Concerned - Knowledge

600:: in a depressing, dark vision of a conquered humanity's future, Gordon Freeman becomes a hero and savior; the similarly named Gordon Frohman, on the other hand, is just an average person, improbably cheerful to the point of stupidity, and somewhat naïve as to what is actually going on around him. For instance, Frohman fails to realize that his return-addressed letters to Doctor Breen reveal his location, and so result in that location being invaded, bombed, or otherwise compromised. 1923: 494:; and after a while his headcrab dies of malnutrition, which is attributed to his lack of intelligence. With Father Grigori's help, Frohman escapes Ravenholm, now the zombie-infested nightmare seen when Freeman visits it in the game, and presses on to Nova Prospekt. After surviving several more hazards, he reaches the coast. Here, after passing the final resistance base and an Antlion-infested beach, Frohman encounters an 52: 324:, in which he is reading a letter supposedly written by a citizen, signed 'Sincerely, a concerned citizen', and begins his response with 'Thank you for writing, Concerned'. Throughout the comic the main character, Gordon Frohman, sends several similar letters to Dr. Breen, Livingston's intention being to suggest that Frohman was the author of the letter read by Breen in 518:. He is then drafted into the resistance after failing to disrupt its operations, and unintentionally signals the start of the resistance's uprising after one of his Antlions accidentally kills a Combine police officer. During the fighting, he accompanies Freeman himself and mingles with resistance members, aids the Combine in the capture of 40: 603:

The comic contains many references to events and objects in the game. In one comic, Frohman makes a clerical error that causes the Combine to order far too many explosive barrels, thus suggesting an explanation for the barrels' ubiquity throughout City 17 and beyond. In another, he writes a letter to

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There's a lot of elements about video games to poke fun of, especially in first-person shooters, which all have a lot of things in common, such as health kits, ammo, and barrels filled with explosive material strewn about levels for no practical, real-world reason. It just seemed like a good setting

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The early phases of the comic have Frohman excitedly arriving in City 17. Eventually he takes a job at the Combine's headquarters, the Citadel, under a Combine Elite named Mr. Henderson. As most of his human colleagues become Combine soldiers, he realizes that Henderson has no immediate intention to

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after Frohman writes to Breen expressing his happiness with being there, giving away Ravenholm's location. Indeed, Frohman causes (intentionally or accidentally) many of the disastrous circumstances that Gordon Freeman runs across. He accidentally gives Breen the idea of headcrab shells while on a

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server for a week, he seeks Ravenholm by foot instead. Traveling through City 17's canals, Frohman arrives, badly injured and dazed, at Black Mesa East, the headquarters of the human resistance, where he is welcomed as a helper. His stay there is cut short because he causes trouble in the base, and

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for the occasion, causing him to run out of time; Dr. Breen's teleporter explodes and Frohman is flung off the Citadel peak by the explosion. Dr. Breen also survives, having fallen from the Citadel onto a pile of dead Combine soldiers. However, Frohman falls right onto Breen, killing him. Gordon

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Following this, Gordon returns to the Citadel, unwillingly aiding Freeman in his journey up the Citadel and influencing the plot of the game. As Freeman is pursuing Dr. Breen to his teleporter, Frohman is about to kill Freeman—but he pauses to come up with the perfect

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was a great game, but there simply weren't enough jokes about toilets in it. So, I thought a comic would be a good place to get some humor into the game. I came up with the idea for Frohman, a complete idiot, to play all the way through the game, just like

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is derived from its contrasts with the game and through references to the game's shortcomings. On several occasions in the comic, Frohman becomes the cause of various disastrous circumstances that Freeman will later encounter.

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Frohman, accompanied by several bugbait-controlled Antlions, eventually reaches Nova Prospekt, only to be turned away as he does not have an appointment. He gives up and returns to City 17 in the following strip, as Gordon

486:. After adjusting, Gordon becomes accustomed to the town, but unintentionally discloses the town's location to Dr. Breen, who immediately orders his forces to "bomb the shit out of them". The town is fired on with 543:

from dropping below one throughout the comic's duration. Frohman inadvertently turns off the mode, and even spoils an opportunity to be rescued by a group of Vortigaunts, as both Gordon Freeman and

522:, one of Freeman's allies, and reunites with Norman Frohman, his long-lost assassin twin brother, only to promptly witness his death at the hands of a Strider, a large tripodal assault synth. 373:, was a good one, the company being pleased to have a comic based on their game. According to Livingston, Valve also intended to collaborate with him to produce printed copies of 755: 855: 807: 565:

The protagonist of the comic asks how it is possible for him to pick up objects without using his hands, a reference to the player's hands not being visible in

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a few weeks before Freeman. Frohman is incredibly naïve and, unlike the other citizens, seems to enjoy living under the rule of the totalitarian administrator,

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as a residence where he can commute to and from City 17, but lacks proper transport with which to get there. After a failed attempt to reach Ravenholm using

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was released on May 1, 2005, the comic completing its run on November 6, 2006 with a total of 205 issues. The characters in the comic were posed using

923: 358:, also assisted in site maintenance, and Livingston later offered him a "guest week special", in which Galcik wrote and published three issues for 201:

follows "Gordon Frohman", a dangerously clumsy character who arrives in the setting of the game a few weeks before Freeman does. The webcomic's

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described it as "mildly amusing". The comic had also caught the attention of reviewers outside the United States and the United Kingdom; the

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On Frohman's arrival, Ravenholm is depicted as a peaceful, bright, and cheerful place devoid of any Combine elements, but "terrorized" by

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Livingston thought a comic would be a good way to introduce humor to the game, which he has described as "mysterious, moody, immersive".

1987: 1511: 765: 677:(comics consisting of game screenshots) by virtue of the quality of its writing and presentation". Online magazine GGL.com said that " 641:

by accidentally delivering a wedge of cheese, instead of the intended test sample, to the test chamber where the cascade flashpoints.

490:, killing many and turning others into zombies. Frohman himself is attacked by a headcrab and turns into a zombie too, yet retains his 447:, and the Combine. He holds an insane reverence for the latter, even going to the point of having a plush doll of a Combine soldier. 581:

of games which were intended to aid the player, but would have little chance of being found in the real world in a similar manner.

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praised the attention to writing and presentation and the comic's humor. Livingston also reported positive reception from staff at

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is one of the funnier online gaming comics, and perhaps the best single-game parody in the bunch", and The Irish Gamers described

335:. According to the credits on the comic's website, this name was suggested to Livingston by Sam Golgert, an acquaintance of his. 531:

himself is only seriously injured. Baffled by his ability to survive, he realizes through a flashback that he has been under "

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as a hobby. He had previously considered developing a webcomic that would parallel the storyline of the original 1987

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do the same for him, citing his incompetence. Demanding to become one with the Combine, Frohman willingly sets off to

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eliminated the need to draw by hand. He always intended the plot of the comic to end at the same point as the game.

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Information regarding the software used in the development of the comic can be found at the bottom of any page from

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said the comic is "a recommendation to every fan of the game and anyone looking for a good daily laugh".

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Livingston stated that the comic was a good way of pointing out several shortcomings of video games and

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called the comic "funny" and featured two exclusive three panel comics not found anywhere else, while

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The comic has had positive reception from both the public and editors of various gaming magazines.

553:. In the end, Frohman dies unceremoniously, while survivors of the City 17 uprising find him dead. 549: 386: 20: 338:

Livingston also employed the assistance of other people, notably Michael Clements, founder of the

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radio, and sets up all of the traps in Ravenholm himself in an attempt to catch Father Grigori.

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s flashlight and sprint functions using the same power source. In a further strip, the town of

540: 470: 1805: 1743: 1551: 787: 687: 328:. The name "Frohman" is derived from the last name of Gordon Freeman, the protagonist of the 256:

game world as the scene for his comic because he was a fan, and because the availability of

1812: 1727: 1691: 574: 302: 175: 157: 8: 1775: 1656: 825: 578: 424: 1521: 810:(Interview). Interviewed by imperialcreed. The Irish Gamers. 2008-06-19. Archived from 760: 669: 329: 479:. He is fooled into leaving the base, and finally heads toward and reaches Ravenholm. 1886: 1848: 1757: 1006: 604:

Dr. Breen asking why using his flashlight reduces his ability to run, a reference to

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broadcasts to the masses from a large screen, in the title frame of the first chapter

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finally arrives in the city, linking the comic's time frame with the start of

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in particular. He emphasized the presence of various objects throughout the

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The webcomic derives its name from one of the propaganda broadcasts by

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Much of the comic's dark humor is derived from its contrasts with

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In the text, these references are preceded by a double dagger: ‡

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As stated by Livingston in several interviews, his relation with

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from the dead creature, with which he can control the Antlions.

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follows the same general path through the story established by

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was never published for the PC, it does not affect the comic.

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This article is about the webcomic. For other uses, see

354:. Greg Galcik, who started and maintained the website 862:(Interview). Interviewed by Paul Semel. Archived from 350:. Clements aided him in enhancing the presentation of 276:

only instead of being a hero, he'd be a complete fool.

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