Grrl Power #331 – My god, it’s full of… spiders?
Thought I’d do something a little different with Vance’s introduction. At this point in the story it doesn’t really matter what his powers are, so instead Sydney gets to experience the full … well, it’s not hazing, just a little messing with the rook. As Sydney joined the team roughly 24 hours ago, she is indeed the junior most member.
There were several moments while writing and drawing this page that I actually considered making Vance’s powers actually be that he’s a colony of collectively sentient spiders inside some bizarre human suit instead of it be that he’s really just messing with her… though I suppose up until the point I actually put him using his powers into the comic I suppose I could change my mind, so… maybe he isn’t messing with her? Of course, he’d need some other power too. Being a colony of Borg spiders is pretty impressive on its own, but that’s not going to get him a spot in Arc-SWAT. He’d need to be able to hold his own in a fight against other supers.
Some random superhero novel pimpage for you, two new books in two of my favorite series are out, neither of which I’ve had a chance to read yet unfortunately. I really need to finish The Dark Lord’s Handbook: Conquest and get in to my growing queue. Anyway, the new books are Revelation: A Kid Sensation Novel (Kid Sensation #4) and The Betrayal of Renegade X (Renegade X, Book 3) both series I highly recommend.
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Being able to get shot and reform is a pretty good power.
Please please *please* don’t actually make a super made out of spiders. I dunno if I could handle it. ._. *slides far far away*
Also it would make the last panel not make sense if he ended up actually telling the truth.
Actually I quite like it when I tell somebody the absolute truth, but it sounds unbelievable, so they assume I am not. Nor do I necessarily have the urge to blurt out the full details. Re-read the last two panels, knowing that Vance actually is a spider colony.
Harem knows that Vance is a colony of spiders and is particularly vulnerable to flame attacks. Further she knows, from being punched not once, but twice, by Sydney in a knee-jerk reaction, that it is not wise to provoke her. Plus she saw Halo demonstrating her flaming tank melting-attack.
Although Harem is laughing, because she knows Sydney is too nice to actually do it, her warning is actually real. None the less, Vance is not scared. And he responds, in kind, for the same reasons. Even though he is a scary spider monster, he is still entitled to tease the new guy. That is tradition.
But how does that work with Varia’s powers?
All we know about Varia’s powers is that she has to touch someone. Whilst that probably requires skin contact, that is not necessarily the case. The only thing which we know, to have prevented the power from working, is when it was attempted Maxima. But she has force fields (that cannot be turned off), which is wholly different to clothing or silk disguises.
Humans are actually collective beings themselves. One multi-cellular individual operating in a symbiotic relationship with billions of bacteria. Vance is just a slight variant on that, in having a larger number of multi-cellular members of the collective, and using telepathy to communicate.
There is no reason why his collective form could not have a super-power. But, even without one, we know that Varia’s ability will work on normal people too. On this page he quite clearly passes the Turing test. Not one of us, nor Sydney or Harem, has considered him to be non-sentient. So he is a person.
Varia touched a person, formed a gestalt and gained a power.
Possibly, in due course, we will find that direct skin to skin contact is required. In fact, that does seem to be implied, given that we have seen no exceptions.
However, spiders are at home in a silk environment, and can move unimpeded by it. If Vance had a need, to poke a leg through part of the disguise, to form a contact, I see no difficulty in him doing that. Even if it damaged the glove, it is a moment’s work, for a spider, to invisibly repair it.
I sincerely hope you’re just running with the joke and aren’t serious about this. I’ll suspend belief for a lot of stuff, but a spiderborg collective superhero? Nope, can’t go there. He’s just yanking the chain on the newbie.
Actually, I am easy with it either way. And Dave’s comment is expressed as human-Vance being the more likely than borg-Vance.
Regardless of that though, I am actually rather taken with the concept. Being a super-hero is about your morals and how you behave. Not the skin you were born in.
Further many super heroes have to overcome massive adversity. The term ‘superhero’ may appear to just be hero plus super powers. But what is actually required is facing challenges commensurate with their powers.
Even were they genuine bank robbers, Maxima was not being heroic foiling the robbery. She is fast enough that bullets pose no risk. Likewise she is literally bullet-proof. Maxima was not being brave. She was simply ‘doing the right thing’.
Continuing to fight Vehemence, once it became clear that he was easily capable of killing her, shows bravery. But only to the degree any solider is expected to face in the heat of battle.
However, being willing to put her life in the hands of an eccentric young girl, who had not even had a day’s worth of training? That went above and beyond the call of duty. But the circumstances required it. There was a challenge worthy of a super hero.
The genre has many examples of heroes who have to overcome the dislike of society, or parts of it. Spider Man being an obvious example. But you can even find them when stepping out of the genre. Look at Rev Bem of the Magog, from the sci-fi series Andromeda.
Some individuals (or races) are so inimical to humans, that their very appearance is frightening or repulsive. That is a suitable challenge for a super hero to rise above. And I cannot think of anything which would push that button more than a collective of spiders, living in a human-looking skin.
Actually, the case can be made that this discussion is, sooner or later, one that human society will need to have–both in terms of what is a hero, and in terms of what is a person?
Humans are, innately a group-minded organism. We are not quite a hive-mind (I don’t think), but we are so ridiculously communal in our thinking that it is hard to really understand. We think of ourselves as individuals, but we’re really not–we’re the sum total of everybody we know, everybody they know, and so on and so forth, filtered through a slightly different set of experiences than is found anywhere else in the world. Although it took the internet to make this obvious, this has likely always been the case, and likely always will be. Humans are a communal intelligence, and one human alone is no more intelligent than a chimpanzee or a gorilla (which, admittedly, are fairly intelligent). The difference–the entire reason why we have built things like airplanes and the internet and ships that can dive under water and stay there for (potentially) years at a time is simply that there is no such thing as ONE human. We are many. We are endless. We are Legion.
And, if this were a comic about war, I would now add that “we are here to f*** you up.” Thankfully, it is not.
But…intelligence. What is intelligence? Is it simply the ability to out-think one particular human? If that is the case, than my cat is an intelligent being, although, thankfully for my ego, my dog is not. Is it just the ability to learn, to be able to adjust to changes in circumstances and extrapolate based on prior experience to find a solution to new problems? If that is the case, than my dog is at least as intelligent as I am, and my cats may well be smarter. This is a truly crushing realization for somebody who is willing–without evidence–to label himself as a genius.
And closely bound up with this concept of intelligence is the concept of personhood. We do not think of cows, chickens, fish, or trees as people, for the simple reason that they are not intelligent…but is an AI, which has almost nothing in common with us, is an AI a person? And if so, where is the brightline between a true artificial intelligence, and a simple automated intelligence? And where does a person begin to be a person among humans? Is it, as some in the East have claimed, when they reach the age of forty, and have begun to be able to make decisions about themselves, free from the influences of their formative years? Is it at birth, when they take that first breath, and announce to the world that they’re here, they’re cold, they’re wet, and they’re hungry, and they expect us to do something about it NOW? Or is it even earlier?
Honestly, if I was DaveB, I would have Vance be a spider collective–there are social spiders, after all, that live in colonies and build their own city-like structures. Why not super-spiders, that can ape humanity?
And where does that fit into the concept of a person?
That said…if he is a spider collective, please, please, PLEASE don’t draw him exploding.
Well thought through.
As regards ‘person’ or ‘not person’ I am adamant that we should treat that issue when it arises on the basis that, if they claim to be a person, we must treat them as such. Should that right be contested by anyone, then the burden of proof that they are not lies on the accuser. And they must make their case beyond the shadow of a doubt.
I will not stand idly by and watch a sentient being or race (artificially created or otherwise) being enslaved or denied basic rights that all people should be accorded (not just humans).
Of course, if they can communicate that makes the issue much easier to deal with. The hardest cases are the ones where we cannot do that. Because then we do have to make arbitrary decisions, based purely on what we can observe.
And then comes the decision on what we should choose as the proof. The mirror test, tool use, social emotions, a native language or what? The one we could not use, in that instance, is the Turing test.
So far one animal, or another, has passed every one of these. Yet none have ever been accorded the right to be a person. And the issue has been tested in court (even this year).
Humans jealously guard the status of being the only people on the planet. To accord that right, to anything else, would weaken the presumption that everything on the planet (or off it, for that matter) belongs to humanity. To be used or abused as desired.
Yorp, I think you’d enjoy reading Freefall. It starts out looking like it’ll be a gag-a-day comic, but – while still frequently being funny – has become a serious philosophical look at the boundary between person and not-a-person.
That is not the first time it has been brought up in the comments here. But you have tempted me enough, to put that at the top of the ‘to be checked out list’. After the one that I already have queued up, for this weekend. Thanks for the recommendation.
I’d seriously enjoy the idea of him being spiders.
Though I’d be more amused if he was normal once, and his power slowly converted him INTO spiders, a little at a time.
oh definitely, that would be amazing!
In your mind can he turn back and forth at will, or is it just a creeping arachnecrosis?
If the latter, I guess he’s using modified spidersilk to patch the holes in his original skin, and keep looking human, but now he’s just more silk than original skin. love it.
Would also explain Varia’s human-dna only ability to work on hinm. perhaps he originally turned into a simialr golem, caught arcahnecrosis (having coined that word I will not stop using it), he no longer turns into a metalised form but Varia still picks up on it.
in fact, i like it so much I’ve changed my tag
I really liked this idea, at first. Now my skin is crawling, and I like the idea far, far less…. I’m going to go take a shower now, to wash off all of the spiders.
Varia’s talent does not copy the person she touches, it does some sort of gestalt or reflection. A skin of woven spider-silk would be incredibly resistant against certain kinds of threat. A skin of metal would be incredibly resistant against certain kinds of threats.
So it’s plausible. (Believe it? Me? No. But it’s still plausible.)
Interesting take on it. :-)
Perhaps Varia has simply not explored her power sufficiently with things in close proximity to people. Or maybe it’s organic nature helps tip it over the edge, into forming a gestalt.
“Hey Varia, come touch my leather coat. Maybe you will get the power to make strawberry milk shakes?”
Spiderman varuant Spiders Man is literally a group of spuders in a spiderman suit that belive they are peter parker
Obligatory “Thousand” reference: https://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/1/15659/3071083-the_thousand-spider-man's_tangled_web%232-coming_out.jpg
yea I got $5 says Syd covers the new guy in bird seed, because as a comic store owner, there is no way she doesn’t know about that story line.
Is that the Spiderman story written by Garth Ennis? Cause thats what I’m thinking of.
OOOKAAAYYY… THAT image gave me a bit of “Disturbed Dream Fuel*
*not quite as bad as the same amount of NIGHTMARE Fuel, but i STILL don’t want a dream with THAT image in it in the future…
Ladies and gentlemen, at great expense and considerable strain to the space-time continuum we have arranged for you to have one additional second today to enjoy this comic.
What else could you do with this extra second today?
Play one 60th of the Minute Waltz
Watch every ‘good’ Adam Sandler movie, with time left over
Pet Yorp once
Watch a cesium atom vibrate 9,192,631,770 times
Pronounce “Mississippi”
Lose 2.5 acres of rain forest :(
Do your taxes (if you’re Maxima)
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/11706014/Clocks-to-read-115960-tonight-as-time-lords-add-leap-second.html
I choose to use my extra second to pet Yorp.
…And then waste a few more seconds to type it here…
Yay!
*wags tail, enthusiastically, all the time the petting continues*
*uses extra second to put out an extra large bowl of scooby snax*
Help yourselves, we need to celebrate every moment of this extra time!
*Uses extra second to eat Scooby Snax*
Been a while.
*Wastes the rest of the seconds doing nothing*
Um…problem. I have tested, and found that it takes me about 2/3 of a second to say “MIssissippi”.
Sounds like you could have a MIssissippi Pie, in your second!
Or you could contemplate the mathematical, social and philosophical implications of MIssissippi Pi.
Anyone else getting premonitions of “Spiders” getting the snot kicked out of him by Sydney at a later date?
Does he even have snot?
O.o
It’s usually called “ichor.”
I think ichor is their blood.
Danger danger ass kicking will happen
Varia makes mention that her power is genetic based
and makes mention that it works on supers and regulars
she makes no mention of it working with animals
it could very well not work with foreign genomes
if that is the case it will not work with animals or aliens
or angels or demons like Xuriel / Dabbler
and note she has to be in contact with skin
meaning Vance is not a spider colony as his “silk flesh”
wouldn’t have been able to activate Varia’s powers.
the fact her powers did activate, is evidence
that Vance is in fact human, with a sense of humour.
Very likely.
But do not be 100% sure. There are ways around those points.
And here seems a likely enough place for me to put my new pet theory:
Vance is a human.
A human whose super power gave him the size and form of a spider.
And an ability to control/communicate/commune with other spiders.
So, somewhere in that collective is a single “spider” that is Vance, and is the core of the whole collective. Destroy that one spider and he’s done. Destroy/disperse any others, they can be replaced.
Thus Vance is technically still human and can count for all human-dependent powers, but is also still spiders.
another theory,
what if he has an ability similar to a vampiric swarm?
either as a defense or as an offense, or even as a forced regeneration
where he transforms into a swarm of spiders.
this could also enable him to have some shape-change or changeling ability as well.
perhaps changing small differences in his appearance.
his clothes may be clothes, or they may actually be part of him.
and transform to what ever style he needs.
Third theory. He’s a lying liar who lies, and only gets away with it because he’s so very, very pretty.
+1
“The Spiders Man” actually is a Marvel character already. He’s in Alex Ross’ Earth X series.
Ahh well, Vance will just have to settle for “Spiders’ Man”.
I’ve felt this for a while now. Is……is Yorp actually Dave…… I mean not officially but I have often felt Yorp says things from daves stand point. or maybe I am just crazy………… *eyes Yorp closely* ……. Im on to you……
He he. You are not the first to say that. And I could not wish for any higher praise!
One basic principle that I have, which probably goes to supporting your impression, is that I have always felt that Dave is choosing to share his story with us. Whilst there are now patreons, who have, very kindly, chosen to employ him to do that, it does not change the basic premise.
Now Dave is a nice guy, and he will take on board constructive criticism. So may tweak something here and there. But, at the end of the day, he is not writing this based on what we want. He is penning his vision.
So that means if anyone bases a comment on “Dave is wrong because…” there is little chance I will agree with them, or put points to support them. Only if it does contradict Dave’s own setting (which is very rarely the case, as he thinks these things through extremely carefully) or if it is a real-life point, will I consider doing so.
Mind you the latter is part of the peril of saying the setting is “real world plus super powers”, so that is actually part of the internal consistency/continuity point too.
On other issues though, I am happy to go with the flow, and play devil’s advocate, for whichever side seems to be neglected in a point. Or run with an interesting concept. Or play with something inspiring that someone has said.
Thinking on why I support Dave’s vision though, it is also because he adopts the same principles as the Royal Family. They choose to be apolitical. If there are anti-monarchist remarks or insults, they make no comment. Whereas if there is something positive that they can say, or a cause they can champion, then they speak up.
In doing that, it avoids strife and aggravation in the community. And, when they can speak up, it make the community a better and more harmonious place. Yet, when they can’t, it leaves them exposed to unfair, biassed and rude comments. Something I do not sit by idly and allow to be directed against any parties!
So I am more than happy to step up and watch Dave’s back. And I am very glad to say that I am not the only one. We have many folks, in this community, who clearly share similar viewpoints. I just happen to be very vocal.
Their writing styles are almost completely different. Which isn’t terribly difficult to forge if you intend to pull off the deception in advance, but still…
Also, Dave probably doesn’t have the time to post here both as himself and also via some sock puppet. Note that his posts as himself are both infrequent and brief. Yorp, on the other hand, posts often and is quite long winded.
Harrumph!
Easy solution for an answer. We’ll all just kidnap Yorp and stuff him in a kennel for a week or two. If the comic doesn’t update, we have our answer.
*hoists one of those dogcatcher lassos*
Ooh, it better have cable and air conditioning. Be sure to give room-service my list of favourite snax. And…
WHIRRRRRRRR…. sputtter… click, click….
… this decoy dog message will self-destruct in 3, 2, 1….
I have noticed that Yorp can be long winded, however I also find myself either agreeing with the points made or at least empathizing . Also it can be hard to make an intelligent point without being…….. wordy. Ièm no scholar by far, but its good to see that there are those out and about who are, so I don’t have to be lol. OH! one last thing………still on to you Yorp!
That is the most interesting misspelling of -I’m- I have ever seen.
Keyboard glitch. By the time I noticed, it was too late.
A sock puppet? A friggin’ sock puppet?
Yorp has been seen in the comic (twice!) & he’s got four legs! Ain’t nobody’s hand stuck up Yorp’s @$$.
As somebody who does a lot of writing myself…no, they can’t be forged. Not really. Yorp is not Dave, Dave is not Yorp. If I had to guess, I would guess that they do not even live on the same continent. I’m fairly sure Yorp is English (and I had strong suspicions in that direction even before he started talking about the Royal Family as if he were an American talking about the President), while I’m pretty sure that DaveB is an American…and, furthermore, that he lives in or fairly close to one of this country’s major urban centers. Which, to my way of thinking, means that he’s a Yankee, but he’s a well-meaning sort who tries to think things through, so we can (probably) forgive him for that. Unless he moves down South, in which case generations of Southerners will denounce him for a carpetbagger and a traitor, while still flocking to support him.
Yeah, I know. We’re a bit strange in the South.
Yea, you can tell an awful lot from writing style and subtle clues in the content (assuming that details are not explicitly mentioned). Provided you have a large enough sample to work with.
I often found (without trying) that about 1/3 or 1/2 he way through a novel, the writer’s gender just pops up from my subconsciousness. It is not something that I aim to do, as the story is what interests me. But the various pieces will drop into place, unbidden. Sometimes I am mistaken. But not often.
My brother, on the other paw, is much better than me. He can usually tell within the first chapter. And is practically never wrong. I learnt not to question his call on such.
The one time where, on checking it out, we both got it wrong, I dug deeper. Until I found a fact that had not been well publicised. The writer had not just used a gender swapping pen name (fairly common, especially female to male), but had also created a false persona, supported by the publisher. Including fake photographs. Well real photos. But just not of the actual writer.
In that case, despite an elaborate cover-up, the writing style was the give-away. But, as with anything, I am sure you can find some people who will be able to pull off a flawless deception.
Personally I would not do such intentionally (as a deception). But when in a role-playing environment, I can throw myself totally into a character. To the extent that my thinking changes, to match the persona I am playing.
If interacting with someone, who does not realise that I am role-playing, that can seriously mislead them. I do not rate myself as being an actor (to any degree beyond assuming a mindset). But once I terrified a woman, who simply looked at me, whilst i was practising an evil mindset. Despite not saying a word, or actually doing anything, something must have carried into my expression or body language.
And, if role-playing a female, in a text environment, I invariably get taken as a female player. Even when dealing with people who are used to cross-gender playing. Once I got used to that, I could take precautions, to avoid social complications. Of course, as a role player, it is a nice compliment. But it can be … inconvenient.
Oh, you sound like you would be awesome to RP with! And you make dogs everywhere look much, much better. Good boy!
*wags tail happily*
Actually, there are a couple of other points. Obvious ones, but worth stating:
• I really like the comic (as it stands).
• Dave does have very strong morals. And we obviously share similar stances on many issues.*
Both of which make it extremely easy to speak up, in support of them.
* But, whatever you do, please do not think that everything (or, for that matter, anything) I say is representative of, or shared by Dave. I do express some very extreme views, at times, and I doubt if he would want to be associated with my opinions, at such occasions!
I find myself hoping that this backfires on him terribly. Like “giant spider is destroying the city, lets fling the spider person/colony at it and see if..i dont know mating?…makes the big one stop” kind of backfire
I expect she’ll just get pissed at him (probably mid-combat) when she first sees him bleed.
Personally I hope it remains a low-key, running gag. With Sydney 95% sure that he is just pulling her leg…
… but every now and then, that 5% blinks its eight eyes, wiggles is eight legs and (even if it is just her imagination) the freaky looks she gives him will be fun to watch!
What about if you hold the gun sideways, but tilted DOWNWARDS a little since you’d be standing over the person you’re gonna cap and need the additional coolness factor.
That’s fine, right?
You forgot “… and sticking out your little pinky.”
Nono, I mean like this person, who’s obviously a professional firearms expert
https://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01476/Parson-Cross-Crew_1476421c.jpg
Or the guy next to Grifter, who obviously is a total professional as well and went beyond just sideways.
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gangsta.jpg
No? No?
Gangsta style, with no pinkie extended = mandatory punishment.
Ahhhhhhhhhhh.
You never saw “Kick Ass 2”?
I actually try to forget that I saw that movie. :)
Technically, he could be messing with her *and* a colony-intelligence mass of spiders riding around inside of a silk human suit. Those things are not necessarily contradictory.
If their first opponent, as well as getting stronger the longer the fight went on, also turned progressively into a dragon; I would believe Vance.
Well, since you are going to make a body from scratch, let’s make a pretty one!
he can’t climb stairs for crap… but MAN! can he walk DOWN stairs, WITH or Without someone… and EVERYBODY Loves Him!
aargh! this was supposed to be a reply to Scottostanek on his last post of page 3
I happen to have a copy of “Amazing Manspider #1”. It’s a comic about a spider who was bitten by a radioactive human and gained the strength of a human and other human powers.
I also have “Peter Porker the Amazing Spiderham” #1. I bought a lot of weird comics in the late 80s, early 90s.
Inspirational music, to suit your comic tastes.
Well we all know that eventually Sydney’s fear will become morbid curiosity to find out, and she will try to puncture him, just to see…
Not sure if there is a recruitment song for Archon, but have you considered “Women In Uniform”?
Either the original or the Maiden cover
Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDpmVUEjagg
That won a Grammy?
Most of the time I just appreciate that the world has varied tastes. Other times I have to start checking out the surroundings, to make sure I have not slipped through into some bizarro world, like the one without shrimp.
Incidentally tarantula tastes very much like prawns (as arthropods, they are actually distant relatives). If anyone every insists that I hold one, I shall demand that the irritating hairs all be shaved off first. And I shall have some marie rose sauce to hand.
If it decides to bite me, I shall reciprocate!
Two things people are not understanding about the first panel: 1) It is not “How do you fire a handgun?” but “How do you hold a handgun” (there is a difference, if you don’t know what that is, refer to the instructions under image 3) and B) this is just page 12, out of 352 pages, not counting the amendments and indexes :P
Wait, is Abbey on the other side of the wall talking to Spider Vance through the window? o_O
Well spotted, that she is looking through the window, rather than at him. But, presumably, she is checking out what is going on, in the firing range, whilst she is chatting to him. Note that Vance is not looking at her either.
Mind you both are behaving in a casual, conspiratorial, manner, so that suits the tone.
However, my reading, is that they are both in the same room.
The fact the ‘light’ on the glass is going the same way for both, plus the fact it has been ‘split’ in the middle also implies that Sydney and Spider Vance are in the ‘classroom’ part and Harem is in the firing range part
You link just affirms they are in different rooms separated by the window (fairly sure that there are no seats on the other side of the mini-gun, as shown here it is on a table against the wall)
Conceded.
For information though, the reason why I chose that link is because it shows the scene I was describing, where they could both be in the same room (check out their backgrounds in the final two panels and you can place them in the final panel of the linked scene).
However that IS the firing range, so my assumption about what she may have been looking at would be in error, contextually she is looking into the training room, with the benches, and Sydney studying in one corner.
So my reading could still be correct, but it would have required Vance to have left the room. Which is an extra complexity that it not required for your interpretation. Plus aesthetically (vibe wise) yours fits much better. Personally I ignored the way the shading went on the glass. Taking it as just being artistic style.
But, on reflection, I think you called it right, in that it is meant to give the clue as to being on opposite sides of the window.
Presumably it means that Harem was eavesdropping, on Vance and Sydney, from there. But that fits with her character.
Wouldn’t exactly call it ‘eavesdropping’, more like ‘keeping an eye, and ear, on the rookie and the spider suit’ :P
That is very tactful and generous of you. :)
It does show that she pays attention to everything though. Which is important to know. Sydney is not the only one doing things like that.
Well, I didn’t put a whole lot of Holmsian deduction into it, I just took it as Vance messed with Sydney, left the room and grabbed a Cuke and was chatting up Harem in the hallway/room outside of where Sydney is. But, does it even really matter?
Only to those who appreciate the subtle details. Discussing that can be rewarding, in itself. However even the angle of shading can have meaning in this comic! And, sometimes, the little things can give you unexpected insight into the characters or even the underlying plot.
Thanks to Guesticus‘s insight, we gained further corroboration as to Harem’s habits. And now will not be surprised if Deus has knowledge of things we know were discussed behind closed doors.
The tone of the book and its length immediately reminded me of the Simpsons and Bart’s pocket knife safety book: “Don’t do want Donny Don’t does!”
Sydney will have to avoid startling Vance, at any time. She would not want him jumping out of his skin!
If she decides to pull her “Badgers!” stunt on him with her Comm Orb, the real Sydney would be better off behind him…
Aaaaand, now I like Vance.
Even though I’m a mild arachnophobe, I’m the guy you don’t want to mess with in that situation. Morbid curiosity would force me to grab a knife and yell, “This, I *gotta* see!” while trying to gut the spider thing.
It’s good that the spider joke is on this page, because it’s really good. The gun joke was….really…..really terrible. I really don’t want to be mean, or even to come off that way. I think I would have felt about the same way about a joke about surrendering French people, or the fact that different people sometimes also talk and walk differently. So, I’m hoping, everybody forgets that that ever happened and only remembers the spiders. Spiders and spiders and more spiders forever.
There have been several ‘gun jokes’. From the gun in the plastic bag, through to the mini-gun with bayonets. So I am guessing you are probably referring to the ‘gun in the face’ incident. As that is the most controversial one.
It was dark humour, so it is perfectly understandable that it would not be to everyone’s tastes. But it is best to appreciate that page was primarily there to show Sydney learning a very important lesson. The visual gag, of her reaction, was actually secondary in importance. Which is extremely unusual in this comic.
Next time you are reading it, check out Maxima’s expression. She is not laughing at Sydney, she is being deadly serious. Maxima is trying to save Sydney’s life! Not to mention her career. Failing to fully appreciate that will make the whole scene seem highly inappropriate, and will take the enjoyment off, for anyone who dislikes cruel pranks.
I know this because I used to detest the nastier pranks played by ‘You’ve been framed” (a UK equivalent to Candid Camera). Whereas I liked the rest of the show, when they had pranks which did not have a victim.
One that sticks in my mind was where a guy’s livelihood was in his van. He was self-employed, and operated his entire business out of his vehicle. Tools of the trade and so on. They then set him up so that a van, which he believed to be his, got knocked into and completely submerged in water.
His expression made it clear that he felt he had just been ruined. Loosing his entire livelihood, and his ability to support his family. For no purpose other than providing entertainment to viewers. Most definitely not funny.
Whereas I love ‘Just for Laughs’, as they work very hard to ensure none of their gags do that. They will get folks to look after someone else’s car, or van. And it is that which gets destroyed. You still get the ‘oh my god’ look on their face. But do not have the ‘my life is over’ expression that ruins it.
There are many times, in life, where we have to face a harsh reality. But even then, we can find humour in the situation. Take, for example, a stand-up comedian, doing a routine about having a prostate examination. They are likely to be in that situation because it is believed they may have cancer. And a good observational comedian will be sure to make that clear.
They will have experienced how the swing from their terrified state, to seeing something funny in the situation. Thereby knowing it had a strong emotional impact on themselves, by going from the one to the other. So will be sure to relay that sense to the audience. We know that the unpleasant side was an unavoidable part of life. But can release the tension, that comes from dealing with that, by laughing at the funny side.
Once you know that Maxima is not being unnecessarily cruel, nor is she playing a prank, for a laugh, then that will hopefully allow you to appreciate Sydney’s colourful way of coping with the situation. Completely guilt free.
pretty sure they were refering to “Pickup your pants and jump off a bridge”
Well if he was a bunch of spiders. I would then press conference and let everyone know. Let the bad guys wonder if every spider they see is spying on them. That hide out in the old warehouse. Spys everwhere. :)
Hmm and I would be unable to blame her if she set him on fire then threw him off a canyon wall just to be sure…. Spiders are evil
Something noticed with this page: Spider Vance I, so far, the only one to startle Sydney and get away with it!
Maxi got Fear Vomited (although, technically, not ‘first meeting startle-ment’), Harem got punched in the nose, Dabbles got bonked on the head by an Orb after avoiding getting chaired and Math got clocked in the face with an Orb. Did Anvil get climbed or just groped? Can’t remember
I think Sydney just ended up on her ass, as the Anvil-mountain loomed over her.
Vance is pretty clever, as well as being pretty pretty. He has given himself Alien acid blood immunity from attack. No way is Sydney going to risk rupturing that skin!
What ever powers he actually ends up having, hopefully it still can be INTERPRETED as him being a walking spider colony, like, maybe he’s able to turn into multiple multi legged critters that he can make small enough to look like spiders. Kidnof like how some spiderman villians can turn parts of their body into particular elements and control them after (hydroman and sandman), he could turn parts of his body into spider things of any size as long it matches the mass of what ever he gave up. And he’d obviously be able to reform those bits, so he could use it to avoid injury and then outnumber his opposition before reforming back together.
He may just have the power of suggestion.
“These are not the spiders you are looking for. See they are a pretty boy.”
Soooo… who wants to tell Death The Kid that he’s holding his guns wrong?
https://www.zerochan.net/366042
[sotto voce]
Psst kid. You got the expression right. The guns though make you look a bit of a prat. The eyes can carry the presence of Death. Needing props, to convey that, just displays weakness.
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500! Whew! OCD satisfied at 5:00 a.m. Central Time.