I struggled over this page mostly because it’s just a bridge from the previous pages, and also it seemed a little expositiony… well, no, exposition isn’t the problem. At some point in the past decade, I’m not sure when, I’ve developed a bit of a pet peeve where exposition between characters who already know everything that’s being said bugs me more and more. It’s one thing for Data to remind Picard that the phasers are routed through the warp core (something Picard would obviously know) if he’s leading into a larger point, but when Capt. Bryant is telling Deckard that Replicants have a four year lifespan to prevent them from developing emotions, that’s just bad writing in my opinion. There is NO WAY a professional Replicant hunter wouldn’t already know that. My problem with this page is that Arianna already knows what Arc-LIGHT’s function is, so having Max spell it out explicitly is really just for the readers’ benefit. Still, I don’t think it’s as egregious a case of exposition as the Blade Runner example, because when people argue they can get locked into a narrow point and need to be reminded of the bigger picture.

I guess what I’m complaining about is called the “As you know” trope, (Warning! TVTropes is a black hole level time sink) where the only party learning new information is the audience. My pet peeve is when they don’t even have the courtesy to drop the “as you know” in there, or at least have Deckard roll his eyes and tell Bryant not to patronize him.

Also, when you’re telling a story, not every page will have All The Jokes on them, and the primary gag of this page is just a visual reference that maybe 8% of readers will get right away. I’m sure someone in the comments will eventually explain it.

Friday is Valentine’s day and I’ll again be participating in the Valentine’s Day Sex Drive, which is mostly an excuse to draw nude superheroines, and is what got you the Harem spread last year. (Not linked directly since it’s NSFW, but it’s in the DeviantArt gallery) This year will feature a certain one legged sniper, so those of you who wanted to see more of her tattoos should be pleased.

Also also, I’ll be recording a podcast with the folks over at Webcomic Alliance, which if you make or want to make webcomics, is a pretty good resource. We’ll be talking about the Patreon campaign and just talking shop about webcomics in general. I’ll link that when it gets posted.

Also also also, Patreon.