Grrl Power #158 – The joy of flight
It’s pretty cool seeing Sydney actually using the orbs and not just demonstrating them. One of the best parts of every superhero story, IMO, is not necessarily the origin, but the day and week after the origin, where the fledgling hero is learning about their powers and using them for the first time. Sydney’s kind of past the discovery phase but she still has yet to really use her powers.
How will the press get to the firing range you ask? I’m sure that will be explained.
Grrl Power won the TGT Tournament, so thanks everyone for the votes. It was neck and neck all day Saturday with a comic called Moonlight Element, which I haven’t read myself but it has really nice manga style art.
Fred Perry of Gold Digger fame is doing a kickstarter to publish his long running… I’m not sure what to call it. It’s called Level Up, and it’s a doujin based around his time playing Final Fantasy 11. How he ever had time for an MMO I’ll never understand, but he’s been posting it bit by bit on his own site and on DeviantArt… in the broadest technical sense I guess it’s a webcomic, but lets not get bogged down on labels. Anyway it’s 160 pages of material and really funny even if you haven’t ever played FF11.
I’ve updated the vote incentive with the finished pencils. I have it partially inked, but I’ll save that for next week I guess, or if I get the time I’ll jump straight to the colors, but I’m not holding my breath.
Update: As requested the top panel is now available wallpaper size on my DeviantArt page. The ratio is a little weird so I did a letterboxed version as well.
SuperheroThey're super, thanks for asking!
Meatspace ComicSeriously these are awesome. Check 'em out!
Not UpdatingNo longer updating or only updates sporadically, but definitely worth reading.
SeriouslySeriously you guys. If you like Grrl Power the check these out.
"Mature"Mature subject matter and occasionally something explicit but usually safe. Can't guarantee the ads are safe though.
Dongs Ahoy!Full frontal and backal. Lots of skin, sex on some or all pages, explicit or otherwise.
BUT WHAT ABOUT JOEL?
It doesn’t matter how loudly you shout, I don’t think he can hear you. Besides which he is probably working hard right now. What with his partner having been held up at a bank and him having to carry on running the shop single-handed. Even if it has been a quite day up until now, I bet things are going to be crazy busy for him very soon.
My guess is that Joel has already been getting lots of e-mails, texts, phone calls, smoke signals and/or visits from acquaintances (and family?) all asking about Sydney being on YouTube and the news.
THEN there was Sydney’s promo at the press conference. I expect that, starting right about “now”, Joel is far too busy to so much as scratch himself.
You forgot telegraphs, Ham Radio Calls, Alien Crop Circles, Pony Express Riders….
To say nothing of telepathy, signing, billboards and faxes. :)
The site is no doubt out of the air through overwhelming trafic…
I’m really curious what can and can’t pass through her shield. If air can pass through, then how is the wind not whipping her in the face? If it can’t pass through, how does she breath? I can understand radio waves passing through, thus allowing communication, but otherwise if it’s air tight how could she talk to someone? Wouldn’t it be soundproof if it’s air tight? If it’s not air tight could you gas her?
And if radio waves can pass through, what about other forms of energy? Could a laser penetrate? What about fire? Maxima’s energy beams?
So many questions! I’m sure we’ll find out soon!
Well we’ve had some guesses about it in the comments, but I could bet that Syd herself answered some on her argument with the Dungeon Master about transparent force fields (see the two first strips).
According to that laser (actually any light based damage) and gas could pass them.
you really need to read the new superhero series on amazon, the H.E.R.O. Series to be precise, Psystar has a shielded flight similar to the one Sydney is using in fact. Acceleration and deceleration has no effects, not to mention she carries what seems to be a stable air current around her within a sort of bubble area, bullets, etc can pass into that area but wind, chill, etc has no effect. at least if it’s exactly what I think it is.
oh and another flyer in the H.E.R.O. series has flight similar to what Maximus has, along with what would be considered tank like powers:super strength, invulnerability, etc, at least in some ways, she also has skin similar to a prison guard in the series, and a mix of various powers not of just one super type as shown in the a fore mentioned series, it’s an alright read, some of the spelling could use a little work, but very creative.
I’ve seen that series but haven’t read the first book yet. That author is really prolific. The CG rendered covers put me off a little to be honest which is dumb I know, but I’ll eventually get into them.
i think that her powers adapt to her needs, such as being able to control flight speed, the shield probably adapts to her needs to stay alive and healthy. such dynamic powers would be needed and used at a subconscious level for the spheres to operate properly id think,
Slowing down fast moving air while still letting enough of it through seems well within the orb’s abilities.
it might be a energy sink shield nullifying any energy that touch it. if so that shield would b incredibely powerful for it would be able to counter most of physical and magic attack (for magic everything that need to traverse the shield would be innefective and only teleportation into the shield could hurt sydney when its up.
Here is something to keep y’all laughing until Monday comes around. The Ignoble prize awards.
Groovy. Science that is both interesting and funny, what isn’t there to love about the Ignobles?
What exactly does it mean to pop one’s tags?
and GET OFF MY LAWN!
To paraphrase answers given on comment pages 1 & 2, if you go shopping you want to try out any prospective purchase. So try it on for size, take it for a test drive or the like. But, once you are happy that it is perfect and just what you need you “pop the tags” because you know you will not be returning it, unsatisfied.
*Marks territory, before leaving lawn*
Hey man, it’s mostly mowie wowie, but it’s got labrador in it man.
Did you follow it around with a baggie for a week?
Oh yeah man, it blew the little bitch’s mind.
“No such thing as?” This is the same government that, IN REAL LIFE mind you, exposed groups of minorities to infectious diseases disguised as inoculations as part of their research into pandemics, and that released radioactive material into the air over Washington State just to see who developed cancer. The biggest stretch here is that Sydney has gone from worrying about being kidnapped by government thugs to meekly walking in their front door and signing her immortal soul over to them.
21 yo girl with magic power, who also happens to be a comic nerd just had the people she thought she would have to hide from say “hey, join the club, use your power “for the greater good” as one of us in the special friends club we set up just for this reason”.
unless you have been reading up on all that stuff and the recent stuff about funding alquida insurgents in syria, along with a lot of other shady stuff, its not going to present itself to you when the news is busy reporting the winner of big dancing x-factor on ice, and the paper is reporting stories about day time tv soap-opera CHARACTERS over real life issues, let alone explaining those issues in any detail.
don’t forget what they did to their own soldiers during Vietnam, that was even worse in some ways, the lot of em involved with that stuff should be imprisoned and on death row, but hey, maybe that’s just my thoughts on that…
And all that time the American people thought they had voted in 11 elections, but, nope, this Government is exactly the same one as the 1932 government, or coming forward to the Vietnam war Arious refers to, the 1960s governments.
I think this page is the most beautiful one you’ve posted so far. I mean, this is, is, this is just gorgeous. I just finished reading a bunch of Rob Liefeld comics and seeing women with hands, feet, and proper proportions is an especially nice break.
And today sees a clever trap for black market time travel tourists. They never can resist a honey trap like free tickets.
Just spotted an interesting detail. The wrist device has a black strap that goes from it round to Sydney’s palm, passing between her thumb and forefinger. It appears in the previous two issues, albeit only barely, so is consistent. And you can see it clearly in panel 1 above or the enlarged wallpaper version.
Touch-pad kind of like the dial on a Pip-boy’s glove?
I really like the eye patch look for her. Makes her look bad ass, more then normal of course. Could be neat as an extra feature based in technology. Such as a hidden camera for Video surveillance, for back ground people can direct her. Much like those Military Helmet Cams. Telescopic vision, For greater distances. Or even night vision capable.
I’m guessing Sydney will keep using the eyepatch for longer than the Doctor said she’d need to (“a few hours”, if I recall correctly). Probably start swapping sides now and again, just to mess with people’s heads.
….. At least until Max gets tired of that nonsense and makes her take it off.
Next page, you called it.
I’m beginning to get the impression that the orbs are the alien equivalent to a survival/explorer’s kit. Think about what an alien explorer would need to explore a possibly hostile environment. Flight to be able to do an aerial overview of an area, something to see the real environment and to spot hiding animals/predators, something to poke/move things with, something to talk to other members of the exploration team, and a defense mechanism against danger.
with all that being said, can kinda guess at what the remaining orbs do. one is probably some type of ‘first aid kit’. not sure what the last one would be other than some type of scanner or atmospheric generator to explore areas with bad/no air…
hmmm in that vein probably a recording device, or maybe a universal translator?
All this argument about how the shield allows things through or not and how she’s able to keep breathable air…
Anyone not catch on that we have two unexplained orbs and one of them might be a constant passive “Ring of Sustenance/Breathing/Not-Dying”?
Granted, with all the ones she has so far, she’s had to have them in hand, but it’s a possibility right?
Absolutely possible. And she would not discover that accidentally (remember that she was using breathing equipment when she discovered them underwater, so the effect would not have been noticeable at that time). Testing for such an effect is something that is easy to conceive, but not so easy to put into practice. *
Not all of her powers are restricted to functioning only when in hand, so there is president which supports that strand of your argument too (their own immovability, plus her conscious telekinesis of them).
* Pretty much any testing in this area is hazardous enough that it may have discouraged her from attempting it solo. Primarily due to needing backup to provide CPR in the event that something goes wrong. Especially if the power does not exist whilst assuming it does. Plus she may have attempted something but found that her autonomous reflexes and instincts interfered. Given that they are geared up to keep breathing as an imperative.
Of course sticking her head underwater and seeing how long she can hold her breath may resolve the issue. If it continues for a couple of hours, without feeling a need to take a breath, your hypothesis is proven. However, if that does not happen, the options remain open. One orb may still provide the effect but regardless of that the body may want to take air and kick in the responses to do so.
Which is where any upcoming martial arts training might discover the effect. As part of mine, my instructor required that we be taught how to continue fighting even whilst loosing consciousness due to an opponent’s hold. Which meant you needed to experience what it felt like to loose consciousness. Knowing the effects and the stages you pass through allow you to accurately estimate how long you have before you black out. Which can affect your tactics and what techniques you may have time to attempt.
The training also helps you to overcome the panic that can come with such a situation. Making you a better fighter. But also helping you in any situation where you are loosing consciousness. I have almost drowned on two occasions. And know that I was within seconds of blacking out and, being alone both times, dying. My training prevented me panicking either time and allowed me to extricate myself from the danger.
So Halo may well find the effect kicking in when she is undertaking serious combat training. But, if it is a “not dying” effect, that will remain a mystery until accident, combat wounds or the like uncover it. There being no way to test it without killing Sydney. Which, hopefully, Maxima will veto as unethical.
I thought ‘pop some tags’ meant to shoplift. what does that have to do with this strip ?
When I was writing it, I knew I wanted Sydney saying “This is fucking awesome!” and immediately the lyrics to the Macklemore song popped into my head so naturally Sydney mangled the lyrics and spouted that.
https://youtu.be/QK8mJJJvaes?t=3m
Just a couple years later and this reference is totally dated.
Government-sponsored vivisectionists do exist. They’re called surgeons. (though they won’t be government-sponsored for much longer. Thanks, Trump m’boy).
“One of the best parts of every superhero story, IMO, is not necessarily the origin, but the day and week after the origin, where the fledgling hero is learning about their powers and using them for the first time.”
Sorry I’m over a decade late, but GOD, 100%. The process, testing different limits, figuring out different uses, or figuring out what your powers even are, and the little screwups in that process- in my opinion it’s the most fun part of any superhero comics (or shows), more fun than the fights I’d say.