The comic will be 19 years old next month. Should we expect something special from Gran for it or for the 20th anniversary next year?
>>153129940Wow! 19 years old!
That girl is pretty cute.
>>153131729Which one?
>>153131759Them's some nice colours~
>>153131759The one that would casually go topless in a public park
>>153133377Yeah Hanna's the best
>>153133377Idk what it is about drawings made with crunchy line art like that, but I LOVE it!
>>153131759
>>153131759Hanna and it's not even close. Like not even remotely close. Gib Hanna pl0x
>>153132925Yeah, I really like that Gran used to do these kinds of nicer drawings and paintings. She's seemed more into sketch type stuff in recent years, which I like but doesn't have the same charm
>>153135984Anything you like about Hanna specifically or that makes her your favorite character?
>>153133377I honestly forget that aspect of her lore sometimes. Like, she used to go topless out in public. I wonder if she started doing it less after her and Eve kinda swapped personalities. Maybe Eve started going topless more often?
>>153135817
Not gonna lie, I was surprised that Eve became a mom after the series, or at least so soon. I always thought Marigold would be the mom. I wonder what'll happen next with that for Eve.Also, anyone end up playing the Perfect Tides games that Gran made?
>>153136754Not surprised Hanna's gonna be the cool aunt
I always tought this series deserved the popularity scott pilgrimm had.
>>153136720RIP to that early 20s carefree stoner era.
>>153141370I wonder if people could consider Octopus Pie to be a piece of work that recorded the transition from that old era to the new one we're in right now. Like the early comics were pretty much pre-smartphone era and by the final comic the characters pretty much all have smartphones, social media, etc.
>>153144256The comic does have a sort of "last helicopter out of 'nam" feeling about it. It was right at the tail end of the quirk chungus gen x-er going into totally fucked for life millennial culture, and it's pretty self aware about it. Eve being a mom feels like such a survivor story compared to the depressing way a lot of other webcomic peers at the time went out, a lot of them just ending up as spinsters and townies that gave up on art alltogether.Life seemed a lot simpler 20 years ago.
>>153139535I agree. Or at least something close to it. O'Malley has given praise to the comic on multiple occasions and highlights her skill as a storyteller. I'm surprised there hasn't been more overlap between the fandoms.
>>153142438They're a cute pair of friends, after they worked out the problems between them.
>>153135817>>153136730cute pussy
>>153144415It's nice to see the comic change with the author and audience even if it means leaving behind the parts that defined that specific era. Makes me wonder what a comic about young adult misadventures would look like for this current era. I was thinking of this page from the last update and it might be interesting to see what changes and what stays the same generation after generation. Gotta leave it to the next generation to make their period defining pieces.
>>153129940Mmm... Octopus Pie...
>>153131759Hanna, she's got good vibes are her more irritating and flighty personality traits would mellow out after you put a baby in her.
>>153148015*and
>>153146484Eve really loved rubbing and petting her cat in this series
>>153148329It's fascinating to revisit early Octopus Pie
>>153149402I also love looking at early Eve. The first dozen arcs or so had this charming loser element to Eve that gets kinda lost by 2010. Like I don't think she even gets drawn with the tooth gap anymore. One could argue she's not even really a loser anymore by the series end, or at least compared to Hanna.
>>153133377>>153133863Hanna has this weird but sexy gremlin energy, I can't really describe it. Her being a rail thin, drug addict, smoker shouldn't work for me and yet it does.
>>153134743I've noticed she's been into doing them in recent years. Maybe its the gaming influence, since she's been doing more pixel art in recent years since she's become a game dev?
>>153138568Is Hanna gonna be the first one to let Eve's kid smoke from a bong for his 18th?
>>153148015Based on the sheer amount that her and Larry were smashing in the last comic, I really think that a baby isn't too far off for her. Larry pulls out a little too late, Hanna forgets her birth control, and Hanna's got motherhood on the horizon. At least Eve would be able to help her out, and Eve's son gets a new friend.
>>153144415>it's pretty self aware about it.yeah, it makes this pivot from being a workplace and city life sitcom and eventually recognizes the hopelessness of Eve and the Gang's situation. Like even the ones who had a more positive trajectory in the earlier comic eventually get fucked over by their circumstances (ex. that one chick who was famous for the MySpace nudes).>Eve being a mom feels like such a survivor story compared to the depressing way a lot of other webcomic peers at the time went outYou mean Eve as a character in the story or Eve's story getting that sort of development compared to other webcomics just dying out with no resolution or veering off the deep end.For the second one, I'd add that I think Gran really does care about storytelling and art in a way a lot of other webcomic artists don't really appreciate. Like her dedication to hammering out two games because she thinks there's a story there shows a special level of artistry that I respect.
Speaking as a retard who can't properly articulate why a certain piece of media can resonate with him so dearly:Thanks for putting this webcomic on my radar over the years, /co/. Bingeread the fuck out of it last weekend and I really needed thatHappy near-anniversary
>>153147892>It's nice to see the comic change with the author and audience even if it means leaving behind the parts that defined that specific eraYeah, I'm glad she ended Octopus Pie formally at some point and that these newer comics exist as little post-series stories giving readers a chance to catch up on the old characters. It gives them a chance to breathe and means the author can let them grow a little.>Makes me wonder what a comic about young adult misadventures would look like for this current era.I wonder too. I think Gran's work can still appeal to zoomers and (eventually) alphas, if they actually end up finding her work. The fact that Scott Pilgrim and even Girls are still getting attention despite being about a bunch of millennials and Xers in their 20s means her work can still have that cross-generational appeal.I do worry though that circumstances might fuck over opportunities for next generational stories. I feel like younger creators are getting pigeonholed into things like Webtoon or sites where content is heavily moderated or restricted to the point that creatives have to worry more about still being able to monetize their content or moderate their original visions to please the algorithm.
>>153151118That's cool, anon! What finally led you to read it last week? What's your thoughts? Any particular characters or stories you liked most?
>>153151260>what finally led you to read it last week?Everyone's got a backlog>any particular characters or stories you liked most?While the middle of the original run was a bit of a blur for me, there's this arc for Hanna around that point where Marek and her split up after his graduation, which was apparently long overdue, and she does NOT take it well in the slightest. Heartbreak, loneliness, depressive mood swings (which makes for some amusing role-reversal scenes with Eve), even the weed and drugs aren't working anymore. It's only when in a desperate fit to have any form of stimulation back into her life that she picks up running and becomes a cardiofag after a Disney Princess song about emptiness. While this isn't the part I liked most, everything else after that is. The effort to get back into baking and other healthy daily routines, pic related and the long mostly-white-background montage following that. Fucking hell man.It is the most basic SoL-shit imaginable when described like this, but Meredith still manages to make it so memorable in a weird way.It's also around the point where the comic switches to full color so this might be cheating.
>>153151730It's a good arc. I remember the jump to color, it felt like I didn't realize how much the comic could be better with the pages being in color.And yeah, I get what you mean. I like that the final page of that chapter, the one you describe, also focuses on how the long recovery for Hanna has its ups but also its really pitiful downs like drunkenly calling Marek in tears. It's strong storytelling.
>ctrl+f "feet">ctrl+f "grippers" >0 resultsYou fuckers disappoint me
>>153151102>You mean Eve as a character in the story or Eve's story getting that sort of development compared to other webcomics just dying out with no resolution or veering off the deep end.A little of both. Eve's obviously got some biographical detail with Meredith's own experience becoming a mom, and I really can't begin to tell you how rare it is to see women in the arts making that life milestone with how fucked the economy is. It really does become a choice of your kid or your craft, and most go for what's familiar. It really is weird seeing what was contemporary coming up in these big city art scenes go the way of the hippies. The modern stuff that's replaced it feels pretty infantilized in comparison.A more cynical author would've really driven home how washed up the cast could've gotten with age, but Meredith has a great balance of giving the characters some real conflict they can't avoid in their life, and treating them with some grace to not just totally obliterate them. I think that's a balancing act most modern authors could take notes from, characters are either too precious and woobified to go through much life experience beyond a gradeschool show's understanding of conflict resolution, or they're total props to make a point without much care for what's going on underneath.
>>153136754There's two out now! The first one is a little more traditional point and click with kinda bullshit puzzles, but that does actually capture pretty well the sensation of being a teenager on an island with nothing to do, aimlessly wandering around. The writing is top notch of course. Gran is so good at articulating feelings and she has a lot to work with. Hearkens back to the earliest internet AOL community days, but doesn't rely on nostalgia too hard. The sequel is a little more intuitive and it's systems are more straightforward. I think I preferred it overall, but maybe that's because it's set during the characters early university and that's a time I look back on with a lot of fondness. While you're definitely meant to be sympathetic with the protagonist, part of the experience is very much intended to be you as the player having been through this period of life, and being able to see through her poor decisions, failure to understand others, inability to make herself understood, and occasional selfishness, but you still come away with something very life affirming.
I fell off webcomics in general around like 2010'ish, just other reading took up my time, but i heard a lot of people turn on it saying "hannah became the villain" whats the deal with that?
>>153154265She's not a villain, people are just terrible about nuance. Her life takes some knocks and some of her rough edges come more to the forefront. She also stops being high all the time which makes her decidedly less chill.
>>153155394Why did she do it bros?
>>153152325Hanna was feet from the very beginning>Hanna kneading doughI wonder if she'd ever do that with her feet?
>>153152198
>>153152992>I think I preferred it overall, but maybe that's because it's set during the characters early university and that's a time I look back on with a lot of fondness.What were your thoughts on the relationships with Adam, Daniel, and John? Did you like any of the three the most. Also, how'd you feel about Bohemian Rhapsody
>>153154265>>153155394>>153156505She spent years feeling responsible for Marigold, since Marigold was pretty much a mess and constantly found herself in positions of heartbreak or danger by her own doing. However, unlike Eve and Marigold, Hanna pretty much stagnated for years in the comfort of her relationship with Marek while Eve and Marigold were at least forced to learn and grow in some capacity. When Hanna, who's also a bit of a control freak, found herself in Marigold's position and at a personal low point, she ended up lashing out and struggling to cope with the reality of everything.She didn't become a villain, she just found herself incapable of coping with finding herself in the situation she was in while not being able to comprehend being on the receiving end of Marigold's pity.
>>153156505They should've fucked it out. Beat Jane to the punch of turning Marigold onto women. Hanna and Eve probably did that at some point, after a night of drugs and alcohol
>>153144415>"last helicopter out of 'nam"Thanks for adding that to my lexicon because it is really apt in describing that sort of odd transitionary period, as the hipster subculture progressed and then eventually died out, like a very full-of-itself flower.
>>153159261The Bohemian Rhapsody part and that one dance sequence in the first game are great moments. Really fun to see how constraints pish creativity. Bit of a cop out answer but I like how in all three relationships, no one is totally absolve of responsibility for how things turn out. Even with Adam, who is the worst by far, and not a good person more generally, there is this sense that we aren't getting the whole picture. We only see the part of their relationship where Mara is already pulling away, but wasn't mature enough to realize that long distance wouldn't work. It's a terrible feeling when you can tell someone doesn't like you but is staying with you anyways. For his part, he desperately tries to control what she does from fear of her leaving him, and ultimately lashes out and does his best to hurt her when it actually happens, which is both pathetic and cruel, but can anyone really not see themselves in both his and Mara's actions? I've been on both sides of that and while I certainly acted better, it wasn't always with grace and dignity. Honestly as much as I'd like Meredith Gran to have success, in some ways I'm happy people don't talk about her stuff that much because the discourse would turn into a horrible rorschach test for asinine contemporary gender politics.
>>153158454>I wonder if she'd ever do that with her feet?My first exposure to that comic page was the crop so I thought that's what was happening. I would pay for the foot bread
>>153161451that's italian traditiondurum wheat, the kind used for pasta semolina, is wayyy tougher than bread dough, and you'd wear your wrists out if you used your hands all day
>>153161451Clearly Hanna should've reconsidered her business model to selling more foot bread
>>153160493That looks snug asl
>>153152198Is this your art?
>>153151260What's Eve listening to?
>>153164969Probably something about feelings and stuff
>>153129940This is still going?I remember getting quite annoyed at how the litteral universe seemed to piss on Hanna yet all her friends kept treating her like shit when she was at her lowest. A bit too close from home.Yeah... didn't expect the pot-addicted freak to be the most relatable character from that comic, back then.
>>153166254>This is still going?So far, Gran has released two follow-up comics about the characters in their 30s. Eve has a kid, Hanna is married, Marigold is mad her eggs are drying up, etc. There's a non-zero chance another comic could drop, considering Gran just finished her new game a few months ago.
>>153162681>that timingFuck, one off...but absolutely, would've sold like gangbusters.
>>153161137>>153159261>>153152992Man, I'm so glad more people played these. Even among adventure game communities, I'm hard pressed to find anyone that experienced them. They're amazing stories to go through and Gran's writing is leagues beyond any modern "teen angst" bullshit in video games.I prefered the first one overall because it feels like Mara's in a position to get hurt more easily. She's a silly nerd who's wandering out into the world and still a kid. The sequel tries to hit harder but an adult doesn't feel like she can get "as hurt".
>>153166310Cool, I'll check it out one of these days... Probably should reread the whole thing.
>>153166310I'd vastly prefer a new game. I've loved both of the Perfect Tides games in a way I don't remember liking point and click games before, and it's been my favorite genre for years. Octopus Pie's a great comic but she's done AMAZING work with these games.
>>153161137>no one is totally absolve of responsibility for how things turn out.True, and Mara is never truly free of responsibility for how things turn out. With Adam, she never communicated how she felt constrained. With Daniel, she never really expresses that she felt like a wall was growing between them or that he wasn't doing what she wanted sexually to help her orgasm. With John, she never communicates with him and then feels frustrated when she realizes this is a one-night hookup and he's not looking to be long term with her. Mara, at some point in each, can make things a little easier or even better, but her tendency to exaggerate and her lack of communication causes these issues or makes things worse. One things for sure, Mara needs to buy a vibrator or something in 2004, so she can maybe go more than a few months before jumping into another relationship kek.I can't help but say I was rooting for Daniel and Mara but John clearly had the skills to make Mara cum. Daniel seemed too insecure in his inexperience to actually give her what she needed.Also, what'd you think of the Olivia gag from the post-breakup piercing scene? I'm seeing people reading into Mara being bi, but I'm not sure I see it quite yet?>Honestly as much as I'd like Meredith Gran to have success, in some ways I'm happy people don't talk about her stuff that much because the discourse would turn into a horrible rorschach test for asinine contemporary gender politics.It feels like a blessing and a curse. I'd love to see more people talk about her work and recognize it for its value. But I agree that it also means she might get dragged into stupid shit.
>>153166376Good deal anon. If you want, heres the links. Eternal is the most recent one:The Other Side: https://www.octopuspie.com/comic/1/Eternal: https://www.octopuspie.com/comic/octopus-pie-eternal/And, of course, page one is page one to reread the whole thing. I hope you enjoy, if you get the chance to read them!
>>153166430>Octopus Pie's a great comic but she's done AMAZING work with these games.What do you think should happen in a potential Perfect Tides 3? What do you think would/should be the focus following Station to Station? Who do you think will return (and will she ever return to the island)?
>>153166355>Mara's in a position to get hurt more easily.True, she did almost get raped like twice. She is also incredibly short and way more vulnerable because of it.
>>153166441I feel like Mara mostly doesn't know what she wants other than be loved by what she would consider an ideal partner. Her whims come into play at the most annoying of times, which is very realistic for someone at that age. She also has a perception of knowing a lot and constantly being shown she doesn't. All of it meaning that many of her own troubles come from randomly followed whims. I do hope she patches her friendship up with Daniel, but there's the whole thing of him likely not seeing her like that anymore.>>153166505I was under the impression that the paths you took showed you to different places in the game but I'm guessing Perfect Tides itself is a no-go, same as the gallery. In my opinion, Mara can't really go back there until she does enough growing up to see the island in a completely different way. A next game will likely have her having finished university, doing a shit job with the odd article or written work coming her way, and still finding herself, falling into the same pits and traps. Mostly, I feel like her relationship with her family and with Lily matured a whole damn lot since the first game, and a newer one would have more problems coming from the outside and not from her own whims. Honestly, I'd like for a third game to explore the existential horror there is when becoming a full-time adult who's gotta work for a living. That the same kid insecurities and feeling like everyone's moved on yet you're still fucked in the same old ways are a constant dark cloud on you until you learn to move on for good. I'd like a bit of success at the end, but it would feel like against Gran's own style. But it's hard not to self-identify with everything she writes, because it's made to be that way.>>153166528Precisely what I'm saying. Kid Mara has you pulling your hair, because you remember going through those moments yourself and how much they fucked you up. Not knowing how to handle things feels proper.
>>153166601There's some of that hair-pulling in the sequel. Her getting indignant with her mom when she indicates it might not be the best idea to rush into anything with Daniel was pretty funny. You both know that she's completely right and that there's no way as a teenager in a similar position you would listen to her.
>>153166900Yeah, but it's still the same kind of hornyness that you can experience in that kind of age. I felt way worse in the constant near-rape scene she experienced in the first game.
>>153166441At least Meredith Gran's husband is making that sweet Wings of Fire money and can keep bankrolling the good shit.
>>153129940I am new to this series. Why was It called Octopus Pie?
