Grrl Power #313 – This measures an eight on the Sydney scale
No, Sydney… just no. You don’t go barging in whatever room you like in a military facility. She’s done some bone headed things in the past. This may top the list. Well, it’s in the top ten anyway, this is Sydney we’re talking about here.
There was a tiny part of me that wanted to make the last panel Sydney just looking over her shoulder and going “Oh, hey.” but Sydney’s not quite that sedate.
Maxima’s not the most regimented commander in the armed forces, still, I assume Sydney’s in for about a million hours of night watch or whatever would happen in this situation. It may be unprecedented.
Normally to get a slot in the Who’s Who, someone has to have a speaking part on the page as well as be introduced in the comic by name. I thought it was ok to make an exception in this case. General Faulk’s aide speaks but hasn’t been named, which is ok because I haven’t thought of a name for him yet. He’s the same guy from way back on this page, though now that I look like it I realize his hair is the wrong color… and the wrong style… and his shirt is different. Ok, maybe it should be a different guy. I really should not rely on my own memory for reference.
Colors on this page provided again by Keith. This time with far less touch up on my part.
Edit: Many people have already pointed out that this would probably never happen due to layers of security in a facility like this. Yes, you’re probably right, but in my defense, this isn’t a classified meeting taking place. It’s a North American-Super-Mutual-Defense-and-Public-Relations type meeting, as evidenced by Arianna being in attendance, as well as (and I don’t expect anyone to recognize them) the press secretaries of the US and Canada. (and probably Mexico, but I ran out of room) So slightly lower security on the room. Besides Sydney’s already made it through all the other security, and there was just the one door in her way. Maybe the aide came out to greet her.
As far as using recognizable people like this, yes it can create a problem with “comic time” later on, but that’s just the nature of comics. Besides, this is supposed to be our Earth now, just with supers going public. Also this gag wouldn’t have worked well if I had just drawn some statesmanly looking guy with an arrow saying “President” pointing at him.
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Timing. Syndney has it.
Apparently so do I. Um… wow. This is a new experience, but… First?
And in this case it isn’t ideal.
It’s one of those good/bad talents.
Like the critical luck power? Your luck is only really good or really bad.
That pretty much describes me… In DDO they hate seeing me in the RAIDs because the critical luck will rear on raid loot. When I was still a drooling noob in the Demon Queen I pulled the Torc of Rayum II (think holy grail of pulls) and was convinced to put it up for roll. The smooth talker himself rolled a 93 (rolls are in game by the macro so no cheating) and then made a big thing about holding me to it. I rolled a straight up 100 (on 1d100) and then proceeded to top roll on every other loot item there. 3 of 12 rage quit over it. I have rolled >98 on 6 different weekly gold rolls and nearly as many of the dailies…
Ahem and wed don’t speak of the times when the bad rolls happen. :)
What server, Scotto? I play on Wayfinder.
I’m a drooling noob (just reached L20 with my first char) and haven’t seen that item or been in that raid, but I looked it up and I’ve got to assume that it has been far exceeded by newer loot.
Spell Penetration III is nice, but very situational in its usefulness. All straight damage spells ignore spell resistance, and on Bosses where it would be handy they are typically immune to the CC spells you’d like to land on them anyway.
Wizardry VI is easy obtained or exceeded in far lower level items (my Cleric has been wearing a Wizardry VI ring for many levels).
Transform Kinetic Energy is only good if you get hit, and a caster never wants to get hit.
A Colorless Augment slot is common on lots of gear, including random item drops.
I always find stories like these amusing. Play a game for maybe 2 hours, agree on the loot protocol, and then throw a tantrum when you get unlucky. You can just run the same raid again in a few days and get another chance at the same item… Childish.
Usually winning a highly sought after item would disqualify a person from any other rolls, depending on the number of people involved vs. the number of items to spread around, so you scooping up most/all of the loot indicates a poorly thought out loot protocol. But hey, if that’s how people wanted to and agreed to do it, more power to them. But then don’t throw a tantrum when things go south…
Oh ….. wow. Guessing that the “Evil Twin” excuse probably isn’t going to work here.
Y’know, when speculating about what Sydney’s “mystery” orbs do, I have hypothesized that one of them was an “Omega-13′ device (eg. from the movie ‘Galaxy Quest’ – basically it enables the user to “rewind” time by a few minutes).
If there was EVER the need for Sydney to discover this ability, now would be the perfect time. Since this very likely is NOT going to happen, we can probably rule out time-travel or time-editing as one of Sydney’s mystery abilities.
Maybe there’s a ‘Seppuku’ option on one of her orbs?
Oddly enough, last night I happened to watch the movie “Bewitched”, with Nicole Kidman. Where she had a cool “rewind” spell. Allowing the awesome ability to squash somebody flat if they irritated you. Then (to quote her) “Mmm, a bit harsh” and redo the scene in a less homicidal way.
Then, fancying a double bill, chose a science fiction at random (not checking the title). Turned out to be “Rewind” a made for TV pilot movie. Where the heroes could go back in time to fix a crisis. So your comment gave me a distinct sense of Déjà vu. Heeere comes Groundhog Day.
Right now though, I agree, that Sydney would be stomping the button on her Omega 13 device, if she had one!
The Omega-13 doesn’t rewind a few minutes, it rewinds 13 seconds *grin*
Sorry, felt the need to prove my geek cred by correcting that. *slinks off to a corner*
No need to “slink off.” Your geek credit is good here. Everybody’s got a tab on geek credit here & is only revoked on the rare occasion you’re completely & utterly WRONG & won’t admit to it if someone notices.
Oh hey Mr. President… You uh, like comics?
It’s Obama. He’s kind of a geek.
It’s so hilarious that this ‘Obama’ person got a Who’s Who. :) :) Whoever he is. Apparently he’s American, and something about a Dent of the UN. Maybe he works for the UN’s repair crew or something? Hrm. That nickname though makes no sense then. I mean.. The Prez. Oh wait…. maybe he’s a time traveler, sent by the future UN to the present. PREZ. In order to warn Archon about threats to the timeline. And now Sydney interfered! She could ruin the timeline. Great. Thanks Sydney. Now we’re going to be ruled by cybernetic hyperintelligent giraffes in 20 years. Good going. Hrmph.
Keep in mind that presidents do tend to change every 4-8 years. It is important for a work of art using contemporary characters to note who they are. So people in 10-20 years still know who that is.
People still know who Carter, Nixon, and Clinton are, and Obama is outdoing their most memorable moments.
Watergate had no body count, for just one obvious example.
Every president you mentioned has a body count in the 100s of thousands (if not 100s of millions) to their name.
Just because they were able to hide it under the rug & Obama wasn’t, doesn’t make Obamas’ presidency any more bloody than his predecessors.
…. hundreds of millions. Revisionist much?
You do realize that there are only 300 million people in the United States TODAY. Less during Nixon or Clinton or Carter. Even Nixon, who was president during Vietnam, did not have hundreds of thousands, let alone hundreds of millions of deaths, happen during his presidency. During a war. Which had started before he was President.
Nixon was an arrogant, power hungry president who tried expanding the President’s powers to almost unconstitutional levels, kept secrets about things which could be impeachable, had an enemy’s list, and pretty much thought he was a king rather than a president. Yes, he has a lot in common with Obama.
There. You all forced me to get political. Thanks.
Nixon was president during Vietnam you jackass
But Vietnam was going on when Nixon took office. He was the President who extracted us from that mess. It was Johnson who escalated our involvement to the point where 50,000 American troops died. Nobody ever remembers that, they only remember Watergate.
Copy/paste that situation for W Bush and Obama. Inherited 2 wars and drew both to a close. Ultimately every president inherits the legacy of his predecessor and can’t make much in the way of major changes quickly.
And both Nixon and Obama have made thorough messes of how they ‘ended’ the wars they were elected during. There’s a lot of similarities between Nixon and Obama – just from different parts of the political spectrum with very similar attitudes about presidential power and secrecy.
Now… in Watchdogs, Nixon ended the Vietnam war using superheroes (well… mainly Dr. Manhattan). Not all that well either.
I wonder how Obama will handle things having superheroes at his disposal as well.
I meant Watchmen, not Watchdogs.
I shouldnt play video games while making commentary.
Watergate was a DOMESTIC scandal – I wasn’t even bringing up the utter Charlie Foxtrot of Obama’s FOREIGN policy, “you jackass”.
Of course, if you DO want to bring that up, let’s compare Vietnam and Iraq, shall we? Yeah, it’s about like that – WIN the war at some significant cost in both blood and treasure (and internal Viet Cong documents that have surfaced in the last 20 years clearly show that we did), then declare defeat and run home, leaving the locals to near-genocide levels of atrocity.
Yeah, that pretty well sums up that area of the globe right now – Vietnam II, but with oil. And that’s without touching on all the OTHER areas of the world that have turned to utter crap on his watch – you want a list?
So yeah, Obama: making all the losers of US history feel better about themselves in comparison.
Vietnam – clearly no-one died..
‘Nam, Bay of Pigs, and boopin’ Desert Shield which was the setup for 9/11 in the first place. Yea, no body counts here.
…. you really need to learn history. Bay of Pigs was under Kennedy, not Nixon. And Desert Shield was not the setup for 9/11.
Desert Shield was under the first Bush administration. None of those happened under the same president. What are you talking about? Did anyone say there were no body counts for Vietnam, the Bay of Pigs, or Desert Shield? You seem to be rambling…
Desert Shield, which was in response of Iraq invading Kuwait, was not the cause of 9/11. I have no idea where you’re making that comparison at all. It’s not rambling – it’s correcting the incorrect statements of another person.
And the thing about Bay of Pigs was in response to someone saying Nixon was responsible for the Bay of Pigs, which also makes no sense since Kennedy was president during the Bay of Pigs fiasco. Please try to actually read the chain of the comments before getting snippy.
Also, I said nothing about Vietnam. Did you bother to read my comment?
Or you could look at the strip a bit closer and pay attention to the details that Dave include to make it timeless. You might notice the national flags and presidential seals. And possibly even read the big letters “President of the United States”.
Sorry for being snarky but getting a bit tired of people blaming Dave for their lack of reading comprehension.
But just look at his face!!!!
He’s a self-aware geek. And Sydney just barged into a closed door meeting ranting about comics. I’d be fighting the urge to laugh too.
Barging into a closed doors meeting with senior officers: 100 laps (no use of Powers)
Barging into a closed doors meeting the president is teleconferenced into: one month latrine duty.
Barging into a closed doors meeting with the president and representatives of America’s allies: 6 months of [redacted].
Talking comics with the president: priceless.
comments like this are the reason I dig through the comment pages.
…or permanent KP duty (& peeling potatoes) from now until the end of her term of contract, perhaps?
:P
He at least knows about the business.
Career politicians generally know nothing about real business, real work, or the real world. From what I’ve seen, they prefer it that way.
That does seem to describe Harper (see top right of Panel 7). Yeah, I voted for someone else.
You forget Obama was a working lawyer long before he ran for office.
hmmm. “Working lawyer” Is that an oxymoron?
No, he was never a “working lawyer”. He was a “community organizer”, and everything he did in that venue failed (seriously, go check the actual history on that – don’t take my word for it).
At least he’s consistent.
Obama has no experience in private business. None.
Having performed the exhaustive research of “going to his Wikipedia page”:
“During his summers [at Harvard Law School], he returned to Chicago, where he worked as an associate at the law firms of Sidley Austin in 1989 and Hopkins & Sutter in 1990.”
“He joined Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland, a 13-attorney law firm specializing in civil rights litigation and neighborhood economic development, where he was an associate for three years from 1993 to 1996, then of counsel from 1996 to 2004.”
Or are you going to say his employment was faked and he was actually in Kenya at the time?
Oh PLEASE do tell us who you did vote for so we can go into exhaustive detail how that person would have been the worst choice ever. Pretty please.
Better yet, tell us who you wanted to get the nomination so we can have a laugh.
Gary Johnson.
“He was a “community organizer”…”
Ah yes…The “politically correct” term for rabble-rouser, or mob instigator.
You say that like it was a “bad” thing. ;)
Wisdom to live by: Politically correct…isn’t.
It IS one of the pillar-foundations right from the Communist Manifesto.
I wasn’t aware that helping some of the most disenfranchised of our citizens actually cast a vote could be labeled “rabble rousing” or was in any way connected to “mob” activity.
But that’s the problem when you start slinging labels, you often look like a complete idiot for doing so.
The Republicans in many states are actively passing laws designed specifically to make it harder for these people to vote. The courts have knocked down a few of these laws, but others have been left to stand. And even the ones which are repealed as being unconstitutional often stand for at least one voting cycle as the case makes its way through the courts, achieving the goal for the short term at least and discouraging people from voting in future elections based on their past experiences.
Pray tell me which laws are Republicans passing in states to make it difficult for people to vote. I’m assuming you are not meaning laws requiring voter ID cards, which are free to get (for anyone who is not an illegal alien) and can only prevent people who str not US citizens to vote.
I need an ID to get into my office in Manhattan. I need an ID to get a library card. Pretty sure it’s reasonable that I should have an ID to prevent me from voting three times or voting when I’m not a citizen in this country (like the Constitution requires).
ID cards aren’t free. My first, in California, cost me $18. The going rate varies state by state, but these days it ranges around $35. For a family on a tight budget, that can be a hard sell on short notice.
Yeah, and clearly, they don’t ALREADY BLOODY HAVE ONE, as an ID is already required to have a bank account, buy alcohol, buy cigarettes, get a library card, DRIVE A CAR, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc…
Heck, if “cost” is your HONEST reason to be upset about it, you should be SUPPORTING the ID requirement legislation in most places, as many of them come with “free ID” riders to help the low income groups, etc, making theirs lives BETTER in that area!
ID cards ARE free. You can ask for one and get it for free. Please stop giving misinformation based on your own personal anecdotes. You can get them free. Not to mention you need an ID for almost EVERYTHING… so requiring one for CHOOSING THE LEADERS OF THE COUNTRY should not be a subject of debate, unless the reason is to make it easier for vote fraud to occur.
PS – in the event that California is so stupid and irresponsible as to make a charge for something which almost every state gives for free, then maybe you should be getting behind laws to provide free IDs (like New York, Texas, Florida, and other states with huge populations have), rather than to get behind attempts to ban the need for IDs in order to vote. Makes more sense.
https://www.aim.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/MYTHS.pdf1-3.pdf
ID cards are not free. Ranging state to state, they can cost up to a hundred bucks. California’s IDs are CHEAP by a national standard. Keep in mind that a copy of your birth certificate is called ‘free’, but it can still cost up to $45 bucks to get it into your hands.
And it has been shown time and time again that voter fraud is a non-existent problem. It is just excuse for promoting voter dis-enfranchisement.
What was real is voter registration scandal perpetrated by the Republicans in Florida in 2012.
,a href=”https://fcir.org/2012/10/03/florida-gop-caught-in-voter-fraud-scandal/”>https://fcir.org/2012/10/03/florida-gop-caught-in-voter-fraud-scandal/
While the NRC tried to sweep it under the rug and make one person the fall guy, you better believe it was known and approved by the NRC.
This is an even better reference. It documents not only the Florida scandal but how the NRC and individual Republican candidates continue to hire the Sproul companies even though they are known to perpetrate fraudulent operations – time after time, state after state. This is a pattern that has been going on for decades so ,yes, the NRC and Republicans know about voter fraud – they are one.
https://www.truth-out.org/news/item/11798-florida-gop-fired-romney-consultants-voter-registration-firm-after-fraudulent-forms-reported-in-palm-beach#
He was not a ‘working lawyer’ – he was a community activist.
I’m a working lawyer.
Really?
You sound more like a teenaged troll who failed history.
He’s got a Juris Doctor. He’s worked as a lawyer, representing people and organizations in court for a fee. He was a working lawyer.
The fact that he also worked as a community organizer at various parts of his life doesn’t invalidate the fact that he was a working lawyer.
Not really. He said new comic day was the most important day of the “week”, comics are released on a monthly schedule. I’m not in the business (but I did frequent comic shops as a kid/teen), but I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess that at worse you might have different labels being released on different days of the month, which I suppose could put you in a semi-weekly cycle. But really, Marvel and DC are going to be your top sellers, so at most two days in a month would be the busiest.
Comic shops get new comics every Wednesday. It’s not like all comics from all publishers and printers are finished on the same day every month.
Nope, they’re released weekly (at least in North America, where this is set). They’re dated monthly, but the distributors ship weekly, as anyone who’s worked in a comic shop could tell you.
Your assumptions are logic, and other kind of stores do have schedules very different. That’s why I said he must know the business, as you just shown an outsider will unlikely figure out that there’s “a day” and that it happens once a week, as it in fact does.
Ouch
You can feel the shock rippling off the pages
I’d swear Sydney must have some available “hammer space” already…She just got hit with a stun hammer.
Featuring the most powerful man in the world- Enrique Pena Nieto. (And some other losers no-one cares about)
Best comment ever
+999999999
He looks a bit amused. The Canadians look pissed.
You’re obviously incorrect. Canadians are genetically incapable of being pissed
David Theriault must’ve been some sort of mutant then.
He was probably a Skrull, not a Canadian.
No pretty sure he was Canadian (French Canadian like his parents before him).
Those don’t count. The Quebecois are more or less Skrulls anyways.
Truth! Tourtière is all the proof you need!
+1
Either that, or some distant relatives from Dabbler’s doppleganger heritage.
Actually, no, a Canadian is normally incapable of being pissed, except when hockey is involved.
I stand corrected sir, if they were having an argument about hockey right before Sydney walked in. *nod*
ADDENUM: it’s not genetic, it’s some sort of meta-cognitive field that permeates the landmass which eventually overtakes the pissed lobes of any man who lives within it too long. You can tell because somehow, anyone who lives a long time in Canada, even those who have never crossbred with native Canadians, have heavily atrophied Pissedenium Lobes,.
That must be it they moved down to Florida by way of New Hampshire.
Polish Canadians can appear immune to this, though that requires on to deprive the social variant of food, which is akin to depriving a bear of food in early spring….
“…overtakes the pissed lobes of any man…”
Of course, women are excluded…That “time of the month” thing overrides EVERYTHING ELSE.
Pfft. Please. Everyone knows Canadian women don’t have PMS. It would conflict with their politeness gene in their DNA.
Stephen Harper specifically, though, may be genetically incapable of looking as though he is anything but ever-so-slightly befuddled. Seriously, do a Google image search. He somehow manages to look like he’s just half a beat behind everything else.
I’m not entirely sure it’s just a look. I’ve found some of his changes a bit bizarre and illogical as well. Not so much as our politicians but that’s another bowl of manure.
At least he’s mostly coherent. Even if it’s not half as entertaining as Chretien talking was.
Just had to say awesome use of a System Shock 2 pic. I loved that game and really wish they’d make another sequel. They have the money after all the Bioshock games have done so well.
I really have to play that game, considering how much I liked the Bioshock games and should really play its predecessor….
Amused. That is the expression I haven’t seen on his face before, well, unless he is laughing at his own jokes and seeing if anybody else finds them funny. (Nope, no one else does). Hmm, so who is supposed to be in the PMO with him?
It’s Harper, he probably finds the embarrassment and shame of others to be vastly amusing.
I’d guess the dude with him is Pollieve, except his hair is parted on the wrong side.
Poilieve, dammit, not Pollieve. -_-
But in the world of supers, the guys on the screens AREN’T the most powerful people in the world. Maxima and Sidney are each more powerful, if they teamed up they could probably blow through the security of any of those world leaders. Sydney could then kidnap said leader in the same way she did Harem, and all the militaries of the world couldn’t do a thing about it until she let her shield down. If Sydney wanted to go be a 400 mph wreaking ball flying through a nation’s legislature, she could only be stopped by another Super, or maybe something shiny.
This world has the various governments know about the existence of supers for decades now, Maxima herself seems to have served with the armed forces for much of her adult life to say the least.
The notion that they have not already found and assigned one or more high grade supers or a like grade of countermeasures to the exclusive duty of guarding the president at all times to prevent this world’s version of doctor doom from making an unannounced house call is unlikely at best.
It does not have to be someone as powerful on the offense as Maxima is, a teleporter similair to Opal able to transport the president and designates away at a moment’s notice coupled with systems to ensure sufficient warning time to blip people away would be enough. Hell they probably have a legacy hero part of the secret service responsible for finding young and patriotic supers around the country and grooming them to become oval office guardian material.
Or put another way, Maxima might be able to blow up cities, but as demonstrated during the V-fight she has limits, taking on one of the most powerful countries in the world single handed (even if partnered with Sydney) is nooooot going to work out well for anyone who tries without some serious prep and planning put into the effort.
Power comes in many forms, and in the case of the president of the united states.. well, they do call the nation a super power so…
The USA is considered a super power, but that’s the nation as a whole…The power isn’t in the personal possession of any one (or even any few) individuals. If Max & Sydney were to do anything like that, specifically targeting for one (or a few) individuals would be relatively easy…But trying to defeat the entire country is the real problem.
Funny you should mention Doctor Doom. Go look up a youtube video called Who Is Doctor Doom by a group called Screw Attack. He’s actually the darkest most altruistic antihero in the Marvel Universe.
Blow up cities? The max we’ve seen from Maxima is less than MOAB level.
Being the most powerful people in the world has never been a reference to their physical abilities, it’s the sociopolitical muscles they can flex.
The first time I read your comment I read it as ” it’s the sociopathic muscles they can flex.” which is also true. All power flows from the barrel of a gun. That’s the why Maxima is in charge, she is the most powerful super, so she enforces order within the ranks. That’s also why Gen. Faulk is so laid back, he’s just a squishy who only has power on paper. All he can do is yell, and hope that someone with the ability to apply force will back him up.
It’s Scoville attacking sir!
Deploy the giant ball of yarn, release the mutant squirrels, launch all the shiny chaff!
The mutant squirrels don’t work on Halo, only on budget-Halo, otherwise known as Hex.
A bottle of hot sauce might be an appropriate decoy, however.
They work on Halo’s ADHD, not her fears
Lucky thing the President is apparently a comic book fan.
Nah. He’s just more modern than past presidents have.
Pretty sure he IS a comic book reader. Several other commenters have mentioned it, and I think I read about it somewhere as well….
https://herocomplex.latimes.com/uncategorized/barack-obamas-c/
And yet. Mr. President looks rather amused at the situation….I think he’s a comic book fan. ;)
Soooooooooooooooo many jokes I could make but I don’t want to get political.
Let’s go with a sturdy “thanks Obama” joke and end it there
Obama: You’re Welcome!
no no, let’s do this properly: https://i.imgur.com/7LZpZXT.jpg
Well, if you’re REALLY going to do it properly, get it from the man himself. https://i.imgur.com/lXvKmvy.gif
(Source: https://vine.co/v/OPq02dpidBM )
Looks like Obama needs to learn how to break a cookie in half. Or use a wider glass for his milk if he’s going to be served ginormous cookies. It’s so hard being the President, all the decisions to make. Break cookie or wider glass, might keep a man up a night agonizing over the options…
I’m pretty sure that he is putting forth a committee on cookie-breaking which will have an answer on that in approximately six months, upon which time it will be brought up for a vote in the Senate, then there will be some riders attached to it, which will probably get a fillibuster, or it might then get to the President, who will veto it and send it back to Congress.
At which point they will rename the bill from the Cookie Breaking Act to ‘Families Against Kicking Puppies Act’ to garner more public support.
Yeah, my comment was made in jest. Because even a person who shares political views with another person can poke fun at them.
You, on the other hand, are still a colossal jackass.
I honestly wouldn’t have cared. Minus the political aspects, and concentrating on Sydney’s power orbs: she can fly as fast as Maxima, her barrier can tolerate a point blank blast from her. Yeah.
And I agree with Stefan, she wanted to see Sydney that second. And being new to the whole superhero business, she wouldn’t have known.
Eh, not quite. She can fly as fast as Maxima flew, which is not to say that Maxima hit her top velocity. Similarly, Maxima didn’t want to kill Sydney and was stepping up her blasts gradually. We don’t know if she ever hit the shield with her full power.
Maxima actually said it was not her best after training so there is a high chance that with her ultimate blast Max may break Sydneys shield. However I have another theory of Sydney’s shield since Harem can’t teleport in or out. It actually creates a pocket plane so anything short of a dimensional travel can’t effect what is inside :P
I have a feeling that:
1) Sydney wasnt flying nearly as fast as she is capable of flying at top speed – she didnt even realize how fast she was flying and didnt seem to NOTICE any sort of strain on the orb control.
2) I don’t think Maxima, even using her most powerful attack (or anything else known on Earth, except possibly another orb) would be able to get through Sydney’s shield.
If DaveB wanted it political then Sarah Palin would have been on the big screen 8-)
I don’t think he’s really being that political to be honest – he’s being topical. It’s set in 2011, so Obama’s on the viewscreen. And Obama DOES read comics (well, at least Spider-Man comics) so it’s conceivable that he might know what ‘new comic day’ is.
political?
I don’t see Merkel.
and she was the one i power back then.
okay, just looked her op, she has a a doctorate in quantum chemistry, and her husband is a professor and quantum chemist.
should I be worried living in a country next to that
I mean I don’t think DaveB was being political by the people who are on the screens behind Sydney. And for all we know, Merkel is on one of the screens not directly behind Sydney. DaveB was just showing that there was a meeting with a lot of world leaders. It’s mainly Obama that’s being used for the punchline.
I’m not American! But I can totally imagine Prez. Obama react like that :D
But that aside, the pose & and face of Gen. Faulk in both panels will make me giggle involuntarily at inappropriate times the whole day over. With a probability bordering on certainty.
My favorite non-verbal part of the comic is General Faulk in panel 4 looking up at the screen and pointing to his surroundings with the expression ‘See? This is the kind of (bleep) that I have to put up with every day!’ Which he follows up with the ‘Here we go again’ posture in the next panel.
He should be a fan – he’s been in enough of them:
Obama made his first appearance as a comic book character in July 2007 in Licensable BearTM No. 4 by Nat Gertler, where he appeared as a U.S. Senator.
A year later, in September 2008, Obama appeared in Erik Larsen’s Savage Dragon No. 137.
When Marvel Comics discovered the president-elect was an avid collector of Spider-Man comics, they decided to have Obama the comic book character be put on the cover of their The Amazing Spider-Man No. 583 (January 2009), for the story “Spidey Meets the President!” written by Zeb Wells.
There’s also Secret Invasion #8, Savage Dragon No. 145, Youngblood No. 8, Archie Comics Veronica #199, and Archie #616 and #617, Obama was in the Flashpoint Storyline of DC comics of 2011 and got his own graphic novel by Steven Weissman.
I suspect he’s not so much a fan as it’s just common sense that new comic day would be important for a comic store, just like new lawnmower day would be important for a gardening store.
Oh he’s a fan all right. Like I said above, he’s “an avid collector of Spider-Man comics.”
Does that mean we can have “one more day” officially declared non-canon by presidential mandate?
Let us HOPE so.
I’d vote for that.
Someone start a White House petition.
Free Lawnmower Day is awesome.
Is that David Cameron on the leftmost screen?
Hairline isn’t receding enough.
U.S. Press Secretary, who is currently Josh Earnest. I had to look him up.
Presidential Pass on your first “Breaking Pay Grade meeting standards” GO!
When you do something, make sure you do it GOOD
*…make sure you do it WELL.
Thanks, Obama!
my automatic response every time I see that line: https://i.imgur.com/7LZpZXT.jpg
Why are two people in radiation suits… and why’s that third dude’s head on fire?
So many questions…
Obama’s quirked lips says it all. He has most definitely seen all the video’s with her behavior.
Sydney….poor Sydney…I have no clue how she is going to recover from this one, but I look forward to finding out.
I’m anticipating Angry Max, mortified Arianna, and the general torn between “discipline” and “actually pretty funny”. Obama has already chosen “actually pretty funny”
He’s probably still riding a ‘comedy high’ from the White House Correspondents Dinner.
Yeah, I watched that, he nailed it.
I’m thinking that Max is looking at “Angry” in the rear-view mirror.
Yeah….I want to see her reaction so badly, cliffhangers! gah! DaveB!!
Yeah, definitely a solid 8 on the Sydney scale.
9 would be if he wasn’t smiling.
Nothing is ever a 10; things can ALWAYS get worse.
I propose that we petition to have Sydney’s expression from the last panel to become the new, official emoji icon for “OMFG!”
So: Achievements so far today.
-swore at journalists
-got lost in the sky
-exploited journalists for sales
-hired new staff
-located a lost car
-undertook Succubi 101
-walked in on the presidents Skype call with her new bosses.
all this and it’s barely gone lunchtime.
Her ADHD gives her a bonus to multitasking!
Archon. We get more mess-ups done before breakfast than most people do all day.
“If you’ve done six impossible things this morning, why not round it off with breakfast at Milliway’s, the Restaurant at the End of the Universe?”
~Douglas Adams
Failed at braiding hair.
– may finally have realized which league she started playing at
‘realization’ and ‘Sydney’ rarely go together outside of comic book savvy.
Don’t forget Falcon Punch to the uterus!
…I can see why she’s ticked off today.
didn’t vote for President last two cycles but President Obama does come across as somebody who would be Comic Book savvy.
He’s better off reading comic books than doing the other job anyway. :)
(sorry, didnt mean to get political!!!!)
He featured the current US pres is a comic. pretty sure he strapped on a hard hat before hitting upload this morning :P
He is the President, the second most effectively powerless position in our government. 90-odd% of the time you are waiting for 538 other jerks to pull their heads out their butts and send you something to sign, ignore, or veto and then they can override the veto if they want.
and remember thats the president of the federal government of the untied states we aren’t even hashing out the huge differences that individual states have in passing crap within their own borders like for instance the nice little bit where my state (NC) only recently gave a veto power to the governor of our state…Democracy !! YAY!!
I really think you are underestimating the presidency, especially with all the current administration has done to get around congress.
Basically, it’s the president’s job to chart the course, if you will. Sure the engineers keep the boat running and the chef’s keep everyone fed and happy, but he’s basically captain of the ship.
He also has the added responsibility, as a black president, of protecting the country from the inevitable asteroid strike. https://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6hqx79ii81qca3u4o1_500.png
You only THINK you’re joking. According to Michele Bachmann Obama has thrown the world into the biblical end times.
“If the United States turns its back on Israel, as our president is doing today, in my opinion, we cannot continue to indulge in the fantasy that the United States will be free from receiving the negative blowback, or curses, in biblical parlance, that could come our way and they could be severe,” Bachmann said. “If we actually turn our back on Israel, as we are seeing Barack Obama do today, if that happens then I think we will see a scale and a level of pushback in the United States, negative consequences. I don’t know what they are, but I believe that the Bible is true and I believe that what the Bible says is that our nation and the people of our nation will reap a whirlwind,” Bachmann said. “We could see economic disasters, natural disasters. The United States does not want to be in that position and unfortunately the people put into office Barack Obama, not only once but twice, and the people have to rise up against his actions and demand their leaders take steps accordingly.”
Oh dear. Bible literalists. I can feel my stupidity allergies starting up. Along with Tea Party/Republican views, I feel like anaphylactic shock is about to be triggered.
https://internationaltimes.it/wp-content/uploads/America-671.jpg
I apologise for getting political.
That is technically true. The kinetic energy in the air is finite and if we blocked all winds it would cause massive climate problems.
That said the kinetic energy is constantly being rebuilt by solar heating and we’d need to build a wall twice the height of the Rockies to block the wind.
Are you seriously going to be doing Tea Party bashing? (the Tea Party is actually about Strict Constitutionalism … not bible stuff)…. really need to watch less MSNBC.
Because as we know, the Democrats have not done anything wrong, like… oh… spying on our own citizens without warrants, bypassing the constitution, hypocrisy, hiding scandals, multiple senators being indicted for criminal charges, lying on the floor of Congress during an election about a candidate’s taxes (knowingly)and admitting it recently, having members leading the House Ways and Means Committee while at the same time having cheated on their taxes for 8 years, selling 20 percent of the uranium mines in the US to companies effectively owned by Russia and controlled by Vladimir Putin (who I hear is just a big ol’ peaceful teddy bear)…. and some teensy stuff like Benghazi, the IRS targetting private citizens for having views politically opposed to the current President, and an awful foreign policy which has become chaos, yes, they are pure as the driven snow.
PS – before accusing me of anything… I’m not Republican or Democrat. I’m a Libertarian :)
Michelle Obama’s middle name is Bachmann? What an odd coincidence.
I think this may be one of my favorite comics to date
Yeah, that’s what I’m here for. Fantastic.
And great set up. That was the one condition, right?
The one condition was probably that she still be allowed to work at the comic book shop and be given time and help to make sure it’s successful. Which probably also included her not having to do superhero training on Comic Book Day.
The look on General Faulk’s face… it pretty much screams “Why am I NOT suprised?”
And I’m pretty sure Sydeny had a minor heart attack in the last panel.
Either that, or this ‘Prez’ guy has psycho-electric attacks. He’s probably a supervillain who’s calling Archon to challenge them to a fight.
Actually what are Obama’s power levels? I checked the Who’s Who page and there’s no write-up on him. Hrm.
You can see his powers in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVFdAJRVm94
I dunno… I’m still pretty sure he’s actually an affable supervillain despite the good P.R. of that video. :)
What do you mean ‘despite the good P.R.’? o_O
P.R. Public Relations.
Emphasis was on the ‘despite’, fairly sure he is only affable because of the good P.R. :P
Ohhhhh
Yes. My bad. You’re right. He’s an affable supervillain BECAUSE of the good P.R.
+1
His super power is the Unites States of America
*ba dum tsssh*
I just got that! :)
I would doubt much surprises anymore, just annoys, amuses, exasperates, fascinates, and frustrates.
I took Faulk’s look more as a ‘Well that took her longer than I expected’
I am %100 positive Sydney probably shit herself or something
She’s already at risk for blood spotting…Remember what she woke up to just this morning?
Best comic? Best comic.
It’s all Maxima’s fault. She wanted to see Sydney right now. When you talk to someone important, it’s better to have Sydney out of the way. Makes me wonder if Dabbler knew and sent Sydney in anyways.
Not just Dabbles: remember Harem *VORP*ed into the store and, supposedly, relayed a message directly from Maxi that Sydney was due at ARCHON HQ, NOW!!! No delays, no arguments
Excellent point, but I think Sydney will need more than plausible deniability to escape the Wrath Of Max.
Had the same thought but Max would just punish both of them and Harem knows that. I guess Sydney was just too late because searched for her car first.
Hey! Sydney’s completely unfamiliar with the military’s take on “hurry up & wait” ya’ know…
;)
well that’s what you get from barging into a room pissed off…or being sydney hehe
Well…
We can write off “Prevent embassassment” for one of the Mystery Spheres powers.
(Maybe if she was holding it…?)
Nice Force Field Sphere deployment.
Do the spheres go into the tube in reverse order of probability of need?
Force Field last, flight next to last, PPO third from last…?
How can she create a force bubble? She doesn’t have any orbs floating and I don’t see her holding any in the previous comic. She must be a really fast draw . . .
She’s been shown to be able to quickly summon an orb to her hand when she did it with the Fly Ball at the training grounds.
Yes, but if I recall that was with the orbs already floating about her. In this case, they’re all in the container (or presumably so as her halo isn’t seen above/around her). Even if you make the stretch that there’s a faint purple coloration to her left hand in the third panel, the question then becomes why would she only have that one orb out, especially in her new home base?
Pretty sure they just need to be ‘active’ to come to her hand. And fortunately the shield orb was teh one at the end. Although it does make me wonder if she’s no longer using foam anymore in Tubey.
They were inactive yesterday because she presumably didn’t use them for a long time. It’s only been maybe half an hour since she last used them now, so there’s no reason for them to ‘fall asleep’
I agree.
Judging from the “POP” she’s really wearing the tube with an opening at the bottom. So there’s a short way to her hand.
There’s a pop sound from the tube opening, and a line between her hand and said opened tube. Pretty clear she snapped it to her hand and immediately threw the shield up in that one panel.
If she steps out *now*, she hasn’t heard anything she shouldn’t have and *might* get off lightly if she apologises for her error.
Lightly here probably meaning only 75% of the punishment Maxima is planning to give her?
Yeah this is definitely a WHARRGARBL moment for Sydney.
Oh God, it took me a second to realize that Obama is the one who says the line about New Comic Day being important. Yeah, Sydney just died 1000 times inside.
*gasp!* I totally misread that panel! Reading your comment and rereading the panel just made this comic so much better!
You and me both. Not just better but understandable.
Nonchalance, Sydney – just back out of the room nonchalantly. And if you can, do it while whistling.
… Now that is some deep Foot in Mouth action…
Yep, both feet in mouth – all the way to the hips.
Push ups. All of them. Forever. With Anvil on her back most likely.
She’s ganna be BUFF
Maybe she can get a Presidential Pardon from one comic book fan to another.
More likely just a behind the scenes ‘go easy on her’ to Maxima
I just love the look on Obama’s face…………….
She’s raging like an F5 tornado and he shuts her down with just one line
Then there’s this “am I right?” mixed with “gotcha!” look on his face
She is NEVER going to live this down…………
But at the same time, how may people get to say the President personally backed your argument in face to face conversation?
*face to back
I love the different facial reactions of all the Archon people in the room.
It also gives alot of characterization to General Faulk, whom we haven’t seen much of yet.
It’s clear that he has been working with excentric supers for quite awhile now, and is starting to become desensitized to the wackiness
Whereas Arianna, judging from the brief glimpse of her, is now catatonic
I think that’s the shortest super hero lifespan EVER, barring the ones who die in their first fight.
They aren’t going to kill her, she’ll just be permanently assigned to the super-hero outpost in the south pole.
Anything below 60º would be a treaty violation, given the PPO…
Miswrote what I was thinking, I meant career, not actual lifespan, but yeah South Pole sounds like it’s about to get pretty exciting.
Given that Obama is a known collector of Spider-Man and Conan the Barbarian comics I’ll bet Sydney gets a full Presidential Pardon. Heck, he might even end up giving her a list of back issues he missed so she can keep her eyes open for them.
As Sydney is backing out of the room she could say nonchalantly (or even chalantly) “It looks like Colonel Leander will have some big punishment planned for me because of this. It would take something like a presidential pardon *glances over shoulder* ‘hint’ ‘hint’ to get me out of this one.”
Subtle she is not…I like it!
Sublime. Absolutely sublime.
I must admit that I read through the page 3 or 4 times before I parsed panel 6 properly. It didn’t register with me that the first balloon wasn’t Sydney speaking.
And only this morning, she hoped that her “falcon punch” would be the dumbest thing she’d do today. I wonder if she can top this one.
I wonder a bit about having the real Prez here, or any topical reference. In real life he’ll be out in less than two years, which at the current rate will be a few hours in the comic. OK, I guess that things will speed up now, but Joel’s listing of social media during the bank incident already seems a bit out of date, with the way he referred to Google+. Not *that* much, but it did seem to echo the initial excitement and following backlash of its release at the time.
This comic takes place at a specific year (https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/60)
Remember, this is still set in 2011
Oh, I was kinda hoping that Dave would update the art in this panel (at least online) to keep it current with whoever gets elected in 2016.
It doesn’t need to be current, it’s a flashback.
It’s a flashback to a few months before the first 5 comic pages. Which still would be 2011. Mainly because you see the 5-11 on Sydney’s registration as a general idea of the date. At earliest, it would be 2010.
Except Joel was catching up on reading SAGA, and that didn’t start publishing until March of 2012
Also there was the Superbitch reference, and that book only came out a few months ago.
There’s a difference between references and a general timeline
Yeah, maybe the book only came out a few months ago, but how long has the webcomic been going for? Some people do refer to a webcomic before it has been turned into a dead tree
It was the *book* cover that appeared as a poster on the wall, though. Why would a store advertise a webcomic that they have no way to earn any money from?
Anyway, it’s all the kinds of things that happen with comic book time. I’m not sure why some people here point to a small note on Sydney’s windshield in one panel as proof positive that the entire comic is set to a specific time, while ignoring all the details that contradict that. I expect some editing in the print edition.
So… Thanks Obama, I guess?
the proper response to that line: https://i.imgur.com/7LZpZXT.jpg
(why yes, I AM going through the comments looking for just this specific line to use that link)
There is a search function for this
Does Sydney keep a social suicide pill on hand for times like this?
Sydney doesn’t need a social suicide pill, she IS a social suicide pill.
Dave; please please please make Sydney embarrassing herself in front of “Someone important not at Archon but now you have done it in front of Obama you may as well keep using him” into another running gag.
Of course how she does it should be different each time, but I could see that “relationship” evolving into something awesome.
(I’m not saying that I expect them to become best buds or anything, but being personally selected both for being ‘known’ by him and her various “qualities” for e.g. a stint as a superpowered bodyguard would be pretty cool, though it would probably annoy the secret service (actually, that just makes it better).)
Sydney should totally send him some picks (from the new comics) to apologize.
Delivered via “Daphe-in-a-skimpy-courier-uniform” express!
Nahh wouldn’t work Clinton’s not there anymore. :)
“I did not talk ships with that woman.”
Does Obamagirl work at ARCHON?
No, no, no, Sydney wouldn’t plan it that way. Harem would volunteer to take them, and dress in a goofy, skimpy outfit just to be a pain. :D
Thanks Obama!
response: https://i.imgur.com/7LZpZXT.jpg
For those not familiar with canadian politics, the canadian people on the screen to the right of PResident Obama are Prime minister Stephen Harper (grey haired) and minister of justice Peter McKay (brown haired)
Canadians have politics? When did the U.S. allow that to happen? (Yes. I’m being a dink here, and pushing buttons. Heh. It’s not like the Canadians are allowed to be unpleasant to me. Well, they COULD get factual, and also prove how they know our political system much better than I do…)
What? Florida has a Senator. We’re the biggest state, we get a special name for ours.
Pretty sure Alaska is the biggest state. My mom told me so.
I assumed that pretty much everyone was the associated rank (president, prime minster, premier, etc) of their respective countries. I’ll be more impressed if you can figure out the guy on the left who doesn’t have a nice big flag for you to get hints from.
Aaaand someone hit it on the head. McKay, not Poilieve. Nice.
Also, I’m guessing you’re also Canadian because…you wrote it canadian. :)
Don’t worry, the law of conservation of capital letters was still maintained due to the extra one in ‘PResident’.
This is a corollary to the law of conservation of vowels where place names like Kyrgyzstan are balanced by other place names like Ouagadougou.
Niiiiice.
I tell you, it’s a bugger to get us to spell Canadian capitalized. Somehow feels too proud.
Congratulations, you win today’s grand prize, a lifetime supply of poutine.
And maple-syrup flavored ice!
Or a lifetime of sh*t, fresh off of the fan.
I’m from Quebec, I already have a lifetime supply of those!
Panel four Faulk: “…and here she is!”
Panel five Faulk: “Well Colonel, you insisted she show up right now, this is all yours to deal with!”
I wonder if he had a bet with himself when it was ganna happen
“(In sarcastic Archer voice) Hello ARCHON? Twenty first century here. Heard of this little thing we like to call DOOR LOCKS?” :)
Seriously though, I know they’re not super useful in a building full of super peoples but still is locking the door to the world leader briefing too much to ask?
Why lock the door when you have a guard outside?
Do you really believe a locked door would have stopped Sydney? Or even slowed her down? o_O
There was a human door lock.
It’s better than regular door locks, becuase they also automaticly open the door when needed
If you lock doors around super-heroes, then you end up with broken doors.
Okay, so who told Sydney where to find Maxi and Co? But failed to tell her what they were doing?
Obviously someone who thought Sydney understood military protocol. In every other case it would have been fine.
This isn’t military-protocal, it’s basic social skills. I work in a law-firm but I don’t go barging into my boss’ meetings. You shouldn’t do it even if you worked at McDonald’s. Given that Sydney is only 21, I’m wondering if the comic book store is the first/only job she’s ever had, in which case she’s never had a boss to barge in on before.
The problem with Sydney isn’t really ignorance of protocol it’s more a ADHD type thing. As I have said before some people with have a narrowing of focus at times so everything else just kind of fades into the background. If she had a moment to think she probably wouldn’t do this. She is kind of shy when not all charged up. I have had similar (if not as bad) incidents due to the same problem. Actually now that I think of it this probably has happened to many “normal’ people but on a lesser scale. As for not having a boss she does have parents and (I’m just guessing here) barging in on them could be even more embarrassing and she’s probably done that a time or two.
I find this situation very plausible. First Sydney is Sydney if she gets her back up I don’t think even walls would stop her. Second Obama has shown himself to be a politician that “gets it” when it comes to social media and “nerd” stuff that most politicians discount or ignore. The proof of this is the interviews he did with YouTube celebs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbR6iQ62v9k So I would not be surprised if this did happen.
Sydney’s arrival may even be the single most interesting / entertaining thing to come out of that particular meeting.