Nick Costanzo
Oct 8, 2007, 10:22 pm
* * * Comixfan Forums THREAD * * *
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THREAD : TANGLED PANNELS #7: ERRANT X-SPLOITATION
Started at Nov 24, 2006 04:01 pm by Nick Costanzo
Visit at http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/showthread.php?t=40722
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[Post 1]
Author : Nick Costanzo
Date : Nov 24, 2006 04:01 pm
Title : TANGLED PANNELS #7: ERRANT X-SPLOITATION
<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/TangledPanels.jpg" hspace=10 align=left border=0 alt="Tangled Panels Logo">By Nick Costanzo, winged.outlaw@gmail.com
Errant X-Ploitation
Warning: Previous disclaimers about content apply to these strips as well. In addition, my office actually blocks me from even seeing them, so let’s just go ahead and say its best to click on these links after you get home from work.
One of the things that I like about webcomics is the way that each strip is usually a self-contained installment. Even if the strip is part of a larger story arc, each one contains a definitive beginning, middle, and end, or at the very least, a punch line to tide you over for the next few days. However, some webcomics have chosen to be a bit more ambitious in their scope. Though no one will stop you from doing so, these are not really designed to be read one installment at a time. They’re posted one page at a time, rather than in strips, with the full story to be revealed only after weeks, if not months of continuous story. At this point, I find it difficult to label these particular tales as “webcomics”, if for no other reason than they look a lot more like physical comic books. I’m still working on the right term though. “Webcomicbook” just sounds silly, while “Net Epics” sounds rather pretentious. Maybe the answer will come to me by the end of this piece. In this vein, the beloved Michael Poe has provided the writing and art to two such endeavors. There was the campy sci-fi Exploitation Now (http://www.exploitationnow.com), followed by the irreverent fantasy Errant Story (http://www.errantstory.com).
Trying to describe Exploitation Now is tricky, considering the way in which the story managed to change so drastically throughout its history. It begins as the gag-a-day antics of two roommates: Bilbo Honeymaker, a part-time porno actress and Ralph Givememore, a completely perverted little moogle-pokemon-looking-thing. Jokes were made about anime, hentai, video games, video game comics, and other nerd staples, with a healthy amount of obscene language and gratuitous nudity thrown in for good measure. The high-quality, anime-inspired art made it all the more a... let’s just say, enjoyable sight to behold. Somewhere along the way, however, the focus shifts away from the goofiness, as well as the original main characters: Jordan Kennedy, a beautiful mad scientist girl becomes the main character, along with her sidekick/unrequited-bisexual-love-interest Bush Honeymaker (sister to the above).
The duo does manage to go on to a few more gags along the way. They stop at an anime convention where Poe gets a chance to make fun of himself, only to be accosted soon after by a demonic tentacle monster who attacks their bus solely due to the large number of Japanese schoolgirls on board. From there they manage to be saved by a bizarre amalgam of Sailor Moon, Cloud Stryfe, and a Bunnygirl. However, Exploitation Now also begins to become much darker, and much more dramatic at around this time. Jordan’s past (complete with mind-rape, abuse, and shadowy government agencies) begins to catch back up with her, leading to angst and a LOT of bodies. It all culminates when Jordan and Bush find themselves kidnapped and forced to bring down the agency once and for all.
Ultimately, the ending is bittersweet, and bordering on the outright tragic. It ends abruptly, almost immediately after the death of one of the main characters, leaving the reader shell-shocked and, at least in my case, wanting more.
A year or so later, however, Poe came out with an even more polished project in the form of Errant Story. Errant Story takes place in a world where magic, elves, and trolls are a reality, where cats can not only talk, but often fly, and where assassination and betrayal are far more commonplace than loyalty or love. It is a world both beautiful and gritty, where fantastic and magical settings often give way to a seedier, more corrupt underbelly.
In keeping with the moral ambiguity that permeates the series, the characters of Errant Story all have their dark sides. The on-again-off-again main character of this tale is seventeen-year-old Meji, a “psychotic mage-chick” and half-elf who is a near-prodigy in wielding the magical arts, but an utter delinquent at mage-school. In fact, if she’s unable to get the highest marks in her upcoming senior project, she’ll be doomed to expulsion, failure, and an all-around hopeless future. So she does what any reasonable girl would do. She sets off on a quest to obtain absolute power from a long-dead goddess, with the full intention of coming back to not only get her A, but to enslave her former professors as well.
Along the way Meji picks up some companions (in true RPG fashion). She meets a fellow half-elf in the form of Ian, a nice young lad just trying to find a cure for his sister’s illness. Of course, he also has a hatred of all things elf, because of the minor genocide policy they’ve got toward his and Meji’s kind. He seems a bit more knowledgeable about the world than Meji, but is pretty naïve in his own sense. If Errant Story were to have a true “good guy”, it would certainly be Ian, though his character exudes a sense of foreboding. He, like Meji, is searching for the kind of power that mortals and even immortals probably shouldn’t have, and is too blinded by the righteousness of his cause to realize this. Meji also finds the one non-magic-wielding, purely human member of her party: a rather badass assassin named Jon. Jon is easily my favorite character, in that he represents an everyman quality that makes him the easiest to relate to. He doesn’t trust magic, and views it with a mixture of fear and skepticism. He’s much more confident with the use of a gun, rather than a spell, and regards Meji as little more than a “scary little devil girl.” Oddly, despite his lack of magical talent, Jon is by far the most proficient fighter on the team, thanks to his cool head and rather casual attitude towards killing those that deserve it. He realizes the futility of trying to attack an overwhelming force head-on, and though his methods could hardly be called “honorable”, they do let him walk away from otherwise hopeless situations.
Finally, we have the jaded Elven ranger known as Sarine. She’s over 3000 years old, despite looking and acting little older than 30, and just MIGHT be on a mission to kill poor little Meji. Then again, she’s had more than enough opportunity to do so at this point, but, for reasons we still don’t know, doesn’t appear to have it in her. Sarine provides a unique perspective, one borne from both the good and the bad elements of eternal life. The Elves of her world are an arrogant society, one that nursed early human society to its current state due to their similar appearance rather than anything else. They find love fleeting, as no relationship can last the ravages of time, and even write sonnets devoted to the “beauty” of finding someone special only for them to die before things became too serious. It’s a depressing world and, as a result, Sarine is certainly the most angst-ridden member of the cast. She also happens to be my least favorite, but from what I’ve seen of fan response that puts me in the minority. She’s certainly a fascinating figure, but, unlike Jon, I find her impossible to fully relate to. The budding attraction between the pair, however, is rather entertaining to watch, and they do make a rather effective killing machine.
All in all, Errant Story has a much more professional feel to it compared to Exploitation Now. The art, which was always nice to look at, has become more polished, though it does occasionally fall into the old anime cliché of characters being nearly identical if not for differing hair styles. Meji and Jon have managed relatively unique looks for themselves, though, by contrast, Ian and Sarine seem to suffer from very generic character designs. Sarine, for instance, was nearly impossible to differentiate between her peers during her recent return to her homeland, and I nearly forgot about Ian entirely when he disappeared from the cast for a while. On the other hand, I really enjoy Poe’s background detail, as well as some fantastic costume design. Though some of the cheesecake from Exploitation Now persists, men and women in Errant Story for the most part dress well, and thankfully break the old fantasy standard of female characters dressing in the flimsiest clothing possible. Those Final Fantasy guys really ought to take note. The women dress like they have brains, and the men dress like... well, men. Most of the time I can’t tell the difference in those damn games...
Errant Story’s greatest strength lies in its format, which allows for much deeper storytelling, character interaction, and the like. Complexity is the name of the game with this tale, and believe me when I say that this piece is really only scratching the surface. The overall cast of characters numbers in the dozens, and despite being nearly twice as long as Exploitation Now in length, there still feels like there is much more to look forward to in Errant Story. Ironically, this strength is also its greatest weakness. It is, in a word, impossible to fully understand what is going on without starting from the very beginning and reading the several hundred pages that make up this story. It’s the kind of “effort” that will easily take a day to accomplish (several if you want to absorb all of the details), and while the story is more than worth it, it may be a little much for newer readers to handle. For those familiar with the tale, reading each new installment one at a time can be a vexing endeavor. Imagine reading the latest issue of X-Men, except a single page at a time over the course of a month. It is, for that reason, that I tend to leave Errant Story alone for relatively long periods of time, only coming back when I have at least fifteen or so new pages to read.
In the end, Errant Story’s online graphic novel format (maybe that’ll be the term that I’ll use for it) sets it apart as one of the deepest and most engaging works of fiction that you can read online today. The story is intelligent and, at times, thought-provoking, but there’s always just enough humor thrown in to break up the angst. It’s hardly a casual read, but it’s certainly fulfilling. Also, that team-up fight with Jon and Sarine versus those super-fast ninja guys was just plain awesome. Errant Story is fantasy with a very nice twist, and worth sitting down at the computer for a nice long time.
<center><hr width=75%></center>
Nick Costanzo’s level 55 Priest Leonardeau is having a hell of a time making it through the Un’Goro Crater. The Elder Dimetrodons will kill your ability to use a certain class of spell for ten, and maybe even twelve seconds on end! It’s bloody madness, no holy force on Azeroth can hope to survive such a fury! At least not until I hit level 57. After that, I’m skinning those prehistoric bastards and selling their leather over in the Darnassus Auctions.
Oh and to everyone who read the title and thought that I was talking about X-Men... thanks for bumping my views up at least a little higher than normal. It’s a huge pick-me-up.
<center><hr width=75%></center>
The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and are not reflective of Comixfan or its other staff in general.
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[Post 2]
Author : Mike Sangregorio
Date : Nov 27, 2006 08:53 am
Title : Re: TANGLED PANNELS #7: ERRANT X-SPLOITATION
Just wanted to tell you how much I enjoy your column, especially when you're bringing obscure properties like Exploitation Now to peoples' attention, which has always been a fav of mine. Too bad it ended so abruptly!
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[Post 3]
Author : James Groves
Date : Nov 27, 2006 08:56 am
Title : Re: TANGLED PANNELS #7: ERRANT X-SPLOITATION
Oh and to everyone who read the title and thought that I was talking about X-Men... thanks for bumping my views up at least a little higher than normal. It’s a huge pick-me-up.[/i]
:LOL:
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[Post 4]
Author : Vincent G.
Date : Dec 1, 2006 09:16 am
Title : Re: TANGLED PANNELS #7: ERRANT X-SPLOITATION
A very pleasant surprise to find an article about Errant Story on COMIXFAN ! I'm sooo hooked to Meji's rantings !
:rolleyes:
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[Post 5]
Author : Nick Costanzo
Date : Dec 1, 2006 03:22 pm
Title : Re: TANGLED PANNELS #7: ERRANT X-SPLOITATION
“Huh. So this is what going insane feels like...”
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The messages has been download from Comixfan Forums at http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums at 05.10.2007 08:30:43
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THREAD : TANGLED PANNELS #7: ERRANT X-SPLOITATION
Started at Nov 24, 2006 04:01 pm by Nick Costanzo
Visit at http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/showthread.php?t=40722
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[Post 1]
Author : Nick Costanzo
Date : Nov 24, 2006 04:01 pm
Title : TANGLED PANNELS #7: ERRANT X-SPLOITATION
<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/TangledPanels.jpg" hspace=10 align=left border=0 alt="Tangled Panels Logo">By Nick Costanzo, winged.outlaw@gmail.com
Errant X-Ploitation
Warning: Previous disclaimers about content apply to these strips as well. In addition, my office actually blocks me from even seeing them, so let’s just go ahead and say its best to click on these links after you get home from work.
One of the things that I like about webcomics is the way that each strip is usually a self-contained installment. Even if the strip is part of a larger story arc, each one contains a definitive beginning, middle, and end, or at the very least, a punch line to tide you over for the next few days. However, some webcomics have chosen to be a bit more ambitious in their scope. Though no one will stop you from doing so, these are not really designed to be read one installment at a time. They’re posted one page at a time, rather than in strips, with the full story to be revealed only after weeks, if not months of continuous story. At this point, I find it difficult to label these particular tales as “webcomics”, if for no other reason than they look a lot more like physical comic books. I’m still working on the right term though. “Webcomicbook” just sounds silly, while “Net Epics” sounds rather pretentious. Maybe the answer will come to me by the end of this piece. In this vein, the beloved Michael Poe has provided the writing and art to two such endeavors. There was the campy sci-fi Exploitation Now (http://www.exploitationnow.com), followed by the irreverent fantasy Errant Story (http://www.errantstory.com).
Trying to describe Exploitation Now is tricky, considering the way in which the story managed to change so drastically throughout its history. It begins as the gag-a-day antics of two roommates: Bilbo Honeymaker, a part-time porno actress and Ralph Givememore, a completely perverted little moogle-pokemon-looking-thing. Jokes were made about anime, hentai, video games, video game comics, and other nerd staples, with a healthy amount of obscene language and gratuitous nudity thrown in for good measure. The high-quality, anime-inspired art made it all the more a... let’s just say, enjoyable sight to behold. Somewhere along the way, however, the focus shifts away from the goofiness, as well as the original main characters: Jordan Kennedy, a beautiful mad scientist girl becomes the main character, along with her sidekick/unrequited-bisexual-love-interest Bush Honeymaker (sister to the above).
The duo does manage to go on to a few more gags along the way. They stop at an anime convention where Poe gets a chance to make fun of himself, only to be accosted soon after by a demonic tentacle monster who attacks their bus solely due to the large number of Japanese schoolgirls on board. From there they manage to be saved by a bizarre amalgam of Sailor Moon, Cloud Stryfe, and a Bunnygirl. However, Exploitation Now also begins to become much darker, and much more dramatic at around this time. Jordan’s past (complete with mind-rape, abuse, and shadowy government agencies) begins to catch back up with her, leading to angst and a LOT of bodies. It all culminates when Jordan and Bush find themselves kidnapped and forced to bring down the agency once and for all.
Ultimately, the ending is bittersweet, and bordering on the outright tragic. It ends abruptly, almost immediately after the death of one of the main characters, leaving the reader shell-shocked and, at least in my case, wanting more.
A year or so later, however, Poe came out with an even more polished project in the form of Errant Story. Errant Story takes place in a world where magic, elves, and trolls are a reality, where cats can not only talk, but often fly, and where assassination and betrayal are far more commonplace than loyalty or love. It is a world both beautiful and gritty, where fantastic and magical settings often give way to a seedier, more corrupt underbelly.
In keeping with the moral ambiguity that permeates the series, the characters of Errant Story all have their dark sides. The on-again-off-again main character of this tale is seventeen-year-old Meji, a “psychotic mage-chick” and half-elf who is a near-prodigy in wielding the magical arts, but an utter delinquent at mage-school. In fact, if she’s unable to get the highest marks in her upcoming senior project, she’ll be doomed to expulsion, failure, and an all-around hopeless future. So she does what any reasonable girl would do. She sets off on a quest to obtain absolute power from a long-dead goddess, with the full intention of coming back to not only get her A, but to enslave her former professors as well.
Along the way Meji picks up some companions (in true RPG fashion). She meets a fellow half-elf in the form of Ian, a nice young lad just trying to find a cure for his sister’s illness. Of course, he also has a hatred of all things elf, because of the minor genocide policy they’ve got toward his and Meji’s kind. He seems a bit more knowledgeable about the world than Meji, but is pretty naïve in his own sense. If Errant Story were to have a true “good guy”, it would certainly be Ian, though his character exudes a sense of foreboding. He, like Meji, is searching for the kind of power that mortals and even immortals probably shouldn’t have, and is too blinded by the righteousness of his cause to realize this. Meji also finds the one non-magic-wielding, purely human member of her party: a rather badass assassin named Jon. Jon is easily my favorite character, in that he represents an everyman quality that makes him the easiest to relate to. He doesn’t trust magic, and views it with a mixture of fear and skepticism. He’s much more confident with the use of a gun, rather than a spell, and regards Meji as little more than a “scary little devil girl.” Oddly, despite his lack of magical talent, Jon is by far the most proficient fighter on the team, thanks to his cool head and rather casual attitude towards killing those that deserve it. He realizes the futility of trying to attack an overwhelming force head-on, and though his methods could hardly be called “honorable”, they do let him walk away from otherwise hopeless situations.
Finally, we have the jaded Elven ranger known as Sarine. She’s over 3000 years old, despite looking and acting little older than 30, and just MIGHT be on a mission to kill poor little Meji. Then again, she’s had more than enough opportunity to do so at this point, but, for reasons we still don’t know, doesn’t appear to have it in her. Sarine provides a unique perspective, one borne from both the good and the bad elements of eternal life. The Elves of her world are an arrogant society, one that nursed early human society to its current state due to their similar appearance rather than anything else. They find love fleeting, as no relationship can last the ravages of time, and even write sonnets devoted to the “beauty” of finding someone special only for them to die before things became too serious. It’s a depressing world and, as a result, Sarine is certainly the most angst-ridden member of the cast. She also happens to be my least favorite, but from what I’ve seen of fan response that puts me in the minority. She’s certainly a fascinating figure, but, unlike Jon, I find her impossible to fully relate to. The budding attraction between the pair, however, is rather entertaining to watch, and they do make a rather effective killing machine.
All in all, Errant Story has a much more professional feel to it compared to Exploitation Now. The art, which was always nice to look at, has become more polished, though it does occasionally fall into the old anime cliché of characters being nearly identical if not for differing hair styles. Meji and Jon have managed relatively unique looks for themselves, though, by contrast, Ian and Sarine seem to suffer from very generic character designs. Sarine, for instance, was nearly impossible to differentiate between her peers during her recent return to her homeland, and I nearly forgot about Ian entirely when he disappeared from the cast for a while. On the other hand, I really enjoy Poe’s background detail, as well as some fantastic costume design. Though some of the cheesecake from Exploitation Now persists, men and women in Errant Story for the most part dress well, and thankfully break the old fantasy standard of female characters dressing in the flimsiest clothing possible. Those Final Fantasy guys really ought to take note. The women dress like they have brains, and the men dress like... well, men. Most of the time I can’t tell the difference in those damn games...
Errant Story’s greatest strength lies in its format, which allows for much deeper storytelling, character interaction, and the like. Complexity is the name of the game with this tale, and believe me when I say that this piece is really only scratching the surface. The overall cast of characters numbers in the dozens, and despite being nearly twice as long as Exploitation Now in length, there still feels like there is much more to look forward to in Errant Story. Ironically, this strength is also its greatest weakness. It is, in a word, impossible to fully understand what is going on without starting from the very beginning and reading the several hundred pages that make up this story. It’s the kind of “effort” that will easily take a day to accomplish (several if you want to absorb all of the details), and while the story is more than worth it, it may be a little much for newer readers to handle. For those familiar with the tale, reading each new installment one at a time can be a vexing endeavor. Imagine reading the latest issue of X-Men, except a single page at a time over the course of a month. It is, for that reason, that I tend to leave Errant Story alone for relatively long periods of time, only coming back when I have at least fifteen or so new pages to read.
In the end, Errant Story’s online graphic novel format (maybe that’ll be the term that I’ll use for it) sets it apart as one of the deepest and most engaging works of fiction that you can read online today. The story is intelligent and, at times, thought-provoking, but there’s always just enough humor thrown in to break up the angst. It’s hardly a casual read, but it’s certainly fulfilling. Also, that team-up fight with Jon and Sarine versus those super-fast ninja guys was just plain awesome. Errant Story is fantasy with a very nice twist, and worth sitting down at the computer for a nice long time.
<center><hr width=75%></center>
Nick Costanzo’s level 55 Priest Leonardeau is having a hell of a time making it through the Un’Goro Crater. The Elder Dimetrodons will kill your ability to use a certain class of spell for ten, and maybe even twelve seconds on end! It’s bloody madness, no holy force on Azeroth can hope to survive such a fury! At least not until I hit level 57. After that, I’m skinning those prehistoric bastards and selling their leather over in the Darnassus Auctions.
Oh and to everyone who read the title and thought that I was talking about X-Men... thanks for bumping my views up at least a little higher than normal. It’s a huge pick-me-up.
<center><hr width=75%></center>
The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and are not reflective of Comixfan or its other staff in general.
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[Post 2]
Author : Mike Sangregorio
Date : Nov 27, 2006 08:53 am
Title : Re: TANGLED PANNELS #7: ERRANT X-SPLOITATION
Just wanted to tell you how much I enjoy your column, especially when you're bringing obscure properties like Exploitation Now to peoples' attention, which has always been a fav of mine. Too bad it ended so abruptly!
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[Post 3]
Author : James Groves
Date : Nov 27, 2006 08:56 am
Title : Re: TANGLED PANNELS #7: ERRANT X-SPLOITATION
Oh and to everyone who read the title and thought that I was talking about X-Men... thanks for bumping my views up at least a little higher than normal. It’s a huge pick-me-up.[/i]
:LOL:
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[Post 4]
Author : Vincent G.
Date : Dec 1, 2006 09:16 am
Title : Re: TANGLED PANNELS #7: ERRANT X-SPLOITATION
A very pleasant surprise to find an article about Errant Story on COMIXFAN ! I'm sooo hooked to Meji's rantings !
:rolleyes:
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[Post 5]
Author : Nick Costanzo
Date : Dec 1, 2006 03:22 pm
Title : Re: TANGLED PANNELS #7: ERRANT X-SPLOITATION
“Huh. So this is what going insane feels like...”
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
The messages has been download from Comixfan Forums at http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums at 05.10.2007 08:30:43