Mind Control Comics Forum

Everyone has so many plans!

(https://mindcontrolcomics.com/comics/images/by_the_book_2/i12/by_the_book_2-i12-p00.png) (https://mindcontrolcomics.com/comics/by_the_book_2/i12/preview)

Script and Lettering: Daphne • Art: Sturkwurk

Yeah, big nope on out of this one. Don't like the protag from the first series being mc'd to become another happy feeder. Vote with my wallet time I guess

C'mon, you don't have to be reserved. Tell me what you really think of it. :-)

As usual, all I can say is, I write what I find hot, and hope someone else does.

I just reread the whole By the Book series in one go. I like where it's going; I have to wonder when the men all end up meeting and comparing notes.

Not really keen on the men being hypnotized either. But it seems like a fairly benign thing for now and will hopefully lead to some good action down the line.

Certainly nothing to rage quit over.

I DO like the women actively recruiting for the harem...


(and I also hope they meet up and come to an understanding about sharing the women)

I'm not the craziest about the plot direction at the moment, but can't fault Daphne for writing what's hot for her. 9 times out of 10, I'm down for what comes from that.
Always happy to see some bimbofied Jane and Thena though :D

I always associate By The Book with (I think) the last period of credit card processing problems, when this seemed to be the only comic in production for a while. I confess I gave up on it fairly quickly because... well, the same thing kept happening. Indeed, more than any other comic on the site, this one seemed to make a joke of that, with the same lines being trotted out again and again (why didn't he just program Kayleigh to always carry a towel with her?).

Funnily enough it was giving this issue a go (something on the cover must have piqued my interest) that prompted me too to go back and (start) reading the whole thing again (I'll get there). I already vote with my wallet, but I suppose I'm saying that this one issue has justified 37 weeks of my subscription that were otherwise largely wasted. So I'm happy.

The shift between the two is definitely a head scratcher. Also, it seems to lack in mind *control*, as in nobody is in control.

I think of it as the control having gotten out of control.

Maybe. But if the writing team specifically likes turning harem stories into cheating/infidelity stories then it's going to be pissing in a lot of people's wheaties.

Oh, come on, if you're going to complain about the writing, at least use my name. :-)

I suppose you are prolific enough that you could secretly be a team...or a hive mind ;)

Honestly, there are times I wish I had a team!

I'm not a fan of the current direction of this, especially the series 1 protagonist being controlled.
That being said, not every comic is about or for me and it's not something I'm going to unsub over.

When there's pseudonyms involved I don't know who's who.

Bring pink clouds to the next sf convention you attend.

Sadly, I hear Con-Fused has to take a break due to COVID ;)

I have to say, based strictly on level of engagement, this issue was a huge success.

That's a pretty questionable metric.

True. Good to know people care about it :)

Hope it's okay to ramble a bit more, Daphne, both on the issue, and BtB in general.  For any concerns expressed, I hope that the feedback hasn't resulted in BtB2 showing up less often in future.

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I've been thinking a bit on this one, and why I might like it less, since I do actually quite like Craig and Francesca. Francesca's still one of Sturkwurk's cutest character designs in my opinion, and they have a good dynamic.

H from the first book getting somewhat whammied isn't too different from what he and the girls did to Monty initially. I think it mainly feels a bit different, because we spent book 1 following the previous harem's formation, so now we feel invested as they're plucked away...but I think as I re-read it, for me it might have been when Charlotte was recruited by Francesca.

Later in Book 1, Charlotte was kind of the driving/managing force behind H's harem, which is similar to the role Francesca has given herself. There's a reason lifmc lists her as 'best girlfriend ever' in the character guide.

So having Charlotte turned back in issue #8, and then also offended at how she'd become a hypnotic sex slave...even when she still very much is and thinks she's freeing women when she's just adjusting loyalties...I think that's where I might have felt turned off, as opposed to other scenarios. I liked her previous dynamic with H a lot.

But...if some of this is also supposed to be punishing H for hubris...over-reaching with the previous harem created Francesca in the first place...it kind of feels like she's rushing into the same thing. We've seen with Monty, Charlotte and H's other girls, and now H himself that knowing the Book's hypnosis techniques provides no defense to them at all, so it's likely to circle back. Craig might be the least greedy of the controllers.

I'm kind of hoping by story end, that there's some kind of harem-equilibrium reached. :D
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I also find myself hoping a bit that the cast isn't going to expand to much further. Reading back through both books, I find myself more interested in check-ins with the previous girls who've been altered, rather than constant roster increases.

I really enjoyed seeing Jane and Thena here, but I kind of wish they were further along their bimboficaiton alterations, possiblyy along Kora from book 1. I really enjoyed how all three were changed not to just enjoy being mindless, big-boobed bimbos, but to have a desire to take it further.

Similarly back in Book 1, I liked not only how Katie's relationships were instant-changed several times, but that her mistress/slave relationship with her mother got flipped. Checking in with Zoe and Renee after their initial drastic changes to their worldview was great. We've checked in with a lot of these folks, but other than having their loyalties flipped to Francesca, it doesn't feel like there's any advancement, if that makes sense.
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Like I said before, still happy to be along for the ride with whatever Daphne writes, and Sturkwurk's gorgeously rendered ladies are always good to see.