Live Blogs The Great Nitpicky Live Blog of El Goonish Shive

MrAHR

Goggle Fox:

Yeah, leg's too far out for that pose to be a fighting stance. Ellen just wants to dance! Meanwhile I'm wondering what the hell is up with her chest deciding to bring a double-D out to the right of her. The angle's a bit severe for that to be natural and I remember her as being more modest. Plus that whole extra-layers-smooth-out-curves-not-accentuate-them thing.

Meanwhile, I have no idea what's going on with the drawing of Susan you brought up. One bizarre stray line, sure, but why?

AHR:

You don't get my reaction, specifically?

He drew diagonal lines, making it look like she was wearing very clearly defined underwear. It also seems to be clinging tightly to what appears to be her vagina.

Or do you not get Shive's logicness?

Goggle Fox:

Ah. The diagonal lines. I was left wondering what the hell was up with the stray horizontal line. Aside from that it's an inexplicably tight cling to... I have no idea what. And I want to stop imagining what it might be because ._. -> ;_;

Simply put, those lines do not belong there.

Cakman:

206

• I can't think of a single instance where I've found the "sleep talking" gag funny, personally. It comes off as forced, as it is almost non-existant for people to actually talk like that in their sleep. Sometimes they'll mumble, or, like I did when I was younger, have night terrors, which aren't quite as comprehensive as these storytelling crutches seem to be.
• Seriously, though, how many people here have woke up screaming? I know it's not incredibly rare, but if anything, wouldn't it just be a small bit of mutterring and moaning?
• That disembodied head is bad and you should feel bad, Dan.
• Also, Grace is seemingly nude in her dream, and the positioning implies that the demon-head of her brother is raping her.
• It would hurt to have your skull catch fire. Jus' saying. You wouldn't really be concerned with haunting, you know?

207

• So... THIS◊ has enabled Grace to learn C++? *Also, it's becoming more and more noticeable of how Shive is creating himself an imaginary girlfriend in Grace, giving her all the powerz and insecurities that he would LOVE for his significant other to have. We get it, Grace. You like Tedd.
• And hey, wouldn't this give us a great opportunity to learn some more about Grace's personality? Think- Okay, she is making a computer game. We could build on her character and give her some other motivations. But no. We fall back to the single trait. Tedd. Tedd. Tedd.

208

• Starting in this post, Shive starts doing something weird. Every few strips, he'll insert some odd narration, not spoken by anyone, but inserted oddly with really no purpose. Yeah. We see tht Greg pushed play. We can guess that.
• So, wait, did Grace walk into the room backwards? How did she not see even a glimpse of Tedd?
• I am also confused as to how gigantic Tedd's computer monitor is.
• How many people does Grace know with purple hair? Wouldn't the mention of it kind of give it away that there was a picture of Tedd on the screen?

209

• The "soon" is kinda needless in the final panel. I'm curious as to why he put it there.
• Grace's skin pigmentation shifts bug me, because I never know if it's right to call Shive out on it being a mistake or not. Is Grace black or not?

210

• Ellen is doing the Thriller dance down the hall.
• I kinda feel bad linking to that dance, because it almost feels like I'm explaining the joke. You see, Dan? Self control.
• Jesus Christ, Shive. What jock raped your mother to get you so enraged by their existence? I hate sports in almost all forms too, but your only jock character seems like he lives and breathes only to bully other kids. Yet, for some reason, HE NEVER WINS ANY FIGHTS.
• And AHR, I do think the conformity poster there is supposed to be a joke. Not a hilarious one, of course, but he's trying.

211

• So is she insane or not? What is your message?!
• And this jock clearly has muscles. How can he not overpower Ellen?
• Also, Bullyjock seems to be a fan of the Florida Gators.

212

• Erm... It's not the toupee that makes him look like Hitler. Without the mustache, he'd just have a normal head of hair.
• And why would children cry? They don't know about Hitler.
• I'm still confused as to the point of the business suit. Why is she wearing one?

Sketchbook

• In other words:
• Sometimes people fuck.
• Sometimes people don't fuck.
• Moving on.

213

• Dreary backgrounds. Blah.

214

• I'm Cakman.
• The weird narration returns! And I understand, you could say that he did it to be "poetic" and what not, but he has not been or even attempted to be poetic or poignant thus far in the series, so it really makes little to no sense.
• Why isn't there a title to this strip? Is the narration suppossed to be the title?

215

• Bathrooms are generally unsanitary places to make out in.
• Meh. Too late to turn this into something serious, asshole. Remember that whole evil twin crap? Yeah, it's still fresh in my mind.

216

• ...Wat.
• What exactly happened there? He ran away, saw something in front of him, turned around, and prevented it from hitting Sarah? Or did he see the goo when he was runing away and ran past it, only to double back? But that doesn't make sense- he'd see the goo and stop. AHR, can you help me out here and draw a diagram?

217

• You know, technically, there really wouldn't be any strategical use or advantage for growing extra eyes, especially when they're pointing in the same direction as the pre-existing ones.
• And narration is back. Ooo, Dan. You sent chills down my spine.
• WHAT DO YOU WANT YOUR GOD DAMN TONE TO BE.
• MAKE.
• UP.
• YOUR.
• MIND.

218

• The green font does not look nice. It's the same font that every single bad guy has had so far. Chiller.
• Susan's an asshole. There's no fire.
• Lololol virgin joke. I can't really imagine anyone actually saying that in an emergency situation.

Sketchbook◊

• Shive stole Grace's Teddy Bear that he gave her. What a dick.

219

• This is weird. My arm feels... Insensitive right now. I'm touching it and I don't really feel anything. I wonder why...
• Is that a slime penis in panel 2? We technically haven't had goo girls yet, so it wouldn't surprise me...

220

• Not a bad joke, but oh Lawdy, look at Grace's running stance. She's power-walking to the rescue.

221

• I don't mind it when Shive lampshades the overly-long explanations, as this one is actually chuckle-worthy.
• Look at Nanase's breasts. They're gimoungous.
• Also, AHR, you know how you've been saying all that stuff about there not being cellphones in 2002? This strip kinda proves that wrong.
• Nanase's cellphone is shaped like a taco. Maybe it's an N-Gage.
• I honestly could have done without the foul language, though.

222

• No, I don't think it'd trying to scare you. I think it's charging at you, as it can swallow you whole in one of its several mouths.
• Or, at least... It should be doing that. I guess it is trying to scare her. Wow. What a stupid piece of crap.
• God damnit. I can't even feel my arm right now. I'm poking it with a needle, and there's just no feeling to it!

223

• People don't fall like that unless you intentionally tackle them like Tigger does. Otherwise you'd just stumble backwards.
• Greg's head is the size of a walnut.
• And I'm confused about the time scale here. How long has passed since the slime monster appeared? And, speaking of which, where the hell did it come from?

224

• Two posts ago, the monster was standing directly in front of Ellen. Literally less than two feet away. And, as the title said, it is a "gargantuan monstrosity". So what the hell? Why does it need to use fire? Why can't it just engulf her in the slime?
• Or, on that same thought, why can't the tentacle that just spit fire just bite Ellen? This action scene makes little to no sense. I know that choreography is by no means easy, but he's failing it on a very basic level here.

225

• First of all, that, Eliot, is called a bullshit power. It randomly appears when the plot necessitates it.
• Second of all, if Alpha/Beta Tedd were from another dimension, they would look something like this◊. Dimensions aren't just "other places". They're mathematical concepts.

226

• Ah, there's our first reference to Goo Girls in the title, though he calls 'em slime girls. I just like the alliteration. I never quite got that one. It always seemed a bit too messy.
• Aw shit. Shive's doing some experimenting with gradiant colors now.
• EAT HIM. EAT HIM. YOU ARE STANDING DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF HIM AND CAN EASILY SMOTHER HIM WITH YOUR SIZE. I MEAN HER. EAT HER. I DON'T KNOW. THIS COMIC IS CONFUSING WITH ITS SEXUALITY.

227

• "Elliot was always suspicious of me"? You certainly didn't do a very good job at showing us that. Elliot asked you a friggin question one time. That's pretty much it.
• I find it hilarious that Shive used this many words to show that his characters were deciding "Let's not do anything."

228

• Feh. I can deal with it as a running joke.
• And this comic once again does nothing more than to confirm that "YES! WE SHALL DO NOTHING! NOTHING AT ALL!"
• Eh. Clark can be a girl's name. And what's the problem with telling her that her name is Grace in the first place?

229

• He is approaching B^U territory with the amount of words.
• Showdon'ttellshowdon'ttellshowdon'ttell.
• That's a bit random of a question for Susan to ask Greg. Why would it even matter at that point?
• That beret clearly does not fit Sarah, as every time she tries to wear it, it slides to the side of her head. How is it staying on?

230

• ZOMG FIRE!!!
• Seriously, though, I'm really getting concerned. I can't feel anything in my arm...
• And Ellen sure has adopted the idea that SHE'S the duplicate quite easily. That's rather odd. Isn't she still Elliot in her mind? Or are we still going with that bullshit "Evil Twin" thing still?

Blurgh. I am tired now. Reviewing these strips makes me fe-NARM

• thud*

AHR:

Because the picture that scared Grace ALSO involved purple hair.

226: Now that you mention it, yeah. Why bother giving Ellen this power? There's already a transformation gun which can, as long as the plot doesn't break it, transform anyone into the opposite gender anytime the protagonists want to. Why does giving one of the cast members the ability to do that innately help? Hell, it doesn't even really affect the outcome of this fight scene I don't think.

227: Why Ellen would trust information that Sarah is repeating which was clearly obtained from Tedd more than information that Grace is repeating which was clearly obtained from Tedd is a mystery to me. As is why being given distracting news from someone else in the fight is any better than being given the same news from a bystander. Seriously, SOMEBODY JUST SAY SOMETHING ALREADY!

Also, dramatic off-panel susan is trying to be cool, so it'd really help if she then went on to do something useful or cool or threatening to one of the cast members' secrets or, really, at all.

229: What does it say about Susan that she never got around to mentioning that the guy her best friend has a crush on has a girlfriend? Do they not talk? Did she think Sarah already knew?

Also, that fifth panel. That should have been three sentences, with the rest of the exposition therein getting a full strip to itself after the battle. It doesn't take a genius to see this, just a brain.

Also, yeah, I found the "Grace is clueless" jokes funny, but you're right that they totally don't line up with her characterization in other places in a consistent way.