Grrl Power #131 – Cue maniacal laughter and lightning
Surprise! Random double sized page for you. I’ve been trying to avoid cramming 12 panels onto a page, but there was no way to do this one the way I wanted without breaking it up weirdly or just smashing the panels to microscopic proportions, so this is my solution.
Unfortunately I wasn’t able to update the vote incentive yet, I’ll try and have that tomorrow evening. I need to figure out something else to do for the incentives. I like doing them but some of them take as long as doing an entire page, and quite frankly I’d rather spend the time on another story page, and I’d imagine some of you would prefer I do anything I can to pick up the pace as well. I’ll do the Dabbler’s Science Corner as promised but maybe next month I’ll post teaser images of pencils from the next page or something.
Edit: Oh, and I just found out about this: Comicmix.com is having their annual webcomic popularity contest, so if you like, you can go vote for Grrl Power to get us seeded into the starting bracket. No idea how far we’d get in the actual tourney but it’d be fun to try! Oh, and I should mention that you can vote for more than one comic in this seeding round, so you don’t have to play favorites quite yet. :)
Edit 2: The Comicmix tournament has started properly, and it’s single elimination, so go get em! (And thanks for the support!) Unfortunately their page is overloaded with all the polls it’s almost unusable, at least on my work laptop, but maybe perseverance it part of the tournament. We’re up against Scenes from a Multiverse, which is a pretty funny comic by a veteran webcomicer. It has sort of a Futurama vibe to it. Also, I’m not sure if you can vote just once, or in each bracket, their facebook/poll plugin is acting a bit squirrely for me, so, you know, just in case, vote for Grrl Power first. :)
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.
Now I need a maniacal laughter & lightning app for my phone.
This comic is how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb…I mean Mondays…just Mondays.
It was a dark stormy night… <— How Deus starts novels.
…and then he divorced her, sued off her money, and was happy ever after. His evil empire lasted 430 years and his descendants kept humanity in line forever after. <— How Deus ends novels.
panel 10…he’s got that Spumco grin.
So much win; this page made me laugh out loud.
Just voted for you in the seeding round, and you’re currently in the lead!
Also, I’m amused by Deus.
I really liked this comic when I found itand caught up on the archives, but the pace is /painfully/ boring and slow for a weekly comic. Please have less random throwaway weeks like this that serve little to no purpose and instead move the story forward!!
Wow… just read the archive and are ready to slam the entire strip.
I’ve been reading since the start and have read every week. It’s a great read each week and makes me look forward to Mondays. In fact, I just re-read the archive last week for fun when someone questioned the pacing and found it just as enjoyable all at once.
Don’t let jerks like this get you down Dave. Keep up the good work.
Yes please ignore the flyby. I have ADD and I find it only a little slow for very obvious reasons.
!. Quality
2, Not the author’s dayjob
3. FUN!!!
What the hell do you want for FREE!!!
Get a life Doc Ham.
Perhaps I should have been clearer. I did not /just/ finish my archive binge. I finished it back when the current comic was Syndey plowing her way through a Comic Con line with a badge. So it’s been quite a few weeks I think. Just a few.
Second, both you and Gamesman need to not be so knee-jerk defensive. My comment may have been a bit too harshly worded in hindsight, but I was not trying to slam the comic. I was criticizing with the hope of spurring improvement. If everyone constantly sings praises, how do you get any better? The artwork is phenomenal, and I wouldn’t expect it to be more than weekly, and I just felt like there was a lot of filler for a weekly comic. In internet terms, calm your jimmies, both of you. All I was trying to say was I look forward to the comic each week, and on weeks like this I feel a bit disappointed.
As for Dave, I sincerely appreciate your response, and I wasn’t aware you did this on the side. No offense was intended, and I’m not about to stop reading, I just wanted to put in my two cents.
Also, I typed this out on my phone and I’m not responsible for any typos.
You have to expect that type of a response when you denigrate a popular web-comic and ask the artist to change it to suit you. Personally I LIKE this weeks comic like almost every other one. Yes it would be nice if it was a daily but to that something would have to go mainly quality which would be a tragedy. If you had just said “I wish it would update faster” no one would have reacted. As someone once told me “Think first speak second”.
I retract nothing of what I said. I said what I meant and I stick by it. I just think I perhaps came off too rude.
I don’t mind weekly webcomics but again, when you look forward to a comic for a week and get what amounts to filler, I can’t help but feel a bit disappointed.
I wouldn’t really call a comic that gives a clear view of the tone of this particular characters style filler, but that’s just me. Besides, it seems like there’s always been lots of silly stuff that doesn’t really advance the plot and is just amusing. Like a lot of the ones with Math.
Also, I’d like to add, you were a right dick to someone who simply voiced (SHOCK) a dissenting opinion and so I don’t want to hear any lectures from you about thinking first and speaking second.
Not really I treated you like I would have any vandal who walked up to a piece of art (regardless of your opinion that’s what this is) and pissed on it. Constructive criticism is helpful but calling it trash isn’t. You don’t like lectures than lurk more and learn how to act in public. Think how you would react if I came into your life and told you something you put days of work into and felt pride in was a piece of shit. No you need to grow up.
Dude, he didn’t walk up and piss on it. You’re an idiot for even implying that. I urge you to learn how to read correctly. He was criticizing the slow pace of updates, nothing more and nothing less.
Not to mention that Dave isn’t made of fucking GLASS. He isn’t going to BREAK.
I think we can put it down to a caffeine overdose and our over-protectiveness of the comic.
* Swaps Gamesman‘s drink for a decaf, and slips off to Antarctic Lair construction site, to hide *
… Plus maybe a certain degree of “If I hear just one more complaint about Dave’s output, I am gonna ….“.
I will confess to a slight prejudice against critics especially those that seem to disregard the amount of effort and soul that go into your work. But he called it trash by saying it was a “throwaway” and it had “no purpose”. In my mind artists need to be nurtured or their special gift may die. And the internet is full of talent-less hacks just waiting to pounce on any perceived error or weakness. I like this place because it is mostly free of that. I want very much for it to stay that way. If I’ve offended please take my sincere apology. I’ve never been good with dealing with critics.
I can handle criticism, I have a thick skin (although surprisingly delicate at the same time. I’m like the Princess and the Pea when it comes to selection of bedsheets) Dr. Ham was just giving his opinion and wasn’t factually inaccurate about anything. You’re right that this is a really upbeat community, which I love, so the odd critical comment does tend to stand out out that much more because of it.
Naw it’s reasonable way to feel. I feel the same way about Sabrina Online or Flaky Pastry. It’s tough to enjoy something so much and realize you have to wait for a snail’s pace of an update schedule right after you’ve gorged yourself on all the goodness it has to offer. Everytime I think about all the fun jokes and storylines I want to get through I wish I could do it faster as well. That’s why I may do something a bit more lazy with the vote incentives for a month or two to get some ancillary work done for the comic.
I have been reading Sabrina on-line long enough to rememberer when it went monthly rather then weekly. Better then a few others out there that will remain nameless which update when the artist feels like it.
Oddly enough, you may get more voting benefit from various quick and easy incentives, rather than your usual high quality monthly one*. For example if there is any dialogue you rejected because it was just too silly, post that up later in the week, when voting would normally start to tail off.
Or put up sketches as you mentioned elsewhere. Or the comic part inked, so we can see how you got to the end product. Or fan art, such as the ones your Spanish readers posted on D.A. So long as it is something that does not take too much time out of the rest of your life, the more frequently you can put a change up on the incentive, the better. For voting purposes, anyhow.
I would suggest doing so randomly though. Partly so that it does not feel a burden on you to put such things up to a deadline. Allowing you to do it as, when and if it suits you. But also if you say “Thursdays will be sketch day” then folks might just log in on that day to vote. Whereas a random schedule gives a nice perk to anyone who votes regularly.
And people who pop in to find the vote button routinely are more likely to get into the comments, which will in turn, help to keep them returning in between scheduled updates.
* Exceptions being for any with gratuitous fan service, needless to say.
I don’t see it as filler. For one, I laughed myself teary-eyed at panel 7. This is a web comic, and laughter is important. Secondly, it gives us clues to the characters of Vale and Deus, and hints (but does not simply tell us) that they are not simple stereotypes. It nicely added fool to the fire of speculation about Deus and his MI.
I like him, he has spunk
“I hate spunk!” Lou Grant to Mary Richards on her first day.
It is a hard slog having to wait a week for a page. But it is well worth it. One day this will all be in some kind of book form or at the very least we can reread it at our own speed in the archives. The comments help to bridge the gap nicely.
Deus is such an egotist, and a drama king. Likes his soliloquy punctuated with the crash of thunder. It is humorous. Like the characters of the world of The Incredibles commenting on monologuing of the various villains they have encountered.
He might be a Drama Queen Dave B hasn’t indicated what team he bats for. :)
So… not sure how I feel about this one. I mean Dave’s characteristic humor is there and I laughed at the page and so enjoyed it, but between this page and the previous one or even two, there is quite a jarring shift in tone. It went from semi-serious plot advancement and development to completely wackey bad guy humor. Not a bad thing per se, just threw me off a little bit.
Well if bad guy cliches in just about every story ever are any indication, the Harem fans (I’d use the word fanboys but that sound negative) have nothing to worry about because usually when the bad guy says “I’m counting on (insert hero action here)” shortly after introduction and/or early in the plot, inevitably the good guy does just that.
Also, I’m curious if Dave put “triple agent” into the script up there because it was mentioned in the comments or if he had already planned on using it, because I could see it going either way on this one.
For me, some of the best, and therefore most memorable, TV comes from shows which can handle both comedy and serious drama, alternating between one and the other to great effect.
On one side of the Atlantic you have ‘Soap’ and ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ as shining examples.
The other shore including ‘Fawlty Towers’ and ‘One Foot in the Grave’.
If you enjoy the serious stuff and you enjoy the comedy, then do not let other mundane entertainment give you the impression that they should not be mixed. However, the transition from one to the other is not a simple skill to master. But I think that Dave has the potential to pull it off more often than not.
Oh I agree completely. Any show or movie or whatever that is all serious without any character ever cracking a joke takes itself too seriously. The reason I say this is that even in real life in the midst of a serious conversation with friends and family, someone will always crack a joke of some kind, people laugh or chuckle, and then it continues. I think any story should include both silly-ness and serious-ness to some degree. It was merely the transition I was commenting on which, as you mentioned, is certainly a hard thing to master. I have confidence in Dave’s skills too.
So the question here is does he style himself after David Xanitos? Because right now he makes me think more of a rich guy that puts together complicated schemes for fun and profit, said schemes may or may not be evil, though he would probably be more amused if you assumed they were…
And now gargoyles get’s brought into this? *Deep breath and relaxed sigh* The comments for this page are taking me back. Maybe someone will mention Filmore next some how.
Xanatos is not a bad comparison. I don’t really get a en ‘evil’ vibe from this guy. He’ll be a “villain” at some point simply because he’ll be doing bad and our team will be on the opposing side whether they know it’s him or not. But on the same account if a big enough true villain appears, he’ll be devoting plenty of his resources to helping our heroes stop him, much like Xanatos did on multiple occasions across the show. We shall see eventually.
I agree 100%
So far the entire comic has been, if not serious, at least semi-serious, with the exception of Sydney. I can kinda accept Sydney as being very weird. And I’m fine with it. But she’s weird in a real universe.
But this comic seems to come out of the blue, it’s jarring. It feels like I’ve suddenly landed in a separate comic. I didn’t like it. Though I appear to be in a minority with that opinion.
just voted and then saw this https://postimage.org/image/863tuxgs3/
22% with 222 votes (just not on the 2nd place which would make it perfect but 4th, which now that I think of it is 2×2)
If Machina is supplying Archon with stuff, will they supply Halo with an official “creepy lighting” effect? I bet they make them. :D
wish i had a thunder creator app. evil laughter doesn’t sound as fun alone…
“Bring the Thunder”
Egotistical much?
I think I’ll agree with the tagline in the comic. “I’m not sure if we should be more or less worried about him.”
Either he’s going to be the corporate CEO who has delusions of villainy(which can still be a threat) or he’s certifiably insane. Either case, I feel sorry for his secretary. The look on her face says it all, “He’s A Bloody Idiot! If he didn’t pay so well, I’d be gone in a heartbeat.”
That pity comment for her secretary got me wondering if her outfit is her chose or his.
Notice that she invited him to do the maniacal laugh with lightning before she took the remote to the shop.
Yeah, that’s why don’t understand her, *ahem* ‘shocked’ expression when it does go off
Do they have one that does, “Dun dun dunnnnnn”?
Now I want seats and popcorn for when Deus and Sidney meet up!
Deus: Oh, my nose! You buthted my nothe! What wath that for?!
Sydney: Well, you went all thundery … and stuff… Umm, Sorry about that but I don’t react well to being surprised.
Deus: You think?!
Sydney: No not really. I kind of react without thinking when I do that. Umm, I thought I was here to test these things? [points at some things swirling slowly around her head]
Actually, given we’ve already been told that dangerously genre savvy seems to be Sydney’s main power, I’m thinking she’ll figure him as main baddy almost immediately…
Or, maybe de-deus (:P) his true purpose
That was funny! Thanks!
hmm, you know, if the cast entry for Harem were lying about how many projections she could do…Vale could almost be a good fit physically for Harem #6. Which would be rather awesome if that turns out to be true.
No freckles on Vale, so I doubt it.
pretty sure her bio says she maxes out as #5
Yes, that’s what it says, but if they wanted to have a undercover Harem op, they would lie!
But I doubt they are lying. I don’t think Harem has the patience to maintain an identity that is not allowed to port. Then again; it is all one personality, so she would have the constant joy on putting one over on Deus. Still, doubt she could have worked her way to that position. I think this bodyguard is one he’s known long and well.
Actually, I’ve been wondering about something else. It may have been covered in a prior comments somewhere, but what happens if all the Halo’s merge back into one, after being personalized with ink & dye-jobs and such. Do they default to the original, or merge? If the original gets inked, do all duplicates ever after have the same ink, or do they start as blank slates? And, assuming just one Harem to start, with her outfit including a nice ‘H’ homing device choker, when she dupes 4 times do you end up with 5 collars? Think of the cost savings! Especially if she can do the same trick with an iPad! Or an AK-47; instant firing squad!
Boy, I hope Dabbler covers some of this in her Science corner…
Re your last paragraph, check out my earlier post in the vote incentive comments page. I did touch on that in my rather lengthy reply.
I did also think about her clothes when she remerged bodies. I assumed that she would teleport her fleshy bits back together (in one outfit or another) and the vacated clothes would just fall to the ground. Then I had an image of the reverse occurring, under circumstances where she did not have time to use a discreet changing booth to put the clothes on!
If you are right, then last week she ‘double yoinked’ a katana from herself. And she just accused herself of being a “triple agent”, when she would, in fact actually be a “sextuple agent” *.
* Does that have a nice ring to anyone else’s ears?
i really like deus`s face expression on panel #10.
you really nailed the expression of a little kid being indulged by his mom to so something he really wants to do but was holding back. you are getting better and better at facial expression. you are able to throw in comical expression without sacrificing the integrity of human facial traits.
hard to explain but basically a great job and respect. i won`t comment on the pace or release( enough people do that already) i am just going to say : good work. i see quality here and i am never dissapointed and am eagerly waiting every monday. first thing i do every monday moring upon waking up: go see the new release of GRRL POWER ^_^
awesome ^_^
Thanks! I used reference. :)
Wait, that’s an unedited image? Seriously for reals? And he didn’t get an Oscar for it? O_o
Oh god, I laughed for a good minute on that one.
I hope he had read the Evil Overlord List.
He probobly hasn’t…. the evil laughter is obviously breaking the rules. (I can’t remember the number off the top of my head*.
At least it’s very therapeutic. I wonder if Harem really has him that worried, that he has to console himself with evil laughter? :D
EOLL or no EOLL, I will still indulge in evil laughter anyhow, it’s one of the perks of the job.
i also noticed. along with X, vale has a very ninja-esque air to her,
( expessionless, controlled, almost always annoyed is a plus ^_^ )
and the way she yoinked back the katana out of harem`s hands effortlessly
weeeee!!! yeah ninja! nin-nin
this wouldn’t happen to be the ninja Sydney’s been expecting?
“What? How did you see m-”
“AAAH! A NINJA!”
Nutcase ‘bad guy’.
Cute assistant!
Suddenly struck with a sequence where Sidney is coaching this guy on ‘the maniacal laugh and stance’.
I loved this page. I don’t necessarily think that Deus has to be a bad guy. After all, I often do maniacal laughter and I don’t think I’m a supervillain/bad guy. Of course there are villains that don’t think they’re villains. Hmm, I must now ponder my actions leading up to my maniacal laughter.
sometimes, when texting, or just typing, I like to put in (insert maniacal laughter here) …does that make me crazy, or evil?
Umm, I’m going to go with “yes!”…
This guy’s got a silly streak to match Sidney’s, and Vale is cracking me up. She’s like a hot girl version of Kato. Well worth waiting for. Thanks, Dave. :)
There are certain jobs where you need lots of ego to do. Villains like Deus have to have it. I character I have—super genius has many ideas is one such but he keeps a mostly low profile. Lets his minions and others do the work for him. He can delegate.
And why can’t Kato be female? No reason.
Yup, no reason. They shoulda thoughta that back in the day. Dave’s a genius. :)
There is one version where Kato is indeed female
What?!?!?!?
If the producers had gone with the original character concept instead of Bruce Lee and his spontaneous awesome rewrites of the fight scenes there would never have been a Kato and the Green hornet would not have even lasted the first episode.
Or were you suggesting adding boobies to Bruce Lee …. Bruce Lee as a girl? NO! … Just no.. really, what are people thinking?
[now I have an image of Bruce in drag stuck in my head – hate you all]
Looks like Arianna has found her soulmate; https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/655
note to self make a remote that causes an monitors in my lair flash lightning when i hit a button
Ah, yes – the famed villainous “Milking the Giant Cow” maneuver…
“Mwoo…”
I think that one’s a bull!
You could say ‘Frau Blucher!’ and then click that…
… but there were no horses neighing in terror…
Is it a bad thing I find this guy amusing?
Ok. Is it bad that this guy is my personal hero now? Bad vibes aside, he runs an obviously HUGE corporation and takes the time to make a THUNDER switch so he can maniacally laugh when he wishes. Honestly I can see him being a manipulative DOUCHE but not a real villain as thought about in normal hero comic fashion. More like that ally none of the heroes wish they had or needed but is always there to laugh when they fall.
Kind of wondering now if Deus and Sydney are related.
That would be appalling! If it’s genetic… can you imagine a WHOLE family like that?? How is the world still standing?
my only worry about these pages is that you would have to work twice as much in a week or for 2 weeks to put these out. other than that good work and this is legitimately my favorite web comic.
totally waiting for that one fateful day one of the two ‘unknown’ power orbs falls to the ground and releases a Pikachu
(insert maniacal laughter here, cue Pikachu for ‘Thunder’)
Actually, that was one of the thoughts of what Sydney was carrying in the tube (believe it was the General or Maxi who thought that, well, one did the other thought kittens)
I think Sydney would approve of Mr. Deus as a nemesis. He has the appropriate Dr. Doom style flair for drama you need in a proper nemesis. I mean, what’s a nemesis is you can’t rely on him to laugh maniacally (and if he provides an appropriate crack of thunder as well, so much the better) and monologue about his evil plan? I mean, without that you’re just a thug with money and power. :D
to quote megamind “it’s the difference between being a villain and a SUPER villain”
Hmm. I’m starting to suspect that this fellow may be less than trustworthy.
I just checked the site you linked for that voting thing and as of noon EST your the 8th most popular seed with almost 500 votes:) keep voting fellow lovers of grrl power!
also this is the first time ive ever spoken up I usually just read others comments.
on the 5th of march forgot to add that bit.
I actually sort of don’t want to get too many votes in this initial round as it will determine who gets seeded against who, and I don’t want to go up against Homestuck or Gunnerkrigg in the first round. (Gunnerkrigg won last year I believe) I’d like to make it through a few rounds but I think it’s unlikely I’ll get to the final 4. Still, it’s worth a shot and the higher I get in the tourney, the more likely people coming to vote for their own favorites might find Grrl Power and give it a look-see.
I kinda like that guy now…
By the way, I decided you deserve more publicity and just submitted Grrlpower to https://eschergirls.tumblr.com/ as a positive example, in case they want a break from all the bad, SEXEH female anatomy of published comics. I hope you don’t mind…
Oh thanks! I enjoy eschergirls, but I get the impression that they’re really only going to appreciate wholly non-exploitative portrayals of women, and while I think Sydney, Arianna and Peggy fall into that category, much of the rest of the cast doesn’t. While I don’t draw the butts and boobs pose (although I have at least one joke about that I’d like to fit in somewhere) the “superheroine proportions” that the, well, superheroines have may not get me a lot of cache with the blog’s author.
It’s a balance for me, being a guy who grew up on superhero comics and liking how idealized women in skintight outfits look, big shock I know, and wanting to do something more realistic and less exploitative. Really Maxima would probably have her jacket buttoned up all the time and wouldn’t wear a belly shirt, but at least I can excuse that a little. She’s not wearing a deep-V (I don’t think I’ve actually drawn her showing cleavage) and her skin is slipperier than regular skin so I can pretend she’s wearing a regular shirt that keeps riding up her hips. (I have no excuse for the low rise cargo pants though, hah hah.)
It’s weird that I feel guilty sometimes drawing Harem in a spagetti strap tank top for instance, because it’s not like I invented that kind of top so I could show off more skin. Women wear those all the time and it fits her personality, but somehow there’s a part of me thinking I’m a bad person for not drawing her in a turtleneck and a loose fitting vest. I think that comes reading too many articles on ardent feminist blogs, who will stick a single sentence “I’m not saying women shouldn’t celebrate their sexuality, but…” in the middle of a 30 paragraph rant about the portrayal of women in (insert media here) as if that tempers their tone at all.
Well that went off in a tangent. I’m glad you think the comic is a positive example at any rate!
Oh I don’t know… some of the published redraws still have sex appeal. If anything they might t least appreciate the fact you actually gave your girls muscles. I think they had a streak of a go at the matter some time ago.
The rant was nice. Good to see you share my views on feminism and on some “ardent feminists” as you put it. Your comic is definitely a balance.
Just to make clear where my opinions come from, I’m a straight(ish) woman.
First time posting.
I love a good over the top villain and especially a good laugh. “So many people forget the laugh. That’s just standards.” ~ Doctor Horrible
I actually have musical accompaniment for this. The song is called Mwahaha! It by a nerd rock band called Ookla the Mok
https://www.thefump.com/fump.php?id=1634
…and that’s how henchmen, etc. get promotions.
I knew it I knew it I knew it, he is going to be trouble.
OK I have the contest post up and OMG running: https://opusthepoet.wordpress.com/2013/03/03/art-contest-and-rules-wreck-free-sunday/ WARNING! Graphic and extremely ugly scar! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
Replied to your post, but must have done it as a new comment, rather than a reply, as it went over onto the next page. Doh!
Although, in my own defence, it only happened because somehow I lost my original response and stabbed at the button in irritation at having to re-post.
See my instinct with something like that would be to design something that looks like a Terminator leg inside, like battle damage – something like this: https://img8.joyreactor.com/pics/post/auto-tattoo-terminator-robot-348328.jpeg Unfortunately I wouldn’t have time to work on that in the foreseeable future.
I have to respectfully disagree with your assertion that your large scar is either graphic or ugly. It has clearly healed well, and has smooth, solid edges, and appears to be free of infection or necrosis. I am worried, though, that if you try to put an intricate tattoo over all that scar tissue, the ink will probably not take evenly, which could result in 1) a disappointing tattoo, and/or 2) even more attention being drawn to what is obviously a sensitive issue for you.
It is not so much the way the scar looks now as what it represents that I find ugly. I was told that the wreck I had, where a maniac did his best to try to kill me, and did manage to make me dead for 2 minutes, was mostly my fault for being there and not driving a car… and that the officer assigned to my case couldn’t be bothered to look for a white pickup truck with massive front end damage and a busted windshield (and as I found out later a collapsed roof) because he was “busy”. The only thing that has made me not go on a hunt for the guy in the truck is that shortly after he hit me he wrecked another vehicle around a tree or telephone pole. I’m hanging on to the steel toed boots in case of Zombie Apocalypse so I can still kick hit nuts into his nasal passages.
And those dark areas behind the graft are dead muscle that has turned into scar matter…