# Order of the Stick - Book 5 Discussion Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 31, 2009, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323 "2009-08-31T04:09:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 338
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/6742 "2013-08-16T00:19:12Z")
I’m pretty sure, somewhere down the line, Burlew will put out a book collecting all the kick starter strips. I’d buy one, and I’m getting all the PDFs already. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/6743 "2013-08-16T00:39:11Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Nope. I forget exactly how much I kicked in, but it wasn’t _that_ much. But I still am getting/got all the extra tales, stickers, magnet, note pad, a couple of the reprinted books, and I forget what else. Well worth whatever it cost. I think the extras kicked in at a tenner, so not that much at all. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/6744 "2013-08-16T01:03:25Z")
Having checked the kickstarter page for it, I was in at the $35 level and I got the pdf. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/6745 "2013-08-16T01:24:53Z")
I thinking of kicking $20 or so, but hesitated too long. I later bought Origin of PCs and Start of Darkness, and was really let down by the greyscale artwork. And in retrospect maybe I wouldn’t have like today’s pdf - is it also greyscale? ---
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/6746 "2013-08-16T02:32:36Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > I thinking of kicking $20 or so, but hesitated too long. I later bought Origin of PCs and Start of Darkness, and was really let down by the greyscale artwork. And in retrospect maybe I wouldn’t have like today’s pdf - is it also greyscale? It is greyscale, but honestly I loved it anyway. Then again, I loved the prequel stories too, so YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/6747 "2013-08-16T02:50:04Z")
Thanks, **yellowjacketcoder**. I guess I wouldn’t have liked today’s pdf in any case. Go me for not getting it! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/6748 "2013-08-16T03:27:26Z")
I don’t really hold the b&w art in the prequels against him. When I got the .pdf of D&D miniature cut-outs, I decided color them in (with PhotoShop) to kill time during lectures. It was fun, but _Jesus_, that was a lot of work. I’m not surprised Rich decided to skip that step when he was making those books on top of the regular strip and whatever it is he does (or used to do) to make a living outside of the comic. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/6749 "2013-08-16T03:52:55Z")
I suspect that coloring doesn’t take Rich as long as it took you-- He’s probably using tools better suited for it, and he’s also very used to it. And it’s not like grayscale coloring is much quicker than true color. The main reason the prequels are (mostly) B&W is cost of printing. For the PDFs, I dunno. And personally, I colored in my miniatures after I printed them, using good old fashioned Crayola markers. Or at least, the ones I use for my character and his animal companion. No way I’m going to color in the full zoo of things he summons. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/6750 "2013-08-16T04:13:38Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I’m pretty sure, somewhere down the line, Burlew will put out a book collecting all the kick starter strips. I’d buy one, and I’m getting all the PDFs already. I figure he will. He’ll certainly have enough material by the time he gets done all eight reward stories. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2013, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/6751 "2013-08-17T20:23:10Z")
Just finished reading _Haleo and Julelan,_ and it was fantastic. It’s also the only place you’re likely ever to see these fights: Haley vs. Therkla; Thog vs. Crystal ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2013, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/6752 "2013-08-17T22:10:30Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I suspect that coloring doesn’t take Rich as long as it took you-- He’s probably using tools better suited for it, and he’s also very used to it. I doubt it. I was using a professional graphics package and a Wacom tablet, and while Burlew certainly has more experience with both then I do, I have enough experience to recognize that there wasn’t much i could do to speed up the process beyond what I was already doing. But good point about greyscale likely taking as long as color fills. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/6753 "2013-08-18T00:04:45Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I doubt it. I was using a professional graphics package and a Wacom tablet, and while Burlew certainly has more experience with both then I do, I have enough experience to recognize that there wasn’t much i could do to speed up the process beyond what I was already doing. > > But good point about greyscale likely taking as long as color fills. I have no doubt it would take Rich _much_ less time than it was taking you to do the fills. And not because he’s more used to it, but because his process probably isn’t very similar to what you were doing – he works on the strip in Illustrator as vectors ([cite](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Order_of_the_Stick#History)). If you’re working from scanned OOTS artwork, you’d need to select and fill a zillion small areas of a comic. Rich would be working with the vectors and shapes themselves and applying fills to them, no pixel selection needed, which is a whole heck of a lot faster. ETA: I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Berlew works on the grayscale artwork in mostly final color and then applies a grayscale palette to them before printing. This would make it quite fast to later turn around the same artwork for color printing if he wanted to publish higher-quality, colorized versions later. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/6754 "2013-08-18T00:42:02Z")
> **[Question for Rich about color in the comics](https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?p=10569257)** > > Hi, > > Just a question for Rich (or anyone else if someone else knows the answer) > > For the comics which are published in black and white (i.e. the prequel books) were they DRAWN in black and white, or were they drawn in color but printed in black... _All comics are created in the state that you see them. If they are printed in black-and-white, then I drew them in black-and-white. It would be an enormous amount of work to colorize them or decolorize them, so I am unlikely to ever bother._ ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/6755 "2013-08-18T04:41:33Z")
[I am TOTALLY first this time!!!](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0911.html) I like where this is going. I know Tarquin is TEH AYVIL and all, but I can’t help but like the guy. He has a certain, as the French say, I don’t know what. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/6756 "2013-08-18T05:06:04Z")
Hey, you don’t need a low Charisma to be evil. Nor do you need a low intelligence. And Tarquin is very polite. ---
**Author:** ![shantih](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@shantih](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shantih)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/6757 "2013-08-18T11:54:50Z")
Ooo, plot expositiony goodness! How much time will have passed since V was taken out of the action, I wonder? For that matter, how long has it been since Sabine was pulled out of this plane? Has a night passed yet? And how often have I been in this state of mind? ‘Oo, a new OotS! Yay! Aw man, I can’t wait to see what happens next – when does the next one come out?’ I swear, it’s worse than eating potato chips; one just makes you hungrier for more. ---
**Author:** ![Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbar_of_Irony_3)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/6758 "2013-08-18T17:56:10Z")
> [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](#): > > [I am TOTALLY first this time!!!](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0911.html) > > I like where this is going. I know Tarquin is TEH AYVIL and all, but I can’t help but like the guy. > > He has a certain, as the French say, I don’t know what. I wonder if there’s any significance as to the psion turning up now… ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/6759 "2013-08-18T18:42:52Z")
> [@shantih](#): > > Ooo, plot expositiony goodness! How much time will have passed since V was taken out of the action, I wonder? You mean, since V fled in panic? Two hours, tops, IMO. Or since the TF hijacked her soul? Obviously still less than 20 minutes or whatever was their portion of her soul this time. > [@](#): > > For that matter, how long has it been since Sabine was pulled out of this plane? Has a night passed yet? No. That ‘dusk’ Roy mutters about would be the beginning of that night, so there’s a long way to go before Sabine comes back if the strip stays in real time. If there’s a time-passing panel (“we’ll camp here for a day, good night everyone”), then she could be back just after. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/6760 "2013-08-18T18:44:30Z")
> [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](#): > > I wonder if there’s any significance as to the psion turning up now… Anybody know which flashback panels? The expository ones where Tarquin talks about conquering/losing/conquering kingdoms? And later disagreeing **strenuously** with Nale? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/6761 "2013-08-18T19:03:47Z")
> [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](#): > > I wonder if there’s any significance as to the psion turning up now… I think it’s probably connected to the significance of Tarquin separating the Order into two groups: those he might want to keep around and those he has no further use for… duh duh dunnnn Seriously, I’m guessing Tarquin is going to ask Elan to do something with the psion standing by to ensure he answers honestly. And the threat will be Roy, Belkar, and Durkon get killed if he gives the wrong answer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323.md?page=337) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323.md?page=339)