Grrl Power #343 – Shear pressure
Well that’s probably the last time I draw a mirror in the comic. Twice the work for only twice the effort!
I’d be curious to hear Sydney’s answer to Peggy’s question. Why Sydney’ suddenly conviced that topiary is needed to fit in. What Peggy doesn’t get is that the question and answer has already run through Sydney’s mind, and instead of giving her conclusion a sanity litmus test, her ADHD brain has already moved on to solutions.
It’s weird that characters in shows almost never laugh at things that are supposed to be funny. Chandler says something funny and at best everyone smirks at him, or Tracy Jordan says some Ridikolus thing then falls over a railing on to Jenna, and Liz just rolls her eyes. I think characters laughing at funny stuff is omitted a lot of the time because then you’re betting the audience finds it as funny as the characters. If they don’t then it comes off like you think too much of your humor or your writing, so it’s safer to have all the other characters just shake their head. Sydney does a lot of funny stuff, and usually everyone just goes, “That Sydney” but this time I thought it’d be ok that it strikes Harem as totally bonkers – especially for the reason Sydney thought of it, and it’s always fun to throw Harem’s reactions to another one of her.
Thinking about it seriously, I image at some point in the world someone has made a Merkin bald cap, I can’t be the first person to have ever come up with something so superfluous. Probably for a movie, or glue one on then paint over it for art or exhibitionism, but Merkins are such a weird thing to have ever existed in the first place. I know trimming the hedge or even a little topiary hasn’t always been the norm, just check out anything with naked people in it prior to the 90’s, but the idea that someone ever thought to supplement pubic hair is absolutely bizarre to me.
When I write female characters, I do try and imagine their perspective on the world, and come at it from their view. Sometimes that has a larger impact on their personality than others. I’ve written about this before, but Maxima, Harem/Dabbler, and Sydney have personality traits that are the result of me wondering what I would be like if I had been born female. Harem for instance, loves being a woman. (Or a women?) Maxima doesn’t hate being a woman, but she obviously takes umbrage with certain societal expectations. Even little things, like how the guy is supposed to lead when dancing really grinds her gears. For some of them, their gender isn’t a huge factor, like Sydney. She likes boys but beyond that her life isn’t especially influenced by being female. All the other characters are mixtures of similar traits. So I feel I do an okay job at writing the female perspective. At least the tomboyish female perspective, admittedly. I don’t think I have any especially girly girls in the comic. The one thing I have probably missed the mark on, especially judging by some of the comments from the previous page, is that some women obviously do like body hair on guys.
I’m obviously not a fan, I think that comes from a few sources. One, I grew up on Arnold Schwarzenegger movies, (and Stallone, Van Damme, Jackie Chan, etc.) and none of them have body hair. At least certainly not on screen. The lesson being the good guy has no body hair. Less hair = more good. I also grew up on comic books. No one has any body hair in comics because it’s a pain in the ass to draw, (find nearly any picture of Cyclops, Supes, or Captain America with their shirt off) unless they /do/ have body hair, like wolverine, in which case they have a comical amount. The other factor is that in nearly any movie or sit-com, body hair is played for laughs. Women not having shaved their legs, any mention of back hair, etc. Very rarely is there any mention from a woman like “Ooh, he’s got a hairy chest, I could get lost in that.” or something. On an intellectual level, I understand that is hugely the result of decades of white male perspective being sold to us as the norm, but it’s something that’s informed my psyche since birth. Essentially, I assumed that a lot of women generally tolerate it but secretly would be ok with less rather than more.
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OMG. Am I first?
Just popped on to say that I’m actually a fan of body hair and I’m kinda disappointed at the “Supers don’t have any” thing.
I have to second this.
A genuine question, if I may – how much is too much? I’m curious to see the perspective from another angle. :)
I think “too much” is somewhere along the axis between Wolverine and The Beast in the X-Men…
I’d be totally down to go to town with Beast…
And yes you are first. :)
<< Female
I'm in the opposite camp. I like my guys clean shaven, including body hair, so the "no body hair rule" works for me. :-D
Maybe Dave will add in Supers whose powers aren't "inborn", like either that magic sword that was featured earlier in the comic, or perhaps magic. That way, they can have body hair, if he so pleases.
P.S.
I love the way you rendered the socks for some reason.
As do I. I love little details like that.
Well, we have Sydney for a start, and Dabbles (but not sure if Dabbles counts as a ‘Super’ or a ‘Supernatural’)
I don’t get it? Would someone enlighten me.
*doesn’t get the Merkin bald cap thing either*
If I’m understanding what google has to say on the subject, a merkin is a toupee for the genitals.
Is Sydney suggesting she needs to shave to fit in at Archon, then wear a merkin everywhere else, or is she suggesting that the supers need to start wearing them to fit in with her?
A bald cap simulates someone being bald, so a merkin bald cap would simulate having bald (shaved) genitals.
O.O
That is all I have to say…
Exactly. She is saying that to fit in she would wear a bald cap for her crotch instead of shaving/waxing to be one of the “super” girls.
Ahhh! Now it all makes sense!
. . . did I just say this makes sense?! o_O
…And a merkin bald cap is indeed a thing: Check out Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique in the X-Men movies. She’s just gotta have one for THAT “costume”…
Well, remember that Lawrence is only in X-Men First Class, X-Men Days of Future Past, and the upcoming X-Men Apocalypse, prior to that it was Rebecca Romijn-Stamos playing Mystique. Lawrence has said that her costume is essentially body paint as well so there is that to consider.
Still needed a merkin bald cap & nipple covers…the rest of it was body paint though…
I didn’t at first either – and then I went to the “google.”
it CERTAINLY isn’t the craziest thing she ever said for sure…just to hard to keep track
*Bump
While DaveB knew what he was talking about, I think a lot of us were like, “What?” But the throwback to a multiple of Harem reacting accordingly is great. Too bad the laugh track fell flat, eh?
well probably a whole lot of people around here needing to use “fake pubic hair” so the joke falls flat of why to get a “bald one” hehe
i know i had to google it up to understand hehe
Technically, no one can go drinking with Harem, at least not legally. She’s 19, right?
*cough*
COLLEGE PARTIES
*cough*
In Australia, the legal drinking age is 18+. So Harem’s a-okay here. :P
And as a teleporter one assumes she may have been there to drink already
Australia is outside her teleportation range.
But perhaps a cruiseship in international waters?
Most of Canada has a legal drinking age of 19; Quebec is 18. Still, Texas to (what is closest?) Southern Ontario is probably a little further than she can comfortably handle.
Manitoba is 18.
well, if it were taking place in Germany…. the legal drinking age here starts at 16 (beer, wine, any other form of “soft” alcohol (that is: less then 40% Alcohol per liter)) and then 18 for the “hard” alcohol (liquor, vodka,rum, etc; anything above 40% alcohol per liter) And yes, i know that 40% alcohol is already pretty hard stuff….. i dunno who came up with that definition, but that’s how the law book states it….. at least my old version from back when i was in school…
Used to be in the states you could start drinking at 16 if it was 3.2 beer Kansas was like this you could drink normal beer at 18. Having the drinking age at 21 is fine and all but we need an exception for military if you can die for you country at 18 you should damn well be able to drink.
Not sure if it is still true but if you were in the military and on base you could buy beer at 18. The thought was if you’re old enough to die for your country a couple of beers is a small compensation. Or maybe if you are old enough (and supposedly mature enough) to join the military you are old enough to drink.
The measure in Germany is non-destilled alcohol. So even if you dilute your Schnapps with juice or somehting else sugary, you may not sell it to 16 year olds.
Rather reasonable, its hard to brew something above 12% and make it still taste good for teenagers.
i hear in America its 21, so, not while she is there, and that’s where the comic takes place.
or at least i think its America.
Yeah, because America for the past 100 years has become stupidly convinced that we can’t do a thing without someone protecting us from ourselves.
Except drive a car, buy a gun, vote and get drafted but still not responsible enough for a beer, or the close approximation for beer that is sold on the mass market.
Not 100 years. I’m not that old! (And while I’m at it, get off my lawn you young punks!)
When I was 18, the drinking age was 18. Then it changed to 21, but the law had a grandfather clause. So I could buy and consume alcohol legally at 18-20 while a friend of mine who was a ‘year’ younger was denied because of a few months difference in age.
But yeah, the thinking process which allows a person to buy a firearm, vote, and serve in the military while being unable to legally purchase alcohol is astonishing. It’s like saying “You’re an adult, with all or the adult rights and responsibilities. Except this one, which we deny to you because you’re obviously not adult enough to handle having a drink. But helping to decide who leads our nation, owning a deadly weapon, or dying in a foreign war is just fine.”
Thing is, the consumption of alcohol isn’t like any of those other things, because it’s an internal issue. Now, I’m biased since I decided at an early age that I wasn’t interested in poisoning myself for fun, but the science (and in some ways, logic) does pan out.
Before 20, the brain isn’t done ‘settling’ out of puberty- alcohol can screw that up. Before 20, (aka as a ‘teen’), the pre-frontal cortex (the bit that tells you whether or not something is a stupid thing to do) isn’t fully functioning- which means that teens think it’s a great idea to get roaring drunk every other night, with alcohol further lowering their inhibitions and letting them think that stupid stuff isn’t so stupid. And getting super drunk is also rather bad for your liver and suchwise- something that most people have finally learned post-20’s.
About being able to drive, shoot, fight, vote? I think it’s a great idea that you’re allowed to do all of those things before being allowed to imbibe a drinkwhich makes you stupid. Do you really want _more_ drunk teenage drivers on the roads? Because that’s how you get more drunk teenage drivers. As it is, if you’re law-abiding, then you’ve got a good 3 years to get comfortable behind the wheel, or with a gun, or operating military hardware (like bombs and tanks and very, very expensive vehicles) before the option is open to you to do such while impaired by alcohol. Now, the Voting thing, yeah, that’s stupid. You shouldn’t be able to vote until you’re old enough to run for President.
I think we should just move the age for voting, draft, etc. to 21.
You bring up that bit about the part of the brain that tells you whether something is stupid or not as a reason for not letting them drink, but they are still allowed to play around with handguns that can end another’s life!!!!!
And drinking alcohol irresponsibly can’t wind up with someone dying? Drinking and driving anyone. Whereas handling a gun responsibly is significantly safer than driving a car since a mechanical issue with the car could cause an accident killing a lot of people (the news report of the person who’s gas pedal got stuck and they drove through a crowd comes to mind) while a mechanical issue with a gun might injure the shooter only.
You’re allowed to buy Nicotine products at 18, and that is also not healthy for the body.
So how does it make sense that someone can buy cigarettes at age 18, but not alcohol?
As for drunk driving or being impaired while operating military hardware: if those aren’t major issues with the 21 age limit, then they would only be temporary issues if the age was dropped to 18. There would be an “adjustment period” where the novelty of being able to legally drink wore off, and then it would most likely be the same as it is now: Stupid people will continue to do stupid things.
It in part speed of how quickly those two substances can kill you in relation to each other and the relative strength and tactics of the lobbies for and against. Since tobacco can almost never kill you due in a single session of over consumption, wont make you wreck a car, and takes years to kill you, it’s easier to defend against the same level of opposition to it than alcohol which can do all three.
Side note while you can buy and smoke tobacco younger, you can drink far more places than you can smoke.
In Scotland, you are allowed to get married at 16.
But, because of the drinking age, you can’t have a celebratory glass of champagne till you are 18.
They temporarily lowered the voting age from 18 to 16 for the independence referendum.
Age limits are an arbitrary stick in the ground. Everyone matures at a different rate. One person may be more mentally mature at 15 than another in their 20s.
But you have to draw that line somewhere as there are so many with no common sense (either in, say, consuming alcohol or even supplying it).
That also has something to do with people who can’t stand the thought of anybody, anywhere having a good time…And are willing to push their personal issues onto everybody else.
One could argue if someone requires alcohol to have fun, a dry spell might be good for them.
That argument requires the false assumption that alcohol is the ONLY way someone can have fun. A bit of booze at a social gathering of friends & family doesn’t require getting falling down drunk every time just to have some fun, ya’ know.
You are all confusing the legal age to buy with the legal age to drink. You can’t buy it till you’re 21 in the US. The age you can drink, and under what circumstances varies by state (only 5 require you to be 21, period… no exceptions). In the right place, and under the correct circumstances, you can still legally drink as young as 18.
And it’s 18 in Mexico, which is well inside her range.
In Texas, underage (under 21) consumption of alcohol is allowed if it is in the visible presence of the minor’s adult parent, guardian or spouse.
Here in Florida, the law permits “the tasting of alcoholic beverages by a student who is at least 18 years of age” as part of a course at an accredited post-secondary educational institution, but the student may not “consume or imbibe” the alcohol.
https://drinkingage.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=002591
The belief that one must be 21 to legally drink alcohol is largely Californication; almost all the television writers are based in California, most assume California’s laws are representative of the nation as a whole, and don’t bother to fact check.
uk its 18 as well
Technically, that is just to buy it. As long as food is involved, there isn’t a minimum age to drink – just common sense not to give it to a 2 year old
Actually, you can get in trouble for serving alcohol to minors. However, if it’s in your own home and everyone is being responsible, then what’s it going to hurt? I say teach them right early so when they do turn 21, they don’t go on a binger and drink themselves stupid. After all, even Jesus drank wine.
who says Jesus drank wine? Maybe his turned into water? Grape juice? ORANGE juice? If he could turn water into wine (“You’ve saved the best for last”) I’m quite sure he could have had any number of non-alcoholic choices for the wine to turn back into…if he’d wanted, that is.
;P
of course, I’m only being silly.
“You’ve saved the best for last”
*sips Mountain Dew Sangrita Splash* “Oh yeah, omnipotence and non-linear temporal knowledge.”
Actually, alcohol was the safest thing to drink bad in the old days…who could tell what the hell was in the water ? The fermentation process kills micro-organisms that would kill you otherwise.
Ugh!
*back in the old days
I’ve read studies which suggest that any amount of alcohol can be detrimental to brain development in adolescents. If you believe them, which I do, then “being responsible” takes on a new meaning, which is to say that being a responsible adult you will not provide alcohol to adolescents in any setting, no matter how safe from the more obvious dangers of overindulgence, drunk driving, etc.
For most of Europe, it’s 18. Being able to teleport and further having the ability to bring others with her, I’d wager she could legally do so at any point – though the question of how legal it is to teleport behind borders for the sake of liquor is another matter.
That’s like the exact opposite of how Harem is, she can’t teleport across continents and she can’t take anyone else with her.
Maybe not in one step, but who said you need to take it all at once? Make a series of hops across North America to Nova Scotia, then to Greenland, Iceland, then mainland Europe. Should take her about five minutes. Even if she was in terribly unfamiliar territory and could only go line-of-sight, that’s not too much of a restriction as long as you plan your route in advance.
I have flown the great circle route that goes across Greenland and Iceland and even at 10000 feet you are out of sight of land most of the trip.
In England its 16 with parental permission, which usually means presence of a parent or designated caretaker. My boarding school (Kings College, Taunton) had (and presumably still has) a beer bar for the 16 and overs, with a 2 pint a night limit, forinstance.
While in university, I found that alcohol did aid in studying. Caffeine was occasionally helpful.
I meant “Alcohol did not aid in studying.”
No, generally depressants are not a great idea for studying. You kinda of want your brain engaged at full speed.
Caffeine is doubled edge sword, while it will boost you for a while, it eventually falls off, and you either need more, or you crash and you’re done.
Either that, or you get so addicted to the caffeine that it stops having an effect on you, and have withdrawal headaches if you don’t get some daily. I should know. If I don’t get at least one 12-ounce can of soda daily, I have headaches, and caffeine will not keep me awake.
Sounds like you need to work your way off the stuff.
I’m trying, but I can’t just go cold-turkey… I’ve tried aspirin, ibuprofen, and acetaminophen. None of them is strong enough to stop the withdrawal headaches, unless I start killing my liver by taking twice the recommended dosage. So for now, I’m working on getting down to just one can per day.
Been there… In my case, it was 3 – 4 cups of coffee per day during the working week, then finding myself with a throbbing headache every Saturday without fail.
Like you say, you have to wind down slowly. Now it’s tea (much less caffeine) and decaff on a regular schedule. As in “you could set your watch by it”.
Wow I guess I’m lucky then, when ever I decide tot quit caffeine for a while I get a headache for about 24hrs or so but I usually end up sleeping alot of it off. The one exception to that was a couple of years ago I had a mind headache for a couple of hours then a week later for about a week I felt like I was constantly dehydrated, that’s the kind of headache I had, the kind I usually get if I haven’t drank enough liquids. Even though I was drinking other liquids and water like crazy. Managed to drop a good five pounds that week though, figure I was getting rid of toxins or other junk.
Generally though the legal age for alcohol as in going out and getting it in a pub is 18 in UK. In France for example they give a glass of wine to their kids at dinner at an early age.
‘Taunton’? So you are saying you went to school on Hoth?
Just out of curiosity, how does it smell in Taunton?
You beat me to the joke :(
And does it smell worse inside or outside? :P
Speaking of crossing national borders in order to drink legally, I’m always amused by the right wing outrage over the supposed “crippling costs” for Secret Service protection if the Obama girls host a birthday party or something, while not a peep was uttered by those same pundits when Jenna and Barbara Bush required Secret Service protection for their drinking binges into Mexico while they were underage for drinking legally in the US.
And a lot of places in Europe the legal drinking age is even lower, in theory not even existing here in Denmark, though she would need to be 16 before she could buy alchohol herself.
So the main thing Harem needs to go drinking is a passport.
Eyup. Germany for example:
14 for fermented with permit of a parent
16 for fermented in general
18 for everything.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_laws_in_Germany
And the best part? The US have far more problems with drunken teenager then germany ;)
PS: that only counts for buying and in public.
In private the only law in that regards are health-laws, enforcing the parents to protect their children from harm.
Well, there goes the concept of the “expectation of privacy” in your own HOME…
(sarcasm)Thanks a lot, prides who tell the government to ignore the limitations in the Constitution.(/sarcasm)
Arrgh! Did it again!
*prudes who tell
That’d be because putting a ban on it makes it taboo, edgy, and rebellious, and thus more desirable to teenagers.
If you think of age as a rough measurement of accumulated experience though, isn’t she the oldest one of the bunch barring maybe dabbler?
Possibly Achilles.
Just jump over to Canada. 19 years old is the legal age, except in sexy French Quebec where it’s 18.
And 18 in Alberta, and a few other provinces, as others have pointed out.
Just a note if it becomes relevant- Neither Peggy nor Math are supers as far as I recall, so they should both have body hair or grooming routines to remove it.
I wonder if the curtain matches the blinds for Peggy? :P
Nope she has brown hair on here HEAD in a flashback sad I know
First off, pretty sure you meant the carpet matches the drapes?
Second, Gabriel, how do you know she doesn’t dye down south? Sure, it sounds like a horrible process, but she might subject herself to it just so she can answer assholes who ask with, “What, you don’t think this is my NATURAL color? As a matter of fact they do.”
Yes, I meant carpet matching the drapes… not sure where I got curtains and blinds from. Must be those afternoon ads…
And dyeing down south… *thinks of all the sensitive rashes* >.<
I’d just like to note that they do, in fact, make dye for pubic hair–including in pink.
Sydney’s “I thought you just waxed every…” strongly implied to me that “super’s don’t grow body hair” includes the genital area. So there’s nothing “down south” to dye.
Are you talking about Peggy? She’s not a super.
They were talking about Peggy, a highly skilled normal. So of the Main Cast we have mostly supers except Math, Peggy, and Sydney. Math does not seem to have any chest or back hair, but that might be because of all his mat training in Martial Arts killing the follicles, or he might have just been waxed frequently enough to kill the follicles. From the bonus art Peggy shaves or waxes.
In the case of Math, I’d say that waxing is highly possible. His schtick is nigh-superhuman martial arts, and if he’s that good, he may well be able to feel the air drag caused by body hair and have taken steps accordingly…
But you don’t wonder about Math?
Hmm, you missed Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds, who both have body hair from your youthful watching list…
Sean Connery – have you ever seen “Darby O’Gill and the Little People”? In that one, he hadn’t had his monobrow defoliated yet…
Does George Clooney have body hair?
*googles*
He looks… strange without a shirt on for some reason.
Just google “James Bond chest hair”
Apart from Daniel Craig, they all have plenty.
If you want to see body hair check out Robin Williams in “Moscow on the Hudson”. He was a freaking Yeti.
He used to make jokes about how hairy he was
I loved his story about meeting Koko the gorilla who was taught sign language.
I don’t know about merkin bald caps as such, but i heard an interview with Janet Leigh talking about the Shower Scene and that they had covered her up with something flesh-toned … and she was lying there for the final shots, and she felt it beginning to slip … but she was NOT going to re-do the take…
well….that’s something I didn’t know about… learning new things all the time here at Grrrl Power.
Poor Math, poor poor Math.
a victim of his own dirty mind.
He couldn’t be more sex obsessed if he said “giggity” all the time…
LOL reminds me of a dog, only begging for sexy info instead of food. Perhaps the horny-ness is a side effect of his extremely-well-trained physique? Or perhaps from chemical enhancements…?
Eh, random thoughts… :p
If we consider that preoccupation with sex can be the result of lack of occupation with sex, it makes me wonder if Math has been so busy training and practicing to become the martial artist that he is to have much time for the girls.
Maybe he just needs more of a social life?
Perhaps, quite possibly. Martial Arts master, social interaction novice (sex crazed, Didn’t he start the fight with Anvil earlier somehow?), romantically unskilled as a baby, actual sexual skill of a 10 year old (Math; O.O “boobieees…”)?
I just worked out who Math reminds me of – Tyler from Girls With Slingshots. They kinda both have something in particular influencing their minds…
There is a bit of a joke in some anime (which EGS commented on/joked about) that martial arts masters are perverts (examples: Happonsai from Ranma 1/2 or Master Roshi from Dragonball/DBZ/DBGT).
Ah yes, Master Roshi. Can NOT forget him…
…Wait! Does that mean he’s not a good behavioral role model?
the chest/ back hair for men is an issue about youth; as it tends to grow quite a bit after their 20s.
thus male models/ actors trim it
but that doesn’t mean men are preferred with none; men with no body hair at all (or pubic) tend to look kinda weird to me.
in panel 1, pegy seem to have her collar on, but on the panel 2 we cannot see it.
mirror sydney… is different.
purple harme has changed her hairstyle… looks weired.
her balls do reflect in mirrors…
The balls are reflecting – and in more detail than everything else.
Talking of which, that is why the weird colour in Halo’s hair
Sydney has VAMPIRIC GLASSES.
i looked again at that panel.
her glasses do not reflect in a mirror, because they are not in front of it.
they are below the mirror.
Gothamer’s new hairstyle looks cool (guessing she doesn’t want to be mistaken for Sydney’s sister, for whatever reason that might be…)
Figured the back of Peggy’s shirt was obscuring the collar in panel two
it sure doesn’t in panel 1
From what I can vaguely remember, merkins were used by (a) male actors playing naked women and (b) prostitutes with nasty rashes.
Probably from wikipedia though
While it did cover rashes the more common reasons were crabs and legal age at the time. Pubic lice can’t cling to your crotch if you have no hair. However back in the time they were commonly used puberty was the determining factor for if a girl/woman was legal to bang so no hair down there made customers uncomfortable.
Huh. That’s… surprisingly logical.
Actually, Merkins have been around since the 1700’s, back then they didn’t care about ‘legal age’ (just remember, or learn this for the first time, ‘teenagers’ have only been around for about 100 years)
FOUND ONE… I think. https://www.mostlydead.com/products/nude-style-merkin-pubic-cover-up
$28.50 for a triangle of latex? Just build one for less than that.
To get it right, you’d have to custom-mold it to the person who’s going to wear it…Which could get interesting.
…Especially when it gets to the part where you pour the latex on an area that hasn’t yet been shaved…
A part of me wants that job.
…The job of pouring the latex, or the job of letting liquid latex set & solidify on your hair?…
Pouring, obviously :P
I had no idea what a “Merkin” was when I read the comic, so a “Merkin bald cap” meant nothing to me. I mean, I know what a bald cap is, but, I wasn’t quite sure what a “Merkin bald cap” meant. I don’t know why Harem would know either; a 19 year old is unlikely to be familiar with an obscure 90’s term. You might have been better off having Sydney say “crotch bald cap”, which at least gets the meaning across directly.
I find the whole “supers don’t have body hair” in this comic to be a little weird and offputting anyway. Like, Grrl Power has this constant tension between trying to treat supers “realistically” while at the same time insisting that certain other things work like the conventions of American superhero comic book art. It would be like if all Grrl Power supers with black hair actually had blue hair, because of 4-color printing. It’s not even funny, just weird.
*Bump … for your second paragraph.
I’m turning 19 on Wednesday and I knew what a merkin was. Hell I’m pretty sure someone was discussing merkins on the last page as well
Not to mention but the girl does have 4 times the life experience of any standard average american 19 year old.
You mean, like, 1490’s right? Merkins have been around since at least the middle ages. This is hardly the first time that bald pubic areas have been in fashion. The earliest examples (that I know of) pre-date Cleopatra in Egypt where they used a “sugaring” mixture of honey, oils and herbs and linen strips to “wax” the pubis, armpits, and legs. I first heard about merkins in English lit class in high school when reading one of Shakespeare’ works, but after 35+ years I have forgotten which one. Macbeth, perhaps?
I find them having no body hair a better design that they are intentionally gifted/enhanced which makes Sydney the wildcard.
Okay, more of the wildcard.
b*sigh* Okay, WAAAY more of a wildcard!
Also, “ARCHON is educational! It teaches me new things!”
Ah, you know what, even compared to all the other ladies of this series, Sydney is the prettiest.
Hear hear! We need some Sydney Cheesecake! I propose a Sydney R rated vote incentive for the us fans or at least PG-13.
Seconded! Indoors this time, the pool scene was funny but pretty much a “no exposed skin zone” for Sydney.
Fan service! Fan service! Fan service!
Could you imagine Dave trying to convince Sydney to pose for it?
;)
That’d end… painfully. There would also be a bit of light swearing involved.
light swearing? Can Sydney DO light swearing?
Light in the same way a multi-trillion gigawatt laser is light, I guess?
Or her PPO…
Syndey can do light swearing, and the St. Lawrence is a nice little creek.
To each his or her own :)
Personally I find Sydney to be my least favorite character of all, and the least attractive to boot (Which has nothing to do with eachother).
IF we rank beauty, I say 1. Maxima, 2 Anvil, 3. Harem 4. Heatwave
For me it’s 1.)Sydney for many reasons not least of which her cute figure 2.)& 3.) Max and Anvil a dead heat but different reasons 4.) Dabbler sexy smart playful etc. 5.) Peggy deadly and hot.
The rest of the women would be a mix and Heatwave would be last because she taken and a little dense. I’d tire very quickly of explaining things and her not getting my references. Personally while looks are important intelligence is (to me anyway) more important as is personality. Bimbos turn me off totally as do women who dumb themselves down to appear more acceptable. NOT saying Heatwave is either.
I love how Sydney holds her glasses in the first panel instead of wearing them. I do the same for observing at tricky angles.
And I had to Google what a merkin was, but now the page is much funnier!
Mmm, that opening picture of Harem….
The reason they never laugh at Chandler in Friends is they don’t want to encourage him. My other half does the same to me, even when she later admits I did say something funny.
Another reasons comes down 4th Wall issues. Hearing the same jokes over and over, in rehearsal, in script readings, etc. And forced scripted laughter can be some of the worst laughter you’ll ever hear. Laughing is for the audience to supply, or a laugh track.
How many restraining orders does Math have against him? Just wondering.
He is not quite at the Pepe Le Pew level, but he could get there, given time.
Naaa, not Pepe Lepew, he thinks the ladies love him. Just playing hard to get. Math is just focused of sex, as far as we’ve seen sexy info & goings on, but we haven’t seen him actually try dating anyone, or even try getting a 1 night stand. That said, I’m sure Dabbler could help there…
Can we never do Sydney’s hair like this ever again? It makes her look like a cross between Varia and Achilles. It’s really odd and doesn’t feel right.
It’s bobby-pinned back so she can cover up the bruise on her face. The wild hair will be back soon.
Niauropsaka is correct. You can even see the bobby pins in her hair (especially in panel 1. There are at least four pins holding her bangs back.)
Math is propably wishing he had Dabblers Prono Sense.
Then again, he would only know something sexy is going on. He would still not be allowed to watch it.
He is always thinking 50 moves ahead, even if they are all Shades of Gray.
I had to look up what a merkin is for the first time ever. I’m kinda surprised I’ve never heard of these before, what with living in Oregon, home of the stripper capital of the world. Or maybe it’s because I live in Oregon I’ve never heard of merkins…
I’m a man. I wax. I do this because I’ve been planning for some time to pose nude for Cosplay Deviants. I’ll get around to it eventually.
Sydney’s hair is having a wild Frozen moment in the mirror back there in Panel 3. Pretty soon it will clip through her shoulders or something.
Great now Let it Go is stuck in my head…
*pictures Dabbler singing “Strip nekkid” to the tune of “Let it go”
She could sing this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8kuM3ntKAo
No, that’s the song playing through Math’s head at all times.
Merkins were there because the shaving was unwanted, due to lice and such parasites making it compulsory.
If you want to know what women find attractive, you have two possible routes:
1. Research what they read- specifically, romance novels. (Beware NSFW here. Seriously.)
2. Or you could, you know, ask them. (Beware those who will take exception to the query.)
I guess there’s just no real safe way at this, is there?
Option 1 is too variable.
Option 2 can get you maced or in jail just for asking, and most I’ve met who aren’t close friends and that I’ve seen in social situations do the whole “You’re supposed to figure it out” crap. Which means no one’s getting what they want. Absolutely silly.
Well, you could do a phone survey.
Actually, I think Dave does quite well at showing different characters who want different things. That’s probably why I have been reading this for so long.
All of this assumes they will tell the truth. Not saying women lie more than men because men will lie about their preferences too. It’s like asking what your favorite fetish is.
Bondage and Discipline, thanks for asking. What’s yours?
One is naughty schoolgirls. Do I need to see you after classes?
When I first started dating Lord Pentrose I made certain likes and dislikes clear to him. Most notably that I dislike cut flowers, and that chocolates are always appreciated.
As to body hair I do enjoy running my hands through his ‘fuzzies’ (chest hair)
Apparently when Daniel the Human was last dating someone, she would play with the stubble on his neck, tracing it’s swirl pattern. Got some chest hair too, not floor-rug levels, but it is there. Well, apparently he is a “Shaved Yeti”, according to his sister…
Who’s Daniel the Human?
I think “merkin bald caps” do exist, sort of, but not quite. I’m pretty sure movies from big studios (and smaller ones, too) have used those in nude scenes where women are supposed to appear without hair, and are also used to obscure the genitalia, bypassing an NC-17 rating.
Though I’m pretty sure that by not having any hair, they’re no longer called “merkin”s.
They wear nude body stockings, its a different thing. Its meant for them to look naked while wearing clothes, not so much to avoid a rating change. All those sex scenes in movies? Yeah, that woman (and man) is wearing a body stocking, or at least a posing pouch when it comes to guys. Thats for those parts of the scene where they HAVE to show “flesh” Any part of the love scene where you cant see below the waist? They are still wearing pants. Seriously, every camera angle change is another pause while the actors and everyone get into position for the next faux thrust. Maybe they are covered by the sheet now? Maybe a bit of furniture obscures things? They are clothed. Noone wants to be naked in a room full of a dozen people for 8 hours redoing a scene over and over till its right.
you forgot the “nude” bikinis when they don’t just need to show a butt-shot
“they just need” sorry.
I do wonder how Achilles winds up with zero body hair except where we don’t see it, or not.
Not even his hair gets damaged in battle
so how would he shave
He wouldnt need to. Supers are naturally body hair free.
I’m kinda glad that Dave made the supers body hair-free. The lack of a indestructible beard on Achilles was bothering me. As it is, Achilles’ hair should be a fair bit longer.
No, his hair is in a perpetual mullet: it never grows
That would make sense, as the cast page mentions Achilles get his powers rather then being born with them.
I like that Sydney is sitting like the thinker and that her reflection in the mirror is drawn in some form of expressionist art form.
Hmmm…
Actually, I think that would make a great painting. A painting of the thinker portrayed in an expressionist art form.
Unless I was skimming too fast no one has mention the American President Merkin Muffly from Dr. Strangelove.
I now know what a Merkin is. Thanks Dave, always an education.
Ok – I already knew what a merkin was, and I own a copy of Dr. Strangelove – but I’d never caught that about the president’s name before you mentioned it. Dr. Strangelove just got that much funnier – and darker. I wonder if that was a matter of them slipping one by the censors at the time.
Take the combination of “merkin” and “muff” together…
Considering the plethora of sexual allusions, innuendo, and puns in that movie it really is pitiful that I managed to miss that particular reference in the president’s name.
I think moderation is the key my girlfriend is happy with the amount of chest hair I have, but dislikes the overly hairy ones some guys have. she also prefers me to keep my genitals neatly trimmed but not shaved.
Also she digs my beard :D
Sydney looks anemic and stoned in that last panel. Im wondering if the drugs just kicked in for her. :p Also, WOW, purple harem (daphne?) looks different in her single panel appearance. I think it will take some time to adjust to each new character as the art upgrades. She looks good, just different. Enough of art discussion, Geez Math, I am really getting worried about you. I mean, do we have to setup a permanent pornhub download directly into your brain to get you under control? I swear he is losing his damn mind.
No he is just at the normal human male height of sexual interest age. 16-about 24 I believe is the range. Any guy who remembers the constant boner stage of sexual development can empathize.
I used to think my friends were mindless sex pigs, and I couldn’t understand it. I didn’t know it at the time, but a bout of mumps during puberty had left me sterile. The hormones, they never got me that bad. Those guys were hilarious.
I was a horny guy, but never even close to that level where literally everything had to be turned to a sexy cause. Seriously, there is something just not right about math.
“permanent pornhub download” I am thinking a permanent ice bath they drop him in when he is being obnoxious.
Yeah, Gothamer wanted to change her hairstyle after seeing how it resembles Sydney’s :D
Am i the only one who is reminded of Caboose from Red vs Blue when looking at Math in Panel 4? I just can’t help reading what he’s saying while imagining Caboose’s voice…….
Bow chicka bow wow…
It’s not like having a toupee for the crotch is something new. If you have ever seen Anthony Bourdain’s “Layover” for Boston, it was revealed that the origin for the term “beaver” came from the fact that prostitutes in the Revolutionary era shaved their crotches to prevent lice but wore toupees made of beaver hair there because it would otherwise offput the customers if there wasn’t …y’know
If Sydney’s eyes get any bigger they are going to need separate billing. This is especially true of the third panel. A little big-eye look enhances cuteness, but this is over the top for my tastes.
Just remember: Sydney’s individual art-style is Anime
I’m a little scared at the thought of drunk Sydney.
Judging by her size, that’d be the first drink…
Not necessarily. She does have a high metabolism so she might burn it off quickly enough to drink a few. I have a sister like that. Most of her life she was 100 lbs or less and 4’11” was as tall as she got. Yet she could hold her alcohol pretty well. She’s also pretty hyper.
Oh, man. I just pictured our usually bashful Syd with a few drinks in her, giving Math a predatory look. Damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t. WWMD?
Coming from a family that has “An Italian Side”, believe me women DO have waxing parties.
Kevin…. you do good work but you may want to lay off the shadows a bit to keep with the style of the rest of the comic..
sorry Keith.
No worries. In a family riddled with “K” names, that happens to me often.
As for the darker shadows here, I was thinking in terms of the lighted mirror, and since Sydney’s so close to it, it would cast harder/darker shadows from that perspective.
As with any collaborative effort, Dave and I are always looking at ways to mesh creatively to preserve the visual continuity between our styles.
Guess I’ll have to stop using the abbreviation ” ‘merkin ” when referring to people across the pond now.
If anything, I might use it even more now.
Sorry, did I say that out loud?
</Landry>
I mean having to stop on here, where everyone knows what it means.
Everywhere else…
mind = blown
It will now just make me laugh when people referrer to the selves as that, thinking they’re mermaids or fish-people.
That’s MURICAN! From MURICA!
You mean ‘MURICA! Hells Yah!
Dud3e that page just once again shows just how much your art has improved since the early pages. I mean damn, you do belong in the big leagues, full stop.
Chuck Norris.
He has chest hair.
So much that Bruce Lee felt he had to take some off.
When Bruce Lee shaved off his body hair, the world got chuck Norris…
https://www.bruceleefilms.com/index.php/pages/bruceleechucknorris.html