Grrl Power #459 – Throw pas
Actually they’re both wrong, the 4th wall is usually behind and over the shoulder of the last person who spoke, so the camera can catch the reaction glance. Of course the 4th wall is just the camera (at least in TV/movies, not plays obviously) and the camera could be positioned anywhere. Heck, you could have a 4th wall throw to a super powered zoom lens on a satellite if you wanted.
This is an odd page, cause in my head, a 4th wall gag is something that takes a half second of time out of a show, but with Sydney’s mistake and the follow up, it takes up nearly the whole page. If I had more time I probably would have dropped this gag to instead expand on the whole “people basically got supers but some people were like “eh” and some didn’t believe it but in any case they didn’t go bonkers over it” bit which is really the point of this page rather an important point overall to this part of the story. As I was drawing it, I got down to the last panel, which was just supposed to be Maxima doing her own 4th wall bit, but decided I was leaning on that gag a bit hard and bottom 2/3 of the page is really just one joke (though I think Sydney suddenly having anxiety about B.O. because of werewolf noses and who knows what else is amusing) so I broke that panel up and made it so the elf caught her glance, since he’s sitting perpendicular to where Max and Sydney are and… I don’t know if he’s hitting on her or just pre-hitting on her. You know, testing the waters a bit. And Max is like “Is he hitting on me or is that just an Elf thing?”
I’m not sure that all comes across, ideally I would have established on this page that the Elf was sitting across the table from Max and Sydney, but what would have taken up even more of the page for the whole gag.
Anyway, the first panel. Max actually was in track and cross country in high school, but when she came back after that fateful summer vacation and posted 100 meter dash times on par with a crossbow bolt, she hung it up since that would obviously be wildly unfair.
This page colored by Keith.
Double res version will be posted over at Patreon as soon as I get up. $1 and up, but feel free to contribute as much as you like :)
Here’s the link to the new comments highlighter for chrome, and the GitHub link which you can use to install on FireFox via Greasemonkey.
SuperheroThey're super, thanks for asking!
Meatspace ComicSeriously these are awesome. Check 'em out!
Not UpdatingNo longer updating or only updates sporadically, but definitely worth reading.
SeriouslySeriously you guys. If you like Grrl Power the check these out.
"Mature"Mature subject matter and occasionally something explicit but usually safe. Can't guarantee the ads are safe though.
Dongs Ahoy!Full frontal and backal. Lots of skin, sex on some or all pages, explicit or otherwise.
No wonder she’s a Deadpool fan….
Huh, now that’s a good reason why supers were still a myth. Well done.
I wonder if superhero activity will put more strain on the sigals…
Also, anyone worried about Halo talking about feeling Strange? Something fishy be afoot…
Sydney’s on generic ADHD meds which may or may not be working properly, and is basically at Comic–Con if all the characters there were real. I’m amazed she hasn’t had a full blown annuer-orgasm of pure geekiness yet.
She’s also still on very little sleep in the last 48 hours. I don’t know if it’s intentional, but it looks like she’s getting dark rings/sleep bags around her eyes.
It could just be the lighting in that room.
Could be both
Keith uses higher contrast shading than Dave. It makes everyone look like they are under fluorescent lights in a police interrogation room.
Could also be a sign the meds aren’t working right. I know a couple of people with ADD / ADHD who get those when they’ve either missed their meds, or the meds have stopped having the desired effect. And, to correct the comment below, generic may be Methylphenidate, but individual-specific meds certainly AREN’T. Of the people I know who suffer from this, I know what 3 of them take; none of them uses the same thing – and 2 are treated by the same doctor.
That’s not what generic meds means. It just means ‘not a brand name’. The chemicals are identical.
In this case: Methylphenidate.
Source: have generic meds. The box just says ‘Methylphenidate’
It is worth being somewhat wary, as regulations, to ensure that, only exist at national level (or trading block level, such as with the E.U.). Elsewhere generic may well be ‘cheap rip-off’, possibly with genuine ingredients, not necessarily to the same strength and maybe just trying to look similar whilst not having the same effectiveness.
Theoretically anything which gets to your high street should be as you say. But if shopping off the internet, or using vendors who may take potentially illegal short-cuts, it is safer to not make assumptions.
In Canada (and I think in the U.S. too, but I did not check), a generic is the same drugs, but without as much fancy labelling. The dosage must be on the package, so you can compare to the name-brand. Usually these are ones where the 20-year patent has expired or, in rare cases, where the patent holder has licensed the drug to the generic maker (usually to cover a marked the patent-holder was not covering themselves).
Gah! Grammar and spelling errors abound! A generic is the same drug, … usually to cover a market the …
In the U.S. legal/ licenced manufacturers are required to….. However, unregulated internet sources, usually from India, China, eastern Europe, etc. are unregulated and can have anything in them. Unscrupulous pharmacies can cut corners and buy from these sources.
But here is the kicker. While they may be the same drug the % of “active ingredient” can be 80% to 110% of the name brand.
In the US, at least, usually drugs are prescribed in a specified dosage (8 mg, 24 mg, and so on). The active ingredient must meet that dosage to be approved, generic or otherwise. The only difference between a generic and a brand drug is the inactive ingredients, which can, as you say, vary widely (and have unintended interactions with other drugs being taken).
Those inactive ingredients primarily control absorption rate (x mg per hour), but also can affect how the drug passes through your system, such as controlling absorption to occur primarily in the stomach, upper or lower intestine (side note – suppositories are absorbed in the colon, right? Anyone know if drugs can be tailored to absorbed in the colon from the other direction and for what purpose? Might be research tie again…). That may also explain a practical outcome that meets the criteria of your comment.
Yeah, I was going to mention that. Although the “inactive” ingredients may be listed as inactive insofar as they do not affect the intended treatment target, they may change the way the drug is absorbed or processed by the human body. Anecdotally, I’ve had drugs become ineffective or stronger for the same dose in generic form, simply because they were not packaged the same way.
In the US, at least, usually drugs are prescribed in a specified dosage (8 mg, 24 mg, and so on). The active ingredient must meet that dosage to be approved, generic or otherwise. The only difference between a generic and a brand drug is the inactive ingredients, which can, as you say, vary widely (and have unintended interactions with other drugs being taken).
Those inactive ingredients primarily control absorption rate (x mg per hour), but also can affect how the drug passes through your system, such as controlling absorption to occur primarily in the stomach, upper or lower intestine (side note – suppositories are absorbed in the colon, right? Anyone know if drugs can be tailored to absorbed in the colon from the other direction and for what purpose? Might be research tie again…). That may also explain a practical outcome that meets the criteria of your comment.
Blast.
Dave, kill one of these posts please? Thanks!
The Monday is strong in this forum.
yes, colonic uptake for amny drugs is do able .
nicotine supplied this way to heavy smokers for facial reconstruction is one i know of for adults.
acetaminophen suppository are used for infants fever reduction.
Hahahahahaha “identical”. You sweet summer child…
Seriously, generics can vary quite a bit in effect from name brand (and name brand from each other.) While they’re standardized on “active ingredient” sometimes the “inactive ingredients” have an effect on absorption, synergetic effects, etc.
But often they are equivalent, so I really shouldn’t be mean about it.
*shrug* Wal-mart’s 2 dollars for 100 pills of the generic version of Excedrin works better than Excedrin for me. they have more caffeine than excedrin. and that’s part of the cure for my specific migraines
A copy of this same post is nearer the bottom. .. I forgot to allow scripts from this site before hitting reply.
That would be a good way for them to lose their license.
I don’t know about ADD meds, but sometimes a different drug, which works better for SOME people, is also the newer, brand-only, and more expensive drug. I think there are a lot of heart medication patients and such that take the older, cheaper because it’s gone to generic, drug, over the one that is newer, would work a tad bit better FOR THEM, but is also more expensive and not covered by insurance.
Then there’s caffeine, which, I’ve heard can help with some symptoms. Or is that Tourettes? I may be getting the regimen for the two confused there, but I know of caffiene being recommended for one.
By the same pharmacist who today buys Doterra, so some salt should be taken with the advice.
P.S. that pill you take? It’s MOSTLY filler. There is a tiny amount of the active ingredient. Most of it’s there so you take one or two, and only one or two, and can handle it without tweezers.
I HAVE heard of compounding pharmacies buying a higher dosage version of a medication, for the same amount as a lower dosage version, crushing it, and re-mixing it with more filler to produce a lower dosage at half, or thereabout, the price.
Say, buying 40mg expensive tablets from the manufacturer, (where, for SOME reason, 40mg and 20mg are sold for the SAME PRICE by the manufacturer,) crushing them, adding filler, and selling them as compounded 20mg.
They do NOT do so without talking with both the doctor and the patient, however. It’s used as a cost-saving measure for patients that aren’t made of money…which is most of them.
sorry to intruded on your statement but at least in the united states of america a generic can have a 10% variance on active ingredients. depending upon what condition is being treated this posses significant health risks to the point were insurances can be told it has to be brand name. this is a common issue with epilepsy medications or really anything neurological.
From the FDA website
“Generic drugs are required to have the same active ingredient, strength, DOSAGE FORM, and route of administration as the brand name product. Generic drugs do not need to contain the same inactive ingredients as the brand name product.”
That is a crimson kipper since the Brand Name follows the exact same rules.
And believe you me that if the active ingredient is actually expensive [ ie cost is more than the packaging] then the Name Brand will be doing the tango with that lower limit.
It is sort of like that sketch about kids in a tent – don’t touch the wall – kid puts finger very very close – I’m not touching – etc etc – they touch and Parent smacks em makes em sleep in the wet spot unless they are the special kid.
Just watch out for that dihydrogen monoxide. From what I understand, one can find high concentrations of it even in the water supply.
Whatever you do, don’t inhale it!
Especially if it has been treated exothermicly.
Let’s start a campaign* to get it banned…
*https://www.dhmo.org/facts.html
Oh my, that’s Internet for you :)
I heard a song about a passive revolution (don’t remember who performed it or the actual title) a long time ago, about a guy who mixed DMHO with LSD then brushed it onto the door handles of cop cars.
It was only a song…As far as I know.
Are you sure that wasn’t DMSO? I think that might make more sense as DMSO can transport other drugs through the skin.
I’ve always wondered why vampire hunters don’t put garlic oil in DMSO and put that in squirt guns.
Seems like it would give certain kinds of vampires a really bad day. (Lookin’ at you, Necroscope.)
Had a buddy who ran a character in Shadowrun who delivered his de-buff poisons in this manner using a paintball gun. Ridiculously effective but the number of clips he carried to cover each and every race and stat to de-buff was… daunting.
He got called “Mr. Clippy” by another player and it stuck hard.
He hated that callsign until the campaign ended.
So was his nemesis any monster that wore clothes?
I think you caught me in a slightly skewed memory. I’d congratulate you for it if I didn’t normally disembowel most people who do that.
;)
But yeah, it was a looong time ago & I never really followed up on the concept.
or possibly geekgasm adrenaline crash. adrenaline crashes can be like that.
Even meds that work 100 percent can still be overcome on occasions of extreme geekery
And I should know. ADHD here myself
And they had that strip were she took an extra dose, even though, according to her, it makes her screwy. Screwy enough that Honestly I am surprised she’s stayed so collected.
Okay can someone explain how to use the tags to link to another page. I was trying to link to https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/2163 and https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/2165 and point out that Sydney assumed that muppet maxima was a hallucination resulting from that second dose and just acted like it was normal.
Probably just as well that Supers aren’t covered. Someone pushing the protection spell beyond its limits could cause it to break. “I’ve just seen you break the sound barrier to fly here and catch this plane, gently lowering it to the ground. But that’s all perfectly normal… Why does that person over there suddenly have horns?”
When I have to go to work at 6am on Monday’s, the only thing that motivates me to get out of bed is knowing that I have a new GrrlPower comic to read before I have to go outside and face the “real world”.
Thanks, DaveB!
In the UK, we don’t get it till 11am. Makes the morning feel so long.
Good think I’m late bird. I usually get to work at 12, which is when the comic is posted where I live. Makes Mondays much more enjoyable.
Oh, so you get to work just in time to break for lunch? How can I get a job like that?
O.o
That might be a 12 to 12 shift. In which case not so appealing. Whilst that is bad if it is a 12 hour shift, it is worse if it turns out to be a 24 hour one. And junior doctors can have worse again!
Firefighters may have it worse than that; most Fire Dept. I’ve heard about work with a 3 days-on, 3 days-off schedule. If they have enough qualified people, maybe 3-On, 4-Off could be managed.
Yea but they are allowed to sleep, in their bunks, during that period. Albeit that they remain on call the whole time. So they have to be ready, to slide down the pole, in their pyjamas, at a moment’s notice!
Firepoles are being phased out, according to my firefighter brother–too many injuries.
How does he, and his fellow fire-fighters feel about it? In the UK reporting indicates that the rank-and-file dislike such nanny-state health and safety decisions. Arguing that the risk of running down flights of stairs is a greater injury risk, in an emergency situation, than that posed by a pole.
On top of which is the cultural importance that it holds. So many firefighters will have been attracted into the job, in the first place, because of the portrayals of firefighters on TV and film. In which sliding down the pole is integral to the whole image. And thereby their own self-image.
Not that I would assume that everyone has the same feelings. But it is interesting to know if the reporting matches sentiment on the ground, around the world.
Not necessarily nanny-state, so much as insurance at work. The more you have to pay for the pole, the less likely you are to keep it, regardless of the tradition. Some of the stations keep a pole around for the schoolkids, but they tend to be removed or moved out of the operational area during remodels…
Actually, insurance is behind much more of “nanny-statism” then people think–the threat of sharply-raised rates will compel many-a-government to cave to the insurer’s demand for “protective regulation.”
That is an excuse used by bureaucrats and politicians. Insurance companies vary in the terms they offer and the factors they increase the premium for. Here is an example (the pertinent point being at the end of the article). Uncompetitive carriers will charge for the pole ‘because using poles cause injury’.
Whereas competitive companies will factor in that ‘running down stairs causes more injury than using a pole’ and either charge the same, or even less, for having the safer alternative.
Cities and states have powerful negotiating capability. It is simple for them to negotiate with companies to have sensible changes like that made. And even simpler to change insurers, if they are uncooperative. If they can be arsed.
Notably response times to incidents can be 20 seconds slower (variably depending on the layout of the station of course) when using stairs instead of poles. So any person, in a position of power, who values keeping the station insurance cost low, higher than the lives and property damage that will be saved, is not making a sensible risk assessment for society.
The latter factor even comes into play when designing new stations in areas that have enough cheap land to build single-level stations. If a double-level station can improve response times, despite a minor risk of sprained ankles or groins, then they are actually better for protecting the public.
Not to mention that having a happier, better motivated, work force will make them better in their job. If they enjoy using the pole, that will help a bit, in its own right. And arriving at fires 20 seconds earlier, will mean that they can do their job safer, and have better satisfaction at coming home having saved lives, rather than being depressed, due to getting there too late, to make a difference!
I can imagine how that happens…Kind of hard to rescue anyone from a burning building if you break your leg before you even get into the firetruck.
That’s why they use to have special landing pads, unless those were removed for “Health & Safety Issue”
Me, but when I was in Spain in March, it was 12 noon!
Whereas those of us in Australia have to wait until 5 pm to get this, I’m glad I’m home on time.
Although according to the time of these comments its actually 6 am when its 9 pm, weird timezones
Wait… just how long ago was this posted? Don’t tell me I have to wait till 8 pm for this amazing comic to update!
Your comment was posted one hour and ten minutes after the comic went live.
This assumes that it arrived on schedule. The number of posts is appropriate, for that assumption, and the fist comment time stamp likewise corroborates that.
That makes me rather sad, I love this comic, I write a lot when my mind lets me and this comic helps me gain inspiration despite not actually finishing or posting my stories anywhere… Maybe I should use my neglected Tumblr page for posting stories…
I agree that the comic is very inspiring. Likewise the commentators too.
It is worth getting your stories out to an audience, if you feel ready for it. I have no idea how good Tumblr may be for that or not though. There are other options too however. Such as the Whateley Academy. Folks mention that one a lot, so it may be worth checking it out.
It updates at 10pm over here
How are you still awake? Or are you a nightowl like myself?
Yup, usually sleep during the day, going to sleep anywhere between 8am and 2pm (have Chronic Fatigue so things are chaotic)
Daniel the Human is not only a “night owl”, but a permanent night shift worker. Apparently he reads a couple of comics during 1 of his breaks, comments too if he can. Me, I get a mobile to read it on till he gets home & lets me on the proper net :(. Just cause I crashed his system on him…
…A few times…
Gay cyberpunk overload perhaps?
The time shown is North American Central Daylight-Savings Time, the time zone of Texas, where Dave B lives.
Wow so Dave is posting at 5 in the morning? That’s impressive, considering I have difficulty waking up before 9 in the morning
It’s a scheduled upload. He’s probably sound asleep right now, dreaming of busty superheroines.
He still has to get up in order to post the high-res upload on Patreon. Unless it has changed recently, he still hasn’t found a way to automate that.
His note, at the end of the blog, does still say he posts it ‘when he gets up’. I suspect that might be a variable time. For instance if there is a double-page, or one of the pages with highly detailed background, then he may have been working late into the night.
…I forgot that that was possible… heh
Considering how much research he’s done in Boob Physics (for the sake of drawing the comic), that sounds about right…
Yep. Fortunately I’m in the same time zone as DaveB is. I’m a nightowl type, so I’m about as likely to still be awake during the update as I might be waking up just a few hours later.
7am here
The timestamp on the posts is likely the time on the server machine where Girl Power is hosted. According IP trackers that is Los Angeles, California, thus it should be using Pacific Daylight Time (GMT -7).
That is two hours early than Dallas but, as has been said, the upload is automatic, that’s why Dave include the line about “Double res version will be posted over at Patreon as soon as I get up”. Patreons knows what time Dave wake up :)
Tiema Starborn:
You are likely at Australia Western Standar Time (GMT +8) which accounts for the 15 hours difference. Also you will notice that sometimes your post appear the day after you are at :)
BTW California uses Daylight Saving Time so you will have a difference one hour greater starting November 6th.
I mean the day before you are at.
Nope, I was wrong. I just checked and the time is the Dallas’ one. Interesting.
Which in turn means that Tiema Starborn is at ACST which do uses DST which means two-thirds of my OP is garbage *sigh*
Thanks! It’s what gets me up too! By like 8-10 am… :P
Is the electricity down to nerves at knowing all this is real or the lack of the magic field she’s been in all her life letting her see everyone as they are?
Ooh, good question!
Come to think of it, has Sydney used the TrueSight orb around anyone from the comic book store yet?
Could be an interesting twist for Joel or Olivia or Tony…
Good point.
For that matter, I’d also strongly suggest using the Truesight orb where she is RIGHT NOW. Just in case someone / something has successfully been putting one over on these people all this time.
Don’t listen to him Sydney! Keep your hands off your weapons, until Maxima tells you it is OK to use them. You do not want to provoke the natives!
They prefer to be called “Supernatural Americans”
…or perhaps Supernaturalized Americans. I doubt all of these people (?) were actually born as US Citizens. Even so, I’d even be willing to conjecture that not all of them are even immigrants having been naturalized as Citizens.
At least one of them was born before the USA existed. He may well have been one of the founding fathers!
“Have I told you about 1 time I vent to the theater? It vas a vhile ago, but pretty memorable though. A tall guy in a tall hat got shot up in vun of the balconies…”
…Yes?
When?
Just jitters and excitement.
So what exactly does this explain?
Something to do with Crimson’s band?
Heh, I guess you put that comment up, before reading on. But, just in case you missed it, Sydney was not (intentionally) looking at Crimson. Rather she was looking in the direction that she thought the 4th wall was in. Incorrectly, as we, on this side of it, know.
I did think exactly the same as you, when looking at that panel initially. Although I was failing to make any connections, and did not even remember she was in a band, at that point.
But how many noticed that Max was much closer than Sydney was in looking at the True 4th Wall? Indeed, the way Max’s index finger is drawn, it looks like she might even have her finger touching it in panel 5; almost like touching a glass window pane, as seen from the other side of it.
Yeah, that’s the “normal” direction (both ways). As Dave implied the costume of the 4th wall being perpendicular to the characters come from plays, where the dialogues and most actions are normally staged that way, and of course the “camera” is static. Other media characters have a harder time figuring it out :)
Yeah, I thought she was looking at Crimson myself.
“So what exactly does this explain?”
It explains what they were talking about, why so many people wasn’t reacting that much to supers, etc, etc. Syd is just enjoying herself trying to wink at the “reader”… and messing up the direction to look at.
It also could be possible that Dave is using Syd to tease us after all the speculations we have been doing :)
https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Crossoverkill/5306539/
I think she is speaking to the movie audience, myself.
Speaking of 4th wall….
Decades ago I entertained the delusion that I was a background character in a sitcom because the receptionist where I worked had wacky misadventures and humorous parenting issues with her daughter. On more than one occasion I waved at the camera.
In retrospect that was a mistake.
Now I ‘ll never have my own show!
You might still become a recurring character. You could be the John Munch of imaginary sitcoms !
You don’t want your own show.
Their is an old curse. “May you live in interesting times.”
The main character is the one who gets all the grief. All the stress. And, sometimes, the one who gets bitten by the werewolf or zombie.
Being the main character is overrated.
And I’ve used the wrong ‘there’. The curse of Mondays.
Nothing wrong with living in interesting times, so long as you’re not the interesting one. If, however, all that interesting stuff happens to you then you’re the main character and that sucks almost as badly as being the token black guy in a horror movie.
Or the lesbian who has finally hooked up with their romantic interest. Their life expectancy drops dramatically in most TV shows.
Yeah, but the main character USUALLY lives to see the credits roll, and is still around for the reunion episode twelve years later.
Side characters tend to meet grisly ends to push the plot forward, or put on a bus when they ask for a raise.
Worst case. You’re in an ensemble cast, and no one has plot armor.
Depends on the type of show. If people around you are dropping like flies, its time to get out.
And I mean to quit on the spot, or go home and quit by phone. Don’t work those last few days to retirement.
And never go on duty in a red shirt.
SOL.
Guy Fleegman: I changed my mind. I wanna go back.
Sir Alexander Dane: After the fuss you made about getting left behind?
Guy Fleegman: Yeah, but that’s when I thought I was the crewman that stays on the ship, and something is up there, and it kills me. But now I’m thinking I’m the guy who gets killed by some monster five minutes after we land on the planet.
Jason Nesmith: You’re not gonna die on the planet, Guy.
Guy Fleegman: I’m not? Then what’s my last name?
Jason Nesmith: It’s, uh, uh – -I don’t know.
Guy Fleegman: Nobody knows. Do you know why? Because my character isn’t important enough for a last name, because I’m gonna die five minutes in.
Gwen DeMarco: Guy, you have a last name.
Guy Fleegman: DO I? DO I? For all you know, I’m “Crewman Number Six”! Mommy… mommy…
Sir Alexander Dane: Are we there yet?
Loved that film.
RIP Alan Rickman
Indeed.
Parody, or not, I rate that as one of the best sci-fi movies evah. My top ten list wobbles around, over time. But that one manages to keep high in the list.
I love that movie so much that I actually bought the commercial copy instead of downloading it…
:P
That & The Last Starfighter are right up there on my favorites list with the whole Star Trek original TV series that I bought from Columbia House.
Don’t worry, if it was decades ago, either the show got axed, or it is following the life of that receptionist. Unless, of course, wacky things keep happening to you, on a regular basis?
Signs to look out for:
• People in your life behaving as if making a product placement, in an infomercial.
• Stage lighting, or other equipment, falling out of the sky.
• Finding obstacles blocking your path, any time you want to, unexpectedly, go somewhere far away.
Why would someone reference a Jim Carey (mostly) drama here?
The Duck Factory wasn’t that bad. :D
…That would explain all the UnderArmor and Browning clothing I see lately. North Face must have lost the endorsement.
I would love a bigger version of last panel.
He he he. All the way from this side of the 5th wall.
Over here Sydney!
*waves paws, cause that helps hearing*
If she really does develop the ability to breach the fourth wall and discovers all of us sitting out here, watching her every move, hearing every last thing she says, reading her most intimate thoughts, and dissecting all that happens to her, the poor girl is going to develop a complex, methinks. ☺
It would be unpleasant to experience that, true enough.
Ooh, maybe that is what one of the Mystery Orbs is? A psychic camera, that transmits the things going on around the Orbs! Clearly some galactic TV (super duper holographic/ immersive virtual reality or whatnot) company planted the Orbs, on Earth. They will have been emitting a psychic signal, designed to attract the most ‘interesting’ character in the region.
DaveB‘s involvement in this is simply that he is picking up the psychic signals, aimed elsewhere, but also leaking through from the Grrl Power Verse. Whilst he thinks he is creating it, his process is being heavily influenced, by the real events from that universe! Which, presumably, does not have an hour-for-hour matching time to ours.
Oh noes, we are peeking on a real girl’s inner life!
Dear diary,
please hit your shins on a sharp concrete edge.
Some writers (myself included) feel that we get a few bits of information fed to us through the ether and we have to join the dots to make it a whole story.
One time I realised that I had a plot hole. I had one character with a gun in one scene. Shortly after, they are in a situation that could be solved by being armed. Then I realised that the previous draft already had him fighting a character that can melt metal between the two other scenes. Of course he has no gun, it would be silly if he still had it. Plot hole avoided.
Though I’ve still to come up with a term to mean someone with super hero abilities, but not necessarily with the job title of superhero. eg, the bad guys or even someone who works in a garage and doesn’t need a jack to lift a car, but doesn’t go saving the world.
So far, I’ve gone with ‘enhanced’ and referring to those that are not so gifted as ‘normals’ but it doesn’t quite seem right.
Let’s see…Marvel RPG distinguishes those born with powers from those who gained them at some later point in life as either Altered Human, or a Mutate. Both terms mean pretty much the same thing, as some event causes the “enhancements” at some point after being born; The Fantastic Four, for example, being Mutates from the Cosmic Ray dose they got, whereas Altered means that someone deliberately made the changes, as in surgery or chemical/drug dosage.
In my Supers game, those with powers are called EPBs (Enhanced Power Beings). Coined the term in 1990 when I started my game. The idea is that all super powers are just extreme examples of what normal people can do (ever stop to wonder what causes that first neuron to fire that starts the process of lifting your arm? Mind over matter, baby.). This can expand to tech abilities as well with little adjustment in the term.
Interestingly, Stormwatch (the comic) used the term EPEs (Enhanced Power Entities) to describe anyone with powers (I think – it’s been an awfully long time since I read those issues). I want to say around 2000-2002, but memory fails me.
Valiant Comics used the term “Harbingers” to describe people on the leading edge of evolution with psionic abilities.
MidnightDestroyer has the Marvel nomenclature spot-on (Mutant if you’re born with powers).
“Normals” is pretty common terminology for the common folk. “Baselines” gets used a lot as well, and in one series of novels I read recently that becomes “slines” as a derogatory term (can’t remember the series’ name or author though – feel free to chime in, compatriots, if you know).
“and in one series of novels I read recently that becomes “slines” as a derogatory term ”
Mmm… that could be “Anathem” by Neal Stephenson, but I think is only one book, also it refers more to the ones that did not receive, nor want to, high education.
I think you’re right.
Part of the cost of reading a lot and getting older – data overload.
::trots extremely unsteadily due to the Soong-type android on his back::
I had pondered using the term lusus (from lusus naturae, meaning freak of nature) as an insult from some of the ‘normals’ but it is a little cerebral for a member of the torch and pitchfork brigade.
Personally I just go with “super” versus “normal”. Just as a normal person can be either a villain or a hero, so can a super.
I might use a mix of enhanced and super, the former by some of the older supers and the latter by “those darn comic book reading kids”
In my book they start by being under the radar too, but my excuse is they could cover up most of their activities until social media and smart phones with cameras took off.
“…the poor girl is going to develop a complex…”
As if she isn’t already a complex enough person as it is…
;)
Maybe it’s an apartment complex…
Perhaps part of it is a shopping complex. Whilst another holds a sports complex. All in all it would be a complex complex.
Quite a good place for a psychologist working with complex personality disorders, to set up his practice. Maybe as part of a multi-disciplinary medical complex?
So the girl with the complex complex, could go to the complex complex, to seek help from the complex complex specialist, working at the medical complex.
I’ve found that Grrl Power is a comic wherein a high level of complexity builds compound interest.
Depends. Ambush Bug, Deadpool, and She-Hulk are fine with it; Animal Man is pretty much traumatized.
I think Sydney could cope.
I have a feeling that something is going on, Halo feeling weird and then there is the silver guy. Something don’t add up to all of this.
Racist.
I’m not but whatever I’ll just shut the hell up then.
Sorry, that was meant mostly as a joke, I don’t accuse people of racism seriously.
The pale individual is Valen one of the speakers for the fey.
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/2187 panel 4.
I believe he is playing along with Sydney ‘ s joke from https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/2190 about Maxima joining the pointy ear club.
If you check out the author’s blog, you will see that it may not be as sinister as you think.
Although, of course, my comment is only as regards the elf’s role. The feeling that something might not be right? Well Sydney’s Ninja sense might be trying to tell her something…
The elf is silver, Maxima is gold. Does this mean she is in some way connected to elves? Are there electrum elives out there?
It looks like this one is looking for a medal.
Perhaps he will end up with a purple heart?
Maybe he’s just looking to get Lucky with just a few Charms.
Gold Stars, Yellow Moons, Green Clovers & Purple Horseshoes
lotttttssssss of purple horseshoes…
;P
The fourth wall is always where the one breaking it is looking, always
It’s like, the Fourth Law or something
The Fourth Wall Law?
…Try saying it quickly five times…
Is that one mouthing the words, or the individual letters? o_O
An average of both. Saying the words, but exaggerating the movements, so that it is easier to understand.
He is lucky mind. Given that Sydney knows she is only 30% proficient at lip-reading. And Maxima has made at least one critical failure, on that skill check (and presumably only has default skill).
“Maxima has made at least one critical failure, on that skill check”
If you mean Hiro’s “debriefing”, I don’t recall him mouthing, just gesturing.
You are right.
Maxima, you need to chill out enough to allow yourself to take a compliment graciously, once in a while. If it is followed up with being hit on unwelcomely, then you can get frosty.
I feel like I am talking to a blank wall…
The problem many women find with “tak[ing] a compliment graciously” is that too often it leads to “being hit on unwelcomely”. Unfortunately, there are far too many males (and probably some females as well) who are so full of themselves that even a clear “no, I’m not interested” becomes a “I’m just playing hard to get, so please continue” in their minds.
Especially when the “complement” is being payed in an incorrect time. Max is here on business; flirting with her is unprofessional. It’d be different if this were in a social setting like a singles’ bar. She’s there on business, not pleasure, and the guy presumably doesn’t know her.
The funny thing is that, if it hadn’t been for the author’s commentary, I wouldn’t have pegged that as a compliment at all. I haven’t been paying attention to ear shapes but I initially interpreted that as a subtle way of “I can hear you, y’know” or a tentative probe about Maxima’s lineage.
Maxima is running so fast, she broke the time space continuum and appears to be running the wrong direction on the track ;-)
Not to mention a few ear drums! ;)
Or the track itself.
Or maybe the Grrl Power Verse is in a mirror-image alternate Earth? Normally it could be shown either way. But this page is attempting to penetrate the 4th wall, so the images have to retain their correct orientation.
Owwer, but then there is the issue of Sydney looking the wrong way.
DaveB, have you checked your scanning equipment? Did you set it up right today?
I seem to recall, back in Track & Field, that we sometimes switched direction. Or maybe that was the ice rink…
For practice, sure, especially for the events that did not turn the corner, like the 100m and 200m
I suppose if she needed to share the track with the other athletes, but she’s the only one there.
I couldn’t find a reference photo going the other way… I guess I could flip the whole panel, except the readout on the stopwatch.
I think it’s right just the way it is. Most times, the one holding the stopwatch will be standing at the finish line anyway, just to make sure they stop it when the runner crosses the line.
Remembering how vague Max had been when Sydney asked why she had pointed ears, I at first thought this elf guy must be the one who gave them to her . . . somehow. Given the expression she was wearing, I also figured that it had been done without Max’s permission and that she wasn’t very happy about it. Instead of hitting on her, the elf was being a bit snide there, I imagined. “Golly!” I thought to myself. :I can’t wait to see where this goes!”
Then I read DaveB’s comments and saw he was going for flirtation there, not melodrama.
How the hell is it I don’t write for soap operas yet? ☺
My guess would be because your plots are too interesting.
They are also a bit lacking in the usual lowest-common denominator aspects that soaps tend to resort to, sooner or later.
Maybe throw in the elf being her brother/father?
And here I thought it was because I loath evil twin stories . . .
Evil twin stories are outdated. Go for evil clone stories, and evil recipient of total facial reconstruction surgery stories.
Oh, and don’t forget evil split personality stories. Taking self sabotage to new heights. ..Mostly above the 10th floor, where there’s an open railing overlooking traffic…
Also, this linkage you’ve deduced isn’t wildly nonsensical – indeed, I rather like it.
Remember, if there’s any foreshadowing in a soap opera, ignore it – it’s a red herring.
Two things…
1.Maxima is wondering if bringing Sydney might be a BIG mistake!!!
2.The way she reacted to that nonverbal compliment about her ears.
Excellent parody and joke, there, Dave! And I’m not just saying that because my name is also Dave B. And I also write comics. And my hero is also genre savvy and uses nerd knowledge to gain superpowers.
Anything you want to share?
Can I be a bipedal dragon?
No.
That’s called an Aeralfos.
Yes, yes you can be!
When Sydney first entered this room, the elf guy and the little pixie were both on the same chair and Maxima introduced them as Valen and Trilla. I wonder which is which . . .
Until DaveB tells us, I think I’m gonna assume that Valen is the elf.
Fairly sure Valen is the elf (gender, indeterminate :P )
Not so indeterminate. DaveB sez he’s a he up there in his comments!
Just because Maxima thinks those are masculine features, doesn’t mean it’s true.
So, is Valen coming on to Maxima, or chastising her?
Dave said it himself:
“…since he’s sitting perpendicular to where Max and Sydney are…”
Until today Dave’s blog, I was sure the elf was a woman.
Elves are like that.
Come to think of it, so are dwarves. Except it is the bearded women, who get mistaken for men.
Maybe THAT’S why they don’t like each other!
Male or female, NEVER mess around with a dwarf’s beard. They’ll give you a haircut right down to knee level…
O.o
That’s because they are at knee level :P
Exactly!
I would go with you on that. Using my extensive knowledge of bouba kiki, which allows me to interpret certain Martian and Faye words.
Thank you for the link. I’ve always suspected this sort of thing but hadn’t done any research to see if someone else had done research.
Although I much prefer the “Woody/Tinny” dichotomy myself.
Dichotomy – that sort of a tinny word.
Screams, covers ears, and runs away.
If Max and the silver elf did get married and have a kid they could name the child Electrum.
BTW: Judging for the Who’s Who “mouthing” doesn’t count as “talking” :)
Wow, some elf apparently lived a very long life (if not downright immortal) and wants to end it. But he’ll be sorry of all the pain involved.
One of my old Champions campaigns included a villain called Foxbat who believed he was a character in a story and played it that way, similar to Deadpool a bit. All the PCs hated him with a passion because he was annoying as sh** (deliberate on the part of the GM) and because he routinely took on far more than he should be able to and won. It was a combination of luck and smart play on the GMs part, but he also legitimately used the knowledge he was in a story to help him. I wonder if Sydney can do something similar.
You mean Foxbat from Champions Online?
Foxbat is much older than champions online. Pretty sure he was in the original Champions rulebook (as a character in the “comic” sidebars) and I know he was all over the place in the comic panels in the second edition Champions manual. His writeup includes several dice of Luck and Disads that reflect his annoying personality. Very much a “Batman as comedy relief villain” sort of thing.
But yeh, it’s highly possible that it’s that Foxbat.
Oh, believe me, it is that Foxbat. The one villain everybody dreaded, not because he was deadly (he shoots people with a ping pong ball gun… which is about as “less than lethal” as it’s possible to get), but because he’s so bloody annoying.
Yeah, a ping-pong ball gun that shoots a 6d6, armor piercing, no normal defense projectile right up your wahzoo…
O.o
Yes, that’s him. On our second encounter with him we had a martial arts character with specific orders to close and disarm him of that gun, only to find the gun had an AOE entangle too, which took out the martial artist. I don’t know what his original write-up was, but the build we fought was minmaxed out the a** and had a counter for just about any character type. He was built only slightly more powerfully than our characters but kept managing to take on the entire group and then escape too. The only consolation is that that we found other hero and villain teams also had similar difficulty. The first time we thought we had him a villain team showed up immediately after intent on killing him and, as the heroes, we had to protect our prisoner. Of course, while that was happening, he slipped his bonds and bailed. So basically, he used us as meat shields.
Yeah, Foxbat was physically & mentally pretty ordinary. He sunk pretty much all of his points into the gun.
Foxbat: the guy who once tried to steal the transporter set from a Star Trek studio so he could use it to kidnap everyone on Earth… and hold them for ransom.
Thing is, Sydney’s so ‘genre savvy’ that she would probably speak to the fourth wall, even if she didn’t think she was in a story. She’s just that big of a nerd.
She would only speak to the 4th wall if she didn’t think she was in a story. If she felt she really was, and that we were all watching her, when she went into the showers, she would curl up into a little ball and freak out!
So very meta , isn’t it?
Or, she is genre-savvy enough to know she is in a PG-story where ‘naughty-bits’ get conveniently obscured
Gotta say, the elf was a bit non sequitur.
Granted. The rest of the page works fine without it. Although it does add a bit, as regards character development, for both Max and the elf. For instance Max has been more restrained, than with her put-down of the “Komix” guy.
Dave does explain though, in his blog, why this appeared in the state it did.
Oh, no! Sydney is developing into Magellan’s Master Assassin! That is the guy sitting down, if you follow the link.
Nice reference! :)
Note to myself: should read the comments all the way down.
Which goes to show that the 4th Wall isn’t always perpendicular to the character speaking, as Max thinks it does.
Nice work, with the Banner work in Panel 2….. rather coincidental that “The Mighty Halo” is directly under a Halo…
And disapointed with the rest of the forum crowd for not picking that up yet…
Well, this IS the second time it’s happened.
Only?
Well there is the time before that, where you saw Halo, her halo, the banner halo and the angel’s halo, all in the one panel.
I did mention that one, at the time. :)
I was wondering if anyone else noticed it.
I don’t know why you say “goodbye”, I say “Halo”?
I’ll say yes and you can say no. :D
You say stop, and I say go Go GO!
Wake me up before you Go Go
My compliments to DaveB and today’s guest star, math. Not not him. (We haven’t seen him in a while. Is he still surfing for porn?)
Anyway, his comments state Max was going as fast as a crossbow bolt. I did a quick scan and found it listed as 250 to 300 feet per second. That put 100 yds (300 ft) as a bit over 1 second. See stopwatch in panel 1.
P.S. If we are are also doing the correct physics on her acceleration, Max would need to swap out the standard starting blocks for a concrete road barrier to handle the stress of the initial pushoff. https://www.belson.com/Images/VB-8-001-M.jpg
Since Max can fly without any apparent equal and opposite force (IE, no exhaust or downdraft), she could be using whatever powers her flight to provide much/all of her running acceleration.
I don’t think so, that would be cheating.
Actually that is what happens (and you are right, it is cheating, but super-powers do).
All of Maxima’s powers (barring the energy attack) derive from her force fields (bearing in mind that they have telekinetic properties). So another way they are described is as being zero-range telekinesis.
So Maxima’s strength, flight, super-speed, toughness, etc all derive from the same source. It is also why she can swap the power, in each, around. Maxima is just getting the force fields to divert power from one, of the specialist ways that they operate, to another.
Which does include lowering flight capability, to increase running speed. Ease off on the telekinesis going straight up. Divert that to enhancing the amount you push limbs (in whatever direction they naturally want to go), in order to make them go faster.
Dave is normally pretty careful with maths.
Actually he said “100 meters dash”, which is 109.3 yds or 328 ft, by your numbers it makes the math even more accurate (328 ft / 250 fps = 1.312 s).
BTW: a manual stopwatch is rather unfair with Max. Human reaction time is about 0.25 seconds with is like 20% of the total time. Either she is faster that they timed or that’s The Flash with the stopwatch there :)
Enjoy yourself
https://www.humanbenchmark.com/tests/reactiontime
Mine was around 0.22 seconds (217ms)
As an avid FPS player, it pains me that I’m hovering at 0.23 seconds. I’d like to think if I was still 20 I could crack the sub 0.2 mark.
Ooh! Got a 0.206 there.
Woo! Got 0.211 average out of 5. I’ll take it.
You must take in account this warning:
“This is discused in further detail on the the statistics page. While an average human reaction time may fall between 200-250ms, your computer could be adding 10-50ms on top. Some modern TVs add as much as 150ms!”
I have slow paws. I was starting to click before I saw the green come up. Yet still ended up with a worse time than Dave, by the end of my five! :-D
I’m on a smartphone. Averaging about 400ms.. No wonder I suck at fps.
What if I’m only good a Date’s N64 FPSs?
*at Rare’s, stupid auto-errect.
Same thing is probably happening to Math, while he’s watching porn…
Slow pause, sucking, date’s, auto-erect…
Nope, no idea how you connect that thread to porn?
Well Yorp, if you can figure out the connection there, please explain it to me. I don’t know how I got it either.
;)
That would be a good way for them to lose their license.
I don’t know about ADD meds, but sometimes a different drug, which works better for SOME people, is also the newer, brand-only, and more expensive drug. I think there are a lot of heart medication patients and such that take the older, cheaper because it’s gone to generic, drug, over the one that is newer, would work a tad bit better FOR THEM, but is also more expensive and not covered by insurance.
Then there’s caffeine, which, I’ve heard can help with some symptoms. Or is that Tourettes? I may be getting the regimen for the two confused there, but I know of caffiene being recommended for one.
By the same pharmacist who today buys Doterra, so some salt should be taken with the advice.
P.S. that pill you take? It’s MOSTLY filler. There is a tiny amount of the active ingredient. Most of it’s there so you take one or two, and only one or two, and can handle it without tweezers.
I HAVE heard of compounding pharmacies buying a higher dosage version of a medication, for the same amount as a lower dosage version, crushing it, and re-mixing it with more filler to produce a lower dosage at half, or thereabout, the price.
Say, buying 40mg expensive tablets from the manufacturer, (where, for SOME reason, 40mg and 20mg are sold for the SAME PRICE by the manufacturer,) crushing them, adding filler, and selling them as compounded 20mg.
They do NOT do so without talking with both the doctor and the patient, however. It’s used as a cost-saving measure for patients that aren’t made of money…which is most of them.
Whoops. Reposted where I intended. As a reply. Ignore this one and move on.
“Never let them see you sweat” doesn’t help you much if they can smell you sweat instead.
…And for every “man who wants to smell like a man,” there’s 100 products designed to cure him of it by making him smell like potpourri…
As Sluggy Freelance said in today’s comic:
WARNING: RECAP DETECTED
Only in this case, more of an expos, but, same idea.
I like this webcomics, and it has been funny and entertaining at times… but its starting to get dull. I mean that in the nicest possible way, but you are doing way too much exposition dump. It feels like forever since anything interesting or funny happened. Nothing of consequence since the big fight. Now i get there has to be some exposition and stuff… but this is a bit long. Maybe its time to wrap this up? Im hoping something interesting interupts this soon.
Yeah I know this scene is getting long in the tooth. I feel it too when I’m drawing it, the background especially is a little dry. I want to move it along too, and I think I know where to cut it, but there’s just a few more pages before I can do that, so bear with me.
I’ve been thinking about how to correct this problem in future story arcs, or even for the remainder of this one, and maybe to compensate, I might try one where I spend almost no time explaining stuff, and just let you guys work it out from context.
Really, in another comic, this whole scene could have skipped the restaurant and the page with the circuitous flight path and started with Sydney and Max walking in to the meeting after Max tells her to keep her cool, then launching right into the whole reason for the meeting. (With Sydney brimming with glee more or less quietly in the corner) but that might be a wild over correction?
I’m sure there’s a happy medium, but it would be an interesting experiment to write a short arc with minimal exposition. In fact if it happened I’d probably throw in a like where Max tells Sydney that “we don’t have time for your usual meet and greet.”
Anything you do there will be always people that will prefer it in a different way (nothing bad with that), since you are the one breaking your back I think you should do what you feel makes you happier.
However, experimenting it’s a very good thing, and I do am curious about how much we could keep up without exposition :)
Its ok, i mean, there is vague amusement value in watching Halo be snarky and stuff, and i get that some of this stuff will probably become important later. But generally, imo, of course, you should try to keep exposition down to what is absolutely essential. I feel like you could have summed this whole meeting down by about 50% without hurting the plot. Like maybe just too many asides… dont tell us this stuff, just show it in action when it becomes important and explain it then. You only really need to explain something if you are worried it will feel like a plot hole if you dont, otherwise, its generally better to show not tell.
Im honestly not complaining or being negative, just trying to offer constructive feedback. I think you have a lot of talent and generally, so far, the comic has been great… up until now, where its kinda slowed down.
I saw the film the Crow (Brandon Lee) at the cinema. Due to a minor car crash, my mates and I missed the beginning. So came in just as you see a guy crawling his way out of the grave. Which meant that we missed all the exposition of his life before that, the wrongs done to him, the little girl who had been tied up in it all, and so on. Lots of details. None of which we needed.
If anybody has not seen the movie, I recommend watching it in a format where you can choose the starting point, and look for the ‘climbing out of the grave scene’ to kick off from. That is by far the best way to either watch or re-watch it.
The director gave minor flash-backs, to key scenes, as it reached a significant plot point, and the audience needed reminding. But that snippet was more than enough to fill in the back-story, for each key part with what, in comic terms might just be a single panel or two. Plus the acting would have conveyed most of it anyhow, from the people’s interactions.
All aided by the fact that the hero had a fair amount of amnesia, so he was learning a lot of it as the audience were. Making the whole process that much more fluid.
Which is similar to the role the Sydney plays, in being the newbie. So we learn things as she does.
If transitioning to minimising the exposition, one technique which could be used is to simply make the dynamic of the circumstances change. If there is some plausible reason why there is not the time to make all these explanations, then events can unfold at a faster pace.
Sydney will have to play it by ear herself (like she managed to fill in the meaning of the jargon from Dabbler’s conversation). And if anything gets too confusing she can ask a question. But would, of necessity, have to keep it brief.
Alternatively just skipping through the scenes is a perfectly valid option. Just so long as it can be conveyed that ‘things have happened in between’. Most people follow that OK, but you do always get a few who get confused at montage, or other time-saving techniques. But if using them frequently they will get used to it, and learn to expect it, I am sure.
I think part of my problem, and again, this is only my opinion, so take it as you will. Is that you shifted gears from what looked like build up to something into what feels like a completely unrelated exposition dump. Ok, so big fight, great stuff, loved it. Then, you spent a month giving us backstory on what I persume will be our next big villan, was totally on board. Then you had a training montage, ok great, was still enjoying it. Then you had main characters interact with the villain a bit, felt reasonable, liked it. Ok then some forshadowing about some radiation hazard… ok, maybe related to the villain? Was ok. But then this? Feels completely unrelated and extraneous. The two plots can not possibly be related. So why put this scene in now? Keep going with the previous plot threat leave this for next arc?
I think plot wise, the only thing that could possibly make sense right now is for that billionaire villan guy to randomly show up right about now and totally throw everything into chaos by destroying the veil.
The thing is that you are expecting a traditional style of story narrative. Which is why it is not going the way you expect. Dave is painting the changes that are happening to the world, and we are seeing how that affects the day-to-day life of the protagonists. Principally being Sydney, of course.
It would not be sensible for her to have to fight multiple arch-villains, in her first few days as a trainee. Yet it would follow that she would be taught the major things an apex hero in training needs to know. Which is what we have seen.
Because Dave’s primary interest is in the quiet times, in-between the action, this means he can keep telling us the story, of that day-to-day life, without needing the big villain, which you are expecting, to make an appearance.
Now if Dave is itching to move on to the next big fight or other action, then that is fine. He can use various techniques to fast-forward, or bring the action closer, by other means. But I think the most important thing is for him to tell the story of the things which most interest him Because that is what makes his work so enjoyable.
If Dave is feeling inspired, then that carries through to the core readership. Whereas if he feels it has been here too long, himself, then this is a good time to change the pace. For that reason alone.
Zack Tilly: one of the primary tags for this webic in the beginning (not sure if it still gets used) is that this is a story about Atypical Superheroes and what happens between the fights
There are dozens of the ‘typical’ Superhero stories out there (fighting bad guys all the time) and you never see what they do to relax or when they are not fighting the Pink Pierrot for the fifth time that week, unless it’s some contrived sex-scene (brain bleach at you, animated “The Killing Joke”)
You are correct. And it is still, laid out in full, in the ‘about’ section, which is accessible by the button, at the top of the page.
Dave, I have an alternate solution, that used by Dan Shive of the long running and very well known El Goonish Shive webcomic; A second mostly concurrent strip [El Goonish Shive: NP] which focuses specifically on side stories, some of which are canon to the ongoing main story, and some of which are not, but all relevant in some way such as for providing insight into characters.
I do think experimentation may be a great idea, and I can’t help but think you have a lot of things on your mind about this comic, and there is some dissonance sensed in ‘wanting to get to the action’ vs ‘wanting to dwell in a moment’, which is absolutely essential to good comedy, in my humble opinion.
Perhaps you could consider taking some of this big exposition information dump scenes and letting them play out as long [and hilariously] as you feel that should in a side comic format, while you let the main plot [whatever you think hat is, since honestly none of us actually know what you’re main drive is yet] run on in the main strip here with only the minimal amount of exposition necessary to the events at hand, perhaps with deeper exposition on various scenes and subjects explored in the side comic at your leisure.
That’s how Dan Shive does it and it seems to work for him. Just an experimental idea.
I disagree about the exposition. I like it, and I enjoy the world-building. The story seems to be gong slowly because the strip only updates twice weekly. This amount of exposition isn’t that unusual in a monthly comic book. I don’t mean that as a criticism; while everyone here would love to read this strip every day (heck, three times a day), I’m grateful for this marvelous work as often as it comes. Dave does what he can as only he can; after all, he’s writer, artist (and colorist too, I think). It’s the anticipation factor.
I am glad to hear such responses, as I am sure Dave is too. Impatient readers tend to be the more vocal, but I am glad every time other readers speak up, to support the comic’s normal style. It makes me feel vindicated for the various times I defend that position.
Clearly the comic would not be as popular, as it is, if folks did not like the way it works. But it is always very nice to hear confirmation of that! Albeit that I do not want to ignore any fans who feel differently (and clearly from his comments, neither does Dave).
I actually liked the restaurant scene!
My main problem with this particular scene isn’t just that it’s exposition. I’ve enjoyed the exposition about Dabbler & Harem. I’d be fine with more information on Hiro or Stalwart. Actually, feel free to spend several pages telling me “boring” things about Stalwart. Also, Anvil’s pretty cool-looking, but we haven’t really gotten to know her like we have Daphne and Max. Exposition is fine.
No, what bothers me is that you’re adding in all of this other weirdness that isn’t really part of your strip’s premise, and then adding more details, and more, about something that’s only tangential to superhero(ines). Lots of people do books about vampires. A fair number of writers have rather involved shapeshifter settings, from were-coyotes to were-dinosaurs. I don’t read this comic for monsters as such. (Vehemence is a mystic supervillain, & Dabbler is a high-magic gadgeteer—I guess they’re sort of “monstrous,” but they fit the superhero concept.)
Some of the monsters are pretty cool, but I don’t want to hang out here too long. I want to see the team again. I like the superheroic/nerd/military cast you’ve built. Every page with Ingsol is a page longer before I see Achilles again, or Gen. Faulk, or Sydney’s comic shop, or much of anything to do with Grrl Power.
Also, I’m not a big vampire fan myself. If it had been a succubus or a golem introducing all of this, I probably wouldn’t be as tired of it, but that’s just me.
Wait, that sounds like I am a big fan of succubi and golems, which is also wrong.
Actually it is. Each of the major super-hero franchises has non-human races as part of their setting. And I specifically remember vampires within the Marvel setting, because there was an arc which got rid of them, from the world. And that is just one example. I am sure there will be many others which overlap other faction races that we have seen, such as werewolves. I can think of a number from within the web-comic side of things too. So Dave is keeping wholly within the scope of the genre.
Dave has, in the past, indicated that he draws his inspiration from the existing genre, taking that which appeals to him (such as pretty super heroines) and discarding that which does not (such as girls in anatomically impractical or impossible poses). Yet he also wanted to have a world which, outwardly, looked and behaved exactly as ours does.
Which means that, firstly, any non-human races would all, of necessity, have to be hidden. Hence the Veil. And secondly that any sightings we have had, of such hidden races, should be drawn from the real world. Where we do have legends of vampires, werewolves, pixies, demons and so on.
Clearly Dave would not want there to be any spoilers. So he did not reveal any of this up front. But he did drop hints. In the advertising there is a very broad hint about hidden aspects to the setting (ending as it does in ‘and perhaps Ninjas’). Taking it any further than that would have risked spoilers.
However, even on page 2 of the comic, Dave throws in mention of vampires, in the discussion. Cleverly disguised as game-talk, but non-the-less talking very openly about how they interact with super powers!
Then goes on, in the press conference, to explicitly state that legendary creatures are likely real.
On top of which the comic’s premise (as stated in the ‘about’ section) is:
Going on to say:
Non-human characters are a part of super hero settings. And Sydney is an extraordinary person interacting with them in an ordinary, non-combat way. Dave is being wholly consistent with his mission statement!
Your personal tastes, as regards which types of non-humans, you prefer, is however duly noted.
POO, but this page is both interesting and funny
DaveB: just remember, you can’t please everyone, so write what you feel happy with, if you feel something should be in, put it in, if you feel you could skip something, then skip it (with maybe a smallish text-box explaining what we missed)
Ninja’d :P
Gotta say, the precedent set here is pretty unsettling. “Make people skeptical/not care” has got to be an ability high on the wishlist of any tyrant or tyrant wannabe. Typically they can force the media to ignore information they don’t like, but stopping word-of-mouth (or finger) is pretty tricky unless every tenth person is in the secret police.
Unlike some of the comments on the previous page I’m not suggesting this is actually used to cover up atrocities in universe, but the implication that it’s even possible is disturbing. I can understand not wanting to get all philosophical in the comic but it would make sense if there were individuals or factions who voiced objections on ethical grounds. It may not be as big of a personal affront as memory tampering but it violates the purpose of free speech.
Also, Ingsol implies they don’t even understand how it works. I can’t tell if that makes it better or worse.
Loved everything else on the page though, spot on.
“Mind fingers!”
I would say that he knows how it works, but that the problem is with making it work properly with supers. It is studying them, which yielded the negative results, as demonstrated by the clipboard. It was not that the veil was doing unexpected things. It is having humans, with supernatural characteristics, which threw the spanner in the works.
Is that an air compression wave in front of Max in the first panel? Is she about to sonic boom her coach?
…
…can she move her hands fast enough to make a sonic boom in the style of Guile from Street Fighter?
Or goku’s version of a high velocity push. aka when he reunited with everyone for another tournament in the original dragonball. And pushed ChiChi off the arena floor from halfway away
Special effect of her activating her extra Running. It’s a visible energy field that serves no purpose except to indicate she’s running really fast.
Superfluous Special Effect! (See Obvious Accessible Useless Focus for more details).
She can give someone the finger so fast that they are knocked over by the shock wave.
I don’t mean to be pushy, but I hope the full purpose of this meeting is revealed soon. They can’t have all gathered just to Q&A with Sydney all night.
Though she is the first new hero they’ve had. I’d say it’s part of new hero orientation as well as a yearly or quarterly sit-down
The real reason was to find out if anyone knows about Sydney’s balls, but DaveB has thrown in some World Building to annoy the anti-fun wankers :P
With a side-order of making sure Sydney’s aware of the sheer variety of ‘others’ who operate under the Veil.
Most new Supers probably wouldn’t get such an in-depth briefing for a long time if at all, depending on what pay grade it’s classified to – a two-way introduction such as Sydney’s, practically never. But most Supers don’t come with a Truesight ability that lets them automatically see through the Veil’s disguises (when it’s active). If she knows that all these ‘others’ exist, she’s less likely to jump to unfortunate conclusions or distractions if (when) she Sees one in unexpected circumstances. Not to mention, it gives the various factions a heads-up that there is a new Super on the books who can see through the Veil, so (i) don’t be too surprised if she seems to know more than she should, and (ii) if we have reason to find you, the Veil will not hide you.
er, first new in a while
Should the wampire say “vun” instead of “one”? I haven’t looked to see if you’ve ignored that on purpose, but just noticed as I was reading through his dialog. I realize it’s not explicitly a W at the front of the word…I dunno, I guess I would have to listen to someone with the accent and see what they do.
It’s no guarantee for how Ingsol would say it, but one of his fellow vampires just says one. ☺
As has been noted several times, Ingsol’s pronunciation of the letter “w” is highly variable.
It’s best not to let it bother you too much, if you can. :D
Noticed that as well, but as The Dapper Donkey said: don’t worry about it too much
They are very nice ears, indeed.
::flickers a long silky ear::
Or maybe he means mine.. :D
Sydney was so concerned with werewolf noses that she forgot all about those Elven ears…
A cold nose may be a happy nose, but placement is quite… important.
::rubs a foreleg on his nose to warm it up a bit::
Indeed it is.
https://cdn1.images.videobash.com/photos/000/020/411/20411.jpg
This also explains a bit about why no one certain alien succubus doppelgänger hybrid can so easily pass herself of as a super without people questioning it above and beyond yer own powers.
I’m wondering if maybe The Veil (duh duh duhn!) has an element of “It aint bothering me, I won’t bother it” element to it. As long as a supernatural being isn’t being noticeable (say, by keeping to the shadows and NOT playing Bingo in a small town in northern Saskatchewan on a Friday night while wearing a polar bear costume), then it sort of filters them out. But when they start being more noticeable (say, by ripping someone into people cutlets), they sort of jump out of the background and into the foreground. A “Live and Let Live” field, if you will.
::looks at the can of worms he’s just opened and trots off into the sunset::
Sounds plausible
If you want to do a proper fourth wall bit you’ve got to reach out and hold the camera in place. Otherwise the damn thing’s apt to refocus on something else, the flighty strumpet.
So, if the elf is interested, Maxima should warn him that he’s got some competition. It’s the only honorable and ethical thing to do, right? Actually, according to Sydney, the elf has a second competitor, too. Then, of course, there’s our old friend Deus!
. . . Seriously, elf guy, I don’t think she’s gonna have time for you.
Sorry, I’ve managed to screw up my linking again. This is the page I meant to link to in order to illustrate Deus.
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/1189
I am so seeing Maxx’s eye twitch in that last panel…
Plus, the eyebrow lift gives her a definite Vulcan vibe.
I think Max may have taken Expressive Eyebrows 101 at the Vulcan Academy…
Dave, not a big fan of the way you drew Sydney in this last page. nose is too small, eyes are too big and chin is non-existant. she looks like a really homely owl.
Eyes have been consistent, but agree with how Sydney has been drawn the last couple pages (specially the last panel of the last page)
I must confess that the current look makes me wonder if Sydney is going to do this.
It would be even worse if Sydney did this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvT1wym97qo&index=4&list=PLFoh-F17l1dKGiHaXyzAlPmHIJMhZvTV7
No comments on what the Elf Said?
Remember, Max is touchy about the subject.
Or next comic we get a 4th wall exposition on how she got her ears and then a no comment in real time leaving characters wondering what she was wondering…
The ears were part of the Gilt Makeover
nice pun
Pun? o_O
Gilt / Guilt. The gilt/golden Maxima feeling guilty about about being touchy.
Wasn’t meant to be a pun, was originally going to use “Golden”, but thought “Gilt” sounded ‘fancier’