Grrl Power #316 – Couture cammies
This page is admittedly a bit goofier than Grrl Power tends to get, the fashion ninjas are definitely a bit Gold Digger-y, but I’m ok with that. Besides, having actual ninjas hanging around Archon HQ is probably pretty good for security, even if they’re more concerned with your hemline than poisoning people from the rafters.
So, the fabrikinetic tailor here is the first Patreon funded cameo in a while, via Adam Glocker. (Have I mentioned lately how much I appreciate the support?) I really should have worked his name on to the page so he’d be on the Who’s Who. (The tailor’s, not Adam’s.) The ninjas too. Bleh. Anyway, for easy reference his name is Ashley and his handle is Iron Cloth. This cameo is a bit weird because I had considered a fabrikinetic for the comic already as an antagonist. I had stuck him firmly in the maybe column because lets be real, someone who can control clothing vs a team of largely female super heroes? I wasn’t sure how that would end without a furiously nude Maxima removing his spine and putting it back in upside down. When Adam’s cameo character had the same power as my maybe guy, I figured I’d un-maybe him and let Adam’s character’s details flesh out a lot of details I hadn’t considered. Most of which don’t make it on to this page but will eventually be revealed.
Think of him as a fabric controlling version of “The Paper” from Read or Die, (if you haven’t seen it, don’t spoil anything by clicking on the link. Just track down the three episode OVA and watch it) which in a weird way makes him one of the more powerful members of the team. He’s not a proper member of Arc-SWAT though, he’s actually in Arc-SPARQ, which is ARCHON’s collection of engineers, tinkerers and inventors. He’s more interested in plying his power and craft for the benefit of the team as a whole, as well as making a healthy living in the private sector.
The Theiss room mentioned on the last page, as many of you immediately figured out, is a reference to William Ware Theiss, the venerated costume designer for the original Star Trek series. He is known for his Theiss Titillation Theory which basically says that the sexiness of an outfit is directly proportional to the possibility that a vital piece of it might fall off. This isn’t to say everyone who goes into the room comes out with a side-boob revealing costume held together with the glue they use on sticky notes, just that they had to name the room something, and the people who did had a bit of a sense of humor.
Flaky Pastry is one of my favorite webcomics and is also 10! Check them out if you haven’t. It’s not about pastries.
The vote incentive is updated believe it or not. You can comment on it here.
Here’s the link to the new comments highlighter for chrome, and the GitHub link which you can use to install on FireFox via Greasemonkey.
SuperheroThey're super, thanks for asking!
Meatspace ComicSeriously these are awesome. Check 'em out!
Not UpdatingNo longer updating or only updates sporadically, but definitely worth reading.
SeriouslySeriously you guys. If you like Grrl Power the check these out.
"Mature"Mature subject matter and occasionally something explicit but usually safe. Can't guarantee the ads are safe though.
Dongs Ahoy!Full frontal and backal. Lots of skin, sex on some or all pages, explicit or otherwise.
Sandra from Tamora Pierce’s “Circle of Magic” books? She was a cloth mage, and others were mentioned.
She gets really baddass in The Will of the Empress!
Thought she was a Thread Mage but it’s been a while since I read those books.
Technically she calls herself a “Stitch Witch”.
That’s the one!
But her gift does cover cloth as well.
I liked the Circle of Magic books. I thought that she was rather creative with the different magics, but I liked Sandry’s student’s magic with dance/music as well.
Side note: In case you guys weren’t aware, Pierce wrote and published a book recently called ‘Battle Magic’. Covers Briar’s war/battlefield that he references at the beginning and in sections of Will of the Empress, and his student references in Melting Stones. I haven’t started it yet past the first page, but I will read it soon.
Oh awesome! Thanks for the heads up. I need to look into buying the series. Loved them all.
thanks for the info dude!
Oh I am watching Read Or Die the Tv series now. That… yes, that makes this guys pretty powerful.
Where are you watching it?
I cannot seem to find it anywhere.
Anyone?
“Iron Cloth”
*has flashbacks to Saint Seiya’s ‘Steel Saints’*
Nooooooooooooooooooo
I was thinking Law of Ueki there… Mr “Change towels into Steel when I hold my breath but I can still talk and fight like that”
…better stay far away from the Saint Seiya Omega series,’cause they are back in job lots…
So I hear. I’m not that far into Omega yet, though…
I….wait wut….?
Yes.
I don’t have a problem with the goofy, I was hoping we’d get back to it soon. The nice thing about a world with supers in it is you can play it with some slapstick and it still very much works. If supers are humans amplified, then a supers universe can be the mundane but amplified, too.
Plus Sydney has been a little subdued recently so it’s good to see things return to “normal.”
That is some proficient knocking. Sydney scored 3.3 Pennys!
I’m wondering if recent experience may traumatized Sydney in that respect. Sheldon could have serious competition.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsbWnud8ZAM
One knock too many, and no pause with a name in between :P
I think from now on I’m forever destined to compare every new superhero to the web-novel Worm (I believe I mentioned this once, earlier) which has an amazing array of powers and the stuff people do with them is quite impressive. For example, there’s one character who fights with giant stuffed plush animals. If I recall correctly, it turns out that she’s a kind of telekinetic who can only manipulate very very light objects…but there’s almost no limit to how many she can control at once. So essentially she controls all the threads in the fabric simultaneously, and because of the way the powers are tied into a person’s psychology this manifests and her creating giant stuffed animals to fight with.
I don’t recall it ever being explored if she could rip the clothes right off of someone- the novel tended not to go for “silly”. Also, there was actually an in-story mechanic that described why certain powers couldn’t be used directly against other people (for example, opening up a portal inside someone’s chest), because the story already had an fantastically high fatality rate, and the author needed a few people to survive to the end.
Another use of finely tuned telekinetics might be an artist who can control the flow of paint. He/she could put up a mural on a wall in seconds. Not much of a combat skill, but still interesting. Make him a troubled teen and he could go by the name Tagger.
I think DC had some color-themed villains back in the psychedelic ’60s, Krazy Quilt and Roy G. Biv. (Rainbow Rider).
Can remember someone trying out for Legion of Superheroes who’s only power slash ability was the creation of polkas dots (or maybe it was plaid slash tartan)
@Guesticus. That would be Color Kid, founding member of the Legion of Substitute Heroes, power limited to changing the color of things. The other members include Stone Boy, who turns into stone but is unable to move or talk in that form. Infectious Lass, who makes people sick, but can’t control who she makes sick. Chlorophyll Kid, who can cause plants to grow, but thats all. Fun bunch of characters who have been around for decades, even showing up in the short lived Legion of Superheroes animated series, and in the much more recent storyline “Superman and the Legion of Superheroes” where the characters teamed up as adults (and Batman went toe to toe with Karate Kid who got into the Legion by defeating Superboy in hand to hand combat).
@O.B. Juan. Rainbow Raider showed up on the new Flash TV series, he doesn’t directly affect colors of objects, but his powers affect peoples emotions and his eyes glow different colors based on what emotion he is projecting. Crazy Quilt was used on the Batman: The Brave and The Bold animated series.
Second panel – it’s spelled ‘Dais.’
Just thought you’d like to know.
“a furiously nude Maxima removing his spine and putting it back in upside down.”
And the problem with this……is……?
I’ll be in my bunk.
The only problem is that it would push the rating up to R at least making it very NSFW.
Other than that a nude Maxima is nice to imagine. I’m less interested in the whole “rip the spine out” thing. It’s such a downer.
Honestly, I have been looking forward to the costumes, though I figure in her case its going to be standard workout gear. But yeah, will archon have super suits? Will they embrace the superhero ethos that firmly? Or will they be in BDUs? The name of this room gave me hope, but dave seems to be implying it was named that because it had to be called something and someone had a sense of humor
Did you see the armor on those guys who showed up on the Osprey after the bank robbery??? I think there will be some suitage going on! *g*
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/385
No capes!
Fashion Ninjas… damn, I just got a flashback form the movie “Yong Zhe Wu Ju” aka. “Dreadnaught (1981)”, where an assassin called “Demon Tailor” is send to kill master Wong Fei-hung.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBjBvsJ_QmA
The scene with Demon Tailor starts at 0:41:00. His weapons include measuring tape, cloth bundles, scissors, needles and steel thimble.
Saitama figure would persuade me to do a lot of things too.
Do the ninjas have super-powers too, or are they just fantastically well-trained norms? I ask because, given all the discussion about power rarity and specialization it would seem unlikely that you’d end up with 3 fashion/cloth/costume related supers without at least one of them being an arch-nemesis to the others.
Well they could just be super ninjas that always wanted to work in the clothes industry.
No need for their powers to apply perfectly the measuring
Fashion Pirates?
Ah, clothing based superpowers.
… I once was in a collaborative comic thing where one of the characters had Denimancy. Power over all denim.
… Also, it could be electricity proof, fireproof, and pretty much anything that denim ISN’T.
Marvel comics also had a character that had psychokinetic control over cloth that appeared in the old (original) Spider Woman series. She went by the name of Gypsy Moth, if anyone cares to look it up.
Arc-SPARQ ??? Is it in anyway related to SPARK concept of GirlGenius??? Becuase from the way it was described, it sure was at least partly inspired by dem Sparks >_>
I assumed the Q in Arc-SPARQ was a reference to Q from James Bond, who invented all of the neat gadgets and toys…
Last time Arc-SPARQ got mentioned, I think we collectively decided that, since their division handles equipment and such, that it must mean “Quartermaster”. Couldn’t agree on the other letters though.
Saitama… As in One-Punch Man? Cuz, I’d do a lot of questionable things for one of those…
Join the boat I am currently on my way to Japan to get a trio set with Genos and Fubuki ((note to self dont drink too much coke it gives you a coke effect :P))
Model ninjas… Do Mail, Kasumi, or Ayane count?
Er… Mai, not mail.
“Model ninja” would be a bit of an oxymoron, considering that one is supposed to be seen and the other is supposed to not be seen.
Actually sounds very Zen to me. “To be that which is Seen and Unseen- that is the divine paradox that one aspires to as a Model Ninja.”
“Do the impossible! See the Invisible!”
Ninja clothing models are hard to work with on the Fashion Runway…You can see the clothes, but not the model.
Rather the opposite to how it works with regular catwalk shows.
I want a Saitama action figure :S
That’s what Halo gets for forgetting to Never Assume Someone Does Not have Ninjas at their Disposal. Ha, Harem would have a field day if she got the irony of this.
“Fashion Ninja’s” ??? ….
…
….
Oh My Gawd!!! That’s where all those tie’s come from!! I knew I never bought those!
Damn fashion ninja’s trying to make me dress properly…
It’ll never happen you bastards! I Dress for comfort or not at all!
Fashion Ninjas are responsible for inventing neckties. They basically just modified the standard garrote…
It really makes their job easy when someone fucks up on the catwalk. Just a quick yank and they’re hanging from the rafters.
They will not fail us again.
And that’s the reason I wear only clip-on ties…
What are these “Ties” you speak of ?
Middle management leashes.
*Takes MidnightDStroyer for walkies*
Good boy!
*attaches a clip-on tail*
Go on, wag your tail.
Heh…I liked the incentive this time around. Nice to see that you and the authors of Superbitch and Gynostar are all acknowledging each other in your work. I love seeing that kind of co-operation in the community!
And yeah, fabrikinetic characters are cool though I don’t remember the first of them (Gypsy Moth from Marvel, I believe) had ever been referred to by that term. So grats to you for inventing new words!
Keep up the great work! I want that kickstarter now!
I think of Iron Cloth as similar to Parian from Worm. She has telekinesis that falls apart on masses larger than half a pound, unless it’s very porous, like cloth.
Always. Expect. Ninjas.
“I was not expecting that”
You broke your own rule Sidney! Is your Ninja Sense broken?
I think she was expecting ninjas. She just wasn’t expecting fashion ones.
Mmm, there are fashion ninjas. I bet there are action model ninjas too!
In more than one sense.
If there are fashion ninjas, I wonder if they are the ones who keep stealing my white socks and replacing them with dress socks. I swear, two years ago I had one pair of dress socks and now I have 8 pairs and I don’t remember buying any of them.
You didn’t realize they breed?
They have to breed so they can replace their losses from the washing machines.
On the subject of expecting the unexpected. Is that feasibly possible? can one actually expect something one did not expect? In my mind that works out to someone walking down the street, falling into a pit and then saying I expected that pit, hence I brought a ladder. surely you expected it and thus prepared for the expected???
Ah, but you’re assuming they know WHEN (or where) it will happen; if they know that it WILL happen, but not WHEN (or where), then they can bring a ladder but still be surprised.
ahhhh, your point, I see. wise, you are quite.
*jedi bow* (which I assume is a normal bow with more Yoda and less Alfred.)
So to boil the lesson down to its essence then one must always carry duct tape and McGuiver to every mission.
Wapsi Square has Lingerie Ninjas (seen briefly on occasions when the well-endowed main character or her honorary god-niece go in for a fitting at a custom-fit designer’s boutique), so I see nothing wrong with Grrl Power having Fashion Ninjas.
Was about to post that, was in the middle of typing and glanced up and noticed your post :P
The structural engineer also designed a bra for Shelly (Monica’s not as well-blessed Titan Sphinx best friend) Mon had a non-Newtonian bra made for her (strong enough to break her fall, but soft enough she didn’t even feel it :D)
one of the teachers in the super hero college serial novel https://www.drewhayesnovels.com/superpowereds/ is a cloth kinetic as well. is wrapped up in ace bandages and uses them as tentacles. Think the scene in the original Thundercats where mumra “unwraps” only each bandage is holding a weapon. heh.
I’m surprised “Iron Cloth” isn’t an Iron Chef spin-off involving tailors. That is all.
So like the new meme will be something like Fashion Ninjas VS. I.T. Pirates or something?
I’d like to see I.T. Pirates! *g*
arr and ‘ere there be this Data map! and upon yon Corsair there be LANfulls of booty! Bandwith matey! Bandwith as far as the eye can see!
Pieces of 8-bits! Pieces of 8-bits!
Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of RAM!
Avast ye Newbs! We be after Black Beard’s jump drive!
will you stop or do I have to make you swab the hard drive and feed you to messenger trolls
LAN-lubber…
Ha, I know how to captcha pirates, on the high C. Even the Dread Pirate Bluetooth! Fearing not even the fact that his byte is worse than his bark. And when we do we will not just make them walk the plank, we will boot them off it!
Without dithering I will compile a database of the most wanted daemons. And tempt debuggers out into the open, by offering them cookies. In a flash, I will drive them to the dock, no matter what domain they try to hide in.
In jurisdictions which allow it, I will hang them from the highest yardarm by their dongles! Pirates, around the world will be installed with fear for their floppy disks!
I would like to strike back, but I find myself completely buried in puns.
That was a mega-ton pun run. Well done. Son.
I can understand the scissors, but that giant needle seems entirely impractical.
We call that a sword.
However the ninja camouflage, of making it look like an impractical giant needle, is a very good trick, to throw a potential opponent off guard.
At the very least, Archon can probably feel comfortable that they’ll never be successfully attacked by anyone wearing polyester.
On a more serious note:
Someone should tell Halo that she *will* be back in that room within a month (comic-time, not realtime). I’ve been through Navy boot camp, and with the training they have, everyone’s physical shapes change a lot. The result is that we all had to go back and get remeasured at least once.
Most people lose weight in boot camp. I didn’t have that problem – I was actually underweight back then. (sigh, those were the days.) In three months of boot camp, I gained 15 pounds. Sydney’s likely to undergo a similar transformation.
As thin as Halo is now, she will eventually complain about how tight her uniform is in a few spots. (Innuendo not implied – it could be around her calf muscles or something)
Ahh, so her basic training does not involve starting with a training bra and eventually ending up as a double D? Thank goodness!
And she’s already petite, so she doesn’t have to worry about the other side-effect of athletic workouts. (Though to be fair, I think this particular change takes longer than just a few weeks of boot camp.) Ever notice that athletic women tend to have small breasts? That’s because they’re mostly fatty tissue. And what’s the first thing you lose from regular workouts? You guessed it! That’s why most female body builders, if they have large breasts, it’s because of implants.
(Case in point, Joan Marie Laurer, aka the former WWF wrestler Chyna. One of her saline implants broke during a match, so by the end of the episode, she was deliberately standing in profile to hide the fact that one of her $10,000 implants had gone flat.)
Alex and Adam, you weren’t the only ones to gain weight in boot. Air Force physical training is less strenuous (since mostly you just need to be physically fit and able to resist the effects of high-G turns), but I put on about 10 or 15 pounds.
Haha, those are the days aren’t they? I went in weighing 152 and came out weighing 171. It was hilarious.
https://fc00.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2013/191/a/f/senjumaru_shutara_by_teomonro-d6ctynj.jpg
Barberian will fit in even moreso after seeing Iron Cloth and his assistninja :D
If Barberian decides to take up an offer of setting up his shop in the Archon mall, I think these two would be cooperating with a lot of cross-referrals to each other.
Is it just me, or is Iron Cloth wearing a fox on his head? o_O
Fox is driving Iron Cloth as a porter.
Iron Cloth will make sure your outfits are wrinkle-free.
Is that a new design for the Bomb Disposal Squad (non-super division) in panel three? o_O
They’re constantly tinkering with their hardened armor.
Is that knocking font
the one used by Calvin and
Hobbes? That is awesome.
Actually it’s just my own handwriting with a fat tipped pen.
Are the fashion ninjas from the same clan that Lydia employs over in Wapsi Square?
https://wapsisquare.com/comic/no-weakness/
https://wapsisquare.com/comic/elite-bra-guard/
sooooo….did anyone else notice the N7 looking chest piece in panel 3? or is it just me.
I noticed it- I had no idea it looked like any particular style for armor from another story though. I assumed that maybe it was just supposed to show there the important bits to armor-plate where once you got done accommodating each individual’s unique size and powers.
Just you.
With that piece along the neckline, it’s more of an updated Bomb Disposal Squad armour (as semi-confirmed by DaveB above)