Grrl Power #171 – Heavy metal shot put
Stalwart practically did do that. He didn’t want to get his suit dirty though. Maxima’s boot probably should have exploded when she kicked the tank though. Mythbusters needs to get on that. “Will your boot explode if you kick a tank hard enough to flip it over?” Grant would have to build a hell of a robot to test it, but I can imagine the maniac laughter when they got it to work.
Actually those guys and really every skeptic out there would really have their work cut out for them in a world with superheroes in it. If one person in a million or so really could run on water or heal with a touch, the number of scammers would increase explosively. Actually it would probably become so rampant the government would actually have to start regulating it. You couldn’t claim you were psychic unless you actually were. Of course that would lead to people suing for the right to continuing to scam people. That would certainly be an interesting side effect of superheroes, which is one of those things I love thinking about, the extended what if’s of a world with one thing different. It’s nerdy unless you call it alternate history, then it’s academic.
If Max really did get to throw out the opening pitch, I can just imagine the catcher sweating bullets until Anvil tapped him on the shoulder and offered to stand in. She’d be the best option our of anyone to be on the other end of that. The pitch speed radar gun thingy would top out at 999 mph then explode.
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I want to thank everyone that’s donated or bought something through the Amazon link so much. I really appreciate the support and it means a more than I can say. Seriously I’ve been sitting here for like an hour trying to figure out what to type. I’ve always been bad a accepting compliments just because I don’t know what to say other than thanks. I wanted to personally email everyone back who donated but it quickly became apparent that I could either do that or I could spend that big chunk of time working on the next page, so I opted for that route. It’s gratifying and validating and… I would say humbling, but it’s not like I was walking around town with a giant gold medallion that said “Webcomic Artist” and telling people to step back lest their mundanity interfere with my creative meridians. (Speaking of scammers)
I’d very much like to do two comics a week for a while as a way of saying thanks, but I don’t want to promise anything because if a job does come along I’ll need to jump in. I’ll try and keep everyone updated with posts here and on Twitter.
Oh and the vote incentive should be updated sometime today (Monday.) I have something roughed out but it’s really rough at the moment, so give Dabbler one more click and check back later.
To anyone wondering why the tank was upright, she did just retrieve Sydney’s hat right?
It looks like the same tank in midair –no left side tread, muzzle cut off. The PPO cut a corner off and Dabbler shot a hole straight through –also on the tanks left side (looking forward).
The turret didn’t come loose as it was WELDED on in one of the earlier attacks.
Now as far as what Max does now that it has landed, I want her to take out a compact and lipstick, pause after applying a light coating and point over her shoulder and zap it. (illusion effect as she really super speed looks over her shoulder and aims) Then she speed wooshes to three other points and shoots it up into the air, and hits it repeatedly in midair with mild –for her– attacks. Lastly she shrugs and gives it the full whammy –melting it to a slag pile in one shot.
I was expecting her to use it like a clay pidgeon. She could have tossed it, like she did, and then blast it out of the air.
i just love maxima`s expression on panel 2. if you can get to 2 strips a week i think this would be a wet dream for many of your readers lol.I hope that you will make enough to live off your comic soon (cuz lets face it, doing what you love and making a living from it is awesome).
Love the vote incentive (apart from the comic of course).
Though I’d imagine in a look-alike-contest the original shouldn’t be able to enter, as they technically can’t ‘look-alike’, as per definition of the phrase.
Though, it would be an added bonus, of course…XD
The idea being that she didn’t tell anyone she wasn’t the genuine article. A comic convention is one of the few places she’d be able to walk around in full kit without necessarily being immediately recognized.
Just remembered that one gag in DBZ where they were making a movie about the Suber-Saiya-Man.
Gohan showed up in costume to actually check it out and was thought of as being the stunt-man.
That was, until he flew off while filming a flight-scene, pulling a huge crane along into the air.
If I’d be a hero and found out people were making pools and mountains of cash with it without asking me or even making hilarious/ridiculous/bad stuff up about me, I’d so totally stomp them down; not physically, of course. (Note to self: put that in my next superhero nove!l)
Syd must know best that it will probably take less than a week after the interview for less-child-friendly articles to be availlable.
Like many things, this is also attributed to having happened to Charlie Chaplin in real life – except, he didn’t even make it to the finals!
Then again, I’m not sure if getting Sydney getting a “you’re not well-enough endowed to be Halo” is a compliment or an insult – any ladies out there want to fill me in on that?
(I’m guessing they’re probably both insults. Well, unless you have a crush on the guy… ¬_¬)
That explains why the orbs on her head have some stick in between them
The punchline being that she lost to someone more “well endowed” than she actually is.
Hey, it IS the most common superpower!
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MostCommonSuperPower
At least it wasn’t the one with the square glasses, or the bearded dude. Poor, poor Syd. ;)
“Of course that would lead to people suing for the right to continuing to scam people. ”
Like the vitamin industry right now…
Soooo … the mutants registration act would be something mutants will actually do voluntary, so they can brag about themselves?
Reward is always better way to keep things in cecks than punishments. You can reward people by registering them instead of forcing them to register or you will be in jail :P
Big difference. here if you have powers and want to work in Law Enforcement, you do it through ARCHON. Wanna use your super-speed as a courier? No problem! Have fun!
The MRA would be more akin to the Sexual Predator List except you didn’t DO anything wrong to start with.
The Mutant Registration Act was something totally wrong to start with.
A variation of the MRA came in Smallville, with the VRA.
Had the same result in the end.
DaveB had the right idea, though it can be modified.
Since in comics most superheroes are acting as vigilantes, their capture of ‘supposed’ criminals is at best dubious (as a good lawyer will argue). Why do you think Lex had a ‘Get Out of Jail’ card in Superman Returns? Supes wasn’t even there to give his testimony.
Now,why not just have the vigilantes (who obviously do it because they want to) register their hero-identities as actual law-enforcement? Including of course, safety for ‘the Cape/Mask’, aka their secret identitites. Sure, there’ll be fakes, but that can be prevented.
No need to reveal normal lives to the public, as that would negate the reasons for the mask.
The Marvel implementation is a bad idea (namely direct punishment for failure to register). A semi-protective (e.g. extending legal protection to like outcomes of their powers in ordinary life) that does not include protection for vigilantism (which Arianna made a good case against, you want to help go through training and actually be in the right agency) would likely work best, and more so if it included clauses against impersonation.
The one nitpick I have with most ideas concerning this is that the ‘vigilantes’ or ‘heroes’ get obviously identified, as in: private identities revealed, at least on some scale.
Without a private identity, they probably can’t get much peace and quiet, and think about how they’re supposed to get a partner for life or even raise children?
The Impossibles had the heroes known to the government and hidden from the public, but even that has the danger that you need only one single person to rat them out and they’re screwed.
There has to be a possibility to have them register as ‘official’ lawkeepers, train them and NOT have them do anything to reveal their private identities.
There has to be a possibility to have them register as ‘official’ lawkeepers, train them and NOT have them do anything to reveal their private identities.
Depends on how real life the setting is.
The person that signs up for it needs some form of accountability. Every contract needs to be forged between two Persons. Two or Persons. And behind every legal person must be a known natural person.
There are cases when a Legal Person can be the Person behind another legal person (GmbH & Co. KG is a german business term for a “Limited” that owns a “Not Limited company”). But then that 2nd tier legal person needs a legal or natural person behind it too. Ultimtatively every legal person is (and must be) resolveable to a natural person.
So entering any form of contract without revealing who the Natural person behind it is seems like it goes against centuries of law and law tradition and could wreak havok to the legal system.
As to revealing thier identities to the public: That is another mater entirely. But the public propably needs to know there is a way the Secret ID can be revealed or that you can sue the natural person behind the mask, even without it being revealed (The State vs Batman).
Also, the best way to make certain you are not impersonated is to not wear a comstume in the first place. It’s a lot harder to impersonate Superman then Batman. Not because of powers (Superman built robots and serums with his powers). But because one wears a mask.
Two or Persons
Looks like I fluked with the Links and there is no way to edit or delete post, to correct it. It was supposed to read “Two natural or legal Persons”
Those were the two that were supposed to be linked:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_person
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_person
How do criminal prosecuters, police officers and military individuals have a life outside of their job? Simply because comics over state the threat (with proper non-cardboard prisons) of criminal revenge and publicity/challenge pulling.
the issue isn’t so much criminal revenge as much as it is essentially terrorist revenge. Carnage for instance could systematically wipe out everyone Peter knows, and he has no reason not to. the other more tangible reason for a secret identity is that bouncing around the skyline is not a paying gig. There’s really no way to have a normal job when everyone knows you can bench a car. Sure he could be a cop……but no one wants to put up with the paperwork and the restrictions and whatnot……it’d be much saner to just not do the crime fighting bit at all except that society will NOT let you do what you want.
The biggest problem with the Marvel SHRA was the fact that, other than mutants (which was rather stupid from a legal POV for reasons), if you had powers of any kind, not only did you have to register, you also HAD to follow governmental orders as law enforcement. You were paid, but you also were conscripted with no choice based entirely on birth or accident (in certain situations, like Iron Man, I can see that being fair because it was entirely a choice on his part). So it was ‘follow government orders under the same penalties for disobedience as the military, or go to a different dimension in prison.’ It was basically shitting all over the Constitution and I can’t figure out how in the hell the editor’s sided with the pro-reg side. It was just a blatant attack on personal freedom, completely ignoring the whole secret identity thing.
The answer? They’re showing their own political leanings. If the government can force you to work to provide for another man(NOT to be confused with charity. Charity is a personal choice. If you are forced to give, it’s not charity. Also, I personally put the caveat that my complaint is only legitimate about those who CAN work, but refuse to do so. If you physically can not provide for yourself by any means, with certain moral exceptions[Crime and prostitution] I can get behind some relief for that guy. The bum who refuses to work for minimum wage or even try to learn a skill? No pity.) why can’t they force you to risk your life based on nothing but circumstances of your life that are outside of your control?
Hiro has that sideways glance thing perfected. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he copied a previous page. He’s just a character, though; he can’t do that.
Anyway, I really like the extrapanel tank art. It makes me feel like Maxima’s destruction cannot be contained by silly things like the story medium.
You know, I know this is in relation to the previous comic, but I just thought I’d mention it: as somebody who has been diagnosed with ADD (although not the same variety as Sydney), I can tell you that focusing on any one thing for more than a few minutes is difficult in the extreme. Generally, your thoughts will swiftly start to tend towards chains of association, rather than simple random thoughts, but the end result is the same…Sydney would have two or three minutes of being able to think about shielding the press, and then she’d lose at least part of her control. Because of that, if her control over the orbs IS purely mental, I would expect that she would have put something like those runes into place simply so that she did not activate the wrong powers by accident.
And I’m willing to bet she put those runes into place after her FIRST experience with the explodey beam thing, too. I know I would have.
I can’t help but think our Maxy is using this as some impromptu stress relief after the kind of day she has had. i can see it now
Arianna- was i hearing things, or did she scream my name when she reduced that tank to its component atoms?
Three years and 171 strips later, it seems like less than six hours have passed in-universe.
WAY less.
Going from the start in the shop to the bank took probably 45 mins (including the food).
Than everything at the bank maybe 30 minutes.
45 minutes till the press conference.
Press was 15 mins, than an hour to the shooting range. And the shooting range itself probably half an hour?
So total that’d be 4 hours or so
Actually there were at least 3 hours between the bank and the press conference, check here
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/655
And they went to get food and go to hospital and talked about the contract and so on.
Damnit, I forgot those things.
So yea, maybe 6 hours than. Shouldn’t it be getting dark outside than?
I see mixed season indicators (t-shirt next to 3-piece suit?), but guessing its summer, and its possible Sydney went to lunch short of noon, tho she did seem to hit the noon rush at the bank…
A suit is like beer. It is always a good time for one
Woot!
(two pages a week?)
Bah! I should actually comment. I am here three times a week rereading the same pages. I keep forgetting what day Monday is. I am of course a complete hypocrite–I am working on my new book (due out for xmas–ha! Like THAT is going to happen!) and demanding two pages of grrlpower a week, while I am doing everything BUT writing. Nanowrimo my butt. Bah! Hopefully December will be more productive. I love this comic though.
Only 3 times a week? At least every day for me (sometimes more than once a day) and always read the comments (well, the ones that aren’t 1000 lines long and all techni-babbly and bori— oooo! something more intersting to read 8 replies further down)
I’m not seeing a hat under that tank.
Interesting question. What are titles in donation page? I mean are there any way to get them tagged or it is just between DaveB and donater? To be clear there is nothing wrong it is being anonymous just wondered why there are titles.
Donators have become soldiers in the war to sustain Grrl Power? I wish I could be a Final Boss every week. Alas, I have the meager budget of a Knight. According to my mathematics (which someone should probably check), we’ll need the equivalent of about 190 Knights per week to win the war. Dare I hope that we can do that? Reliably? I feel… optimistic. ;)
190 knight is roughly 2 final bosses (give or take one knight :P) per week and it means about 8 to 9 final bosses for a month. Hmmm. Challenge accepted :P
Cause I had to name the levels something and felt like being clever. It’d be nice if there was a way to put some sort of rank next to names like in a forum but wordpress doesn’t work that way.
On a semi unrelated note can we get a donation meter? Which shows how much donated and how much you will need at every month to keep bare minimum things (like hosting and such)?
Is there anyway to donate enough to change story aspects like new characters etc ?
I have seen some options like this in kickstarter for other comics before.
There are 2 power sets I would like to see. quite unique.
Now… Maxed out point and shoot. and hope the shield can protect from the debri flying nigh on mach 2 and the instant sand storm produced. (glass storm?)
The press is shielded….
Are the busses shielded too? Cause I think they might need it shortly…
We resolved that whole “how would that work” in a PnP RP game years ago. Supers, all supers, bend reality on a local level. They are, effectively, a Universe of One. This of course came with drawbacks. Super-science wasn’t replicable by normal science. The instant it left the super’s hands it played by normal rules… which made it useless junk. That world’s Bill Gates/Steve Jobs was an inventor whose power was… to invent super-science that could be replicated.
I think my favorite “super vs. tank” moment was in the original _T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents_ when Dynamo tried to stop one by turning on his belt, standing in front of it, bracing himself and holding out his hands. It simply pushed him backwards until he fell over. However, once under it he was able to lift it.
” Maxima’s boot probably should have exploded when she kicked the tank though”
doesn’t Max have a zero point effect on objects in contact with her that negates the force on the boot making the strip right.
would be interesting in another ‘verse or character but lore check registers as sat as is
I’ve seen a few comics kill themselves trying to update more frequently. I’m fine with once a week as long as you keep them coming! Happy to support awesome artists like you!
You rock and I look forward to Monday! :)
Re the boot: I’ve always sorta liked the solution they came up with for The Flash, which was that his powers included a rarely-mentioned fforce field which covered himself and whatever he was wearing or carrying and protected them from the side effects of his speed. On rare occasion they would let him use that independently to get out of a situation speed alone wouldn’t (obviously) solve.
Just to point out, the tank is no longer cut in half in pannel 4 XD
It never was; Sydney just sliced a corner off of that tank. And that wasn’t all that big a slice, since her shot cut more ground near the tank than tank itself. (Syd needs practice in aiming her beam, so that she will cut only those things she wants to cut and not cut the things/people she doesn’t want to cut.
“You couldn’t claim you were psychic unless you actually were.”
Heh, and then apply that same legal logic to people who claim to know the will of one god or another. Psychics and priests alike would be suing under the basis of freedom of religion.
LOL, love this stuff!!!
Coming back to this, I now realize the hilarious foreshadowing between Hiro and Stalwart.
Frankly, I really only like speculative fiction that actually speculates and extrapolates. Nothing annoys me more that a story that throws out magic or cool tech willy-nilly and doesn’t properly consider the implications of any of it beyond advancing the plot in an immediate sense.
Sorry if this was already mentioned, but how’d the tank get back in one piece? Wasn’t it previously sliced in half and all that? o.o;