Grrl Power #298 – Catchup
And we return to the hilariously spartan comic shop. Actually, my local store, Zeus Comics in Dallas doesn’t have every inch of the walls plastered with posters, but usually when I think of a comic shop, I think of one like in The Big Bang Theory, where no wall is visible, the counters are lousy with toys and there are characters standees in all the remaining spaces.
I hate drawing crowd scenes. I blame the writer. :/ I’d prefer not to have to draw them but at the very least I need to establish the crowd, then I can get away with just drawing the fringe of it. Oh and if you could, ignore the fact that the tube is probably too small for all 7 orbs. They’re smaller than the diameter of the tube, so they can fit in there like o°o°o°o, whatever that’s called. Wavy I guess. Still it’s a stretch. Comic book physics am I right?
I haven’t drawn Joel in about 4 years, it’s a little jarring seeing the difference. I’m glad to get the chance to bring him up to date, though I guess since yesterday he’s taken some vitamins and cleared up his jaundice.
Here’s the link to the new comments highlighter for chrome, and the GitHub link which you can use to install on FireFox via Greasemonkey.
Sidney is slacking.
The FIRST thing she said should have been to the press, “If you want to be in here…BUY SOMETHING!!! Or get OUT!”
Sorry, she’s not the director of marketing anymore.
Given the turn-out, in response to her impromptu advert, that may well be rescinded.
However, if she followed Cargosquid‘s advice, she would be fired as the director of both media and public relations.
Sorry, but am I colour blind? How is a slightly lighter shade of pink jaundice?
It is just casual usage. I have, periodically, heard folks use that as an alternative to saying ‘looking off-colour’. But, you are right to imply that the word does have a clear definition, and that is for a condition with yellow skin (and eyes).
However the term has been used in a more relaxed fashion historically. For example, I was told, by several sources, that, as a baby, I had “yellow jaundice”. Given the standard definition incorporates yellow into it, such would be superfluous. So it is my supposition that the “yellow” was added to clarify that the casual usage was not correct, and that it was referring to the named medical condition.
I thought she was talking to Sheldon from Big Bang for like ten seconds.
*updates Joel’s character sheet*
Hobby skill, cos-play. 5 points. Notes: Can, apparently, also substitute that skill for disguise, if wearing an outfit associated with a celebrity, of similar build.
I also have and am wearing his shirt right now, and am drunk which is why I feel like it is worth mentioning.
Heh. It was worth mentioning. Mind you, I have a strict no updating whilst tipsy rule now. Sometimes… it does not go so well.
I’ll have you know I only replace the words I, the, it, is, and and with racial slurs every fifth time I drunk post.
However I will respect your rules and do my word replacement where I normally do. The Fox New forum is usually happy when I drunk post anyway.
Oh, I was not meaning to imply that we have such a rule here. It is simply one that I apply for myself. Well, it is a rule made up whilst sober. I think it becomes a bit more flexible with the beer goggles on. The following morning though, when you are trying to figure out where your pants got to, you get a sinking feeling when noticing the computer is on, for some reason…
This comes entirely from my silly brain
“He likes you. And the government wants periodic visits from superheroes to check on the prisoners until they’re ready for release”
*sometime later*
Vehemence: “Why are we playing Dungeons & Dragons again?”
Sydney: “You said you were bored. I’m bored”
Vehemence: “……”
I’m not sure I want to go beyond that. My own adhd ability to make weird mental images for myself will go downhill fast
Actually, I’d picture Sydney & Vehemence more likely playing Toon. Sublimate his violent tendencies through cartoon physics.
V could teach Sydney self-control. After all, he has to channel huge volumes of rage when feeding on human violence. Although he lost control a few times, I think that was the unexpected boost he was getting. Normally he has that cool, calm style that we saw when he first met Sydney. And V teaching someone anger management has such potential.
Is it just me or is your previous button invisible?
I can see it ok.
I wonder how long before they start to think ‘can he see the invisible?’
I’m really hoping for a nice big splash page to highlight this reveal :)
Mmm, well it would just be a couple of pages into the comic, and we only get to see splash pages before introducing the next chapter. So that seems unlikely.
But so far, 100% of splash pages have prominently featured bits of Sydney’s anatomy in full glory. So I am all in favour! And must insist that we maintain this age-old tradition. We have not had a single exception, in over four years of updates!
Hoping that tomorrow’s comic will be worth the four year wait for Joel to find out and freak out.
… Or for him to say, “Oh, you have those things too? I’ve got three sets just like them at home…”
Oh, so he does not have the unique collector’s edition, with the detachable 8th orb?
Just occurred to me: There aren’t a lot of bigger warning bells than being told that yesterday’s event could have been found on, quote, “ANY CHANNEL.”
And if you think about it, this is accurate. What happened at the restaurant is news as big and important as the moon landing, or the WTC bombing. It has potential, and even high likelihood, of causing the entire world to reconsider how it sees itself.
OTOH, Joel has had plenty of exposure to Sydney crazy, including her tendency to exaggerate. So he just might be taking that specific statement in stride and not giving it any special consideration.
Also interesting he hasn’t commented on her H choker.
I would bet he hasn’t noticed it yet.
He is a man.
No doubt it’s been mentioned before, but:
Arianna really ought to merchandise the hell out of Arc Swat and it’s members. She could increase popularity of the agency while at the same time generating funds. Action figures and comics would be a good start. But they definitely should make an Arc Swat video game. Better yet, several games on different platforms.
Here
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/676
Apparently this is one reason Max and Ari are at odds. Max wants a lower-key positive image for Archon in particular and supers in general. Ari is thinking Hollywood and pro sports style promotions.
Joel not knowing reminded me of the scene in The Matrix where Smith removes his ear piece whilst delivering a Hannibal Lecture to Morpheus. Only to have the other two agents walk in and be all “He doesn’t know” to each other about him.
Although you’d expect that the reporters would be dropping a lot of context for a bright boy to pick up on… You know, like: “Halo, when did you first get your superpowers?”
Gah!
*tries to claw out own eyes*
No fair! No TvTropes warning!
Mind you, there was an interesting point on that page, which has a ring of truth, and almost did it’s trick of sucking me in further. I had not appreciated that interrogators would be specifically trained to avoid answering questions.
Regarding your concluding paragraph, please refer to Cpt. Obvious‘s comment on Page 1 of the comments. A fair bit down, in the thread I linked.
I rated his scenario highly, as it played out the way that the above page immediately implied the same to me. The setting is realistic and not forced. And the dialogue flows naturally. If you read that, it is very easy to see how the media could spot that he was not clued up, and realise the entertainment value of avoiding revealing questions would be TV gold.
Hmm.
Lemme think about that explanation.
The distance we want is the bottom of the lowest to the top of the highest of the “four.” They’re all spaced out by their diameters, obviously, but also a bit of each of the three determined by the azimuthal angle of the point of contact – as it turns out, it’s equal to the diameter of the orbs multiplied by one greater than sixfold the cosine of the azimuthal angle. (Sanity check: if the azimuthal angle is zero, meaning the orbs are in a row, it will be 6*1 + 1 = 7 times the diameter, whereas if it’s pi/3, meaning the four orbs are touching, it will be 6*(1/2) + 1 = 4 times the diameter.)
The width of the cylinder will also be determined by the azimuthal angle. Specifically, it will be the diameter of the orbs multiplied by one greater than the azimuthal angle’s sine. So the two are related by the following:
w = d(1 + sin(theta))
h = d(1 + 6*cos(theta))
theta = arcsin(w/d – 1)
h = d(1 + 6*cos(arcsin(w/d – 1))) =
d(1 + 6*sqrt(1 – (w/d – 1)^2)) =
d(1 + 6*sqrt(2*w/d – w^2/d^2)) =
d + 6*sqrt(2*wd – w^2)
Or, in short, the height of the cylinder would have to be equal to the diameter of the orbs plus sixfold the square root of the difference between the minuend twice the product of the length and the subtrahend the diameter of the orbs and the square of the width. So that in mind (and bearing in mind this formula is only valid from w = d, h = 7w to w = 1.866d, h = 4w), can someone with a better eye for art than I have hazard a guess what the dimensions of our heroine’s orbs and tube might be?
(This post brought to you by the letters E, T, O, and H.)
…okay. In an effort to make my natural-language description of “h = d + 6*sqrt(2*wd – w^2)” more clear, I decided to put in the words “the minuend” and “the subtrahend,” and I see now put “the subtrahend” in the wrong place, leaving me with a sentence clear as mud. So, um… let’s just go with the math.
And the devil said lets put the alphabet into math.
So are you saying that “if Sydney’s orbs are bigger than a handful, then she needs a bigger sheathe?”
Have heard good things about Zeus, but I am on the balls other end of Dallas and DFW airport so I typically use Gen X comics, which is a bit closer to the Big Bang feel though, it was built into an old Army Navy surplus store so it has lots of footage to fill with all sorts of hobby stuff.
See, see! Dallas is practically overflowing with GrrlPower fans. I bet, if I went into a random public area and shouted out “I love Grrl Power!” I would get at least one enthusiastic “Same here bud!”
And probably a few secret Girl Power salutes from slightly conflicted feminists.*
* I know you have them girls, even though you try to hide them from us boy feminists!
Last panel: super eye popping powers confirmed for Joel.
Lol, I’ve been wanting to read Saga series!
If she could change her t-shirt, why couldn’t she switch her glasses for ones that actually function as vision-correction? Surely she has a backup pair? Prescription sunglasses? Anything that actually goes over her eyes?
Sorry… this just…. bugs me.
SO much.
Probably on account of my monumental glasses fetish leading it to be about the first thing I ever notice.
Because those are the glasses that she uses on a daily basis, and which work for whatever her needs are. If she lets them slide down, when talking to people, it is because she does not need them, at that range.
I am short-sighted. But actually take my glasses off, if reading a document in hand, or needing to fill something in. If I had the knack, I would love to be able to just slide them down my nose, far enough to peer over the top of them instead.
Finally I certainly do not change my glasses every time I put on a new t-shirt!
The way of fitting the most spheres into a given volume is called hexagonal close packing, but that only yields its best results when you have a space large enough that the size of the spheres is comparatively negligible, like a cubic inch of metal atoms.
Of course, it would still be the most efficient way to go, but I prefer the way that the earlier comics just showed the tube longer.