Grrl Power #595 – Here’s mud in your thong
I’m not sure what the girls thought would happen, like punitive PT is something troops are trusted to self-report on. “Sure, I totally ran 20 laps around the base. Don’t worry about where I got the venti macchiato.” I guess they thought they had more time to mess with Math before Maxima showed up. More likely they didn’t expect the base commander to oversee them. They probably thought a Sergeant would do it, but Maxima isn’t all that excited about standing around waiting for ARC-Light to determine their next move, so why not catch some fun in the sun in the meantime.
This is the second half of the previous page. It’s really just more of the same joke. I had toyed with the idea of either making this a double page or trying to cram everything from both these pages into one. I’m trying to avoid that lately though. Either way, this was the page I was working on over Xmas break, so I wound up splitting it so I could spend a little time with the family and still keep up with the schedule. So enjoy this rare 3-panel Grrl Power comic. I’m sure it’s something you can all tell your grandchildren about one day.
This page sadly ends the short cheesecake tear I got on there for a bit, so if you’re worried about checking the comic at work, the next page boringly has everyone fully clothed. Although for balance, at some point I should do a page or two of the guys in the shower/locker room. Not quite yet though. There’s plot to get to.
BTW, Jiggawatt isn’t doing some weird version of the mud crawl without the barbed wire on top, she just fell off the monkey bars cause… I don’t know, they were slippery with morning dew still? It was either that or have her legs dangling from the top of the panel, and given the choice between drawing that or a lady covered in mud, well, come on.
This page colored by Keith.
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Max can sure be one “tough mudder,” can’t she?
:)
Now, is this because of what they were doing to Math? Or because they hadn’t done the Mudder like they were ordered? Or both? o_O
Probably a bit of both.
They had been ordered to do a lap already. But this stunt turned that into “keep going until you get under 4 minutes”
Yes, they had been ordered to do a lap, butt, had they and were tormenting Math afterwards, or tormenting instead of
Well, they are clean before being made to run, and muddy after. So I’d say they hadn’t run yet.
I can almost hear my drill instructors from boot camp yelling at us “Were going to do this till I get tired” And all they were doing is standing there watching us.
Yelling is very exhausting.
It’s not just the yelling. It’s also the following while yelling. Possibly the built up angst from the times they used to run it also…
there’s nothing better than “good” training…
yep, they’re going to learn how to “Love That Hill”… pick a rather “normal” hill with about a mile long road going up… double-time march UPhill in formation no less , then regular march DOWNhill… lather rinse and repeat… usually starting in the morning and ending at dusk…
Well that took a pretty turn.
Pretty dirty. As in, muddy.
I like dirty girls.
i guess max is a stck in the mud ^_^
Better than having a stick up her muddy sheriff’s badge!
15€/2hours around here. Less spectacular views though. Might be a good idea to bring in customers. Or not.
This is karma, right?
What’s the bets that Maxima’s middle name is Karma?
Cause she can be a b****.
Oh come on, the girls deserved this.
that’s why it’s karma. the universe (with Maxima as it’s agent in this case) conspired to give the girls exactly what they deserved.
You know if you hire a few cash starved teens to help out with the grunt work you could do all the double pages you want.
Problem is, DaveB is ‘cash starved’ as well
How? This comic is awesome. He should try publishing it on Amazon.
Because he is, more pertinently, time-starved. He is a workaholic and has a passion for the comic. So spends an inordinate amount of his day working on its writing, drawing, most of the inking (with due acknowledgement to Keith, for when Dave has the cash spare to hire him) and all of the ancillary work (such as managing the IT, dealing with adverts and so on).
I am sure the comic would sell out on Amazon. But converting it from a webcomic format, to one suitable for print, would be a lot of work. Just think about an double page, for example. Unless the paper book has a fold-down section, to allow the page to extend vertically down, Dave would have to modify them to sit side-by side, on consecutive pages.
Even worse for any that do not conveniently fit on one page. If something is one frame too long for a single page, Dave would need to either find some way to condense it or put up with the eyesore of a page with just one row of panels. Which would be particularly bad as that usually contains the punchline, or other climax to the page.
Basically they are two different mediums, which need to be presented slightly differently. As an artist, in particular, Dave will likely find that some shades, or drawing techniques, come out differently on paper. And he may not be happy with some specific ones. Which could require spending a lot of time tweaking things, to stop some weird effect or other.
Plus paper has one other attribute. It is a fixed medium. And Dave has a rather overflowing ‘to do list’ of fixes he wants to make to the comic. Whilst it is in digital form he can do them whenever he wants to. And, when the time-pressure of keeping to his perfect update record comes to bear, it is easy to stay focused on that, knowing that the fixes can yet be done at another date.
But that cannot be done with a paper version. That would create a flawed first edition. Which would torment Dave until the end of days.
I got the impression that the layout is such that it’s suitable for print, and the double-pages seem to go more side-by-side rather than vertically. That’s about the only disagreement I have with your assessment, though.
Actually if he publishes through Amazon he can just do a digital comic. No need for paperback and he saves/makes more that way. I know a few series that just exist as ebooks on Amazon. I think Wearing the Cape is one of them. Along with the Iron Teeth and Poor Man’s Fight. I see no reason why DaveB can’t do the same.
POO, but splitting this and the last page in two is better, not just because it means two updates of near-nekkid numnums, but because spacing the panels out instead of cramming (or worse, cutting panels altogether) is betterer
To me it’s more about the joke timing. You want a pause between the setup and punchline, even if the setup is also a punchline itself.
Check t out! Jiggawatt’s doing the course in her socks!
You’d think she’d take them off…
You did a great job, POO, of showing Jigs having fallen from the bars by having her legs spread out like that (typically when mud-skimming the legs are not spread out like that)
Also enjoying poor Brooke’s expression in panel “CAUGHT!” :D
Also also: are they able to do the course in under four minutes while fully clothed? If they have never done it that fast, ever, then that threat has to be hollow and Maxi will ‘relent’ after sufficient punish-time
That will depend on the length of the obstacle course.
Is Maxima floating above the ground in a leaning pose, without actually leaning on anything?
Yes
She is quite a expert when it comes to intimidating posing. I guess it helps to be big, muscular and golden if you want to be scary.
I like how Max didn’t say anything, just her shadow rising above as she closed in.
Maxima is the smoothest of criminals.
Side note: every time see the Daphne’s, have to wonder- did Gothamer get a nose job? Or did the other four? Because Gothy seems to have a nose-bridge and in most images, the other four don’t
we know they can get injured individually. Maybe someone at some point broke her nose?
Daphne isn’t in this page.
She does still show up in the TopBar rotation
And you did say it was a “side note”. Although “top note” might have been closer. ;-)
in basic, we actually where supposed to do self reporting on some of our punitive training…
And probably still monitored
Yea, there’s no chance they didn’t do random surprise inspections at the least, to see if you were honest.
One sci-fi story had a scene with various recruitment tests. One of which was to go into a room, sit with your back to a bowl, and throw counters into it.
It was unmonitored. The only measure was how many counters the applicants reported getting in the bowl.
The hero was sad to only get a few. Little realising that was a good score, as it was an honesty test, not an accuracy one!
Kind of sucks for anyone with preternatural skill mind.
what story is.it? a.book? a movie? title?
*mimes the answer, using paws to perform a shadow play*
That’s terribly unhelpful
Guessing ‘Shadow Play’?
Not sure to be honest. Starship Troopers (book not film) kept popping into my mind, but I don’t think it can be that one as my impression was that it was for an elite military academy. Whereas in that setting everybody was expected to enrol (you could not be a citizen without doing so).
They would have been less interested in his honesty than in his ability to pick up a rifle and act as a meat shield.
Trouble is that it is keeping the other books names out of my mind. None of which I have reread for well over a decade. My library is crying at my neglecting it!
I had been hoping it would pop into my head sometime. But no joy I am afraid.
At least she let them enjoy Math’s torture first
Not to be too pedantic about it or anything … but Heatwave just had one of her toes amputated. I get it that there’s been some healing time and there’s a super healer on call. Still. Pretty harsh running the course at all this soon, let alone time limits & underwear.
Guess they have to earn those generous paychecks.
It’s been at least a week
If she can’t handle a bit of punishment course-running after like a week with super-healing and possibly the best in near-future medical science, she’s probably not cut out for the team, really. As far as superheroes go they’ve got it pretty luxurious and sweet.
Yea, they do get treated with a super doctor, precisely so they can get on with the action after a few key panels of mourning their lost bits.
Panel Two is utter gold.
“I sense a disturbance in the Force…”
“A presence I’ve not felt since…..”
You called?
And If Max didn’t finish her grittification routine she will hang there sparkling in the sun like a disco ball.
If she ever learns how to keep the grit out of her underwear the world could be doomed to a happy Maxima.
Fanservice; fanservice everywhere.
Thank you.
This could be a setup for another shower scene. I’m not complaining.
With all that many showers their delicate skins might get damaged. The use of moisturizer oils will be very necessary.
Heh.
*strategically places a tub (bath sized) next to the showers*
“Uhm… That is not jojoba oil…”
Nope, it’s a flea bath. He’s hoping for a real thorough scrubbing.
:-D
The myth of dogs being the men´s best friend, busted.
Women´s best friend perhaps?
…At least there won’t be very much that they’ll need to add to their next load of laundry…For which I’m thankful too.
What’s up with the weird coloration on Jigg’s foot? Looks like the bottom of her foot has the same metallic gold going on as her hair and lipstick.
As pointed out above: she’s still wearing her socks
DAMN, Jiggy!
She’s gonna get mud in places mud don’t belong ;)
Serves them right….!
Does Archon have any power inhibitor/blocking devices so Maxima can use it on those three?
The Grrlverse does not have power inhibitors. Although in this case, I think Max’s Gaze of Disapproval is sufficient.
or the fact that Max can move so fast that none of them could ever hope to get away from her training until she says so :P
Jiggawatt can literally become lightning. I don’t think there’s any way Maxima is as fast as covering ground as is Jiggawatt.
Maxima managed to give Harem a super wedgie faster than she could teleport!
Even with a power that works instantaneously Maxima can move faster than they can make the decision to use it. All they need do is look shifty, to give her a clue they are up to mischief.
But if they are blatantly doing a runner, in sight of their commanding officer, rather than accepting their licks, then they are probably wash out material, and unsuitable to be either a police officer or a soldier. They wouldn’t have what it takes.
The way I interpreted that scene, the Harem being threatened by Max *did* teleport away… but Max outsmarted her by targeting one of the other bodies who was caught flat-footed…
That is a fair interpretation. With much the same result mind.
Likewise Maxima could judge where Jiggawatt is looking, so that she can estimate her arrival point, and perform a bullet-time interception there.
Yeah, Maxi bluffed by making the Daphnes believe Maxi was going to go after Berry, when she intended to go after Bodie all along (who thought she would have time to get away after Maxi missed Berry)
Correction: it does not have any ‘All-Purpose’ Inhibitors, well, other than the tranqs used during the Restaurant Rumble, most would have to be ‘custom fitted’, butt you are correct, Maxi’s Golden Gaze of More Doom would be sufficient to keep them grounded (literally)
There’s no magic device that can block that no. But they don’t have powers that help with this course anyway.
One of them can teleport, that doesn’t help when you have to walk. One of them can shoot lightning, or turn into lightning. Doesn’t help.
And Brooke can fly, but she’s simply not allowed to, so that doesn’t help either.
Vahriah can only teleport when touching one of the Daphne’s (or gets a similar Gestalt from someone else), she can not teleport on her own
O right, that’s not Harem.
It’s strange to see a punishment being handed out without Harem being included…
You know she is making a sigh of relief somewhere, all five of her, and not knowing why :D
Or maybe feeling like she’s missing out on something… :P
Such things do not exist in universe. Perhaps bespoke versions to match a hero’s powers could be made but having the perfect counter to every member of your team just lying around is asking for trouble. And an overdone trope.
Unless you are Batman.
Thank you for bringing that up before I did. But Spice is right, it’s a trite trope. The DC universe is just not as good as the Marvel universe.
Sure, the anti-JLA precautions stored by Batman have only had stuff stolen for use by villains [at least] three times…
Why are THEY being punished for HIM trying to snnek a peek/spying on them?
They’re not. They are being punished for not doing what they were ordered to do already, which was in turn punishment for excessive horsing around. If they’d just kept that toned down to start out with, they’d not now be running an obstacle course in their skivvies under the close eye of their superior officer.
Added to that they were deliberately baiting another member of the team. Whatever his crimes, I get the impression that Max is firmly of the opinion that two wrongs don’t make a right.
But, three LEFTS Do! :D
There’s a saying that I remember from somewhere:
Three lefts make a right. Five lefts makes you dizzy. (Or lost, I suppose.)
Oh yea. Well, back a block and right anyhow. Better hope that is not a one way street.
Although if the block is triangular, then you just end up back where you started.
But generally turning left or right implies a ninety degree turn. And if you take three ninety degree turns and end up where you started those are some danm long streets or something has taken a turn for the non-Euclidean
Not all streets are straight, and some streets that are, are also on an angle: you take a right hand turn onto a street that is 45 degrees to the one you just left
3 x 90 = 270 therefore going right (but a block back, as stated previously).
4 x 90 = 360 therefore back to start position, going straight ahead.
Check two pages back, this was supposed to be their punishment for the locker-room horseshit, also, they were deliberately provoking Math
Because they were standing in front of the door, looking at Math through a security camera feed, and telling stories about sexy times (in order to bait him) without actually doing what they were told to do.
Math was obeying orders. The sign told him to keep out. He did.
Had he been leaning against the door, holding a glass to it, then you would have a fair point about impropriety. But those voices were plainly audible in the corridor.
Granted, he was being ungentlemanly, in remaining. However he was not breaking any rules.
Had he been an officer mind, he could be on a charge of ‘behaviour unbecoming of a gentleman’. ;-)
And just like that, mud wrestling lost a bit of its magic…
*snaps claws together*
Waiter! We have an order to replace the mud with an oil wrestling pit!
Fan service is always welcome.
Im glad we are back at Archon for some superhero shenanigans. The whole business with the supernatural stuff and the council was interesting and amusing but I feel like this is where the meat of the story is. :)
And what meat it is :P
Hey Starbolt are you a fan of TwoSnacks?
2snacks? why yes i am
*assumes begging position, tail wagging*
Poor poor heatwave. She wanted and desereved none of this.
She could have walked away at any time, or simply not participated in the taunting…
Assuming Maxima gave her a choice.
Meant while the other two were messing with Math, butt she chose to participate in that horseplay
She did look a little uncomfortable with Varia powering herself up via physical contact in order to prank Jiggawatt. And Jiggawatt could have easily turned around and tacked them both, drawing her into the horseplay against her will.
But she doesn’t seem the type to rat out her buddies just to try to get out of some PT, so there she is.
Didn’t mean in the locker room, meant out here: she chose to bait Math instead of saying “Nah, you are on your own with this”
You make a good point.
I do think she would still have been in trouble mind. She is the senior member of the group. Heatwave should have been the one getting them running the course.
So her sins were double. Personal failure in choosing to succumb to the temptation, and a failure of her command skills on top of that.
I very much approve of this. Instead of following orders and doing their prescribed PT punishment, they were playing pranks on a colleague. Maxima really IS a true feminist – she believes in equality, and the three of them had this coming to them.
Nicely said.
He he. Ever get that sinking feeling?
Awesome angle and silhouette of doom, in panel 2.
I saw this and my mind immediately thought, “And here is a rare photo of Alderaan as the Death Star just popped in for a brief visit.”
I’m sure that when they did notice Max all three of there fannies hit that door in the panicked “Oh Shit!” moment that it was. Providing Math one last bit of unexplained info that he will be thinking over for sometime to come.
Heh
*THUMP* *THUMP* *SQUISH*
*Thump* *Thump* *Squish*
Muddy as a hog… (insert Queen filk here)
No, this was before they got mudded
Now the question: will Math get punished for listening at a door, or will the punishment he has already suffered be considered sufficient?
Why? He did nothing wrong, he was the victim (this time)
Brook’s face looks a tad “off” in panel two, but I love the way her face looks in panel three.
And I’m really starting to love Varia for her attitude (already love her look).
Great last few pages, DaveB!
Yea, on both points. The former looks like she has a rubber face and someone has grabbed either side of her face and stretched it.
On the plus side it contributed to the sinking feeling (if you view it as her shrinking down into herself, sensing the presence behind her.
On the minus side it stood out because the other two are spot on. I especially like their pursed lips.
Despite that though it is still an awesome piece of art. The light and shadows carry a huge emotional impact. And Heatwaves face in the final panel, as you say, is great.
They all look ‘rubbery’ in that panel, difference being is Brooke is more ‘straight-on’ so it stands out more
Her eyes are hooded in “damnit, not again” rather than open in “eep!”, and her mouth is in a straight line rather than, as you said, pursed
As an expression, I think the straight line mouth suited her and the moment. It was just unfortunate in accentuating the differences I noted.
I can’t agree that the others look rubbery though. Their faces are perfectly normally proportioned.
Granted they have a different tone to normal, but that is due to the lighting conditions. But there would be other words and better suited to describe the nuances than that, I feel.
Where is Math now and have all the binoculars been secured?
Still gnawing at the lock?
Just had a thought: Could their HQ correctly be called a Supercenter?
Only if it is in the center of the city or suburb :P
This is in no way a complaint, as I love everything about these last couple of pages. But, is it just me of has Varia’s accent disappeared?
I mean I don’t really care and I’m sure it must be a pain to sort out for DaveB but it is something I noticed.
DaveB does tend to forget the accents at times. You may find him doing a dialogue tweak, now that you have reminded him.
No, her accent is not a ‘solid’, she tends to ‘slip’ when stressed or ‘playing up the stereotype’, she has probably spent years practicing not using it (due to getting teased, and bullied, a lot)
Karma
Maxima’s getting better at her Deus Ex Loom.
Should that be Deus ex lumina?
Loom o’Doom
Nicely placed shadow of Max, hair blowing in the wind, in panel 1. Is that what tipped off Jiggawatt to look around?
No, if you mean the shadow beyond Jiggs, that is Jiggs’ shadow
I agree with Continuity, the leftmost shadow in panel 1 matches what we see of Maxima’s hair in panel 2. And the rest of the shadows in panel 1 would match with Brook and Varia, showing that the light is from the left.
Except, if Maxi was behind them, where is her shadow over Brooke? No, that is Jiggs’ hair
The light is actually from the right (note how Vahriah’s head is mostly obscuring her shadow), if it was from the left, then that would be Jiggs’ shadow (which matches her hair as well)
Personally I took the “Nicely placed shadow of Max” to be her shadowy silhouette. It is mostly shadow, and especially dark, not to mention being perfectly framed to draw the eye, as stated.
And that’s in panel two, not one
I guess only Dave knows for sure. I just thought it to be an excellent example of
foreshadowing .
You think Dabbler is coming?
Dabbles is almost always coming, even when she’s already there… >_>
We only see Jiggawatt’s hair 2 pages back, and then only from the front. But it appears to be pulled back in a simple pony tail. Which is not a style that in a person who is standing still lends itself to the wind-blown appearance that the left-most shadow does, and which Maxima’s hair does because she is arriving in flight.
That shadow is Maxima.
No, it is not, because it is not covering any of the girls
That is not windblown-loose-long-hair, that is dreadlocks-in-a-ponytail (by the way, you can be standing still and still have wind-blown hair)
I get a very Jessica Rabbit vibe from Heatwave in the bottom panel, it’s great.
*wags tail wryly*
I had not picked up on that myself. But get it, now that you mention it.
I love the look on Heatwave’s face in panel two.
We seem to be in the minority
I liked the expression. And loved the overall result of the panel. I just am not keen on how her face is proportioned flatter and wider than we would expect.
This page illustrates a problem I sometimes have with web comics and that’s showing and not telling. The web comic format gives the author opportunity to expain his ir her intention on a page by page basis as Dave has done here. However he shouldnt have had to explain to us that Jiggawatt is not doing a low crawl in a mud pit but has fallen off some monkey bars. There’s no evidense in the image to suggest this and is allowed the luxary of explaining himself after the fact. I dont know if Grrl Power will ever be a thing that sees print but in my oppinion comics should always be drawn ad if no explaination will be forth coming. What’s on the page should always be enough to tell the story exactly as you want it to be told.
And on a light note, I cant help but wonder if all the gals will start wearing sports bras from now on wherever they are on the clock.
They all seem to be rookies (remember, they were in the same Orientation Class as Sydney), so this is possibly the first time this has happened
It’s possible they have worn a sports bra for previous PT, now they know why :P
I believe Heatwave, a corporal, outranks Jigawatt and Varia, new recruits. I would think Brooke would have more field experience then the other two, but that’s a moot point when caught in locker room hijinks.
She may be a corporal, doesn’t stop her from still being a rookie in the ways of formal training and the Military life
In most intakes during Basic Training, they are split up into different ‘squads, with one soldier picked to be the corporal, and you also get a rookie Sarge who is in charge of the whole ‘class’
In Brooke’s case, it may simply be because of her experience while being a Vigilante
I had as much fun (maybe more) reading the comments, as I did the comic. A good reader community + on-page comments, are really valuable.
Yeah this comment section is often great fun.
We are all Dave, trolling the comment section.
Yeah, this is one of the most respectful community with such diverse and active people (yes, Yorp counts as ‘people’, just in a full-body hair-suit :D)
There are multiple obstacles which require being in the mud, why the awkward monkeybar failure?
To show awkwardness?
Showing her crawling under barbed-wire, in mud, may have been to edgy.
*wiggles tail pointedly*
…
Not that I know when you finish these pages before they go up, but shouldn’t the copyright in the comic footer be for 2018?
Probably for the same reason people use to take two (or more) months to get the date correct when filling out a cheque (check) (if anyone even remembers those things)
No. As Dave noted in his author-blurb, these were done last year. So they need to have a 2017 date.
Ooh, a subtle point. Is it the published date or the date of creation?
I was going to sit back and let our senior copyright lawyer chip in. But I do have one pertinent bit to add, in that I recall that a writer is copyright protected from the moment they write the words. Even if they are unpublished. So am pretty sure you have it Prairie Son.
It is just that when you publish you need to affirm your claim, to avoid it being taken as gifting it to the world. Whereas if you have kept it in your sock drawer, or on your hard-drive, that should only be taken as a desire to retain all aspects.
Copyright is automatic at point of creation. But publication has an effect on how long a work will be covered. I think it’s Life+70 years for published works,120 years for unpublished, 95 years for corporate works (or until Mickey Mouse is about to enter public domain, and a “rescue” act is passed to prevent that.)
Personally I think we should go back to a flat 50 years across the board. Or maybe 25 years renewable for another 25. Maybe 25 years automatic, but you have to get off your butt and pay for another 25.
I quite favour ‘for the lifetime of the creator’, for those aspects of intellectual property where that is pertinent (e.g. not really applicable to corporate*). That way there will be justice for the immortal caveman, who first harnessed fire!
* Although it would solve the Micky Mouse issue, if you take it to be corporate life**.
** But before you implement that you must demonstrate a corporation being executed. For there would be no justice if they could have prejudicial copyright laws that granted them life without death, which a normal person is denied.
A Corporation can ‘die’: if they get ‘bought out’ by a rival company, or go bankrupt or simply close their doors
Remember what happened to that bank that helped fund the Napoleonic War for the British? Because of some greedy little shit, it ceased to exist a few years ago
Corporations can be executed, in the sense that an incorporating state can dissolve their charter. Nominally this would convert them to a partnership, but considering it would only happen on top of other serious criminal and civil penalties, it’s effectively a death sentence.
And how many times has that been done?
Not often anymore, at least for things that should lead to that. It does happen in bankruptcies if they can’t reorganize, but even then it may voluntary–shareholders voting to dissolve and liquidate rather than muddle through.
Curiously, (in contrast to what I said above) it seems to happen more often for relatively minor offenses such as failing to file an annual report or nonpayment of franchise tax. In which case it it’s not the death sentence it would be if imposed by a court for bad behavior.
It’s basically what a Chapter 7 bankruptcy is. It doesn’t happen to big corporations very often, but that’s because they usually have someone on the board whose job it is to make sure that the corporation is sufficiently solvent to pay its critical debts (especially taxes and payroll).
That’s one version. They can also be dissolved by (non-bankruptcy) court order, and in some states by administrative action of the secretary of state’s office, and possibly the state attorney-general. There’s also antitrust breakups, though that’s probably closer to binary fission.
Bottom line, states have plenty of power to control or end corporations. What they don’t have is political courage.