Tag Archives: Mad science

Webcomic News – Girl Genius Kickstarter

Posted on May 15, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Mad science webcomic Girl Genius has launched an accelerated Kickstarter to generate funds for a print run for a paper edition of “Girl Genius Volume 12” – this volume will actually run 192 pages rather than the usual 120 pages, and the Foglios plan on printing 9,000 copies due to how quickly they ran out of a previous print run. As of their first day, they’ve already reached over 23K dollars, nearly half of their minimum goal of 55K dollars. In addition, if and when they reach other monetary goals, other volumes will be reprinted as well, and Girl Genius medals will be cast as well for supporters. And to be honest? Of all the Kickstarters I’ve mentioned here in the News section… this is the one I want most to reach its final goal. Hey, if Order of the Stick can get a million dollars over Kickstarter, then Girl Genius can garner 220K dollars. (As a brief aside, I must admit to being amused by the “Tea Party” offer for a patron who bids 10K dollars. Having met Kaja Foglio, I must admit I could see her coming with tea and cakes. And a nice hat. ^^)

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Skin Horse

Posted on May 7, 2013 by | 1 Comment

Perhaps one of the toughest characters to develop in any story is the straight-man. The very nature of the straight-man is that he plays a support role from which the humorous elements can expand upon. Unfortunately, this can impede on the character taking a central role in the story (unless the story puts aside its more humorous elements for a bit). But while this is a central element for the character Sweetheart in Shaenon Garrity and Jeffrey Wells’ Skin Horse, today’s update had me realize there is another aspect to her personality that helps to explain much of her behavior and her actions toward her teammates.

But first I need to rewind a little to a previous storyline in which Sweetheart was upset that her coworker and subordinate Unity was busy gorging on lab-grown brains… and in doing so, becoming more intelligent. She would become downright dismissive of Unity and do her best to ignore Unity’s perceptions as to what was going on; as a result, the Skin Horse team failed to realize what was going on until it was nearly too late.

Looking forward to the latest update, and I noticed this pattern was unfolding once more. Sweetheart was dismissive of Unity’s perceptions concerning WhimsyCorp (which Unity either hallucinated or was visited by). Further, the moment Unity comes up with a logical and reasonable reason for Skin Horse to try and save WhimsyCorp (in that corporations are persons but not human… and thus under Skin Horse’s jurisdiction), Sweetheart accuses Unity of being on brains.

This is the moment I realized Sweetheart is threatened by other people’s intelligence. Nor is this a recent thing; when Tip first joined Skin Horse, Sweetheart was threatened by his obvious intelligence (and disdainful of Tip’s eccentricities, despite the fact these “non-professional” tendencies have helped the group on multiple occasions). Similarly, when Unity becomes smart, Sweetheart immediately becomes dismissive and brushes off any suggestions Unity may make. This distrust of other people’s intelligence even can be found in her opinion of their boss, the sentient bee swarm Gavotte.

As to why Sweetheart is so distrustful of other intelligences, I have to wonder if part of it lies with the fact Sweetheart is just an intelligent dog. She’s not even necessarily brilliant by human standards; she seems to thrive in a structured environment where there aren’t a lot of surprises. Within that setting, she does quite well. Outside it, however, she becomes defensive and unwilling to consider the opinions of others. And she’s aware of her limitations… and may very well be afraid that if she’s revealed to be just ordinary, she’ll lose everything she’s built.

The question ultimately is, what’s next for Sweetheart? What are her motivations? Is she afraid of being shown up by Tip… and later by Unity? Does her rank as team commander mean so much to her? And if so, why? In time, Garrity and Wells will likely expand on this and on Sweetheart. In the meantime, it’s clear Skin Horse has room to grow, even as the Skin Horse team slowly learn more of the subversive elements operating in the background of their world and why the massive cover-up on the Old War. And perhaps along the way we’ll learn more about Sweetheart… and see if she can overcome her fear and disdain of other intelligences before it’s too late.

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Posted in Webcomic commentary

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Skin Horse

Posted on September 3, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Of the three main characters in Shaenon K. Garrity and Jeffrey C. Wells’ mad science webcomic Skin Horse, I must admit I find the young zombie girl Unity to be the most intriguing of the three. Mind you, there’s plenty of hints that there’s a lot more to Tip’s story than we’ve seen to date (not so sure about Sweetheart’s story, mind you), but let’s be honest here; Unity stole the gold when it came to interesting characters in the comic. Part of this lies with the subtle nuances to her character, which you wouldn’t necessarily expect given she plays the same part Mel possessed in Garrity’s previous mad science comic, Narbonic, (to wit, random agent of destruction and chaos), along with the blissful innocence that you’d not expect a brain-eating zombie to possess.

These latest comics have brought out that hidden side of Unity that we briefly glimpsed when she possessed the body of her creator, Dr. Lee, and showed a talent for intelligence that was frankly unexpected by me. Still, when you look at the older SH comics, you can see glimpses that there’s more to Unity than wanton destruction and comic relief. As to where Garrity and Wells came up with the idea that zombies become brighter when they eat brains, I’m not sure (I think Simpsons did it in a Halloween episode, but it doesn’t seem to be a trope from the zombie movies as far as I’m aware), but it does provide them with a tool to ramp up Unity’s intelligence while dealing with the pareidolia-wielding scientist currently talking to Unity (and Sweetheart for that matter).

Though I must admit, there are shades of “Flowers for Algernon” with this latest update, as Unity realizes her improved intellect will fade (and indeed starts to fade even as she speaks). Much as she mentioned earlier when talking to the other zombies, she appears to be of two minds. One is this intelligent Unity that lurks under the surface, while carefree and destructive Unity wanders around most of the time. Interestingly, Unity still manages to maintain a façade of innocence even when intelligent. Even her “ominous” words to the zombies are ultimately meant for the best, rather than as some threat. It may be this quality of Unity that makes her so much fun to watch. Even when she causes mayhem, there is no sense of maliciousness to her. Given the scope of the Skin Horse organization, she may ultimately embody the purpose of the organization, to aid and assist nonhuman sapients in the Narbonic universe.

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Skin Horse

Posted on June 11, 2012 by | Leave a comment

For the past four months, Shaenon K. Garrity and Jeffrey C. Wells’ mad science and bureaucracy webcomic Skin Horse has been stuck in a holding pattern as the storyline’s current protagonist, Jonah Yu, has been stuck in what could only be described as a “Choose Your Own Adventure” storyline (due in part to things quantum); every time Jonah dies, he wakes up in a theater running a training seminar for new employees to a black ops organization. This has of course resulted in Jonah reliving variations on the same story over and over and over and over and over again until it’s gotten mind-numbingly tedious. Fortunately, an end is in sight; we already know the path that will lead Jonah and his friend Nera to safety (and amusingly enough link them up to the main cast of SH in the process).

While in theory a “Choose Your Own Adventure” theme would make for some interesting storytelling, in practice it has come out lacking. Part of the problem lies with the fact we’ve seen many elements of this story already, and seeing the slight variations of theme just doesn’t help bring it to life. Several weeks to a month of the comic could have been cut to tighten up the storyline without hurting it unduly. That said, the last two incarnations of Jonah’s respawns have nearly pulled the storyline out of the mud and allowed for storytelling inertia to occur. Interestingly, this lies with the entire concept of choice… and of Jonah’s decision to risk dying forever after his friend Nera is poisoned one life back. I must say, watching Jonah deliberately walk up to a death trap and die… with the risk that this death might be permanent… was a truly powerful moment.

What’s more, Garrity and Wells managed to mix humor with drama in this moment. Tradition would have Jonah admit to Nera that he loves her, even though they’re both only 16 years old. Instead, he admitted to her as she was dying that he’d eaten her moth’s cold cream (on bread). She’d even set it up… knowing that she’d never remember what he’d told her. Naturally Garrity and Wells tap-danced through that scene with a gleeful twist… which isn’t to say that he doesn’t care for her (to the point he’s died more than once because she died). Actions speak louder than words, after all. But perhaps a declaration of love would be too obvious… and scary.

Ultimately it is about choosing the right ending. That is the lesson that Jonah has accepted, even in the middle of a world of mad science and covert organizations and the knowledge that he could die at any moment, he still has the power to choose his own path. And Jonah has chosen to value friendship over everything else. Having learned this lesson, there’s no point now in his dying again. The story can move forward (even with the twist end for Jonah in learning his gaming associate Nick Zerhakker is now a brain flying a military helicopter) and we can move on. Though I can’t help but think that Jonah will be a part of the comic in the future; otherwise, I’m not sure what purpose this story would serve.

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Moron County

Posted on April 18, 2012 by | Leave a comment

One of my favorite songs from the late 60s is David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” and its tale of the ill-fated space voyage of Major Tom. Naturally I was rather tickled to see a Major Tom (working for the evil secret division of NASA) make an appearance in the latest storyline of the surreal science fiction comedy Moron County in which Biff’s ex-girlfriend Vyona Chang was kidnapped by aliens (resulting in Biff’s spectacular failure to try and rescue her). Cartoonist Grady Phillips actually managed to insert various lyrics into the comic without it appearing too contrived; in fact, Phillips even hangs a lampshade on this near the end of the comic. While Major Tom’s fate should be evident for anyone who has listened to the song (and if not, why not? I mean, this is David Bowie we’re talking about!), Phillips assured me on the social network Facebook that it’s probable Tom’s wife was in fact just Tom wearing a wig at the NASA Christmas party. And on that note, I highly recommend this storyline for anyone who either enjoys parody comics or rampant silliness, both of which are present in spades.

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Girl Genius

Posted on January 18, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Today I saw something that I never would have, in a million years, have expected. I saw the Pirate Queen Bangladesh DuPree reduced to tears. And this wasn’t tears of pain, mind you. We got to see the most gleefully homicidal character of the fantasy steampunk webcomic Girl Genius, a woman who giggles when she reads the definition of the word “sociopath” and considers them to be weak sauce, crying in Gilgamesh Wulfenbach’s arms as she explained to Gil how she’d searched for Gil’s father in the wreckage of the hospital… and was unable to find him anywhere. She was unable to save him… and she tried.

Of course we all know it’s likely that Klaus Wulfenbach is still alive, and likely a prisoner of the Other (the antagonist who waged war on Europe 18 years prior, and who had briefly possessed her daughter Agatha). Phil and Kaja Foglio have played this close to their vests… but in all likelihood the reveal on Klaus’s location (and condition) will happen at the end of Volume 11. In a way it’s disappointing; I know that Klaus won’t take his domination by the Other lying down. He’s already shown the ability to subvert the Other’s control, if only in small ways. It would be amusing to watch how else he thwarts the slaver wasp nestled in his gut.

(If I can indulge in a brief aside, the Foglios actually foreshadowed this years back in a made-up Heterodyne story. Not only did they have Klaus infected by a Slaver Wasp… but they also showed Klaus being freed of its influence. Of course, back then we didn’t know that the Wasps (or normal Slaver Wasps at least) couldn’t infect Sparks… but that doesn’t limit the foreshadowing aspect of this tale. And it gives me some hope at least that Klaus can ultimately be saved. He’s entirely too fascinating a character to be sacrificed as the right-hand man of the Other – or, to use a TV Tropes term, the Other’s Dragon.)

DuPree’s reaction to Gil (and to the loss of Klaus) is rather telling of Klaus himself. This man managed to win the loyalty of a bloodthirsty maniac… to the point that she follows Klaus’s orders without thinking. But what’s more, she ran back to the hospital to save Klaus. It tears her up that she failed him. When you consider how self-centered she is, the fact he managed to earn such loyalty in her says something about the physical charisma of the Baron. Oh, he wasn’t one for big speeches or the like. He was a rather quiet man when given the chance. But he led. He inspired. And somehow he captured DuPree’s loyalty. And that’s no small thing.

What’s more, her breakdown was well depicted… as was Gil’s reaction. I mean, he’s shocked to see DuPree break into tears this like. This is a woman who has no moral compass, no sense of wrong. Part of this may be the sense of helplessness here (and indeed, her threat to kill Gil in the final panel for having made her cry is quite indicative of her hatred of being helpless. This is a position she never wanted anyone to see her in, and Gil caused it. He’s a dead man, alright). What’s more… the final panel says so much. It’s not just the others calling him Herr Baron. When Gil takes DuPree into his arms and absolves her of blame… he becomes Baron Wulfenbach. At least until DuPree kills him, that is.

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Skin Horse

Posted on January 12, 2012 by | Leave a comment

On a bad day, Shaenon Garrity and Jeffrey Wells’ mad science webcomic Skin Horse is damn good. So when I state that the culmination of the Once and Future storyline has been… inspired, then please accept this as my affirmation that the comic has been rocking hard enough to make Linkin Park sound like soft rock. It’s not just the fact that Unity is skinriding Dr. Lee (whom she has vowed to kill, though I must admit some curiosity if she’ll still hold the same sentiments once she is returned to her own body). It’s the fact that she managed to outwit the mad scientist Tigerlily and has psyched her before the fight even began. While it might seem out of character given Unity’s tendency to bite first and think afterward, I’m more than willing to give that a pass and suggest it’s a combination of character growth and Unity’s possessing of Dr. Lee (who does possess considerable brains). Well played, Garrity and Wells. Well played indeed.

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