QUALITY CHECK: Is Framed still rockin' your socks?

[Damonk13]

Hi all!

Once in a while, I have to break down and ask -- is FRAMED!!! still keeping you well-entertained? Am I slipping? Losing my funny? Am I still the one you want to father all your babies?

Please take the time to write up things you like and not like about FRAMED!!! lately -- feel free to tell me what you think I should try or do to help improve it and make it even TRENDIER for the kids, cool?

Thanks for reading, btw, and know that i love each and everyone of you!

[Labgoat]

I have no socks to rock. If I had socks to rock, they'd be rocked, those crazy socks. They'd be rocked clean off my feet, they'd be rocked into the street. Rocked to shreds, naught but threads, my socks would be so rocked.

Trendier? Feh, kids these days don't know what quality is. </old man>

[Wapiko]

Is it still interesting? Don't be silly!

No. That's why I look at Framed!!! every morning without fail (except for Vern days) :p

Seriously, though, I have to admit, the noir stuff lost me for a while, but I still liked it. I miss the fun, crazy layouts that you used to do, almost like that "Choose your own Adventure" book craze a few years ago. I figure they take a lot of time to make, though.

[NotoriousMEQ]

Hi all!

Am I still the one you want to father all your babies?

.... and know that i love each and everyone of you!

*cough cough*

-jealous girlfriend, megs

[CassiniMayor]

Being unable to have babies I'd have to answer a definite "no" to that question...

As for Framed!!! losing its touch... I'd say you're pretty much at the same level I've seen since you introduced me to this strip. No better (except for the artwork which like wine improves with age) and no worse.

I see no pressing need for change just yet.

Andrew

[Rabidazell]

To be honest, the noir stuff was the last part of Framed that I really really *Really* liked, and considering that I had not been disappointed by Framed up until then, I guess you could call this a recent slump. I'm guessing it's not your fault though Frank, because I have absolutely no idea what your characters are acting out in the present story line. Never seen anything like it apart from Pirates of Penzance and the Duke of Monte Cristo. Also, not to diss WACOM but I really like the thin linework that you started with, that style was coming along famously (It reminded me a bit of Tintin, for some reason).

[Scadada99]

Of course FRAMED!!! is still entertaining, d00d!

Besides, Allison did the giant head-arm flappy-screaming-thing that I love so much, heh heh.

This comic isl never boring in the slightest. Never has been, never will be.

[Radial]

What criteria would you like us to use?

Artwise:
I prefer the thinner linework (on the more iconic drawings). Call me a reactionary. And I'll add myself to the chorus chanting the virtues of the art in the "noir" storyline, but you knew that already.

Experiment-wise:
The coolest thing you've done lately is the backward-time strip. Kudos on that one, very fun to physically read, especially once the whole thing was done. Awesome.

Comedy-wise:
I haven't been laughing a lot at Framed!!! lately. There's been quite a bit of stuff I know is meant to be funny, but that's not quite the same thing. I don't know what to recommend, 'cause sometimes the combination of puns and character hit with Magnum force. *shrugs*

Narrative-wise:
I know that narrative coherency is not your main goal, but ye gods! I think a big problem is keeping track of the context of a story in a world with no landmarks -- as soon as the scene changes, the context is obliterated (The "noir" storyline, with it's limited scope of characters and landmarks like the warehouse and the inkstain, worked as the best narrative so far). This, in combination with the seemingly arbitrary rules of the Framed!!! universe, makes it difficult to make an investment in the storyline.

Pretend I wrote an excellent summary paragraph, right here.

[SI Rob]

nah I don't think you're getting stale or old at all yet. i still thoroughly enjoy your comic and its sense of originality.

I know that narrative coherency is not your main goal, but ye gods!

That's really the only problem I've ever had with your comic as well. Sometimes its just too hard to follow and I end up just skimming through what people say.

Overall though its still very good and funny.

Love the Princess Bride thing btw, you missed our little parody of it back when we were doing Self-Insert, we got a LOT of response from that strip even though Lizzie didn't wanna do it. Just goes to show you people LOVE Princess Bride

[ZOMBIE USER 10911]

Hmm to be honest, FRAMED!!! is one of my favourite online comics. Somedays when I know I can't check all the comics I read (I read at least 20) I make sure to read Sluggy, 1/0, Sinfest, and Framed. So you must be doing something to make me crave Framed so much!
But if you really want to rock my socks I nominate you update 5 times a day or is that a little too much for one human being?

[NotoriousMEQ]

Pretend I wrote an excellent summary paragraph, right here.

I have to completely agree with him on this paragraph!

[ESHbyESH]

I gots to say- I miss Derek, and I miss the days when there was a definite plot, and the characters were actively trying to escape, or actively doing something. I think the whole comic has not been the same since the great Framed! escape crossover event. The Noir thing was fun, but I got tired of it quick (as I let you know, Damonk!) and now it seems to have no direction.
It's still fun and all, but it's kind of like the bubble gum that's been chewed too long. Yeah, you can still blow bubbles with it, but there aint much flavor....till you pop in that new piece. Then you gots flavor and enough gum to blow a bubble the size of your head.
The metaphor is obvious: I think you need to inject something to rejuvinate the comic- a new character (ESH?) or a crossover or whatever. But I am there reading just the same, even if nothing changes.
Ciao.

[Cayen1234]

"The metaphor is obvious: I think you need to inject something to rejuvinate the comic- a new character (ESH?) or a crossover or whatever. But I am there reading just the same, even if nothing changes. "

I would agree from looking at the archive it seems to have lost a little direction...as for a new character ::protects all of his except for the evil portable::

[Rabidazell]

Don't tell me the new character is a personification of the replies to this topic....

[Dragonfairy]

Well-entertained? Yes. It's Keenspace that gives me my daily dose of frustration.

Slipping and losing funny? No, not at all . . . actually, I like the longer storylines better than your one-shot comics, and I LOVE the Princess Bride, so no, no complaints.

Fathering my babies? Well, since I don't want to get killed by your Meghan(whose comic I also love and check constantly . . . very sexy) I'd have to say no. Although I AM <a href="http://hotzp.com/badboys/archives/20010515.html">jealous</a>. (hey, I know it's old, but sexy never dies)

Aww . . . I love you too!

[Damonk13]

Hi folks!

I'm not going to start addressing the comments and opinions just yet, but am going to wait a little longer to give more people more time to make points...

So far, though, a LOT of valid and good points! thanks all!

Oh, and Rab, just so you know -- the new character is not related to your comment at all; it was just a matter of coincidental timing. I laughed when I saw said comment, tho... ^_^

[Scrubbo]

Shhhh..... you had me at Pollack.

Seriously, you've got some grand scheme for things, I know you do, but you're not conveying it to the readers very well. That you're building to something. I only know because when I get to use the FTT communal brain (we only have 3/4 of a braint between the 6 of us) I see your muddied thoughts floating around at the top, usually.

Your art, however, has improved by leaps and bounds, as has your ability to use the medium to convey info in a non-standard way.

Your peach cobbler could use some work, tho.

[Dragonfairy]

Your peach cobbler could use some work, tho.

I quite agree. This is a grave offense that won't be forgiven unless you improve immediately. And send me some. Mmm . . . cobbler.

[ZOMBIE USER 8601]

Framed!! is one of the comics I regularly check. It's definitely not boring, on the contrary, it amuses me. Just like it always has. Mind you, when you did the whole Princess Bride thing... it kinda confused me. The jokes weren't as funny because I've never seen this movie. But over all, Framed!! has kept me entertained. The noir story was very funny and the crossovers you've done were great too. One of my favorite strips were the ones with Jackson Pollock and Art and I cracked myself up over the tiny, tiny Paul Simon. Your characters are amusing, though I do miss derek. And this new story line with the croc hunter looks like it's going to be just as amusing as the rest. So, keep up with what your doing, and I'll keep reading!

[Mr. Irony]

*whew* Finally caught up again! In all the hubbub of my real life, I stopped reading for a while, and only now just caught up!

SO! Does it still rock my socks?

To put it bluntly, yes. Yes it does.

I think what I like most about your strip is the freedom you take with it. As a "metatoon", you don't conform to any standard strip formats. Personally, I think strips like those ones where you have to click and it jumps to the next one are brilliant! It's the best use of the web medium in comics I've seen in a while, and this includes the use of animated GIFs. And it's always worth browsing out of order for all the extra nonsense you throw in there, for the hell of it.

Now, obviously, if you keep changing style, not everyone is going to like it, and you might lose a few readers in the process. But at least you try! And if you keep going you'll eventually get those readers back, or at least new ones.

Most importantly, though, is that you keep evolving with your strip. Through the random insanity you slowly gain more characters, more objects to toy with and torment, and finally create this crazy universe where really anything can happen to anyone (no one is safe!). I mean, I can hardly wait to see how this current storyline turns out -- is Allison, the token female character, really been Steve Irwin this whole time?! In a lot of strips, mad twists like these would mean little because you'd expect everything to become "normal" again by the end, but in this universe, whether they do turn "normal" again or not isn't a given at all!

So, yeah! It still rocks my socks.