The Big Flashback Story End
February 3, 2012
DONE! I hoped you liked my story. Next time, I’m going to write a full, complete script like a real writer so I don’t have to panic trying to string together my plot points and delaying things by being an idiot.
One-offs now. For a WHILE.
And that is when dear Penny discovered the fourth wall.
GOOD NIGHT, EVERYBODY!
Super work, Alex. That was epically epic. And best of all, it ends with Penny’s Very 1st Fourth Wall Breaking. *Sniff* Kids grow up so fast, don’t they?
I can’t help but laughing at how much of a cop-out Penny figuring it all out is.
You both make me hate you and gain my respect with each and every page you give us.
“…and delaying things by being an idiot.” Good idea. There are much less stressful ways of delaying things. I hope to find some of them one day. Sometime. Somehow…
I liked how when she initially broke the fourth wall, her tone seemed soft (at least that’s how I processed it). She seemed to take on a role of narrator if only for a moment. I’ve been following this webcomic for a while now, and I really do enjoy when characters in comics speak to the reader… Which doesn’t really seem too common…
Also, showing us the exact moment when Penny first realized she was a cartoon (I assume), awesome.
Love this but it’s kind of hard to read
Oh I get it brilliant
As much as I love the arch look Penny gives us to introduce the flashback, and her reaching out of the frame in the last panel, my very favourite part is the look of blinding realisation in the 2nd last panel.
This was one of the funniest stories ever told in a webcomic and one of the best ways a story was ever told in a webcomic too. If that’s the result of not scripting ahead and just going with the flow – keep at it
Alex, you’re amazing.
Eeeew, she got copyright all over her fingers.
A hack writer would explain my life….
You didn’t write a script? Not practical
I learned that by experience. The “Wtf was I thinking?! Now my comic’s storyline doesn’t make a minimum amount of sense” kinda experience.
I should clarify, I always write an outline, but as far as a written script… Yeah, that’s something I should start doing.
I think I disagree with you there Otter. Yeah planning works for some, but for others, myself included, improvisation works best. It all depends on your skill level and work method. A successful webcomic is based on how much you’re willing to put into it.
Also an artist, get one of them.
Unless you’re XKCD, then an artist is optional.
Even with xkcd, it takes skill to draw stick figures that well. Even my stick figures are sickly stick figures. There’s even the odd detailed drawing.
He’s got a style that works and he sticks with it. XKCD is another great comic.
I (almost) always like it when the characters of a comic or story break the 4th wall. It means they don’t take themselves too seriously and are just having a good time with it.
Keep up the good work Alex.
By causing the flashback scene in which she discovers the fourth wall, Penny effectively influences the past. So, does this count as time travel?
@TheOneGuy
) but I still would like it to make sense. But as I progress I always end up cursing my past self when I run into a nonsense plot element, continuity error or something like that. “Damn it me in the past, why didn’t you use your brain. If the protagonist does X and grab Y weapon the storyline doesn’t make a least bit sense and he can kill anyone with one shot.”
That depends on what you are doing. Staying with comics, if you are someone into gag comics and/or really short/random storylines then of course a script or outline isn’t necessarily needed, but if someone is doing constant storylines or one graphic novel those are a “must”, especially if they are connected. Improvising can come in handy sometimes, but more in the first case.
In my example I’m doing a graphic novel out of fun for a few years now (I’m lazy), not planning to ever publish it or anything (heck, I draw it with a cheap pen
That’s why I learned it the hard way.
@IndigoRei no a flashback is technically just a memory displayed visually so penny is just showing us what happened back then not going back to that time
@Otter
I was refering to story-heavy stuff. I wrote a comic for about 4 years that the only thing I started with was “what happens if a machine can change your gender” a random idea I had one day when I skipped science class. Now I have a 200+ page webcomic with the first chapter printed into a comic book, a Novella in the works, and over 700 readers. And I wrote every page of it on the fly, absolutely no planning, I improvised it all.
Like I said, it works for some, myself included.
IndigoRei -
Penny has done that in the past. I can’t seem to find the comic to link it, but she did reach into the future, which was the panel below, and bootstrapped something into existence just to have it stolen again by her past self.
When you stare at the wall, the wall stares back at you.
Thanks to HIMYM, that little pop thingy sounds like a ton of breaking glass to me.
@LaughingTarget: http://www.out-at-home.com/archives/284
Speaking of which, does anybody know why the archives are so random? You know, how you go from 1268 to 1274 with seemingly no rationale?