Well Shamus,
We’ll just say that you made your save vs. New Line Cinema lawyers. Thankfully you were able to move the comic to completion. Congrats!

I, too, doubt I’ll ever be able to watch LotR again without lines about PhP, Tony Hawks and combat rolls, but all the laughs were sure worth it Here’s one reader that will definetely continue with Chainmail Bikini… I’m in so many forums already, that one really won’t make a difference.

Thanks, Shamus. It’s been a fun comic. I’m already hooked after only one CB so I guess I’ll be seeing you around.

By the way, I’ll bet the reason that nobody said anything is that it’s satire, and people are allowed to satirize movies, books, and anything else without infringing on copyright.

Thanks back to you for doing this for all of us. I can’t even begin to imagine the effort it must’ve taken, just pulling all the screen caps out and keeping them sorted and organized so you could find what you needed when you needed it, much less the actual writing and construction of the graphic story. [boggle] It’s been awesome from this end too. {{{}}}

Angie

Shamus, thanks for such an awesome comic. I haven’t really been keeping my site up and running, but I’ll pimp your new comic wherever I get the chance to.

Well, I’ll still be able to watch the movies the same way I always did, but only because I already had friends who kept calling out suggested DEX check DCs while Leggomyass was fighting the Oliphaunts.

And adding my voice to the chorus of congratulations, Shamus! (Now, if only I could figure out the keyword to search up your videos on YouTube…)

Wait, doesn’t everyone call out the skill & ability rolls?

In fact, when we went & saw the first movie, within the first few minutes, my husband & I turned to eachother & said ’someone critically failed his hide check. Is that even possible for a halfling?’

Wow, I’ve never been publicly thanke for anything. Carl needs to be thanked publicly.

I’m gonna miss this comic, although it made me feel old, it brought back a great many good memories (and some painful ones.)

Many thanks from me
and Bob the Wizard
(My first AD&D character, he lasted 2 hrs - died of system shock when his brownie familiar died)

By the way, I’ll bet the reason that nobody said anything is that it’s satire, and people are allowed to satirize movies, books, and anything else without infringing on copyright.

You can parody things - e.g. the people who did The Gamers could do a spoof of Peter Jackson’s movies, using bits of the original scripts and imitations of important scenes. But you can be prevented from using the original copyrighted material (vidcaps themselves) and just pasting words over them, as in DM of the Rings. Another example: Mel Brooks could certainly make Spaceballs, but he couldn’t just take a print of Star Wars and dub a parody soundtrack over it.

Frankly, I’d lean more towards the copyright holder simply not having noticed, which means that DMotR might disappear someday if they do.

This is not legal advice.

You can use the original copyrighted material up to a point; the point is based a lot on how much you use and whether it was necessary for the intent.

A few hundred screencaps from a 10-hour trilogy? Minute sampling. And since the intent of the work was to show the LotR movie as a D&D game, Shamus could not have done the same thing with artwork.

I would think Shamus is fine, but IANAL either.

Either way, thank you, Shamus, for all the laughs!

Wow, 15 seconds of fame!

Ok, now that THAT’s done, thanks again to Shamus, who made an awesome comic!

And to follow on what you said about Peter Jackson: For us die-hard fans of the book they could have been better, but they could also have been far worse, and all the previous attempts by others pretty much have been.

(And no, I don’t really think it’s much of a rip-off of the animated movies. They weren’t very good, either.)

You’re welcome,Shamus. I admit it feels funny saying that when all I did was read your comic, laugh alot, use it to make my kids laugh, & once in a while add a comment I thought others might like ( all the while hoping people wouldn’t say:” Um, noooo…”)
If I do not respond to Chainmail Bikini, it won’t be because I’m not reading or enjoying it, but I may have trouble figuring out how to do so in the new format.

Thank you very much

But… but… what about the “Unusable” strip you had planned for when they first left Fangorn? That belongs in this “Deleted Scenes” collection, too!

Just wanted to say thanks again - this being the final FINAL page of the comic. Your work here was awesome and appreciated!

Hey, I’m a part of geek immortality! Heh. Thanks Shamus for the thank you. This has been more than just a webcomic, it’s been a community and although I appreciate you recognizing many of your more frequent posters, it’s all about you and the work you did. It’s a shame that it’s over, but on the other hand IT’S OVER! One thing I hate is a story that never ends. This one was great all the way through. I’m checking on CB as well, but haven’t posted there yet.

to Sartorius:

the Goblin, of Russia, does exactly that: writes parody soundtracks. The catch is that he distributes ONLY the soundtracks, without the videos. That leaves a question of how he manages to get the *music* copyright holders not to sue him.

Loved the comic, really. I also showed some of the comics to my girlfriend, who is a heavy LotR fan, and she loved it. This comic, combined with the thingy where they replaced lots of important words with the word pants, heavily affect our current watching of the Special Extendeds, but it certainly was worth it and makes the movies even more fun.

I’m currently reading through the books again, and while there are so many differences I can quite understand many of the changes, since this way a certain matter of excitement, heavily required for a good movie, was needed.

Now the perfect way of finishing this lovely experience is of course by watching the Badger-scene and the Catapult images. ^^

=0! Where was my metion Shamus? WHERE? [/sillyrant]

Thanks again for the Comic shamus, i hope your funny gland stays strong for Chainmail bikini. ^^

Drow64 Says:”TTHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNKKKKKKKK YYYOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU SHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!”

Hey, Drow, I didn’t know you spoke ‘whale’ !

Huzzah! Thank you Shamus.

GG Shamus

awwwwwwwww i’m gonna sorely miss new updates. atleast there’s always the archives.

Thank you, Shamus. How well you have captured the truth that no matter how long a group is playing together, it is only very, very rarely that everyone is on the same page. If you are lucky you -might- be playing out of the same book.

After reading your entire comic, and how the players talk over the DM, this is how this closing goes in my head:

Shamus says: Thank you all for read–
Everyone else: Oh my god this thing is over! LOTR is cool! Comics about LOTR are cool, too! Peter Jackson is a geek! I had a lvl99 mage once! We’re immortal!

thanks so much for the great comic shamus!

In many ways, the movies are *much* better than the book, and I say this as a thirty-five-year fan. Jackson took a marvelous literary exercise, a fake historical epic, and turned it into a “mere” action-adventure film(s). He still did a magnificent job at it.

I prefer the book because there’s more to it, but my wife, who never really got into the book, adores the movies. In my head, I imagine that the movies are the way things really happened, and the novel is the legend that survived.

It’s precisely because the movies are so terrific that they deserve the utter trashing you gave them, Shamus. Thank you! Brilliant work!

Man, I’m going to miss this comic…

Thanks Shamus, for the year of laughs!

A friend of mine turned me on to this site a week ago and I have laughed so hard reading these. Not just the fact that you used such great material, but that it reminds me of when I used to game when I was young. Thank you so much for the needed distraction from school (and my kids).

Thanks Shamus for all the laughs that u have given me over the time reading it.

THANK YOU! I HAVE TO EXPRESS MY PRAISE IN ALL CAPS BECAUSE YOU ARE SO AWESOME THAT LESSER WORDS WOULD NOT DO!

Thanks Shamus! You were right on every time with every comment and nuance regarding roleplaying, specifically D&D. I’ve already read through your first six bikini comics and I’m loving it! Thanks for the laughs and keep up the good work.

Pablo

Right on! I was laughing so hard and like a good book I couldn’t put the strip down all day today… Nice job!

Probably the best fan fiction I have ever read.
Not just probably, It is, absolutely, the best.
Love it man, hate that it’s over, but you know.
“All good things”
The Honor, she is mine.

Thanks for your hard work,
Hollis

Thanks Shamus! A hysterical adventure to say the least! Quivers of mini-walking sticks are now one of the most requested shopping items in the campaign I’m involved in, and called shots to the eye occur in nearly every encounter (I want to stab another one in the eye!

Reading chain-mail bikini these days too, no LARPing, LOL! Reminds me of the first DMOTR I read, “Sir, I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to roll initiative”. (or something like that

I don’t know what the steps necessary would be to put your satire into graphic novel form, or PDF, but if the powers that be ever force you to take things down…I for one would like to know this work has been archived for internet historical reference! Clearly this ranks up there among the greatst, debates will surely rage as to which best defines the RPG community…it’s either this or gazebos.

peace
~JC

Bravo Shamus Bravo! u put a lot of work into this, and it was totally worth it. once again, BRAVO!

On another note, incredible job you did. Had some of the best time of my life reading this.

Word. You are a rock star. Seriously.

I have just lost an entire working day reading this. I must say, it’s one of the funniest things I’ve read on the internet. Good show.

Wow new look for the website….

Any reason why?

And again?

*Bows to the Master* this was truely an enjoyble comic to follow and was well worth the wait mate. I wish I could have been around and talked more with you crazy folk, BUT I just had to settel for shareing the comic with as meny of my friends as I could….BTW they all think I’m nutz! figour;s lol
XoX

Just read through all of them in a day. As someone who knows nothing of D&D but adores LotR in both mediums, all I can say is Bravo! Brilliant work, Seamus, and thank you for it.

“Give me your name, horse-fu__er!!!”

Absolutely brilliant, wonderful jokes
very well done, shamus

A real piece of art, and not only because i’m d20 and LOTR fan , but because i’m also an art professor ^^ Thanks for all the laughs Shamus

Just discovered DM of the Rings last week and have now worked my way through the whole thing. 30 years ago (gasp!) after playing in half a dozen D&D games, it was exactly this sort of thing that made me realize that it’s MUCH better to listen to the summary of the campaign afterwards than to sit through the whole dice-rolling, DM-abusing thing. I laughed my head off reading your version, which makes it hard to do real work. Thanks ever so much for a great time.

I just found this and just finished it. My eyes are sore and my bum hurts, but thank your Shamus anyway!

So… When can we expect “The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe?”

Hullo,

Good show. I don’t do gaming, but know enough to chuckle more than once.

We needed a couple gamers along when we went to Middle-earth [New Zealand] in 04. The Fellowship is talking about going back in 11 after the two hobbit films are done.

Again, a loverly strip.

I shall be passing it on to other hobbit heads!

Elen síla lúmenn’ omentielvo!

Pippin, the wandering hobbit

Thain Peregrin Took II
Great Smials
Tookborough, The Shire

Thanks for the laughs over the last few weeks! (I’ve been busy, otherwise it would have been less time). Now for Chainmail Bikini!
“Parley” is the French word for “everyone else is flat-footed and bare-handed”

i spent the whole damn day reading. WHY IS THIS SO ADDICTIVE!?! whatever. many thanks for a day of laughter. pitty it’s over :(. it was great!

Huh… Read the whole, posted only 2 or 3 times…

IT’S AWESOME MAN! THANK YOU!!!!

Really never laughed this much on one thing… It’s even better when someone doesn’t have to wait… It took me 2 days altogether. My “favourites” are in a mess too - a real lot of DMotR is in. have to tidy it someday.

Good work!

I salute you, sir. I loved the walking sticks, and how much of myself I see in Legolas at times, especially on that Final Roll of the d20.

This is my first, and last, post here. Thank you for teh laughs.

Thankyou, thankyou!! I loved this comic so much, I saved all of it for future reading. I am in your debt. Mwah!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I started playing D&D when I was in junior high school, and many happy hours were spent listening to my buddies kibbitzing around the table, throwing dice, drawing rude pictures of the NPCs, and driving the DM to distraction. I just sat and read this whole thing in one sitting! There were so many classic laugh-moments in here.

I have an odd question: May I “keep” this as a Word doc in my computer, just in case you get bored and take it off line like the chick who created the DomLand Caribou did? (I’m so glad I ganked her stuff; she got into anime and flushed it, darn her.) But I’d like to have a copy of this in case your site goes castors-up. If you object, that’s OK; I’ve already bookmarked your site and sent the URL to all my buds, so I’ve “spread the love” enough, methinks.

Again: thanks for the laffs! I LOL’ed.

This story was so cool.
I almost laughed to death.

As a Tolkien fangurl for 42 years and a tabletop gamer for 22, I’ve been cracking up over this and linking it in chat. Thanks. I’ll never reread LotR quite the same way again.

An epic webcomic indeed. I kind of wish I had known about it sooner so I could watch it as it progressed instead of just reading the archives.

Triangleth post!

Shamus, thank you so much for the great, great story. I really wish it had more panels with it. Thanks a bunch its like you’ve changed my life ( and you did!)Thank you so much. We all owe you one.

Aragorn. PS I hope you can respond. Thank you.

One more thing…Thanks for not putting Shelob in the story. Shelob gives me nightmares.opps…2 comments at once.. anyone know how to deleate one of em?

From all us gamers down in the tru Middlearth (New Zealand) many thanks for a wonderful comic.

Next time i see Peter Jackson, i’ll pat him on the back for ya.

righto!!

I only now just finished reading all these. I have to say this was some of the funniest shit I have read in a long time. I could barely contain my gigglefests here at work. Thank you so much. How you find time to do all this stuff is incredible. This strip is so funny because its true, I’ve experienced pretty much everything you’ve made fun of in my AD&D gaming sessions of the past.

There should be a warning on these for people reading them in the archives all at once… if you read these to quickly you may die of laughter. Have an ale on me brotha

That was… the best comic I have ever read. I took a look at chainmail bikini, and it isn’t really my thing, so I switched to the Star Wars comic. Thanks.

You said that you envied rich burlew in one of your footnotes, but believe me, he has got nothing on you! this is the single funniest thing that I have found on the internet, and so I just hope that the rest of whats on your site holds up to that standard.

thanks those were awsum

Just finished the whole thing. Almost a year after the fact. Still good. I’ll never look at Viggo the same way. Not that I ever did, of course.

Whatever that means.

First!

(…Yeah. What can I say but that I’ve always wanted to do this. I find people who post ‘first’ to be annoying and I have a strange sense of humor. Shouting ‘first!’ almost an entire year after the first post, at the very END of a long comic, amused me.)

More on topic, I found out about this comic yesterday and I have been unable to stop reading it whenever I’ve been able to until point. Bravo! Very well done! I have spent many a moment giggling hysterically (in a manly manner, of course :o) ) over one superb joke or another.

…I suppose now I’ll have to read the whole thing again, only this time also reading all the readers comments? :o)

I was just sent the link for this comic yesterday. Couldn’t stop reading! My kids have been wondering whats wrong with me- I sit here for hours with brief interludes of falling off my chair laughing hard enough to cry. My husband DM’s and I love Tolkien. SO funny- latecomming comments I know, but just wanted to say Job Well Done!

Don’t know why your having trouble Dr_H?? I was sent the link to this 3 days ago and have wasted countless hours now at work reading through every last one and all I can say is THANKS for some of the funniest and most spot on stuff I’ve seen! The fact that I’ve “played with these guys” just made it all the richer.

You are the man!

Wow, just read the whole thing and am still laughing.

When are you putting out The Two Towers and Return Of The King? XD

i came to this comic very late, but i still loved it. Thank you very much for all the time and effort you put into it. i’m very sad that the funnay ended.