Grrl Power – Dabbler’s Science Corner #1
So the holiday was very busy and I didn’t get the usual amount of drawing time in*, so this week let’s try something a little different. Dabbler’s Science Corner! As she explains in the first panel, it will be a chance for some exposition and humor, just like EGS’s QA comics.
To make up for the lack of a full page comic (I know the story doesn’t need to go any slower) I’ll be posting one of these every day this week. Actually I’ll just be updating this page with additional strips so if you’re following via RSS you won’t see each new post each day. I’m not sure why I’m doing it that way. I had a reason, probably to do with keeping the archive clean and all the comments in one place. Anyway, remember to check back each day.
*Also I got married.
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Strip 1: Not too much to add to this one, though I’m not sure science would be entirely stumped by her bangs.
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Strip 2: So Harem’s brain isn’t completely identical, particle for particle, there are bits that are entangled and bits that aren’t, allowing for incongruent actions and learning that are instantly replicated out to the whole. Really though, don’t fret too much about the biology of it – just remember, 5 brains, one mind.
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Strip 3: Yeah. Didn’t expect that did you? We’re really jamming along with the science here aren’t we?
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Strip 4: Hey look, science. And violence. The two great tastes that taste like copper until your face stops bleeding. Although Dabbler’s blood probably tastes like ambrosia or something.
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Strip 5: As mentioned on the cast page, Dabbler is a mixed breed. That’s not a standard succubus power she’s using there.
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Well I hope you guys enjoyed this little interlude but it’s on with the story next time. In the end this turned out to be only slightly less work than a regular page. Flat colors and almost no backgrounds, but then 15 panels in all. Still it was fun to experiment with. Thanks for all the well wishes on the nuptials!
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.
Beakmaaaaaaan
If I didn’t already love you forever for this comic, I would love your forever for this reference!
Ok, you are now one of my favorite webcomic artists! Lesterrrrrrr! Who’s next, Mr. Greenjeans? (another famous sidekick who needs more recognition!)
Yay Beakman’s World!
Ok, I know this my be OT but I just got my Thinkgeek catalog in the mail and leafing through it found the perfect gift for the Sydney’s in you life. https://www.thinkgeek.com/caffeine/wacky-edibles/e8fe/?pfm=Search&t=e8fe They have a lot of fun stuff. Hope I.m not breaking any rules just thought people who wanted to try a 1 million SHU pepper might be interested.
How can Maxima move faster than a bullet without creating super sonic booms ?
Too cushions to soften reentry! O_O!
Ahem, Dos!
Boobies ! :D
Maybe it wasn’t a supersonic bullet. Seriously, not all guns fire supersonic bullets. Although…, the charts I was able to find pretty cleanly split subsonic vs. supersonic into handguns vs. bigger stuff assuming the speed of sound in air at 20° C (and here I thought the standard reference temperature was 25° C, but that wasn’t the figure I found). And Achilles was pretty clearly carrying “bigger stuff.” Hmm, maybe Max’s TK field keeps the shock wave from propagating.
.45 ACP is subsonic.
Also, the distance Maxima’s hand had to travel is considerably shorter than the distance the bullet had to travel, so she could make it happen (with very close timing).
Also, also, super hero physics.
Aye .. Super hero physics = Boobies. :D
Why does everything have to be pick over with a fine tooth comb? When all can be explained with super hooters. O_O
I agree with Old Blue Eyes here, it’s a comic not reality a few laws of physics are allowed to be broken. People can clone themselves, lift trucks with ease and catch a bullet and you are wondering why she doesn’t make a supersonic boom. Wanna know why? cause that would be damn inconvenient in the comic.
I know, I know … it’s just one of those silly questions that sometimes creeps up and you wonder how the author will do away with it. It helps flesh out the comic universe and make it more epic. :)
I think you’re right, that’s actually a cool point that I had never thought of, there’d be a mini boom a bit lower frequency than a whip crack if something the size of her arm broke the sound barrier. In the bank scene though, it was a subsonic pistol so it didn’t happen there.
Would make for a cool effect.
…Also, it seems like firearms might actually only be the second greatest threat to the team’s hearing.
I must apologize, that comment was about Inquisitive Raven’s statement, for Sheela’s benefit. There is nothing wrong with asking Questions. I prefer to go the simplest and sometimes Humorous route when giving answers though. And yes, answers like Raven’s are welcome. How Else would we or I, as an individual learn Stuff.
I must apologize my last statement was about Inquisitive Raven’s post. For Sheela’s Benefit, and my goofing off.
There has been some in-depth work on that with superman (eg: https://scifi.stackexchange.com/a/71831) but the short version is that something with the cross section of a human won’t make much of a sonic boom.
The methodology of the ‘work’ is flawed, as it is relying on extrapolating information produced for aircraft and is not directly examining a (completely non-aerodynamic) human shape or the unusual characteristics of Superman’s flight. Do note the comment added at the end:
Take Maxima’s flight from the bank as an example. There you are not talking about an aircraft flying at 50,000 feet. She vanished from the scene in a blink of an eye, shocking people at how fast she was travelling. So Maxima was accelerating to a very high speed, whilst close to people and buildings.
So even ‘not much’ of a sonic boom would have much more effect than you are implying. Let alone the significantly more dangerous issues from the comment quoted.
1.) Answering a question in the comic with “as discussed in the comments” isn’t a great way to go, and kinda defeats the entire purpose of your Science Corner. For a casual fan, they’re not going to scroll through and read 100+ comments to get the details of what “zero range telekinesis” means.
2.) Pop culture reference? Doesn’t that imply something happening recently? Is anyone under the age of 25 even going to even get a Beakman’s World reference?
Well, “as discussed in the comments” isn’t the answer to the question, it’s just noting that that topic was discussed quite a bit already. Besides the 4th set will go into more detail about it.
Yeah I wasn’t 100% sure how to word the reference call out. I didn’t want to say it outright. Pop culture seems like it should be something recent, but I’d argue that saying “Damnit Jim, I’m a doctor, not a brick layer.” would be a pop culture reference, and that’s what, 40 years old? Even something as old as Gone with the Wind or Cassablanca counts as pop culture.
I thought it was Mighty mouse not Beakman’s World. I have never seen Beakman’s World so I do not get that reference.
I mean I took it as Mighty Mouse as I have seen him lift a car in much the same way Max does.
Love the Beakman reference.
@Ron I’ve watched a lot of Beakman shows with my siblings, so yeah, got at least one person under the age of 18 who gets that reference.
Sweet mama I loved Beakmans World!!!!!!!! I think I still have a VHS somewhere…. Ah here it is. wow that’s a lot of dust! Cough!!!
What is a VHS?
Its like an 8-track with moving pictures.
Now explain what an 8-track is.
I remember when I first heard that term I thought people were saying A-track not 8-track. Then when I saw one I was thinking it looked like a funny looking audio type that they used to have before cds.
you mean cassette tapes?
Here’s the layout. First Actual device used to store and play music was a Record, Commonly used as Wall decor these days, or frizbee’s when dear old pappy is taking a nap. Next is the 8-track.Wasn’t very popular because It only played 1 or two songs. The Cassette was next and this was a Joy. Could play up to an hour of music, next was the CD An awesome device. more closely to today is the mp3 player. Small as the palm of your hand, but room to play as many as 5000 songs. Soon, Really soon even the Mp3 player will be obsolete when the government finally releases a microchip that can be planted in the brain. Receiving signals from your home computer, Serious Radio, and Zune. There just working out the kinks. Something about getting signals from a nearby inhabited planet. We are not supposed to know about.
You forgot the “Micro-discs”. Interesting idea but they never really caught on before the IPod and other Mp3 players came out.
Before records were shaped like a disc, they were cylinders and played on machines that had to be wound up (Victrola).
Wow you guys are YOUNG. 8-tracks and cassettes are not the same thing, in the proper order of technology they follow vinyl records (which are still being made), and precede cassette tapes, which also precede CDs, heck I refused to buy CDs for more than a decade after they came out because I liked cassettes, and I basically jumped straight to mp3s when I finally dropped cassettes.
Holy cow, congratulations and mazel tov on getting married!
“Although Dabbler’s blood probably tastes like ambrosia or something.”
Is there ANYTHING about that woman that is NOT to love?
Only the fact that she’s not real. =)
Why? Why must you hurt me so.
On the subject of hurt, in panel 12, Maxima breaks Dabbler’s horn. In panel 14 it’s bandaged, and in 15 fully healed. Is this the speed at which Dabbler actually heals?
I know this is to late for the Q&A, but just wondering .
No I screwed up there. I should probably fix it. I forgot the X’s on her collar too.
“As discussed in the Comments”?!?!
You are actually discussing the validity of superpowers here??
It´s a comic, for cryin´ out loud! A comic with superheroes in it. Since when does Superman have to explain how he lifts buildings?
Maybe i´m just “to old for this shit” (anyone who gets this quote knows how old i am), but in my time superpowers where just plain cool, and that was the ammount of anyones care.
I´m not actually sure why i´m writing this, but somehow things like “thats not possible” in regard to superpowers really tick me of, and i just wanted to put that here. Please just disregard my rant and continue your exercises in futility in the comments.
I just hope the comments don´t have to much of an impact in the comic itself, because it´s awesome.
Well nerds like to sit around and do deep dives on this stuff. It’s not a science lecture, but most discussions about super powers boil down to “once you allow this one thing to be possible, then you can explain X Y and Z” It’s just fun to think about. And when I say “as discussed in the comments” I just meant there were quite a few people chiming in about it, not that they were trying to convince me that’s how it should be. Not that I’m above influence, and I’m certainly not the most worldly person, so I welcome input. I am concerned with presenting a consistent world though, so you don’t have to worry about me changing my mind every other page.
The process is called “thought experimentation” and hypotheticals. Good exercise for the mind too.
How is the push force of Max’s powers? Cause if its powerful, I thought of a good attack.
She can’t consciously extend the field past her body to form shapes Green Lantern style or do other tricks with it. She herself can do quite a bit of pushing though cause her strength is no joke. For force based attacks, Anvil’s probably your gal.
I’m guessing what ramon1357 meant was Max touching something, then “maxing out” her field at that point. If I’m not explaining this well enough:
Let’s say Max can apply up to 20 tons of force to something she’s touching. When she touches something normally, her field would push against it as much as it pushed against her, as per Newton’s Third. If she then changed her field’s “push” to its maximum, whatever she was touching would suddenly get slammed with the full 20 tons. And since whatever seems to interact with her is really interacting with her field, this means that a simple finger poke would hit just as hard as a full-on punch.
If you’re still wondering, check out the Whateley Universe, and especially its wiki, it has a ton of speculation on how various powers work, the “TK Brick” among them.
That is EXACTLY what I was going for. Thus Max will never have to carry a gun, she IS the gun.
If you check out DaveB’s deviantArt pic of the gun, and look at the comments and speculation, it’s pretty clear that she carries it primarily for intimidation purposes. She can hit harder than it can, and her speed lets her move faster than the bullet can, but shoving a finger in someone’s face just doesn’t give the same impression as shoving that hand cannon in their face.
That is not to say there will not be any side effects of the attack, though.
Reading the explanation behind Maxima’s powers brought to mind Superboy’s initial powerset (before giving him the standard Kryptonian set) based around “Tactile Telekinesis,” only, you know, more restricted (can’t use all aspects at once). Amusingly, both Gladiator, from Marvel Comic, and Superman have both pulled similar tricks with buildings, and both companies gave a similar explanations to this when asked, hence, why I’m not surprised that Max could do that with just an ambulance.
Hell look at the last Superman movie, he lifted a mountain, or a small state and flew it into space. Now that is powerful.
No that is outrageous. ^_~
Seriously the comic books got into that trap. Superman’s powers were so variable. He might have trouble stopping a runaway train and a few months later have trouble moving a planet (and yes I can remember those days). One of the best things they did, a few years before the Doomsday saga when they did the DC universe re-boot, was limit his powers and make them consistent. I mean there are stories of an issue (I either missed it or can’t remember it) where he used his super-breath to blow out a SUN.
Pauses for 5 seconds: And with that the votes will now start as to Super Breath or Super BAD Breath. [I have seen the future] ^_~
Well that’s the problem with handing off a property every 12 issues. That’s why Gold Digger is my favorite comic. Same artist/writer for nearly 200 issues. Also it’s funny/actiony/cheesecakey/etc.
That’s ok, Sydney’s breath could start a sun. *rim shot*
Or for anyone as old as I am: HEYYYYY-OHHHHHH!!
Hate to admit it but when you said “HEYYYYY-OHHHHHH!!” I pictured you as a 100 years old or more.
Where you around before cars and TVs?
No but I was in High School about the time Cubicus Rubickus, the Lord of Frustration appeared.I’m 53 darlin’. You just about doubled my age.
Some of the other fogeys out there can explain to you whippersnappers what a Rubick’s Cube is, [totters off looking for my _______________.)
Obviously you never listened to Weird Al, cause he made a song about the guys who made that sound known around the world, that being Ed McMahon and Johnny Carson. The song is from the late 80s,early 90s, so the “over 100” crack comes off really insulting to anyone over 20, just IMNSHO.
It shames me to say… but I do remember seeing various shows (Gilligan’s Island etc…) in Black & White in my youth. I also remember when my dad brought home this neat thing called Pong.
I’m currently 27 and in my early days, my family used to have a black&white ‘Diamond’ TV set, connected to a large antenna outside our balcony. Took till’ 90-92 for us to get a color TV… heck, I think I remember the old one sticking around for even longer since the screen was twice the size of the colored one. (I’m from Romania btw :P )
On the cast page you list the power levels with names like “mega” and “ultra”. What are the names for all of them (1 – 9) and can you give examples of heroes at those levels (from comics)? Or, have you not figured all that out (you are busy I know)!
Yeah I’m working on an update for the cast page which includes keys for the powers and general examples of power levels. I also have it in my head to make some videos showing clips of things that demonstrate power levels which I think will be cool, but I’m worried about them getting killed off by DMCA claims even if I’m only going to use 5 second clips.
My reaction to the DMCA worry was “come on, that’s gotta be fair use”, as I can’t imagine it not being that – but IANAL, probably not in the same jurisdiction as you, and U.S. law on the matter has gotten rather draconian in recent years, I’ve heard…
Briefly reading up on Fair use though, I think I should be right, as (3) the amount (~5s) would be relatively very small, and probably a very unsubstantial part of the whole; (4) the effect on the original’s market is unlikely to be measurable; (1) it would arguably be for educational use (explaining the power levels), and AFAICS you’re not using this site, nevermind the clips, for commercial purposes; that’s three out of four already, and I’m not so sure that the last (2) would count against you here, as I think the natures of the works would be different (so the word “transformative” could come into play)…
In short, I don’t think you should need to worry about it.
As long as you made it clear you weren’t trying to claim any ‘borrowed’ clips as your own or to profit from them, and as long as you gave clear attribution to the original creator (maybe even a cross-link, if they’re online and that way inclined), I shouldn’t think there would be any problem using more widely-known examples of power types and/or levels to illustrate your own system. A ‘donor’ might even regard it as free advertising, if you make the attribution recognisable enough.
Ah well that is a complex issue. US copyright law has changed over the years. I wrote a somewhat lengthy explanation on DeviatART recently. Too lengthy to re-hash here but I covered the important points. It’s in my Journal.
Possibly you could do the initial explanation of the key for what the various power symbols are on the cast pictures in another session of Dabbler’s Science Corner.
Also, a question of my own: Do Dabbler’s horns grow back?
So… are you going to put yourself in the who’s who now that you’ve been in the comic? Never know when you might have to insert an author avatar to explain excessive lateness or sickies or what have you (or you know, maybe do the Q&A yourself one of these days).
thats gordon freeman!!!
Since a succubus is a daemon of seduction I’d guess her standard powers might be much more pleasant. But might also just not work on someone freshly married.
Congratulations on that by the way.
is she part mind flayer? also sweet chibi gotee
Why does Dabbler have a bandage on in Panel 5.2?
Because Maxima broke the tip of one of her horns off in panel 4.3! :)
Love Dabbler in the middle panel of the last strip! She’s finally using all four of her arms. I suppose it’s difficult to find poses for her which actually involve 4 arms, I’d think yes…
Also, “Tubey” LOL
Ya I was starting to think the other 2 arms did not work.
Partially they weren’t doing much on this page cause of how small the panels are. I didn’t have a lot of room for her to be expressive on this page.
If you want to see arms in action, go read “Spinnerette.” She’s got six of them and the usually are each doing something different. Very impressive.
The Hindu myths art work shows many examples of what to do with extra arms. So does “Spinnerette.” Some people want a life away from the super hero part. They don’t have blanket immunity and they like to see their family etc without a chance of one of their enemies taking them hostage. A very real danger to agents here and now.
I’ve been wondering this for a while now: can Dabbler’s eyes change color or is the pic at the top of the page with the yellow eyes just an old character design?
After observation I would surmise that it was some coloring error. Since from what I can see Dabbler’s eyes are heterochromatic. The left is purple and the right is light blue matching two of her major colors.
0.o Do you mean green and blue, Night? Otherwise I think our two monitors are way off lol.
Thanks for the info, Dave! (Now I know! And knowing is half– *cut off and sent to bed with no supper* )
Yeah that’s a slightly older design. She’s gone through a few.
Maybe her eye color could be variable ?
Man, sydney would totally spaz over that. :D
And then she’d probably fondle Dabbler’s ears … a lot.
Being part succubus though, Dabbler might even like the touching.
… and then my mind went to a xxx-rated place. :p
Mine was there when you mentioned the color changing eyes… i don’t know why i feel that way.. maybe because my eyes are so dark… XD
There is a small, quiet voice inside me that wants Maxima to never find out what’s in the tube.
Now that I think about it, me too.
Kinda same.
Dabblers must heal fast because her horn in strip 5 panel 2is wrapped up but in panel 3 its healed. Or did you just reuse her from the first panel ins strip 1?
It IS wrapped up in panel 3. Look closely, then you can see the band-aid knot on the bottom of her horn.
I want Harem to never find out, just because she brought up the issue.
Lol I’m lovin’ the comic strip idea, heh. XD
I used to be married….. Then I took an arrow in the knee.
nice star trek reference in panel 10
Actually the color Dabbler has other than purple that high lights her generous ears looks more like tourquoise on my monitor. As does her right eye. I like her design, both beautiful and alien. Where do I go to search out our succubus’ past?
There’s not a lot about her past in her bio, I’ll be having lots of glimpses into it as we roll along. You can check out Wereworld in which she makes and extended cameo eventually. I should put some older art of her up on my DA page now that I think about it.
Woot for chibi characters, lol.
Whoa, you added more to this one. Last I saw it was just two.
I have a question.
Dabbler seems to be reading a mind with some sort of antenna on her head that I never saw before.
Are those really a part of her cannon powers, or were they just thrown in for a gag here?
That’s canon. Thought I’d throw a little teaser in. :)
Aren’t those from the Dungeons and Dragons movie? XD I guess she’s part blue-raspberry-lipstick-dude, too.
I’m proud to say I had the sense not to see that movie. I generally try to avoid anything with a Wayan brother in it usually. AFAIK ear tentacles are uniquely my own creation.
Sweet! I hope one day we could have a more detailed look at just how different, and similar, Dabbler is to us and earth life.
I don’t understand the confusion about Harem’s mind. Seems a perfect straightforward server network to me. Five servers on one network. One host domain (the overall mind) with each of the five servers (individual brains) having the entirety of the network set up on it. Every so often they “replicate” which has the data differences between them replicate across to the network to the others so that all are the same.
Still the domain brain would have to not have a full access to all sensations from all five server brains unless her brain is different from our own. Otherwise she would be paralyzed by too much data overload. Which would explain why she must ask questions from her other parts. In the larger dinosaurs they had enlarged ganlia areas on the spinal cord which functioned as mini-brains so that they could move such large bodies without the delay of using just the single small brain in their heads.
YEAH BEAKMAN’S WORLD REFERENCE!
…BEAKMAN’S WORLD!
Gah! “As discussed in the comments”? Assuming the last page? I must have double-tapped the ‘page down’ button and missed it. Looks like it’s a mix of A and B.
Clue = Zer0 with the whole Maxima dressed as a mouse thing… O.o
I don’t get it… why is Max dressed as a mouse there? Unless you’re referring to “Sendung mit der Maus” (Show with the mouse) a TV-show for very little kids where scientific questions are answered. But the Mouse there is orange. And I didn’t know they translated it into English…
https://sharetv.org/shows/beakmans_world
how funny. I was referring to this: https://www.wdrmaus.de/ Dont think there’s an English version, though.
DaveB, as you recently made a comment that implies you are giving serious thought to publishing the comic in paper form, at some point, you need to put panel 7 in your “to do list.” It being an alteration that will be necessary before submission to the publishers. Even though it would only be a simple text-change job.
Yeah I’ll have to have a neutral 3rd party give the whole thing a once over. Or a twice over.