Grrl Power #822 – Every (digital) man
“Hey Max, I’m taking my 15 minute break so I can run some visual gags with Goose.”
“Oh, uh, maybe don’t do that… and she’s gone.”
Weirdly, when Goose is fully kitted out in tac gear, he looks like a character from dozens of different video games. Just one of those faces.
This is a weird page, admittedly, but I’ve been planning it since the first page Goose appeared on… Holy shit, I forgot about those armored suits. Hah hah, those should probably show up again sometime. Anyway, Goose admittedly looks a bit… Nukem-esque, and people commented on it. So of course, I decided to do a page about it 8 years later. That’s how I roll.
Fun fact, “sigh” is the most Goose has said on a page to date. It does make me wonder how he orders food at restaurants though. Maybe he just taps on the menu and answers questions about “well done-ness” and side items with glares.
Double res version will be posted over at Patreon. 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.
I should try the “tank top + suspenders” look out sometime. I don’t know that i’m muscular or cool enough to pull it off, but it’s worth a try.
I tried it once. I looked like I was heading home to the trailer after a hard day of drinking.
That’ll probably be me, except I’ll actually be heading home to the trailer after a long day drinking.
There’s some tricky rules about what makes clothes cool, as well as rules for making other things cool.
happen to have those videos on site that doesnt have country blocking?
Can’t find a direct link anywhere more reputable (which is why I used that saite), but here’s the relevant quote (from comedian Demitri Martin)
I am having visions of Robin Williams in Mork & Mindy.
YES! Was envisioning the similar visions! :D
I got “creepy guy you need to hide your kids from” vibes when I did it without shaving the beard, and “axe murderer” when I shaved everything.
It’s a hard look to pull off without spending lots of time in the gym doing chest and shoulders.
…I don’t think he’s one of the “body-builder” school. I think he’s from the “weight-lifter”school. Big difference is, he’s not sculpting a perfect body to show an audience, so he won’t have much of a six-pack. He’ll still have rock-hard core muscles, but very little definition, perhaps even a bit of a paunch with a hint of visceral fat and maybe some subcutaneous fat. And he’ll be a much healthier person.
It’s worth checking out this Mr Sunday Movies rant, at trope 6, 1:42 in.
Yeah, he’s going for strength, rather than looks
Either that, or he just looks that way because he’s a super. Is he though? I can’t remember ever having seen him use powers.
Given we’ve only seen him twice so far…
Correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t ALL supers have total ab definition as part of the deal? Where mere mortals have to do continuous stupid things to get there?
Oops. THREE times… :)
This is at least the
fourthfifthsixth time Goose has been seen in the comic. Maybe a few other appearances that I don’t remember. But he’s been there, in the background, in a number of scenes.Do people who are in great shape really need suspenders?
I thought it was more to hold up the pants for those of us who taper outwards around the belt-line.
I suspect that he does in fact taper outwards. A little. “Great shape” can of course look like Chris Hemsworth playing Thor, with all those abs, but check out the Mr Sunday Rant above: it’s not sustainable.
However, if you’re doing your ArcSWAT exercises as per, and eating what ArcSWAT gives you, you may get a small paunch but still be “in fabulous (health) shape” as well as being ferociously strong.
And, to top it off, have you ever heard of “belt and braces guys”?
Professionally, I’m a “Belt, suspenders, safety pins and duct tape” kind of guy.
And then five minutes later there is the thought “Oh great. Now I have to go to the bathroom.”
:>
Bum flap.
I’m not particularly in good shape these days, being in my 60’s and a desk jockey, but even when I was in my 20’s and practicing gymnastics, suspenders might not have been a bad choice; Not every guy has a “waist”.
I’m very much getting a Terminator vibe from Goose in this case. Only the hair color and glasses are different.
Maybe he’s just a big beefy mute, a la Marlee Matlin. Sign language anyone?
Two Words.
Duke Nukem
Max Headroom
Colonel Guile from street fighter, easy
Duke Nukem
Duck Nukem
Duck => Goose?
Goose is not based on Duke Nukem.
Duke Nukem is based on Goose! At least in universe. :) Goose was probably born with the sunglasses on.
Which Duke Nukem? The radioactive guy wearing a Hawaiian Shirt who is always being thwarted by 5 multiethnic kids and the super hero they can summon with their rings? or the other one?
Yeah Duke Nukem (Captain Planet) looks like a gold Thing (Marvel?) but with a mohawk.
“Super radiation!”
Really, how can you ssy no to that face in panel 11.
You realize that she’s going to get chewed out for leaving the base, right?
Wow, didn’t realise she was in lockdown, when did that happen?
I doubt that Sydney has left the base. Firstly the most likely place that she is to randomly bump into a given member of Archon is on the base. Secondly the background looks very much like the interior of a military base (in general) and the brickwork of the firing range area (in specific).
That said though I understand the source of your concern, in that military recruits would normally be confined to base, whilst undergoing basic training, unless duties or orders take them off it for some reason. However Archon is clearly much more relaxed about such things. Take for example clubbing being actively encouraged as a group social activity.
Plus Sydney specifically negotiated a contract which includes the right to regularly leave the base, on specific days of the week, in order to continue running her comic shop. So she has even more capacity to head out, than your average Archon recruit.
Sydney did leave the base (in panel eight), unless they did build a secondary store on-base
Why leave base when you have that handy (off-panel) Harem delivery service?
Because:
1) Sydney would then owe Harem a favour, and Harem would love to pick a return favour that may cause Sydney to blush or squirm.
2) Halo could probably get to the store quicker than Harem, because the latter is unlikely to have memorised it as a favourite place (she simply does not go there often or long enough for that to be preferable to other locations important to her own lifestyle and strategic priorities).
Which means Harem would have to do a series of line-of-sight ports*, from her nearest familiar location, whilst not forgetting that there would be delays for orienteering with a map. Or alternatively requiring her to go by public transport/taxi, for part of the journey, which Sydney could easily beat.
* Which is likely to be mentally fatiguing (if Harem wants to avoid teleporting in front of a car’s path. and dealing with the confusion of travelling through relatively unfamiliar parts of the city in the blink of an eye), thus being avoided except in an emergency.
Yea, but that part was a brief out and back excursion, within her break time, and cleared with the C/O (per dialogue from the author’s blog above).
OK Max may have been better off not dithering so long about Halo’s comment. But she does have top ranked super speed, so could have retained the initiative if she was that bothered about it.
Mind you failing her Halo proximity confusion roll did not help matters.
Harem may have a different perspective on things, because she can be on base and leave the base at the same time, but past dialogue suggests that Sydney should be able to leave base throughout the day.
Given the speed at which several team members can move, it’s not like being elsewhere has much effect on their response time. And as previously stated, the terms of their employment are pretty generous, because their powers or skills are rare and valuable, and they could easily find comparable employment elsewhere if they find the restrictions irritating.
Sydney should’ve gotten a pair of of silver tinted sunglasses and Goose would like Boss Godfrey from that classic film starring Paul Newman…!
What we have here is a failure to communicate (the name of the movie) ;-P
Any man that states the title…
…spends a night in the box.
It’s something to do with boiled eggs, right?
Fifty of them.
Fifty Shades of Boiled Eggs? o_O
HUD, to easy.
Incorrect. Also, ‘too easy.’
ok, to be honest i did not noticed that Goose was one of the “space marines”… interesting but that hair cut + that face and body really looks like a lot of video-game characters.
Duke Nukem actually. Which was a spoof of Doom. Hence the joke with the Doom Guy Space Marine armor
The Duke Nukem franchise predates Doom. Original Duke Nukem was released in 1991, while Doom was released in 1993. You are probably referring to Duke Nukem 3D (the 3rd installment) which is indeed a “spoof” of Doom. And you are right to refer to that version of DN, because that’s the first in the franchise to have an image of the Duke so similar to Goose. DN1 was too pixelated to tell, and in DNII the Duke’s hair in the cover is less Guile-esque. In DN3D however, the Duke is just like Goose here. And in DN4Ever too.
DN was available on the C64, and I have a memory that the titular character looked a bit like Goose.
Can remember playing an early test version of “Serious Sam”, just… can’t remember if it was on the C64 or the Amiga (it might have been an early PC from the late 90’s, do have a copy of ‘Tomb Raider’ somewhere, didn’t get far because the specs were rubbish and the screen had a tendency to ‘stick’)
How much stuff did Sydney grab from the store anyway. That looks like a fairly stuffed bag.
Pest Guest: “Mr. Coolidge, I made a bet that I could get you to say more than two words.”
Silent Cal: “You lose.”
He carries a small notepad around.
Must be the Doom guy cause Duke Nukem can’t ever shut up.
Goose has such a wide variety of expressions. I’m impressed buy the nuance.
Power armor is for pussies!
Could his silence be a sign that Goose is on the autistic spectrum?
Or maybe goose suffered injuries to his vocal cords in the same accident that took Peggy legs, we never get a good glimpse under that chin of his
Or maybe he just have high pitch voice and he too embarrassed to talk.
I kinda feel sorry for Goose. Sydney has that whole “adorrifyingly cute & enthusiastic orphaned platoon mascot finally living a happy life in the war zone” vibe going on there, in panel 11 (or 3rd from the last, to make counting easier). It’s so gol-danged hard to not put up with the wacky requests from the orphaned platoon mascot archetype, because you just can’t bear to see their bubble constantly busted by grim reality…and it’s good for everyone else’s morale to see the orphaned platoon mascot archetype happy. Plus, it doesn’t look like anything’s going to break (other than said bubble of happiness).
…Except Sydney’s not an Orphaned Platoon Mascot™ (genuine article), because she’s not an orphan and wasn’t swept up by the platoon in some warzone. She’s a warhead. Weapons-grade bonkercite. But…cloaked in an OPM camouflage ghillie-suit. (Or should that be sillie-suit?)
Either way, I’m pretty sure Goose knows that if he goes along -without- encouraging, the blast radius will be kept to a minimum, and everyone will be happier because she does have something of the OPM vibe/radiation effect going on.
Theory #1 His mom was right when she said to stop or his face would stick that way.
Theory #2 When he stops frowning his default facial expression is comically goofy and/or shows off epic level bad teeth. (or Jaws Bond villain style)
Theory #3 His voice, when he speaks, is like smooth jazz, sex and caramel all had a baby together, but he’s really really shy and hates the reactions it always gets. The muscles are all from catching swooning ladies and gents. (And then applying purell to his entire body because ew drool.)
Theory #4: His voice is high pitched and screechy, like a frightened bat. Since his voice doesn’t fit his physique even a little and it puts everyone off, he doesn’t talk anymore.
Theory #5: Like Link, he found he kept getting judged for his opinions not matching people’s expectations of who they felt should have his position and/or physique, so he just stopped talking. He’s actually a pretty cool guy, but everybody seemed to want him to be a stereotypical musclebound white guy, and he just couldn’t deal with it any longer.
Theory #6: He has sisters. Lots of sisters. One of them is a nerdette like Sydney and he knew where this was going the first time he heard of her and he was hoping to pass “under the radar” by being silent.
Theory #3 His voice, when he speaks, is like smooth jazz, sex and caramel all had a baby together, …
Something like this?
A Judge Dredd costume would work look right but Goose seem too nice to be a Judge.
Goose would fit perfect in Manly Guys Doing Manly Things. I miss that comic.
Duke Nukem was in MGDMT and was in several comics with Guile.
wow I went to the link and I got jet lag from the art improvement
Me too. Me too.
I’d ask a deaf-mute how they order food and go from there.
I think it would be a piece of paper with something written, or intimidatingly stand there and do a quick glance at the thing they want, then upon repeat visits, just glare at the cashier. They’ll just put in the same order you’ve always had.
As someone who used to lose their voice on a yearly basis and who also speaks too quietly, especially in loud restaurants, never underestimate the ability of waitstaff to lipread. Plus, fingers work great in response to questions with multiple answers. A whole lot faster than scribbling something down.
On the outside he is silent and stern and like solid rock, on the inside he is probably groaning and sighing and wishing he stayed home to watch tv and drink a beer.
On the inside he speaks Norwegian, and basically anything Sydney is saying is so much babble.
Now I’m imagining Goose delivery Duke Nukem lines while sounding like the Swedish chef
For your information Goose is the lead singer in a David Hasselhof cover band.
ok so my brain missed a work when i read it first and made the trip to the comic shop totally different in my head.
i skipped the word “Over”….
Goose is not in a good mood. Normally he hangs out with his friends Jill and Billy (“BJ” for friends). But Jill is visiting some jungle and BJ was last seen near a site where people reported a UFO landing.
What are you talking about? Goose is in a great mood. He’s practically jovial here. Barely even scowling!
Definitely full of the joyous spirit.
So, you saying he is happy that his fellow Space Marines are out doing something fun, while he’s stuck on base polishing his toothpick? o_O
I just realized what I’ve been missing in the art recently.
There’s no lines. Or rather, the outlines are very, very thin/faint. And that, along with the recent color palettes, has made everything seem a lot more washed out.
That older page has such vibrancy to it. I’m thinking that maybe you should experiment with heavier line weights, again, along with your more painterly style, here. Or possibly get a little more dynamic range in your color choices, for an overall darker page.
I liked most of the styles DaveB has tried. Wasn’t really super into the Simpsons-esque simple stuff that was tried for a page or two, but I’m quite enjoying the complex coloring, almost 3D quality going on right now.
…Alas, it isn’t about what we like, so much as what makes DaveB happy & inspired enough to keep going, keep wanting to bring his fantastic story to life. Whatever style he uses for that, I’m in favor of that style. (Even the Simpsons-esque style, if that’s what it takes.)
Anyone ever try to play duck duck goose with him?
Ironically, he always gets called duck because nobody wants to find out if he can catch them.
Goose had things to do today. He was going to polish his knife. Maybe add some furnishings to his enormous cinder-block shed. Perhaps a tea counter. With doilies.
I think that if a waiter asked Goose if he wanted his steak well done, Goose would reply by eating the water instead.
And the waiter would deserve that end for asking if Goose wanted him to ruin a perfectly good steak.
Goose: “Bring a candle. Do not light it. Put it on that table.”
Waiter: “Yes, sir.”
G: “Now bring a steer, and walk it past the candle at 5 paces distant.”
W: “Yes, sir.”
G: “Now serve me two T-bones from the steer.”
W: “W-w-without cooking them? S-sir?”
G: “You already did.”
The quicker version is “Take a steer. Brand it once on each side. Serve.”
…The more I look at Goose in the scowly-bomb shirt, the more I genuinely like it on him. I didn’t at first glance, but then I went shopping for a few hours (stocking up to wait out the voluntary quarantine stuff), and I come back…and I’m really starting to like it. It does make me wonder if he has any super powers (no doubt as yet to be determined) or if he’s just a really intimidating soldier type…or if he does have powers, but it’s like literal flower power and it’s upsetting him that it doesn’t seem very macho-y to go with his obviously frequent weight-training regimen & excessively crewcut hairstyle preferences.
The crew-cut might not be “just a preference”. If his battle-armour involves a helmetty type of hat, then a crew/buzz-cut is pretty well mandatory. A bit like Larry Niven’s spacers, who often depended on Gil Hamilton to “wipe their brows”…
Mc Dolnalds and Tacobell have touch screens now. :D
There has always been pointing at the menu.
With the advent of trip advisor and yelp and so forth its been years since I ate a a fast food chain.
A perfect medium for your order of COVID 19.
Exactly what my thoughts on these have always been – the last thing I need before eating with my hands is to touch the same surface as hundreds of people also eating fast food.
Goose rarely goes out to eat – his boyfriend is a world-class chef, and prepares amazing home-cooked meals.
Wow! Sydney is trying to take a background shot stereotype and make him…..have actual dialog? Just…..wow!
“Woof!”</a
*snort* Today’s yorpie snax are well earned.
I think Goose stays quiet for good reason – and Yorp’s the perfect example of why!
I mean, Yorp probably never said ‘Yorp!” once in his life, until his dog-walker tripped over him in a moment of startlement. But he cameras were watching, and now? He’s branded for life.
The first thing Goose says in front of Sydney could LABEL HIM FOR LIFE. I mean, she’s the main character, right? Camera are ALWAYS following her around. He utters the word ‘bananas’ at the wrong time, he’s BANANA MAN to the world! He smart to keep his mouth shut.
Ooh, another genre-saavy character, I like it!
After the events of their girl’s night, Olivia must be REALLY hung over…!
At least she’s returned to her normal colouring, that’s a plus
Do you think the people around the base are starting a log to see what crazy shit Sydney is going to do around them?
There has to be a pool of some kind going on…. If they have a Make Max say” _______” There has to be a pool for Sydney. I mean she literally got lost in space, time traveled, met a vampire and got beaten up by her own gun. If this isn’t the makings of a EPIC pool I don’t know what is.
Not sure how feasible it’d be. Running a pool tends to work better when the range of possible options isn’t quite so chaotic as to cover just about anything. A ‘Make Sydney Say…’ pool, on the other hand, should give a good balance between enough range to be entertaining and enough constraint to be evaluated.
What do you mean one of those faces? He just looks like Duke Nukem, he doesnt look like anyone else
Naa, he is the spitting image of Halo. Erm … Halo’s Master Chief. Just check out his uniform in the final panel!
You want me to dress up? You can’t be Serious.
Yes Sam.
OK, look. As every clothes designer everywhere has proven, there’s exactly ONE rule for making clothes look RELIABLY cool.
AHEM. Ready?
Put them on someone gorgeous. You can start with fraying twine, a garbage bag, and leftover cheetos, and if you drape them over someone sufficiently good-looking and COOL, the clothes will look good.
The people who should (and usually do) make the REALLY BIG bucks, are the ones who can carefully craft clothing for any body type, and make them look good. But that requires classic styling, careful silhouetting and that that stuff – and that rarely ends up COOL. More like classic. Now, there is one other option. No matter what you look like, if you have the right attitude, confidence, and chutzpah – you might make it to cool. But again – it’s not the clothes themselves that really matter, except as signals, so maybe a color or pattern might contribute there.
IMHO, only, of course :)
Give the man a smile, he’ll look like Guile from the Street Fighter franchise.
I see that in this universe Goose didn’t die when he ejected from his fighter plane and later went on to join Archon after he retired from the Navy. I didn’t recognize him at first without the mustache.
Really, how can anyone say no to that face in panel 11 lol .
Just a side note, I’ve been hand sharpening knives on whetstones for years, (Recently just my kitchen knives, of course.) and you absolutely must hold them with your finger tips below the top surface. Or else you lose them.
The finger tips, I mean.
The last time I made that mistake it took a couple months to properly grow new ones. And typing was a real pain until they finished healing.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/399553798174518586/
Sydney, I dare you to try and get this on Goose.
Hey, Dave –
Let me just float this vote incentive past you: Paper Doll Goose Dress-up page.
Possible outfits: Punisher, Right Said Fred, George Reeves, Zoolander …