Reconversion: Goats

I'd drifted away from Goats around 2001, my first analysis was that it was merely another Slice of Life strip with some vaguely 'quirky' fantastical touches. It has...uh...changed since I'd last visited. At first glance its been transformed into a Sluggified series of Multiverses. Rosenberg has called this a 'reboot', he's also provided the reader with a copious series of cast pages and narrative guides. The comic has changed genres and I think that's a brave move. The previous version depended a continuity behind all the surrealism, the bar always existed, the same snide fratboy humour spurted out on cue after all the distractions from the outside world.

So, originally Goats was slice of life with surreal on top, now the parameters have changed. The craziness has become implicit within the strip, not just as a stop-over. The format of the comic looks more shmik as well, more streamlined. It's a good form of evolution and I'm happily surprised.

Part of my slow deconversion from Sluggy Freelance was the underpining normalacy that caused all the adventuring into a sidenote, the underlying characters remained. The serious 'F + R' version of Oasis jarred with the structure of the rest of SF. Goats has avoided this malaise by plunging into the instability of an alternate universe. I'm glad I rediscovered Goats and I'm glad someone is taking risks.