Writing Himself In, sorry if this is a repeat

I don't spend much time in the SD section, but I do read MT and I can't help but think that the biggest problem with it is that Piro wrote (or drew) himself into the story.

Sorry if this has been discussed before... but if it has I couldn't find it. So if it has kindly direct me to it.

Piro...isn't the same person who writes the story or draws the art, y'know...
Piro is a "character" - a fictional person.
You know that, right?

This post has been edited by Nova-A001 on Jun 8 2005, 09:38 AM

Nu-uh! Piro is for realz. The entire story is true.
Only the names have been changed to prevent huge lawsuits.

For example Gamera is really Godzuki.

But yeah. It’s all true.

Nova's right.

Piro's just a character. I see nothing wrong with writing a character based on yourself into a comic, story, movie, etc. It's done all the time, sometimes without you knowing.

As far as I know, Piro and Fred are significantly different.

And it will not be discussed in this thread either unless you give us something do discuss.

Why is it a problem really? Fred has managed to avoid, most of the pitfalls of self-insert stories by making Piro a very flawed character. Why not give some examples of what the problems you mention are.

/Temenus, who is ashamed to admit that he has read enough self-insert fanfiction to know...

A large portion of the webcomics out there have characters that at least start out in some way based on the comic's creators. It's no big deal. "Write about what you know", right?

Write about what you know?

So... how do you explain my worlds, in which heavily armed catgirls and an army of plasma-scythe-wielding Reapers do battle with the robotic space horde?

Hmm, there IS a character called Spyder... one of the immortal guardians of Earth from space whose twin swordblades are emblazoned with supersci tech... their reflexes are beyond legendary, and they've been on Earth for thousands of years, watching.

Wow, that's JUST LIKE my life.

To be fair, I think that it was probably Rodney who had the bright idea of having Largo and Piro be based on Rodney and Fred. Rodney of course was largely intending to make "Yet another Penny Arcade rip off." In the gamer genre of webcomics, having characters based on the crew is very very common. (Because Penny Arcade did it.)

As Fred slowly gained control of the comic, he had to deal with Rodney's contributions.

Piro and Fred are distinct people though. Piro's "just out of college," whereas Fred is in his thirties. Piro speaks Japanese very well, Fred speaks enough to know where the bathroom is. Piro's a pathetic loser, Fred has a beard.

This post has been edited by UserGoogol on Jun 8 2005, 01:20 PM

You...lost me at the comma.

A beard? Since when? I've seen two pics of Fred posted here, and not one of them has a beard.

A goatee, and he grew it kinda recently. I guess he might've shaved it though.

Well, Piro's an artist who thinks his drawings are pathetic, and Fred's... an artist who thinks his drawings are pathetic.

Moving on to Dom, comic-Dom works for Sega Japan; real-Dom is a free-lance writer. comic-Dom wields guns and katanas; real-Dom wields a trackball of mass destruction.

Dude, what are you talking about SGW?
I an actually a magical catgirl who spends her free time shooting magical firebolts and saving the world before bedtime. Aren't you?

Sorry, but to answer the original question: Fred and Piro are pretty different... It's not like Fred's made Piro into a really cool guy that has lots of money and girlfriends. He has lots of problems and is quite loserish. He's done a good job IMHO anyway...

~WH

This post has been edited by WyndhamHeart on Jun 8 2005, 02:40 PM

I gonna be honest, hard, cruel.

When I see Piro, he doesn't look AT ALL like Fred. I saw pics of real life Fred, and as I said, he looks like a cousin of mine. Plus Fred is (please forgive me !!!!) not as thin as Piro. I didn't say fat ! Fred is not fat, but he's better built than Piro.

So I perfectly see Piro on the one hand, and Fred on the other.

BTW... Gabe and Tycho are very different IRL. So I see the guys doing the comic and characters.

If I was to do a comic, I lack so much of imagination that I would first start to draw me and the people I know in funny situations. Then maybe some original idea might pop...

I don’t suppose that anybody else has pointed out that Fred hasn’t had anything to do with the comic for quite some time now.

If you look at the changes in the comic, from subtle changes in the art work to the more noticeable changes in the direction and feel of the story, it becomes evident that someone other than Fred is actually in control.

Look at the uncharacteristically harsh rants and posts made by “whoever’s pretending to be Fred” lately, he quite nearly tells people to go screw themselves.

This theory is further supported by the recent, “Finding Yuki” DPD piece. Yuki is one of Fred’s self proclaimed favorite characters however, here he’s claiming not only to have lost her but to be having problems drawing her. Closer analysis of this image also reveals hidden clues. Notice that of the three people Asako and Yuki are standing closely together while Mami is burdened and separate. In this image Fred is represented by Mami. The two standing together indicate that more than one person is involved in the cover up. Mami also reveals the nature of Fred’s condition. A mournful expression, dog-tags and an E.K.G. readout. This doesn’t bode well for Fred. And another clue suggests who’s behind the cover up. The sprocket on the bag is clearly a representation of a Corporate Japan. Look at it, it’s round like that dot on their flag AND if it were in color it would be red.

I’d also like to point out the fact that Seraphim is in on the conspiracy. Obviously Seraphim is Asako in the DPD image. You can see that Yuki, the symbol of evil Corporate Japan, is pointing at Asako’s stomach. Doubtless they are threatening to destroy Seraphim’s unborn child if she doesn’t cooperate.

Now for the clincher. Using a recording device and starting from DPD “finding Yuki” begin reading all the text backwards all the way to the Cave of Evil strip when Piro just gets there. Make sure you read it completely backwards, starting from the period on the bottom right of the DPD strip and ending at the top left of the CoE.

Now play the recording backwards. What you should hear is this...
“Fred is our prisoner. All those who threaten the mighty Japanese Manga Empire shall be destroyed with the power of Satin. Fred is in a box, a sad box. He’s in one piece in a box. Seraphim cries for him but we hold him. Our power is great. Hail Satin. If Seraphim talks the kid gets it. Shut your yap Sera”

See, that’s some freaky shit right there.

This post has been edited by WhiteMonkey on Jun 8 2005, 03:31 PM

Goatees make everyone cool. Even people who don't have one, but associate with goateed people. Coolness by proxy. I know, I have one.

Sweet merciful Heavens, you're right!

Also, I ponder why they worship Satin... is it the indeed the same Satin that The Evil Pillow is made from? The Pillow has taken over the comic!

The Piro in the comic would not make his own web comic, most likely.

HAIL SATIN!!

[cotton sucks]

Wai~!

Yup, there is a big diffrence between Piro, and

Fred Gallagher

Namly.. the Hair..

This post has been edited by klassh on Jun 8 2005, 06:16 PM

I like how people assume that Fred stuck himself in the comic when they don't actually know Fred personally. But, that being said, there are a lot of writers that insert pieces of themselves into characters in their work.

But I think what a lot of you guys don't realize is that there is a piece of Fred in every character. Seriously. Every single one can be a facet of his personality - mostly because real life people tend to inhabit more dimensions - both public and private - than fictional.

It might have something to do with how in Fred's rantspace he's called Piro?

I agree with you, BTW. Just pointing out that it's not an outlandish assumption to make.

You forgot to include the "extraction" from the ghost images in [624].



Is this not evidence enough that Paul...er, Fred is dead? The question is, who's drawing the comic?

This post has been edited by Izuko on Jun 8 2005, 06:49 PM

Oh, its natural what happened. Fred was kindnapped by Zombies.... Didnt you hear? He was kidnapped, and he only got back lately....

This is a good question.

At the San Diego Comic Con this year, I'd intended to get a blood sample from "the artist" by stabbing him with a pencil or pen in order to obtain a DNA sample. This sample I would then compare to a sample of his DNA I got from a hair strand I bought on Ebay several years ago.

While this might not have solved the question of who "the artist" actually is, it would have helped me prove to even the greatest critic that "the artist" is NOT Fred.

Unfortunately, Corporate Japan seems to have uncovered my plan somehow and now Fred is not coming to San Diego. Isn't that convenient for them?

I've considered stalking his home address however, at present I only have a Class 'C' stalkers permit. As you know a Class 'C' permit holder is not allowed to carry a loaded gun and frankly, with Corporate Japan behind the impostor, it's just too risky to hang around there with only blow-darts and a pair of binoculars. So until I either acquire a Class "B" permit or glean the assistance of a Class "B" permit holder, this is out of the question.

At present I can only speculate speculations to horrendous to speak of. However, I will say that they do include Satin, Corporate Japan and of course Cindy Brady, the demon spawn child of the Braidy Bunch.

It's either that or a G.C.C. (Genetic Clone Construct). But I can't fathom why meddlers from the A.F.T. (Alternate Future Timeline) would bother with Fred's comic.

This post has been edited by WhiteMonkey on Jun 8 2005, 08:11 PM

I'm dead? >feels self< Funny. I feel very much alive.

"I feel happy! I feel happy! I feel..." >whump< "Thanks." "See you next week?" "Right." "Bring out your dead!" >clang< "Bring out your dead!" >clang<


Now, don't y'all get any ideas.