Friday, April 1, 2016

The Successor: Introduction

Schlock Mercenary and Sluggy Freelance actually share a lot of similarities.  Mostly in structure, but even some of the humor, especially early on.  In a sense, The Standard and Best Overall compare the two against each other, highlighting where they matched, and where they didn't, without actually saying it directly.

So in pairing comics up, that means Errant Story, The Classic, should have something to compare it to as well, and it does.  For a long time Errant Story was the king of my comic list, and I suppose the only comic I can really compare it to is the comic that is closest to being it's Successor:  Gunnerkrigg Court.

This shouldn't be a surprise, both because I hinted at it way back here, and also, well, I always speak very highly of it.  It is a very well done comic, and it manages hit just the right notes all along.  The fans are passionate, but when they go too far, Tom Siddell takes the piss out of them.

The comic has grown so much since it first came out.  Both artwise and storywise, and is probably the best example of webcomics as art and literature.  It's a mystery and an adventure.  It taps into history and myth, science and magic, and childhood and adulthood at the same time.  It's about growing up and growing into, finding oneself, and dealing with parents and their expectations.

It covers such a wide breath of topics and ideas that it would be difficult to discuss it as I did the other long series.  While it's episodic, with each chapter able usually able to stand on it's own, it's also a long running epic.  There's continuous evolution of characters and plot, never really sitting in place for all that long.  There are hidden meanings and obtuse connections throughout, and each character has their own arcs and ideas, stories and myths.  There's no easy way to break it up.  And after doing Errant Story, well, I don't think that style will work either.

So instead I'll break it up by something a little more general, yet oddly specific.  Yes, there will be spoilers, yes it will go into fan and personal theories and yes, it will probably take me far longer than I expect.  This method, however, will hopefully describe why I and so many others love Gunnerkrigg Court and why it is the current top dog of the webcomics, at least as far as I'm concerned.

Next time, part one of The Successor:  The World.  Until then kiddies.

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