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.
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“I did NOT expect that.”
That made me laugh out loud!
What happened to always expect ninjas?
Some ninjas are beyond even Sydney’s scatterbrained expectations. ;)
Everyone expects ninjas, but no one ever sees the Fashion Ninjas coming. EVER!
What about Inquisition ninjas?
Nobody expects the Japanese Inquisition. Our chief weapon is surprise, surprise and fear. Our two weapons…
Surprisingly fear can be a double-headed weapon. Beware how you swing it, lest you come to harm.
But recall that our torture devices are brutally effective. Fear often doesn’t enter into the equation (shown here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSe38dzJYkY).
I confess, I was not very frightened.
Effective at causing pain. Not so much at getting any valid and useful information.
Wait, torture is supposed to get ‘valid and useful information’ out of someone? o_O
Had been using it to make Halloween Mix-tapes :(
If they did, they wouldn’t be very good ninja now would they?
It occurs to me that the ninjas are actually a necessity for this fabrikinetic. If he’s THAT good, then he needs top notch talent to keep up with him. Hence his assistants who can not only take measurements with extreme speed, but also perform the cutting and stitching at the speeds and with the precision he requires. Instead of wasting time by adjusting the settings on a machine, he’s got them so he can make the fabric spin and whirl about and get things done more quickly.
Also, of COURSE Sydney is going to have a proper costume. Don’t forget that she’s going to be made into a collectible action figure – along with her orbs.They want her looking as awesome, as cool – and as merchandising-able – as possible.
*Bump*
*almost falls over*
Hey! Quit shoving!
What? No inseam measurement? Sydney doesn’t get trousers?
Well, she is a female superhero. The leotard/swimsuit look is pretty much obligatory at some point.
Ashley: Wallah! My finest masterpiece!
Sydney: Yeah, the swimsuit look really isn’t going to work for me..Maybe something with pants?
Ashley: Nonsense, you look perfect. NEXT COSTUMER!
Max (walking into the room): That’s not going to work for me either…
Ashley: Argh! You again! Why must you stifle me?
Ashley: -Swimsuits-? Darling, your fashion sense is seriously out-of-date if you thing a -rag- like that will be going on any hero -I- tailor for! Those silly 90’s anime costumes are -so- out of date, and who wears their underwear on the outside of their pants these days?
No, she needs -better-. Something graceful, yet dominate, something powerful, yet subdued… I see… punk-esk, to match her attitude… *gasp* IDEEEEE-AAA~!
Up-up! No talking, I’m ‘In the Zone’ as it were!
You’re channeling your inner Rarity there hah!
Ashley: Only the best will do Darling. Only the best will do.
Make it work!
They did do an inseam they are ninjas after all.
In order to keep this comic as Safe for Work, I suspect they did the inseam measurement in the panel where Sydney is looking down & asking that they at least “buy a girl a drink first.” Dave was being tasteful by cutting the lower borderline at Sydney’s waist.
Why would an inseam measurement, done over clothes, be any less SFW than the chest-bust-ribs measures already shown? Doesn’t make sense to me that that’s the reason. I thought she was looking at her chest in panel 6 (buy a girl a drink), but, maybe not.
Always. Expect. Ninjas.
I’m loving this update speed.
The only Saitama I can think of is from One Punch Man and I bet figmas of him would be pretty rare.
Ah yes, Saitama. I’ve read through to level 100 on that one.
An interesting drawing style, although I have read it is actually intentional.
He apparently makes revisions as he goes, so v1 is the first draft (partial comic), then he adds v2 with more, and v3 with the “finished” chapter. They kind of end abruptly sometimes. I like the storyline though. They are up to Chapter 100 (v3).
https://bato.to/comic/_/comics/onepunch-man-original-r9123
Although sometimes he does a v4. Not sure if it is a fine-tuning or what. I usually catch them at v2 or v3.
There is also a young jump version of One Punch it is at the entrance of Monster Assosicate saga right now ((right after Saitama met with Fubuki))
So… After reading what Dave said after reading the comic… I really REALLY want to see Max fight a fabrikinetic … for… reasons!
I think there was a fabrikinetic in PS 238.
Called ‘the Bolt’ – as in a bolt of cloth.
Oddly, a fabrikinetic isn’t as dangerous in the Grrlverse as they would be in a more traditional superhero setting, where secret identities are a big deal. Gypsy Moth should’ve been one of the most feared villains in the MCU, for instance, given that she could have simply cast aside every mask on the field in one telekinetic swipe.
Archon, OTOH, is just going to keep fighting–everyone already knows who they are, so stripping them naked just gives them incentive to pull out the big guns (no, no, you silly people, not like THAT) and put the battle to a quick end.
A fabrikinetic is greatly feared among those heroes who wear unique & unreplacable outfits…
FASHION NINJAS?! THATS THE GREATEST IDEA EVER!
One Punch Man reference spotted. That reminds me, has it updated at anytime in the past few weeks?
It’s been updating once a week for the past few weeks.
Also, I’m not sure how out of the loop you are, but it will be getting an anime adaption sometime in the relatively distant space-future.
I meant the one originally drawn by ONE, before the remaster
Freefall had ninja waiters
French ninja waiters :D
okay, this is pretty awesome. you did a pretty awesome thing. props
Hey DaveB!
I was strolling around the interwebz and suddenly saw a preview for something I think you’ll find very interesting: a story about 8 people around the world suddenly being able to see/hear/touch/taste/think/remember the other 7’s thoughts and lives. They share their memories and intelligence and it just reminded me so much of Harem I had to come here right away and show it to you.
https://youtu.be/iKpKAlbJ7BQ
Thank you Dave for the R.O.D. reference. And you’re absolutely right, the OVA is much preferred to the series.
Soon to be appearing in The Fast and the Fabulous, no doubt. This is the second fibermancer I’ve seen, the first being The Bolt from PS238. If you don’t read it, start, it is in my top few webcomics along with Grrl Power, Girl Genius, El Goonish Shive, Sandra and Woo, and Gaia.
…This reminds me of my ongoing procrastination/project of ‘The Smocking Ninja’ https://aylatrigger.deviantart.com/gallery/40343824/Smocking-Ninja …I have not posted much online so it doesn’t count as a full comic, but it is about a ninja/hero-parody who does heirloom sewing and the ancient art of ‘Smockjitsu’…because her parents were killed by an Old Navy truck…
Sorry for the story telling, but I was happy to see other fashion-based ninjas. Creating clothes at ninja-speeds is the best way to get costumed, in my opinion. …Also fashion ninjas could be deadly in combat, depending on how many supers they are against and how durable their material is.
Good to see that she learned her lesson about knocking. Now she just needs to turn it down…
Babysteps
Absolutely love R.O.D. powers. Hope this guy sees action for a second somewhere. Since he keeps ninjas in his shop I hope that means he has spared with them enough to be good. (should be combat ready if you are going to make combat gear)
Sydney don’t wear the clothes Fashion ninjas have plans within plans. Those clothes will be lethal I tell you. Get their little hooks in you and then you don’t know what superpowers you will end up with.
For reference since i don’t suspect everyone has seen the anime.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kill_la_Kill
Ok now I’m picturing Sydney wearing Junketsu and I’m torn….
That was my first thought when it dawned on me that we really had Fashion ninjas. Now they could simply be graduates of the school since it was shut down at the end. Members of the Sew Club it would make sense they were.
Y’know, this is the only webcomic that tends towards long news posts where I always read the news post anyway. Some of the best little nuggets of hilarity are slipped in there… The comic itself, funny and one of my favorites, don’t get me wrong. But nothing about this page killed me as much as reading
“furiously nude Maxima”
Seriously I am typing this through tears. Beautiful.
Thigh holes in the female fashion ninja’s pants?…
They offer flexibility, freedom of movement and +1 sexiness to the standard Shinobi shōzoku
Plus easy access
To be honest I took them both as being male. ‘She’ has very masculine muscle structure. But we do lack a clear indicator as to gender, so you could be right. I ignore the long hair, as it is just a style, and no longer than my own, at that.
In panel eight, you can see a bit of side-bewb (almost in line with her throwing scissors)
Ahh, I see.
Yes, but these are Fashion Ninja, not muscle builders (with or without chemical boosts, and not all body builders use steroids)
Man I’d love to have a ‘me’ character in this comic, unfortunately I’m not rich enough to shell out $50 a month. If I win the lottery, that’s making the list of stuff to do though.
My personal power (just because I’m proud of the idea): Contrast.
Super can wield two powers at once so long as they contrast with each other. Fire and Water, Light and Dark, Empathy and Projection (like a pusher, or power of suggestion), Flight and… Aquaman’s ability to talk to fish. You can get creative with it to make some pretty nice combos. Basically do anything as long as it’s kinda Yin and Yang based.
The people who make “Prentil” kinda made a character based on me (well, they used the name by calling him ‘Gus’ and changed his look and preferred weapon to match me a little because had been one of the biggest followers slash readers, they were going to introduce the character anyway, but they changed a few things to match, which was a huge honour :D)
I now have a next favorite character along with Peggy :D
I -did- expect that.
They’re my Fashion Ninjas after all.
More is the pity, you should always expect Ninjas.
Ah cool. Thanks guys, now I can make out the positionings.
Erm, my above comment was supposed to be in reply to my question about Panel 7…
“he’s actually in Arc-SPARQ, which is ARCHON’s collection of engineers, tinkerers and inventors.”
Nobody has tried to decrypt the new acronym yet.
Let’s see…
Special Project Architects Research Quarters
Super Powered Artists Refuge of Quiet
and here I thought it was:
Sincere Praise Adoration and Respect for Q
(of the 007 kind of Q, not the Continuum kind of Q). I just figured that Dave really liked Desmond Llewelyn’s protrayal – and of course Q himself is just the head of Q Branch. Which is exactly what Arc-SPARQ is being described as (although with powers of course….).
Desmond Llewelyn was the *bomb*! I was so sad when he left the movies, and sadder still when he died. Still, that was about the best exit scene you could possibly ask for if you aren’t the the ActionGuy.
John Cleese was good in the role, but I loathe this new guy, R. They actually had a scene:
R (hands Bond a box): Here’s your gear.
Bond (opens it): A pistol. And a tracking device.
R: What were you expecting, an exploding pen? We don’t do that anymore.
Me: …aaaaand, I’m out. Implied “No more gadgets in any of the new movies”? Goodbye.
Then again, I loathe pretty much everything about the new movies. Hard to follow, unimpressive villains, flat Bond, no gadgets, and the Bond girls are disturbing — one used to be a child prostitute and didn’t seem thrilled about sleeping with Bond.
Special Programs and Research, Quartermaster
Super Powered Advanced Research Quacks
Science, Paranormal & Automita Research & Quartermaster.
Marvel Comics also has a fabri-kinetic named Gypsy Moth.
So has the brick joke entry been put into TV Tropes.
*goes and looks*
Course it has. :)
It occurs to me that having Supers around in Archon would essentially demote most highly skilled martial artists and highly trained warriors to security guard level…
That’s a pretty depressing thought.
I think the opposite will be true for security guards. There are far too supers to be able to replace security guards, except for at a few critical locations. Plus many security personnel nowadays are relegated to monitoring CCTV or front-desk reception. Either being jobs that most (capable) supers would be very much wasted in.
But, as for those who need to patrol premises, I think there is likely to be a high staff turnover. These are the guys who will be the first point of contact with any super villain. If the guard survives the encounter and/or the alarm is raised by other means, then the supers can come and deal with the villain.
However the security guard? Possibly crispy fried, frozen, electrocuted, disintegrated or in some other less than healthy state. Stress levels, job dissatisfaction, resignations and suicide rates will all sky-rocket in the industry.* So there will be a constant need to replenish the ranks, one way or another.
As for martial artists, have you forgotten about Math?
Remember if you can’t do, become a teacher. Mathematics teaching is a good job to fall back on, if punching people for a living is not working out for you.
* Imagine watching a horror movie and seeing a security guard patrolling an instillation. You know that he is going to die a gruesome death any minute. Now picture yourself as the security guard, living through that every time you pick up your flashlight, to do your rounds!
Welll… the horror movie part only works for the audience because they know it’s a horror movie (and the creepy background score does it’s job too). But for a normal security guard, he’s probably bored with having to do the same thing again. Or far more likely, extremely fatigued because your circadian cycle really screws with you when you’re on the night shift (even with adequate sleep).
And regarding replenishing the ranks… at that point, it might be cheaper to invest in top-of-the-line robots, lol.
In real life yea. Except we live in a world where things that go bump in the night are, at worst, going to be burglars. There may not be many supers, but just one can cause an entire crime wave across a city (or a continent, say, for teleporters). Security guards can be trained in how to cope with regular threats. But there will be a great fear of the unknown for the currently mysterious powers of super villains.
Hopefully kept in check by Archon. And they are clearly disseminating information to the general public, to help allay such fears, and allow some degree of precautions to be taken.
But it still leaves security guards in an incredibly vulnerable position in society. And if a general policy of ‘if you see a super villain you are not expected to oppose her, you may run and hide, then call in’ is adopted, you will pretty soon find more copycat non-super burglars hitting every spot they can!
So, whilst your comments are fair for our present-day security guards, I do not feel it accurately reflects what would happen in a world with super villains thrown into the mix. There will be an upswing in crime from both supers and non-supers. In regions where there is a strong super deterrent, that may be mitigated, of course. But anywhere that is lacking there will be a crime spiral that will make life hell for security guards.
One thing we do know from the real world though. Those guards will not be getting any extra money for the job. Nor will they be getting treatment for PTSD, stress-related illnesses and the like. Not to mention the fear of having their jobs taken by robots!!!
There’s clearly a hierachy of henchmen, with the disposable sentries at the bottom and the Big Bad’s personal bodyguard at the top.
That’s always one of the hardest parts of making a secure system: how to cope with the unexpected, without falling back to some insecure back-up mode. In this specific case, the guards could wear tracking devices (to detect sudden ‘loss of contact’) and when alerted, fall back to their office and their CCTV. And remote-controlled gun turrets 8-)
And it looks like Yorp’s back to full commenting strength. Yay!
Daww.
*blushes*
Actually, I would say that the fabric ninjas are just about EXACTLY in line with this comic. I mean, after all, what is this but an examination of a lot of the practical aspects of how you’d put a super-league together? And if you were putting such an organization together, one of the things you’d need would be the ability to alter costumes quickly, and the ability to work with cloth and material types not amenable to conventional tailoring techniques. Otherwise, there would be a very strong chance that Max or Anvil would end up at least partially naked in any fight where they had to take their opponents seriously. Especially given the fact that, due to their bust size, most of the female supers on the team would actually be significantly less capable if you blasted their bra to smithereens (unsupported boobs + great acrobatics == not-fun chest pains).
The fact that the concept of fashion ninjas is funny as hell has nothing to do with it.
Okay, wow, I can’t believe I got through that entire paragraph without cracking a smile.
“…(unsupported boobs + great acrobatics == not-fun chest pains).”
Case in point: What Anvil is thinking in panel 1 on https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/1502
Wonder what those three would think of the various music ‘divas’ we have currently in the media.
Ashley: *flicks his ponytail* Hmp. Pathetic. The old divas were so much more interesting. The music was better too.
And have you seen some of the outfits they wear? Ugh. Fashion may always march onwards but that doesn’t mean that shorts need to climb higher into the crotch.
Fashion ninjas seem to be jumping the shark a wee bit.
Maybe instead of “Good, lets begin” it could be “Fabricator, begin!” to get the name on the list.
So, he speaks in the third person? o_O
If it gets the name in, yes, why not.
with slightly japanese features and a color-change orange-to-white ponytail, I’d be a little surprised and a lot disappointed if he isn’t (part-) kitsune.
I would approve of such a thing.
It is ‘fox-coloured’ enough already, and already pointed that out on the first page
Wait, is ARCHON the unnamed agency mentioned here?
Please tell me that Dave and Paul Taylor ( creator of Wapsi Square) does a guest strip for each other, specifically covering lingerie / fashion ninjas. I mean, come on, the impacts Anvil sustain alone are enough to warrant extensive structural engineering.
Why not add a vigilante(anti hero) or a psycho villain like joker who does crime for fun?
Hello me. I am whispering because I don’t want folks to hear me talking to me. They might send the men in white coats for me.
First time I’ve seen a need for butterfly nets to be used on a dog…
Aha! So you are the one who made Amazon run out of butterfly nets!