Housepets!

ChewyChewy wrote:At the risk of continuing the off-topic, I agree--and that's why I'm going to continue to keep up with the comics, because I am now, as I always was, impressed with everything about it.

My discomfort with some of the content is not a legitimate criticism but a subjective opinion, and if that's what Rick wants to put into his comic I'm not going to fault him for it, especially since all objective elements are spot-on, enough for me to enjoy, and I don't have to pay anything for it so I can't get "taken" no matter what happens that I don't like. But at the same time I have the right to voice my opinion and SAY that I'm not comfortable with it. It's just one complaint among a sea of praise.

@Phoenix: That's to be expected, though, unless Rick were to do like a buffer system and update every day of the week, or something....

The same way I get uncomfortable with filler arcs and strips only for the sake of the laughs. Ricky can't please us all at the same time as it was said before. We have to wait until we get an arc that we like. I don't want sound mean, but if something happens in this comic that I would hate I would simply stop reading and wouldn't nag the writter about it.

Housepets! is far from not silly. Everything, even the more dramatic arcs, is silly and ridiculous.

ChewyChewy wrote:

Sleet wrote:

ChewyChewy wrote:Maybe it's just subjective, but this whole occult thing in the comic is starting to creep me out.... I used to think this was the kind of comic I might have drawn myself, but not anymore....

I think "occult" is not a good word for it. The comic just explores fantasy themes occasionally, and that includes a strange cosmology based on mythology, fantasy fiction, and real religion.

I don't mean to be insulting or condemning when I use that word (though I don't use it lightly) but I think it IS a good word. It was harmless fantasy stuff, or seemed so to me, up until the last King arc, with the "cosmic nerds" or whatever they are. Now it's going places that make me uncomfortable.

I just like to think of the cosmic nerds as fictional characters who are just "powerful" just like people like Tarot, only on a larger scale. Warcraft has its Jaina Proudmores, but it also has its Sargerases, yaknow? I don't see that as occult themes so much as an author creating a whole universe right down to the lower levels of the cosmology.

I really doubt Rick would be the type to do occult writing.

I like both types of arcs really (in fact the only ones I don't really like are the Spot arcs) I just kind of wish (and with what Rick said earlier in the topic it kind of sounds like he wants to do with the Cosmic Nerds Plot anyway) the Plot arcs were a bit more frequent and actually explained things more.

Anyway to get this back on topic I wonder who will catch the Watch. I'm going with either Fox or Fido myself and if no one does I can't wait to see what will happen to King since we can't speculate on that with any accuracy since we know very little about the watch at all really.

Well, I don't expect to find something in this comic that I HATE enough to go to that extreme.

I don't accuse Rick of doing "occult writing", even less of him actually BEING an occultist, I'm just saying that, while I was on board with all the tarot cards and ouija boards and the existence of Pete and his ability to change Joel's species, those elements seem to be more prominent lately, especially since the "cosmic nerds" were introduced. And it doesn't feel silly and mocking and how it should feel, but serious and even DARK. It doesn't feel to me like the same kind of "artificial mythology" of, say, "Slightly Damned". This doesn't even feel to me like the kind of comic that NEEDS (or SHOULD have) an artificial mythology, at least not one like this. Granted I see what he's doing with the cosmic nerds, he's doing a parody of people who play D&D, and I'm fine with that. But when you get into the possibility of characters being erased from existence on top of everything else, well, I guess that's the threshold where I felt too uncomfortable with it to hold my tongue about it anymore. It just doesn't feel like the kind of "so over-the-top it's funny" sort of annihilation that you see in, say, Back to the Future.

I'm really not trying to be a stick in the mud, and Rick can draw and write whatever he wants, I'm just giving my opinion and trying to back it up.

I would like it if the cosmic drama had more humor. It seems a bit dark, it shouldn't be slapstick, but maybe a some joke only smarty-heads would get? Of course, it might, and I could just not be a smarty-head enough to get it. And the Spot arcs are only good when Grape is involved.

IceKitsune wrote:I like both types of arcs really (in fact the only ones I don't really like are the Spot arcs) I just kind of wish (and with what Rick said earlier in the topic it kind of sounds like he wants to do with the Cosmic Nerds Plot anyway) the Plot arcs were a bit more frequent and actually explained things more.

Anyway to get this back on topic I wonder who will catch the Watch. I'm going with either Fox or Fido myself and if no one does I can't wait to see what will happen to King since we can't speculate on that with any accuracy since we know very little about the watch at all really.

Hey, I like Spot arcs fine, as long as their timing is good. YES, EXACTLY. Once again, the LENGTH.

Well, I say no one catches it. As a matter of fact, I can't say WHAT exactly is going to happen.

I strongly doubt Sabrina could actually unmake Fido even if she wanted to. That was just her being very... forceful.

I have threatened to kick people in half before despite the fact that I could probably only manage to bisect someone down 2/3 or maybe 3/4 of their body on a good kick. Why couldn't a magical cat threaten to erase people from existence?

Sleet wrote:I strongly doubt Sabrina could actually unmake Fido even if she wanted to. That was just her being very... forceful.

I'm going to try to make this the last time I say it because by now I'm only repeating myself.

I get that. I do. But aside from the fact that 1) she still specifically threatened that, and 2) Fido took her seriously enough to do what she said, the elements that I'm referring to as "occult" make me believe that, at least in theory, it COULD be possible--if not for Sabrina then for SOMEONE. I find that very frightening and disturbing and outside of the tone I'd come to expect from the comic. That combined with the fact that so many people were criticizing FIDO for doing NOTHING rather than SABRINA for the above prompted me to speak because it really confused me that their priorities would be thus.

[/rant]

Sleet wrote:
I have threatened to kick people in half before despite the fact that I could probably only manage to bisect someone down 2/3 or maybe 3/4 of their body on a good kick.

I think I have a new hero.

Also, where are they? It looks like a theatre.

ChewyChewy wrote:

Sleet wrote:I strongly doubt Sabrina could actually unmake Fido even if she wanted to. That was just her being very... forceful.

I'm going to try to make this the last time I say it because by now I'm only repeating myself.

I get that. I do. But aside from the fact that 1) she still specifically threatened that, and 2) Fido took her seriously enough to do what she said, the elements that I'm referring to as "occult" make me believe that, at least in theory, it COULD be possible--if not for Sabrina then for SOMEONE. I find that very frightening and disturbing and outside of the tone I'd come to expect from the comic. That combined with the fact that so many people were criticizing FIDO for doing NOTHING rather than SABRINA for the above prompted me to speak because it really confused me that their priorities would be thus.

[/rant]

To make someone "never born" is weird time junk, which I'm pretty sure Rick doesn't allow for his comic. I'm not sure, so I'm avoiding speaking for him.

Koda wrote:

Sleet wrote:
I have threatened to kick people in half before despite the fact that I could probably only manage to bisect someone down 2/3 or maybe 3/4 of their body on a good kick.

I think I have a new hero.

Also, where are they? It looks like a theatre.

I think it's Bino's garage dressed up as a club... not sure though.

CaptainPea wrote:

Koda wrote:

Sleet wrote:
I have threatened to kick people in half before despite the fact that I could probably only manage to bisect someone down 2/3 or maybe 3/4 of their body on a good kick.

I think I have a new hero.

Also, where are they? It looks like a theatre.

I think it's Bino's garage dressed up as a club... not sure though.

Yeah I'm sure its this

I will not ask you to repeat yourself Chewy, but may I explain why some of us find humor in Sabrina's statement?
It first and foremost plays on our enjoyment at Sabrina getting the one-up on one of the guys (especially characters like Fido and Maxwell who always seem in control of everything else in their lives).
But also, the statement is removed from reality (the real reality not Housepets reality), so we can delegate it to a fantastical realm where consequences are able to be over-looked.

I realize that the second point is not something you feel capable of doing, but this is why many other people found this funny rather than taking it seriously.
---
As for the people ganging up on Fido, I would like to note that your anger at seeing him standing outside doing nothing is the desire to make him a more 2-dimensional character than he is. Rick has a very solid grasp on personality, and Fido is doing nothing out of character. He's just doing something outside the 2D superhero type personality that you were expecting him to be. Please allow his character to grow and expand.

Jake let him do that? Wow, cool owner.

Chewy, I highly doubt Fido thought she could do that, or even something close to that. He just saw that his girlfriend was VERY serious about something, and thought it would be good to help her.

Obbl wrote:As for the people ganging up on Fido, I would like to note that your anger at seeing him standing outside doing nothing is the desire to make him a more 2-dimensional character than he is. Rick has a very solid grasp on personality, and Fido is doing nothing out of character. He's just doing something outside the 2D superhero type personality that you were expecting him to be. Please allow his character to grow and expand.

Another reason I love this comic. The characters are more three-dimensional and believable than most comics. The very fact that so much discussion is generated around the characters, who is going to react how and what their motivations are, is proof of this.

Actually I just thought of a cool ending to this arc (IMO anyway and it most likely won't happen) the watch is caught by some other Dog that has just walked into the club and everyone is kind of shocked for a moment as he just walks away with the watch. It turns out that the dog was the person from Heaven coming to collect it.

IceKitsune wrote:Actually I just thought of a cool ending to this arc (IMO anyway and it most likely won't happen) the watch is caught by some other Dog that has just walked into the club and everyone is kind of shocked for a moment as he just walks away with the watch. It turns out that the dog was the person from Heaven coming to collect it.

I thought of that as well. It's possible, but I'm not sure how likely it would be. The most drama/action/tension would ensue, I think, if Fox caught it.

Well, that would be INTERESTING, but then what? Where does the story go with only two updates (ONE, after that.)?

PhoenixAsper wrote:Well, that would be INTERESTING, but then what? Where does the story go with only two updates (ONE, after that.)?

Ummmm I really don't think there is a way to do anything more with the arc after really. I would guess an epilogue of basically where Pete is now kind of giving that part some closure.

IceKitsune wrote:

PhoenixAsper wrote:Well, that would be INTERESTING, but then what? Where does the story go with only two updates (ONE, after that.)?

Ummmm I really don't think there is a way to do anything more with the arc after really. I would guess an epilogue of basically where Pete is now kind of giving that part some closure.

Soooooo, Fox catches it, and then a cliffhanger? I don't like the sound of that...

Unless this is a twofer like the farm arc....

ChewyChewy wrote:Unless this is a twofer like the farm arc....

True. In which case Rick is doing a VERY good job of hiding that.

I hope Pete gets what's coming to 'im.

By which I mean 75 experience points in D&D Cosmic Edition.

PhoenixAsper wrote:

IceKitsune wrote:

PhoenixAsper wrote:Well, that would be INTERESTING, but then what? Where does the story go with only two updates (ONE, after that.)?

Ummmm I really don't think there is a way to do anything more with the arc after really. I would guess an epilogue of basically where Pete is now kind of giving that part some closure.

Soooooo, Fox catches it, and then a cliffhanger? I don't like the sound of that...

Oh sorry I for some reason thought you were talking about my idea for how it would end. well If Fox caught it I would think he would give it to King but it would damage their relationship a lot and Fox would walk off kind of angry. After that maybe King trying to patch it up with him I would guess to end it.

Edit: What also could happen is that King could pull the "He was my former owner/related to my owner" thing to get it from him after Fox asks him why he wants it so much. That might work but again could also damage their relationship as well.

PhoenixAsper wrote:

ChewyChewy wrote:Unless this is a twofer like the farm arc....

True. In which case Rick is doing a VERY good job of hiding that.

Yeah that would be even better actually but I don't think so

I don't know if you people read the comments, so I'll just leave this here...



sneak off to bed, and hope for the best

I don't get it.

Rick looks buff in that comic.

Viath wrote:I just want to say wow. The major topic of discussion for the last comic seemed to be Bino and people accusing/defending him. It seems very abrupt to me that now with the current comic we've suddenly switched to Fido. Everyone is shocked at him just doing nothing.

Fido is the pet community’s leader, working hard every day to help the pets in need, promote adoptions, and keep the peace between cat and dog. On top of that, he was hired on by the local police department for their K-9 program, participates in a number of track and field tournaments, and teaches pups to read in his spare time.

Frank wrote:

laughing at this before the mods find it

I feel like that was pointing at my particular comment...D:

PhoenixAsper wrote:Well, that would be INTERESTING, but then what? Where does the story go with only two updates (ONE, after that.)?

if Fox catches it, in my opinion, it would happen in panel 1. Especially if it is another double strip, you could have plenty of resolving action in the Wednesday comic and finish it up in the final one on Friday.

EDIT:
@Keeshah I know who Fido is, I was commenting on the abrupt switch in focus on the forum from criticizing Bino to criticizing Fido.

Obbl wrote:As for the people ganging up on Fido, I would like to note that your anger at seeing him standing outside doing nothing is the desire to make him a more 2-dimensional character than he is. Rick has a very solid grasp on personality, and Fido is doing nothing out of character. He's just doing something outside the 2D superhero type personality that you were expecting him to be. Please allow his character to grow and expand.

Now hold it, Obbl!
I love the idea of 3D characters and that's precisely the main reason I love this comic. Rick has the precious ability to make characters evolve in arcs, rather than give us a progressive evolution on a daily-based comic, such as Kevin and Kell, for example. Given the proper circumstances, and it has ALWAYS happened so far, we've been pleasantly surprised (hey, Sasha's smarter than you thought!), left puzzled in others (the Cosmic Nerds really gave an unexpected but interesting twist to the comic) and left panifully hanging on a dearest theme (grapenut still stuck in the friend zone but with a clear evolution)...
What happened with THIS arc and with this comic is that we saw something not only surprising, but totally out of character. Nothing in what we saw of Fido, so far, nothing in the cast page, could make us believe that he'd stand out there and allow for bullyism, destruction of property (a watch, duh, but still something a K9 cop on the scene is not supposed to allow).
It's not my 'oh, I want Fido 2D!'. It's: 'Heck, a nice guy like him, who challenged Bino into readmitting cat-lover peanut in the club, the guy who kept a feral mouse with him, the guy who, for the love of a cat would risk his career at the corps, now decides that his brother, the same one who had just mistreated Joey (also his brother, what's him then, chopped liver?), can be ubermeanie because he's too spineless to tell him 'no?'.
Even worse, as we have just seen in this comic, Fido has just the authority to stop Bino on the spot. it didn't even take this great an effort.
So, yes, this 'development' is quite ill-timed.

rickgriffin wrote:I don't get why people take everything that every character says as gospel. People rarely take into account that characters might be misinformed, making junk up, lying, generalizing, assuming, dismissive, or all of the above.

Or even that they're telling the truth. Fido doesn't WANT to be lauded as a hero. And everyone assumed that was a straightforward humility play. What if he's actually too honest? What if he knows he doesn't deserve it because of things like this?

It's always a poor thing to assume when someone's acting from a vice that they must have no qualms about it.

So, Foxstar accuses me of reading into things, but you ask to assume that 'everything we know might be a lie', to...read into things?
Do i smell Catch-22?

Viath wrote:EDIT:
@Keeshah I know who Fido is, I was commenting on the abrupt switch in focus on the forum from criticizing Bino to criticizing Fido.

Because Bino is Bino. Fido is the surprise of the day.

IceKitsune wrote: Anyway to get this back on topic I wonder who will catch the Watch. I'm going with either Fox or Fido myself and if no one does I can't wait to see what will happen to King since we can't speculate on that with any accuracy since we know very little about the watch at all really.

You know, I would like to see the watch hit the floor. an King getting hurt every time it bounces..
Then all the pets, including Bino can feel bad for King. Bino.. i smashed that watch with the hammer, i would have killed another pet!... Thats so cool!


King then wakes up with Fox standing over him holding the watch.
Why does damage to this watch hurt you king..? i want to know the whole truth now.

Hmm, Fox might get it and then give a piece of his mind to King. so this year could end with a friendship broken, for now...

And yet familial relationships just throw all that is logical into a curve ball.
Fido is aware of his brother's vast insecurities and doesn't know how to approach it. If he goes in there to break it up it jsut makes things worse. Bino makes sure to get back at him by getting back at King later. Or at the very least it feeds his ever growing paranoia. How does one handle the situation? Maybe if he lets this one thing play out, it'll lessen Bino's hostilities. Etc.
It reminds me of "The Death of a Salesman". Willy is obviously off his rocker and suicidal, and the way his family deals with it is by ignoring the problem and trying to keep him cheerful even to the point of lying.
Fido knows what is right, but doesn't know if he should be the one to act, because it might just make things worse. Maybe someone else will do the right thing, he might think. As he points out, Bino is being petty. Sure, a Mary Sue would step in and do the right thing all the time. But sometimes we don't know if the right thing to do is really the right thing to do.

For me, this is a very well-rounded character. As much as I would like for Fido to be the Mary Sue (cause my sense of justice is burning about now), I also recognize that characters are never cut and dry (or 2-dimensional, as I put it). To me, having him go in there is the equivalent of saying Fido is the TVtropes superhero with no real characterization. I much prefer a little darkness and strife mixed in with my hero of justice.

And yet familial relationships just throw all that is logical into a curve ball.

That much is true, literature and chronicles are filled with that.

Fido is aware of his brother's vast insecurities and doesn't know how to approach it. If he goes in there to break it up it jsut makes things worse. Bino makes sure to get back at him by getting back at King later. Or at the very least it feeds his ever growing paranoia. How does one handle the situation? Maybe if he lets this one thing play out, it'll lessen Bino's hostilities. Etc.

And letting him do has always helped, as we can see... Sorry for the sarcasm, but at this point Fido must be in total denial... No, the only reason for him to be so hush-hush with his jerk brother is that he fears that Bino could work even harder to find a flaw in Fido, thus making him discover of his 'illicit' relationship with Sabrina. yes, that might be a reasonable factor.
Fido is not being jerk.
he's just got too much too lose and can justify himself (loosely) by saying 'hey, it's stupid and petty and it gives me the excuse not to draw unwanted attention.'

It reminds me of "The Death of a Salesman". Willy is obviously off his rocker and suicidal, and the way his family deals with it is by ignoring the problem and trying to keep him cheerful even to the point of lying.
Fido knows what is right, but doesn't know if he should be the one to act, because it might just make things worse. Maybe someone else will do the right thing, he might think. As he points out, Bino is being petty. Sure, a Mary Sue would step in and do the right thing all the time. But sometimes we don't know if the right thing to do is really the right thing to do.

For me, this is a very well-rounded character. As much as I would like for Fido to be the Mary Sue (cause my sense of justice is burning about now), I also recognize that characters are never cut and dry (or 2-dimensional, as I put it). To me, having him go in there is the equivalent of saying Fido is the TVtropes superhero with no real characterization. I much prefer a little darkness and strife mixed in with my hero of justice.

I would even agree on that... But Fido has worked hard to become an exemplary dog. he can deny himself into saying 'it's just my nature', but he's got a strong sense of duty and of doing the right thing. he's supposed to be a peacekeeper, or at least that he tries.
So, a good explanation is what I stated above: he's fighting hard against his fear of losing everything. And that makes him corruptible, more rounded, more interesting.

valerio wrote:I would even agree on that... But Fido has worked hard to become an exemplary dog. he can deny himself into saying 'it's just my nature', but he's got a strong sense of duty and of doing the right thing. he's supposed to be a peacekeeper, or at least that he tries.
So, a good explanation is what I stated above: he's fighting hard against his fear of losing everything. And that makes him corruptible, more rounded, more interesting.

Ah, and there lies your problem with this? If that is the case, I understand and apologize for my earlier outburst.

no prob. I apologize too, but wow! It's been a LONG time since an arc kindled all the passion of this ol' fanboy.

Fido called it "really petty and stupid." He probably figured it was a bad idea to give Bino (and possibly King) attention for it.

Sleet wrote:Fido called it "really petty and stupid." He probably figured it was a bad idea to give Bino (and possibly King) attention for it.

As I said before, Fido might find the watch problem petty. Sure, I have nothing against this particular part. What makes me angry is that Fido's allowing Bino BULLY King. If it were a problem between Bino and King ONLY, then maybe there would be no problem in that. HOWEVER, Fido KNEW that King was being held against the ground by two MUCH bigger dogs and he just WALKED AWAY.
I agree with everything Valerio said. There was NOTHING in the comic or cast page that showed this side of Fido. Is Fido a K9 who allows this kind of thing? He didn't even move a muscle about how Joey was treated for crying out loud.
It sure has been some time I had a heated conversation about a comic before.