Grrl Power #517 – Here comes the Wha-Boom
Anvil executing her Super/Ultra/S-Rank/Q move. Get someone strong to use her as a punching bag till she’s brimming with energy, then dump it all into on hit. Extra flair points for incorporating that into a sweet wrestling move. Guaranteed to hit harder than a sidewinder.
I really wanted to make this page and the prior one a single double sized page, but I underestimated the amount of time it takes to do proper rubble, even when I cheat a little with the brick spray brush I made. Also flipping though the pages of One Punch Man then looking back at some of my old fight pages, I found my action a bit lacking. Granted I’m comparing myself to one of the best in the industry, but I thought my comic could use a few big action shots.
Feels weird putting up a page with only 3 panels but the contrast with all the 9+ page panels should be pretty stark. Typical manga have a pretty crazy page rate, I think its like 16-20 pages a week, (at least stuff appearing in Shonen Jump) and the need to fill that much space lets them really spread out the panels. I’m not going to start doing 1-3 panel pages where it’s just someone realizing they saw something weird on the previous page, but I’d like to play with the pacing a bit. I don’t mean slowing down the already, ahem, leisurely pace of the story telling, just taking a little time to emphasize stuff when needed.
Double res version will be posted over at Patreon. $1 and up, but feel free to contribute as much as you like.
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.
Her Z-Move: Hellfire Hailmary
Something else to add to Anvil’s bucket list.
“Suplex a haunted train”
that reminds me of the train-demon-thing from Girl Genius, it makes itself longer by eating stuff, any stuff
Metal stuff mostly…
yeh but it wasn’t averse to consumption of living material either, yeah it was mostly the metal stuff that made it bigger tho
I like the one in Paranatural.
X Y Down Up
https://youtu.be/2u84cH_bmTA
So, I was actually wondering, what are the exact consequences of absorbing ALL kinetic energy?
And, amongst others, one hit me pretty hard:
She also absorb the kinetic energy of every molecule in the air around her that hits her.
Even if the energy she generates by that would be quite small. (I estimated it to 1.193e-16 J per second, when a punch is around 250J, for comparison), that also means there is a layer of absolute zero-cold air around her. And that’s quite fucking badass….
eeeehm, correction, I forgot the friggin avogadro number in my estimates, which actually makes it 57 MJ per second, aka 1/10 of the power production of a nuclear plant.
I would imagine there is a threshold both for minimum and maximum absorption. Like, you couldnt flick her ear for a solid 24 hours and have her build up enough kinetic energy to punch a hole through the hoover dam. That minimal level might be what gives her her base level of strength and durability though.
actually, according to my estimates, it would take her merely 12 days of doing nothing to accumulate an energy equivalent to the amount released by the hiroshima bomb. Soooo, I think the simplest way is just to discard the idea that she absorbs the kinetic energy of the air.
There’s a minimum amount of kinetic energy needed before she can absorb it, otherwise she could do weird tricks like stop people’s blood or freeze stuff. Footsteps are enough, not molecular scale kinetics.
yeah, ok. I guess that makes way more sense.
“Oh shit time-stopping is a really broken power I need someone to counter DIO hard”
“Yeah so this is Jotaro and his Stand power is having the same Stand as DIO.”
Mmm, not really sure what the relevance of that is? I assume that you are trying to imply that Anvil’s power is ‘broken’? Maybe you are also doing the same for Krona’s time-stop power, given the ‘need to counter’ line? Not that makes any sense power balance-wise, as they are allies, but I can vaguely see how you might think that if an author had given too much power to the protagonist(s).
If so, don’t you want super heroes to have super powers? Do you think they should only have powers that are moderately stronger than a normal persons, so they will not be considered ‘broken’?
Dave has created a lot of very powerful characters, if you had not noticed. Dabbler can tinker up a weapon that can shoot a satellite out of orbit, for example! Just as one of very many diverse powers. Whereas Varia has several billion different super powers. Probably including every broken one you can come up with!
Yet he has no problem balancing them, so the story remains interesting. Krona’s is dealt with by the fact that she now realises she does not have the control over it that she thought. Dabbler just flitters from one thing to another, so never applies herself enough, in one area, to beat a specialist, at their own game (take her sword-fighting as an example).
Whereas Anvil has big gaps in her defensive capability (amongst other things lacking in her power set). We already saw her being easily taken out in the Battle at the Steak House Car Park™, for instance.
So Dave is not trying to fix a problem, by creating a bigger problem. He is just letting Anvil shine, by doing her thing really impressively. But he built in her limitations long long ago. Just look at her rating on the cast list. Anvil only rates at 5 star in overall power, which is the lowest than any of the supers get to on the Arc-SWAT team (only Peggy is lower, at 3 stars, but she is just a normal human).
Of course I may have gotten completely the wrong end of the stick, about what you were trying to get across. If so, I would be happy to be illuminated?
*Shines a torch on Yorp*
Whether that was what Lastgaystanding meant, you explained things well anyway :D
*gets out gold foil, multiple colours of ink, and busily illuminates Yorp like the Book of Kells. Oh wait. That’s not what you meant? *tops it with a pretty shiny gold bow*
Aha, my cunning plan has worked, I haz achieved illumination!
Gotta admit, it’s a nice look…
::dons his Foster Grant’s::
I got my first pair of reading glasses today!
Not sure whether I should wag my tail, or droop my ears…
But it does mean that I have a reduced chance of misreading blurred things in the comments! Barring when people make me laugh and splatter Yorpie Snax™ on the screen.
Whatever you do, don’t use them to read the ingredients on the box of Yorpie Snax.
The Illustrated Yorp, by Ray Cadburry.
Well put Yorp, (also thank you for reverting to the normal avatar, started to think there were two of you.)
Balancing is a tricky business. DaveB put alot of thought into it and as the last two page thread have noted Anvil is at high risk taking on the Golem because it packs alot more versatility than normal, the cable lasso and laser wrecking ball could both do her a ton of harm and are probably employed with little kinetic force aimed directly at Anvil.
Still I think this is a very good chance to see what experience Anvil has facing someone that normaly would hold an advantage on her. The best part about super powered battle is watching the Heroes adapt their abilities and Anvil probably has a few cool tricks up her sleeve like transfering force in a throw into a perfect release and thus turning concrete rubble into railguns.
He.. uhm.. has a condition….
::coughs::
Yea.
*whispering confidentially*
(Wolvesbane does not work, by the way. Trying ‘ointments’ next month.
Not sure if im the first to say this but, Brock Lesnar? You might want to pay attention. This is how a german suplex is DONE.
Ahh, so the rumbling from the fandom talking about how someone should be pummeling Anvil before the drop turned out to be part of the plan. Neat!
Syndey’s face in that last panel….priceless…
for everything else, there’s mastercard….
sorry not sorry
:-D
“People are way more interested in something if they think it’s being delivered by a topless lady.”
Is this true for gay men and straight women? Or is “people” here being used as a synonym for “straight men”?
On her world, it probably does include gay men and straight women.
I would imagine the novelty of the occurrence would play a big factor in the general interest. After all, rubber-necking is a fairly common trait, and seeing what seems to be a topless woman giving a speech has to be at least as distracting as a car pulled over on the side of the road. Even if the interest only amounts to: “WTF? Why is that lady topless? Did she lose a bet, or maybe her mind?” Never underestimate the power of curiosity.
When Dabbler turns it up, she brings out the bi-sexual in everything: she can turn gay men straight and straight women gay.
The only difference is that lesbians and straight men can pile on without even thinking about orientation conflicts.
Existing relationship conflicts might cause a pause though – but that’s remedied by bringing your partner(s) into the fray ^_^
Sidney seemed to be not that inclined towards her own sex, although it might be an “incidentally homosexual” kind of situation. My theory is that it’s an aesthetic thing: You don’t have to be into girls to notice that Charlize Theron is, like, wow. And you don’t have to be into guys to be distracted by David Beckham’s ass running by you in your underwear. During the event, you’re going to be looking right at the object. But your sexuality determines how long you’re in lalaland after the stimulus leaves.
What? Why would Beckham be running around in my underwear? o_O
cuz he got in yer pants? ehehe the Brits call underwear pants
I have quite literally heard a Brit asking the following, whilst I was in an airport, in Houston (he was speaking to a brawny Texan). In my opinion it was said very genuinely and in utter ignorance of trans-Atlantic linguistic differences (there was no hint of irony or guile in the Brit’s voice or expression):
“Can I bum a fag, mate?”
Translation: “Excuse me, friend. Would you have a cigarette to spare?”
actually… it’s more you call pants underwear. gotta remember actual English is.. you know.. English, not that bastardized crap Americans speak :P
pretty sure it includes all, because of panel 1 here. https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/607
I see that Zephan has been following up his thoughts there, by consorting with demons on the Twilght Council.
Dave sure plans things a long time in advance!
It really makes the story flow better. some may call it “foreshadowing”, but I consider it very good plot and character development when stuff comes out later and it just neatly fits in, as if I’ve personally been a part of what’s going on, and it’s “oh yeah, sydney’s NOT that way, but Dabbler can get whoever she wants, if sye wants to push on’em”. The give & take feels more natural, and all plot-devicey.
, and NOT all plot devicey. I would REALLY benefit from a “Preview” function, even if editting still wasn’t allowed after posting.
Funny how you think of gay men and straight women but don’t think of lesbians.
Not trying to argue or anything, I just felt it was funny.
I think of lesbians. Well, bi girls. Two or three of them…
err … where were we. Oh, topless teaching… I was on topic. Right. Yea, one thing better than being taught by a topless lady is having two or three giving you your lesson!
The point is, straight men and lesbians would already be interested, thus the question regarding if it would include gay men and straight women
I’m more interested about why Dabbler isn’t ACTUALLY topless. Is it because in such case people wouldn’t be able to pay attention to what she’s saying?
Because people (in general) are turned on more by the illusion of something risqué, it’s why men in nudist camps or beaches aren’t walking around with a raging hard-on all the time (doesn’t hurt the fact the majority of people actually at nudist camps or beaches tend to be overweight guys and saggy women)
That and such places have strict policies against such things from what I’ve read and heard, if you can’t keep from having one or conceal it they generally ban you.
i think it’s cuz, in-universe, Maxima would read her the riot act
Huh…. can she “poof out” kinetic energy? She seemd to have “rocketed” a bit once she busted through the roof.. Even accounting her power wise it doesnt’ seem like she could move very well like that, given that suplex forces require the ground as a reference point and it was a crushing roof…
So I wonder if she instinctively “blasts out” some power when she is moving
If you check out the author’s blog, above, and other replies to comments, he addresses some of this. Likewise Dabbler’s science corner chibi. She did have a lot of energy pooled up and has released much of it in one go.
As regards the remainder, Anvil’s power can clearly separate out ‘the equal and opposite reaction’ that you are are expecting. Just think back to the ‘nose boop’ scene. The brawler got hurled across the car park and dug a trench-like crater when he impacted the ground. That was a huge amount of energy, but was clearly only applied in the one direction, given that Anvil did not get pushed back.
Even if we account for her having super strength and being braced, that force would have still been transmitted through her braced legs, into the ground, thereby ripping it up just as much as the crater in the car park. Yet it did not.
So Anvil must be able to release kinetic force, away from her, without suffering a corresponding force against her (or she simply absorbs that part automatically). I theorise that Anvil could do the martial-artist trick of walking on a flimsy branch, whilst using her kinetic blast. Without it bending. Nor requiring ‘blasting out’, in the other direction, to counter the force.
Which would be very much in keeping with her casual nose boop, with a gentle touch.
it’s possible impact force on her is spread through her and released over a much wider surface area. which would also explain why she’d still go splat when she’s unable to control her descent, like when Vehemence tossed her, since she’d likely impact over a larger surface area than a controlled descent, which would prevent her power counteracting it enough to make it non-lethal.
1. Maxima, Dabbler, Halo and others sighted doing an autograph signing session in New York. Any network, hoping to get their slice of super hero reporting, will have sent their top reporter on the next fight to J.F.K. or LaGuardia airports.
2. All action this evening has been covert. With only a muffled explosion under a park, but no visible evidence, or a more exiting unexplained forest fire to report on. One that may have had witnesses reporting seeing ‘meteors or fireballs coming from the abandoned warehouse district’.
3. A whacking great explosion has just gone off, within sight of that!
This can only mean one thing. Is it a bird, is it a plane…
… no it is Susy Wen, in the Channel 5 News helicopter!
*wags tail in eager anticipation*
I swear, you’ve got such a crush on her, Yorp.
Maybe if you get to her before the camera rolls, you can get pets.
I do admit I have a soft spot for an enthusiastic newcomer.
That should have been something you add to your career highlights reel after 50 years, not a career ender
Yorp’s a dire honey badger now? That’s an impressive transition.
*removes hat and scratches head in confusion*
Your profile picture was of the were dire honey badger, Yorp. Unless my computer got confused and loaded everything incorrectly. I wouldn’t be surprised.
Ahh, I do have… ahem… a condition that does cause a monthly change. But not involving a were dire honey badger, no.
Maybe we should rename Anvil to Collateral Damage.
That… applies to everyone at Archon
Dabbler is right… i Am more interested inscience now and tube tops.
Further reading:
Anthropology and Egalitarianism, with tube tops!
I wanted a picture of the plushy Rad-Omnomnomanyte. It just so happened this was the best shot of it…
It is a well chosen avatar. A handy companion should a nuclear apocalypse come to pass. And a colourful one, in any event.
Still not understanding what is happening. I know she has a lot of potential power stored. I tought it only translated in muscular strenght. Throwing someone downward and falling with him can’t transfer more joules than your own mass unless you have a fixated point you can use to press downward (not her case)
So can she use stored power to generate innertia? Is she exploding with kinetic force in the end?
Per the cast details:
I had forgotten that, so well done on remembering the point. What it does not make clear is whether, if Anvil has no stored energy, she only has normal human strength. The alternative being that Anvil always has the two star super strength (as listed on her entry) and can increase it, from that base, using her stored energy (which is a four star power). So perhaps increasing Anvil’s strength to four (or even five) stars?
I guess we will find that one out if we ever see Anvil fully drained. If she throws a motorbike at someone, in that state, then we know that she has decent base super strength before adding any extra by storing kinetic energy.
Alternatively, if the other option is true, then Achilles could taunt or trick Anvil into expending her pool of energy, so that even his puny one star super strength can beat her, in an arm-wrestling competition.
Inertia is the property that an object has which makes it resist being moved. So no. That is kind of the opposite of what Anvil’s power does. She uses her stored power to overcome an object’s inertia, and get it moving. Be that a villain’s head or a pile of rubble.
When we saw the super brawler punching Anvil, full force in her face, and using super strength, it was no worse to her than a gentle pat. All the kinetic energy that would have been expended hitting her got put into a ‘kinetic battery’, for her to use later.
To unleash that stored power, Anvil just had to touch him on the nose. And, judging by how devastating her attack was, she probably gave him a lot more that she had built up before. Quite clearly, as you state, she must be doing weird things with physics (but super powers do, so we need not worry too much about that alone), because Anvil should have been propelled backwards just as much as he was, in the opposite direction. Which did not happen.
Anvil was demonstrably taking kinetic energy, from her pool, and imparting it in him, via her touch. Without the usual mechanism of hitting him hard to do that. Krona might explain it as Anvil having a dedicated power that alters an object’s code from being “at rest” to it “suffering the effect of being hit”, without anything else, including herself, being affected (other than her battery loosing some power).
Not herself, no. But she is radiating kinetic force out from herself. Presumably everything she was touching has had kinetic energy dumped into it (which could even include the air itself). And, as Dabbler points out in the comic, Anvil had a lot of energy stored up, at that point.
Hmm. Does it count as creating a hostile work environment for people to be beating Anvil with sledgehammers on the way to the drop zone?
For that matter, if she charges up before going to work, would it count as domestic violence?
Only if it is done without her concent. A professional boxer is regularly hit by his sparring partners. It is a part of the job. And, unlike the boxers, it does not even hurt Anvil. Without it though, or if she is coerced into it, for instance by being threatened that she will loose her job or be demoted, then it would be classed as being humiliating or degrading treatment.
Do note though that, as a member of the military, Anvil would not be able to pursue such a case through civil courts. She would have to seek whatever remedies might be allowable under military regulations.
Again, if it is done with her consent, then no. Without it, it could be considered to be causing her emotional damage, even if it could not actually hurt Anvil.
https://www.tickld.com/x/if-your-friends-ever-say-they-have-adhd-just-show-them-this
That… was actually quite informative
Yea, I like things which help me understand more about how other people think.
Most of their stuff is click bait, but this one is pretty good. https://www.tickld.com/x/20-surprisingly-deep-quotes-from-fantasy-scifi-copy-2015-07-02
“Ook!”
Is that paraphrasing a well known Librarian, perchance?
*offers a banana*
#3 was a paraphrase of the line ”Cowards die many times before their deaths. A valiant man dies but once.” from Shakespeare play ‘Julius Caesar’.
“No matter how subtle the wizard, a knife between the shoulder blades will seriously cramp his style.”
Steven Brust, Jhereg
Just thought of a past vote incentive, https://davebarrack.deviantart.com/art/Fantasy-sojourn-pencils-608565426
Anvil: (to shopkeep) Hmm, I don’t know, do you have anything bigger?
Shopkeep: M’lady that’s made of dwarven deep iron, I don’t really understand how you’re lifting it, but I do have a petrified tree trunk out back.
Archon tends to attract a lot of science savvy individuals. I bet there is at least one member of the flight crew that has to say to Anvil before she leaps from the plane: “Don’t jump! You have so much potential!”
I energetically agree.
Heh, I’ve been referencing the pages of One Punch Man as well when considering how I want to approach certain action shots. Man that guy is a master of his craft!
murata is one of the best action scene artists in the world, the garou vs orochi fight is one of my all time favorites
Ooh ooh, a new super power has just been invented by some mad scientists!
You may wish to check the date and confirm that today is not the 1st, before reading this article.
Sadly Rubidium Man has already been used, as has Mr Negativity. And this is just the first demonstration of something that has been postulated for some time. So there is a good chance that the power concept has already been incorporated into some published character or other.
But lets not be negative….
Allow me to introduce Rosy Rubidium, also known as Aunty Negativity!
Something else to add to Anvil’s bucket list, “Clothesline a Speedster”
I highly doubt she wants to decapitate anyone.
What, no demerits for giving her partner a roofie?
why even use a sidewinder? those things dont really hit all that hard since they are designed to kill airplanes (which usually are really fragile) by shoting shrapnel, an anti tank missile would be better taking into account mot enemies they fight against are ground target, i dont care how tough you are if you get hit with a hellfire missile you are going down (unless you are someone like maxima or around that level)
put a HEAT round in there and it would have leave a pretty good hole on that golem