The older version of the comic

[Clayton_n]

Remember when this comic was about humor, monster fighting, and crude jokes at the character's expense without all this angst and emotional stuff? What happened?

[Tapewolf]

Remember when this comic was about humor, monster fighting, and crude jokes at the character's expense without all this angst and emotional stuff? What happened?

I'll admit that it could do with a decent quest or two, but I do think that the angst adds a touch of flavour to it.  As long as it doesn't go overboard.  Perhaps it's just the way my psyche works, but one of the reasons I latched on to DMFA was because I could empathise with what Dan was going through in the SAIA arc.

[superluser]

For those who don't like the increased focus on emotions and junk, I have one thing to say.

``The End of the Dragon Race.''

It's gonna make Dark Pegasus look like Hello Kitty.

[bill]

Remember when this comic was about humor, monster fighting, and crude jokes at the character's expense without all this angst and emotional stuff? What happened?

Amber sold out. It's all about the $$$.

[Amber Williams]

Remember when people were complaining about how Dan was a 1 dimensional adventurer,  how the guys are always the butts of every joke, and how I couldn't write a story?

Oh wait...that was the email I got yesterday.

Carry on!

[Sid]

Eh, there's always been a balance between quasi-action, nonsense-humor and emotions. Angst (if we call the current sub-arc "angst"...) has been popping up here and there. And I think that's a Good Thing(TM)

I'm a big fan of character development, so I appreciate these moments where people actually move forward instead of sticking in their little fence forever. Dan being a Cubi had been a GREAT catalyst to prevent DMFA from getting stuck in a setting. And now we get a potential relationship. I'm all for it, even if it doesn't work out in the long run. It's the uncertainty of what's ahead that keeps a good comic running.

Besides, we basically just came out of a quest... even though it was not exactly the classic "Slay the monster" quest. But that's DMFA for you - "normal" is for boring people

(EDIT: Dear God, I can't spell anymore...)

[Amber Williams]

Honestly, I realize the past week of strips have been on the less punchline side. Its really really hard to keep the humour in a scenario like this without it coming across as badly done or ill-timed. 

I also realize that the storylines are inevitably getting longer and interconnected.  And that they're building ontop eachother.  Be this a good thing or bad thing...in some ways I don't have full control over it.

As people can expect, one of the reasons Abel's Story is off and aside from normal DMFA is because it is so dramatastic and angsty and I would likely never have been able to pull it off with DMFA's normal setup. Nor do I think I should have tried. (And trust me, Regina's backstory would have likely been just as grimmy) 

Though I will say, it's a fence sitting subject. I've had people complain that DMFA is really annoying to read because it is still too confined by punchlines and humour(many of those commentators are fans of Abel Story though), and others say its gotten too serious and too far from its very sporadic and lighthearted beginnings.  Some might say its combined both humour and story just right, while others will feel its off here and there.

And odds are no one is really in the wrong because it all boils down to a matter of taste.

My stance?  I'm not a fool.  I realize I can't bend around and attempt to please everyone, and nor should I die trying.  It would only result in much worse.  While I do feel sad that the comic has gone in ways some people are not pleased with...it is also a scenario that I'm somewhat bound by my own comic and its direction.  While I can nudge and tug, wherever it goes...I'm almost in the same boat as the readers in that I'm being taken along. 

[Kenji]

There's only one solution to this.
We need a volunteer to go bite Kria's tail. That'll liven things up.

[Reese Tora]

There's only one solution to this.
We need a volunteer to go bite Kria's tail. That'll liven things up.

Considering her reaction to the ankle biting, I don't think the comic's rating is prepared for those concequences.  something like : (lacking a smoking smily)

[superluser]

Eh, there's always been a balance between quasi-action, nonsense-humor and emotions. Angst (if we call the current sub-arc "angst"...) has been popping up here and there. And I think that's a Good Thing(TM)

I'm not sure that angst is a good addition to the strip.  I think it's a truthful addition, and small doses of it tend to be OK, but if DMFA turns into an angst-fest, it might be annoying.  DMFA hasn't even gotten to the small doses stage yet.

Besides, we basically just came out of a quest... even though it was not exactly the classic "Slay the monster" quest. But that's DMFA for you - "normal" is for boring people

``Not exactly the classic...?''  What about Princess Sara?  Princess Toadstool?  Lord British?  Guinevere?    Helen of F^!%$*# Troy?

[Izkata]

Perhaps it's just the way my psyche works, but one of the reasons I latched on to DMFA was because I could empathise with what Dan was going through in the SAIA arc.

And I with Jyrras when he first met Abel.

[Kasarn]

I see your band comic now and it's not too bad
You're nothing like you used to be
Please write some songs strips that really do not suck
Please become what you were before
- I Like Your Old Stuff Better Than Your New Stuff by Regurgitator

[Zedd]

You could always kill Dan off Amber and called it WMFA...Hence see if Tape rembers that ref

[Goatmon]

Honestly, I realize the past week of strips have been on the less punchline side. Its really really hard to keep the humour in a scenario like this without it coming across as badly done or ill-timed. 

I also realize that the storylines are inevitably getting longer and interconnected.  And that they're building ontop eachother.  Be this a good thing or bad thing...in some ways I don't have full control over it.

As people can expect, one of the reasons Abel's Story is off and aside from normal DMFA is because it is so dramatastic and angsty and I would likely never have been able to pull it off with DMFA's normal setup. Nor do I think I should have tried. (And trust me, Regina's backstory would have likely been just as grimmy) 

Though I will say, it's a fence sitting subject. I've had people complain that DMFA is really annoying to read because it is still too confined by punchlines and humour(many of those commentators are fans of Abel Story though), and others say its gotten too serious and too far from its very sporadic and lighthearted beginnings.  Some might say its combined both humour and story just right, while others will feel its off here and there.

And odds are no one is really in the wrong because it all boils down to a matter of taste.

My stance?  I'm not a fool.  I realize I can't bend around and attempt to please everyone, and nor should I die trying.  It would only result in much worse.  While I do feel sad that the comic has gone in ways some people are not pleased with...it is also a scenario that I'm somewhat bound by my own comic and its direction.  While I can nudge and tug, wherever it goes...I'm almost in the same boat as the readers in that I'm being taken along. 

That's what happens when you create a quality story with characters that have depth.  They take on a life of their own, and before you know it they're doing things you hadn't planned on, and the only way to make it truly different would be to make the characters do things you know that they wouldn't. 

It comes with being a good writer. 

[fesworks]

I think its a good thing, It shows better writing and such.


But here is the thing, I think doing Abel's Story is rubbing off on the main strip... where comedy is/was moreso the focus. But while doing Abel's Story, I am sure Amber gets in a mindset of story and story telling, and it just naturally flows into DMFA.

Then again, It could also simply the the natural progression of her writing.

The best thing out of all of it is that it is all still very much good

[Amber Williams]

(And then two arcs later Amber does "What makes a comic great: Pt 2" and ruins it all)

[rt]

seems to follow the current twist on the old saying

you can please ..
.. some of the people some of the time
.. most of the people quite rarely
.. and all of the people .. NEVER!

[Kenji]

(And then two arcs later Amber does "What makes a comic great: Pt 2" and ruins it all)

"Popular cameos galore!"
"Constant breaking of the 4th wall!"
"Bikini armor!"

[fesworks]

seems to follow the current twist on the old saying

you can please ..
.. some of the people some of the time
.. most of the people quite rarely
.. and all of the people .. NEVER!

Anyone see that Mitch Headberg Comedy Central Presents? One of his jokes were:

"You can't please all the people all the time, and last night, all those people were at my show." 

[Reese Tora]

You can please some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time.
--John Lydgate (popualrly misattributed to Abraham Lincoln, who said almost the same phrase except replacing "please" with "fool" )

[VioletDusk]

Hmm...well, all I have to say, is this:

I found DMFA through a LiveJournal icon of Kria and Lorenda. I was interested enough to ask the poster were they found the art, and they pointed me here. That day's strip was amusing, so I opened the archives, and proceeded to spend the next three hours or so reading them on my former geriatric beast of a computer. I was sleepy and hungry, my eyes burned and my back hurt, but I just couldn't quit. I couldn't rest without finishing, and when I finally caught up, my only regret was that'd I'd have to wait another day to find out what happened next.

Yes, DMFA has changed over the course of its run. It's gotten consistantly stronger; artistically, story-wise, character development, and yes, even in humor. It never fails to please and always leaves me wanting more, which is probably the most successful reaction any form of entertainment can induce in a fan. I know, because I have read many good webcomics that I enjoyed. However, I am lazy, apathetic creature, who rarely makes a point of keeping up with anything, even if I like it. So there's something to be said for Amber when of all the comics I've sampled, the only one I eagerly anticipate and read the day it updates, is hers. She must be doing something right to keep my fluttering bird of an attention span coming back to roost with all those other sparkly distractions available on the internet; and that's something all those other artists, despite their talent, aren't able to do.

Keep up the good work.

[Ted Schiller]

I see your band comic now and it's not too bad
You're nothing like you used to be
Please write some songs strips that really do not suck
Please become what you were before
- I Like Your Old Stuff Better Than Your New Stuff by Regurgitator

Being an Old Fogenator, I'll just sing along to Garden Party by Ricky Nelson.    Yep, Amber is going to do what she is going to do.   

With regards,
Ted

[Nino]

Well I for one think it's gotten much better. The only thing I really never liked was the inclusion of Abel (at first) because he seemed like the generic angsty gay femmie bishie character, one of which every single DA member makes, and I'm really sick of that common character design. HATE IT. But he's sort of different, I guess. Actually, I think I only like him because he's a big fat jerk like Dr. House, and he doesn't have long hair (except in Abel's story).

One thing I cannot stand from comic artists is when they make 30-50% of the characters gay, and then make the men wildly "pretty" (which most gays don't give a crap about -- looking fashionable yes, but not trying to look like girls. Those are M to Fs), romantic, sensitive, etc. In society, the rate of homosexuality is more like 3% (everyone has heard around 10 but that was an outdated, flawed study). I've never understood what the obsession for straight women to draw femmie gays all the time -- and women complain about men liking big-boobed wafer-thin models and girl on girl action, but female artistic depiction of men is just as bad in a lot of cases. This is why I hate DA now; it's gotten so ridiculous.

Anyway, I like the art much better now than in early strips, and I think the humor has evolved. Plus I actually prefer Abel's story, just because Amber has set up a situation where the readers have a lot of questions they want answers to. I regret never seeing a Regina's story though, that would have been great too. I don't think the regular comic has gotten too angsty yet.

[Manawolf]

The comic grows mature and all the immature whiners come out of the woodwork.  Grow up, people.

[Arcalane]

Remember when this comic was about humor, monster fighting, and crude jokes at the character's expense without all this angst and emotional stuff? What happened?

Character Development, that's what. God forbid it turn into something that people might find more (or less) interesting by allowing the characters to develop out shallow stereotypes.

[Tapewolf]

You could always kill Dan off Amber and called it WMFA...Hence see if Tape rembers that ref

I'm always looking for an excuse for that one.  Not that I condone killing Dan of course.

[Stygian]

Amid all these complaints...

Who's sold out here? There's absolutely nothing right about just a generic gag comic, if you ask me. Not because it lacks talent or humor, but rather because it lacks feeling and genuinity. To let Am have her way is the best choice in all situations, I'd say, especially when the result is something like this.

There is still the case of the boys bearing the brunt of the humor though, no denying that, Am. And while I realize that we guys do tend to be rather clumsy socially in comparison to girls, that's still just a stereotype like any other; it doesn't apply all the time and in all cases.

As for me, the only thing that pisses me off at times is that bloody Fa'Lina and her stuck-up, bossy and all-wise unsurprised mannerisms. And even that is something which I'd say is a provoked response. But I still can't find it in me to like the poodle. Once, just once, I would like to see her on her knees or crying or completely dumbfounded...

[RJ]

<3 Character development <3

[Caswin]

The comic grows mature and all the immature whiners come out of the woodwork.  Grow up, people.

You first.

[Prof B Hunnydew]

Look If DMFA did not change over time, you get a sitcom, where the stereotyped characters get stale, and the formule of the story just gets repeated... "Cathy" is a mainstream comic that happen to.  And Las Linda by Chalo and Soulkat is the most stereotypical, I still follow, but they try to keep true to their characters personalities, and still have them grow.  It is frustatingly slow at times even to the authors, but that is what makes the story last for the long haul.

  Then you have "Code Name: Hunter" by RCSI Travels Inc... They have a main story and main characters, but the prelog comic which was meant to introduce the world to reader, taking on a life of its own, and people got mad when most of the character in the prelog comic get killed off and/or disappear.  It was the prelog, people, the main story only needs them for supporting characters to the main story.  This is an example of a story calling the shots and the authors trying to just get the stories out.

Amber would not half as good if she didn't let the story have some leeway and let it tell itself.

PBH