Paranatural

>everyone knows the tactical advantage to playing dead is making your enemy feel guilty for potentially desecrating a corpse

if you turn the other cheek fast enough you can really get some force behind it and use it for offensive striking purposes

I never thought I would find an obnoxious, red-headed bully I liked more than this fuck, but here we are.

>You know who else is obnoxious and sounds like this?
>MWAIY MAUGHM

...

>pose of making comics with scott mccloud

whats blondie's name again? ed?

Ed Burger.

CuckED

Four-Eyed Jack

>Ed wants to get beat up
>just so that he can feel something

As of right now, would we actually lose anything within the story so far if Ed didn't exist?

I just don't see the point of him existing other than being obnoxnious

Remember when this comic had backgrounds?

Maybe he's the one to betray the others and Isaac's a red herring.

Things You Probably Forgot Happened In This Chapter™:

>Ed's spirit was introduced
>an unknown voice called for Max to duck
>Dimitri used his power to deflect a HiJeff shot
>Dr. Zarei patched up Isabel's bite with some weird skin transfer power
>Spender got [x] told by Lucifer

I'd be alright with that.

It'd probably be brought up in a dumb way and be melodramatic and also nobody would care since we barely know him, but at least he'll finally get a part in this comic past being a clown and ditching Isabelle or whatever her name is.

>>>Ed's spirit was introduced
Lies, that happened like 200 chapters ago!

>Isaac O'Connor ft. "Young Master" Max - Why Can't We Get Along Together

Reminds me of that Key and Peel honest bully sketch, though I guess the insecure bully is a pretty old joke.

Also holy crap the madman has Strep throat and still updated instead of taking a few weeks off.

Loving that lack of background. Kubo taught him well.

I love Johnny and Ed so much I almost forgot how much the webcomic has gone down in quality.

This page is still enjoyable for me though.

Holy shit, this page looks like it's just the flat colors.

Strep's not that debilitating once you get your butt shot

Any drawfags lurking willing to draw a Johnny Jhonny.

heh

>implying there's enough to push Isaac over the edge by now

If this was a stand alone comic it would be a straw man. The whole thing is just words words words and Ed unrealistically and unsatisfyingly besting Johnny. He's a dullard. That doesn't mean easy to confuse. Idiots don't think. They're the hardest to confuse of ALL

>that's not how it is
>it's exactly how it is
If Issac weren't such a faggot I'd be rooting from him. Now I am just stuck siding with no one and lossing investment in the story every release.

>If Issac weren't such a faggot I'd be rooting from him
You know, I wished really hard for the normie O'Connors to make an appearance. Maybe we can see how much effect their behaviour had on Isaac, then the depth of his "faggot"-ness could've been understood more. It worked with Isabel and Ed, why not him too?

>inb4 HURR DURR ISSAC IS ANGRYMAN BCUZ ISSAC IS TEEN, as if there's puberty has to be undergone at a specific age instead of varying on human biology

More like [Z/H]ack cannot write characters, and worse, stopped trying to when he realised.

>More like [Z/H]ack cannot write characters
You mean like, "kids who don't talk and act like normal kids do" or something?

words words words words

why continue reading this when mob psycho 100 exists

why is the punchline always a wacky looking face

Johnny seems a lot more mentally stable in these last two pages.
I miss screeching autist Johnny.

I know this has been mentioned before, but for fuck's sake this pastel coloring just makes the page seem off to me, more so than the others, for some reason

Also, nice non existent backgrounds, Zack, really hope you didn't stain yourself on this one

>muh backgrounds
Who cares? Y'all want to see the same lockers 8 times? Maybe a purple small horse by one to remind you that spirits still exist every page?

Hes still my favorite character

>Implying the strep line wasn't a setup for multiple future missed comics
Zack is always working on his next excuse, this was the groundwork.

His wrist hasn't fallen off in a while, my guess that's the next one.

We want to see a modicum of effort put in
We don't want to see the same lockers over and over again, but it helps gives the page a setting and a scene
As serial readers, it can be very easy to lose what's happening in a given setting because we only read pages at how ever fast he updates

It's not a huge problem, it's just lazy and indicative of a lack of quality
Just look at how far he's come since the very first pages. Few panels, essentially 0 backgrounds, and his art seemed shakily drawn.
We just don't want him to regress like so many other artists do because they don't have to

Day and Boss Lady both mentioned something about Ed's dad and uncle (I think?) being spectral doctors/scientists/something who went missing at some point prior to the comic's start, so there's that I guess.

We can go even further. Why even draw the characters at all? A simple bunch of sticks like XKCD would be enough.

so where the fuck is hijack?

Next delay is definitely going to be traveling reasons.

Not even Zack knows at this point.

Wow look at all those NO BACKGROUNDS

I remember when we could spend a week on the content of the backgrounds alone.

On first glance this page seems fine, but a friendship of take&take is pretty shit. You aren't obliged to tell your friends everything, but expecting them to open up to you and refusing to trust them in return is pretty shitty.

I'd trade backgrounds for actual plot progression any day. Granted this isn't a LOT of plot.

This comic's regaining it's touch. Work hard, Zack!

I think you're misconstruing his misunderstanding for confusion. He doesn't get why Ed isn't fitting his general expectations of nerds he bullies and when presented with conflicting info has to accept how it changes the effectiveness of his tactics. Johnny wasn't 'bested' as Ed might still get beat up so much as nullified because Ed won't talk. Props to Ed for fucking taking this like a trooper head up and accepting the beating.

I feel like he does that to cut loose and intimidate, but he has to be more lucid here because he requires specific information and can just fall back on the reputation he has to do the intimidating for him. Didn't work out so well, but still.

Would it be better at this point to hire a background artist? Would this fix anyone's concerns with the gradient type backgrounds going on?

More like doesn't give a fuck.

Maybe. Doing what?

I knew some people would take it this way.

Nothing more than Zack's 'besting the childhood bully' fantasy.

Anything. Just a Johnny. Or an action pose.

This is weak.

The Johnny I remember wouldn't start hesitating just because of a wall-of-text full of cliche'd armchair psychology as to why bullies bully.

Too many plot threads. Too beaucoup, man.

Can we get a list, please?

>tfw the last scene in the student bar only added more plot threads without actually solving any
Fuck me.

>You aren't obliged to tell your friends everything, but expecting them to open up to you and refusing to trust them in return is pretty shitty.

I'm not on anyone's side, but methinks it's kinda clear why Isaac doesn't confide in Max...

[ I'm frustrated at pic related not at the fact that Max retains the new revelations about the Consortium from Isaac, but the fact that Max is doing his job BADLY. I know Max's storing up clues so he can get the big picture of the shadiness of the organization...but the way that he handles stuff like this: he's compromising his contacts with Boss Leader (who knows what punishment she has in store for jeopardizing blunders) and Isaac (the desperate kid that he is, and the Doorman thing) at the same time! ]

It's not hard to follow. You're just retarded.

Why do people think this? Johnny has been obsessing over it since HiJeff in Hitball.

Pic related.

...

Does Zack has a weird fetish for pastel colors? tumblr is a helluva drug.
It fucking hurts to read this.

>Johnny's fists: "Thank you, sir, may I have another?"
>a ghost giving him a mean look: NOPE.avi

Never forget.

I'm not saying it's hard to follow, but you shouldn't have a chapter where you're bopping around like 10 plot lines, and switching threads every two pages.

The effect is such to cause disconnection from the plot.

I mean, when was the last time Hijack did anything? A week ago, 6 months? He's the main villain, the ticking clock; we should be more concerned

Remember these guys?

3 and a half years ago

I had the problem too just seeing the small thumbnails on other sites alone...back when we were at Hitball.

Now where's our threadly colour redo...

No I understand all the factors perfectly and I stated my opinion. Johnny being thrown by an odd reaction is a form of being bested. He has been made to look the fool in front of his mates. Had he shrugged it and bashed Ed like the other kids then what you're saying would be more apporopriate.
>props to Ed for being snide in his self loathing
Yeah man, he sure showed Johhny. When you make yourself look like a loser your enemies lose.
Is he a canadian exchange student or something?

And I knew people would tell me the sky is blue if asked. I wonder why.

I was actually calling Max shitty, not pussywillow.

Perhaps it's a good thing. Zach was at his best during his first pastel stage. Maybe if he cuts out the retard lesbian characters that have nothing to do with the story that he made to pass the gooch test, tighteness up the story (because it will literally never end at this pace) and starts drawing backgrounds again, we'll be back up to speed.

I like this page. I had forgotten I liked Paranatural at one point.

I have mixed feelings.

Is Hijack even the main thread of this chapter?
Has the plot actually progressed in the last few months or are we just getting more new plot threads?

These are not questions your audience should be able to ask.

Also very primary.

Lots of reds, blues, and yellows.

It's like something you'd show to very young children

Hitball was already well into established -shark jumped- territroy. It's not like it's a standard for anything.
Hell it's not even the least relevant detour after we had the agent date which resulted in fuck all about the story except learning that burka is a sperg.

If you're talking about the Bechdel test, then it failed anyway since they talked about Spender.

Haha really? That's all it takes? What are the conditions again, because Zach was pretty adamant once upon a time that he could pass it and then some.

Why do retards jizz over the Bechdel test so hard?

I'm pretty sure Bechdel herself acknowledges that it's fucking stupid, since shit like Earth Girls are Easy can pass.

Hell, most porn can pass

Dumb as the test is, it definitely passes it. The only things required are that two women talk to each other about something other than a man. They definitely did that (in addition to talking about a man).

I'm pretty sure violet and lisa passed it a while back, as well.

For whatever that's worth. Oh, and the miscellaneous Spectrals in the Train arc were women too, but they'd fail the Named version of the Bechdel test.

It's rather pointless, actually

>be checking "pussywillow"
>"A male of any race who does specific activities that would be labeled as feminine in nature."

Is that what you mean, or there's another meaning? I'm not so knowledgeable on slang.

I'm calling Isaac a little bitch, yes.

This fucking chapter.

Can you imagine how big a clusterfuck the battle is going to be?

And we still have to deal with Forge's awakening of Johnny, and who knows what else

>thinking there'll be a battle

Agent Day will save the day again

I don't even think it's being 'bested', he's just going to not get what he wanted but probably still beat up Ed. I don't see much self loathing in what Ed said, he just kind of stated the facts of the situation and accepted that he would probably get beaten up. Like, there's no snideness, just a readiness to get beaten up because he's accepted that there isn't really a viable alternative being presented since he can't spill the beans.

I just want Johnny and Max to be training rivals under Isabel's grandpa! I want to see it! last panel, Johnnys face when Isabel's grandpa says he has to break Johnny down before he can start building him up.

>probably still beat up Ed
I thought we had already learned this.
If you see a setup with tension, prepare for a gag, an anime face, and a sarcastic quip. Nothing else.

>dat picture

Also,
>implying Forge wouldn't whisper into his head the techniques of how to unleash the power himself

>And we still have to deal with Forge's awakening of Johnny
How long does that process take anyway? Could it happen right now? Could Johnny go to beat up Ed and accidentally burn him to ashes?

I wonder what kind of physical traits Johnny will get from Forge as well.

Don't forget
>a bunch of characters acted like spastic retards for no reason

more muscles? hot steaming cock?
johnny will only get hotter, i can't wait to more of my delicious buff shota

>implying the spirit of whatever Max is the medium of wouldn't do the same.

I don't know how I feel about Zack's plans to make him not a bully anymore.

As long as he's still hot-tempered.

>Zack's plans to make him not a bully anymore
>not a bully anymore.
>Zack's plans
You mean like, Zack has spoken about that before?

He can't possibly do that when we're literally just 5/6 days in-comic and everything's all established in.

No, he hasn't spoken about it. But it seems headed that way.

Man, I miss the old art style. Something about it was just so fresh and neat.

I guess it is more Anime-inspired, but it doesn't look like any anime, really. It's like a cool cartoon-anime blend that comes from the heart.

It was really unique, and now it's gone, replaced by a pastel colored, generic soft style.

I hate it, bros, I really hate it

Just reread the past chapters like I do. It makes me feel better. The start was filled with so much love.

And he's making 1,600 bucks a month on his Paranatural patreon.

I just want Paranatural to make me feel warm inside like it used to.