Friday, August 6, 1999: Calling their bluff

[NonsenseWords]

And DCS's vendetta against the neighborhood association chugs inexorably onward.

[Muninn]

And DCS's vendetta against the neighborhood association chugs inexorably onward.

How about your vendetta against DCS? Because a few comments here and there constitute a vendetta right?

I didn't think it was wholly true when people said this had turned into "complain about Ozy and Millie" but with the same people bothering to post, it generally has become just that now. It's sad really.

[Arloest]

Actually some of these neighborhood associations do have the power to put your house up for auction.

[Bocaj Claw]

Llewellyn has gotten much, much less fearsome -- but he has never once been intimidated by anyone other than the dentist.

[Æron]

Neighborhood associations are evil. They've even had people thrown in jail in the past for not keeping their lawns well kept enough.

[NonsenseWords]

I say 'vendetta' because one of DCS's prior commentary notes was that he was writing this arc because a relative of his was targeted by a neighborhood association for not getting a permit to plant roses.

I agree that neighborhood associations are... perhaps a little demanding. (/understatement) I just think that this arc is really dragging. You kind of get the idea after a couple of strips, it's just excessive at this point.

[Muninn]

I agree that neighborhood associations are... perhaps a little demanding. (/understatement) I just think that this arc is really dragging. You kind of get the idea after a couple of strips, it's just excessive at this point.

It's only been a couple of strips and I don't think it has dragged on. When comic strip artists make an arc for the first time it's usually because they have a lot of ideas about it they want to get through, so the first time is usually longer than whenever they visit the same idea later.

[Bocaj Claw]

I find it surprising in general that an Ozy and Millie arc could be considered dragging. DCS had writer's ADHD and a bad case at that.

[NonsenseWords]

I was pretty cool with most of the other arcs he's done overall, as far as I've seen, but for some reason I just feel like this is harping. I feel the same way about another 'social message' arc that comes up in a few years time (the one where Llewelyn decides to go mess with some religious protesters), and come to think, it might be due to the blatant strawman being set up in opposition.

As somebody else pointed out, for instance, a neighborhood association can be an almost dictatorial squad who demands grass be cut if it exceeds 2 inches in height. On the other hand, a neighborhood association can keep really grievous offenses in check (rusted appliances scattered on a severely overgrown lawn being one of the things I saw that the local association managed to get cleaned up). I know that the point isn't to examine both sides, obviously, but when you dedicate five strips in a row to proving how much more intelligent you are in comparison to the other side...

Anyway, my opinion.

[Cactus Jack]

That is a good point. When the opposing side is always extremists who are dumb and the correct side is always 100% right and smart and super cool it does get a little irritating. Thats one of the reasons DCS gets flak for the comic in general when it comes to the school arcs. The bad guys get boring because they are two one sided and stupid to do much.

[Muninn]

You guys are looking way too deep into this. School bullies being one sided and portrayed as wrong in comics? Really, you're going to bring this up? I thought people read comics they enjoyed.

Also,

When the opposing side is always extremists who are dumb and the correct side is always 100% right and smart and super cool it does get a little irritating.

[Cactus Jack]

Liking something doesn't mean you can't disagree with it. I think most fans would say Ozy and Millie started out pretty weak anyways. Once it gets stronger there will be fewer negative comments.

And bullies can be portrayed as more then dull witted "hurr hurr get duh nerd" types. Somebody like that is fine when used sparingly but it gets over done. Felicia is actually a better example of a bully since she cares more about the attention then her actual methods so she changes tactics and has more then one side. She doesn't get interesting until later on however.

[Muninn]

Liking something doesn't mean you can't disagree with it.

It's really not that. Some people come only to complain, they don't enter into threads much outside of this forum like they do here and almost every new topic their commentary is nothing but why they hate this particular strip.

And bullies can be portrayed as more then dull witted "hurr hurr get duh nerd" types. Somebody like that is fine when used sparingly but it gets over done. Felicia is actually a better example of a bully since she cares more about the attention then her actual methods so she changes tactics and has more then one side. She doesn't get interesting until later on however.

They could, but this method is far more common and I don't remember Jeremy being used so much as to be boring. You just have to see that he isn't a character that was ever going to change much. It's how he is, it's how he stayed as for the most part. I agree that Felicia is a more interesting character though.

[nickspoon]

Jeremy is not so much a character as a sturdy platform to balance jokes upon.

[Cactus Jack]

I have no problem with a character being shallow and just a way to make a joke. You have to recognize as a creator the limitations of that character and not over use them. Jeremy has basically one joke and he gets used way too much. Compare this to the bully in Calvin and Hobbes who is basically the same as Jeremy and I can only recall being in maybe five strips.