Grrl Power #49 – Post Sydney Stress Disorder
I love the shit eating grin on Maxima’s face. Even if it is tiny. And the little “whoops, sorry that knocked you on your ass” wave.
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I love the shit eating grin on Maxima’s face. Even if it is tiny. And the little “whoops, sorry that knocked you on your ass” wave.
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Discussion (121) ¬
wait when did that knife get there is it floating?
“Staring Daggers”
also, curses for being >30 seconds ahead of me >.> I stayed up nearly 24 hours for this.
“First” comment. Serious business. -_-
Daggervison. Another of Sydney’s mysterious powers. Or maybe not so mysterious.
The power to literally stare a dagger into you? X3 Wonder what else she has! The power to clear a room due to spicy breath, stare actual daggers, magically tethered to a case, what else?!
One thing you have to know about Dave’s art style (and, really, anything that takes cues from manga) is that you can’t always take everything you see as literal. You have to sort of apply your best guess “common sense” when interpreting things like daggers suddenly appearing out of people’s eyes. I’m pretty sure he juse meant to convey that she was “staring daggers” at Maxima in a figurative sense.
I got that, about it being a figurative rather than literal dagger. But wouldn’t it be cool to really have daggervison as a power, I mean, who would expect that? Even a Super-Ninja would be caught off guard! Besides, I’ve seen much weirder powers than that in manga.
sorry i seem to think to literal to have gotten the “staring daggers” reference to me it was a floating knife
No harm done, I thought the same thing.
one minor character in a story I’m working on (though she won’t show up for a couple of books) has what I’ve been calling alternately:
self-hallucination or customizable UI and other people have referred to as “Alteration of Perceived Visual Reality”
simply put, she makes herself see things the way she wants to see them…some of her more advanced uses of this have her mistaken for a common clairvoyant since one of the things she does with it is use it to watch movies going on down the street…(she later learned they had SOUND and started going to ‘hear a movie’)
uses of this include her leaving behind a yellow line only she can see so she won’t get lost, making it so she can see in the dark (someone with her commented “I wish I could adjust my gamma setting”) putting visible floating notes around the people she was dealing with and so on…
I’ve noted that a person with a hearing version could use it turn an interrogator’s questions into questions about a completely different subject entirely…or just into flat gibberish (limited use in resisting torture, but might help)
*delurks*
Didn’t she already show up in Divine Blood? That was a nicely original power set, though.
*relurks*
Don’t get me wrong, I know that! I’m just kidding, at least about the staredagger part, everything else seems to be more or less true. Now to actually stare a dagger into someone would be a powerful ability, since no armor can block a dagger that magically appears in you.
That or Max is just immune to the daggers XP
Sydney is probably the long-lost daughter of The Knifeketeer.
I want daggervision.
In Xanth each character has a talent, and Xanath being punny some are literal takes on frases. At one point a character had the talent of “staring dagers” that when she looked at you dager flew from her eyes.
I found it funny too.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit used the meme:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtKOPF0NyHg
Hah! A sign of true friendship: Knowing to think about the assailant’s health before the assaulted’s.
y’know…. this was worth staying up untill 7:00 AM to read =3 Night everyone!
He did get the order right. If we were hearing it, it would probably be, “Are you OK? [skip a beat] Uh, is the bank robber OK?”
This following the archives and making the occasional comment is a bit of a bother. I can hardly wait until I am caught up so that I can whine about when the next strip–oh, forget it!
Ooh, Sydney’s character info bit has been updated.
“Enjoy’s very spicy food”… That’s like saying the surface of the sun is hot. Serious understatement
Love how Joel wondered if SYDNEY had robbed the bank and then, when she put him right, expressed concern about the robber.
I second that.
the guy on the stretcher sounds a bit like he is in shock…. I wonder why? great comic!
Shock maybe, but his speech impediment is the aftereffects of Sydney’s Tongue-Fu.
Yeah, getting thrown by one of the largest cluster of blood vessels and nerves in the body next to the genitals tends to leave one… *Puts on sunglasses* …Tounge-tied.
YEEEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHH!
I guess when you put it that way, he should be glad that it was only his tongue that she threw him by. Yikes!
“… *next* to the genitals …”? Is this more superhero physics? Or just some people built weird?
‘Next’ as in ‘next on the list’, not ‘anatomically next to each others’.
Maxima: I know what this is and we’re going to have a nice long chat about it.
Sydney: You’re on the list.
Joel: This is all going to be sydney’s fault somehow.
I think you missed Joel on the “Who’s Who”…
Whoops, sure did. I’ve added him.
That was awesome. “Is the bank robber OK?” – He was probably joking, but….
He just knows her better than most. And reportedly has the scars to prove it.
We do later find out that Sydney spent the night in jail once after beating up someone who tried to mug her. Later release as it was ruled ‘self-defense’.
Joel just knows the crazy shenanigan’s that tend to follow her.
two things:
first: it seems that Sydney is already at the maximum extension for her “leash” while Maxima is sitting there thinking “I can wait all day and your not going anywhere either hehehe” (grinds boot for emphasis)
second: there might be something to the name Halo… if only because she always seems to be pulled back once her head has gone so far from the tube and lands flat on her back while her feet still travel forward
sorry for the small w.o.t.
and for pointing out the obvious in the first point…
“…bit me on the head and began punching my ear…”
Isn’t that usually done the other way ’round?
I think he’s saying “hit me on the head” not “bit me on the head”.
Nope, go check the page. She was definitely biting his head and punching his ear.
You are quite right, I stand corrected, she did bite his head! Remind me not to tick off any woman that will leave tooth marks in my skull!
Actually she is clearly gnawing on his head https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/comics/2011-06-06-GP0043.jpg while pounding his ear. Berserkers aren’t known for their tactical genius. :)
No we aren’t but damn are we effective. ;)
Yes both my sisters are testaments to that. Despite being much smaller, not as strong and outnumbered they held their own. In fact they are the ones who are called on to deal with bureaucracy at it’s worst. They get results when logic and truth don’t.
Well I should amend that somewhat, some of us can think tacticly BEFORE aggression occurs..we’re just not good on plans after we start swinging ;)
And unlike Sydney most don’t remember too much afterward.
In my few moments of ‘Berserker Mode’ My last thought is “Target Acquired!’ After that I usually wake up with a guy pinned down Screaming “UNCLE! UNCLE! UNCLE!”
Some guys would like that! :) Not me though had enough violent behavior from my sisters but it is funny to watch.
I’m not sure I’d like the idea of some guy liking the fact that I’m beating the tar out of him.
Well that’s basically what a Dominatrix does. And there are guys that are “wrestling” fans who like to lose wrestling matches with women and be put in submissive holds etc (I’ll let your mind paint the picture). There are kinks of all sorts out there including MLP furries.
Joel’s customer is clearly as trilled as I am when the person selling me something can’t be bothered to stop talking on the hone to serve me, No wonder the store is in trouble.
* Thrilled gaghhh my edit function in my brain refuses to work
Actually, he appears to be bagging her comic book while he’s on the phone.
Yes but HE called HER. So he made the call while dealing with a customer a big no-no in retail.
….easier to get away with when you own the store. (at least until you go out of business, of course)
Quite possible the call was made before the customer came to the counter.
That said since it is the co-owner of the store on the other side you ask Sydney to hold a moment while you help the customer.
If I’ve just found out that my close friend who I’m on the phone with was the victim of an armed robbery, that particular customer can just sit there and wait while I take care of something a lot more important than “customer service”.
Missing the point he didn’t know and didn’t believe at first and when he did he made a joke out of it. Sorry anyone talking on a phone while dealing with a customer is rude. You are basically saying the phone call is more important than the customer. I once put a district manager on hold because I had to help a customer. She not only wasn’t mad she praised me for doing the right thing (one of the few times we agreed on anything don’t get me started). Customers may not always be right but they are the reason your place makes any money at all.
Just don’t forget that the rules are different when it’s a customer on the other end of the phone.
it’s no less rude when the customer is on the phone while you’re trying to help them check out, i’ve actually stopped helping customers until they get off the phone because they apparently don’t hear anything you say, aka the price of the item they want to buy, tried telling one customer his purchase was $50, he handed me a $20, btw, proper customer service when dealing with a customer on the phone and one at the counter is ask the person on the phone to hold while you deal with the one at the counter, in store takes priority
Agreed customers can be rude and nasty. My least favorite kind is the one that waves money at you while you are dealing with another customer I would ignore them. These types often have a phone glued to the side of their heads as if to say their time is more valuable/important than anyone else s.
Seems to me everybody might find this site interesting: https://notalwaysright.com/ having been in food service I can relate to a lot of these stories even some of the scary one. Sorry Dave for plugging this site.
I was channeling Our valued customers when I drew that customer. A lot of those people look a little under-enthused to me.
It can’t be that bad for business – the Simpsons’ “Comic Book Guy” has managed to run a thriving comic book store for over 20 years, and he’s horribly rude, mocks, belittles, threatens, and ignores customers on a regular basis, even banning some of his best customers from the store entirely on a whim. Maybe Joel’s modeling his business on that one?
Yes but Simpsons has about as much in common with reality as MLP only funnier.
Bart tried to use a credit card acquired through fraud once. A ban as a result of that is hardly “a whim” although you’re right about everything else.
I have to agree, the only posible excuse he has was she asked where Syd was, prompting the call.
Find or funny sydney is hiding from the cop and the robber.
hmmm…. OH! I Know! Make the robber a re-occurring character! xD Runs in terror at the sight of Sydney, usually gets caught in some kind of blast from a wall esplodin’ or something like that. and by that point he gets his own ‘who’s who’ badge xD
“The Robber –
Unfortunate thief who’s plans always seem to be foiled by Sydney, intentionally or otherwise.”
you know i think that would work but only if syd gets to breath the pepper/bees in to his face again… that or bite his head? just something that would be ironic. like if at first he didn’t remember her, and he did something to her and went in to another “mothra farts” rant.
I don’t think there is any way he could possibly not remember her.
Ironicaly both are reoccurring characters….
So is Sydney’s lunch.
If ya do the robber, it has to go all “hatred of Arthur Dent to point of destroying entire universe” but without the ability to do so. hehe.
I have read this comic 5 times so far today and laugh every time at the last panel. I submit this as an example of “funny” for the dictionary.
I like the “define ok”
Got to say it. That is one whiny bank robber. Maybe he has a concussion or something but that’s the risk you take doing crime. Like the theme from Baretta “Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time”.
I don’t think your run-of-the-mill bank robber is expected to be all that tough. They’re mostly slackers who think it’s going to be easy money for little work, not expecting their hostage to mace them with Thai food, body slam them by the tongue, and then chew on their head! This is pretty much how I would expect one to react. Actually, I think he’s taking it quite well, all things considered.
Having actually been robbed twice (while working at a “stop-n-rob” lol ) I can say that there are some who are actually almost pros at it. They take precautions do it quickly and efficiently and don’t generally get caught. The stupid ones always get caught because they do something stupid but that’s another story.
So I’m guessing Sydney’s bank robber was one of the stupid ones then.
(A smart robber, will, while casing the bank, notice the conspicuously golden superhero woman waiting in line and call off the heist.)
Or at the very least, shift targets to a different bank.
And if the robber Maxima took down did die, the first robber would have a murder charge to go with the other charges.
Actually a smart one wouldn’t rob a bank that was that busy they would hit the bank at a time when there were only a few people to control and deal with. At the place I worked there was another very similar place across the street. We had a policy of 2 people working the overnight while they only had 1 old guy. During 1 summer he was robbed 10 times and we didn’t get robbed. Most robberies will happen during downtimes when there are less witnesses. Both times I was robbed the robber was the only customer in the store and I was the only visible person working.
OK, maybe it takes a moderately dumb crook to rob a busy bank instead of a sparsely populated one. But it takes a really REALLY dumb crook to rob a busy bank and not check for the presence of obvious superheros, in a world in which superheros are known to exist (even if they are relatively uncommon). An extraordinarily dumb crook. So dumb that if stupidity were a superpower, he would have it at at least “ultra” level, if not “penumbrate”.
Too True!
Dude was probably willing to sit in a prison for X years if he got busted. Dude might have even been willing to get shot. Being gnawed by a 98 lb nerdgirl who breaths pepper bees? Dude just didn’t see it coming.
Worse, he’s facing off against Maxima, and it’s the 98-lb nerdgirl that kicks his butt? How humiliating. He needs to get his (fake) story straight before he makes it to prison, and claim Maxima did all that damage, and hope his partner doesn’t let on before he becomes the laughingstock of the cell block. Getting your butt kicked by Maxima – not all that embarassing. The other crooks will probably be impressed that he’s actually met her.
You forgot to add, and lived to tell of it.
Sorry, but this is starting to be a little inconsistent. I can’t understand the fact that she is actually having a conversation with Joel after the last panel in the previous page. There should logically be a dialog between Maxima and Sidney.
One would say that, if you delay this dialog, it must be for a good reason, instead this page is practically void of meaning.
This page is the kind of exposition between characters that should be done off-panel, it does not add anything to the story.
I am sorry if I sound harsh. English is not my first language, so I kinda lack expressive subtlety. I just want to say that while I like very much the “drawing” part of the story, I think that you should work more on the “writing”, shrinking dialogues and cutting useless scenes. This comics starts to have a whole array of pages that could be removed without having the reader notice it.
I see it as a kind of webcomic-verbal shorthand. I don’t have any problem with it. Here, the strip is dealing with a whole bunch of stuff in a fairly linear fashion as coherently as possible. The phone is closer than Maxima or ‘The Tube’, and happened “first” – and so Sydney deals with it (and Joel) first.
Well, it is sorta important that she takes the call. She needs to tell her business partner why she went AWOL after all. Plus, if she didn’t take the call, Joel would logically keep attempting to contact her and that would interrupt her and Maxima’s conversation.
This is also supposed to be a primarily character-driven comic and this sort of scene provides characterization. Which is, you know, important.
While it’s mostly comedy and fleshing out the relationship between her and Joel, the simple fact that we are watching this conversation shows that in spite of being drawn to Maxima, Sydney is trying to draw out having to confess her powers even though Maxima litterally has her on a leash at this point.
She’s been trying to hide the existence of her powers for 3 months at this point and, in spite of having decided to save the day during the bank robbery, is now having second thoughts. A little too late…
Well the conversation between Syd and Max will happen, and as has been pointed out, Max isn’t worried about Syd running off so she’s okay with letting it hang. And yeah, there are a lot of pages that could be heavily edited or even cut, but the comic isn’t about a tightly wound plot of good vs. evil, it’s “a day in the life of” about superheroes. That’s not to say there won’t be villains or plot threads, but it’s safe to say that my favorite issues of the X-men were where they spent the day playing baseball, not the ones where they draged their broken bodies through piles of dead Moorlocks so that they could stop one of the Reavers. Stopping the bad du jour has no meaning in a comic where that’s all that happens, but if a writer sneaks in that Wolverine secretly likes Strawberry Yoohoo or something, that’s awesome and that lives with the character forever.
Even with superheroes, life is hours/days of boring routine with moments of stark terror (just like our brave men and women in the military).
One thing any super has to keep in mind is the safety of civilians. Maxima had to focus on keeping the civilians from harm, which was made harder by Sydney’s actions. (“The best swordsman fears not the next best, he fears the worst, for he knows not what the idiot will do.”)
I’m afraid you don’t understand the point of my criticism. It is not Everyday’s life VS action. I don’t even understand where this idea comes from.
This page, in my opinion, is useless, not because of lack of laser beams, but because lack of meaningful plot (everyday’s life or else).
I’m glad to see that other people like the story, but I think some constructive criticism will help you to improve. I hope you don’t take it as personal attack (thing that kinda shows from your post, again, being english not my language, I may be totally wrong).
To say this page lacked plot is quite incorrect, it is part of the work-subplot, a common device where our hero has to deal with the people she works with. A perfect medium for establishing reputations and attitudes of supporting cast, and also sometimes adding extra challenge to the hero’s day.
However, it is obvious that you, ‘Not an expert’, didn’t like it, and would have prefered a faster pace in the main plot instead. Thats is a valid point, but claiming a page such as this is pointless from a plot-sense is a bit missguided. I personally like a good mix of main and sub-plot elements in a story. A story with only main-plot becomes fast-paced, but I usually find the flatness of such a story boring. A story with almost only subplot is something I consider to be almost ‘Jordan’-ish word-diarrhea.
This story, so far, have shown a balance between main and subplot that I find enjoyable, but I understand that there are thoose who disagree with me, some prefering faster pacing, some prefering more characterization by subplots.
And to the author: Keep up the good work :)
I don’t take it as an attack, I appreciate any constructive criticism. This is my first long term writing project so I’m sure one day I’ll look back on it and shudder at ways it could have been told better, I mean improving my writing and art and all that other stuff is one of the fun things about doing this. It’s just that right now, I can justify a page to myself if it has a few gags or a funny expression on it. Things will start moving more quickly I think in a few pages. Lots of new characters and other things introduced and Sydney getting swept along with it.
Nicely put. Superheroes are all the more real when they have to deal with the daily stuff too.
On the contrary, I think answering the call gives Sydney the time to recover from her embarrassment and recollect her thoughts. Having Maxima press her at this point would be a bad move diplomatically.
“He knows her to well” bwha ha ha ha
Epic Keep it up. And Salute from Afghanistan.
Lovin’ it. :D
Also, if you’re interested, the Gangr has quite some side effects on a low (meaning normal) level of experience with it, and is not exactly easy to cope with it later, either.
Though I guess Sydney’s little Gangr earlier has more to do with the comedic effect than with an existing psychological condition. Either way, keep up the good job. :D
He cares more about the bank robber than her. :D
Naah, just cares more about the possibility of a lawsuit…
And he wants to know when she’ll get back to help at the store. You know real life stuff.
Every time I see her face in the second panel I can’t help but laugh.
He said”… and then she bit me on the head and started punching my ear!”
Sigh…another Thursday passes and no Thursday strip. Wait……..no….well, I wasn’t really expecting one, I guess OK, I’ll just wait for Monday again.
Thanks for writing such an eaersto-und-ystand article on this topic.
(reloads page again) OK, still no Thursday strip, just checking to make sure
I have just catched up. I found this comic bit earlier and stopped to page 4, but yesterday I started reading again and I like how much Sydney has more character than Clark Kent and other regular superheroes. I can imagine Sydney in therapy session sitting next to Hancock.
About the phone/customer issue…
I swear, at my shop I have either no customers and no phone calls or both at once.
A subset of Murphy’s Law, I suppose.
So…Joel calls Sydney just as a regular comes in for his books.
The customer IS being serviced so I don’t see the problem.
I run a register at a bookstore and I have any number of customers talking away on their cells as they check out. It is annoying since I have to ask them a few things in the course of doing my job.
Would it hurt them so much to put the phone down for the minute it (usually) takes me to complete the sell?
Random thought: hero’s cellphone ringing at just the wrong time…
Can we all just agree that ANYONE beginning a conversation on a cell phone when they’re supposed to be interacting with someone in person is RUDE, whether it is a commercial or personal interaction? One thing at a time, folks, and the person standing next to you comes first. Also, beginning an in-person conversation while you’re already on the phone is rude to BOTH parties.
Great comic, it enlivens my dull life so much!
I’ve given some thought to Maxima’s holster, as mentioned a few pages back. I’m not a chesty woman myself, but I am an experienced shooter. I don’t have and don’t want a twitter account, so I’ll just put my idea here.
To save a whole lot of description, Google Image Galco Jackass. That’s not a Sydneyesque insult, it’s the name of the holster I mean. Wearing one a bit lower than usual, Maxima could lay her forearm along her bra band and the butt of her gun would be right under her hand. Note the thumbsnap. It is a strap passing trom the outside (arm) side of the holster, snugly across the back of the gun, and tucked into the inside (ribs) side of the holster, where it snaps to the base of a tab projecting forward. Flicking the tab with your thumb frees thee gun.
Advantages of the Jackass holster: it is a very fast draw, and offers decent concealment for any gun with an overall length less than the depth of the wearer’s chest. (definitely no problem for Maxima!). It’s an actual Real World product with a good track record.
Disadvantage: you must use the thumbsnap at all times, or your gun will fall out.
Hmmm…how to define okay…an undamaged, reasonably healthy physical and mental state? Nope. The guy is DEFINITELY not okay.
Bent but not completely broken I’d think. After all he is cogent and responsive.
Haha. “If looks could kill” in panel 1. Love the little dagger.
I miss Joel. I hope to see him again soon.
“Uhh… define OK.” Plus that expression, Sydney’s guilty body language, the patient framed behind her, his dialogue….
All right everything about that final panel, just makes me laugh so much, every time I see it. Even four years later!
So…yeah, most of a decade after this comic was drawn….but can we take a moment to appreciate the fact that before Joel knew about Sydney’s powers his response to finding out someone tried to rob the bank while he was there was “Is the bank robber OK?”