Oct 8/10 strip clarifications

[Giz]

Just wanted to say that we've added clarifications on the homepage. Here they are...

On October 8th, we posted a strip that didn't sit well with some of our readers. After much debate, we decided that if we could come up with an alternative we both agreed on, and that it didn't affect our storyline, we'd do it. We're actually quite happy with the alternative. Now... people are wondering what were the complaints. Let me just clarify that it wasn't in any way about homophobia, it was more about mind-control, and on who it was applied to and what for. Some felt the strip had lost a bit of its innocence. To those who were interested in Brooke's exploration of her sexuality, let me reassure you that it will be dealt with again, and with Brooke having full control over her thoughts and desires. We touch on it in the bonus story of the upcoming book, and in the next arc as well. So do not feel like we've abandoned this or changed what's coming next because of this change. For those wanting to read the old strip, we've moved it to the "extras" section of the site.

Thanks everyone!

[Ravenhull]

Did you keep the other changed strip in the 'extra' too?

[Giz]

Are you talking about the stepping on Blair one? If yes, no.

[Ravenhull]

Ah well...

[uzivatel]

Are you talking about the stepping on Blair one? If yes, no.

What was wrong about that one? I dont remember it being offensive or anything, he was just stating the obvious. That said, I may not remember it well...

[Lucia Wilber]

She changed what Blair said while being stepped on to something G-rated.

Wow, I didn't realize just how heavily self-censored EC was becoming. That's the second or third time I've seen a PG/PG-13 rated joke scaled back to something you could plausibly see in a Disney cartoon.

[albert.aribaud]

She changed what Blair said while being stepped on to something G-rated.

Did she? For me, the original line was that of a peeping tom, while the new one has overtones of SM/domination/whaddyacallit -- I would not classify it as G-rated anyway (and I find it less 'Blairesque' than the original, btw, but who I am to state what is or isn't blairesque, so...)

Now, the whole thing reminds me of these black-and-white drawings where kids see dolphins and adults see naked people, just because kids haven't been exposed to enough naked people yet. Maybe you and I don't read the new lines the same way because of different exposures.

[Giz]

She changed what Blair said while being stepped on to something G-rated.

I actually wasn't the one to make the change actually, but that's besides the point. We took it upon ourselves to change it. Nobody complained about it or anything, and like Albert said, I still wouldn't call it G-rated.

[Kamino Neko]

Let me just clarify that it wasn't in any way about homophobia

That's just...weird.

As someone who wasn't a complainer, but who could understand that complaints, and knowing at least one other person in that same position...The Heirophant don't know us very well, do he? (I'm not sure if it's more infuriating or funny to accuse LGBT posters of being homophobes...)

She changed what Blair said while being stepped on to something G-rated.

Did she? For me, the original line was that of a peeping tom, while the new one has overtones of SM/domination/whaddyacallit

What he said - the original line he was just being a dirty little punk. The latter he was a dirty little punk with a kink. At best, it's at the same level, at worst, it actually added a level of filth that wasn't in the original.

But it also ads a bit of characterization to Blair, so, whatevs. (I can't decide which is funnier, though.)

[yudantaiteki]

I don't really get all the complaints about being disappointed in artists making changes -- people do that all the time; writers show first drafts to friends and make revisions, sometimes based directly on the comments the friends make. Some writers change things in the second edition of their book, even after it has been put before the public. It seems silly to say that artists must not change their works; that's just another form of self-censorship.

(And as someone pointed out in the locked thread, Ma3 is abundant proof that Dave and Giz are not weak-spined creators that bow to the wishes of forum complainers.)

[RoninAngel]

Let me just clarify that it wasn't in any way about homophobia

That's just...weird.

As someone who wasn't a complainer, but who could understand that complaints, and knowing at least one other person in that same position...The Heirophant don't know us very well, do he? (I'm not sure if it's more infuriating or funny to accuse LGBT posters of being homophobes...)

She changed what Blair said while being stepped on to something G-rated.

Did she? For me, the original line was that of a peeping tom, while the new one has overtones of SM/domination/whaddyacallit

What he said - the original line he was just being a dirty little punk. The latter he was a dirty little punk with a kink. At best, it's at the same level, at worst, it actually added a level of filth that wasn't in the original.

I agree. I've never seen anyone post anything homophobic on this site at all. And if they did, I don't think it would go over well. EC fans love the gays!
But it also ads a bit of characterization to Blair, so, whatevs. (I can't decide which is funnier, though.)

[badwolf]

I'm a little stunned at the vehement reaction to the original strip, frankly. I wasn't really reading the strip's original thread, so I didn't know how many here objected to it, but those who did seemed very upset.

The one comment of Giz's which I particularly agreed with, upon reflection, was that the strip had suffered the "loss of a little bit of its innocence." While we know that Blair is a letch and that his behavior is ALWAYS pretty obnoxious (he wouldn't be Blair, otherwise!), and with the caveat that I found the original scene pretty hot, I have to agree that this one left the EC universe and entered the Ma3 universe briefly. And those have been and should be two separate universes, IMO.

The original strip was funny, the new scene is funny, I don't feel any outrage about the process, but I can see the point about a line being crossed, I guess. I also appreciate Giz and Dave's discussion of the issue with us. It's good to see the artistic process at work and know that the artists pay attention to the thoughts and impressions of their fans.

Granted, I still think there are some here who take the characters just a BIT too seriously, but that's probably true of most forms of dramatic and comedic entertainment, whatever the format. Just a sign that the artist is being successful at creating effective characters... ;)

[yudantaiteki]

The one comment of Giz's which I particularly agreed with, upon reflection, was that the strip had suffered the "loss of a little bit of its innocence." While we know that Blair is a letch and that his behavior is ALWAYS pretty obnoxious (he wouldn't be Blair, otherwise!), and with the caveat that I found the original scene pretty hot, I have to agree that this one left the EC universe and entered the Ma3 universe briefly. And those have been and should be two separate universes, IMO.

The original strip was funny, the new scene is funny

FWIW I agree with this. I just reread the entire arc, and I think that either strip works fine as far as story-internal justifications. I can't really say that I have the same "blair couldn't be redeemed after the original strip" feeling that others do, but the original one felt to me like an Ma3 strip rather than an EC strip. It was too sexually-charged for the type of strip that EC was making itself out to be so far, regardless of how reasonable it was in terms of the story and characters. When I first read the original strip, when I got to the 4th panel even without looking at the forum my initial thought was "Wow, is this ma3 or EC?"

[scatcat_sw]

Well for me both series are sexually charged, but in different ways. I think the difference shows some real genius in storytelling, where Ma3 feels a lot more 20-something and EC a lot more mid-puberty.

In Ma3 ppl get laid (or not), while in EC they gawk, deal with hormonal rushes, changes in mind and body and budding sexuality. There philandering is generally about making out, while in Ma3 it is about having threesomes etcetera etcetera. So EC is a lot more innocent, but still raunchy in just the right way to be believable as a story about high-school. You can laugh about it and remember that period in your own life, as well as the hormonal hell and sexual explorations that were part of it. All the while staying just at the right side of feeling like a dirty old perverted peeping-tom...

I think the original, unchanged strips falls well into the EC-context, and so does the changed strips. My bone with the changes are more a matter of irritation with ppl who fail to realize the differences between what is OK in a comic and what is OK in real life -- as well as the worry that vocal discontent leads to a slippery slope of self-censoring which in turn gives fuel to the vocal discontent.

I hope and believe that it won't come to pass.

[NekoLLX]

I'll say it her as i said it in the other the "new" and "old" last panel both felt forced