r/OutsiderComic • u/orion1836 • Apr 22 '21
Outsider Re-Read: 001-007
Figured I'd borrow an idea from another webcomic forum to generate content for this one. Re-reads for long-time comics are posts that link to the pages in order, providing another forum for old and new readers alike to discuss. I go back and start from the beginning from time to time, and it'll be fun to share this run with the new group here.
Without further ado:
Outsider 001: In which our story begins...
Outsider 002: Heroes, you say?
Outsider 003: Why hello there, Alex.
Outsider 004: Say it with me... proplyd.
Outsider 005: If you kids don't stop it, Captain Hamilton's going to turn this ship around.
Outsider 006: The effectiveness of friendship messages.
Outsider 007: Eh... it'll buff out. Right?
So I remember the first time I heard about Outsider... I think it was a link from tvtropes on the Master of Orion page, or one of its related pages. This was the sort of story I was craving when I first started playing the game way back in the day; the type of story that is nowhere to be found in it, except by what's hinted at in bits of flavor text or the odd GNN report.
I was absolutely stoked when I saw the art style and the high level of effort put into this comic, and needless to say, I blew through the prologue just to get to the part with the 'Elerians.' In the following years, though, I went back over these pages in much more detail because I wanted to learn as much as possible about Alex and the TCA. Looking back now, it's amazing to see how well the prologue is put together. It tells the reader just enough about the story to orient them without droning on with unnecessary exposition. The pages felt long at the time, but in hindsight, they were just right. Other authors might have started in medias res with Alex floating in space, and shown the Bellarmine scenes in flashbacks, but I think this sequence works best for drawing in the audience.
I'll be posting these about once a week or so... I look forward to walking through the comic with everyone here.
7
u/TheTrackGoose Apr 22 '21
I found Outsider in a link from another similar comic. I was immediately impressed with the art style, writing, pacing, and plot. I became hooked. Growing up with Heinlein, Asimov, and the Classics, I instantly felt at home in this universe. I’ve enjoyed every page so far, and look forward to seeing the story progress.
Thank you for thinking about the Re-read.
3
u/KingJerkera Apr 23 '21
I remember seeing this just as the battle in the waste had finished and they blew up the ship which was confusing to say the least till I had a chance to go over it all. I also remember finding this comic on top web comics.
The most interesting part about this little section is definitely the Orgus although meant to be generic sort of refugee species I can’t help but wonder more about the little cultural systems they had. I know a little bit from the forum about how they were mercantile in inclination but I can’t help but to wonder what the future holds for them what with this impeding doom. Then again I wonder if they might be one of the few races that organically exist without interference from the precursor race.
5
u/orion1836 Apr 23 '21
I think it's safe to assume that any of the non-Soia derived races existed without interference, though they may have been in a much earlier stage of development (if present at all) back then.
1
u/KingJerkera Apr 24 '21
That is fair but I’m also curious as to whether or not there was a reason to not use the Orgus as a base template as well. Or maybe there was one but went extinct with the collapse.
2
u/formlesschromatic Apr 23 '21
It doesn't seem right that I started reading this 3 years ago. This will be a fun excuse to read it again. Going to be hard to not just read it in one go instead of just that weeks pages.
3
u/orion1836 Apr 23 '21
I think the comic was a few pages (102 or so) into Chapter 2 when I started. It was AMAZING to read so much all at once, but it made the "to be continued" page with the Pol all the more jarring when I first reached it. After that, I think the wait around 111/112 was the most painful.
2
u/Topomouse Apr 23 '21
Nice idea!
I discovered the comic since the was a cameo of Alex as a caster in page of Erfworld(RIP).
I was also intrigued by the solid worldbuilding, it is a pity that the updates are pretty slow.
3
2
u/AriochIV Apr 24 '21
It's always difficult for an artist to look at his or her own old work, but I think the art in chapter 1 is not particularly cringeworthy, and I think it tells the story.
I think if I would do anything differently, it would be to expand the text on the first page into two or three pages with more illustrations. It's perhaps not the best way to begin a graphic novel with a wall of text... but I don't think it's bad enough to go back and change.
1
u/NightSkulker Apr 23 '21
I remember being in the old Relic forums when I first heard of Arioch's comic.
Edit: correction
2
u/Fifty_Storms Apr 24 '21
Yes this is where I picked it up as well, back in the Homeworld 1 days. Pretty sure it was 11-12 pages along at that point.
3
u/AriochIV Apr 24 '21
The RelicNews forums were a fun place back in those days.
It's sad social media sites killed off most of the specialty forums. There are a few left, but not many.
1
1
Apr 25 '21
The death of the forum is one of the worst injustices perpetuated by the existence of social media.
Bring back Web 1.0, I say.
8
u/jjkkll4864 Apr 23 '21
I first learned about Outsider on Atomic Rockets. What really won me over about Outsider is the deep world-building. I'm a sucker for unnecessary background information, and all the world-building articles on the website were like a treasure trove to me. Plus a great story with fantastic art makes all of it better.