The Property of Hate

[Amelia Faulkner]

If you haven't given this webcomic a whirl, I thoroughly recommend it. I've been addicted since I found it a few months ago. It's ridiculously clever.

What's it about? It's about a monster who lures a young girl away from home because he needs a hero. Except that he's taken other children away to become heroes before, and they haven't made it...

TPoH doesn't give you answers. There's a lot of deduction required. The occasional re-read doesn't hurt either.

Still interested? Here: The Hook : Page 1 | The Property of Hate

 

[KC York]

I'm loving it! Thanks!

 

[Amelia Faulkner]

ONE OF US!

 

[KC York]

ONE OF US!

I'M OBSESSED AND IT IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!!!

 

[Amelia Faulkner]

YESSSS!!!!

 

[Danny McG]

Not my scene Amelia.
I'm time-warped on Sluggy Freelance. Been plodding away for months and slowly catching up to the present day.
BunBun rules!

 

[HareBrain]

What would you say is the "if you don't like it by now, you probably won't" point?

 

[tinkerdan]

I enjoy the art which has a specific style of its own and the dialogue throughout is captivating enough though it tends to leave a sort of hollow sour nature behind in an aftertaste partially because it seems obtuse in nature though it could just be me trying to put more into it than is there and coming out frustrated from an inability to nail down some essentials.
I've read this through twice now and don't fully understand it::The Property of Hate that is and not the post quoted::

What would you say is the "if you don't like it by now, you probably won't" point?

I'd say if you have reached the POV or chapter 7 and the subsequent release of the tree and it's not doing anything for you you have probably already gone too far and you're doomed to continue hoping for the best.

Honestly I've come out both times being somewhat confused.
It's like trying to weed through Philosophy and Theology again.
However at least I had a name and purpose behind that bit of study.
I'm unsure where this is going and equally unsure where it started.

There's a sense of obtuseness throughout the piece that's mostly troubling because I'm not sure of any referent to guide me about the author's intent or purpose.

Once again though I'm enjoying the artistic style; and throughout, the storyboard and panels are quite well done and integrate well together.

 

[HareBrain]

Yes, it's lovely to look at, but I never felt immersed, more viewing it at a distance. I think I read a couple of chapters. It probably would have been a more pleasant experience on a tablet -- it's so quick to read that on a PC the near-constant scrolling down and clicking became a bit wearing. Guess I should get with the program, daddy-o.

 

[Amelia Faulkner]

For me, I think, a lot of the love of TPoH is exactly that: trying to work out what the hell is going on. Even the reason for the comic's name is, so far, a total mystery. Does it mean property as in "belonging to" or does it mean "an attribute of". Is RGB himself actually Hate, or is Hate the undefined "she" antagonist who Dial is working for? Once or twice RGB outright states that Hero is his, so does that make her the property in question? And what does RGB even want a hero for? He's never stated why he wants a hero, and other people in his world are well aware of his perpetual quest to find one. Assok seems to be a previous attempt, a Hero who failed, and who RGB turned his back on to go find another, and it looks like Click could be one, too.

My only concern is that the last webcomic I fell hard for and followed for several years ended up not fulfilling its own promise, but I don't know. I have a good feeling about TPoH, and I'm willing to stick with it

*Feverishly waits for every Sunday update*

 

[tinkerdan]

It does beg for a discussion.
The Property of Hate itself is as you say ambiguous across the whole story board.
In fact Fear, doubt, and those little white lies could all be property of hate and the way it is presented even Ideas could be set that way.
And it's true that RGB does say she is his; however I felt that could be ambiguous also.
There was the butterfly and I honestly can't remember if that's given a name or attribute so I need to go back.
However it is important that at one point I believe it tells her that this is her journey not RGB's.
Somehow that upped her agency in all of this.
and Assok would seem to be just that A-sock-puppet that reflects what they say.
However sometimes it does seem that how it says it gives the character some agency.

By nature RGB would make you think RED GREEN BLUE and it almost looked like the substance coming out of him for payment might be those colors.
However I wonder if there might be some misdirection in all of that.

 

[Amelia Faulkner]

Yeah the butterfly is suspicious. Every now and then its shadow appears over a frame but Hero doesn't notice.

On Page 212, RBG introduces Assok and Hero as "The Previous and the Present," which is what makes me suspect that Assok is all that remains of the last child RGB took from Earth to be a Hero, and even after he was abandoned he continued to sacrifice himself to do something heroic (gnaw on the [_____] to keep the tree alive).

What's interesting with RGB's three pints' payment to Madras is that it gets filtered out into seven separate colours. I'm not sure if this is indicative of the different way primary colours work between RGB and CMYK.

 

[tinkerdan]

However you can't ignore the other elements that crop up in the whole.
When they are looking for the ferryman and talking to TOby there are books and text upon the books.
The text seems to be snippets from the oz series. So what might that be about.

When they reach the market there are all those unrealized characters who are waiting for a story.
So what is up with that?

and of all things when she picks a new coat it makes her look like Madras or at least Miss-Cell-any thinks so.

However I'm baffled what she gave to Miss-Cell-any to take care of Assok's needs.

There are almost too many things going on taking the reader further away from any notion of plot.

And...and...and...
what about the mantis tailor who speaks morse code

 

[Amelia Faulkner]

Also when RGB first brought Hero to his home world they went along a yellow brick road, and Hero commented that she'd seen it in a movie once.

Hero gave Cell two of her fingers. Notice that she's down to three on each hand now.

 

[tinkerdan]

Hmm I thought they were walking on clouds(pink lined clouds no less)when she said she saw it in a movie.
They were climbing a stairway to heaven.

I saw two fingers displayed meaning two of something. Didn't realize it was literal.

TBH at one point her hands are hidden for so long that I thought the hands were gone and by the time she showed them I was only interested in the knowledge that they hadn't been take completely.
So I think she overplayed that one.[waiting far too long to get to the point]
Oh but then again the whole piece goes in that direction.

 

[Pedro Del Mar]

I got quite a long way into it but then felt like it simply lost direction. I'd be interested to hear once it's finished if the kid gets back home

 

[Amelia Faulkner]

I dunno, it's stated pretty heavily that she can't ever go home. I suspect conversion from a real person into a comic book archetype is a one-way process.

 

[Paul_C]

Anyone still reading this?

I've no idea if it's anywhere near to a conclusion, but I'm enjoying the journey.