I just don't get the love for OOTS

[roguerouge]

When I tell fans of the series that, their response is always "You should have read more!"

Hmmmm... I didn't really like it, so you think I sould...read more? Ok.

I teach television studies, so I think I can explain why they say that. What you're doing (reading a dozen comics of more than 640) would be the equivalent of walking out on a film after a few scenes or of dropping a book after 10-15 pages. Forming such an extreme judgment after experiencing something like 2 percent of the work can only be justified if the work is spectacularly bad or offensive. In addition, long form serial narrative works like comics or like television programs base many of their effects on building up slowly over time or depend on character developments that are foreshadowed in small and large ways over years. To sample a long form serial narrative is to basically deny the validity of long form serial narratives.

In short, they're saying that you're not giving it a fair reading and thus your opinion is unfounded and invalid.

Edit: And, yes, this stance makes evaluating television programs (which can be more than 100 hours in length) very laborious. I generally set my standard at a season: if a series can't catch me by then, well, I've given it a fair shake. When I had to sit through the first season of Babylon 5 and Charmed as a result, you can bet that I never fully trusted the taste of the people who recommended those programs again.

 

[roguerouge]

I guess I'm an ex-fan. I liked it when I thought it was about poking fun at the humorous implications of D&D tropes. I stopped liking it when I came to the conclusion that it was just an extended rant against "Lawful Good" and the point of view that implies.

I don't like showing up for a comedy skit and being treated to a propaganda film. But then, I could say that about many of the things that pass for geek comedy.

Uhh... actually the nominal lead character of the strip is Lawful Good and his time in the afterlife is a description of the great value of being lawful good and how hard it is. You stopped reading at the blue paladin, didn't you?

 

[Vorput]

I aspire to one day be a stick figure.

This comic is just a stepping stone...

 

[Korgoth]

Uhh... actually the nominal lead character of the strip is Lawful Good and his time in the afterlife is a description of the great value of being lawful good and how hard it is. You stopped reading at the blue paladin, didn't you?

I stopped right about the time that Roy bit the dust. I am aware that he went into the afterlife, though.

I don't know how it's gone since then, but so many strips were seeming to harp on the "moral absolutists are retards" thing and it just gets old. Rather than stick around to see if the Preachy:Funny ratio actually changes, I moved on.

 

[wedgeski]

I don't get the love for many things, but I get and fully understand every one of the many ways I love OOTS.

 

[DaveMage]

I have read it since #1, so my perspective is based on reading all of them rather than just a few here or there.

Overall I like the story. The humor is hit and miss, and sometimes (for long stretches) even the story is hit and miss. The thing is, when it "hits" for me, it's really, really good. So I tolerate the bad to get to the good.

 

[Tequila Sunrise]

I don't get the regular joygasms that its fans get every time a new strip comes out, but OoTS is one h@ll of a comic. I get the same kind of feeling reading it that I did when I read Calvin & Hobbes as a kid.

 

[Drowbane]

I love OotS.

I don't get (a partial list at best) :
* "Reality TV" (especially American Idol, ick)
* boy-bands
* modern Country music
* rap
* Star Trek (much prefer Star Wars)
* 80% of Manga/Anime (my niece reads a manga called "Prince of Tennis"... I just shake my head)
* Drizzt-haters
* the term Fanboi

....

Crap, somewhere in there I lost my point.

Oh yeah! I don't have to get it. Obviously someone does get it, and enjoys it. I leave the room when Idol comes on (everybody else in my family watches it, cretins!).

 

[eryndel]

Frankly, I'm not sure if your question is entirely fair. It's much like saying "I saw a couple episodes of Buffy and just don't get what's so cool about it." or "I had a three hour layover in the Phoenix airport and really don't see why people love Arizona." People love it because they see in it something that you don't. Whether that's because of the sample of strips you've used to make your decision, or the underlying nature of the webcomic doesn't appeal to you, it really doesn't matter.

That said, to answer your question and turn this thread into a OotS tribute thread instead of a "why bother" thread, I started relatively late to the scene (around episode 300 or so). I read five of them and felt like there was something interesting there, but I didn't really have a clue what was going on. (I think this was around the time that Haley couldn't talk right.) So I went back and started from the beginning. It took a while, and like others said I came for the humor riffing off the weirdness of the rules, and stayed for the character development. I have my favorites... I used to really like V until very recently, and Belkar used to annoy me until very recently. Some times it's really funny, sometimes not so much. But all in all it's an enjoyable tale that keeps me reading.

Others will have their own take, and I'm certain many don't like OotS. However, those who don't typically don't get involved in the few threads that come up about the comic.... Fortunately, there's plenty of room on this board.

 

[RefinedBean]

Like any webcomic (or, heck, any comic in general) it has its issues with plot and pacing. But since it's free, it's hard to be crazy-critical of it. I enjoy it for what it is.