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Post by Michael on Sept 16, 2013 20:31:39 GMT
Well would you look at that? A brand new issue of STC is now available for your perusal!
Go check it out!
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Post by Hevs on Sept 16, 2013 20:58:14 GMT
Very nice art in both the Sonic & Tails strips, along with quite engaging stories, especially the Tails ones! Nice to see the Babylon Rogues too, although I'll need to look back at the Mega Mack thing, I've forgotten about it! Interesting to see how Chaotix's betrayal will pan out, although it'd be nice to see more of Robotnik too (Surprise surprise ). I really thought it was interesting to see Silver, and I'm definitely intrigued as to how exactly Sonic will destroy everything in the future, including Pixel Brain. Keep up the good work, the art especially was lovely in this issue!
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Post by Pete on Sept 16, 2013 21:17:04 GMT
Kinda proud of this issue- working on both Stiv's and Shay's wonderful work was so much fun! I was down to do World's Worst Villain, but I had Tails and Sonic going at the same time, not realising that all three strips were for the same issue, so a massive thanks to Matt for covering my ass!
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Post by BlackHole on Sept 16, 2013 21:25:17 GMT
Excellent work. I rather enjoyed this issue, though Sonic's World was a bit depressing in that Sonic's rep has been tarnished so badly that teachers are failing their students for essays about the good he's done.
Regardless, excellent work.
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Post by Mambo's Here! Look Busy! on Sept 16, 2013 22:02:10 GMT
Just want to pop in before I go to bed...
This is a great issue, love the artwork... but my favourite this issue has to be the Tails/Silver story. I've said before I love what STCO is doing with Silver, and I love Shay's take on his design. Long, flowing "hair" as opposed to the rigid spikes he is normally drawn with.
I'll comment more when I haven't got half a bottle of wine in me! *hic*
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Post by L. T. Dangerous on Sept 16, 2013 22:12:53 GMT
Mike has won some serious points for drawing Missing-Arm Megadroid in the Control Zone.
Really good issue, guys, the art is of a sterling quality throughout. The stories are really fun too. I'm particularly interested to see where Silver goes.
I may expand on this when it's not past my bedtime!
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Tom
Ex-Hume
Hume-who-used-to-think-he-was-in-charge
Posts: 3,786
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Post by Tom on Sept 16, 2013 22:19:47 GMT
Good to see Matt drawing again. He's done a superlative job with his story, his work truly elevates it.
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Post by ShayMay on Sept 16, 2013 22:24:39 GMT
Too right. He cleaned up the writing a fair bit as well - changing some panel progressions, touching up some lines or jokes that didn't work... he really deserves a co-writer's credit. (Especially if I deserve any sort of credit for my minimal work on Hog Hunt.)
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Post by Arch on Sept 16, 2013 22:36:45 GMT
Just thought I'd pop back and give my thoughts on the new issue. It's largely negative, sorry guys.
Technical issues out of the way first: - The main address leads to the home page that leads to #261 - The cover for #262 says #261 at the top of the window (whatever that bit with tabs in it is called, sorry...) - There's no way to get to the issue without clicking links on the forum/Facebook etc, not even Back Issues.
Right, anyway, the art's fantastic all round. Stiv, Shay, Smithy.. uh, Bramble. All great, with few exceptions. It's great to see people back when they've not drawn for a while and it reminds me what a great pool of artists STC-O has.
OK, bad news. I really dislike the main story and it's an issue with characterisation. Well, actually, the main issue is that Mega Mack has been spelled wrong in the first two strips of the issue and nobody thought to check it. Hey ho. Throughout the "Hog Hunt" strip, Sonic is back to his nasty, self-assured way that seems to have been phased out, bringing in a more mature, cautious, friendly Sonic. From time to time, different writers bring in their own version of who they think Sonic is. That'd be fine, if it didn't change from an issue to issue basis - or even a strip to strip basis. I can't really imagine the Sonic of this story chilling with a kid and a burger, for instance.
Then there's Jet. Apart from the fact this his only his second strip, I've had no reason to believe he's anything different to his game guise. Cocky, arrogant - all this is fine as it's what I've come to expect. Then he says "flippin' cheek" like he's a greengrocer at a market where someone's insulted his tomatoes. Then calls Sonic a "pin-prick" in a children's comic. And a dirt rodent, whatever that is.
From the start I felt like things weren't going to go well, when the park ranger/cleaner found Sonic in the forbidden act of sleeping in a memorial park (memorial for who I don't know) - in the mid-afternoon. Good going with your job, sir, that it took you so long. Anyway, the public find Sonic and there's an hysteria that continues to drag on despite Tails knowing the truth and being the most respected person on Mobius. So Sonic knocks them all out for no reason and moans that he'll never have a disguise again, like there's no more in the world. All whilst a ghost looks at him?
Then the Babylon Rogues attack a giant Sonic with a lightshow, causing inexplicable damage with some hoverboards, a brief recap of their history (which doesn't link to their last issue unlike the "Mega Mac" one) and Jet reveals that "someone" put a bounty on Sonic's head. If it's not Robotnik, or possibly Kane, you'd at least think he'd know who it was he was bringing "the pin-cushion" (saying this to Sonic as if he was someone else) to. Sonic makes some horrible puns and the two interesting characters of the Rogues are left behind.
Fart joke.
And Sonic runs using his hands which makes no sense. What the hell is this? Sonic gets the upper hand with some dodges and attacks before suddenly admitting he's losing, all while wondering why Super hasn't come out - despite him staying calm in much tougher battles.
And then he DISAPPEARS. There's literally no further sight of him.
Chaotix are tacked on to the end with a fairly average Charmy-ism and no explanation as to why Sonic can't escape from Omni, since he hasn't frozen himself in time. And Vector's lost his gold chain, but bought a nice iPod (that may be an old addition, I don't know, but I actually think it's a good idea).
Sorry to lay into you Stephen but this was pretty atrocious. I imagine you'll give a pretty thorough rebuttal of my thoughts because I was quite harsh and nobody else'll think I'm right, but I've seen you do much better. I saw you do much better this issue! The Tails/Silver story was really cool - history somehow replacing Sonic's achivements with Tails.
Even then, though, it has its issues. Wouldn't a technological Mega Mac"K" missile be a pretty bad choice now that Robotnik's at war? It would pretty much confirm Sonic wasn't behind the attack on Green Hill. Then Silver blows up the warhead in the sky - I hope the chemical chamber was part of the deconstruction that stayed on the ground.
I don't understand Theo either. I know he's a well-spoken chap, but when did he start using words like "afoul", "brigand" and "perchance"? Irritating to say the least. Silver then lets the reader know that Tails is torn apart in the future by Super Sonic's bare hands. Delightful. And Holly ends with a closing sentence that's intended for effect but is daft.
Sounds like another onslaught on your writing abilities, which I guess it is, but the Tails/history thing is much better than what ended up happening, which felt like a retread of Sonic 06 at times.
The last story's really quite good, even if does feel a bit short somehow. Full of charm, action, different minor characters, a likeable loser in Toby. Perhaps it's telling how enjoyable and inoffensive it is that my main criticism of how liberal the punctuation is - there's a fair few missing full stops dotted around. Backround art's ace too - a School of Rock reference? I don't get why there's two Zs in the alphabet, though..?
Wallpapers are all very nice, Adamis has put in a shift again, even when he's not involved in a story. I don't know if its been there before, but the "Facebook" option to have a cover photo is fantastic. Great idea!
Art next issue genuinely looks atrocious. I'm scared.
I'm getting a bit confused with the navigation of the comic and I'm not really sure where I'm meant to be starting. Is it stconline.co.uk ? The Control Zone? The cover? Because different links take me elsewhere. The Anniversary Zone seemed like a good idea at the time, but now "Added 29th May" looks like nobody can be bothered, especially when other things are still "coming soon". Everything in the navigation bar looks a bit blue, which is all the more striking when a big yellowish "TAILS" sticks out in the middle of it.
I'm sorry to come back here and deride everything but the art and one story. I really didn't want to, I expected to comment on how well STC-O continues to be heading on this current wave of classic-style stories. Then I'm reminded that this War on Mobius has been going on for years and I've stopped caring. This "Sonic the traitor" crap has gone on even longer and it's dominated all three stories this month. Variety's still there but you're losing it.
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Post by Fools in Miru on Sept 16, 2013 22:56:39 GMT
All three were great. The stakes have only became more intense, with Bob Beaky no longer being valid. I was a little surprised the Babylon Rogues weren't revealed to be Drakon agents. The Chaotix now work under G.U.N? I really liked the one with the little kid and the report, but wonder why none f the kids chose to report on Rouge or somebody. I also love the teaser for the Halloween issue, and feel we will see Gamma soon (maybe as the "something wicked" they teased?).
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Adamis
Artist Hume
Yay
Posts: 1,339
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Post by Adamis on Sept 16, 2013 23:15:16 GMT
Sorry, no Gamma. And I doubt those kids would know about Rouge...
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Post by L. T. Dangerous on Sept 16, 2013 23:56:04 GMT
- There's no way to get to the issue without clicking links on the forum/Facebook etc, not even Back Issues. It's not currently in back issues, but it is on the front page. Try refreshing, it should pop up. By the way, one of the links along the top is to the "Competiton" Zone.
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snowthefox
Big Time Boomer
HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posts: 131
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Post by snowthefox on Sept 17, 2013 0:15:40 GMT
i didn't know they update now well i'm going to read it now
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Post by Charles on Sept 17, 2013 0:28:57 GMT
Favourite part of the Bramble art: that paper reporting "FUGITIVE SONIC DESECRATES GRAVE". Love it!
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Post by Michael on Sept 17, 2013 8:14:52 GMT
Just thought I'd pop back and give my thoughts on the new issue. It's largely negative, sorry guys. Technical issues out of the way first: - The main address leads to the home page that leads to #261 - The cover for #262 says #261 at the top of the window (whatever that bit with tabs in it is called, sorry...) - There's no way to get to the issue without clicking links on the forum/Facebook etc, not even Back Issues.
Yeah, a lot of this is due to me being stuck in a hotel this week on a not overly reliable signal unfortunately. Never launched an issue when on the road before, it's a royal pain!
Sorted out the main page and started to edit the meta data but will leave that till I'm home. The control zone is correct.
Yeah, Back Issues may get done tonight but otherwise the main page and all our networks have it so should be fine for a little while.
I'd much prefer to launch the next issue from my desk with a nice big screen and broadband please...
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Post by Mambo's Here! Look Busy! on Sept 17, 2013 8:23:58 GMT
Comprehensive review, Arch. I don't mean to rock the boat, in fact in the comic's defense: I pointed out Mac/Mack during proofreading, so I assume as the former is used, either it wasn't possible (sorry Michael, didn't see your post!) to make the changes, or it's spelled that way quite deliberately. Perhaps a reference to Seumidh MacDonald? Eh? EH?!
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Smithy
Artist Hume
(A Small Borneo Mammal)
Queen of Pig Torture
Posts: 3,387
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Post by Smithy on Sept 17, 2013 9:27:21 GMT
Thanks for the nice words guys. As a former volunteer Teaching Assistant I'd like to point out that the classroom in World's Worst Villain is a very inaccurate representation of a Primary School classroom. The teacher however is completely accurate. ...wonder why none of the kids chose to report on Rouge or somebody. Perhaps none of them are at quite the right age to see her appeal yet.
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Post by Hevs on Sept 17, 2013 19:31:15 GMT
Art next issue genuinely looks atrocious. I'm scared. A lot of good points made there Arch, I agree with a couple, the running with hands thing was a bit thrown together but this too. I forgot to mention it ^_^;, the next issue page does look a bit dubious in terms of the art. I'unno, it just looks really scribbly?
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dk
Big Time Boomer
Posts: 148
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Post by dk on Sept 17, 2013 22:42:31 GMT
I thought this was a very strong issue. All the stories delivered and the artwork for all three was excellent.
This struck me as a very 'balanced' issue: a good mix of drama/comedy and a good balance of standalone strips/serials.
I also liked the way that the three stories all linked together with the underlying theme of Sonic's reputation being undermined. We got to see the implications of this from Sonic's perspective, from the perspective of an average citizen and from the perspective of future generations. I thought this did a great job of subtly bridging the three stories without being too heavy handed.
All in all, I thought this was an extremely good issue. Well done to all involved.
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Post by modochi on Sept 18, 2013 20:08:24 GMT
Gonna read it tomorrow, it's almost bedtime here if I want to avoid being a zombie at work tomorrow.
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Post by neoamon on Sept 19, 2013 20:04:13 GMT
Great issue! I guess Sonic's going to need a new disguise. When I saw the title of the Sonic's World strip "World's Worst Villain" I thought it was going to be about Doctor Genius. One question about the Mega Mack missile who was behind was Grimer trying to make Sonic's reputation even worse?
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Post by Fools in Miru on Sept 19, 2013 21:32:32 GMT
Great issue! I guess Sonic's going to need a new disguise. When I saw the title of the Sonic's World strip "World's Worst Villain" I thought it was going to be about Doctor Genius. One question about the Mega Mack missile who was behind was Grimer trying to make Sonic's reputation even worse? Blaze was evil, all along. Or maybe it was Zavok.
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andy
New Boomer
Posts: 37
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Post by andy on Sept 20, 2013 13:39:02 GMT
Great issue overall I think.
Cover by Pete was great. Nice pose for Sonic and I liked the simplified, graphic interpretation of the Rogues in the background. Sonic's hands are a bit awkward-looking. Maybe Pete isn't used to drawing with the pen tool? Nice use of Big Bloke for the caption.
Sonic: I was just thinking about the Bob Beaky disguise a few days ago. I thought maybe it had been phased out in favour of the robe Sonic was wearing a couple of issues ago. It makes sense that it doesn't work anymore since the Mobians have seen Sonic bust out of it so many times in the past. It was interesting to get an idea of Sonic's day-to-day existence. How he's basically homeless right now. Time to get himself a new hidden base methinks. I would argue with Arch's point that his behaviour here is out of character. Sonic may be a calmer figure these days but he's still been woken up from his nap and then immediately attacked. I couldn't tell you if the Rogues' personalities are consistent with their previous appearance as I can't remember that far back but they seem to be quite English just like any other characters. Perhaps being foreigners, they should have more exotic speech. Stiv's art is pretty solid. I enjoyed Sonic's heavy-lidded expression. There are a few awkward poses (to be fair these were usually the from behind shots which are difficult) and it took me a few reads to figure out the top row of panels from page 3. Interesting bit of experimentation but it didn't quite pan out. I also dug the subtle yellow creeping in at the bottom of page 2.
The Tails strip was a bit over-expository but I guess that comes with the twin timelines territory. My main gripe is that Tails grasps the meaning of Iblis straight away which seems unlikely. Is Holly drooling over Tails in a trenchcoat on page 3? Good to see Silver get firmly established so his storyline can finally begin. Art was again pretty good. Silver dismantling the missile was impressive and it was also good to see Shay's interpretations of previous events. This is sort of a companion piece to the "Story so far" comic currently running (which needs a new update). Shay does seem to be drawing Silver off-model though. His head crest (or whatever you want to call it) is missing. Was this a conscious redesign or a mistake?
Finally the Sonic's World strip was a nice departure from the usual. The plot and art style are a perfect combination. I loved the final progression of facial expressions for Toby and the constant foul mood of the teacher. The only downside to the art style is that it takes away all Sonic's dynamism so the badnik fight comes across as rather stilted. Also "Fugitive Sonic Desecrates Grave" made me chuckle.
All in all a good (and thematically consistent) issue. Are we really going to see the next one in a month and a half? That would surely be some sort of record.
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Post by ShayMay on Sept 20, 2013 13:58:34 GMT
Yeah, I took some artistic liberties with Silver. I found it really difficult to draw the five-spine 'pot-plant' crest that he has in the games without making him look ridiculous. I decided instead to keep giving him five spikes on his head (along with the two long ones at the back), but not define them or separate them from the rest of his head. I think it looked better as a result, but it did involve me fiddling around with a character design which is probably poor form.
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andy
New Boomer
Posts: 37
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Post by andy on Sept 20, 2013 14:16:44 GMT
Yeah, I took some artistic liberties with Silver. I found it really difficult to draw the five-spine 'pot-plant' crest that he has in the games without making him look ridiculous. I decided instead to keep giving him five spikes on his head (along with the two long ones at the back), but not define them or separate them from the rest of his head. I think it looked better as a result, but it did involve me fiddling around with a character design which is probably poor form. Not necessarily poor form but it'll lead to inconsistency with other artists' interpretations. But then again, there are always inconsistencies due to the fact that the models have changed over time and that people incorporate these within their own artistic quirks. Silver is recognisable as himself, crest or not, and that's the most important thing.
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