# Penny Arcade - May we die in the Forest **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 3, 2009, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-may-we-die-in-the-forest/501794 "2009-07-03T05:57:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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:** [July 6, 2009, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-may-we-die-in-the-forest/501794/41 "2009-07-06T20:01:17Z")
> [@runcible\_spoon](#): > > Well, at least the leader does blindfold the thing in the second to last panel(although it’s a little hard to see, given the art style). And I guess the throw stuff at it to make it look away? Yeah, not exactly thrilled by the execution of this one. I think they’re using slings, not just throwing stuff. You can do some real damage with a sling, so they’re actively fighting it there, not just distracting it. Still, yeah, turned out to be quite a mess. Very disappointing. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-may-we-die-in-the-forest/501794/42 "2009-07-06T20:06:21Z")
I _think_ they’re supposed to be looking at the Baslicks reflection in their knives. They’re all holding them in front of their faces, but it’s hard to tell. To be fair, telling a story in five-pages is probably pretty hard without a decent amount of practice. Looks like the writer works in TV and full-length comic books. ---
**Author:** ![runcible\_spoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc29f/32.png) [@runcible\_spoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/runcible_spoon)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-may-we-die-in-the-forest/501794/43 "2009-07-06T23:12:47Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I think they’re using slings, not just throwing stuff. You can do some real damage with a sling, so they’re actively fighting it there, not just distracting it. > > Still, yeah, turned out to be quite a mess. Very disappointing. Ah, so they are. That’s a slight improvement, although the real issue is not that throwing stuff wouldn’t cause damage but that _they’re looking at a damn basilisk_. So much for the buildup. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-may-we-die-in-the-forest/501794/44 "2009-07-07T03:36:41Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > If Tycho wrote any of parts 2 and 3 of Lookouts, I’ll eat my shorts. Case in point: > > **“I’m sorry, > boys”** > > Is not something Tycho would tolerate, let alone produce. Mr. Comma would be very upset. Is it because of the line break, because otherwise that comma belongs there. It’s your basic comma and direct address rule. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-may-we-die-in-the-forest/501794/45 "2009-07-07T04:30:50Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > Is it because of the line break, because otherwise that comma belongs there. It’s your basic comma and direct address rule. Yes, you are correct. I guess it is grammatically correct, but to me it breaks up the flow nastily. But more than that, the sentence doesn’t belong in the comic unless they intend to emasculate the master. That sentence is a _wrong_ thing. ---
**Author:** ![runcible\_spoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc29f/32.png) [@runcible\_spoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/runcible_spoon)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-may-we-die-in-the-forest/501794/46 "2009-07-07T05:24:33Z")
Plus it doesn’t have nearly enough syllables. I think that, especially with the somewhat vague setting, this comic would have benefited from Tycho’s loquacity. ---
**Author:** ![Jester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jester/32/8223_2.png) [@Jester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jester)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-may-we-die-in-the-forest/501794/47 "2009-07-08T15:47:39Z")
Well, that’s the end of [that](http://penny-arcade.com/comic/). I guess the scoutmaster was regretting that the blond kid was gonna get squished, and decided (against the rules) to help? Didn’t pick up on that the first time around… I didn’t loathe the guest art quite as much as some people here seem to, but it certainly was chaotic and way less sure of the form than Gabe’s usually is. Luckily, Tycho’s newspost seems to imply the possibility of them going back and doing a Lookouts story sometime in the future, which means there’s still a chance that we’ll get it done right. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-may-we-die-in-the-forest/501794/48 "2009-07-08T16:01:36Z")
> [@Jester](#): > > Well, that’s the end of [that](http://penny-arcade.com/comic/). I guess the scoutmaster was regretting that the blond kid was gonna get squished, and decided (against the rules) to help? Didn’t pick up on that the first time around… That’s because it never happened in the story. The blonde kid was going to get squished at the end of part 3 and then at the beginning of part 4 he’s scampering away while the vile chicken is 20 feet away. It felt like a chore just figuring out what was going on, what a freakin’ waste… ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-may-we-die-in-the-forest/501794/49 "2009-07-08T16:09:18Z")
I actually like the 2nd to last and 3rd to last panels of the last strip. The idea that by killing one they’ve done more harm than good is a nice setup for the future… ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-may-we-die-in-the-forest/501794/50 "2009-07-08T17:23:27Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > That’s because it never happened in the story. The blonde kid was going to get squished at the end of part 3 and then at the beginning of part 4 he’s scampering away while the vile chicken is 20 feet away. > > It felt like a chore just figuring out what was going on, what a freakin’ waste… I’m just chalking it up to the redhead having a Soft on him. But that still doesn’t address the last page. 1. The guide didn’t do anything to save the blond kid. 2. The guide intervened at the last minute to blindfold the basilisk, and in doing so saved all the kids. So why would the elders berate him for saving just one? Too, too confusing. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-may-we-die-in-the-forest/501794/51 "2009-07-08T18:00:49Z")
I like the basilisk killing merit badge. Other then that, I have no idea what happened in the last installment. I think maybe the writer and artist didn’t communicate as much as they should’ve, and so the artist didn’t get they were supposed to show the kid being rescued by the troop-leader instead of the other children. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-may-we-die-in-the-forest/501794/52 "2009-07-08T18:06:22Z")
Ah, I checked the writers [blog](http://blog.olivergrigsby.com/) > [@](#): > > So the final page of Lookouts, my guest comic for Penny Arcade, is now online. It was an absolute blast (and an honor) to write these and my hats off to Becky Dreistadt who did an amazing job with the art. I gave her a shit-ton of stuff to cram into those panels and she rocked it! > > This final page really spells out what was going on with Aerden (the master) this whole time. My basic take for this whole story was that “May We Die In The Forest” wasn’t just a motto, it was a god-damned commandment. This is the lesson that boys must learn – not just that sometimes you go into the forest and don’t come out, but that sometimes sacrifices have to be made. Obviously this is a pretty fucked up way of living and I imagined that this very thought had been weighing on Aerden’s mind for some time. When he saw the boys fighting as bravely and valiently as they did in page 4 (at at time when many men would have just thrown in the towel) he decided that it was time for a change and jumped into the fight. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-may-we-die-in-the-forest/501794/53 "2009-07-08T18:08:15Z")
I hadn’t checked in on Penny Arcade in about six weeks, so when I saw the title of this thread I scrolled back and read this story, and… What a mess. Didn’t like the artwork, and the story really didn’t go anywhere. I’m glad I could read this quickly instead of wondering if it would develop into something worthwhile, which it didn’t. Makes sense that this was done by guests, since even when Penny Arcade isn’t ‘on,’ it’s better than this. I’d have voted for Automata if I’d known about the contest, so if they’re doing that one, good. Too bad about the wasted time on this one, though. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-may-we-die-in-the-forest/501794/54 "2009-07-08T18:31:17Z")
Thank goodness I’m not the only one who didn’t understand the mini-story. The art was confusing. The dialogue was confusing. The setting was interesting, though. ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-may-we-die-in-the-forest/501794/55 "2009-07-08T18:52:49Z")
I voted for Lookouts. I’m really disappointed that I won’t get to see out play out the way it was supposed to. I hated hated hated the art; I’m not sure what I think about the writing because I’m having so much trouble grasping the thing as a whole. ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-may-we-die-in-the-forest/501794/56 "2009-07-08T18:57:28Z")
> [@](#): > > This final page really spells out what was going on with Aerden (the master) this whole time. My basic take for this whole story was that “May We Die In The Forest” wasn’t just a motto, it was a god-damned commandment. This is the lesson that boys must learn – not just that sometimes you go into the forest and don’t come out, but that sometimes sacrifices have to be made. Obviously this is a pretty fucked up way of living and I imagined that this very thought had been weighing on Aerden’s mind for some time. When he saw the boys fighting as bravely and valiently as they did in page 4 (at at time when many men would have just thrown in the towel) he decided that it was time for a change and jumped into the fight. That final page didn’t spell out shit. And neither did the rest of the mini-series by the guest writer and artist. It was just confusing hot mess. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-may-we-die-in-the-forest/501794/57 "2009-07-08T19:01:28Z")
> [@Amp](#): > > That final page didn’t spell out shit. Agreed. Now, the idea he spells out here is kind of interesting, but it doesn’t come through in the story. This is one of those things that makes me regret when artists blog about their work: since it’s so easy for them to explain “here’s what I meant,” they don’t put as much effort into making their meaning clear. If your story isn’t comprehensible unless the audience reads the explanation on your blog, you haven’t done a good job of communicating through your art. I’m not a gamer and I’m not particularly up to date on the video game industry, but I still find Penny Arcade amusing and get what’s going on almost all the time. You might have to read the news posts to get the specifics, but the basics make sense on their own most of the time. That’s not the case with this story. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-may-we-die-in-the-forest/501794/58 "2009-07-08T19:13:38Z")
I think it was a bad match between artist and writer. I didn’t think the art was so much bad, it looked good, but it was kind of abstract and hazy and so hard to distinguish what was going on. Of course more narration and dialogue would’ve saved that, but the author seemed to want to go for a minimalist thing as far as text. It still might’ve worked if the story had been simpler so there was less to figure out, but the author apparently also wanted to tell a fairly complex story. And even with all those limitations he probably could’ve done that, except he only had 6 pages to do it in. So we end up with a mess. Had any one of the above not been true, I think it would’ve worked a lot better. But I guess that’s the risk when you try something new, things that seem like they’ll work come togeather in a way that you didn’t think about. > [@](#): > > This is one of those things that makes me regret when artists blog about their work: since it’s so easy for them to explain “here’s what I meant,” they don’t put as much effort into making their meaning clear I did have to click through two pages to get to the blog from Penny-arcade. I don’t think he was relying on people reading it to understand the comic. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-may-we-die-in-the-forest/501794/59 "2009-07-08T21:07:22Z")
> [@](#): > > This final page really spells out what was going on with Aerden (the master) this whole time. My basic take for this whole story was that “May We Die In The Forest” wasn’t just a motto, it was a god-damned commandment. This is the lesson that boys must learn – not just that sometimes you go into the forest and don’t come out, but that sometimes sacrifices have to be made. Obviously this is a pretty fucked up way of living and I imagined that this very thought had been weighing on Aerden’s mind for some time. When he saw the boys fighting as bravely and valiently as they did in page 4 (at at time when many men would have just thrown in the towel) he decided that it was time for a change and jumped into the fight. Man, that seems to directly contradict the story that Gabe had thought up at the start of this. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-may-we-die-in-the-forest/501794/60 "2009-07-08T22:00:08Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > I did have to click through two pages to get to the blog from Penny-arcade. I don’t think he was relying on people reading it to understand the comic. I don’t think he expected everyone who read the comic to go read the blog for an explanation. I think he may have just assumed his intended meaning would be as clear in the story as it was in the blog. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-may-we-die-in-the-forest/501794.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-may-we-die-in-the-forest/501794.md?page=4)