Recently my attention was drawn to a site purporting to review webcomics, including, of course, our Wapsi Square. I was left with the impression of someone critiquing the comic they wish had been made, not the one that was. It was a bit like hearing a complaint about a knife, because it was pointy and had a sharp edge.Auto_Reviewer wrote:The Lamborghini Succotash Mk IV is a terrible excuse for a car. It's cramped design around two bucket seats barely leaves room in the back for a child safety seat, much less a full grown passenger. Not that you ever would want to put a child back there -- the incessant howl from the twin turbo V-12 engine is a clear threat to occupant hearing. With it's harsh ride and poor fuel economy, who would want a car to go from Zero to 100 in 4.7 seconds when it's so hard to park? Not that you could ever get much more than a single bag of groceries in the trunk, anyway. Yes, the paddle shifter on the steering wheel is a nice touch, but the six speed transmission is wasted when you can get up to highway speeds in second. Why bother with the other four? And for $235,000, you'd think they would offer something other than just red, yellow, and black - maybe a nice blue.
Yes, but so what? It's the old Cynic vs Skeptic joke -- Give a Skeptic an inch, and he'll measure it. The Cynic will complain about how small it is.
From time to time, PW has made clear is low tolerance for excessive kvetching about the structure and method of Wapsi Square. It's his playground, and we get to visit. Yay us! Could the art be better? Whose couldn't? Is it female/breast oriented? Yes, and for a reason. Ignoring the lead-up and resolution of Monica's self-acceptance is to miss the foundation of her character. Does Deus Ex Machina clog up the plot? Considering the two-plus year setup for Monica becoming the Jaguar Girl, I think not. Stinky, well, maybe. But so what -- it's an adventure tale too!
So, blah blah blah, some people don't like it. Fine, click another link. Some people do like it.
One of the things I learned from my Very German Mother-In-Law is that European fairy tales, in their original form, do NOT have Happy Endings. They were warnings to the youth who heard them. Consider the times these stories came to be, and the people who told and heard them. From the 15th to 18th centuries, by the time you made it to your 20th birthday, approximately half the people you knew, friends and family, all had one very important thing in common: They were dead.
The fairy tales were to help keep you alive by not doing stupid stuff! When infection from a paper cut could kill you, assuming you were rich enough to actually have some paper, you develop a VERY different view of the world and those around you. And so the tales of witches, goblins, and things going bump in the night serve a purpose. Survival.
Consider Cinderella! I've heard in the original version the Fairy Godmother was not that at all -- She was the ghost of Cinderella's Aunt. Now, that's a story I'd like to hear! And it's exactly the sort of plot twist our PW would pull out of his sleeve to entertain us. And that's why I keep reading.
So, happy birthday, Pablo! May there be many more, and remember:
- Non carborundum illigitimi
