Grrl Power #53 – Florence Nightingale she ain’t
Maxima’s job is to protect the public… from physical harm. She doesn’t care if anyone’s feelings get hurt, and she was just trying to set up a checking account, and these two jerks got in the way of her errand, and yeah there was that amusing girl with the weird bangs, but then that dick in the parking lot and that reporter and now these guys and the next person who gets in her way is going to get it!
At least, that’s sort of her train of thought at this point.
I wanted more fanfare for the debut of Max’s pistol but it seemed appropriate for her to use it here. I’ll show it in more detail later obviously but the quick version of it is that it’s a custom weapon that fires a massive round so out of practicality is a break action single shot pistol. I thought about making it a 2 or 3 shot revolver but with her speed, reloading it is trivial. This guy on the stretcher might have regeneration or armor of some kind, but that gun was made to be intimidating looking, so he’s probably second guessing his abilities right now.
By the way, don’t question that it’s a 2 patient ambulance. That’s… just how they make them in this part of town. :P
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.
My brother is a paramedic. They do build extra-large ambulances that can take two patients at a time.
Oh, well, there you go.
Not only can they take two people, the ones I’ve seen have a lot more gear, and minor off road capabilities. Still, because of that, getting the stretchers in IS a bitch.
Well there is an ambulance that is designed to carry 4 people at once… the M997 FLA. It is a US Military combat ambulance built on the HMMWV (Hummer for you civilians) chassis, and is designed to haul 4 casualties out of combat. It was a very effective vehicle for its time. It has been slowly phased out of regular combat use by the need for more armor though. It is also capable of carrying the same complement of medical supplies as a civilian ambulance, in the two large cabinets that sit between the front cab and the patient compartment, and the large storage bins that sit underneath the strecher racks. They have been using these since around the early 70’s or 80’s as far as I am tracking.
If you think trying to get two gurneys with wheels into a regular ambulance is tough… wait until you have to load a combat stretcher with no wheels and a 150-275 lbs. man, with his full combat load of 90-185 lbs., and 7.5 – 23 lbs. weapon strapped to it into this sucker… 4 times… with two of them sitting some 6 and a half feet above the ground when they are on the rack.
In fact, regular ambulances can take two patients, too. One gets strapped in on the bench seat on the passenger side, and the other goes on the stretcher like normal. It would look like what you drew here, but with a little less space between the bench and the cot.
The larger ambulances that can take two stretchers (we call them “monster medics” around here) are built on commercial truck chassis (Freightliner, International, etc.), and – in the one at the company I worked for, at least – load the second stretcher through the side door so it latches in running across the compartment rather than down the width. Loading that second one in is a bit of a pain, and the regular one is only a little more difficult than normal because the truck is a bit higher than a regular ambulance.
Also, in any system I know of, there would be a cop riding in the ambulance with the medics, and the robbers would be handcuffed to the cots.
Great comic! I am (like everyone else, I imagine) eagerly awaiting the reveal of Sydney’s powers.
I think the guy in dark blue is a cop, and they looked fairly strapped down to the stretchers….
I think my previous attempt at a reply vanished into the ether. Dave, feel free to delete this comment if the original rematerializes.
The standard straps on a stretcher are intended to keep the patient from sliding/rolling off accidentally. They will not keep someone who’s determined to get off secured. For one thing, the patient could, in principle anyway, slide one forearm under the hip level strap and from there it’s easy to reach the chest and hip buckles in place. Once the patient is able to sit up, the ankle strap is easy to remove. Also, the EMT/paramedics would probably free one arm anyway so they can track vitals. Heck, they might free both arms. Track vitals on one side, start an IV in the other.
Ambulances do carry straps for restraining combative patients, but why would the crew get them out? They think the guy is unconscious.
Almost all cops can be registered paramedics. Also impromptu firemen and emergency clown. They have training in all emergency fields, and some cops work with em techs at all times.
Emergency… clown? If that’s a typo I can’t figure out what it should have been, but now I have a great image in my mind of “Oh no, this child just turned 7, we need to entertain and traumatize him at the same time!” “Don’t worry, I have an emergency clown in my trunk!”
I imagine “emergency clown” means “calming down freaked out children by making goofy faces at them and stuff”. I imagine this probably because, weirdly, I seem to end up doing it a lot at my own workplace (I work retail, in an artsy-craftsy type place that attracts a lot of families and people with kids in tow, and in particular I work in the picture framing department, so, a lot of times the parent is spending a lot of time looking at samples and discussing options or sizes, so the kids get reeeeeally fussy sometimes…).
I’m pretty sure he’s another medic – no badge, no gunbelt, he was helping load the stretcher into the truck in the previous comic, and his uniform is completely different from the cop that was shown in the comic before that.
Of course, she (the cop from earlier) could be planning on riding along and just hasn’t gotten in the ambulance yet.
Yeah the black guy is wearing a typical EMT shirt but with pants that scream cop… and the white guy is wearing scrubs… so I understand the confusion of who is who.
Most EMT’s and Paramedics I have known (my mom was an EMT and volunteer fire fighter when I was a kid… she worked as a Fire Warden for the Forestry Commission too) usually wore black or blue “Paramedic Specials” cargo pants with special pockets built in for their scissors and a couple of other essential quick need items. They also usally either wore a T-shirt or a Polo style 3 button shirt. Never really saw any EMT’s or Paramedics wearing scrubs on a call.
Basically when it came to color the guy in who’s wearing the scrubs, I had been working on that page for like 10 hours and I was ready to be done with it, so I didn’t bother googling anything. I should have but I really didn’t think it would cause any issues. Same thing with the other guy, I thought that looked more “EMT-y” but again it probably wouldn’t have hurt to check some references. I’ll have to be more careful about that in the future.
No biggie. Just think – we’re giving you all this reference material for later. :)
Besides, it’s not unheard of for an EMT to be wearing scrubs. Here, we can get them from the hospital if our uniform gets bloody (or other stuff) on a call. Then if you get a second call before getting back to the station to change, you’re stuck in them for a while. It hasn’t happened to me yet (*knocks on wood*) but I’ve seen it more than once. It’s unusual, but it does happen.
How’d she know he’s faking it?
(BTW, your comment notifier is b0rked, what it mails out has neither a link to what changed nor an “unsubscribe”.)
Go back one comic, he has his eye open just a smidge looking at her.
Hmm, thanks for letting me know. That’s a plugin I found, I’ll have to look in to it when I get a chance.
So I think I’ve fixed all that stuff. Let me know if not.
Later on in the comic, after learning more about this guy who was/is faking-it, we have to conclude that when he says “Ow!” here, he is faking that, too.
Of course Max’s pistol is large-bore, single-shot. If you know you’ll probably be up against opponents with unknown Powers, you want to be able to pick and choose the right special round for each opponent, hence only loading one at a time. And the wider the bore, the more room your armourer has to work with when designing the special rounds. See, it all makes perfect sense.
(Meanwhile, Sydney’s head explodes due to paranoia about being “PHASED OUT” (from page 51(?) meta-strip).)
So your picturing it like an Outlaw Star style Caster pistol? Hmmm. Intresting possibilities there.
Hmm… that’s a thought. Are you thinking bespelled bullets? (As well as the more standard lead slug/metal jacket type.)
Her pistol sounds very familiar, if she is going to be using special rounds, then I’m afraid it’s been done before… here (https://antihero.keenspot.com/) but as long as it’s not a main plot device it should be a problem…
With Dabbler being the mage/mech of the unit it is possible. But I was simply thinking different materials and the way a very large bore pistol would look/load.
agreed.
Dabbler does not share her tec
Things just to even more interesting, real fast, you did a good job on this page :)
I can just imagine the kick on that pistol–akin to firing a 12-guage, with slugs, one-handed.
WANT
A flare pistol is a 12 gauge. Of course they’re only designed to deal with low pressure flare rounds. … And made mostly of plastic. … I’m sure it will be fine. Just, you know, don’t stand next to me when you try it. … And make sure your insurance is paid up…. Good Luck!
I’m sure Maxima can handle it.
(Whether anyone else could is another question…)
If the trigger pull is high enough only those with the strength to overcome the pull can fire her gun. A sort of built-in safety.
so that’s what, Max, Anvil, maybe Dabbler with 2 of her hands, the entirety of Harem, and maybe even possibly Sydney pumped up on a Tube Power or two? (I remember her page ;) )
Sydney(or Halo I guess) Holding Maxima’s Pistol at a dramatic angle….Want.
That’s … not a good plan. High trigger pull = inaccurate, no matter how strong you are. It’s just physics. Given her apparently metallic skin, I can think of half a dozen ways to ‘safe’ the gun so it only fire in her hands, that don’t require her to sacrifice accuracy.
Nice girl, isn’t she?
LOL! I was just about to mention how nice & roomy that ambulance was.. very nice indeed >_<
Like! :) Love and I am so enjoying the story & art! :)
to go back to someone else’s post from last page what are the odds of not only 2 supers meeting DURING a bank robbery but the odds of one of the thiefs also being a super.
wait …………. ah plot.
There is an answer to that, but it depends on the limits and applications of a certain four-armed alien’s magic in this comic. Supposedly the most potent curse in Chinese mythology is “May you live in interesting times”. I could easily see Dabbler putting a variant of such on Maxima where the ‘curse’ makes Maxima run into supers and super related stuff *way* out of proportion to how many supers there actually are in the general population.
Whether or not Maxima knows such a ‘curse’ had been placed on her or even asked for same is entirely a debatable question. Given that dealing with this sort of thing is Maxima’s job and she (Maxima) is clearly the best suited to dealing with the widest selection of possible super-related scenarios, I could very easily see her asking Dabbler to place such an enchantment on her.
Of course being Dabbler, it might just have been placed there for kicks and it wears off in a week or two.
Minor quibble: Despite what we English-speakers mostly have been led to believe, “May you live in interesting times” is *** NOT *** a Chinese curse (or saying, or quote, or even some kind of meme). Ask just about any Chinese person about it, and their reaction is likely to be “Huh?!?”
Cite your source, or your quibble is moot.
;)
My wife, who is Chinese and particularly well-read in her culture. Plus several of her relatives. Plus several of her friends from other parts of China.
Next question?
Guess I was wrong then. I always heard that, and never investigated since I heard it repeatedly.
But the concept still stands. Through some means irrelevant at this time a specific bending of probability is achieved around Maxima. This bending of probability means that she (Maxima), completely by accident as she goes through the normal (for her at least) course of a day, will encounter supers and super related incidents at a vastly higher rate than she should given the relative scarcity of supers in the world.
Note this ‘bending’ does not seem to help her recognize supers as supers. But if she knows this effect is in place and is (so it seems) highly trained in spotting and identifying covert supers, then she knows to be on the alert for such things and thus knows not to ignore weird little things like Sydney’s bag moving on it’s own.
Entirely plausible within the bounds of a supers universe, and also entirely logical that it would be done if it could be done. Whether or not there is even a teensy shred of truth to the theory we will have to wait and find out as the comic progresses.
In GURPS, there’s a Disadvantage called “Weirdness Magnet” that would account for this kind of thing. Characters with this disadvantage have all kinds of strange and unusual things happen to them. Going by the opening scene of the comic, Dave seems to be a DC Heroes guy, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Weirdness Magnet was part of that game too. After all, I first saw the term in a Blue Devil comic, and IIRC, that was a DC title.
More mundanely, most people really don’t have a grip on the probability of large numbers. What I mean is this: an event may be extremely improbable on a single trial. However, run enough trials and sooner or later, it’ll happen. An easy example is the lottery. The probability of winning the Powerball is close to to 1 in 2,000,000, but if over two million people play it, somebody will win.
A trait like “Weirdness Magnet” seems superfluous in a RPG, since every adventure is based on “A guy bursts into the bar clutching a map” or “The president’s daughter has been kidnapped, are you a bad enough dude…” and not “You have a Netflix disk that’s been sitting on your counter for 6 weeks. Do you watch it or put it back in the mail?”
A main character’s life is going to be interesting, otherwise they probably wouldn’t be the main character. Once you get past the MacGuffin that kick starts everything, they’re going to be networked in to other people’s lives who then drive the interesting.
I assumed it’d be kinda like the Wild Wasteland in FO:NV usually wierd and funny, but not really important or dangerous. Kinda like walking into a city and seeing a two-headed chicken chasing a dog while singing “Wierd Science” :D
I believe Blue Devil’s official stats from the DC Heroes game include the words Weirdness Magnet in his drawbacks, I don’t have my books handy to check for sure but it is something that has long been an element of the character. The comic book version of John Constantine has it as well IIRC, and a small number of other characters out there from several companies, heck Harry Dresden qualifies from the novels I have read of that series.
Well it’s not everyone that saves magical Chinese Temple Dogs from flaming-poo flinging monkeys and Monkey-Voltron while screaming at a vampire to “START THE DAMN CAR!!!”
I always saw it as being an Irish Curse until sometime during the ’60s.
Plot or maybe something else. Then again it could just be coincidence. You can find real life stories of events that would never be believed if they were written in a story. Like the lady that set sail to find her son who left for the sea 20 years before and when the ship picked up a shipwrecked sailor it was her son. No author would dare write that kind of coincidence into a story but it happened in real life. Or it could be the super power equivalent of what K.B. Bogen wrote in her novel Go Quest, Young Man. “Magic attract magic, and magic attract adventure.” Perhaps having superpowers attracts adventure and other super-powered beings in this universe. Only Dave knows (and perhaps the Shadow).
To quote Terry Pratchett (in ‘Guards! Guards!’), ” … Million to one chances occur nine times out of ten … “.
History is full of synchronicities and coincidences so bizarre that even Hollywood won’t go near most of them.
Hmm … The previous 2 comics seem to have established that Maxima is arrogant, overconfident, and more than a little bit of a bully. This one reinforces the arrogant and bully parts, and also adds a healthy dose of disrespect for due process. While I applaud good characterization, it’s somewhat strange to see a character with so few sympathetic traits. Probably a result of the limited time frame where she’s had screen time, but it certainly doesn’t seem like this is a character we’re supposed to like.
Well, you should take into consideration that she’s taken a LOT of shit in her past because of her appearance and abilities, she likely just does whatever she needs to do to get people to go away. She’s like that because she had to be, though I’d say its a safe bet that she’s a bit nicer once you get to know her.
I will admit that as this is one of my first attempts at telling an ongoing story, I may be hitting the bitch angle a little hard with her right off the bat. When someone comes through at a later date and reads these as contiguous archives, they may think that Max goes from aloof bank robbery foiler to huge bitch too quickly. The pacing is tough to work out one week at a time. Basically Max has 2 sides, hanging out with peers mode, and public facing/people who treat her like a big golden freak mode.
But basically I think I’m best off writing her as she is in my head and not worrying about it too much.
Ok I’m a big “what if?” guy so I say it now. What if there was someone who actually understood her and she felt comfortable around. But when she had to deal with the rest of the world for an extended period of time she would get edgy and annoyed. Dealing with people who get on your nerves (most norms for her) for a long time can take a serious mental and emotional toll on anyone. Add to that the responsibility of what a superhero has to deal 24/7 and it’s no wonder some have a dark side. Personally always liked the Dark Knight type that kicks evil ass without worrying about legal issues or due process.
you mean anti-heroes? the heroes that are badass and their appearances tell your subconscious to run like hell, even though they’re the ones saving your life? I like those guys too. though anti-villians suck. just ask any pedo.
Yes anti-heroes are much more interesting than the boyscout from Krypton.
You haven’t yet touched on how the empowered gain their powers in your world – but unless an actual higher entity hands them out personally AFTER making the applicant fill out a request form and undergoing both physical and psychological testing, there’s gonna be some cranky people blessed with powers out there – good people, bad people, bold and meek.
After that long run-on sentence, my point is, she was probably a cranky person to start with.
I imagine her interactions with “normals” probably falls into 3 categories: 1) guy/girl spends an inordinate amount of time ogling her (and with her eye for detail, even when they’re discreet, it’s probably glaringly obvious), which makes her feel demeaned; 2) girl (mostly) or guy, gushes awe/thanks/praise, which after awhile probably comes off to her as weak and/or insincere; or 3) guy (mostly) or girl gets their ego screwed up and comes at her like they have something to prove, which probably becomes annoying, no matter how petty. It’s not hard to imagine how somebody like that would quickly become a bit cranky. It would be interesting to see how she responds to somebody that treats her in a professional and appropriately respectful manner–might just confuse her
i second this. find a butler quick.
Maxima’s dismissive attitude of people’s feelings will come back to haunt her if not bite her on her golden ass. A bad decision on her part. That arrogance is a bad thing, related to Ego, and can become a monster itself if it is fed too much. Humbleness would work better for her and us. So we shall see how it works out with her and Spastic Super Girl. (Or Super Spastic Girl.)
Where does that quote come from then 7th Sealord?
Well, as people above have noted, Maxima’s not having a good day. However, I think her lack of manners is secondary in this case… if you’re dealing with criminals, let alone villains and supervillains, the need to follow due process and even common courtesies might have to take a back seat to protecting someone’s life. If the man on the stretcher has powers, the paramedic could get taken hostage as soon as he’s within reach.
And “may you live in interesting times” is one of those phrases whose origin is fairly murky. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_you_live_in_interesting_times
I find it funny that ‘May you live in interesting times’ is supposed to be an Ancient Chinese curse, but the Chinese never heard of it until a westerner told them…
No idea.
;) Could try asking whomever came up with terms like French Fries, or Swiss Rolls, or Polish Sausage.
How about Turkey (New World bird), or Spanish influenza, not to mention plenty of STD names over the centuries? Often such names indicate more about the originating country’s opinion of the named country than any accuracy in where the disease came from.
You know, you could still remain true to the lines and design of the pistol and have more than one shot if you make it a pump action, such as in a shotgun. The bore does look to be around a 12 gauge. an inline, tubular magazine, with the separated part, in black, on the bottom being the foregrip. The black part just under the muzzle can be either/or a laser sight, tactical light, or for that matter, a taser (and yes, all of those choices have models out in current production similar to the drawing).
As to her “attitude”, she just doesn’t suffer fools gladly and incompentant fools not at all. You will find it a common enough “attitude” amongst those who have had to deal with people promoted to or to above their general level of incompentancy, such as a person in the military, police, and “special services” has to deal with on a daily basis. It is heightened by the fact that such incompetants usually get good people killed or maimed for life, also usually your friends. Perhaps in this case, like the f-wad who screwed up and cost her friend Peggy a body part.
Now, dealing with a person who’s stupidity is about to get an EMT crew, at the very least, beat up, at worse, all dead and a super bad on the loose, pray tell me good sirs, how would you convey and reinforce such a life lesson when you a) have little time, b) must maintain your attention on the perp, c) while also still looking for other threats, and d) deploying your weapon. Please, do enlighten us, we would all so enjoy hearing of your sage wisdom.
So to sum up, she has contained the threat, removed two potential hostages (or witnesses) to safety, and now has the privacy she will need to impliment an effective interrogation. Oh, and do note, at first, she did ask nicely and said “Please”.
yes, my thoughts exactly.
Nice summary–and it indicates she’s not all the way back to needing P.R. 101. Maybe a refresher on P.R.121?
I’m just surprised that Maxima, doesn’t have Sydney’s poster tube over her shoulder, the way Sydney has been wearing it, so Sydney cann’t sneak away and they can have that little talk that she wants to have :-P
My theory: Maxima handed it to some police officer and said something along the lines of ‘this is possible evidence, I need it secured for now.’ Low chance of Sydney sneaking away then. ;)
or she possibly could have wrapped a parking sign around it…
y’know what, now that I say that I realize yours is much more logical… and I would want to see the look on the cop’s face when he/she starts getting dragged around when Syd tries to ‘sneak away’.
i wonder if Maxima can fly, tee hee hee, with the tube strapped to her body,
Maxima tells Sydney “You and Me are going to have a little talk” *Flys off takes Sydney along for the ride*
*snickers*
i only bring it up cause the last time we saw the tube Maxima was stomping on the strap so it and Sydney couldn’t get away.
no i would think Sydney would stick around, since she does want to be a super, and i’m sure she heard Max go into the ambulance…
well,, in regard to the comments of some about maxima not beeing big on due process,,, i am sure that in a world where super exist,, but are rather rare and vary alot in powers that there is no protocol or due process to be aplyed to a situation implicating a super as vilain or law breaker,,, altough there is posibly some kind of review board handling such case by case,,, and most likely a federal study or thinktank trying to come up with one,,, but considering that supers are aparently not part of normal standing forces or are all given special status,, the priority of such would be low,, since the numbers of case would be rather small when compared to other threats.
According to dave, the whole Supers thing has been around for quite a while in this universe, and as such there is already due process for these situations. That’s why the team has an attorney.
Description of the weapon reminds me about 13 mm antitank pistol “Doorknocker” from anime Pumpkin Scissors. And it’s not just fiction: Google for “Kampfpistole”
I’ll admit I know next to nothing about guns other than what you can find on Wikis. Basically I googled “most powerful rifle in the world” and one of the top hits was this thing called the .577 Tyrannosaur. I guess that’s the ammo, not the gun. Looking at the raw stats, the .50 BMG has a higher muzzle velocity, but from what gather the .577 was designed to stop charging rhinos and whatnot. It’s not designed for range or accuracy, but for balls-out stopping power. So unless I hear a lot of dissenting opinion of the matter, that’s what her pistol fires. (Or a custom round roughly based on the .577)
Apparently that’s what they’re firing in this video (warning for low res footage and annoying music) So imagine a pistol based on that round designed for someone who can lift a tank.
I was looking at some of the other youtube videos, and I saw one about something called a .950 JDJ.
The rounds on that gun looked so huge that the only people who could fire them safely would have to be super powered.
Yeah there’s probably unlimited options out there if I wanted to find the most ridiculous thing but I have to stop short of an 18″ deck gun on a battleship you know? There are anti-tank guns and recoiless rifles and other things, but this came up and seemed to be in the ballpark so I went with it.
Well whatever you decide the idea of a huge barrel is not a bad idea in that the biggest problem in guns is having a barrel that can stand the force of the explosion from the propellent which can be up to a good fraction of a stick of dynamite. Which is why most people can’t make a gun in their workshop or garage.
Actually, it’s relatively easy to make a gun using home parts. You’re just limited in what kind of gun you can build- typically something small with low muzzle velocity is the easiest, like the M3 Submachine gun, for example, was built out of pieces of sheet metal.
Depending on the gun being built, it can be VERY easy. During ww2, the French Resistance were building their own Sten guns at a number of bicycle shops and smithies.
you might wana take a look at these,,, mihgt give you an idea or two:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcEvBwMKZ9s&feature=fvwrel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIQipl42FLA&feature=related
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcKbmTEvyAE&feature=related
Yes you can make zip guns out of any thing but I wouldn’t want one. While the AK uses stamped metal parts that can be made anywhere the barrel is not. A barrel made off by just a few thousands of an inch can cause catastrophic failure and when a gun is in use it heats up to incredible temperatures which would deform lesser alloys steel. So if you want a one-shot okay. But if you want a real gun firing real ammo more than once a day you need a serious Metal shop and someone who knows his stuff and has access to some really good steel.
She should have said:
Get. Out.
Ha I love your brutish thugish ways Max
Only just realized this guy looks like somebody back in page 4…
the suspense with the tube bag thing is killing me. Good Job
I’m glad you’re enjoying the ride, but I’m really not trying to draw things out. I never thought it would take this long to get to. I want the reveal to happen soon but there are a few things left to do. I’m going to try and compress it as much as I can without making it feel compressed.
Heheh, second guessing his abilities? I don’t know about you, but a gun like that? With a massive bullet straight to the nose? Even Wolverine from Marvel would feel that, probably for a few days. That’d hurt like hell, even if you’re tough enough to survive it.
has wolverine ever had his head blown off? I know he didn’t survive having his skeleton ripped out.
He was decapitated once in the Ultimate universe.
but did he live? cause I know that he can regenerate his arms and legs need be, but where does the line get drawn? If i had to guess i would say his brain would have to be mostly intact, but then what happens when he gets decapitated? does the old body die? or can you just re-attach his head to his neck and hope for the best? or does a new head grow on the old body and a new body on the old head? then you would have two wolverines. which could be problematic for whoever just attacked him… XD
Jennifer Fallon’s Tide Lords series has one immortal who had his head cut off. He lived–but lost all his memories, which makes him even more dangerous than most immortals.
OMG! I absolutely LOVE her gun! I want one.
Is it based on anything in the real world? I want to see the holster she kept that hidden in.
Where is the tube bag thing?
I’m in love.
Okaay, gonna do more nitpicking. I’ll write off teal scrubs as an ER resident doing a stint on the ambulance so he’ll have some idea what things are like in the field. I don’t know if any services actually do this, but it seems like not a bad idea. If the ambulance is actually set up to haul two patients, it needs more than a two person crew. I figure at least three, a driver and two paramedic/EMT types, one for each patient. Now, one can claim that the driver stayed in or near the front of the ambulance, perhaps getting a smoke break while the medical people did all the work. That at least, handwaves why we don’t see that person.
However, there’s a consistency problem in that in #51, the guy in the EMS uniform has a patch on his right shoulder that is conspicuously missing in the current strip.
More generally, the uniform shirt should be button down with pockets. Gotta have pockets for pens, penlight (although that might be in a holster) and possibly notepad because these guys have to take notes at the scene. The penlight is, of course, for checking pupils. I said possibly notepad because we usually carried a clipboard and took notes on that, and also because EMS personnel have been known to affix strips of white medical tape to their forearms or thighs and take notes on the tape. Actually there should be a patch on each shoulder, a company patch on the left, and the EMT/Paramedic patch on the right. There should also be a nameplate on the left breast above the missing pocket. Actually if teal scrubs is actually a resident, he should have a hospital photo ID badge clipped to his scrubs. Oh, and where’s their jump bag/box?
You’re right, there totally should be a 3rd guy and I forgot the patch. I probably should have put more detail in the shirt/googled something for reference. All the equipment in the ambulance is neatly stashed away in panels in the walls cause honestly drawing all of that doesn’t make the jokes funnier.
Well, of course most stuff would be stowed. You don’t want it flying around the compartment when the driver takes a turn hard. The jump bag/box however, would be out so the crew could get at the equipment while en route, and it would have accompanied them to the patient. Actually, now that I think about it, I just answered my own question. We don’t actually see either of the patients below their chests. The jump bag is undoubtedly on the floor about hip level relative to the patients, hence off screen. BTW, somewhere near one patients head there should be a couple of spigots sticking out of the wall for oxygen feeds. For simplicity’s sake, I’ll assume it’s next to the other patient whom we don’t see in this comic.
I thought of other reasons why we might not see the third crewmember. They stayed with the second patient while the first patient was being loaded. Teal scrubs never showed up on screen while the second patient was being loaded although we saw his dialogue. The driver just stayed off screen while heading to the cab.
Silly me, if you end up need to draw the oxygen feeds, here’s a few different versions.
someone can’t take a hint…
I need that pistol for when I ride my bicycle. You would not believe the homicidal maniacs I have to share the roads with, I need something that can stop a car with a single bullet.
Sadly, no such thing (at least nothing you could physically carry). Even if you got the engine to sieze up, Newton’s law still applies. sure, it would stop….but not instantly. better to get out of the way.
well don’t have to make it stop…just change direction…though if you had something that had the same amount of momentum as the car, and it was a direct head on impact, the point of impact would technically stop, however the rest of the car would probably keep going…resulting in torque in some angle around the point of impact…which means you should still get out of the way…
Another problem with car-stopping guns is that Newton’s Laws apply at both ends. In other words, if your gun is going to have enough punch to seriously divert a car, the recoil is going to be equally powerful. If it’s mounted to a solid object, no problem. But if it’s hand-held you’re just choosing to break your arms instead of your legs.
Unless, of course, you fire a succession of bullets to stop the car. Still, it’s not gonna be too practical.
Reminds me of a story I read eons ago–a scene set in a car where the “wheels” are running down the “peds”, only one granny stands her ground with a .45, and takes out one of the “wheels” (in the back seat, IIRC). Story ends with a new “compact” reached setting limits on allowed size of guns, on how safe the sidewalks are, and so on.
But where did she have it stashed?
She’s got a shoulder holster. You can see it poking out here and there in previous pages. Honestly though, I don’t know if that short jacket of hers would cover the whole thing up.
Let’s see… It’s roughly as long as her forearm, which would mean that if were hanging straight down, it’d just be under the jacket if the butt was in her armpit. Which is extremely uncomfortable.
More likely, it’d be at an angle, making it slightly easier to draw. Still, with the way her jacket hangs, it can’t be much of an angle, or it’d push the front and/or the back of the jacket out.
So… No. The jacket wouldn’t hide it.
It’s a Highlander jacket.
Aka a Jacket of Weapon Holding
Maybe just a Hammerspace jacket?
Panel 5: ‘The Glare’ Call it this and sell it to an art musuem. Preferably staring at another piece to the bottom right.
That’d be funnier if I had a blinding lens flare coming off her forehead.
If my eyes didn’t deceive me, she actually wears that monster under her left arm. In the bank, we see her jacket swing open on the right side, and several rounds held in what looks like part of a holster/harness. That would put the gun under her left arm, which would make Maxima right handed. I guess that super speed comes in handy for pulling the shells with your off-hand.
though it might not help the gun itself….load too fast and the kinematics crush the bullet before she even gets to fire it… i suggest a heavy dosage of plot-fill… perhaps a spell or two from Dabbler means that the gun reacts to her “focus” allowing her to load and shoot at super speed, or shoot “harder” (would the bullets go faster? or would she shoot a different caliber?) when focused on strength…
nah, just change the primer and propellent charge with the equivalent of something like C4 and an electric blasting cap. those things won’t go off until the trigger sets off an electric charge thru the cap, then BOOM! but until that electric zap hits you can drop it, crush it, burn it, etc and it won’t go off… that way her super speed (and the resulting G-Forces) won’t simulate an impact shock-wave and detonate an “ordinary” mercury fulminate style primer in a regular round.
There’s no real need for the gun to actually fire at all. Maxima seems to be fast enough and strong enough that a bullet would actually constitute a LOSS of speed, power, and precision. On the other hand, it makes a great intimidation aide. Additionally, she could actually use it as a nonlethal deterant if she loaded it with rubber bullets or taser rounds (although if she had those it’s curious that she would risk smacking the bank robber with such force.) If her goal was simply to destroy her target all she’d really have to do is punch it (or more amusingly finger flick it.)
well we won’t know that until she fires it…will we? XD
But to be honest my point was about the special rounds, facing supers requires being prepared to face anything, and sometimes super strength and speed just don’t cut it.
The .577 Tyrannosaur was developed for experienced hunters who wanted raw power for African dangerous game. The guys who made that video just surprised a bunch of people who had never shot anything with it as a practical joke. But firing anything like it from a barrel that short would produce a muzzle flash @ a meter long, capable of cutting steel plate even without a bullet, and a bang that would FEEL like you just blocked a pro football lineman, let alone the sound.
That’s OK. Maxima’s the sort to go in for Victory through Intimidation, anyway!
I kind of assumed the guys in that video either didn’t know how to fire a gun or didn’t know how much kick it’d have. Some of them look like they pull it pretty tightly into their shoulders but even then if they’re not expecting that much kick they’re gonna fall over.
It’s funny you mention intimidation, I was playing Maxima in DC Heroes 3rd edition and I included “Presence” in her power pool, and then spent some points on a focus that was actually her gun. The gun did basically no damage, but it boosted her Presence even more. Presence is the stat in that game that you can use to intimidate people, and, well, basically no one had any defense against it except for villains who had high mental stats like Grod or Luthor, so basically it was like Maxima was rolling around with a fear aura on. I didn’t intend for her to be that unintentionally exploity, but I’m not above taking advantage of something like that.
So yeah, the gun is mostly for infimidation, since she can deliver a lot more hurt with her fists.
Amazing what one can achieve with a good Presence attack.
In one superhero RPG I was in, my best friend once used a PRE attack to shoot down a couple of jet fighters. The fighters were hassling our group, so my friend used the radio to do a verbal Presence attack on them. He rolled so well that the GM ruled that one pilot actually lost control of his plane. The pilot rolled again to recover – and flubbed so badly that he collided with his wingman. End of problem. Great days.
Haven’t certain fictional police and the like gotten big, impressive guns for a similar purpose? I’m thinking of Dirty Harry’s .44 Magnum, or another character (who’s name I’ve forgotten) who had a chrome .45 with an extra-long barrel.
I don’t know enough RL law enforcement persons to say whether any of them do something similar. I wouldn’t be surprised. Bluff and intimidation often help when dealing with the sort of people who commit crimes.
well,, me i know someone who had build a machine of destruction for that purpose,,, a three barreled,, triangular assembled sawed off 12 gauge shotgun with pistol like grip,,,had a fire selecter,, a small tumble you could move to choose wich of the three you fired,, or could fire all three at once,,,,,,,the thing had such a kickback and spread that if the target was beyound 15 feet you barely damaged it,,, but under 10 feet anything was destroyed,,,,oh and the short tube ,, combined with position of them and added weight right under the muzzle made it not that hard to use,,,
I’m guessing 12 gauge sawed-off shotgun with a pistol grip.
Given that she’s superpowered, she’d have no trouble with the recoil, and in real life 12 gauge is practically the swiss army knife of firearms: there’s any number of offbeat specialty rounds available.
When I first saw it, I also assumed it was a 12-gauge shotgun, firing slugs (equivalent to a .729 calibre bullet). The .577 has greater kick, muzzle velocity, and stopping power, but the 12-gauge would be much more versatile, and easily capable of overpowering the .577 with sufficient bolstering of the barrel.
Lets see….searching…flamethrower rounds/fireballers,taser rounds,explosive,screamers, Armor piercing, double slugs, flechete,bola, and flash-bang. That’s NOT counting some like half shot half slug or what basicly amounts to Razor rounds.
… Then there could be stuff considered ‘Riot Control’ under different circumstances – gas or stun batons, for instance.
Plus really exotic rounds that “we” might only ever see in a ‘James Bond’ flick, but perhaps dern useful in a world of supers – emit powerful EM fields, or be REALLY over-sized tranq darts, or contain tracking devices.
Heck, for that matter, if ‘occult’ entities are known to exist in that world, there could be rounds that include wooden spikes and/or holy water.
Yeah the Bola and Flash-bang rounds are considered “Less then lethal”…well the Bola is at more then around 25 feet >_> <_<
And I forgot there are some kinds of 12ga grenades as well, not wide AOE but good for room clearing before insertion.
then again there are the silenced rounds, and underwater rounds from Russia:
https://world.guns.ru/ammunition/russian-special-cartridges-e.html
Yep, just tons of real-life goodness, and all sorts of completely plausible comic-book applications. Heck, if you had to, you could even adapt a smaller round with a sabot.
Hmmm I used to know where to find some Chain rounds, but Can’t find them anymore :(
That ain’t no pistol. That there is a certificamated elephant gun!.
Not wood, it would be cold iron. You have got to read the old stories not use movies or comics as information areas. Maybe white thorn might work on some of them, but you’d better test it first. On other things it wouldn’t. Hard to know unless you are working for a group that’s already done the research and testing 7th Sealord.
As far as hand guns go I thought that the .454 Casul was the most powerful.
Cold Iron was mainly for the Fae, as for Vamps it depends on WHERE said vamp comes from there’s SCORES or different blood/life drinkers, each with different charecteristics and weaknesses.
So a celtic cross wouldn’t work on a vamp from Egypt?
And sometimes the effectiveness of the holy symbol is entirely dependent on the user and not the type of vampire. There was a wonderful incident many years back where the XMen went up against Dracula.
Wolverine couldn’t get the cross to have any effect at all, Kitty Pryde failed with the cross but almost blew off Dracula’s hand when he grabbed her throat (Star of David necklace under her shirt), and Nightcrawler actually *almost* made Drac run away.
I suppose it depends entirely on whether the vamp is inherently vulnerable to the symbol, the symbol requires active Faith to work, or some combination of the two. Effects vary depending on which set of legends you are drawing on.
The legends of “Dracula” type of vamps and holy symbols the symbols have to be blessed themselves,or of strong belief. Wolverine has basicly NO faith whatsoever, while Nightcrawler is/was a Catholic priest.
yeah, the 7th Dr. Who in “The Curse of Fenric” said basically the same thing:
it works on the Faith of the person… faith in what, doesn’t really matter, but it’s all about using the Cross or Star-of-David, or Whatever, as the focusing device for setting up the Psychic / Mental vibes that are the actual force blocking the vamp.
Not sure, to tell the truth, Africa has a couple different types of Life-consuming creatures. Or do you mean an Egyptian created by a Western European Vampire?
“What do you mean? An African or European Swallow?”
Basicly yes :P
well i found what i was looking for in the other comments but I meant an Egyptian vamp that was born as a human in Egypt…i think…. there are 6 possibilities for vamps in that question alone:
All egyptian
european who moved to egypt and got bitten.
Egyptian who moved to Europe and got bitten
a European vampire who moved to Egypt
an Egyptian vampire who moved to Europe
All European
So with the world as big as it is, i can imagine the infinite combinations of “vampire evolution” so to speak…lets hope they don’t start cross breeding…they don’t need to be any stronger… >.> <.<
Actually, it was, at one time, but now there are several others more powerful (such as the Nitro .500 express and the .600 express), along with a whole host of single shots and revolvers that fire rifle rounds (such as the .50 cal BMGs).
I’ve considered the holster problem again. You could give her an inverted spring clip design, with the muzzle in a cup just behind her left armpit slanting slightly forward to a spring clip around the action at her waist. This would be insecure for a gun that big with a conventional spring, but Maxima could use a spring many times stronger than usual and still draw. It would also mean no one without super strength of their own could snatch her gun! It would only offer minimal concealment, but let’s face it, hiding a gun that big under a jacket that short is a problem.
For caliber, I agree with the guys above. 12 gauge 3 1/2 inch magnum would let you fire any 12 gauge loaded, which includes lots of special rounds, and give you about 0.7 by 1.5 inches to stuff exotic payloads into. Less flash and bang than the Dangerous Game rifle loads, but still Very Intimidating!
Big rounds like .577 aren’t actually that effective from a short barrel like that. Realistically, the best round for Max’s gun would be something like .45-70. It doesn’t need a very long barrel (it works just fine out of a revolver) and it’s so heavy that anything up to and probably including a buffalo will be stopped dead in its tracks with a single hit (often literally).
That is indeed the exact kind of thing I was talking about with Dresden adamas. Great example, don’t think I’ve read that book yet though.
It’s at the start of Blood Rites. It’s where he gets the dog he calls Mouse . And correction Mouse is Tibetan not Chinese.
Ah, so far I have only read #1, #2, and #6 (I think, the one where Morgan dies). I did watch the entire TV series while it was on. But until then I had never heard of Dresden, I am rather sorry to admit that since the character is so good. I do have the occasional odd speculation about how Dresden would interact with characters like Dr. Fate, John Constantine, Dr. Strange, Zatanna, Arcanna, and some others that I like from the comic book wizards out there.
So i’m guesing there are no regulations on suppers
What makes you say that?
Maxima is a government-sponsored and endorsed super, who is probably given a fair amount of power and leeway as long as it relates to her job. Without specifics, I’d guess identifying and containing supers with criminal tendencies relates.
becuase she seams to be able to do anything she wants despit wat nor protocols say
I’m havin’ a really fun time reading this!
Great drawings and my sence of humor. Keep it up! ^^
I no maxima is golden skin biut what race is she
She’s white. I need to add an Asian gal to the team mixup so I can get Yaya Han to cosplay as her. :) (That link might be NSFW as it’s a pretty gal dressed up and showing off a fair amount of cleavage.)
Why she is human of course. All these piddling variations are minor. Same species.
In most vampires where stakes are used they are to pin the vampire in so that other things could be done to it to stop it from rising again. (European ones at least from the old stories.)
Cleavage is nothing really these days. Except for those Neo-Puritians that want us all to go back to a time where saying “darn” is wrong.
One of the common questions is where does the power come from for these Supers? I suspected that some of it must be siphoning off some of the energy that is ambient in the universe.
“Why she is human of course. All these piddling variations are minor. Same species”
Well said.
I liked how the spinerette univers tackeld that question but I’m shure this comic has an equaly clever explanation