Grrl Power #86 – OMG It’s… The hell are those?
So here they are. I know after all the buildup the reveal is going to be a letdown to some, but this is what they’ve always been. It’s interesting to finally see them though, even for me – this is basically the first time I’ve ever drawn them. Of course, revealing what they actually do should be fairly amusing, and will happen quickly over the next few pages. Then her meeting the rest of the team, then… arrg, I wish I could draw this thing faster. :P Speaking of which, it’s ridiculous it’s taken this long to get to. 86 pages and a year and a half just to get the tube open? As some of you know, I had Sydney’s powers listed in her bio on the cast page for several months, cause the reveal was always “soon.” Hopefully things will start moving a little faster now, but it’s a balance of getting in those little moments of character development, jokes and keeping the story moving.
This page, being the big reveal, is unfortunately a little short on content and jokes, but we’ll… uh, call that pacing. It would be nice to be able to say I got lots done on the next page since this one didn’t take quite as long to draw, but that didn’t happen. I did get some banners made up that I’ve been meaning to, it occurs to me I should make a page with all that stuff on it in case anyone wants to grab stuff to link back to this page with. That’s another project for the upcoming weeks.
When I drew the tube, I didn’t pay much attention its size, but now looking at the orbs, I’m not sure they would have fit in the thing. There’s 7 of them (hopefully I haven’t forgotten one, hah) and they’re about the size of a tennis or baseball. Each time I draw the tube its size is a bit different though… the version on this page seems especially skinny, but we’ll say they just barely fit.
There were quite a few good ideas bandied about in the comments (lots of really silly ones too of course) but more than one person suggested the tube was full of gaming dice. I really liked that idea. So much so I almost started trying to figure out how I could merge the idea with everything else I had planned – baseball sized dice, one of each kind, etc., but it would have changed things too much. Still, I could easily do a whole other comic around that idea.
Thanks for all the TWC votes guys. Hitting #1 and even holding it for a couple of days isn’t something I thought would ever happen. I thought I’d be at this for years before even getting into the top 100. It’s quite a feat given the sheer number of webcomics out there and the size of their audiences’s. I’m glad you find my daydreams as amusing as I do.
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.
That last panel with Sydney… Kawaii!
yeah, that image should be made alone (I’d definetly make it a wallpaper).
anyone else besides me having an EVO moment? last boss had orbs that orbited in much the same fashion, each one did different things…OLD old game for SNES, google it.
Well she did say she was like a boss.
Evo? Is that an old SNES game where you start off as a minnow and evolve up to a shark then to a dinosaur or something? I remember really enjoying the beginning of that game… Especially the 8 bit harp music. Can’t say I ever beat it though.
thats the one. damn. brings back memories now.
yeah kinda thought it was wierd how the boss claimed to be a human. (try shapeless blob.)
I don’t know why but I expected they would be balls… well more like ball bearings. My first comment, Ive been reading for four-ish months now and have loved every page. Thanks for the awesome comic.
Thanks. Heh, ball bearings would be easier to draw. They’d be invisible in most panels.
As for the ball-size and tube size issue…
Sydney got the tube from a time lord.
Or it’s a bag of holding.
Yeah, you know what they say: If in doubt, blame the Doctor.
Honestly, you people think those things can’t fit in the tube? they’re only about 2/3 as wide as it, which means they’ll sink past each other a bit when stacking. add in the foam, and you could still probably fit my wallet in there.
Someone’s gonna be tripping balls very soon.
Here’s what we need, we need that cute picture of Sydney with her magical Mala orb things of power, and have it stuck next to this picture of Donovan Baine with his mystical Mala beads (his normally are worn around his torso until used to summon one of several elemental spirits)
https://images.wikia.com/capcomdatabase/images/1/16/Donovan1.png
Huh, forgot about him. He wasn’t in the first Darkstalkers game was he? That was the only one of those I put much time into. Granted the idea of floating… tag-alongs isn’t unique… I think my implementation of them is sort of… unique-ish?
No, he was introduced in the second game. However in America the second game came out before the first game (which killed the first game’s sales as it had four less playable characters and less attacks). But his beads don’t float around with him, he wears them and they only do the float thing when he uses them to attack (plus their number is inconsistant). The beads don’t get much focus despite their elemental spirits in story and comics, because his living sword is a scene stealer.
But yeah, your use of the floating orbs is different from most others; you don’t have them in some bead form, or as part of some magic crest she has to wear on her back (various gods and demons of the east have these chakra orbs that they keep in something like that). No I read your actual description of her power; you definetly take a direction few others would (mainly because most people like to over-power their characters), so props to you for limitations.
I do like superheros/power sets with built in limitations. Maxima is very powerful, her power pool lets her do a lot with… fewer points, assuming a typical RPG setup but it can be a significant weakness. If she was fighting someone that had all the same powers that were at 100% all the time (Superman for instance) she’d potentially be in trouble. There’s plenty of comedy potential with Sydney only being able to use 2 of her powers at a time.
That was one of the reasons I never could get into Superman. Although, seeing Maxima going against someone like that would be interesting. We could see how she reacts to NOT being the most powerful in the field.
Ohh, they’re pretty, I’d whisk them away :P I see where Halo comes from, but do they have to float around her head all the time? A bit of a vision problem I’d guess…
The one with that sort of blue worm inside disturbs me…
Well, Obviously the answer is NO… they sleep inside a poster tube! :D
Hmm I wonder if each of those orbs represent a different element.
Read the cast page.
Yeah I did, I am somewhat bummed though. Although now that I think about it she probably couldn’t handle the various elemental powers.
Perhaps the balls merge in the tube becoming at once everything and nothing.
“Still I could easily do another web comic ……”
:) How about you pull your finger out and get to 2 posts a week on this one. Lovin this keep up the good work Dave.
The artwork on the last panel is fantastic. I can’t wait for more
I have a dialogue/scene in mind that just popped up and I’m not sure I should post it, as it’d be NSFW in the most part, even if I did cheat and use “…whisper…whisper…giggle…whisper and then you can…whisper…etc etc…” in place of actual details… yes it’s dabbler asking about the balls and their powers and finding out Sydney has to hold them to use the powers herself. Sydney thinks she might manage three balls at a time, but then how would she talk and curse the villains properly? Dabbler suggests an alternative use/way to hold the orbs…saying she could then have maybe five…six if she’s willing to be less uptight than the average human (pats sydney on butt…) — sorry my muse is a bit off right now. I just finished writing up the synopsis and chapter outlines for my next book, “Six Pack Heroes: A Dark and Angry Brew arises.” It’s a reverse fantasy novel, w/some sci-fi and technomagic in it. Heroes are six dwarfs…the last six…sorta…
i kind of imagined them as stone relics that would sparkle, fly around, then be absorbed into her body. maybe an armor-up sequence?
Note To Dave:
Widening the comments page works fine on my system (WinXP / Firefox), and it looks a lot better too..
Thanks. It may not work out ultimately when I add some advert banners in. It’s definitely broken on some pages where there’s not a comic to space stuff out, like some of the blog posts. :(
Also works fine in Opera 11.60. It’s IMHO an improvement.
same here, i think my avatar got bigger too.
Naw, everyone else’s avatar is just a little cold.
Win 7 Firefox looks fine too.
Well I think the general wins the prize for being closest to the truth with his guess…while no Pokemon were harmed in Halo gaining her powers, it is, indeed, a “magic trinket” type thing and not animals of any kind or eldrich abominations (Or at least they don’t LOOK like tentacles of Cthulhu or Azathoth’s eyes or anything…)
Indeed, Elfguy. The General was closest. Sailor Moon does have ball-like accessories in the series. Two in her hair, one on her wand/staff, one on her chest, one on each boot, and one on Luna’s collar.
Ioun Stones.
I´d like to say “called it”, but i´m actually not certain if i did…
Oh well.
Thought it.
So the orbs are giant floating Skitttels? Taste the Rainbow!
Oh great, pretty things. She’s a magical girl, isn’t she?
have you ever seen a magical girl with a mouth as dirty as hers?
Only in a hentai.
Fingers crossed for eventual “Hentai” pics. :D
I love the picture of sydney with all the orbs floating around her. She looks happy and I don’t know just something about it made me like it super lots
how long until one of the other supers or major cast members makes the mistake of calling her “The Juggler” because she has to juggle the balls to manipulate and express her powers…and mutters something about her already being a clown?
Will they be the first asked about their powers and then have Sydney show em what a power stunt can do?
Telekinetic Pseudopod ability? That has TK Kancho writ all over it as a power stunt. She’s into comics and anime, neh? Sure to be in her mind of twisted things she just needs to try out on someone… maybe she has a story about that already…
But I think some poor sap will make the above mistake and be prodded none to gently – especially if they say they are NIGH Invunerable…nothing she can do can hurt them… -snicker-
I just had a thought…what if Achilles’s weak spot ISN’T his heel. HMMMMMM?
It might be the top of his head. :)
was thinking it’d explain why he’d hate prostate exams :p
My thoughts went in the myth-direction. Original Achilles was vulnerable because his heel was held by his mom when dunked maybe this one was held by his head so he wouldn’t drown during dunking thus soft spot on head where hand was. Also seemed not so bright.
^^
That is why Achilles feared his mom above all others… her hand covered his ankle when he was dunked in magic. Which means his mom’s hand was very capable of applying a hurt on him when he misbehaved… She moonlights as the “Spanker” and punishes brats that need it (also known as the Slapper! Bane of Pimps and uncaring parents…)
Top left orb: I [squiggle] unparseable symbols? I thought Sydney’s Inventive Invective was a native power that didn’t need an Orb.
That is pretty damned cool.
I always knew Sydney had enough balls to be a super hero…
Can sum up that tube in 5 words
” it’s bigger on the inside”
but it’s not a blue rectangle container
doesn’t have to be; remember the Dr’s pockets have the same ability as the “Police Box” on being bigger on the inside.
If in doubt: Blame ther Doctor.
(Works for me)
YOu know Syd loooks soo freakin adorable right here
Wow nice! Not a let down at all! I really like the design of the spheres and they’re all different, not just in color but in content.
The only thing I can think of when looking at Sydney is an old AC/DC song. No points for guessing which one :P
They are adorable… and I love the Ioun Stone vibe I am getting from them circling her head and looking all cool and magical and stuff.
Its my balls, I have 6 of them.
It think the reason that Gwen couldn’t find anything when she scanned the tube the first time was that she seemed to be concentrating on magical and or mental type powers rather than hi-technology based items, remember that “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”… therefore if it isn’t magic, then it must be technology, and since Gwen wasn’t scanning for it, OR couldn’t interpret the readings she did get correctly due to her inexperience… that’s why she thought it was empty…
Nope; she found the inside of the tube “less than empty”, which meant her scan showed a void instead of a more normal ’empty’ (air).
Agreed… she possibly misinterpreted the reading that she DID get… remember she did say that she wanted to get better training, thus implying she’s a relative novice and may not have the knowledge to decipher the subtle differences yet.
My first thought was Ioun Stones. Again, coming back to the Egyptian God thing.. >.> Maybe those are soul stones? Ancient Soul stones that the Egyptians used to trap their gods, so the Pharoh might truly be considered a god?
Or maybe I’m wrong. SHINY!!!!!!!
I’m somehow reminded of Vaughn Bode, the (pre-Internet) artist of various characters such as [Cheech Wizard]. One of his lesser characters had a hovering “Doom Marble”, that acted as both servant & guardian.
from the series comic cobalt 60 the evil Strontium 90 had the doom marble. he was the former high adviser to cobalt 60’s father the king of the “radio men” but he murdered both 60’s father and mother. he then userped the throne. 60’s nurse got him away to safty and raised him. she made him wear a white cloth mask to hide his face
oooh, intriguing
Letdown NOTHING. I pictured them as simple floating stone orbs of differing colors..possibly patterns. This is SO much better. and the pure, un-crazy, simple JOY on her face as she shows them is priceless.
Her powers are described in detail now on the Cast page, just so everyone knows.
Also, keep the details outta the comments – I’m guessing it’s still very much hush-hush until it’s dropped in the comics.
I do have to say though that it’ll be quite interesting to see her put these powers to use!
Slight spoilers if you haven’t read the cast page.
I read the cast page, and now I can’t stop thinking “She has to grab her balls in order to use her powers.”
Actually she doesn’t have to touch them just be in proximity to them, in the tube. We saw it in action back when she was hiding under a truck an Maxima picked up the tube. It suddenly leaps out of her hand an flies to Sydney’s. Now think about that, jerked out of Maxima’s hand. No one human could do that her her an her strength! But these little spheres can an did.
that was the spherical incarnations of force acting not halo using any power/ability. the bouncing bundle of fury (female type) needs to have the chosen power key in her hand to do something with them.
they do look a bit like a halo floating around her head like that.
More like a big mardi gras necklace.
Who did she have to flash to get that! :D
To get a whole string of beads with her “scant assets” I’d say it was someone really desperate!
Or someone who likes quality over quantity. Bigger is not always better and gravity is proportional to mass. Part of Max’s strength is being used just to keep those puppies in place.
I don’t know the pink one behind her head has a symbol in it that looks alot like the one Gwen drew. So perhaps they are magical or they absorb energy around them and I am just guessing, manifest them?
oo oo what if the orbs can block or absorb spells cast on Sydney or them and when Gwen cast her spell it was blocked/absorbed that was why she didn’t find anything and the symbol is to let Sydney what happened.
@Kaian:
Interesting concept – now I’m picturing the possibility of one orb that siphons power from the opponent, & uses this energy to “fuel” the other six orbs.
(I’m trying mightily to abstain from consulting the spoilers – the temptation is fierce indeed!)
Just wondering what the egg crate foam is for… Are they actually delicate, or do they just bang together making noise when she leaves the foam out?
they make noise
Maybe it keeps them from irritating each other like kids in a car. (Stop touching me!!)
I’m not touching you! I’m not touching you!
Your leg is touching my leg! I’M TELLIN! MOM! :D
My mother was a saint. She drove 600 miles with 4 kids ages 2-10, 2 cats and a gerbil while 4-5 months pregnant while my father (big help Irving) waited for her to get there. Yes he was weaksauce.
Also, having not read her powers earlier when they were up, I almost expected the tube to be filled with resizable solar powered rings, flush to the sides of the tube, that would fly out and form armor or something…. Not that spheres are bad, per se… ;) In my head, the rings connected to her hair band (the only visible component) that served as the control and connection. The whole sunlight overreaction thing thing was about keeping them dormant so they wouldnt all fly out of the tube. It explained so much! Oh well. I guess spheres are like spinning rings. No, really, I was just wrong. Oh well.