All right...we're back on schedule
again. And since I'm clearly insane, I'm going to stick with the
daily comics for a while yet. Summer Contest #4 has now officially ended. Fifteen limericks were submitted; you can see them all here. A lot of creativity went into these things. Points will be awarded as follows: Nobilis: 3 points. Nobilis's limericks are in a special category of their own. Basically, Nobilis won the contest with the very first post, which contained limericks in English, Swedish, and German. Later, Nobilis added one in Latin, one in French, and another one in English. All of them make perfect sense, and most of them scan and rhyme well. Here's the first English one (with Nobilis's later corrections), just so you can see what was on offer: Marie often lives in illusion-- Can there be a logic conclusion? Will Casey unveil What happened for real? No, we shall all drown in confusion. This has the advantage of being a sly poke at my propensity never to reveal anything while also providing a real possibility for the end of the comic. Will I eventually take pity on you all? Only time will tell. Basically, I'm taking Nobilis out of the contest so the rest of you have a chance...but not without some lovely, lovely points. The categories I originally proposed were creativity, logic, and technical beauty. I've sort of replaced them with "the limericks I like the most," but to be fair, I am impressed by creativity, logic, and technical beauty (as well as humour, which I forgot to mention) in my limericks. So I have four more points to hand out, one to each poem. The four poems I have chosen are: Laura: Now Casey's a misunderstood Field agent and with time he should Find out Evil Marie Is as real as could be, But sometimes she dreams that she's good. I like the oddly wistful last line on this one. It also has the advantage, like Nobilis's first English limerick, of providing a real possibility. Erwaro: Right now, Marie wants to scream Until Santa brings her some ice cream The tuba goes swish Also, Casey's a fish In the end, it was all just a dream. This poem basically hits on the one type of ending that I shall never ever use. The whole "It was all just a dream" trope maddens me unless it's used very, very well, which it almost never is. And no, I don't count Marie's hallucinations here, as she knows she's hallucinating, and the very fact that she is hallucinating brings with it real-world consequences. At any rate, I enjoy the cheerful randomness of this poem. Perhaps Casey is a fish. Tuxgeo: A Canadian lass named Dumont Felt denial of guilt an affront Though she'd pushed blame behind: But she had to unwind So she wandered, the Fates to confront. The way Canadians pronounce "Dumont" actually means that it doesn't really rhyme with "affront" and "confront" (actually, the American pronunciation doesn't entirely rhyme either), but it looks like a rhyme, so yay. This is a rather sober limerick that describes the current plot quite well and gets into Marie's motives. It doesn't quite provide a potential ending, but it provides the beginning of one. I approve of it. Lumair: Casey liked Marie, so he kissed her They fought, but he found out he missed her And then fires began The undead mouse ran And guess what! Marie was his sister! I'm marking a lot of Star Wars essays at the moment, so I enjoyed the Luke-and-Leia vibe here, as well as just the fun twist at the end of the poem. This one wins for "zingiest final line." I loved all the limericks, and I especially thank those of you who had never written limericks before and were trying them for the first time. Kudos goes to Nobilis, Laura, Erwaro, Tuxgeo, Lumair, Mercenary Pen, Dances With Fish, Nuttycat, Emily, and Preethi for participating. I apologise if I've inadvertently left anyone out. Summer Contest #5 Rules: It's time for a new contest. Hurrah! This week's contest involves art. Before you panic, keep in mind that stick figures can be art, as can ASCII. You may also use my stuff or various comic-creation sites online. Go wild and crazy. Be imaginative. Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to create a one-panel scene between at least two WoB characters of your choice and post it somewhere online, then link to it in the comments section (or mail it to me if you can't, but be aware that I will share it; if you take this option, let me know what name or alias you want displayed). Again, stick figures are an option here. The panel should involve at least two of the following elements: Casey's mom, a shiny object, bricks, Master Ramsay, the Elvis, maple doughnuts, Christmas, the number seven, and a ukulele. Seeing as this is WoB's anniversary week (which is part of why that seven is in there, though the number is otherwise important to the comic), I'll have multiple points up for grabs. I'll award first, second, and third prizes; the winners will gain, respectively, three points, two points, and one point. There is no limit on the number of panels a single person can enter. The deadline is this coming Sunday at midnight EDT. |
Monday, July 22, 2013 |
Panel 1: Casey and Basil are sitting on Marie's futon. Casey's head is on his knees. Casey: Marie... Basil: She's not in the bedroom; I checked. Panel 2: Casey sits up. Casey: She's gone back. She's going to see... Panel 3: Casey: ...I can't remember. Once I could remember everything, but it's all gone floaty. Panel 4: Basil: I never realised the devil would be so dysfunctional. Casey: My hands are important today. Alt-Text: Actually, I've always imagined the devil as dysfunctional. How couldn't he be? He must have a lot of issues. Go to commentary |