Grrl Power #194 – Are kill-beams really ever that discriminate?
I’m actually sure that Sydney could belt off a dozen examples of superheroes getting sued for property damage or wrongful death, the obvious example is The Incredibles, but that’s something that might happen in one out of a hundred titles. It’s basically a non-event, when in the real world being a superhero would probably be nearly impossible from a property damage lawsuit standpoint. I also want to be clear that I’m not bagging on comic books or setting my comic up to be all about courtroom procedure, I just like poking a little fun at the genre tropes. In case you hadn’t caught on to that yet. Also, I would like to see a comic where a super lawyer goes after supervillains.
I’ve always found hitting people with cars a curious strategy. Sure there are some cases where that makes sense. If you’re fighting someone tough but not strong, like a Diamond Jill, dropping a car on them makes sense cause you can pin them under it. If you’re one of those mid range strong guys like Sunspot or Spiderman, there’s a decent chance that hitting someone with a car could hurt more than just punching them, but if you’re Superman? Compared to his punches, hitting someone with a car must feel like he’s wrapping you in a fuzzy blanket. Which, granted, immediately explodes, cause, you know, comic book physics, but still. Superman is called the man of steel, but he is demonstrably way god damned harder than steel. Nutronium could take lessons from him. So if he hits someone with a car, he’s just being a dick to the owner of the car.
So, about the mosaic effect in panel three… I’m still trying to decide how violent I want the violence to be in the comic, the thing is, in addition to liking everything from slapstick comedy like Dragon Half to cute stuff like Azumanga Diaoh, I really like dirty humor like Ebichu or Archer and really over the top peak violence/gory stuff like Fist of the Northstar, Ricky-Oh, Gantz and Parasyte. Those are hard to mix, though Onepunch Man blends slapstick and violence pretty well. It’s funny though how characters tend to write themselves, and with 35 pages of only Sydney as the main character, this comic slid squarely into the cute, slapstick and lighhearted arena fairly quickly. I’m fine with that, and I think it might be a bit of a bait and switch to start going nuts with the gore all of a sudden, so you don’t have to worry about Dabbler bisecting anyone with her sword any time soon. As usual I’m not sure where to draw the line though. Scratches? Bloody nose? Sure. Bullet wounds? Someone getting stabbed? Eh, I think if it’s used sparingly that’s ok too, but a bloody stump, I thought it didn’t quite jive with the feel of the comic, even though it would have only been 20 pixels tall and is imaginary and used for (dark) comedic effect. We’ll see where I wind up going with that, but you don’t have to worry about limbs starting to fly off on every page.
I would like more dirty humor in the comic though. Dabbler will provide a little of that in a few pages. :)
Edit: Oh, I forgot to mention, I made the women’s locker room X-Ray poster into an actual poster in case anyone is interested.
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All those manga names made me nostalgic especially riki-oh was really brutal but it made me goon reading for some reason eventhough ı don’t like seinen that much.
Possible names list: Lighthook, Commball, Flyball, Fireball, Wallball, ? , ?
Based on a later comic implying the powers of these orbs might be primordial, a possible group name: Primorbals (as in “primordial marbles”, yet the word “orb” is in there, too).
Side note regarding “touching a star” –perhaps channeling a star might be a more accurate description. And the skill tree shows two more power levels available eventually, I’ll guess: channeling a supernova –and channelling a quasar beam (aka galactic energy jet)?
About to throw a car as weapon I am thinking the tactic to deduct from pro and con arguments given here is tear off the engine block and throw just that :) Compact, rugged, heavy. Much lower air resistance, hardly deformable, easier to throw and minimizes damage to the vehicle :)
Oh that had me laughing.
Yeah, less damage, it’s only the most expensive portion of the car.
Always cheaper than the whole car :)
I did have one experience where I was glad somebody had made a similar judgement call. Albeit from the other side of the law, and very different in scale. At one point I used to commute by car, and would hang my suit jacket up by the hook behind the driver’s door. One time I did not bother taking the jacket, because I was meeting some friends and it would have been out of place. Had I been sensible, I would have put it in the boot, but did not even think of it.
So, when I came back it is not surprising that the car had been broken into. The jacket was just inviting somebody to check and see if it had a wallet in it. As it was, there was nothing to steal in there, and all I lost was some loose change I kept in the car for tolls. But, none the less, I decided that the robber had actually been a considerate fellow.
In order to get in, he could have broken any window. But he chose to smash the smallest, cheapest to replace one, at the back of a door. Which would have actually made it fairly hazardous for him to reach a long way past glass fragments to unlock it. As opposed to just smashing the big window right by the lock release. I bore no animosity to the guy. I had been stupid and paid the price for that. Yet, whilst doing that, he had risked injury to himself, in order to minimise my loss. Things could have been worse.
If you *tear* it out it’ll damage the frame so there’s the second most expensive part to replace gone ;)
Shelly over in Wapsi Square did that once when she got upset (tossed an engine block she was working on)
Did the target survive? :)
the engine was the target, but she did get yelled at by her boss/dad about cost of walls or somesuch
Regarding the issue of graphic violence (and similar concerns regarding nudity or sexuality), the first consideration should. sadly, be marketability. Not that I generally place money above art (or pretty much anything), but it is important at critical times. And the first year or two of a start-up business is just that. Most new ventures fail during that period, so it is of real concern, rather than a question of ‘should society have censorship.’
The comic is good enough that we should be optimistic as to it’s long-term economic sustainability. But we must remember that Patreon earnings may not be enough alone to prevent him from going back to a day-job. Until DaveB can balance his those with enough marketing sales, it is wise to err on the side that favours a greater audience. Which, as Disney shows, does involve keeping the gore and sex on the modest side.
But, putting that aside, allows us to turn to the second paw, and that is the artistic side. Having no upper limit on such issues allows full freedom of expression. Blood drenched naked vampiresses spring to mind for some reason. But a more pertinent example would be the effects used in Saving Private Ryan. Depending on what intent you wish to carry, that movie probably conveys the feeling of being in a battle as well as any fictional film can. The muted silence in the underwater scene and when the principle character is in shock, counterbalancing the disturbing reality of limbs being blown off and the other bloodiness of war graphically displayed.
Which can apply to comedy as well, especially if used sparingly so that something outrageous has extra impact. Although that can obviously be tricky for sensitive readers, if it is well handled it can make the impact of a comedic scene far more powerful than straight comedy alone. Here I am thinking of the old TV series Soap. They were past masters of alternating tragedy and drama with comedy. Buffy is a more recent example which chose to stay on the modest side but still use those kinds of techniques. The more realistic a setting is at it’s baseline, the funnier the exceptions are, when they occur.
*scratches behind ear, with hind paw*
I guess we should then turn to the third paw. Which is morality. Personally I am comfortable with any nudity, pretty extreme violence and graphic sexuality. MA3 and Oglaf being examples of webcomics which use such to consistently good comedic effect. Provided the intent is towards comedy or good storytelling, I find myself unconcerned with elements which would otherwise challenge my personal tastes or push the boundaries on my tolerance for over-the-top graphical displays.
We should also consider that, despite any parental controls, ratings warnings, or other preventative measures which can be taken, minors are likely to be able to access such content. Especially given that comics appeal to them. However, provided reasonable precautions along those lines are taken, then I do not think that this comic is likely to cause problems. Simply because DaveB clearly demonstrates that he is not prone to gratuitous content. And that statement can still hold true even if the graphicness dial goes higher. It is the context that matters, not the degree of nudity/violence/sex.
Was I a good dog in resisting licking my balls? Obviously it is perfectly normal, and indeed hygienic behaviour for a dog, I felt that some humans might find that it distracted from the serious points I was trying to make?
The acceptability of your insistence on roleplaying the dog-scenario is inversely proportional to your direct references to it.
Or at least that is my take on it.
It reminds me of the year and a half when I was most assuredly a badger.
As Ukraine and disabilities have both already been separately raised in earlier comments, I felt it particularly appropriate to congratulate Ukraine on beating Russia!
Here’s a song that Sydney could use as a theme song…. alternatively she could use this song
The second song was actually quite good, might even watch an episode of FIM if that was made into a full episode (or better yet, a movie)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzOp471-kHM
Even better Badger song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EllYgcWmcAY
I must confess that I was highly sceptical. Even professional pop groups attempting a re-make have failed to better the original. But…
+1
And particularly impressed with the last line. It really sounded like they got Brian Blessed to voice that.
I believe one of the original members of Queen was involved with it.
Go to this site to see Dame Judi Dench sing the original. https://teambadger.org/
So, a few cases where property damage comes into play in comics (or movies based on comics):
The Thing in The Fantastic Four:
The Thing “Ladies, I need to borrow your car”
Lady “Watch out for the clutch, it sticks.”
The Thing “No gonna be a problem!” *pitches the car for very little effect at Dr. Doom*
Hancock:
I really enjoyed the scene where Hancock is getting bitched out after he saved Ray Embrey (the PR rep) by a pile of normals. Hancock had saved Embry by tipping his car on end to get it off the rails of a train while Embrey was trapped front and back by other auto traffic. Having run out of time, Hancock then just gave the train a shoulder to ram into, causing the train to derail and missions of dollars of damages. A crowd of normals surrounds him, all Monday Morning Quarterbacking what he should have done with things like “Why didn’t you just grab the car and fly straight up, asshole??”
What amused me most about this scene wasn’t that Hancock had screwed up. He had, he was very drunk at the time, which was typical for him at this point. It wasn’t that he wrecked the train, although that was fairly amusing. It was the fact that non-powered humans were telling him how he could have handled the situation better, given his array of powers, and they were right!. That’s a fairly rare scene in comics. It would be like a non-powered kid berating Superman for forgetting that his power of *whatever* could have resolved the situation better than the way Superman choose to resolve it, which as a kid I often found myself doing while reading comics. :)
I could post more examples, but this has gotten long…
+1 (and don’t worry too much about the length, not when it is interesting and on topic like that)
Quoting from the cast page, Halo is able to think up power stunts better than the actual users of those powers thanks to her encyclopediac knowledge of comic books. So it’s not like it doesn’t (or won’t) happen in this universe.
“If you have to throw someone, throw them into the ground.”
So, I assume this world doesn’t have subways? :P
I suppose if subways are a risk… You could just throw them at the sky.
This only becomes a problem if you miss the sky and they fall back down.
Regarding the consequences of use of superpowers a must read is this book:
The Law of Superheroes by James Daily J.D. (Author) , Ryan Davidson J.D. (Author)
Just occurred to me, those light-saber like energy swords can be very handy in these situations. Imagine if Maxima condense the energy of that blast into the shape of a super heated plasma sword, it could practically cut through anything, while only doing damage to where the blade had passed through.
If Dabbler could figure out how to build light-sabers, it’d be deadly to put it into the hands of Math.
As others said, there’s actually a bunch of reasons having to do with mass and momentum that make hitting someone with a care better then hitting them with you first. Though if you’re in the strength range where that because as useful tactic, a mallet the size of a car (or less, as being solid it could be smaller then a car, making it possible to wield it in more confined areas. There’s pretty much everywhere not an open field for such an oversized bludgeon) made of reinforced concrete or some-such would be an even better option. It could be made to be properly wielded by the Lighthook, rather then something falling apart as you wield it.
You wish to equip Sydney with something that will maximise her destructive potential when caught by surprise?
Force field orb pop it out and expand messy in enclosed spaces in open ones funny as the bad guys gets slapped into the next county. Oh I used to play Marvel my GM hated me.
You want to maximize her destructive potential when the suprisee is a 12 year old fan girl???
The thing is, with the Lighthook strong enough to lift a car, the grip strength should be sufficient to wrap someone like a cobra and squeeze. Three seconds of that, and the fight will be out of anyone without invincibility. Their ribs should be broken by then and that will stop anyone from fighting due to injury or sheer intimidation. It’s safer for any citizens, and it’s more elegant than throwing someone around.
Oops, one of my mistakes, I mean a Boa Constrictor.
Cobras can do that as well not often but they can. Also you don’t need to go to rib breaking level just tighten down and watch how they breath when they exhale tighten slightly in about 10 minutes they will pass out and then you loosen up and slap the cuffs on them. The object after all is to immobilize and pacify not kill.
Constrictors don’t constrict to stop breathing. They constrict to stop the pulse. Squeeze down hard enough and that puny heart muscle can’t do its job. Effectively dead in seconds.
Use brute force constriction as a subdue method only if other methods of killing have failed to work.
If you want them alive, then subdue limbs and leave the body alone.
Yeah, you can, but so far from what we’ve seen she’s limited to one tentacle at a time. If she wants to use it to bring a group of villains down with the safest to innocent bystanders possible, she wants to put them away quickly. This means injuries that disable people. Simply restraining them might not be the best way to go.
And knocking someone’s breathing out can kill from brain damage if they don’t wake up quick enough or at least start breathing again. So again, breaking ribs is probably the safest route to go here. And if it comes down to me having a job fighting crime and there’s a guy with a gun and possible hostages around, I’m not going to concern myself with being gentle. I’m putting the guy down as quickly as possible, even if it involves brute force constriction. Dude can’t shoot people if he’s dealing with blinding pain.
You’re forgetting something that most women learn for basic self-defense. Pain is NOT a guaranteed incapacitator. If the target is in the wrong frame of mind or pumped with adrenaline, as attackers generally are, all pain will do half the time is make them angrier. Thus why you can’t depend on a knee to the groin to give you more than a second or two.
If you’re trying to incapacitate a gunman, pain is NOT the way to go. Too risky. Much better to simply knock them out or kill them.
Ribs are not at all a guaranteed incapacitator. Unless it breaks in far enough to puncture organs, all you get is pain which a lot of people can fight through. Have personally had three cracked ribs (at once). They dont hinder your actions much on their own.
Bloody stump is a definitive yes if accompanied by black knight quotes
:))
“It is but a scratch”
The use of environmental objects as weapons is a strategy that would be appropriate for someone who is strong but not tough, i.e. powerful muscles but weak skin, or bones which can stand strain but not impact. Ideally, however, they would be equipped in such a way that they would not need to scavenge weapons on-site.
I read some where that a lot of the “Throw a car, not a punch” action in comics–and cartoons–is the liability to the artist when children copy what their heroes do. If little Betty punches Johnny, or hits him with a crowbar–because they say Superman punch Lex or hit him with a crowbar, well some jury may find the artist culpable. If Betty sees Superman hit Lex with a car–well its less likely Betty will pick up a car and hit mean old Johnny with it.
Hmm, yeah, I can see that.
Also it’s so cartoonish that they don’t even subconsciously go “hitting people is a good idea” since throwing a car is never an option.
Awesome, I love that you’re calling attention to all this stuff. I think it’s great that you’re trying to be different from the norm.
Thrillieved … I’m totally using that!
Superman is a criminal and he should be in jail. Sure he catches the bad guys, but when did he ever refund anybody on property damage? And what about all that violence he uses to apprehend supervillain suspects? Is it always necessary? And why does he keep his identity a secret? And his super hearing and x-ray vision? No respect for the privacy law either. And the collateral damage? The people that might get hurt? Superman is a dangerous alien immigrant and he should be deported from Earth.
This brings to mind a point I’ve brought up with people before: Even an empty room has five built in weapons, the walls and floor.
About the sewer bit, well, no, they’re probably going to get sued by more people than if they’d just wrecked a business. Having your toilet back up on you without warning, or having your water not work for days, is not fun.
In this world, it seems like auto insurance has to have a “collateral damage” rider, in case your car is commandeered by lawful authority or used as a blunt weapon by a superhero.
I dunno, I think with it pixilated out it makes it seem worse (or maybe it’s just that my mind fills in the blank worse) but it also underscores Maxima’s point better: the consequences are so bad that they can’t be shown!
In spite of her ADHD I know that Sydney will take being a super very seriously. She is showing some serious maturity on that subject. Sydney moments a thing of the? NO WAY!!! (Insert maniacal laugh here.)
Well since you mentioned it try checking out Atomic Laundromat at https://www.atomiclaundromat.com/. It’s a hero comic about a non hero’s daily life with heros. Includes lawyers and dry cleaning bills. Other qualifier: Hilarious.
You should check out the web novel The Zombie Knight by George Frost. Very interesting story, tons of hilarious black comedy and awesome action scenes. Although it might bug you a bit that the protagonist isn’t technically a zombie by their definition, he’s a reaper-servant.
I would think that being body-slammed into the ceiling would tend to have adverse impacts on one’s health and well-being. :)
That was supposed to be a reply to something up-thread about an empty room having four walls and a floor…
You have to hit the “Reply” link to nest your comment in another comment.
“Also, I would like to see a comic where a super lawyer goes after supervillains.” Try Dan Slott’s run on “She-Hulk”. Twelve issues of comic courtroom drama – in both meanings of the word, as it’s totally *freaking* hilarious.
Jen walters buddy. she-hulk and daredevil part superhero part lawyer all shark
I don’t know if it’s been mentioned, but repairing a collapsed sewer is actually more expensive- and disruptive- than you’d think. We recently had a collapsed sewer down the road from where I live, and for a couple of weeks, there were something like 3 or 4 tanker trucks at a time pumping out the collapsed sewer to prevent a buildup of excrement, plus whatever it cost to repair the sewer. So while it is indeed a good idea to slam opponents inot the ground, do try to avoid damaging the sewers- it DOES cause significant issues to people living in the area ( particularly as a couple of the tankers tended to park outside my house, so we couldn’t use our cars)
“And look around for red barrels. The city puts those things around for a reason. If you have to throw something explosive, throw one of those. They have a consistent blast radius and minimum shrapnel, so you can easily judge your attacks.”
For anyone curious, the earth’s mass in kilograms is 5.97 * 10^24 kg, aka ≈ 6 septillion
Thing is acceptable collateral damage is a thing and what is one going to do about supervillains without heroes which are not dime a dozen. Thus it makes sense heroes would not be sued as people are helpless vs villains without them so they got no options except to suck up to heroes. Going after heroes would be a dawin award because they might blow up the block but at least the city is safe in the aftermath and not beings ruled by mole men.
The bad thing about coming across the comic almost a decade after it starts is the broken links and mech nolonger being sold
I remember as a teenager finding in a book how large numbers are officially called and a bit later how English is a it inconsistent and wasteful there compared to German, and being excited about the knowledge. There was no Wikipedia then.
Curiously, I’ve never seen those names again, all the way to Physics PhD. Media says “a million million millions” because otherwise nobody understands. Science and Engineering say “10^18”, or uses more convenient units for a given problem domain (\hbar, light years, nanometer) which is portable across languages and works also for SMALL numbers.
Exception being “billion” and maybe in rare cases “trillion”, because it is in the range of budget discussions. But is is already in the range where languages differ (one trillion is “eine Billion” in German).
“No one wants a comic about Wolverine being sued by the Hand Clan.”
Some of us enjoy boring literary classics. Give me Law and Order, Super Edition.