Top Five Tales of Teaching

Banes at 12:00AM, April 11, 2024


teacher, teacher, can you teach me –

I was revisiting a classic movie, one of the ones on this list, in the past week or so, and thinking of the archetypal teacher/student dynamic in fiction.

So, in line with my Top Five Tales of Bands from last year, here's ...




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Early Words

Banes at 12:00AM, March 28, 2024


It's just, like, my opinion, man



I've been rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generation lately, and so much of what I loved about it on first viewing holds up beautifully.

Watching a series which is almost all standalone episodes is interesting, too. There's a basic premise of ...






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Panel By Panel: The Legacy of Akira Toriyama

hpkomic at 4:20PM, March 8, 2024



Hello, everyone, and welcome to Panel by Panel, a periodic exploration of comic panels around The Duck.

I had initially intended to discuss some free resources available to webcomic creators. Still, it seemed more prudent this week to discuss the news of the passing of the legendary manga-ka Akira Toriyama ...



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Poetry Time 60: Caurcassus

Andreas_Helixfinger at 12:00AM, Feb. 11, 2024



Predicating Xerkes of Xanitorium
Sleeping forever within your crematorium
Allseeing in a vacuum watching
Blessmade by mindframed swatching
Your pets are dancing in the flying blaze of Babylon
Inside Caurcassus stands Mnemnon in a bloodied pantalon
Predicating respite of knowledge behind columns of moratorium
Predicating Xerxes of Xanitorium


NaaN (Now ...











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We gonna be awright?

Banes at 12:00AM, Jan. 25, 2024



Nothing really coherent occurred to me to write about this week, so here's a little ramble…

I was watching a little interview with an actress who was a lot more candid than most. She talked about experiences with some famous performers, and she had some things to say that ...



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A Different Kind of Story Structure

Banes at 12:00AM, Dec. 28, 2023



I have a lot of interest in story structure. Understanding what it is, how it works, and using it to write better stories. Stories that will keep people more interested, and deliver a satisfying experience…that's what we try to do when we're making comics and writing stories ...

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Destiny Thwarted

Banes at 12:00AM, Dec. 14, 2023



I was just watching a commentary on The Empire Strikes Back, and the person had an interesting take on things. She was talking about the sequences where Luke sees a vision of his friends in pain, and Yoda tells him he's seeing the future. Will they die? It's ...

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A movie playing a movie disguised as another movie

Banes at 12:00AM, Nov. 23, 2023



There's a specific type of movie “trick” where we'll see something that seems as though it's really happening. I mean, it seems like it's “really happening” within the movie.

For instance, it'll be some kind of elaborate action sequence, or horror sequence, or whatever, but ...



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Incorporating Catharsis

Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Nov. 18, 2023



Last time I talked about catharsis I focused on how important it is in a story, whether by its presence or absense. This time I want to talk about how to incorporate it in a story.

To give a brief recap, catharsis is the feeling of release of powerful emotions ...



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Panel By Panel: Scavenger Hunt - Round 2 Results

hpkomic at 5:27PM, Nov. 17, 2023



Hello, everyone, and welcome to Panel by Panel, a periodic exploration of comic panels around The Duck.

We're checking out some examples of comics shared by users here on the Duck regarding the previous post's scavenger hunt. As a reminder, we are looking for a specific type of ...



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