First Introductory Thread

[Atomic]

Welcome aboard folks! Happy archive crawling!

[TheOKTVSet]

I suppose I bite the bullet and realize that the old bulletin style postings aren't coming back. After over a decade of reading the comic, I embrace the message-board.

Howdy again, y'all!

[Kingmaker]

Welcome Kingmaker! Enjoy your archive crawl, just be sure you have a neck brace handy for whipsaw plot twists.
You have been warned!

What's a whipsaw plot twist?

Also known as a "bootlegger turn". It's the intellectual and emotional equivalent of driving along a highway at 80 miles an hour, only to find that with no warning at all the road turns 90 degrees to the left and heads straight up a hillside and then down into a gully. You can drive it, certainly, but you'll get jolted around quite a bit. And, oh, by the way, as you come around the blind curve on that hillside you're going to find a dragon staring at you and drooling.

Most of us have been through several episodes of this sort of "whiplash", while reading the strip or diving through the archives.

Pablo (Paul Taylor) has a solid reputation for being able to surprise us, his readers. Sometimes it's with a plot twist... a new character, or a surprising revelation that all is not how we thought it was. Very frequently, we find that the clues for such plot twists were actually revealed weeks or months or years before, sometimes in quite subtle ways. Paul is very good indeed at "laying the groundwork" for future surprises, with something as subtle as a Shwoosh! There's a literary tradition known as Chekhov's Gun (in a Chekhov play, if a gun is seen on stage you can figure it will be used at some point) and Paul is a master of the technique.

As plot twists go... well, Shelly has been focal in several of them. The "visit to a sand-bar" sequence during the first few months of 2011 is one such... let's just say that when you've read your way through to May 13th (no peeking now!) you're likely to find yourself feeling very rattled, and then (shortly thereafter) rather amazed.

Sometimes the whipsawings are on an emotional level... having the strip go from a light, humorous mode to deadly serious (sometimes heart-wrenchingly so) in an instant. Monica and Brandi had a very interesting conversation in October of last year (again - for your own enjoyment, don't peek!), in which we learn more about Brandi's character and her history... and I know from the (now-unavailable) comments discussion that week that a lot of us were shaken and in tears at what we learned.

Wapsi Square is a rich, challenging strip - it takes a bit of work to follow along (and this forum and its predecessors have been invaluable in helping me figure out what the heck has been going on!) and it's definitely worth the effort!

So - welcome, and enjoy!

Dave,

Thank you for the explanation and the welcome. I am seeing some of these Whipsaw twists and they are sudden and unexpected. All I can generlay say is WOW!

Now I wonder, will it be a problem if I open a discussion on an older strip in the discussion forum since I'm so far behind everyone else? Should I ask a mod?

[Mark N]

Dave,

Thank you for the explanation and the welcome. I am seeing some of these Whipsaw twists and they are sudden and unexpected. All I can generlay say is WOW!

Now I wonder, will it be a problem if I open a discussion on an older strip in the discussion forum since I'm so far behind everyone else? Should I ask a mod?

I would think that as long as you follow the proper Date/Name convention as the usual topics it should be fine to bring up an older strip that has not been used on the forum before.

[Kingmaker]

Now I wonder, will it be a problem if I open a discussion on an older strip in the discussion forum since I'm so far behind everyone else? Should I ask a mod?

I would think that as long as you follow the proper Date/Name convention as the usual topics it should be fine to bring up an older strip that has not been used on the forum before.

THen I shall do so (not for every single one, but for those I need some help explaining or something...)

[Dave]

Dave,

Thank you for the explanation and the welcome. I am seeing some of these Whipsaw twists and they are sudden and unexpected. All I can generlay say is WOW!

Now I wonder, will it be a problem if I open a discussion on an older strip in the discussion forum since I'm so far behind everyone else? Should I ask a mod?

I would think that as long as you follow the proper Date/Name convention as the usual topics it should be fine to bring up an older strip that has not been used on the forum before.

I would agree, this seems to be quite reasonable. Just do a search first to see if somebody has already created a thread for that day's strip, or (perhaps) for a nearby day that's in the same part of the story line... if so, it'd probably be best to post a comment onto that thread rather than starting a new one.

It's a shame that the old Comments section is entirely off-line - there were a lot of very interesting discussions over the past few years that might answer some of your questions. There's some hope that the Comments might be resurrected in read-only form, but it hasn't happened yet. Since that's the case, opening a new thread here in the forum is probably your best bet.

[Theodemus]

Whoops. I just discovered that as a new registree I'm supposed to demonstrate my non-spambot-ishness by introducing myself here.

Well, can do. I'm from Germany, male, 38 years old by now, and my spare time revolves around an ancient asian board game (Go), reading a lot (mostly english language fantasy literature, but absolutely not constricted to that), archery (recurve) and online gaming (World of Warcraft).

I have been reading Wapsi Square a few years back, but somehow lost it from view for a time. Now that I've rediscovered it, I have been catching up to date and intend to stay around again.

[Julie]

Whoops. I just discovered that as a new registree I'm supposed to demonstrate my non-spambot-ishness by introducing myself here.

Well, can do. I'm from Germany, male, 38 years old by now, and my spare time revolves around an ancient asian board game (Go), reading a lot (mostly english language fantasy literature, but absolutely not constricted to that), archery (recurve) and online gaming (World of Warcraft).

I have been reading Wapsi Square a few years back, but somehow lost it from view for a time. Now that I've rediscovered it, I have been catching up to date and intend to stay around again.

Welcome to the insanity...erm...I mean party!

[MerchManDan]

Spoiler alert: She means "insanity."

[Kingmaker]

Spoiler alert: She means "insanity."

Insanity? This is WAAAAAPSIIII!

Ok, I guess I owe the pun jar now?

[lake_wrangler]

Spoiler alert: She means "insanity."

Insanity? This is WAAAAAPSIIII!

Ok, I guess I owe the pun jar now?

In the Wapsiverse, the pun jar owns you!

[Dave11]

Spoiler alert: She means "insanity."

Insanity? This is WAAAAAPSIIII!

Ok, I guess I owe the pun jar now?

Nah, wasn't a pun, really. The SCP tomatoes didn't even twitch.

[MartinSStoller]

Hey all!

I've been a Wapsi Square fan for a while now, but finally decided I had a reason to register on the forum - started drawing again after decades of not touching a pencil, and I did a fan piece on "Her Thither", i.e. Monica having "teething trouble" - I just found her to be SO CUTE like that!

I must most def agree with Tsillah on that one!

Post of my fan art can be found here:

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=14&start=660#p11225

More info about me either at my deviant or at http://martinstoller.ca in case you are nosy

[RunningBull]

Hello everyone, forgot to leave my introductory post here, better late than never I suppose. I have followed Wapsi Square since about 2002. I never posted on the old boards, I do remember some fans who were more interested in the talk than the comic itself. I like the forum as it is today, and the website looks great. I used to play Old Western PC games and chose the name RunningBull. While I don't play those games anymore, I still like the old moniker. It has taken me 10 years, but I am finally starting to actually participate in posting. I look forward to every strip. I work second shift for an aerospace company, and always end my day with Monica and company!!!


I am a wapsiholic!

[Jabberwonky]

Welcome to a fellow 'Boot Hill'er...

[DilyV]

Hi everyone, I'm Dilynrae... you can call me Dily, all my friends do. I came across Wapsi Square recently when someone posted a piccie of Monica with the text ERMAGERD!!! BERBS!!! I have been watching a few web comics and checked it out and spent every waking moment over the next two and a half days reading the strip from the beginning to the end... I was floored! I love the way the characters and the art itself has a progression... it just keeps getting better and better. I'm kinda fond of Tina... I don't know why, she is just my favorite character for some reason. Her smile and happy go lucky attitude just strikes a chord with me. Anyway, I just wanted to drop in and say hi to everyone!

Dily

[RunningBull]

... spent every waking moment over the next two and a half days reading the strip from the beginning to the end... I was floored! I love the way the characters and the art itself has a progression... it just keeps getting better and better.
Dily

Intoxicating isn't it? Common reaction when someone finally catches on to what's going on around here. We go back to the beginning and read for hours or days. I try to describe this strip in a couple of sentences and always fail. Enjoy the ride, and welcome aboard.

[Atomic]

I try to describe this strip in a couple of sentences and always fail. Enjoy the ride, and welcome aboard.

Busty, neurotic Latina Minneapolis museum curator finds herself both pawn to and guide for mythic beings of legend, saving the world and each other - repeatedly!

From here.

[sq_rigger]

Somehow I completely missed the fact that I was supposed to write an introduction after registering, so here is my belated introduction. Not that I post much, mostly just lurk.

Real name is Ken, I go by sq_rigger because I like the old-time square-rigged sailing ships. Modern fore-and-aft rigs are more efficient, but the look of those massive pyramids of sail on the square-riggers is impressive.

I've been reading Wapsi for 7 or 8 years, but went back and covered the archives early on. I love how Paul keeps throwing curves at us, including the mythical characters. I also like how thoroughly the reader base participates via the forum and the comments.

That's about it for now.

[DinkyInky]

Welcome sq_rigger!

Just remember the pun jar is your friend, and please rinse out the mugs after usage in the confusion corner.