More than Meets the Eye (IDW ongoing comic)

[Onslaught Six]

I'm with Swerve, me no understand 4th wall either.

For real?

Assuming you aren't joking...

The fourth wall is a storytelling device. Imagine you're seeing a stage play, or a TV sitcom being filmed in a studio. You're going to see three walls--the back wall, and two side walls. A room or building normally has four walls, but in this case, the "fourth" wall is a big empty space--so the audience can look in and see the action. That's what the fourth wall is. The characters act and react as if there's actually a wall there--because for them, there is--but for the audience, it isn't there.

"Breaking the fourth wall" is a term that means the characters are acknowledging that there is no "fourth" wall in their house or room--that there is an audience watching their actions, and that they're aware that they're fictional characters in a work of fiction. A lot of 90s comedy cartoons (Animaniacs, et al) used to break the fourth wall a lot.

When Swerve says that "it must have happened off-panel," he's saying something that you or I might say about the plot. To the characters in the book, there are no panels--the panels are just a sequential representation of events that are "actually" happening to them. So when Swerve acknowledges the existence of comic panels, he's acknowledging that he's a character in a comic book. (Although Swerve seems to have some trouble coming to grips with the concept. Also, according to Brainstorm, they aren't "really" in a fictional story, the device is just...making them think they are? It's a little confusing but it's also really goofy so it's probably not meant to be taken seriously.)

[Shockwave]

Yeah sadly I was not joking but thanks for explaining it.

[Dominic]

I flipped through the latest issue. All in all, it was a big fight scene between the crew of the Lost Light and a seriously depowered Overlord. Overlord's kill count stands at 2, with a third casualty due to collateral damage. In meta-terms, (which given the gag O6 and Shockwave are describing above, arguably counts in story terms as well), Overlord's kill count is even less impressive.

Spoiler

Pipes was an irrelevant character. I do not think he ever did much of anything. His death was meant to prove how real the threat of Overlord was, and that is about it. This is about as useful as Pipes has ever been, and is ever likely to be.

Magnus is a significant kill, as Magnus is a pre-87 character with some over-all relevance in the franchise.

Rewind's death was a question of "either or". If Rewind lived, then Chromedome would have died. And, Rewind was technically not killed by Overlord, he was essentially killed in a crossfire.

I have to wonder how many fans will complain about Saint James offing a favourite. (Ironically, I see the least relevant character's death being the one that provokes the most complaints.)



Dom
-liked

Spoiler

Pipes

as much as anyone, but the character was not at all important.

[andersonh1]

I haven't had time to hit the comic store this week, and so I haven't read the issue yet, but I read the spoiler anyway. So Overlord killed

Spoiler

Ultra Magnus

? Yeah, it's annoying, but is there some dramatic justification for that choice of character to be killed? Or is it something that looks like it might pay off down the road? In other words, is the death of the character arbitrary, or does it seem like there's a useful dramatic reason for it. Just curious.

[Shockwave]

I have to wonder how many fans will complain about Saint James offing a favourite.

Umm... you know you don't HAVE to wonder that if you don't want to right? I'm certainly not.

[Dominic]

It was predicted back in issue 8, when the Necrobot showed up.

Spoiler

Magnus'

was not as intentionally cliched as

Spoiler

Pipes'

(which was effectively a parody of a death).

Given the situation in this issue, the death makes sense because

Spoiler

Magnus

would be involved in the fight.


Dom
-figures we can drop the spoiler tags this weekend.

[Onslaught Six]

It was predicted back in issue 8, when the Necrobot showed up.

Bam. This is the payoff.

Spoiler

Pipes

had a few character moments. He was more on my radar than some of the other characters. And his death scene is heart wrenching. Not every day you hear what's going through someone's head while they die. (Unless you're Chromedome.)

[Dominic]

That "heart-wrenching" death was a parody, or at least close to it.

Fuck it. Pipes died in the preview.

Pipes gets a "look at this guy and his life" scene....right before he gets killed. Then, he gets a drawn out death that is clearly meant to elicit the right response from the audience. At the very least, it borders on parody. Roberts, who has exploited cliche before, was probably going for a "look how bad Overlord is, killing nice folks like Pipes here" thing. Pipes' death served a purpose to the plot, and was the most useful thing the character ever did.

[Onslaught Six]

Of course it did. I don't see why it has to be "parody" though. Parody implies there's something funny about it. I didn't see much funny about it.

Just because something is following a trope doesn't mean it's parodying that trope. Roberts might have just needed someone to die, and Pipes got the axe.

[BWprowl]

To be fair, Pipes's entire schtick in this book has basically been that life just shits all over the guy, so him being the first one killed by Overlord played to that. They played it up well and dramatically and all that though, credit where credit is due. Especially when you see how optimistic he was about everything *despite* all he'd been through.

I thought this issue was pretty good. It was a lot of payoff for stuff Roberts has been dangling in front of us for at least half the series now, and it'll likely lead into more down the line (Tailgate's gonna have to develop or shut up now). The Chromedome/Rewind thing got resolved in a decent way, though I find it annoying that they couldn't figure out a way to remove the sword from blocking the door from *outside* of it, but I guess you have to set up for these things somehow.

The fact that any characters actually died in this issue (as opposed to fulfilling Roberts' almost-dying fetish) was pretty impressive in and of itself.