Wham! Right in the kisser!

So, things just took a turn over at PVP. This really is one of the more interesting events that Kurtz could have put into his strip.

Recent storylines have often included some note of how Max perceives the world, in that he doesn't see Skull. Kurtz had to explain how that all works fully after a strip that seemed to break the rule. I get the impression that he's having fun thinking of new ways to show the disconnect.

But now he's smudged that line that divided Max from everyone else. By introducing a new character that shares elements of Skull's make-up but with a personality that is much more likely to create conflict, Kurtz has pushed that 'What Max sees' thing to its limit.

A new character is always an interesting thing to add to a story strip, especially one like PVP that already has a fair share of characters. At the moment there is an equilibrium between them all, Kurtz knows how they interact. Shecky can only upset that balance and create fodder for new material. Which is why I found it interesting that he would be more happy to run this storyline, which changes the fundamentals of his strip, than the back-in-time/magic die storyline which didn't change so much. The blessing/curse of magic is that it can be discounted rather quickly (a sudden delorean perhaps?) but a new character will leave effects even if Kurtz removes him.

I get the impression that the 'new baby troll turns into ruffian' ploy didn't leave the best impression on some others and, I must say, there was something uncertain about Shecky's introduction. But now the he is playing poker with the gang, I think he'll settle into things in a more natural way. And the particular event that caused me to comment? Could be very classy.



Now, it's the Queen's Birthday and I'm supposed to be on holiday. Go read something else.