03/23/2014
So, for those of you with low attention spans or who just don’t like reading walls of text, I feel inclined to apologize for today’s entry. Not every back-story needs to be seen in flashbacks, however, and I kind of felt like focusing on Rizz instead of showing scenes of Sam kicking the crap out of people (Lord knows we’ve seen plenty of those!).
Really great page, I don’t mind all the text, as it’s a very well written bit of backstory.
Glad you enjoyed! Some reading every now and then only hurts a little.
Oh Rizz, why then did you just hand Scap the ammo he needs?
I must say, I am IMPRESSED that Scap is taking this so calmly. The cliche is the bad guy comes in and shuts up the blabbermouth permanently. Scap’s used it to his advantage. Very slick! I can’t wait to see more!
Let’s hope he doesn’t press his luck and try to get Rizz into bed. There’s only so much a mastermind can pull off (so to speak…).
I’m not worried. I’m sure there’s more crap-kicking a-coming.
…and many boots shall need cleaning.
I’m actually very glad you stuck with Rizz on this outing. It’s very much more compelling to see someone with a range of emotions and a story to tell, as compared to someone who is always zero-to-sixty on their emotional reactions. Plus it’s nice to see people acting lie humans once in a while…… even Scapula is acting like a normal person. Hell I even say halfway decent! Which is nice, because I’d hate to see him slam the door (or coffin lid) on a relationship with one of what I consider two real friends of his (I would list Toxsick as a vitriolic pal). It’s also nice to see that Sam once acted normal in a sense, and that her rage (which mirrors that of many, many people I’ve worked around, though with more threat behind it) is as much a hinderance as a boon.
This is why you don’t mess with the bartender. A good bartender, even in a bad bar, can get anyone acting human. And believe me when I say it’s a freaking superpower!
One of these days someone shall make a comic about a team of bartenders and waiters/waitresses who fight crime and serve drinks (or maybe it’s already been done?). I doubt I’d be the one to draw it, but it could be interesting.
…especially if Red Deutsch was the leader.
If you could get an artist, I know a guy who would write it!
Flashbacks have their place, but I agree that they are far from necessary. Personally I think they’re most effective if a character is telling a significant part of their OWN story, but if they’re talking primarily about someone else then a flashback is usually an excuse to make up for poor writing. You made a good call, and I think the way Rizz’s dialogue was written here really pulled it off.
I don’t have anything against flashbacks; a number of comic artists use them effectively when telling long stories or character biographies (Jaime Hernandez springs to mind), and I would have told this one in flashbacks if it was meant to run for more than just one Sunday page.
I chose against it mainly because, as you said, the story seems more important in regards to the people in Sam’s life as opposed to Sam herself. Either way might have worked, but here we are with Rizz giving a soliloquy.
Wall of text comics are a tricky thing. They can turn off a casual viewer if there are too many of them, but they can be really engaging and provide a lot of content per update if you have a dedicated comic. I think Order of the Stick is a perfect example. That comic is like 90% wall of text pages, and that pushed me away for quite awhile. But once I returned, and really fell in love with the comic, it was great to have so much new stuff to read every update.
Very true; there are a great number of new comics I find on-line that I never bother to read on account of the excessive text (the fact that I’m a dyslexic with ADHD is another matter), and it is kind of unfair to hold that against the creator.
SCAPULA is, admittedly, a hard strip to jump right into (as is any serial comic), so I’ve tried to reduce long speeches like this unless if they’re vital to the plot/characters or just amusing. Here’s hoping this page does that job instead of turning away any ‘stumble-upon’ newcomers!
Personally, I think this was the right way to tell this. It doesn’t come across, really, as being about Sam so much as about how Rizz feels about Sam.
It is sad, though, when a comic writer has to apologise for a brief soliloquy being a ‘wall of text’ – especially when it’s well paced and illustrated :(. It’s more like a brief clip from a movie than a paragraph from a novel 🙂
Nicely said, Andy! I’ve already commented above about the ‘danger’ of lots of dialogue, so hopefully the people who took their time to read it will feel rewarded. I am very grateful for the readers who take their time to enjoy the work.
Scap’s reaction is so endearing at the end of this. I almost forget that he’s becoming a major player in the Villain Bowling League. I mean Villain Crime League.
Sam sounds a lot like a close family member of mine (who has Borderline Personality Disorder). Overwhelming fear and paranoia of abandonment which comes from past trauma. Sam can’t handle being rejected or abandoned because of what happened with her father so she clings and then she blows up. Not saying Sam has Borderline Personality Disorder, just my observation on the similarities to it with Sam.
Sorry if I sound like a web therapist wannabe. I’ve just had too much experience dealing with someone who has this personality disorder and wanted to share.
Very few SCAPULA characters are based on individual persons in the real world, but nearly every one of them has been partially influenced by a great number of people and incidents I’ve seen in my life. It’s a tad unsurprising that others could see familiar traits in the characters as well, even if it isn’t anyone specific.
No need to apologize for sharing your stories; that’s pretty much what I’m doing (only with silly pictures).
I was hoping reference would be made to Sam’s first appearance being her looking for her father.
Continuity!
Continuity…continuity…isn’t that what most comic writers use for toilet paper nowadays?
Wonderful insight into Knuckle Sam, especially since all the hints were there over the years. Kudos!
Whaddya know? Nearly seven years of this malarkey finally paid off!
Low attention span. I don’t have a low att……..
It takes a lot of commitment to hold down the “.” key that long, you fraud!
As you probably have discovered, i love lengthy dialogue, especially if it helps to advance the story and provides deeper characterization. I really enjoyed reading this installment and learning more about Rizzo.
Glad you enjoyed! (see, I kept this reply un-lengthy)