Grrl Power #370 – R&R&RKO
I don’t usually revisit stuff like this, with everyone sitting around talking about the geokinetic and his gold stores, cause you guys already had at it in the comments on that page, but sometimes when I go back and re-read some of the previous pages it feels like there’s not a lot of transition from one scene to the next. Usually that’s fine. Scene’s over, move on, but sometimes the team would just be sitting around talking about what happened. Oh and don’t worry about Barberian’s shirt, there’s a better look at it on the next page.
The idea of being paid to show up at a club or other venue is weird. I mean, it makes sense, people are crazy for celebrities and the team members are the new hot ticket, but there are a lot of F-list celebrities like people who were on one season of some reality show who make a living doing little else. Some big celebs who only make rare appearances can get pretty crazy bucks for it. Given a little more time for the world to whip itself into a super hero craze, some of the team members could pull big dollars too, but it’s unlikely for Maxima to show up at a club, at least in a non-spontaneous endorsement sort of way. Giving a speech at a college or a women’s shelter is more her speed. I’m not sure Wednesday is a big club night in most places but I suppose when you get R&R you make the most of it.
Seneca’s candy today is Mary Jane Peanut Butter Kisses, those black and orange wrapped peanut butter taffy candies you (or at least I) only really ever see around Halloween. I don’t even know how many calories she ingests in a day.
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.
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.
Oh, Sydney, money is not a fuel, it’s a lubricant!
And you did a great job on the first panel, Dave, showing the height and overall size difference of each team member as they sit around chatting. I’m beginning to think that you modeled Leon off of Jeff Goldblum — with a dash of Steve Gutenberg’s character from the movie Short Circuit — as that dude is hella tall is real life.
gold is still a metal, and while Seneca has a point about it being inert it’s not just currency
True. Gold is an excellent conductor of electricity — maybe that’s why Jiggawatt’s hair is that color — but that is not a fuel. Gold as fuel for greed is a different kind of fueling, me thinks.
well Halo did say death ray, i dunno that death rays can run on greed, altho i have heard it’s one of the seven deadly sins, not that i put much stock in that
I have seen a Wanted Notice, that I suspect has been posted by a greed-powered death ray manufacturer.
I’m wondering how much longer there gonna allow Dabbler to keep barbarian around as her personal vibrating furniture. He still hasn’t been proven he was there under his free will or being manipulated like some of the others right?
Him surrendering in the middle of the fight because he realized that he didn’t even know why he was there wasn’t good enough reason?
I don’t know, I think they make a very cute couple. I’ve had girlfriends sit in my lap in just such a fashion many times. And I don’t think he really minds very much. :D
Actually, I’m wondering about the fact that Dabbler doesn’t have her glamour up – and she didn’t have it up in #294, either. Which is to say, the Barberian knows she’s a succubus and/or an alien.
And while I’m very much in favor of disclosure before intercourse, 1) Dabbler’s nature is classified and 2) succubus glamours are I strongly suspect explicitly intended to be used during sex. Now, granted, he also saw it during the fight but at the time the (admittedly paper-thin) claim was that it was her battle form.
So, Dabbler didn’t HAVE to show her true form to an uncleared civilian, but she did. That’s gonna be difficult and cause no small amount of paperwork.
All Barberian knows is that Dabbler likes to use her battle-form most of the time, including during sex. Which reveals nothing beyond that. As far as he knows, she is a human, who can shapechange into an exotic four-armed form, and has chosen to stay that way, since they met.
Any questions about why she does that are met with a “why not?” (see the mini-scene, below the comic linked). Frankly, if I could do that, I would.
Also they wouldn’t really need to kidnap anyone. Wouldn’t be that hard to convince the geomancers girlfriend, or relative to cooperate and pretend to be kidnapped for a nice share of all that golds worth of money. People will do anything, and I mean anything, for money.
Yeah, the best defense is to never let the secret get out which he has apparently been doing very well at for decades.
Being a very modest spender (compared to his capability) is a good indicator that the geomancer values quality of life and realises that, once you have enough for the basics, more money does not directly correlate to more happiness.
Assuming he managed to find a girlfriend with a shared outlook, she will value him more than making strangers richer. Especially given that helping the crooks would make herself poorer. Which is the way someone, with the mindset I described, would view the loss of quality of life, which would stem from betraying a loved one.
The geokinetic could also just not want to devalue his gold by putting it all out at once. His gold stockpile can buy more if he only uses a few bricks at a time, instead of flooding the market and devaluing the very thing that makes him rich.
Imagine if he spent his time mining something *actually* valuable, like plutonium, or titanium. Or if he started a mining monopoly on the remaining rare earth metals like silicone.
This may not be as glamorous as hanging out in nightclubs, but some of the Archon “I can fly” staff may be able to pick up a few extra bucks signing on as firefighters in Dubai. They just announced that due to the high number of high buildings they are buying actual jetpacks for their firefighters to use when trying to reach the upper floors of buildings during rescues. https://qz.com/549098/dubai-full-of-giant-skyscrapers-is-buying-its-firefighters-jetpacks/
Based on the photo in the article showing people in traditional Arab garb, I would suggest passing on Arianna’s tip “When flying, always wear pants”.
Note: the devices actually use ducted fan blades driven by a gasoline engine. So more of a flying lawnmower than jetpack.
Very hard to see any alternatives but, yeah, gasoline-fuelled jetpacks of very questionable reliability being taken in close procimity toi fires. I’ve got a bad feeling about this.
Once the tech has been better developed, there are definite possibilities though.
Actually they now have fully functional jetpacks that are safe. Expensive as hell, but safe.
I should add, they have flown them in-doors in a large mall atrium.
You wouldn’t know it by watching the movie, “Jingle All The Way”…
“It’s Turbo Time!”
:D
For a given value of “safe”.
Flights in a peaceful controlled environment are one thing. Flights in situations that constitute a major emergency are another thing entirely.
Yeah, American city planning boards long ago realized letting people build higher than your firetruck ladders would reach was a bad idea.
A moment from “The Towering Inferno.”
Chief O’ Hallorhan (Steve McQueen): Phew…architects.
Doug Roberts (Paul Newman): Yeah, it’s all our fault.
Chief O ‘Hallorhan (Steve McQueen): Now you know there’s no sure way for us to fight a fire in anything over the 7th floor. But you guys just keep building them as high as you can.
That movie dates from, what, the 1970s? Skyscrapers are built with hella anti-fire measures now. Granted something like hitting them with large loads of jet fuel will still take them down, but there wouldn’t be much a hook and ladder could do against that if they were limited to seven stories….
The world is big enough that we can keep our buildings to a limit of seven floors, if we want to. It would also help to reduce congestion, if we did not attempt to squeeze so many people, into as small an area, as possible, in the financial centres.
Countries do have a need to bring money-makers together. But we have the technology to do that, without having to stack them one on top of the other, high up into the sky!
But, of course, powerful people, and companies, like the projection of power, that such structures offer.
Looks to me like dabbler is wearing that sweater and…nothing else! :)
In a time long ago, there was a thing called “the sweater dress”. And it was good.
Very, very good.
On the right woman, they could cause car wrecks.
So the guy talking about kidnapping the guy with the gold’s girlfriend and opposes laissez-faire, is he a Nazi or some other kind of tyrannical douche bag?
Rather than reading panel 1 from bottom left, then anti-clockwise, you need to follow standard Western Hemisphere English conventions. Read from the top left and go clockwise.
If you do it the unconventional way round, they come across as the conspiratorial crooks, you have taken them to be.
However, read the correct way around, they remain the honest cops we know them to be. In particular, the ‘Nazi or some other kind of tyrannical douche bag’ actually turns out to be expressing concern, on behalf of the general public, that the gold will be stolen. With the implied assumption that such a volume of gold, finding its way onto the world marketplace, could destabilise economies.
Like any good cop he is pointing out a serious security risk. For the purpose of finding ways to counter it. Rather than exploiting it. In addition to protecting the owner’s vault, and safeguarding the economy, he would also be advocating measures to protect the girlfriend, from kidnapping.
These are good proactive policing issues, well worth raising.
I read it from top left, clockwise. 1. That guy with the gold… 2. Not if you kidnap… (it’s not illegal…) 3. I don’t think that’s a good excuse…
I love the comic, but this character is expressing the common “OK for me but not for thee” rule for bad behavior. I’ve read the comic since the beginning and it’s the first time I’ve seen anything of the sort, so It’s just an oversight, I’m sure.
Then you can rest assured that it is just your interpretation. Because you are ignoring the contextualisation, which is clearly written in Leon’s initial speech bubble.
Please note the emphasis I added, to point it out. This means that the conversation is about the problem, as I asserted. Not about stealing the gold, as you have interpreted it.
Seneca downplays the problem. Leon counters that, thereby showing that the problem remains. Dabbler contests that there is no legal problem. Leon is not satisfied with this, as it has failed to address his concerns about the problem*.
In his final speech bubble Leon confirms that he is seeing the underlying problem as being that faced by society, due to the economic risk that Jiggawatt verbalised.
* Although Leon fails to point it out, the problem is not with the geomancer’s ownership rights. Because the conversation was about the problem of someone stealing it from him. That act remains illegal regardless of whether his initial ownership rights are sound.
not Leon, Vance, Leon only said the bit about nobody’s life being worth 25 cubic meters of gold, Vance is the long-haired blond guy who told Sydney he was full of spiders, Leon is dark-haired and is the resident expert at computers
I too initially read it clockwise from top left, but it actually makes more sense if you read both top and bottom from left to right. That way “Well, no, but…” is about the legality of mining gold, instead of being about the value of a human life.
I’m a little out of it so I’m having trouble, but is the last frame a flashback or the next day? She’s wearing the same outfit but somehow looks smaller, younger, maybe it’s just perspective or my eye twitching….
I had the same question. However, the consensus seems to be that it’s an imaginary scene of what would happen if the team did go to this club and a brawl had broken out. It is not supposed to have really happened.
You raise a valid suggestion that it could be Harem remembering a previous incident. Until you observe that the latter part of her dialogue is in the future tense (“Then both Arianna and Maxima will have our asses.”)
As Ignoble relates, this is neither past, nor future, but rather Sydney’s (and/or others) imagination of the potential outcome.
A final confirmation is the lack of separation between the yellow speech bubble, and the scene it is in. If they were sequential scenes, then placing them in different panels would show the time separation.
Instead it is showing that both are happening at the same time.
Of course, it may yet come to pass…
I hope that Sydney does not take Harem up on this. I do not think she is ready for it yet.
I had not considered that it was a hypothetical, that makes a lot of sense, thank you!
Harem(drunk-looks at Maxima):Will someone shut off that strobe light!?!?
-OR-
Harem(drunk-looks at Maxima):Who let that horse in here???
The latter option would explain the black eye.
A psychosomatic reaction, to the subconsciously anticipated response.
Or Harem w?uld’ve said…
“Arianna, call the zoo and see if they’re missing an ape!”
i think this is the first time i noticed that harems body with purple hair is exactly the same shade as max’s now i’m no hair dyeing expert but i doubt hair dye off the shelf comes in maxima purple (at least until arianna has her way) so how much effort did she have to go thru to mach max so perfectly?
Maxima has appeared in public before. Clearly she flies to the bank, as one example, predating the press-conference. Harem’s hair dresser probably just used the most popular new hair dye, the that many fashion-conscious girls have been requesting, following the rising interest in the phenomenon of super-heroes. Namely Maxima purple.
So, in the first couple of panels, did anyone notice that Sydney’s hands are in the position of “my hands are cold”? Had a girlfriend that did that all the time.
I hadn’t, actually.
Hell, it’s taken me this long to realize that Varia isn’t with them anymore.
Sigh.
Oh . . . and Ren, too.
Groan
To be fair, the right hand side is cut off rather sharply. I just assumed they’re somewhere in the room out of shot. After all, the room was given much more depth than what’s being shown very early in the comics.
It occurs to me that I don’t know what nicknames you all have assigned to the various versions of Harem. Could someone please tell me what they are?
Us all? For that, credit must go to Guesticus.
And by the time they find out about it and get there, it’s over with. This will be a problem even when events happen in the US. Unless the bad guys have a reason to stick around (hostages, moving tons of gold takes longer than you think), the crime will be over before they can react. Chasing them down is good. Knowing what’s going on ahead of time is better (ARC-Light and ARC-Dark). But since it seems that there are a large number of atypicals (based on the numbers in the gang Vehemence put together) they will frequently play capture and cleanup.
A side note. People in this world are acting a little too rationally. In both the real world and comicbookland there are a lot of nutter’s out there that won’t take the time to think of consequences or don’t care. Yeah, a guy can go postal with a gun, but powers would let him do a lot more damage in lot less time (oh and I said him intentionally, almost everyone who goes postal or does a mass shooting is a guy).
Rats! The comment went into the wrong thread.
Ack. I followed ElectronBod’s link and ended up replying to a post from like a month ago,,, Yeesh.
I still can’t handle the “Bodie” name either. It just doesn’t ring to a particular Harem for me. And Spellcheck yarks every time it is typed.
I just stick with “Harem”, as I have issues with names, and cannot remember the nicknames. But there are times when distinguishing which particular body you are talking about is necessary. If any of the fan-made ones do not sit right with you, as you say, then you could always use the ones that Harem herself does. DaveB’s comment is a fair bit into the thread linked though, so here is the relevant quote:
Guesticus‘s are fun and fairly recognisable through frequency of use, but I will stick to Harem’s own ones, myself. Simply because of my issue with names. It is easier to try and remember five names than ten. Which would be the case if trying to memorise the nicknames too.
So, why is Seneca’s shirt different that the others? And why doesn’t she wear a Top-Shirt like the others?
Without going hunting for other examples elsewhere, but rather comparing it with the ones above, they look pretty similar to me. We can only see a bit of Sydney’s, peeking above her fatigues, mind. And it could be a t-shirt, rather than the style that Seneca has on.
Alternatively though it may just be that it is sitting higher, on Sydney’s chest, because of the way she is sitting. Or Seneca’s bust pulls her neckline down further than Sydney’s? Maxima’s though (albeit in an imagined scene, is still probably composed from a realistic recollection of her image) is clearly is identacle to Seneca’s.
If they are different however, perhaps they are issued with both styles and are allowed to wear whichever they prefer? It would not surprise me though if the military issued guidelines, or even regulations, on which should be worn, in different circumstances. So, for example, dress parade might stipulate one, or the other, as mandatory.
Similarly some situations will doubtless stipulate that both must be worn, with parade being a prime example again. But practicality will require that they are allowed to take the fatigues off, if only for reasons of remaining cool. Archon is informal enough that I feel sure it will be light on regulations which impose uniformity unnecessarily.
I can see that if they had a high-neck and low-neck versions (or t-shirt and muscle shirt versions) that Syd would opt for the one that covers more skin.
Subtle details time. And going beyond the comment that each face is a beautiful, unique, portrait. I know that some folks prefer a plainer cartoon style of drawing (such as Dave’s early art), but situations like this, where reading expressions is useful, really showcases the more realistic style.
In particular, it means that we do not need to arbitrarily impose our impressions of their emotions. Some of them are very plain to see. For instance Sydney’s suspicion, in panel 5, when asking “Really? And Arianna’s ok with this?” A purely quizzical enquiry would not have the eyelids narrowed so much.
Likewise we can make out irritation, on Harem’s face, in panel 3. Apparently the “Anyway” is also said in a harsher, or abrupt, tone of voice, given that it is in bold. This allows us to speculate as to motives, as one reader already raised, in an earlier thread.
I feel that Harem got irritated at Sydney’s geeky response,** in part. Possibly this might reflect interest in the criminal opportunities being discussed? The less reputable aspects to her personality makes me suggest her focus could be on that side of the equation, rather than the law-enforcement context, that Leon is intent on.
However, one other clue can be drawn, from Dave’s attention to detail, at this point. For those of us who like to analyse the scenes.* Harem has switched bodies. Previously she was accompanying this group with Vanilla (a.k.a. Girl Next Door, or Farmer’s Daughter), yet in this scene she is wearing Punk.
So my previous speculation may not be warranted. Clearly Harem was wanting to segue the conversation into party going. So this is clearly a primary motive. But the degree of irritation shown seems unwarranted if it is just that. Given changing topics from serious shop talk is something that would have fitted into Harem’s plans.
One other possibility, beyond larcenous or anti-geek sentiments, which might have flavoured that, is if Harem has arranged kick-backs for herself. In other words Harem could get a commission on any payments made to her fellow heroes. And disrupting her planned change of conversation, by Halo throwing in a nerd-comment, could have accounted for her irritation.
* Note the lack of an “over” prefix, in front of “analyse”. Whilst it may be fair to claim it as obsessive analysis, such is not actually over-analysis, not when such details are being intentionally drawn. The reasons might not match the conclusions that we draw, but there is conscious intent in the choices made.
** Could this be an indication of anti-nerd sentiments? If so, they would probably be concealed, given that Maxima is a ‘former nerd’ and Harem might have picked up on such. But it would make sense for a party-girl like Harem. Throw in her super-hero good looks and rebellious attitudes and it makes me doubt that she would be nerd-friendly.
Yesterday’s real-life events got me thinking on what would happen at Archon for a similar situation. Let’s start from where we are now.
Intercom speakers: Battle stations! Battle stations! All ArcSwat personnel to the briefing room immediately! This is not a drill! All ArcSwat personnel to the briefing room immediately!
Halo: What the?! [ Harem Vorps out. Everybody else jumps up and starts running toward the room they just left. Halo jumps up and starts running after everybody else. ]
[ In the briefing room ]
General Faulk: There is a developing indecent in Paris right now. The government of France has specifically requested Archon’s help to intercede and save lives. Leander, how fast does Scoville fly?
Maxima: She went supersonic with me this afternoon.
Faulk: Ok, Colonel, you and Halo will fly directly there as fast as possible and check in with the local police in Paris. Everybody else will make there way there using the fastest methods possible.
Maxima: Harem, have you ever been to Paris?
Harem(Redhead, standing with the other 4): Not yet. I know it on a map, but I don’t think I could reliably teleport there.
Maxima: Would it help if one of your bodies was already there?
Harem(purple and pink hair): Sure, then I could hit it easily, but the distance may still be a bit much.
Maxima: Good. One of you goes with Halo. The three of us will haul ass supersonically to Paris. One of you stays here and the others will try teleporting to Paris once we get there. Kessler, hit the armoury and grab what you can for everybody still here. Everybody is going, even the recruits; Cassidy, pair up the recruits with somebody corporal or better. Buddy system, people; stay with the partner Anvil assigns you. Major Hiro, prepare to heavy lift everybody else to DFW and get them on supersonic transport for Paris.
Anvil: Is there a Concorde sitting there? I am pretty sure they aren’t flying anymore.
Faulk: What are you thinking about?
Maxima: I am thinking the F22’s out of Kirkland. Each has room for one pilot and one passenger and those pilots are trained for ground-ops too. Leave the weapons load and strap on extra jet fuel, they can get to the Atlantic before they will need to reload. General, We will need 15 planes and a tanker to meet them off the coast of Maine. Next stop after refuel is Paris.
Faulk: I’ll make the calls.
Maxima: Harem, one of you on the roof. *Vorp* Scoville, with me. Major, I want you in the air with everybody in no more than 5 minutes. Time to move!
[ On the Roof ]
Maxima: Central Texas Control, this is Archon 1 and Archon 2. Emergency flight plan. Vertical take-off from Archon heliport to 10,000 feet, then supersonic flight to Paris, France.
Harem (Platinum blonde, in uniform): [ Watches the force field form around Sydney and herself ] I really hate this part.
Halo: It’s not like you are going to try teleporting when we are going a thousand miles an hour, anyway.
Maxima: Taking off, now! Let’s me know if you can’t keep up Sydney. Hey, keep it subsonic until we get up to 10,000.
Halo: [ Hovering, waiting for Maxima to catch up a second or two later ] And away we go. [ Flies beside Maxima. Harem ends up pushed against the back wall of the force field due to how hard they are accelerating. Halo glances are her GPS unit to see how fast they are really going. ] What the? Did we overshoot already? This thing wants me to fly west. Woops, I guess I put in Paris, Texas, not France. [ Makes minor adjustment ] That’s better.
Maxima: Come on, Scoville. Push it as hard as you can. We need to get there are soon as we can. [ Halo’s forcefield zooms past Maxima. ]
Halo: Keep up, slow-poke!
Potentially. they have said they were set up to help out worldwide, not just in the USA & not just for super Vs Super battles. They’d need permission from not only France, but any other country they fly through too, if they need to take a shortcut over Canadian airspace (unknown homebase city could be in northern USA) or Spain/Portugal (if unknown homebase city is somewhere South Eastern USA). But that shouldn’t be too hard hopefully, given the situation…
NATO allies routinely fast-track overflight and entry permissions, in an emergency. And one was officially declared. Plus we saw earlier that the US President is keeping world leaders closely in the loop with Archon, from the tele-conference that Halo stormed in on.
I doubt there would be any problems gaining permission to enter and render assistance. However they would be out of their jurisdiction and would be exceeding their charter. Their mandate is for super threats and natural disasters. Only if there was a super involved, they could assist.
However they still would not have law enforcement powers, other than such limited ones as may be traditionally granted to foreign police, on official business. So they would need to quickly get in touch with Gendarme or Police counterparts, en-route and ensure that they liaised with individuals who did have full powers.
Even in the US, if there was no super involvement, then a domestic terrorist would fall under the remit of other agencies, such as the FBI. And they might be eager to prove that they could still handle non-super incidents, without the aid of supers.
Obviously Arc-SWAT stumbled across an attack in progress, or something similar, then they would be entitled to act. But would otherwise need to get permission to intervene, or a request to assist, from a suitable authority, such as a state governor.
I think Colonel Faulk would enforce this strictly for Archon. They have pushed political boundaries by being set up as a military organisation, with exception to Posse Comitatus. Which we know, even just from readers’ comments would prove to be highly controversial, and unpopular, in some circles. If they are seen to be exceeding their authority, then it would give enough political leverage, to those with vested interests, to call for Archon to be disbanded.
1) I thought Faulk was a Brigadier General, not a Colonel. Admittedly, his senior officer is a Lieutenant Colonel, but I am pretty sure he is still a general.
2) At the beginning of this, I said that France had officially asked for Archon’s help and Faulk told Maxima and Halo to check in with the local cops to avoid the problems you mentioned.
3) Getting permission to enter Canadian airspace from the U.S. is usually covered by filing an international flight plan, getting it approved and checking in as you enter Canadian airspace. In this case, the general’s calls will include a call to NavCan to get permission for the potential fly-over of Nova Scotia, which should not be a problem if they are high enough.
Noted and agreed, on all points.
Unless the hypothetical was obviously far beyond the ability of the French authorities to cope with, I don’t see them OKing Archon to come in and help our. I really don’t. More likely, they’d thank the US politely for the offer and say that if these forces were needed, they would call then.
The whole matter of legality and national sovereignty comes into it. Without a carefully negotiated agreement made beforehand, I think most governments would be EXTREMELY leery of allowing foreign nationals on their soil to be doing military and law enforcement things, even if closely supervised by the locals. Even with such an agreement set in place beforehand, there are usually strict limits.
Skeptical? Historically speaking, foreign troops suddenly arriving on one’s own turf to “help keep civil order” or “aid in the current emergency” or whatever is the sort of thing to get the ol’ Paranoia-meter jumping.
Turning it around, no matter how bad a situation might get in the USA, I am certain there would still be major hesitation in accepting direct military assistance from outside, even from a very close ally.
I should say, firstly, that I felt David Nuttall‘s comment to be a kind gesture, of solidarity with the French.
That said though, I do fully agree with your points as to the politics of the situation. It would take an overwhelming hostile super force, before assistance would be sought.
But, of course, the time-scales are completely out of synch, as the comic is set in 2011. So it is all a moot point, anyhow.
Is Dabbler sitting on his lap naked from the waist down…? Can’t tell if she’s just enjoying her living furniture or if she’s ‘recharging’ quietly right now.
Yes. Until proven otherwise, anyhow. Although a g-string, or similar is possible.
It may look like Dabbler has leggings on, but the only thing which contributes to that is a fold near to her hooves. But I think that is just the way her skin behaves, at that point, as opposed to being fabric. Certainly if she is wearing leggings, then she has colour-matched them exactly. Not just to her skin, but also including her blue-striped patterns.
So that last panel wasn’t showing what happened the morning after then?!
Not in my opinion, no. But it is clearly giving that impression to a lot of folks. However nobody has contested my take on it, in any previous replies, on this question. So I remain confident.
If for no other reason that it would be an incredibly anti-climactic jump to the next day. Completely skipping out on all the implied content, that we are anticipating for the evening. But we will find out, in tomorrow’s comic, if I got the wrong end of the stick.
One thing, that we should bear in mind though, is that there have been premonitions in this comic before. A number of which look credible enough that they could become true. And Arianna’s prediction of masterminds rising to the challenge included a visualisation of Vehemence’s image. Which did come true.
Assuming that we are seeing Sydney’s mind’s-eye view, I hope she is savvy enough to act on it. Her subconsciousness is probably feeding her an accurate assessment, of Harem’s risk to both Sydney, herself, and the rest of Archon. Justifiably based on what Sydney, herself, has already seen of Harem (and excluding reader knowledge, of her double-agent status).
Harem is ‘bad company’ and Sydney is at a vulnerable point at this stage. She has just had fame and fortune shoved on her, and is having difficulty coping with that. Recall Sydney shouting at the press, on her lawn, this morning, and then the later Queen of Spoons incident. Halo is a volatile fuel source and Harem is waving a naked flame around!
Is it just me, or is that couch drawn on a different perspective point than the background?
Dave has faithfully reproduced the couch. I am reclining on one just like it, at the moment. The arms splay out wider, at the front, than at the back. This makes it look like it is directed to a nearer vanishing point, than the rest of the room.
Throw in the fact that the couch is offset from the cupboard behind it (it would need to go about 4″ from Leon’s side, toward’s Harem, to be square), and it explains the difficulties you are having, in figuring out the construction lines used for the scene. It is, however, drawn to perfect perspective.
… does Dabbler often just casually walk around with out any kind of bottoms to speak of? O.o
Whenever she can get away with it.
… that guy Dabbler is sitting on.. isnt he the same guy she *blush* used to recharge?
Yup. If you go back, in between then, and now, you will also find him in the building, here. Getting bashed on the head with Dabbler’s amnesia spell, to allow him to be released back into human society, still able to enjoy sex with a mere human.
So, is the Barberian joining ARC or not? Because if he isn’t, I’m having a serious suspension-of-disbelief problem here. I can accept that the various recruits might not have had the concept of “Operational Security” beaten into their heads yet, and Dabbler treats such things as mild suggestions anyway. But if Seneca is a genuine military professional, she should damn well know better than to be discussing sensitive information in front of uncleared ears.
That is a concern of mine too. And, no, he is not joining. All I can offer, on the plus side, is that the information mentioned above is probably that which the team were advised is being made public knowledge. Given that this is happening in a democracy, the existence of the vault cannot be kept a secret.
Firstly, it would be irresponsible to do so, as the lack of knowledge would prevent banks, governments and financial markets from taking precautions, in the even that he might decide, one day, to flood the market with the gold. By making an announcement that such is not actually happening now, or in the immediate future, it will allow the markets to absorb and react to the shock, hopefully without causing a run on the banks.
Secondly public debate will be required, in order to resolve whether special measures need to be taken to prevent an economic catastrophe. Which means that certain information will be entering the public domain at the moment. Given that modern democracies generally prefer to debate such issues publicly, rather than behind closed doors.
All of the information, provided in the above discussion, would likely to be included in that made publicly available. Even the fact that it is in a vault ten miles underground. As that is a surety to the market that it is more secure than any other existing vault in the world! Which would considerably aid to minimise the qualms that investors and speculators might otherwise feel.
So, with all the above assumptions, we can see that no security critical information has been leaked.
Again, like you, I would be happier if it were kept a total secret. But that is not how our society handles such things (unless intending to kill him secretly). The fact that it has transitioned out of the hands of the secret agencies (Arc-Light and Arc-Dark) and has been passed over to Arc-SWAT personnel (and them discussing it in front of a civilian) implies that such decisions, to go public, have already been made, and, likely, Arianna is attending the press announcement, as they speak.
Actually, scratch that last, Arianna may be tied up in the heads of department meeting. But some Archon spokesperson is likely to attend such an announcement, just to set folks minds at ease that the security concerns are being handled with close police co-operation.
Yeah you’re right actually. Realistically they never would have told anyone who didn’t need to know about it at all. Even though the information they have is vague at best, even knowing of the existence of such a vault in the vaguest terms could motivate someone to start paying attention to gold exchanges around the world to see if there’s someone bringing more new gold in than it seems they should be. I don’t have a good excuse for it.
I dunno, all that work I went to, in order to find a plausible, nay credible, excuse… and then you have to go and be honest!
*throws paws up in the air*
:-D
Hah! I’m willing to bet Jigawatt is spot on.
Doesn’t anyone else find it weird that Iceland is the only country that actually jailed the bankers n their jurisdiction responsible for causing the crash?
And, yes, the way the bankers caused the crash WAS VERY ILLEGAL. Selling multiple copies of those loans is also how people got their homes foreclosed on by banks they didn’t owe money to, as well.
Well they were literally bankrupted by it, so it make sense that they would push through with that. But it sucks that other countries failed to take significant action. There have actually been some prosecutions, but nowhere near as extensive nor as punitive as it should be. So it is carrying on still. Just with different scams. They are now confident that no matter how great their abuses, governments will bail out the banks and the guilty individuals will be let off the hook.
Except of course that the next time it all goes pear-shaped, it may not be possible to bail it out. In which case the austerity measures we have been through will look like child’s-play, compared to what could happen. And I doubt that the public will take rampant starvation lying down. I think that widespread lynching of bankers could result.
Jailing the guilty now, getting the G20 to all agree to put in strong regulation (including limits on director’s remuneration) and then strictly enforcing it could prevent that. But we, the public, give governments the mandate to keep prioritising expanding the economy, by failing to elect a government with an alternative. So we only have ourselves to blame.
Still, rope sales (or bartering) will help re-start the economy, so it is not all bad.
Only now after coming back to read more pages and looking over this one before doing so, did I notice
that Dabbler was just lounging in dudes lap for this talk… XD
A thought: what if a supervillain needs the gold for its superior conductive properties? Those seem more likely to be useful for a death ray than its great malleability or ductility. I suppose I could envision it being needed for its unreactive nature, though.
Of course, one would wonder why you wouldn’t go with a superconductor instead, unless of course your death ray needed the gold as a thermal conductor. (Wouldn’t it be cool if a supervillain stole a piece of the LHC to strip its superconductor magnets for a death ray?) And whatever the reason, how could it possibly require such an extreme amount of gold?
Paying celebrities to draw the crowds is a great investment for a nightclub. With all entertainment (except web comics), the real killing is made in concessions, and the profit margins for alcoholic drinks are insane. If they can pull a high-volume, vertical drinking throng and scale their drink prices to their rent (as they do,) they could easily cover monthly overhead in one weekend.
Reading back through this I was suddenly reminded (not going to check but don’t think I commented on this before) but I remember a sci-fi novel where a character finds a non-functioning robot in some kind of post-apocalyptic setting and pulled out card that was filled almost completely with lead but a little gold and starts wondering if it’s powered by gold so removes the lead, crams some gold nuggets into the card and reinserts it and the robot started working again so yes gold has been showing powering something.
Okay. I feel the need to point out that it was stated that the guy with the gold has “roughly an Olympic-size swimming pool’s worth”, and an Olympic-size swimming pool is 50 meters long by 25 meters wide by 3 meters deep, so he would have roughly 3750 cubic meters of gold, not the mere 25 cubic meters of gold that Leon mentions.
For some reason, the Mary Jane Peanut Butter Kisses link leads to keto gummy bears, lmao. Quite the opposite