he became king of hell... I don't think he's interested in the job again, given that he left it before. :)
No no, BM wanted to stay evil so he killed himself so his dreams of the total ruining of the world could come to pass. After all, that incarnation of darkness now has nothing better to do.
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)
Quote:No no, BM wanted to stay evil so he killed himself so his dreams of the total ruining of the world could come to pass. After all, that incarnation of darkness now has nothing better to do.
Yes, I think that that sounds like it's likely his plan. :) It won't work out the way he hopes, of course... (I mean, would even 8bit kill everyone in the world? I doubt it... you need some left to continue the story with, right? :D)