Thursday, July 13, 2000: Nothing like "Calvinball"

[NonsenseWords]

...really, DCS? Lampshading a blatant reference does not make it any less blatant.

[Maggot Brain]

This doesn't exist. Move on.

[Cactus Jack]

Lets just pretend this one doesn't exist.

[Trance]

ugh

[Muninn]

What's exactly the problem with this?

This was the very first Ozy and Millie strip I saw, in the tributes section of a Calvin and Hobbes site.

[NonsenseWords]

My personal problem is the Trying Too Hard syndrome that DCS has whenever he tries to do 'wacky'; he pulls random words out of the air and strings them together and expects comedy gold, without quite recognizing why they worked in something like Calvin & Hobbes.

Calvinball, for instance, had its own internal logic; little kid logic (Calvin logic, anyway), but you could follow it step by step, and the visuals on the comic had a dynamism and energy to supplement it that this one does not have. This is static, both in terms of the rules (as Isolde just kind of announces "now roll the duct tape") and in terms of the artwork (with everybody just standing around instead of actively playing), and feels flat and lifeless in comparison. It has interesting imagery, but... well, as I said, it's simply trying too hard, and misses the heart of what made the imaginary sport it's cribbing from so much fun to read.

In my opinion, anyhow.

[Maggot Brain]

My personal problem is the Trying Too Hard syndrome that DCS has whenever he tries to do 'wacky'; he pulls random words out of the air and strings them together and expects comedy gold, without quite recognizing why they worked in something like Calvin & Hobbes.

Calvinball, for instance, had its own internal logic; little kid logic (Calvin logic, anyway), but you could follow it step by step, and the visuals on the comic had a dynamism and energy to supplement it that this one does not have. This is static, both in terms of the rules (as Isolde just kind of announces "now roll the duct tape") and in terms of the artwork (with everybody just standing around instead of actively playing), and feels flat and lifeless in comparison. It has interesting imagery, but... well, as I said, it's simply trying too hard, and misses the heart of what made the imaginary sport it's cribbing from so much fun to read.

In my opinion, anyhow.

No. It's just not funny.

[Cactus Jack]

What's exactly the problem with this?

This was the very first Ozy and Millie strip I saw, in the tributes section of a Calvin and Hobbes site.

There's a tribute and then there's a shameless rip off, and in the context of posting the comics here we've seen way too many comics bordering on rip off for DCS to get a pass on such a clunky tribute.