This is a good review although significantly kinder than I was to EGS.
Well, Word of God says that the whole Lord Tedd thing will be taken care of soon, right after Sister II finishes. However, Dan's writing style is very indirect, which is certainly annoying to those of us who prefer more direct stories. Personally, I find it rather useful for continuing readership. I mean, several comics I try to read have very cliche and direct, and have nothing to bring me back. So, I guess it's kinda a case of variable mileage.
Well, Word of God says that the whole Lord Tedd thing will be taken care of soon, right after Sister II finishes. However, Dan's writing style is very indirect, which is certainly annoying to those of us who prefer more direct stories. Personally, I find it rather useful for continuing readership. I mean, several comics I try to read have very cliche and direct, and have nothing to bring me back. So, I guess it's kinda a case of variable mileage.
Solving the Lord Tedd thing can wait a little bit.
Dan was right, after archive binging I'll agree that it was getting extremely serious for a while. The less serious things are here as a breather before doing any more huge dramatic arc work. I really do like some of the dangling, it means there's more to call back to later. It doesn't mean that he won't remember them later. It just means that he's pacing it. Take a look at the timeline on the wiki. It's amazing when you calculate how much time has passed/not passed in terms of comic days.
The Clock is Wound, The Future Must Commence! (tm)Leave a Comment:
Clint Eastwood
The Good:
Nanase, Susan, Ellen, Tedd, and Catalina have all clearly grown as people. Nanase has begun to acknowledge her sexuality, taken steps to gradually become more open as a person, and stop being so arrogant. Susan has gone from a one-note straw-man feminist to a more realistically damaged and cynical character struggling over Catalina's affections for her. Ellen has developed a personality that's separate and distinct from Elliot, considerably less serious and less dominant than him. Tedd has become more assertive and comfortable with himself, though he appears to be harboring other issues (again, with his sexuality - a recurring theme). Catalina has gone from an obnoxious cliche to someone struggling with an attraction to Susan.
The Bad:
Justin, Sarah, Grace, etc. haven't really been utilized and often lack depth. Justin is barely present, and when he is just seems to be a token homosexual. Sarah is bland and has seen virtually no conflict, personal desire, etc. since the party. Grace has gradually grown a bit less naive, but still remains a bit of a Purity Sue given her back story and how her relationship with Tedd has been portrayed. In fact, at times the other side-characters appear to be more interesting than the main cast! For example, Tony obviously has some degree of homosexual attraction to Tedd. This is played for laughs, but I honestly find a subplot involving him to be far more interesting than anything involving Susan or Grace. Ditto for Diane, Rhoda and Lucy who appear to have lesbian undertones to their relationships with each other. In fact, Rhoda's attraction is even implied, mockingly, by Lucy in the EGS: NP strip...
The Ugly:
There's far too many subplots. Since 2002 Dan has presented us with an impending invasion from an alternate universe warlord (Lord Tedd), a race of hostile immortals, various teen angst arcs, and more. None of these have been resolved whatsoever. In fact, in some cases they appear to have been put on the back burner indefinitely. Chris Carter has nothing on Dan. In addition, the transformation and furry/TG elements can just be gratuitous and nonsensical, adding nothing to the story. At their worst when coupled with the other themes, they come off as symptomatic of this weird sexual repression in the author. And then there's the mood whiplash. I find all of this is to be very off-putting.