Strip 206

Art:

• There is something dreadfully wrong with Greg's shirt. I don't know what it is or WHY, but with each and every panel Shive seems to find a new way to mess it up.

Content:

• And helllloooo cheapo gags! Talking in your sleep, whether actually funny or not, is a very common old joke. And that seems to be the problem, when he's not explaining the joke, he's using very generic punchlines that don't really have much uniquenesss to them.
• Moving on....that thing is back. That stupid skull of narm. It hasn't gotten any better. It just screams FEEL SORRY FOR GRACE LOOK AT WHAT SHE'S TORMENTED BY!
• And, of course, this does not make much sense, since she was awake just a while ago I suppose she turned into a squirrel and fell asleep, only even MORE than that happened.

—

Strip 207

Art:

• Whoah, fake gradients.
• Grace does not look sad or tired. She looks like Susan. She looks bored/emotionless.
• Also...who would want to pet Jeremy? It seems akin to petting a cheese grater.

Content:

• So, she was at the bottom of the stairs. Gee, NOW we know! If only you had shown this last strip.
• Tedd. Tedd. Tedd. I don't care how much better EGS is than Twilight, Grace is almost no better than Bella Swan. She gets better along the way, but there is still a certain amount of Tedd obsessiveness that still ties her back to it. Especially since we rarely see Tedd doing something similar. Also, Tedd would never make a video game out of Grace. And if he did, there would be a joke about how much of a freak he was.
• Now, while yelling at Grace for this, I probably should consider Sarah, who is pretty much well known as the girl with no powers, no real social interactions of plot importance, and is really only around because she wants to bone Elliot. She has issues of her own when it comes to shoddy writing, but they are very different than Grace's. I almost want to say the same comparison doesn't really work, if only because she seems to have other things on her mind from time to time. I mean, the first thing we saw Sarah doing was being a general ass. The first thing we saw Grace doing was discovering Tedd.

—

Sketchbook Strip 091502

...

Shive, you are going to listen to me very carefully. I get it, you have deep emotional connections to Grace and you probably draw her one handed. Fine, whatever. But you know what? I don't see it. I've NEVER seen it and to this day I still fail to. Yes, her past is sad, but for the longest time it's never presented as anything. A sympathetic character isn't someone crying, or being tortured. That's just a cheap pathos shot. It's written bullshit if there ever was one. A sympathetic character isn't one that has everyone love her, while she thinks she's just a monster. That's just being a whiny bitch.

You know, we have a trope for sympathetic characters. It's called The Woobie. You know what makes a character a woobie? Bad things happening to them. No, not back story bad, actual current plot line. You wanna go up and hug them, but we've never had a reason for that.

Sure, Grace has cried here and there, but a Woobie is not defined by how they react. It's what happens to them. And you know what? So far? Nothing has happened to Grace. Yeah, we get the Painted Black arc where it finally hits the fan, but it was too little too late, and once that was up and gone, Grace never really had anything bad happen to her again, did she?

Shive, you have a problem. You're letting your love for you characters get in the way of them learning lessons. I understand not wanting them to be killed, or scarred physically or mentally. I do. But you don't NEED to do that to make a character sympathetic, or make them go through hardships. You can't run around them making sure they always have a pillow to fall on. You CAN make sure they never jump from too high, but you still have to let them feel the pain.

But you never do. Not really. Not for Grace. I know you'll learn, get better, and produce a much more satisfying sad backstory for Susan. But once again, it's too little, too late.

I could go on and on about this, but that's another rant, for another day.

—

Sketchbook Strip 091602

I post this for two reasons. To point and laugh at Shive for being drawn as a girl (hurr hurr hurr, cause guys don't cry, lawl), and to celebrate for the beginning of a long and fruitful tradition of being a lazy non updating ass. Here's to you Shive.

—

Strip 208

Content:

• ...so...Tedd sent this at night? But Grace was up into the morning until she fell asleep for what could not have been too long and is now completely fine.
• Grace has played Black and White. Grace has learned how to design a video game. Grace however, has not learned of a magical button known as minimize.

—

Strip 209

Art:

• ...so, not only is he not doing backgrounds, he won't even draw backgrounds in the car. I get the distinct feeling you are not taking this seriously Shive.
• Also, this MAY be perspective, but Grace apparently gets taller from panel one to panel two.

Content:

• I WOULD go on a tirade about Shive explaining the cursing joke, but I can't. Because if not, I honestly would have assumed he was just being his normal self that did not curse. I mean, I know EGS has its fair share of cursing here and there, but for the most part, it really ain't there. Which of course means that jokes like this (and he even did a very similar joke quite recently) tend to NEED explaining, but it's occasionally hard to tell whether Shive is purposely doing Gosh Darn It To Heck or not.
• Greg. STFU. WE DON'T NEED YOUR EXPOSITION! WE WERE THERE WHEN IT HAPPENED!

—

Strip 210

Art:

• Hey lookie goth girl. My posture is like that. I have a huge backpack.
• If any school ever had the conformity poster, I will...still complain about it because even if it is realistic it still shows Shive's immaturely negative feelings about the institution of teaching. So there.
• So, here we see Ellen is not ALL bad. Or only wants to ruin Elliot's life. Or sees this as a win-win opportunity. Either way...

—

211

Art:

• Well, the layout is certainly imaginative, at least. But the first two bubbles positively suck at conveying the proper emotion.

Content:

• So. Let me get this straight. Instead of being a good little crazy person and beating the living crud out of Tony, she merely threatens him. Not that physical violence works, don't get me wrong, but it seems very...shallow considering Ellen thinks she's not gonna be around for much longer.
• Also, has Elliot...has Elliot never actually gotten into a fight over this? You'd think he would...hrm. This greatly confuses me.

—

Strip 212

Content:

• And so the end of a great cache of possible Hitler jokes. Pity. Well, actually, it really ended the moment it started. An even bigger pity.
• Of course, he has to go out with a bang. And by a bang, I mean explaining the joke. Just like I did.
• And now we get the unravelling of Ellen's madness. Not that she ever very insane to begin with minus that ONE strip.
• So, basically, this has nothing to do with Ellen going insane, just that she's not Elliot. Also, don't you think that other teachers would show up to take care of Ellen? A cafeteria does not only have one teacher monitering it. Helllo fridge logic.
• Also, guess it was only a matter of time before she ran into Sara-
• They have the same lunch period.
• Would she not know to avoid her?
• Then again, considering how she's been going to all her OTHER classes, she REALLY sucks at this, doesn't she?

—

Sketchbook Strip 092902

Wait...Greg says "What the heck is going on?" but Elliot can use the word hell? Wat.

More importantly, I've always thought Shive's greatest strength was thinking out multiple different paths (the AU s), but instead he sticks with one story. Also, considering Grace's reaction during her own part, strip 5 is closer to canon than one might first think.

The fact that he can make Tedd X Elliot jokes also please me. If only he could do them as both males, and I'd definitely call him equal opportunity.

—

Strip 213

Art:

• Gradients! They tell the mood!
• Also, I think we are beginning to see normal! Sarah appear. Maybe. She looks a bit more innocent, anyways.
• And the whole cloud of dust thing shows up again. Not because this is cartoonish, just because Shive seems petrified of trying to draw action.

Content:

• I was about to turn in the towel for these strips. I really was. You know why? They work. They really do. Could be better? Definitely? But as far as standards go, it shows a set up action that makes sense. It's a sympathetic moment being played within the orchestrated events from the plot. It works.
• But then I remembered something. Something that turns this somewhat warming moment into delightful bullshit.

—

Strip 214

Content:

• Well, at least Shive didn't make a boys bathroom gag. Or would have that made more sense? Oh the conundrums...
• Now, as I was saying, this moment is actually semi-well done. Lack of words definitely works for Shive. He tends to do better when he leaves out the dialogue.
• But, once again, this is still crappy. Don't believe me? That's cause you're Cakman. If you are not Cakman, then you probably don't remember.
• You see, after this? After these strips?
• Nothing.

—

Strip 215

Content:

• Zip.
• Zilch.
• Mother.
• Fucking.
• Nada.
• No, that's not accurate. There is ONE reference.
• One.
• Shortly followed by a sex joke.
• Oh that Ellen. She's a quirkster!
• It's not even a 'yeah, I still miss her but I know it can't happen'.
• No. It's a complete 'I'm over it dudez.'
• Now, this makes sense. They are teenagers. Teenagers are bloody morons.
• BUTTTTTTTTT
• Up till now, every teenager cliché has been played painfully straight. Sarah is in love with Elliot. And Elliot loves her back. Are you seriously telling me that Ellen just gets over it?
• That is exactly what Shive is telling me, actually.
• What makes this even MORE insulting is that...
• You know what? I'll lay off. I'll wait for that actual strip to show up. Can't waste all my material here.

—

Strip 216

Content:

• Because only girls cry.
• Well, more accurately, only Ellen cries. And Grace. And fem!Shive.
• Oh, wait, did Sarah cry that one time?
• Yes. Yes she does.
• Don'tcha just love the equal opportunity of it all?

—

Strip 217

Art:

• Shive has been working on his goo drawing skills, it seems.

Content:

• Remember how the goo was just kinda randomly sociopathically killed? Well, now he's evil. So it's OK. You can tear him to as many shreds as you please and abuse him in any way you can imagine. Because it's scary.
• Yuh-oh. Y'all know what this means right? Our favority non-reocurring evil overlord is gonna be alluded to to the first out of three times. Out of the entire series so far. Fun.

—

Strip 218

Art:

• Hey look. Boobs.
• I will admit, the green font looks nice.

Content:

• Lord Tedd. The biggest fucking bastard ever. Not because of the stuff he's done, don't get me wrong. Just because of all the cockteasing he does. It's like he's the symbolization of Shive's old dream of being a pole dancer. "Think you see me now? NOPE! Oooh, might be relevant here! PSYCH! Oh wait, look , I actually appeared once. Now go crazy."
• Susan to the rescue y'all. Except...she doesn't do anything other than this. At all. Well, she does ONE other thing, but that one thing leads to nothing. Well, nothing IMPORTANT anyway...

—

Strip 219

Art:

• Gradients show us that these characters are feeling EMOTIONS!

Content

• Fuck.
• It's a word Shive. It's OK. You can use it.
• Oi friggin ve. Those last two panels are horribly worded. No reasonably anger person would be that eloquent. In the penultimate panel, I mean. The last one is just narmy.
• SRSLY, Ellen, just beat it up already.

—

Strip 220

Content:

• Aw crudmuffins. We're ending on a strip I actually somewhat like. I must find a way to remedy this.
• Hmm...
• Well, the timing is all off, but that will only get obvious with the later...strips...
• uhm...
• Hm.
• THE RUNNING ACTIONS! THEY SUCK! YES! HOW DARE YOU SUCK THAT MUCH SHIVE!
• YESSSS!

—

So, the arc be rounding out soon y'all. Yippie!