Grrl Power #314 – Contrition condition
Sydney seems to have escaped relatively unscathed… for now.
I may need to futz with the dialog on the page a little. For instance I’m not sure if “the thanks of the office of the president” is too much, like if that carries some sort of official recognition or if that’s just how you talk when you’re president. Also I’m not sure how the prez would actually address her. “Miss Scoville” seems ok, but then he’s the Commander in Chief and she’s in the military now, so it seems like he should call her either “Recruit Scoville” or “Private Scoville” only, I’m not sure at what point she would actually become a private. Is it the first day of boot camp, or the last? She’s been rolled out in the PR event, but she hasn’t been issued her gear yet or even taught how to salute. She’s basically just stepped off the bus. I probably should have asked on Twitter before this page went up but I assumed I’d have to tweak it a little in any case.
Things I learned while drawing this page: when women put their hair in a bun (or anyone with long hair I guess) there’s this spongy donut thing or a rolled up sock with a hole in the toe inside the bun to give it shape. I just assumed it was all hair. It’s possible to do it with all hair, but then the bun is usually hollow and keeps its shape largely due to hairspray. I was looking up acceptable military hairstyles for women to make sure I was getting Max’s hair right. I think her bun might be a little low but lets ignore that for now. If I was a gal in the military I’d just go all G.I. Jane for the duration instead of having to walk around with 27 bobby pins in my hair all the time. On the one hand you’d have an ample supply of lockpicks if you need them, on the other hand you’d be screwed if Magneto attacked.
This must have been pre-ARCHON.
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I think she has the salute down fine. XD \\//_
Happy Pi comic
314th comic in 2015. Okay. Kind of
314th comic with archive-number 1711
-> 3.141711
pi = 3.141592
off by 0.000119. that’s damn near if you ask me ;)
314th comic in the year ’15
3.1415
Except that it’s the 314th comic total not just in this year.
The universe is quite willing to both support and dispute your claim of “close”.
Omigod! The mayans were correct!
I get the Sydney is in ARCHON which is managed by the Department of Defense, but that does that actually make her military and subject to the military code of justice? Or is it a civilian agency staffed by loaned military personnel? If Sydney is now military is Dabbler also US military?
sydney is a military recute (not yet gone through basic and normal she can still quit/be kicked out without to much trouble) were as dabbler is a civilian consultant
Basically dabbler is a PR assistant and Sydney is the new guy who can be fired any moment.
Can you imagine the implications if they were to make an alien a soldier from a single country?
Not to mention that Dabbler would probably refuse. Her refusing to share any tech indicates pritty clearly she’s not here to serve, only to adventure
Her mission is to seek out new life and new civilizations, and have sex with them.
You know, kind of like Kirk.
And Jack Harkness
Actually better comperission than Kirk, since neither he nor Dabbler have gender limitations
Or species. The only thing Jack needs is consent.
…consent as expressed in some understandable manner of speech or action. Not everybody knows Interlac…
But without the strange vocal tic of his. Or the Alien Gohnerhea.
Now you have me wondering what would happen if Kirk met Dabbler. Would Kirk’s libido finally meet its match? Or can succubi overload? Maybe it would be safer to watch from the next solar system over. o.o
wish there was a like button on here!!! like!
that would be a hell of a thing…
never happen they would run out of time before they stopped arguing over who’s on top. they are both alphas
Arguing over who’s on top the first time perhaps. I think they could agree to at least take turns in that regard.
In a zero-grav enviroment, “top” is just a word…
Your comment reminded me of a filk song with an incredibly long title… “A Reconsideration Of Anatomical Docking Maneuvers In A Zero-Gravity Environment” (also known as “The Zero-G Sex Song”). It’ll be running through my head all day. Thank you SO much.
Lyrics HERE for those who are interested:
https://www.ovff.org/pegasus/songs/docking-maneuvers.html
No Dabbler explained that she was a civilian consultant (with a battle form).
I believe several other Archon supers are also civilians.
Sydney is full on a Militairy police though, atleast according to Arianna here https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/755
yes and no she is still in her training period so not a cop yet but she will be once she completes her training.
ARCHON is a military branch. It was done that way specifically to avoid posse comitatus. It is just as much a military branch as the air force was when it was first formed out of units taken from the air force and army. Basically, they are exploiting one heck of a loophole to stay military so they can continue to give orders to their super troops as well as operate on their own soil. So yeah, she is a recruit now, and no, I have NO IDEA how a president would address a recruit.
navy and army, ugh.
no posse comitatus was why it is a new branch not within an existing force. posse comitatus prevents certen branches operating on us soil. the resin it is military is so that they can oder existing military personnel in to archon insed of discharging them and hoping they report to archon
Yes. Once Sydney signed the documents and took the oath, she is fully subject to the UCMJ; however, there is a reason why Courts Martial are made up of people, and defendants are allowed (but not recommended) to bring in civilian lawyers; and why we have several lesser forms of punitive action that can be exercised before going to a court martial. Recruit’s Remorse is a real thing, and the military doesn’t really want to come off as completely insensitive to the human condition, plus, it is a lot easier and cheaper to simply release them from their contract in times of peace. HOWEVER; during times of war, wherein our nation is directly threatened, and when in the actual “War Zone”, the rules change and the military tends to play a lot more hardball, with very good reasons based on historical precedence.
also you need to add in not all Recruit’s are up to the job. previously unknown medical problems, mental ticks and unsuteble mental states. part of basic is about screening to see if the Recruit can cut it
Agreed.
to be fair in a team work situation like taking down vehemence everyone’s contribution was vital so big guy on the screen could have said the same thing to to the hairdresser/dabbler snack whos name i cant remember
You mean the Barberian?
Barberian is his title; Combman is his alias and Bingo is his name-O.
I wish you guys knew how hard it was to keep from giggling over the name “Combman the Barberian” while I was at work.
Combman the Barberian…Now I’ve heard everything.
*BLAM!*
Dammit! Someone slipped blanks into my ammo box.
It is entirely possible to kill yourself with a blank, so don’t try it.
Isn’t that how that guy from Voyagers died (looked it up – his name was Jon-Erik Hexum)?
Oh… and Brandon Lee?
Yes, Brandon Lee:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandon_Lee#Death
…a prop gun with a bullet lodged in the barrel, into which someone loaded a blank round – combining to form a complete live round. Most tragic.
Everyone’s was vital, but it was her plan that beat him. Without her, it would have failed.
So they all get medals, but she gets a slightly shinier medal
its just like a car engine big or small cheap or expensive any part that is missing or broken and your not going anywhere
But she was the whole reason they even knew what to do.
That’s why she is considered instrumental to their victory.
and if max hadn’t bean there they would not have had the power to pull it of same with jigawat and her power and even sigh… Barberian they were all instrumental to success
Nnnno, I wouldn’t call him ‘instrumental’ in the same way that Max, Jiggawatt, and Sydney were. He was helpful in an accessory way right at the end.
No offense, but I think you’re confusing blue haired toothless with the Barberian. I don’t actually remember Barberian drawn helping with Big V anyway… must go back and check.
Yeah, couldn’t find one of him actually helping. Also couldn’t find Toothless’s name. Anyone know?
you are right its the unnamed guy i ment
Despite having a speaking role (twice), he was never officially named. A common nickname was “Mr. Nose Boop”.
Speaking role but no introduction. Exceptions can be made, but it usually requires both to get on the Who’s Who.
The Pareto principle (also known as the 80-20 rule) 20% of the people are responsible for 80% of the output. Have you heard of working smarter not harder “Pay for performance not attendance” If people actually are interchangeable cogs you could dump a bunch of people from Somalia into Dearborn MI and get something other than what Dearborn MI is today.
Considering how far beyond expectations/duties it was for her, she could probably get a silver star out of this. That’d be a pretty major award for a first day on the job. Gotta be a record.
I agree, a civilian comic shop owner. Whose super training consisted of random putzing around. Working along side military personnel, in a battle with skilled Supes. Not only did she survive, but without her plan, Max was close to getting iced.
That along with Halo’s shield was far above and beyond what a civilian could have been asked for. Especially one with Vemmy’s ungodly skill sets.
For the non Americans here, what is a silver star?
It’s one of the highest ranking medals awarded to members of the US military behind only the Distinguished Service Medal, the Service Cross (replace service with whatever branch the member was a part of), and then the Medal of Honor.
You can get the medal just below it for looking at facebook at work then crying to your superiors that people said bad things about Obama trading 5 jihadis for one traitor.
https://thisainthell.us/blog/?p=57351 This is supposed to be a leader? 1SG Katrina Moerk who got an Army Commendation Medal for scolding other soldiers in a social media chat room;
Let’s see. . . bunch of people get called out for openly acting like sexist idiots on the internet, then continued to act like even bigger idiots under identifiable profiles. They end up getting whipped for misconduct. Person who called the idiots out for acting like idiots gets a FREAKING MEDAL. /southpark
Okay, I’ think I got the jist.
No medal is going to mean more or less than the act that merited it. The fact that someone got the same medal for doing ‘less’ does not diminish another person’s medal.
Secondly, it doesn’t matter what form of media you are using. When you are acting or speaking as a ranked member of the armed service, don’t be a schmuck. Actually don’t be one at all if you can help it. So yes, she was technically being a leader even if it took an injunction from the DoD to get anyone to follow.
You’re acting like she’s the immature one for taking this to her superiors, but it looks like she tried to resolve it on a personal level and was met with sophomoric hostility. So I’m curious, MikeE; what do you believe she should have done?
Actually this discussion probably shouldn’t even be taking place here. I mean, it’s not like every post in the comment section of a web comic should be used as an excuse to vent ones wretched sociopolitical views, right?
MikeE, the reason she got a Commendation Medal is because she deserved *some* sort of recognition for her actions other than just a pat on the back.
You *might* think the Achievement Medal (which is one step lower) would have been more appropriate… but as a 1st Sgt., she was an E-8. The Achievement Medal is only given to junior officers (O-1 thru O-4) or enlisted personnel from E-1 through E-7. As an E-8, she’s ineligible.
So, since she wasn’t eligible for the Achievement Medal, and the only thing lower than that is a Service Ribbon, they didn’t really have much choice but to give her the Commendation Medal.
I can envision a meeting between Gen. Faulk and Maxima about what medals to give out to the members of the team, and what to do about not yet having a designated service cross, and also which medal of honor to designate for their branch of service. These are “problems” they probably didn’t envision having to worry about this early in the history of their military branch.
I just checked, there’s no way for her to get the silver star, since Vehemence and co. aren’t a foreign enemy force. Since that makes it impossible for anyone to get the silver star ever while working for Archon, despite being in armed conflicts, the requirements might be adjusted, so perhaps.
Impossible until aliens or the equivalent of Doctor Von Doom attacks. I think they’d count as foreign forces.
I think some of the faces on pg. 186 would count as “a foreign enemy force,” but I might be mistaken…
Actually, here’s a thought: if Dabbler counts as a foreign allied force, Vehemence and co are definitely third party to the USA, it would work out that everyone except Dabbler can get Silver Stars.
Dabbler could always get the Presidential Medal of Freedom instead, since she’s a ‘civilian consultant.’
Barberian didn’t help fight Vehemence, it was that simpleton guy with the REALLY weird hairdo. And besides him all the others were active, trained, military personnel, doing their jobs. Sydney is just a raw recruit yet, with NO training and NO experience, getting caught up in a fight that nearly finished off Max, yet she buckled down and really pulled her weight, which at this point in her recruitment is basically above and beyond the call of duty.
Dave, I just wanted to say that, while your work is always enjoyable, these last two comics have been hilarious! Thanks for the laughs!
Thanks! Then you should enjoy the next page as well. It makes me laugh every time I look at it.
I am so looking forward to it! :-) I must admit that after Monday’s page, I didn’t think there was any way you could follow it up, so I thought maybe you’d cut to the infirmary with Sydney going “homina homina homina” or something like that.
Sydney will probably head for the infirmary right after Maxima spanks her…
Don’t describe things like that so soon after a Dabbler scene…
Maxima, with her adherence to doing things the “official way,” is not likely to allow Dabbler to watch, let alone participate.
…but if Leon happens to notice while he keeps tabs on Archon’s internal security system, we just may hope to see it on the internet somewhere…
Film at 11 !
:P
As former military the rank is applied as of swearing in. Which in a normal military unit would have happened before the press conference immediately after she signed the paperwork. If this has taken place then yes he would refer to her by her rank.
Not so sure about this. Sydney appears to be on the enlisted track, and as of 2006, in the Air Force, you are called and must refer to yourself as “Trainee” until such time as you go through the graduation ceremony towards the end of Basic. At this point, you receive your Airman Coin and can start referring to yourself as “Airman So-and-so.” Before then, it’s strictly maggot status.
Then again, I didn’t have a PPO. :)
I think this varies heavily from branch to branch, and from time period to time period, and most importantly, based on how much trouble you’re in at the moment. My notion is that Obama might be generous with the rank, while Maxima would be more likely to use “Trainee” or “Recruit” in order to emphasize how thin Sydney’s ice is right now.
If military rank is awarded by swearing, then Sydney should be a 5 star general.
that’s only in the navy
And that would be Admiral, not General.
Even if it’s only her second day she would be at least a commodore by now.
In that case, if Dabbler were actually in the military instead of being a civilian, she would be on that screen instead of Obama; when it comes to “push button rank,” Dabbler’s a master at pushing buttons…
Mistress.
I recommend sticking with “Miss Scoville” rather than changing it to military terminology. President Obama does not appear to be fully comfortable or knowledgeable of military terminology (I work with veterans whose teeth grind whenever he uses the wrong word or pronunciation), so we should assume in casual, unscripted/teleprompted conversation, that the Prez would use the terms he’s most comfortable with. I have no idea about the validity of “the thanks of the office of the president”, it could just mean that he’s being eloquent and that no “official recognition” needs be attached to it.
We can’t see him, but it’s quite possible that the President is returning the LLAP salute to Sydney as she’s being dragged out.
I don’t care about actual rules or keeping up formality to the other world leaders. I chose to believe he did indeed return that salute
If not Obame, then possibly Gen. Faulk – Dabbler’s shown where his tastes lie
*Obama
That has to be one of the stranger AutoIncorrects my phone has done…
^ This is a very good assessment of our president. Though I’ve never had the opportunity to meet him, he’s always come off as someone laidback and personable, preferring to connect with people as individuals as opposed to their rank/status.
Similarly, I don’t believe you need to go as far as to say “the office of the president.” Terminology-wise, simply saying the “thanks of the president” is not unlike the royal “we” which is/can be read as an inclusive statement to encompass the entirety of the government and what it represents. As for recognition, usually being thanked by the president in an informal setting is a reward in and of itself for accomplishments. Formally acknowledging Sydney’s help would require more of a ceremonial setting, but I’d imagine that would also entail recognition for the rest of the team as it was a team effort that stopped the supervillain skirmish.
It is true that he really isn’t familiar with the “brass and tacks” of military jargon. He has called (and continues to call) Navy Corpsmen, “Corpse-men” when, in fact, it’s pronounced “Core-men,” among other things.
This rings true to me. As much as people said they’d “like to have a beer with” Dubya – no, seriously, the discussion back in those days was that they’d rather be friends with him than nerdly and stiff Al Gore, like that mattered in any way – Obama has literally sat down and had an occasional beer with civilians (probably for press purposes).
Gotta be honest, I’d rather serve a beer to Dubya than Obama. As a long time waitress, just watching things Bush has always struck me as a lot friendlier to the staff. At least on camera, Obama either ignores the wait staff completely or has been downright rude.
As far as who I’d rather have a beer with, I think it all depends on the situation. If it’s just casual, then Dubya, but if Obama is sees me as some sort of constituent that he needs support from, I’d go with Obama. He treats his supporters really well.
Either way, I’d refuse both unless they were buying. ;)
I see it differently. I know Dubya is an intelligent man (ducks thrown objects) but I feel like if I explained my current research project (comparative translation of 12th century accounts of the Norman conquest from English and French sources against the contemporary Anglo-Saxon Chronicle) to him, he’d nod and smile, pat me on the knee and then walk away. I think if I explained it to Obama, he’d listen attentively, ask questions and understand implications of my explanation before I’d finished my sentence. He seems to approach everything with a keen interest and intelligence, whereas Dubya kinda seemed to turn it on and off when he wanted to.
Note that this is just as inapplicable a measure of how qualified someone is to be Commander-in-Chief as how much you’d like to have a beer with them, I’m just saying that I think I would be able to relate to Obama more than Bush because my impression is that he’d give me his undivided attention, if the opportunity came up.
Well said.
On the other hand, Dubya was willing to produce his grades from Harvard and Yale, (spoiler alert: they were better than John Kerry’s grades at those same schools,) while Obama’s grades from Columbia and Harvard have still never been produced.
Obama as “intelligent” is a media creation. We have no idea whether he is or not. Actually, considering how often everyone SAYS he’s intelligent, I’d lean the other way, just because you don’t have to SAY how smart someone is when they actually are.
And “Bush is an idiot” is even MORE of a media creation, actually. Don’t care for the guy myself, mind you, as his domestic policies were lousy (though they certainly look good in comparison these days…), but the whole “he’s an idiot” thing was based entirely on the ability to mock him for his accent. (What happened to inclusion and tolerance? Oh right, he’s not human, he’s a Republican.)
Just like Hilliary has taken $40million from nations that execute gays, & is responsible for Gay ambassador Stevens death, but the important thing is she objects to a pizzeria not serving a gay wedding. Are there really that many cheap tacky people that would serve pizza at a wedding?
Not just like. Moral relativism aside, that’s a political stance she’s taken. As opposed to being more friendly and less stiff than your opponent, which should have no basis on choosing leadership.
Someone hand Obama this comic, and if there’s any problem with his dialogue, have him write his own. :)
Better yet, have him voice his speech bubbles. ;)
(I know, easy for me to say, I’m not even from the right continent! xD )
Neither am I. :)
At least it is better than being incontinent.
or interred…
Or in traction
or immolated…
You know, I have to wonder if, if you sent a link to this page to the Whitehouse PR staff, if they might not actually show Obama, and you could possibly get input from him on it. He seems suitably nerdy about this sort of thing, and it would be an easy way to get another ‘good tick’ on his public relations.
It is my working hypothesis that he is already a fan of the comic and is a (silent) patreon getting his cameo.
;-)
Dunno if it was mentioned on the last page, but Max (or whoever) created this situation by calling Sydney in too soon (for the presumed debriefing). And as to the correctness of the ‘office of the President’ line? Sounds good to me.
Ok, there are a few things that have come up in discussion of this short arc so far on another site. First off, sydney was called in like, a half hour ago at least. She dithered around waiting for joel to get back, took harem on a flight to the bank, then drove into archon, where she proceeded to get sidetracked big time by dabbler. According to max, she was supposed to be in awhile ago. And since archon is located in the same town as her comic shop,a nd sydney can easily hit 400 mph, expecting her to get there a half hour ago isnt unreasonable
Secondly, there is the issue that max may not have been aware that this was new comic day which sydney has contracted as a day off. Sydney objected, but didnt remind max that it was new comic day and that was her condition for working (maybe, we dont know for sure what the contract actually states)
Thirdly, Maxima didnt say, “Recruit, report to me as soon as you get here!” she was ordered to “check in”. I have no idea where in archon she would go. For all I know, checking in means going to the front desk and being told where to go from there. but generally, I dont think a new recruit would check in with the second highest ranking person on base. Its doubtful she is directly in charge of basic training. When I joined the air force, i saw the major in charge of my training area like, once. It was a random meeting, we didnt talk, I just spotted him wandering around doing whatever it is majors do.
However, that last bit is an assumption. For all I know, maxima would have shown her around after her meeting was over and set her up with the training schedule. My main point is, she wasnt ordered to report to maxima, just to archon.
I doubt that Sydney is just going to be dumped into boot camp. Probably more of a personalized fast-track instruction. It looks like she gets along pretty well with Peggy. In between classes, she’ll probably just be told to “Follow Lt. Kessler around and do what she says. And try not to injure yourself. Again.”
And if it had been a summons for an immediate appearance, then she should have “BAMPHed” in with Harem.
Harem can’t teleport A)Living things (word of God), of which i am sure Sydney is one of… or if she’s undead, then at least she’s a very light resistant Vampire… and B) i know that it’s rude to talk about what women weigh, but i am POSITIVE Sydney weighs more than 25 pounds, and therefore Harem wouldn’t be able to teleport her anyway, due to weight restrictions…
Harem can’t carry a person.
Ah. I done forgot. Silly me.
There is actually an explanation that makes sense of Sydney telling Joel she had to leave and being pissed off about being called in to Archon today which is that her ADHD brain FORGOT IT WAS NEW COMIC DAY UNTIL JOEL REMINDED HER. Seriously I think most of the posters here are forgetting about her SQUIRREL! mentality when it comes to following a subject.
As my girlfriend will attest (and has, or else I would not be informed to make this comment), having a large quantity of thick hair will also suffice to create a bun without resorting to a “shame-puff” (aka spongey doughnut thing) or hairspray.
Yeah, all I need to create a bun is enough hairpins. Although making a braid with a rubber band first and then twisting it into a bun helps… I do have thick hair.
Remember that Max also has unique physiology. She could very easily use superglue and a mold to put her hair up (or fast-drying epoxy, resin, etc) into a perfect bun- then when she’s done, just do a quick burst of energy through the head to vape it.
Maxima does much the same thing. But uses rebar.
And once your hair gets long enough, you don’t even need hairpins! I can keep my waist-length hair up with just one stick. Although I doubt the military would look kindly on having a giant stick in your hair . . . they seem to prefer those polished, smooth-looking buns that you get with the sock / hair doughnut and/or bobby & hair pins (yes, there is a difference between bobby pins and hair pins)
Mmm, smooth buns…
Alex, I’ll take “Things Dabbler would say” for $200.
Yeah, getting the feeling the president would just go with a name or mister/miss for low ranking military he doesn’t deal with. On a more official note, out of military uniform you don’t use rank. Like if you walk pass a sergeant and either one of your is out of uniform, neither is required to acknowledge the other or use military courtesy like titles/rank. If you’re talking to someone who out ranks you and they want you to use rank anyways, while you aren’t required to, they can find other reasons to punish you later
Maybe its more respectful to use ranks? I really would not know. I call none of them by their ranks.
Should it be “believe me we will discuss it later”?
No, believe we will discuss it later is sort of a term. It’s kinda short hand for ‘you better believe we will…
It works, the full statement with implied words would be like “[You had better] believe [the fact] that we will discuss it later.”
Leaving Sydney j-u-s-t enough time to change her idenitity and emigrate. ;).
Ooh, she is welcome to come to Bulgaria. I have a spare room and everything. In fact she could have the whole south wing, if she wants!
aww but she gave the big puppy eyes too hehe
There he goes, being all “diplomatic” again
And of course, Sydney responds with levels of nerdiness that would make Steve Urkel swoon.
I really hope they manage to SOMEHOW put a little shine on her, she has the potential to make a great super, if they can get her to be less of a spaz……………..
if she wasn’t a spaz, she wouldn’t be her.
The “spazziness” is actually why we love her
But for military purposes, i.e. the fact that the PPO can easily be classified as a WMD and REALLY shouldn’t be weilded by someone without impulse control, she might want to tone down the spaz
“Just a smidge”
Well that’s the intended effect of training her
The PPO is not *nearly* powerful enough to be a WMD. WMD is reserved for weapons which will kill tens of thousands of people, destroy entire city blocks, or ruin mountains.
When the FBI called a pressure cooker bomb a WMD, they were wrong.
Maybe Maxima’s big bomby zap thing can be considered a WMD. It’s hard to judge the damage level from the few frames we saw of it operating out in the countryside.
Are you talking about Bill Ayer’s bombs or the moslem’s one? Considering Hiroshima and Nagasaki have recovered but Detroit never will Asian/White flight must be a WMD
You know, a lot of people complain about “white flight” like it’s racist, but I think it’s only reasonable to find a better place to live when the crime rate skyrockets. Why should I stay somewhere where I’m afraid of getting mugged or killed when there’s plenty of better places out there. The sad fact is that the “black” population (that’s a terrible handle for a group with ancestry from 30+ countries whose skin ranges from pearly to midnite BTW) makes up around 13% of the total population but accounts for around 40% of the crime and over 50% of all homicides. That’s not racist. It’s verifyable fact.
Things are never as… um… black and white as that. Making such a statement has the implication that race is the cause of the crime. Whereas if you analyse it you will probably find that the same segment is also the poorest, most disadvantaged sector of the community. And we know that those are major determinants in crime.
May I suggest that you divert all the riches of society into giving them better education, prospects and standards of living? Doubtless you will find, in time, that the demographics change. If you fail to give the same advantages to the poor white (and other ethnic minority) groups, you will find that they will be causing crime disproportionate to their numbers too.
I have absolutely no idea how the conversation got from spazzy superheroes in training talking to the president to white flight.
I think Maxima’s attack must count as a WMD. After all, that still wasn’t Full Power.
I doubt she’s ever needed to use full power.
as for the PPO… how do you know that it was at full power either?… that orb has quite a lot of unchecked slots on her Skill-tree… I’m am pretty darn sure that what we saw was a low level blast and that it can get bigger.
Not to mention… I don’t think it has a time limit. She flies up high enough, just starts blasting and sweeping the beam across landscapes- I’m pretty sure she could carve her own water shed with that thing.
Perhaps that’s what the Orbs are- an advanced terraforming toolkit? Maybe the unknown orbs are things like ‘produces breathable air’ and ‘encourages the growth of life’.
I imagine a large part of Sydney’s training is going to involve testing the limits of her orbs and letting everyone with security clearance suggest things to test the last 2 for to see if they can figure out what they are.
That could happen. no wait, that Could happen! Obama has no fux to give anymore!
And I /believe/ that there will be a “Chain of Command” discussion wherein a recruit learns that everyone (everyone,sir? EV!-ERY!-ONE! /GaryOldman) is higher up the chain of command than her. and when such a being in said command structure i.e. a LT (that may in fact be the General’s dog robber cant be sure because i dont see a leash) sez unto you “wait outside until called for” You wait outside. Until the second coming if necessary.
And while i dont see Maxima saying things like “the chain of command is the chain I beat you with until you understand that I am in command” /MalReynolds I would believe that she may have an anchor chain from the navy laying about…
While one might be told that, it is simply incorrect. A chain of command is a (usually) welldefined thing, which you might not entirely know about, but it is supposed to be clear as a wellcut diamond. A soldier must obey the lawfull orders of those above him in the chain of command, but for any given soldier, that chain is supposed to be fairly short. He’s to obey the leader of his group, the leader of his platoon (with staff, if any), the leader of his company (with staff), the leader of his battalion (with staff), his regimental commander (with staff), a few higher instances of leaders (with staffs) and then finally, the president in his capacity as Commander in Chief, but NOT the staff that is attached to the civilian duties of the president, only the staff that the CiC office has. All in all, a regular pre-private shouldn’t have more than … 200? people above him/her in the chain of command. But owing military courtesy is another thing. As a new recruit is outranked by about everyone in a military uniform in the whole world, and should properly salute them when meeting.
“You know what the chain of command is? It’s the chain I go get and beat you with ’til you understand who’s in ruttin’ command here!” Jayne Cobb, not Mal :p
“My days of not taking you seriously are definitely coming to a middle.” Malcolm Reynolds, not Jane :p
Well, if you said she ate cruton, it’d at least sound similar.
But I say make her eat Nattō.
That would be cruel and unusual punishment.
“Is there a vegetarian substitute for eating crow?”
Yes, both your pride & humble pie are acceptable substitutes for eating crow.
Crows are ugly. Sydney just doesnt eat stuff that’s cute. :)
I suppose that it would more be up to Sydney’s opinion on whether or not crows are cute, not your opinion…Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if Sydney also thought crows are ugly. Unless it was your own crow you had to eat, then your opinion would be relevant.
Relativity here, relativity…
I have a degree in thinking like webcomic characters, and my seminar paper was on Sydneyology. TThus, I am eminently qualified to discuss which animals Sydney considers to be cute vs ugly
The only way to KNOW (instead of conjecturing) what Sydney thinks is to BE Sydney…Thus, your degree & seminar paper has less weight of fact than anything DaveB says.
;)
I like the balance between Sydney and Max gestures when Sydney entered and when exited. Max got revenge :)
Also +1 for continuity with the tubey open and the wall clock set.
Just in case in panel four the pin in Obama’s lapel moved and the paint in the background changed.
Sorry, forgot one: Max’s uniform ornaments changed from the last page to this one.
Decorations, not ornaments. ;)
Although I see how a civilian could get confused.
Thank you :) I am indeed a civilian so I looked up, but various terms were used (decorations, ornamentations, badges, awards, bars), since the differences I was speaking about involved several things I went with “ornaments” as a guess.
In a non-military sense, ornaments would be appropriate. ‘Decorations’ implies decor, which implies making a room look nice. One can imply that because the military considers this wrong, the military considers soldiers to be rooms.
Live long and prosper!
How long has Max been an elf?
She’s had those ears for aslong as we know her atleast
Including relatively young: https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/720
You mean the ears? From the very first time: https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/209
Max is no elf she is a gold vulcan :P
More like Romulan.
Very old joke I saw in dragon magazine a long time a go. party of adventures on the floor laughing their butts of (elf looking pissed off) “I mean it, the next one who says ‘love long and prosper’ gets it”
even so Syd should know that’s what an elf, especially if the elf is your superior officer
… ESPECIALLY when said elf has Max’s abilities.
“LOVE long and prosper”?
Alex, I’ll take “Things Dabbler might say” for $400.
(Though changing “live” to “love” is not even remotely as bad as some of the Autocorrects my phone has inflicted upon me.)
Classic buns are usually made by making a pony tail and wrapping and pinning it. Leia’s buns, for instance, were basically pigtails then wrapped and pinned. The whole hollow core, sock bun thing is relatively new (and my wife swears by them.
Yeah, that’s how I do my bun. Real men don’t need anything but hair.
I don’t know if that’s how one speaks when he or she becomes president, but it’s certainly how Obama speaks. :D
Yikes. Sydney has probably just volunteered for a very quick, very intense remedial class in military customs and courtesies: I imagined how that performance would fly with the Senate Armed Services Committee, and I just finished up with the horrified laughter.
i flashed to the scene in “Dave” where the two politicos are trying to teach the main character the ins and outs of being a substitute President… they have a big white-board with a drawing of the chin of command on it with a big “ME” at the top…
The “chin” of command! LENO FOR PRESIDENT!
You know Jay Leno does the voice of superhero Crimson Chin for Fairly Odd Parents, right?
AARGH!.. I’m usually better than that, i got up and posted that at about 0400 my time… i was still kinda sleepy, and couldn’t go back to sleep. because my roommate was up REALLY early cooking something and the smell woke me up about a half an hour earlier than i normally do…
Heh, I nearly had a heart attack in the last comic. The way sydney was hollering at max was so deep into insubordination that her grandkids would have to report for a court martial. And in front of the commander in chief and what, three other heads of state? I dont think even arianna could spin that enough to avoid a bad punishment if they chose to press charges. (They wont, but the point stands)
If they have seen the You-Tube videos and/or her first TV interview )highly likely), they’ll probably just mark Sydney’s latest performance down to her being ….. um, well, bat-crap crazy.
Nope, not a “remedial” class. Remedial is for updating or re-emphasizing something that was already taught. So far, Sydney hasn’t learned a damn thing…
;)
My guess what is going through the mind of all the leaders at the moment, if they had the context to do so, is ‘How adorkable’. Because she is. Oh Sydney, never change.
Mixed with terror.
“That’s the master strategist with incredible power that took down the most powerful supervillain yet? We’re screwed!”
This was hilarious. :)
Talking out of turn, that’s a paddlin’.
Looking out the window, that’s a paddlin’.
Barging in a meeting with the president? Oooooh, better believe that’s a paddlin’.
“On the one hand you’d have an ample supply of lockpicks if you need them, on the other hand you’d be screwed if Magneto attacked”
would ceramic pins be sturdy enough? or something else.
Depends on the type of ceramic. Some are, some aren’t.
Just stick with metal. If Magneto attacks you’re screwed regardless of the composition of your hairpins.
…Comic Magneto, anyway, not weaksauce movie Magneto.
Carbon fibre composite hairpins – if they’re not a thing, they should be.
You’re defense against Magneto is to imediately say “I’m glad I used my wooden hairpins today” right before he attacks.
Are those comic rules?
Your best defense against Magneto is to immediately swear fealty.
And then immediately try to look for some real estate on another planet…In another galaxy…On another dimensional plane. You just MIGHT get away from him that way.
That went down a lot more comfortably than it might have done.
i thought until the very last panel. she always gets so close, and yet can’t help herself :P
So, nobody has mentioned this on this page yet, but her tube is upside down and open. I’m guessing that since in the previous page she pulled out the forcefield orb and used it, that the others are just floating all together up inside the tube. Either that or they all fell out when she became utterly shocked and we’re in for some sort of fun with them being left in the room and her walking out of the room.
Tubey opens from either end, like most poster tubes I’ve encountered. It opened in the last strip, when she called her forcefield orb to her hand.
You think they’re talking about politics or defense. No. It just their fantasy football league.
Well, it’s not fantasy baseball… not the way Obama pitches.
From what little insight we’ve seen, it might even be a pickup game of D&D. I choose to believe that Max is outraged because she blames Sydney for causing her to roll a nat 1.
A gay Chicago reporter Kevin Du Jan reported that Barry was a catcher in the bathhouses.
https://hillbuzz.org/extreme-black-anger-in-chicago-at-obama-he-done-did-it-he-ruined-it-for-us-white-people-dont-feel-guilty-no-more-and-wont-do-stuff-for-us-now-64493
Dave hasn’t quite defined the actual ‘military’ status of Archon personnel. Being in uniform ATM Max is obviously still in the service. Sydney while under contract with Archon is not. The term recruit does not necessarily mean she is a part of any military branch. It is also unclear whether the UCMJ applies to her, which it seems it would not. Best assumption is that she comes in under some sort of G.S. (Government Service) rating. This would put her UNDER the chain of command but not IN it. That’s a subtle distinction but a very strict one. At some levels, under certain circumstances and with proper authorization civies CAN be in command of troops, the State Dept., DIA and CIA come to mind, but those are exceptions not the rule. Archon undoubtedly falls in that category.
–
In any case based on previous commenters, the author has a lot guests he can refer to if he wants to get into specifics.
BTW Dave, Maxie’s bun(s) is/are just fine!
Arianna stated pretty clearly at the press conference that archon is a new branch of military formed specifically to let them bypass those annoying rules about where the military can operate, as well as continue to give orders to their military supers. They are a military police force.
“Now miss Scollvile if you don’t mind”………………………political way of saying ‘Get the hell out of here NOW!!!!’ :P
Who coloured this one? It looks a lot better than the previous two.
What is Sydney doing with her fingers in the first panel?
Touching her thumb and ring finger? Is that part of some kind of bow? Or is she just spazzing?
She’s pulling up the sides of her skirt for her curtsy.
If curtseying, that would be the correct way to hold the front of your dress/skirt out. Especially if you were wearing a proper floor-length dress for the occasion.
I would say the likelihood of Sydney wearing a full length dress outside of her wedding is about .005 %.
And during the wedding not too much better, maybe a .05. Her natural energy and spazziness would have a good chance of her having serious problems just trying on such dresses, so she’d end up with something quite a bit more practical. Otherwise there’s a near guarentee of a faceplant or torn dress.
She could do some realy fancy stuf with incorporating the orbs in her dress though
Even without a dress, the hands are spread out to the sides… and the hands just automatically want to shift that non-existant dress into place! Where it falls apart, however, is that a proper curtsey would involve crossing her calves and bending her knees and waist, while Sydney maintains a wide, straight-legged stance. All she’s really doing is bowing with fingers full of air-skirt.
And a curtsey is very much acceptable for a young lady in civilian clothing when addressing the President. Awkward and outdated, but acceptably respectful and charmingly adorkable. As a military recruit, a salute is really the only acceptable gesture of respect allowable, but as she hasn’t had any training whatsoever (and is out of uniform), it’s a forgivable faux pas.
For the bun, it looks fine. I’ve seen female soldiers with a sock bun sitting much lower on their neck and still pass inspection, so the point where it’s pretty much sitting on their jacket collar. For the question of whether Sydney would be referred to as a trainee, recruit, or private, in the Army, U.S that is, as soon as you sign the paperwork and go start training, you get your rank. Granted, Archon might do things a little different, but for all intents and purposes, I don’t think anyone will lose much sleep over it.
As I learned from my cousin in the air force, hair for women needs to be kept off the collar. So there must have been that hair width between the bun and collar. ;)
For some reason I can imagine one of the Leaders saying ” I like her, she’s silly”
Har
Could it be that Loony Tunes are real in Dave’s World? (Did anyone else hear the last two words in Mike Myers voice?)
Using comic book superhero knowledge to fight crime and save the day and getting paid for it in the end.
Your living the dream Sydney
Eating Okra.
(Vegen Crow…just nasty)
No, I’m pretty sure okra, if the amount of slimy gunk they produce when cooked is any clue, is some sort of vegetable slug.
Just to answer your question, as far as the Canadian Forces goes, and I believe the US military is similar, she would be referred to as Private as soon as she officially signed up. In our case at least there is a distinction between a fresh recruit straight off the bus, which is a prvate(untrained), or private(recruit), and a private that has finished basic training, which is just a private.
To use an old joke, they are called “Privates” because they are small and pale, and tend to tremble and shrink when frightened.
Privates become Privates as soon as they sign the paperwork.
Is it me or are those glasses awful big? Seems to me they were smaller before.
They fluctuate. I should slowly make them smaller over time though, as they are awful big now.
I like how they hang so low what they don’t cover her eyes, but her cheeks. The better for reading lap-comics or shoegazing.
Dammit, you reminded me of them again. Now I’ll see them every time I look at the page and get stuck on how comically huge they are until I get used to it again. They don’t exactly mesh well with the increasingly realistic art style of the rest of the comic.