Alright! This theme turned out to be a bit of a mystery. People were wondering what I wanted, and possibly thought the theme was too narrow because I in fact probably made it too broad. Perhaps "one page comic strip" might have made it easier, but as it was, this was a round for anything to do with cartoons, comics and their personalities.
Highlighting one of the popular approaches to this theme was Klaushouse, who brings us this week's Champion's Exhibit.
Klaushouse apologises for the paucity of characters in this picture, as he has way too many assignments due and is running on far too little sleep. GO BACK TO SCHOOL KLAUS!
It is fairly obvious, though, that this transgressional "op life gone wrong" approach, which mirrors the reality of those media figures idolised to the point of self-destruction, echoes frequently on our minds.
But let us turn to a different kind of parody, something whimsical as opposed to cynical, something magic instead of tragic. The winner of this week has graced us with some pieces of comedy genius, and many other, well...not so glorious swipes at my character. But this one quite possibly takes the cake:
Grand Winner: Cholokid
After I rofl'd (Frieza's reaction really did it for me), all I could think to say was that Goku's receeding hairline must have been a real downer on his SSJ3 transformation.
That's right Cholokid, in revisiting your tried and true grounds you've earnt yourself a merit! Send a genki dama...no...just a message will do...and I'll destroy the universe- I mean take care of the rest. Yeah.
Even within whimsy there are many kinds. So I give you:
Second Place: Zophia
At first I thought that this was a reproduction, and a beautifully done one at that, with the familiar sights of the Ducktales world (see the $ of Scrooge's building in the dstance?) Then I thought it was a reproduction with Mazzelhs in it.
Then I looked again and realised that I could look at this picture and see a story unfolding before my eyes. The trio as scouts on their first encounter with these curious creatures, and the mazzelh in the tree with that strange looking ray gun and whoa what's gonna happen next!?
I will be honest here. It was a really really big struggle to decide which of these two pieces I would give the grand prize to. In a parallel world there's probably a me somewhere going the other way. One was brash and irreverent. The other was deep and subtle. How could I pick between the two? I guess you could say that in this case, the judgement fell to a purely personal standard of aesthetic when it came to assessing the impact of the idea, and I cannot offer any further, concrete justification of my decision.
Third Place: Cenere
Perhaps a controversial piece for its subject matter, but in this day and age such dark subject matter is very much in the fold of the comics world. If you immerse yourself in the worlds of Frank Miller and the like, you will find worlds that appeal to the troubled youth of today and the jaded adults of yesterday, seeking depictions of angst and gruesome, twisted amorality as counterpoint to their tortured souls.
Despite not being sure how to approach the theme, this presentation is therefore particularly relevant to the world of cartoons as it stands now, and therefore I felt it important to showcase what may unwittingly be declared by me to be an apt representation of a significant portion of the market in both style and content.
As usual it was quite difficult to decide which three contestants to place, as there were a number of great entries. I'd like to give a shoutout to the Honorable Mentions (otherwise known as the Hall of Essence):
deth4
A wonderful rendition of an old iconic favorite so well known even after spinach was proven to be not-quite-as-useful dietary source of iron as Popeye was supposed to demonstrate, heh. I'm not sure how you did it but the lines and the colours certainly capture the essence.
pedspog
Traditionally Batman is depicted as working in the dark of the night. But here, it is twilight that descends upon Gotham City, which transforms the scene into one of anticipation.
Or maybe it's a sunrise, and Batman is gazing upon a night's work?
Further along, we come across the Hall of Oddities and The Halls of A Thousand Laughs. We shall begin with:
When It All Goes Terribly Wrong:
Ricador
The stress got to be too much for Spongebob
It...really did. Ricador gets extra credit for "in before everyone else!"
kingryan
If this is a Family Guy reference then yes, I lol'd. Otherwise I'm not sure why I'm laughing haha.
The Entries That Defy Categorisation
gantic
So the lolcat needs no words, and...well I find it very difficult to make words up because I'm not very good at saying words that are not needed! Once again very clever, or should I say, almost too clever...
crimsonblade
Naturally crimsonblade occupies his own niche in this event, for he has started running what appears to be weekly strips concerning the adventues of Sasquatch, Yeti (and the flaming bell pepper.)
M is for Minimalist
For once, fst6 was joined by another!
owen135731
That's not the first time I've seen kirby depicted in chat emotes, but it does remind me of the challenges in making kirby a cartoon character. There's a certain...lack of directional dynamics shall we say. He sucks, he blows (don't take me out of context, PLEASE), and he expands spherically and that's just about all he does. Otherwise he's a puffball with eyes and feet!
fst6
Actually I found this rather clever and it's an entry that works well with fst6's...scope of abilities. Something that reminds us that behind all the pizazz and neat pictures, cartoons cannot, for the most part, survive without landmark dialogue and wit.
And now, because there weren't really any entries that were so unworthy they got DM (yes, I'm looking at you fst6), I present you with....
The Fanboy Of The Week:
esuna2400
I am possibly being unfair because I tend to brand any Narutard who is brave enough to post Naruto-related material here a "fanboy"/"fangirl". Bahahahaha. That's why I don't post any naruto-related stuff, except maybe that one pic which I defy you all to find!
So yeah, I'm not a fanboy unless you catch me out >:3
And on that tired note, that's a wrap for this week!
I had an idea for the next theme, but I have to find it again...just give me one moment.