Old Comic Discussion: "Imaginate" to "Imaginate, too!"

Dylan · Post by **Dylan** » Fri Dec 25, 2009 8:18 pm

cooljoe224 wrote:
Keeshah wrote:Called it. king is going to stay a dog..

A follow-up vet visit??
Can't think of any reason why King would need a follow-up vet visit, except for the big snip-snip.
I dont know why cutting Kings hair would be a big deal

I think Keeshah was talking about something else...

caesalson · Post by **caesalson** » Fri Dec 25, 2009 8:29 pm

"...stayed up all night with Sasha..." I wonder what they said/did?

Shiro · Post by **Shiro** » Fri Dec 25, 2009 9:53 pm

Pete needs to be punished.

"I'm really proud of you" my foot. By now, I'm pretty sure he's only leading King on for his own amusement. Or that Pete somehow believes his actions are totally okay if he accomplishes something good along the way.

Not to say that I dislike Pete. He's amusing enough in his own way. But it would be nice to see him get one upped now and then for how he treats King. Preferably by King himself.

Then again, that might just degenerate into some kind of Tom and Jerry thing. Meh.

Sinder · Post by **Sinder** » Fri Dec 25, 2009 9:56 pm

Jasper and Jinx would be so mad

Thoth · Post by **Thoth** » Fri Dec 25, 2009 10:17 pm

Shiro wrote:Pete needs to be punished. "I'm really proud of you" my foot. By now, I'm pretty sure he's only leading King on for his own amusement. Or that Pete somehow believes his actions are totally okay if he accomplishes something good along the way.

Not to say that I dislike Pete. He's amusing enough in his own way. But it would be nice to see him get one upped now and then for how he treats King. Preferably by King himself.

Then again, that might just degenerate into some kind of Tom and Jerry thing. Meh.

well yeah...

I hate to be repetitive, but here's an edited version of the list I put up over in the comments on Joel-then-King's behavior and "things learned" (or not-learned). He's:

1) Still trying to help pets (his reason for Joining PETA was that it was the only animal-rights group that would take him, now he was making sure Sasha stayed warm) â€“ check.

2) Still inclined to lash out verbally when upset (complaining at Fatty about the kidnaping, upsetting the police dogs â€“ and now exploding at the Good Ol Dogs Club) â€“ check.

3) Still not looking ahead or examining what heâ€™s gotten into (joining PETA without investigating, not really thinking about what Peteâ€™s told him) â€“ check.

4) Still inclined to say whatever he thinks no matter how impolitic it may be (to Fatty, to the police dogs, and now to Pete - when he pretty much knows that it's useless) â€“ check.

5) Still getting towed around by others while putting up nothing but verbal resistance (first Fatty, and now Pete) â€“ check.

6) Still in a lot of emotional pain (kidnaping story, on the steps before Fox came along, the current strip) â€“ check.

7) Can be temporarily cheered up by someone being nice to him (thereâ€™s no earlier example, but thatâ€™s pretty normal for anyone, in this arc it was Fox) â€“ check.

8) Still trusting unwisely and being abused for it (PETA and Fatty, now Bino) â€“ check.

9) Used to be younger and happier (a near-universal condition) â€“ check.

10) Has a lot to be nervous about (being involved with a crime/the police, now being property, vets, people or pets finding out who he used to be, getting back to human, short life expectancy, etc) â€“ check, and rather a downhill step in a lot of ways.

11) Has picked up Fox as a friend (there was no real indication of his having any friends â€“ or enough social contact to recognize that Fatty was insane â€“ as a human) â€“ a plus here. Enough to make up for #10? Perhaps.

12) Seems to have traded â€œunhappyâ€ for â€œmajor depressionâ€ (he certainly wasnâ€™t too pleased with the world as Joel, now weâ€™ve had the scene on the steps just before Foxâ€™s arrival as King) â€“ a bit downhill there.

13) Major loss of privileges (as Joel, being put in jail â€“ at least twice. As Kingâ€¦ canâ€™t eat what he wants, canâ€™t go where he wants, no rights, no way to support himself, cut off from any friends or family he did have, property, no current confidants, has even had his name taken away) â€“ check.

14) Transitory pains (as human, being punched in the face, as King shots and nausea from astral jumps). This is a wash â€“ life always has itâ€™s minor pains â€“ check.

King has learned something; heâ€™s not going to be human again anytime too soon and he belongs to someone who has a lousy bedside manner.

What heâ€™d really need to deal with would be 3, 5, and 8 â€“ and those all still apply. Worse, I don't really see how being left with no major decisions, no effective way of resisting his magical owner, or with few options on who to trust is going to teach him anything except masochism.

For all his personal pain, he went to help Sasha simply because she needed help and he was the only one there to provide it - and I really don't think he would have done anything different as Joel except, perhaps, for being better able to help.

Joel was impulsive, didn't think ahead enough, and was far too easily led - but he seemed to be fundamentally decent enough. Kicking him really isn't helpful.

Shiro · Post by **Shiro** » Fri Dec 25, 2009 11:43 pm

Exactly!

Foxstar · Post by **Foxstar** » Fri Dec 25, 2009 11:54 pm

cooljoe224 wrote:
Keeshah wrote:Called it. king is going to stay a dog..

A follow-up vet visit??
Can't think of any reason why King would need a follow-up vet visit, except for the big snip-snip.
I dont know why cutting Kings hair would be a big deal

And with that, I'm bringing the hammer down on the 'snip-snip' comments. No more.

Alex · Post by **Alex** » Sat Dec 26, 2009 2:57 pm

Sasha's left ear is folded even when she's lying! I can't believe this! Rick, are we EVER going to see a picture of Sasha with both of her ears erected/folded?

Keeshah · Post by **Keeshah** » Sat Dec 26, 2009 3:11 pm

I know a GSD that always has one ear up an one down all the time.. her floppy ear is from being bitten as a puppy..

Teh Brawler · Post by **Teh Brawler** » Sat Dec 26, 2009 5:18 pm

Alex wrote:Sasha's left ear is folded even when she's lying! I can't believe this! Rick, are we EVER going to see a picture of Sasha with both of her ears erected/folded?

But how can she be a flip-flop character if her ears aren't flip-floppy?
In all seriousness, though, I think the ears in that form add to Sasha's loose and easy-going personality.

The Game · Post by **The Game** » Sat Dec 26, 2009 7:45 pm

Wait, I just had a crazy thought!!!
What if Sasha were actually a human too, turned to a dog by some magical creature (or a femlae Griffin)
That would be weird.....

Thoth · Post by **Thoth** » Sat Dec 26, 2009 7:55 pm

In that case, unless she was EXTREMELY young at the time, I doubt she'd be quite so accepting of the way her "daddy" treats her - and if she was that young, would it really make a difference?

Anthroguy101 · Post by **Anthroguy101** » Sat Dec 26, 2009 8:35 pm

Guys, I'm kind of wondering why my topic on whether Joel should remain King was locked. Anyways, here's my opinion:

I kind of have mixed feelings on the subject. Although it would seem proper for Joel to find out what it's like to be a dog, the only thing he may be learning is that being a dog is a bad thing, which will only give him more of an incentive to continue the crime that made him a dog in the first place. His interaction with Fox, however, is giving him the feeling of guilt that he so rightly deserves. Only through Fox will he truly learn from his mistakes. Eventually, he will have to apologize if there's going to be any point to this.

I do think he should remain King, simply because I like animals, but at the same time if this continues the story will focus less on our main characters Grape and Peanut while focusing more on King. I don't see how that would be practical in the long run. Eventually, the story will eventually have to re-orient itself back to Peanut and Grape somehow. Whether it is done with Joel still being King remains yet to be seen. He may enjoy being a dog more with time, as that will be enough to change his mind about animals permanently.

However, I am still questioning where this may end up. If Joel is missing, the world isn't just going to stop caring. He is a criminal, after all, and all that the humans know is that he's escaped. This could set off a panic.

Wolf Blitzer: "...but first we've got some breaking news. What's happening, Candy?"
Candy: "Well, Wolf, we've just got reports that Joel, a PETA member who was been arrested for kidnapping random pets, has just escaped from prison..."*

Not only that, but many of his friends, family and co-workers will be wondering where he went. If somebody turned any of you into an animal and took you away (sounds like something your parents would tell you as a youngster), I'm sure people would be wondering about you as well. It could even end up becoming a conspiracy.

There's also the Pete Problem. Pete is a jerk, as you all are well aware. Pete thinks he's "helping" by torturing King, but that may only make matters worse. For all we know, King could run away. He could even try being as human as possible as a dog (which would add even more comedy), or try teaching the animals to act more human (which could start a drama).

I thought this was a great punishment, and there are still so many possibilities. That's why I want him to be a dog. Besides, we still have yet to see him interact with either Grape or Peanut. I at least want to see how that will turn out.

The fans support it as well. According to that thread:
60% support Joel remaining King
20% think King should go back to Joel
20% are undecided.

*Also, for those of you wondering, Wolf Blitzer is a reporter on CNN, who is in the Situation Room every afternoon from 4-7pm Eastern Time. Candy is his correspondent, who is usually out in the field somewhere (and yes, that is her real name). He is my favorite news anchor because his program has the least amount of bias, and I know that when I'm watching it I am hearing interviews from both sides and reporters who always tell it like it is.

Thoth · Post by **Thoth** » Sat Dec 26, 2009 9:27 pm

Now, with 50% more impenetrable wall of text!

Rather a lot of assumptions there:

Lets see;

1) That Joel does not already know what it's like to be a dog. In Housepets they talk, he had two dogs as a child, and he worked for the ASPCA before joining PETA.

2) "To continue the crime" - would that be not choosing his associates wisely, not backing out of PETA fast enough, being an accessory to petnaping, objecting to the idea of petnaping, not acting on those objections because he thought that a sizeable organizations plans had to make some kind of sense, deciding to go back and surrender to the police, or upsetting police dogs with his past? It looked to me like he'd already decided that PETA was crazy before the police caught them. Why would he continue working with them anyway?

3) Why would he especially enormous guilt over Fox? He wasn't he primary offender and Fox has suffered no ill effects. There's doubtless some guilt there, and an apology owed for his stupidity - but it's probably not too overwhelming. Now, Joel may well feel a lot of guilt over the (unknown but apparently bad) fate of his own pets - but any interaction with animals apparently tends to bring that up.

4) The story is episodic. I suspect that a lot of the story arcs will tie together later on, simply because Rick seems to be good at such things - and because exploring the consequences of previous episodes is always interesting - but it focuses on different characters from arc to arc. Why would this be impractical whether King continues to be a part of it or not?

5) Actually, the Housepets world is likely to stop caring about a minor escaped criminal - just as the real world does. Joel wasn't Jack the Ripper, he was a minor PETA member, and a newbie at that. There are plenty of minor criminals and committed PETA members who have yet to be caught committing an crime on the loose, why should anyone care too much about Joel?

6) You're assuming that Joel HAS friends, family, and co-workers who care about him. As has been pointed out, evidently he has so little human contact that he didn't immediately recognize that Fatty was out of his mind. He didn't get along with his parents, and it's likely that he was an only child; since HE had three pets, rather than his family having three pets. Joel may be quite isolated - and any social contacts he did have will probably just assume he's in hiding. In a way, he is.

Post by **rickgriffin** » Sat Dec 26, 2009 10:17 pm

simply because Rick seems to be good at such things

I thought that's how webcomics were supposed to go

Anthroguy101 · Post by **Anthroguy101** » Sat Dec 26, 2009 10:30 pm

@ Thoth: Apparently, even though I read the whole thing, I still have a lot to learn about the comic. I'm no expert, but some of those points are still valid.

Also, here's a thought: What if Joel's pets beat him up as King?

(I'd also like to add that Rick is doing a wonderful job with the comic, which why we're speculating so much

)

Thoth · Post by **Thoth** » Sat Dec 26, 2009 11:50 pm

rickgriffin wrote:
simply because Rick seems to be good at such things
I thought that's how webcomics were supposed to go

I'd think so, but a lot of them don't... Yours is the first one that I've bothered commenting on in a decade and the ONLY one that I've bothered to register on the forum for. I like it.

Now see, you've gone an gotten me all enthused, and I fear that causes me to write a lot.

Hipstar · Post by **Hipstar** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 12:18 am

Thoth wrote:
rickgriffin wrote:
simply because Rick seems to be good at such things
I thought that's how webcomics were supposed to go
I'd think so, but a lot of them don't... Yours is the first one that I've bothered commenting on in a decade and the ONLY one that I've bothered to register on the forum for. I like it.

Now see, you've gone an gotten me all enthused, and I fear that causes me to write a lot.

i'd have to agree. i never joined a webcomic forum up until now because i never was able to whip up enough enthusiasm for them. for the first time in years ive come to actually anticipate updates for a comic. last time i did was Ozy and Millie back in its prime.

Dylan · Post by **Dylan** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 1:02 am

Bino inoperable in three places...hmm, which three could they be?
Fox you are the best.

GameCobra · Post by **GameCobra** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 1:06 am

and then suddenly, Pete comes out of nowhere to invite Fox to the vet as well, which he is forced to accept!

Jerk.

nice to see Fox though at the very end of the epilogue.

PS: I just found out that, ironically, the last comic's comments hit 300 right on the DOT.

Two_Twig · Post by **Two_Twig** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 1:10 am

Does Bino ever learn anything in the time he often spends in traction?

Dylan · Post by **Dylan** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 1:12 am

Two_Twig wrote:Does Bino ever learn anything in the time he often spends in traction?

Of course he won't, hes Bino.

EchoFireant · Post by **EchoFireant** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 1:12 am

somehow when i look at king at the 2nd panel, he looks just like a kid and fox looks like the big brother of that kid. Adorable =D

One possible inoperable place would be the brain then his mouth. what about the other? one of his paws/hands or both?

Sinder · Post by **Sinder** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 1:17 am

inoperable

not inopererererable

Thoth · Post by **Thoth** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 1:25 am

Well, for once being easily led is an emotional advantage; when you're used to being towed around, you probably get used to making the best of it.

It's not like King has any other choices anyway. Running away or going feral would be bad enough in the winter even if he had any experience being a dog and was only trying to escape a normal owner. Going to confess isn't very viable; even if he could get anyone to believe him he'd still be in trouble. His only chance of being human again is to hang around Pete - and he can even relax on being driven; there's not much he can do at the moment besides small gestures.

Nice to see that Fox did indeed go to look for him too. I wonder if he drafted Fido to help him look?

Teh Brawler · Post by **Teh Brawler** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 1:31 am

Thoth wrote:Well, for once being easily led is an emotional advantage; when you're used to being towed around, you probably get used to making the best of it.

It's not like King has any other choices anyway. Running away or going feral would be bad enough in the winter even if he had any experience being a dog and was only trying to escape a normal owner. Going to confess isn't very viable; even if he could get anyone to believe him he'd still be in trouble. His only chance of being human again is to hang around Pete - and he can even relax on being driven; there's not much he can do at the moment besides small gestures.

Nice to see that Fox did indeed go to look for him too. I wonder if he drafted Fido to help him look?

Thoth, every time I read your posts, part of me wants to reply with something, like, "dude, it's a comic, stop analyzing so much". Then I read your sig, and three things pop into my head. 1, "Arrrr, foiled again", 2, "Man, I'm a jerk", and 3, "He is so right.".

Dealing with the comic, I love Fox. I just love him. Having Captain Falcon for an owner must have given him some sweet moves for beating on Bino.

Hipstar · Post by **Hipstar** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 1:32 am

i think after this comic its safe to say king will adjust just fine to his new life.

i get by with a little help from my friends, ooo!

GameCobra · Post by **GameCobra** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 1:47 am

Two_Twig wrote:Does Bino ever learn anything in the time he often spends in traction?

it would take a Pete to change his mind in my opinion XD

Dylan · Post by **Dylan** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 1:48 am

GameCobra wrote:
Two_Twig wrote:Does Bino ever learn anything in the time he often spends in traction?
it would take a Pete to change his mind in my opinion XD

Yeah, and we don't have time for another arc with Pete like that.

Which leads to the fact that Bino will never learn.

Teh Brawler · Post by **Teh Brawler** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 1:51 am

GameCobra wrote:
Two_Twig wrote:Does Bino ever learn anything in the time he often spends in traction?
it would take a Pete to change his mind in my opinion XD

New Urban Dictionary entry:
Pete-Anything that makes you completely change your mind to the opposite choice. Often envolving blackmail, force, or Pixie Dust.
"Dude, when Jim pulled out that Sluggerville, he pulled a Pete on my decision on who to vote for."
:3

Hipstar · Post by **Hipstar** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 1:54 am

Teh Brawler wrote:
GameCobra wrote:
Two_Twig wrote:Does Bino ever learn anything in the time he often spends in traction?
it would take a Pete to change his mind in my opinion XD
New Urban Dictionary entry:
Pete-Anything that makes you completely change your mind to the opposite choice. Often envolving blackmail, force, or Pixie Dust.
"Dude, when Jim pulled out that Sluggerville, he pulled a Pete on my decision on who to vote for."
:3

Please add it! I just looked up Pete and I got some very horrifying definitions.

Teh Brawler · Post by **Teh Brawler** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 1:55 am

loudhawaiianshirt wrote:Please add it! I just looked up Pete and I got some very horrifying definitions.

Done and done

Post by **Dissension** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 2:02 am

D'awww, cute once again!

I'm glad to see that Fox and King are pal-like again. I assumed Fox would track King down after dealing with Bino. *laughs*

Alex · Post by **Alex** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 2:10 am

Yes, it really is a d'awwwwwwwww comic

. I'm just sad that Rick didn't draw the alt-text

.

And what happens next? Is King really going to seek revenge? Or will they leave it at that and go have some fun, like fighting over a not-so-squeaky bone?

Keeshah · Post by **Keeshah** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 2:32 am

Alex wrote:Yes, it really is a d'awwwwwwwww comic . I'm just sad that Rick didn't draw the alt-text .

And what happens next? Is King really going to seek revenge? Or will they leave it at that and go have some fun, like fighting over a not-so-squeaky bone?

There was something about a bonus story about Fox teaching King how to be a dog.

valerio · Post by **valerio** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 2:33 am

Two_Twig wrote:Does Bino ever learn anything in the time he often spends in traction?

Oh, he'll learn something.
He'll also forget it the moment he leaves the hospital.

valerio · Post by **valerio** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 3:04 am

OT on

Housepets!
A completely ordinary comic about animals with no surprises whatsoever

This from the TWC site.
Am I allowed to think that whoever placed that entry didn't even care to go beyond the first strip? (BTW, HP is 31 now)
OT off

ArgentFlame · Post by **ArgentFlame** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 3:43 am

My guess is it's sarcastic and was probably put there by Rick

valerio · Post by **valerio** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 4:26 am

D'oh!

Frooxius · Post by **Frooxius** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 4:38 am

Very nice

COMPUTER VOICE:
Alert, alert. Bin-o system no longer operational, three system resources offline, repeat, three system resources offline. Please consult with your system administrator or user helpline.

Also 3rd panel is so very cute, that I don't even place them into anti-huggus quarantine

Pity that I didn't see today's comic before I went to dentist. It would make the horrible-tooth-drill-feeling (it's not exactly pain) almost unnoticeable. Still, at least something nice was waiting for me after I got back (which is a few minutes ago in the time of writing this).