Grrl Power #911 – The luxurious backhand
Sydney’s reaction legitimately started off as a runaway interaction between the serum and her ADHD, but did morph into an intentional stalling tactic.
This dude in the mask is a dick for aiming a gun at Sydney, but he’s hardly the first person on this world to wonder what happens to the orbs if she dies. You can be sure there were people above Maxima who gave it some thought, especially once they realized what an unfocused goof she can be. The fear of leaving someone like her with that much power is only baaaarely balanced out with the fact that no one knows what would happen. The orbs might go inert, leaving America/the Earth without one of the most powerful supers around to defend it. Some people might be willing to take that risk, but then someone pitched the idea that the orbs might react very badly to her death, and considering they obey her mental commands, it’s not inconceivable that the orbs could even understand the intent behind such an act, thereby increasing the likelihood of a bad outcome. It’s one of those “probably not, but is it really worth the risk” scenarios that keeps the heads of the off the books intelligence agencies up at night.
Guys, look… no spoilers, but fair warning, there is a teeeeeensy bit of gore on the next page. A skosh. A… soupçon, if you will. Barely worth mentioning. >cough<
So APPARENTLY, the previous page reminded some of you guys of a scene from a book series called the Vorkosigan Saga. I had never actually heard of the books, but I guess it must have been required reading or something, because about four hundred sixty of you mentioned it. For the three of you who didn’t, the 17 book series starts with Shards of Honor (Vorkosigan Saga) (Miles Vorkosigan Book 1) by Lois McMasters Bujold. (Whose name I always thought was Louis even though I knew she was a she.) And apparently the series has a plethora of piñatas awards. The first book is chronologically the second book, and the fourth book is chronologically the first, so I’ll leave you to figure out your own optimal reading order.
I saw that someone posted that Baen Publishing thought audiobooks wouldn’t be a big thing, but recorded a bunch of them as free promo material that would ship as a CD with certain hardback editions or something. So, hey, good on them for keeping them free even if their prediction about audiobooks didn’t pan out. So about 13 of the 17 books have free audiobooks. They won’t download through the desktop Audible app, but hey, listening to them through a tab in my browser won’t be too awful I guess. Glad my keyboard has those media keys.
Check the vote incentive to see Sydney not naked.
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3 next panels are all red.
and sticky.
Sometimes sticky is good, but red & sticky, not so much…Unless it includes peanut butter & strawberry jelly sandwiches.
Peanut Butter and Raspberry preserves on toasted English Muffins
on biscuits please. English muffins are tough and, essentially, gentile bagels.
But it’s the nooks and crannies that make them delicious!
You mean the butter pockets? I would have also accepted jam or egg yolk pockets.
Muffins don’t have a hole in the middle
That’s what the boomershooten is for.
Nah, I’m sure the next 3 panels will be about calm discussion about why it’s wrong to take hostages and hit Sydney, and they all leave peacefully after apologizing for all of this getting out of hand. That last panel was surely just an old sports injury stitch breaking.
Definitely no massive bloodbath that’s about to happen. Nope.
*covers eyes with hands but peeks*
*Cuts to the next scene in which baddie #1 proceeds to explode into a cloud of red.*
*looks innocently* “Is it a peaceful and friendly cloud of red?”
Yes. Yes it is. *leads Pander gently away to meet some newborn kittens*
{In a calming voice} I assure you, that cloud of red wishes nothing more than to quietly give everybody in the room a hug, and then go lie down.
No, baddie #1 is alive, because whoever fired that round, wants him alive.
If the goal was Permanent Deathification, his head would have disappeared into a cloud of red.
There’s about to be a sports injury involving brains splattered against a wall, but it is what it is.
Next time just make it 20 words or less
You heard the man! Soup’s on, on the next page!
Tomato soup, mostly. Or so I heard.
Chowder.
Human chowder.
re: Miles Korsagen: I’m one of those that noticed the similarity right away. The difference is that the effect of fast-penta on Miles is something entirely unexpected whereas with Sydney, she’s already prone to excessive loquaciousness. I’m impressed by the appearance that she seems to have some control, if not over the reaction, at least the direction.
She may not be able to stop from talking, but she certainly can decide what to talk about, or at least, what not to
This would have been a great chance for an old syd style cursing rant. Great to get the henchmen snickering at their boss.
I’ve not listened to the audiobook versions of the Vorkosigan Saga book, but the text versions are imho some of the most enjoyable lighter sci-fi reads I know of. Bon Appetit! (Sorry if you’re a bit bummed out that the fast-penta (truth serum) oddball “diarrhea of the mouth” reaction has been done before, you did it well too!)
I’ve seen several creatives talk about getting mail about plagiarizing something they’ve never even heard of, just had the same idea on their own. Nothing new under the sun – someone’s almost always done it before, it’s just a matter of execution and whether it’s novel to the creator & audience.
The issue of plagiarizing is a nasty one. Two webcomic artists happened to use the SAME job, and there was a nasty war between them. JUST because they both happened to have used the same joke, and one claimed the other one “stole” it from him. It’s also why I dropped that webcomic (its a popular one, mainstream, well known, I’ll be nice and not say which one).
And yes, it has all been done. All you can do is put your own personal spin on it. I mean, I’m writing a book (working on it) where the main character is an honorable supervillain, one not seeking redemption. Yeah, that’s been done before. Just put your own spin on it and accept that if you came up with the idea, a hundred plus did the same already.
Auto correct (or fat fingers!)
Should be “two artists used the same joke”
Blegh.
There will be a lot of red soup next page? Is Cooter entering a forbidden vault again?
lol classic trick then, stall the enemy till rescue arrives.
Lots of speculation about who showed up and how DaveB will portray the annihilation of the evildoers. For my money he can do a repeat of https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/comic/grrl-power-695-ordnance-schmordnance/ With a NYC cop finding a melted femur and another ticketing Cora for littering.
“With a NYC cop” That was on fracture!
Yes, Sasha, but they are not on Fracture now, so the cops that show up should be local, wouldn’t you agree?
Your point!?
Officer McGillicuddy would gladly come liase with NYPD if it helped them hold Cora accountable for something. And given the very public nature of the Times Square fight and the number of species involved, it actually is pretty likely that some galactic law enforcement will get involved.
(Also, it was perfectly clear to me that Gary meant a local officer would be reenacting the same script).
Idk, there’s a line between pedantry and deliberately missing the point that I feel was missed here.
That… could have made for an interesting cameo, if there had been a bit more time between Sydney’s visit to the Fracture and this fight. Officer McGillicuddy takes a transfer posting to NYC, tired of being ‘the only officer on this force willing to call out that blue Human for the menace she is’ and looking for somewhere a bit quieter to ply her trade. Just in time for her first shift to be tonight…
Ha, love this. And it’s not too late, or even that huge of a stretch – we know the galactic police followed the Fel to Earth, maybe she’s chasing down Ray’s unauthorized tour ship as we speak!
Well yes those books along with about 200 other free ones some of which were boring. but when I spent 20 dollars on 1 hardback and got 201 novels it was great
aka most of them were electronic non audio
A Copper Plated argument presented by Peggy.
Not a killshot. Somebody is showing restraint.
Which rules out Cora :P
If it’s not a kill shot then it must be a warning shot. In this case a stern warning, almost a sternum warning.
I’m sure I’m not the ulna one who found that humerus.
An important attachment point on the scapula is called the “coracoid process” (connecting various muscles and ligaments so the shoulder works ok.)
The last panel gives us an unusual (although not unexpected) view of a Coracoid process.
Somebody want to have the time to enjoy this.
Well by threatening a member of Archon he already forfeited any chance that the eventual rescue would hold their fire. And I mean actually threatening not trying to beat up Achilles threatening.
Also, did Sidney stay quiet long enough to hear Concretia’s whole answer?
Oh look Cora just nailed the idiot. While she isn’t know for restraint it doesn’t mean she can’t use it from time to time, plus she knows it will give aliens a bad rap if she doesn’t allow the locals to enforces their law.
Bad Guy: SHUT UP! WILL YOU SHUT UP!??
Sydney: Now we see the violence inherent in the system! (Shouting) Come and see the violence inherent in the system! Help! Help! I’m being Repressed!
Bad Guy: BLOODY HEROES!
“Hefe … Do you know what a plethora is?”
Excellent “Three Amigos” reference. The plethora dialog is one of my favorite in cinema.
Such a fantastic movie.
I like how you’re keeping that villain in character, it makes sense that a creep who gets hard because of his power over Concretia would immediately resort to shooting people when his ego gets hurt. Even though he knows killing Sydney would pretty much guarantee his violent shiny death, his ego just can’t handle somebody not doing what he tells them. That plus the expensive gloves and the Eyes Wide Shut costume means he should be pretty easy to track down if he survives the next page.
why does book 4 of the audio books cost a credit
I think I see a sliver of gold under that glove, which would mean the one who showed up is Maxima. I don’t think shock collars (which she isn’t wearing) and hypodermic needles even work on her nigh-impenetrable gold skin, never mind the futility of bullets.
What glove?
The one worn by the Littlest Crony (last seen in panel six)
zoom in, that is the inside lining of the glove.
This is making me think of that one Oglaf with the statues.
Which one?
Looking at the last panel in dread fascination, I observe:
1. The attack has 3-5 ragged ejections of ragged pinkish and whitish stuff – possibly pureed body parts – with an accompanying reddish mist; could be the result of multiple small bore projectiles or force beams intended to disable the gun arm – which succeeded – without immediately killing the gunman. We’ll see if that matters.
2. Henchman wisely or reflexively detached from the shoulder which was being disassembled without harming hench – yet. A good next move would be to drop to the floor with empty hands held high.
You know I’m okay with those guys getting killed in the most grusome way possible. Those fuckers want to play hardcore, kidnap a super and torture her to make her obey, tie a prisoner up and then kill them because their interrogation didn’t work out like they wished. Thats what super powers were made for. because sometimes screw you just don’t pack enough punch.
Damn! Shot to the collarbone. You won’t be shooting from that arm anytime soon, big man.
I have found Sydney’s counterpart in our world!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nb9vTu73xmE&ab_channel=TheBritishMuseum
She is good, even watched her video on the Helmet
✔ Thin, ✔ Short, ✔ Glasses, ✔ White & Nerdy, ✔ Bangs, ✔ Giant but slightly awkward grin ✔ White t-shirt
Aside from the accent, I think you have a pretty compelling case here.
:facepalm: In reply to Jan Baer’s Halo sighting
Ya know you might be the first one to use truth serum against a person with adhd. I never thought of what that might happen.
As you have outdone yourself with the all-text panels, there is a simple solution giving you a well-earned break on art. It’s the Sydney’s-eyes view of what is about to happen. It’s a rectangular panel, this size of a full page, colored a monochrome blood red.
With a final inset of her whimpering in a corner while Cora tries to coax her out.
“It’s okay, it’s all over, Sydney.”
“That’s a major part of why I’m not ready to come out.”
“Wha… oh, right.”
Imagine you accidentally mix up your unlabeled syringes in your fancy box and accidentally mind wipe your victim BEFORE you pump them for info
A: Tell me everything you know
B: uhhhh i don’t know anything
Did I miss the part where Sydney said vermilion?
Well I just binged this entire comic in… about eight and a half hours I think? This is definitely a ‘just a few more pages… just a few more dozen pages…’ comic and I’m glad I discovered it in the morning rather than late at night.
Welcome, hope you don’t mind the gaps between pages (at least they give people the chance to chat amongst themselves :D )
*Another brave soul drops into the final dungeon, only to find there is no exit, only endless pathways through the archives and the occasional random encounter with a fellow prisoner*
sounds like a social and self reflection Hell you just described.
def go through again and browse the comments. Lotsa value added. my $0.02
I….have super mixed feelings about this warning. On the one hand, it’s gonna be Monk-Sogynist what gets the brunt of it, and he’s the single most despicable guy in the whole comic even if he DIDN’T consider the suicidal action that is pissing off the space wizards that made the orbs which scare Calamarians shitless (if they’re still around and not, y’know, Precursors). On the other, the fact that this follows THE dirtiest conversation in this comic yet and the warning label makes me think it’ll be “lose your lunch” levels of cadaveriffic. Plus if it IS Cora that does the deed, that’ll deee-finitely cause some major internal conflict.
Like Sydney and Zeph chances are these guys think the orbs are probably some sort of magic artifacts, Zeph said other items do resemble them but not spot on. Nothing they did up till the Aetherium Causeway gave away how advanced they were; basically looking at the lower level abilities of the skill so far but start to go up those levels and more (well even the ascended beings have a hard time pulling that off without a giant flying crystal fortress) abilities may unlock. The Aetherium Causeway I took to being like those universal gateways you see in video games and sci-fi stories that were created by the most advanced cultures and look like giant relic super star gates requiring an insane amount of power to operate *like the intergalactic gateways the Ori had their followers build in the later SG-1 episodes), but here is Sydney pulling one off at the press of a button as it were casually using a palm sized ball. You’d never guess it could do that.
the Mecha Kaiju Uber Fel looking guys (who I still think the Alari may have ticked off like the gods of some species they invaded with a zero mercy policy) did recognize them, or at least determine what they could detect was worth calling in a continent size ship, kaiju soldiers like a Tokusatsu villain, and aerial nuke bombardments. So either they recognized the tech or encountered something with a similar energy or “presence” and it didn’t end well for them.
these guys however not so much, they feel like some Gentlemen’s club wannabe Illuminati gangsters using their rich guy connections to gain power and forced influence. Honestly everything about them screams of amateurs with money. Using hoods and orgy masks, using force and humiliation to control a kidnapped super who if she ever got free would likely hunt them down and kill them because of all the pain and humiliation they put her through, and decides to interrogate someone on the spot rather than using a paralysis or knock out drug to take them to a more secure location then question them in a room where she can’t even see them and use distorted voices. The reliance on these drugs to tell the truth and erase memories on the spot even screams of “I got fancy toys I don’t need to be cautious” levels of amateurs with money.
Also yes he does deserve to be a blood stain, but he also needs to be questioned about his operation.
The orbs are at the tech level where the distinction between “technology” and “magic” really isn’t useful anymore.
yeah, but we do get the impression magic artifacts have limits, coding, energy requirements given the stuff we’ve seen much like the limitations magic gets in a lot of series like Fairy Tail or Owl House where you basically have a MP bar and refill and time to recharge and so on. That way the characters don’t poof everything they need. Which to be honest the limitations version is more in keeping with folklore and mythology regarding sorcery. Even most gods couldn’t just poof things like Fairly Odd Parents.
I also agree, I have seen series, and in my own for that matter, where such high level beings actually manufactured the trans-dimensional “machinery” that re-codes and directs raw dimensional distortion potential into magic, and does it in such a way that to those species who live on those worlds they can’t differentiate between natural laws and the magic machinery as its so high above them that it just comes across as a natural aspect of quantum mechanics or dimensional physics.
The trick with the orbs is where they exceed even Ascended tech (Cora mentioned that Ascended level beings are listed as the 3rd tier), so like the Vorlons and Ancients and so on we assume; beings that have moved beyond physical limitations, and who pull the cryptic guides of other species, seed life, and so on; but while their tech is also indistinguishable it tends to in sci-fi have at least some resemblance to technology; especially newer series who look back at older representations and almost laugh as they accidentally predicted things like solid state electronics and the use of diamonds and gold in circuit boards, quartz crystals, plasma energy, and computer devices as small as tablets. I think Ascended beings the general rule is (the tech has to feel like something utilizing principles of science we have only barely touched on, or slightly breaks them, but still looks like machinery; like the giant steam punk golems, crystal control boards…sometimes depending on the series the tier 2 and tier 3 are basically the same tech wise only one is more showy and the species more glowy.
The Nth level seems to be the higher dimensional beings, the ones whose tech just breaks that laws of physics, the magi-tech; like its operating on areas of science we haven’t even touched on yet as we can’t detect or utilize them; and then beyond that. I imagine there is also a lot of overlap with 3rd tier in some tech, its not like we on Earth aren’t still using tech invented in the late 1800s while at the same time using newer versions of other tech; if it works it works as they say. Finding out when table fans were invented is weird (first electric table fan: 1886), and aside from being made of metal is virtually identical to those used today. most improvements were material, safety, and motor durability.
Even before the aetherium causeways, Archon actually did have SOME idea of how high tech they really were.
The tether between Sydney and the orbs is so strong that not even Maxima can budge it, even when she’s really trying.
The Force Field orb is so powerful that it was able to rebuff any attack by Maxima, including both punches and her plasma blast…. and the Force Field isnt even fully upgraded yet. Plus it was able to rebuff (barely) a blast from Kaiju monsters that destroyed an entire planet.
The fly orb was powerful enough that it firmly made Sydney the second fastest flier on the planet after Maxima, and again – this is before she even upgraded it. Now she might be the fastest flier. But even at the time before her trip to Alari Prime/Alar/the Alari Homeworld, it was already incredibly impressive.
The Life Support orb is literally able to create atmosphere from nothing. Basically violating conservation of matter. Or if it works by changing molecules or atoms (and thus does not violate conservation of matter), that’s still amazingly impressive.
Plus it can’t be scanned – even by Dabbler’s tech.
Sooooo it’s already beyond any technology on Earth (obviously) and even by a lot of technology that even Dabbler’s seen, even before her recent upgrades. :)
Just before we find out how they know to find her…
Syd has glasses with built in email.
You know, it takes a lot for me to find a villain irredeemable. Even characters like Vehemence, who I did not particularly like, was at least fun to read the dialog of with his genre savvy nature and that he did give the heroes some humility that they might not always be the most powerful kids on the block.
Hench Wench’s powerset is pretty cool. I feel like she has just let her powerset get to her head, like in Maxima’s initial televised warning to all people who might think they can push other people around. Plus she’s a supervillain that can be defeated by a smart lawyer, so I obviously like that. :) She’s possibly redeemable with the properly worded employment contract.
Brut’s strategy style, while dumb when you think about it in retrospect, is still fun to watch :). He seems like a thrill seeker. He probably can be redeemed if his profit motive and desire to thrillseek was redirected, like Jabberwokky’s was.
The alien mercs are just tryin’ to make their way in a cutthroat universe with their particular set of skills and underestimated their quarry this time. But there’s some loyalty they have to each other – at least the pilot and the leader. They’re just as likely to be bounty hunters for actual villains. Boba Fett was redeemed in the Mandalorian, and was a Mandalorian that was able to fight Darth Vader to a standstill, so if Boba Fett from Star Wars can be redeemed, then the alien mercs are redeemable too!
That spider woman was pretty cool as a fighter. And just has very wrong ideas about demons, probably because they’re DEMONS and historically demons obviously have a pretty bad public image. Plus she doesnt realize the Council is a thing that tempers them. Redeemable if she can get some knowledge about ACTUAL demon society and how, like anyone else, they are not all universally good or evil. One would think that if she had some knowledge of asian culture, she might have a more nuanced view of demons. So…. redeemable.
Poor Cooter is barely a villain at all – if he is, he’s a very sympathetic villain who was basically some poor guy who got USED while he was on a quest to avenge his murdered family. VERY redeemable. Probably the most redeemable ‘villain’ of all. Plus incredibly brave to go up against monsters when he has (well.. had) no powers. He’s like a redneck batman, but with guns. So… redneck deadshot from suicide squad maybe?
Sciona’s actually one of the better villains I’ve ever seen in a comic. Sure, she’s evil, but it’s because of how she was brought up, right? :) And you couldnt help but feel bad for her when she saw that her entire world was destroyed. She was willing to sacrifice her new body in order to save her fellow Alari. And we’ve already seen that not all Alari are evil. There’s an entire ship full of refugees on Cora’s ship that were not evil. And even tho Lorlana is…. high maintenance in her attitude, she’s on the path to redemption because she’s working for Deus, who is the greatest hero on Earth and a paragon of awesomeness.
But I just see nothing redeemable about this guy. He’s just a jerk and I’m looking forward to the idea of him getting his comeuppance. He backhanded Sydney, he uses a torture device on Concretia and adds humiliation on top of it by making her thank him and call him daddy. He was going to kill Sydney. No real remorse for him – unlike his two sidekicks, one of whom at least has the brains to say how killing Sydney would be insanely stupid and tries to stop him. So possible redemption for the co-flunkie, but no redeeming value for the main guy. None at all. It will be fun to see what happens next, as long as I have a strong stomach.
PS – Guesticules may mention the absence of Deus in the list of villains, but that’s only because my good friend G has not yet come to terms with the glory that is Deus, and how he is the light of the world. And could not possibly be listed as a villain, and therefore does not NEED to be redeemed. He is the best of us all. All praise Deus, amen
Ranking: *based on story roles, style, and resources, not power*
Henchwench and Brut, as they aren’t on their own: F (goons with names)
Vehemence (hard to place, low B probably; if just for the kicks but not really wanting to kill anyone not a real threat to him , C; he definitely had the potential to be A if we found out he had a network of resources and connections).
Sciona: A (resources, invasion plan, networking with knowledge of weapons and artifacts, planned ahead, counter measures);
Deus: A+ (already explained this before, he’s got enough resources and tactics to make his role as a villain questionable despite his lack of ethics and ambitions)
Cooter: D (joke villain, treated as fodder by more capable villains)
Arachnid lady “Areanna maybe”: Anti-hero, like Punisher going after Spider-man over a mis-understanding.
This guy: B (cruel, brutal, clearly has resources, willing to kill)…that said he feels like one of those rich amateur villains who thinks so highly of himself and his money that he can treat everyone like garbage and never get any comeuppance.
The “Hi Cora” bubble is missing
I have never felt so bad for Sydney as I do in this moment. What a trouper.