A character-driven, long format online comic that updates three times a week. Comedy! Drama! Revolutionary Communists, runaways, creative taxidermy and more.
I can’t wait to hear how this event gets boiled down later by Reagan:
“So you got clocked, then gouged out the guy’s eye!? And all to protect some game controller for a little girl!? I can’t tell whether that is bad-ass, noble, or dumb as hell.”
Well, the little girl being Zora, I’m thinking Ben is seeing something of himself in her, and besides, sometimes you protect things rather than yourself, without thinking.
He’s defending the controller for Zora, his copybook-holding computer and his medication. Emphasis on the final bit on the list there. Those are his three big motivators/anchors in the plotline so far.
Trying to have a rational discussion with someone whose eyeball you are thumbing out WHILE you are thumbing said eyeball out is not a rational thing to do. Q.E.D.
It occurred to me this weekend that it would be pretty terrible if Zora were to appear at this moment. But if she’s still in the Jakes’ apartment I guess that’s gonna come to pass pretty soon.
Actually the skull at the bottom of the eye well is rather thin, only a millimetre or two. That’s why most skulls you see skulking around have “empty eyesockets”, as the bone behind the eye has broken up. Mind you, the skull is only a few millimetres thick at your temples too, and you still can’t stick a finger through.
most likely it’s blood. if it’s any of the humour* buddy can pretty much kiss his eye goodbye.
*Humour is the liquid that is inside your eyball. Vitreous humour and Aqueous humour depending on which side of the lens it is. you would be surprised at how many parts of your body which have names. you learn A LOT in anatomy :P
Geez, when Gene went berserk at least he seemed to be acting more on instinct. There seems to be a genuine DISCONNECT between what Ben’s body and Ben’s brain are doing right now, and that’s really unsettling.
Nevermind then, what Ben needs to do NOW is to grab the bag. EJ might just abandon said bag in favour of getting away. I’m expecting next page to show some more Jakes, though. :-D
Naw, now that Ben has made it clear to EJ the bag is more important than life, EJ won’t leave it without some major incentive. I bet the bag contains whatever was hidden in his fusebox when Zora redecorated his apt. Personal guess, the irreplaceable meds.
My guess is that this mess will end with EJ in Jake custody, Ben with his head shaved so the Jakes can tend to his head wound(s), Zora and Gene happily playing some videogames, and Reagan laughing her ass off.
Except is he cracking Ben’s head on the floor or his hand -followed- by Ben’s head? Because in first case it’ll hurt Ben much more as it’s likely his head hitting the floor, while in the latter it’s more of the case of the “thud” coming from his whole upper body hitting the floor shoulder first.
It took me like five re-reads to realize that Ben pulled some kind of crazy Jiu-Jitsu move then thumbed EJ’s eye himself, and it wasn’t somebody else interceding on his behalf.
Well the one good thing about the fact that Marcus is the one most likely to show up is that he has a hateon for EJ so he’ll come in on Ben’s side if only because the enemy of my enemy…etc.
Anyone want to make bets how long the new hiatus lasts?
This is why I’d prefer a pre-set “slower update page”. Since 3 updates per week are too much, howabout two? Or even just one comic update and one doodle update per week? I understand real-life issues, I really do, but when the update schedule is too tight to follow, pulling back will work, as long as the readers know to expect it. I follow several comics that update only once per week (and often not even on the same day, it’s just “once per week”, whenever the artist has gotten the page done), it doesn’t make a webcomic worse in any way.
And no, I don’t produce a web-comic, but I used to write continuous fiction a few years back, and as real life got worse, I scaled back the appearance of updates, which those reading it understood just fine. (And that particular page no longer exists, so can’t direct you to an online source, sorry.)
Also “and no”, the Twitter feed still doesn’t make any sense. :-P
That we get comics at all, for free, at her expense and time, is enough on it’s own. It’s not like this is a payed service, where we can demand that a deadline be met.
But, uh, some consistency would be nice I guess… and I agree that the twitter feed isn’t any kind of coherent.
I think everything would be okay if there was more communication, or information to go on.
…again, I don’t really have the right to demand anything.
To clarify, I’m not demanding anything. I’m -wishing- for some consistency, and -suggesting- how things might be easier for the artist AND the audience.
The Hiatus might have something to do with Spike and her hubby having just bought a house and having to pack and move and deal with all the crap entailed in THAT as well as doing it over christmas/new year. The twitter feed is spike’s actual twitter feed, she updates constantly with what may seem like random things, but it’s no more nonsensical than anyone’s twitter feed taken out of context.
Thank you for the explanation. I don’t do Twitter, so I don’t have the ability to “read” the jumbled-up messages. It would be nice if there could be a textual update from the artist on the comic’s page, but as long as someone can translate Twitter into plain English, I’m happy with that too.
Twitter isn’t really…hard. Click it. Go look at the feed. There are updates, and they’re labeled with the time and date. The ones at the top are most recent.
Also, everyone freaking about the delay must be fairly new to the comic, because there have been months-long delays before. This is nothin’.
That’s what I’m sayin’! There is one thing to point out, though. I don’t think she’s ever left us with such a dramatic page. Maybe we saw Ben walking down the street and some dialogue with another character, and then it didn’t update for a month or so. I don’t recall anyone getting their head bashed in or some other noteworthy drama, and having to wait weeks to find out what the hell is happening. I will gladly wait, though, as long as it’s not a two monther. That would not be bueno.
I can dig that – twitter is like the most annoying ephemeral thing. You have to read from bottom to top to get the stuff in order. And with some people, they’re so prolific, if you don’t follow along AS they say stuff, it’s hell to try to sort it out. I have a twitter account and i still get aggravated as fuck sometimes trying to catch up.
Oh no. Waiting for the next update is hard given the current pacing in the story. I think I’ll come back to read it after New Year. Hopefully Templar will still be around. It seems like a lot of web artists have tossed in their hats and gave up on their awesome work – like Punch N Pie, Other Peoples Business (though Sandra was kind enough to update her readers and write out the remaining scripts), Roza (the website is dead now), and a number more updating very slowly. Don’t know if it’s the economy, something in the air, or just sheer coincidence, but it seems more and more good artists are letting go of their comics. I can’t complain too much as it has been free and these folks have a right to do anything they wish with their creations, but I miss the stories. Guess I’ll go to the store today and find more print publications.
I think step three is still a question as well.
??????
It’s a riff on the Underwear Gnomes of South Park whose business plan is as follows
1} Steal underwear
2) ????
3)Profit!
Well, yeah, I think everyone gets the reference…
except in this particular case, it’s “????” all the way down.
I canNOT wait to see whatever copybook he’s got cooking in there.
(… unless it’s his meds he’s protecting?)
Also — Ben concussion: part two. :(
he’s protecting the controller for the little girl, from the super old game console.
I can’t wait to hear how this event gets boiled down later by Reagan:
“So you got clocked, then gouged out the guy’s eye!? And all to protect some game controller for a little girl!? I can’t tell whether that is bad-ass, noble, or dumb as hell.”
All of the above?
Seconded! ANd totally in character for Ben.
Well, the little girl being Zora, I’m thinking Ben is seeing something of himself in her, and besides, sometimes you protect things rather than yourself, without thinking.
He’s defending the controller for Zora, his copybook-holding computer and his medication. Emphasis on the final bit on the list there. Those are his three big motivators/anchors in the plotline so far.
Trying to have a rational discussion with someone whose eyeball you are thumbing out WHILE you are thumbing said eyeball out is not a rational thing to do. Q.E.D.
haha yeah, its almost as bad as trying to ask for directions from the guy whose head you just gave a concussion to.
See, you needs to read the map to get where you’re going, but it’s too dark to read. So you sets the map on fire so’s you can read it better. Doy.
Well, trying to be rational with EJ is counterproductive under any circumstances methinks.
Ahaha that’s so much better than whatever it was I was expecting.
I don’t know what Spike thinks, but that seems like about the most genuinely badass compliment a storyteller could ever receive.
AAAAAAAAA the eye juice on his thumb AAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAA I concur AAAAAAAA
I believe the proper term is “vitreous fluid,” not “eye juice.”
-G.
4) Profit!
4) Write Copybook
5) Profit!
Ben, this has possibly gone past the point of negotiaion. You are thumb-deep in his eye socket. He may not be receptive.
“Ben, this has possibly gone past the point of negotiaion.”
I literally burst out laughing.
Nah, “thumb-deep in someone’s eye-socket” is when real diplomacy can get started.
Aggggh his thumb in that last panel…covered in STUFF
Hmmm, I wonder how it tastes.
Heh…I -likes- you. Yumm, vitreous humour. Spiced with druggy/psycho blood. ;)
if any thing you should be able to negotiate pretty assuming he wants to keep his other eye.
A little radio time delay in Ben’s brain there. That’ll happen.
It occurred to me this weekend that it would be pretty terrible if Zora were to appear at this moment. But if she’s still in the Jakes’ apartment I guess that’s gonna come to pass pretty soon.
Isn’t “Eyegoo!” an exclamation in Korean? I think it is an expression of deep regret and pain.
(phonetically anyway)
It is! I remember the Korean girls in my high school sighing it to themselves whenever the homework was piling up…
Ben’s brain seems to unaware of what his body is doing right now.
Please, please, PLEASE tell me that’s just blood on his thumb. And if it isn’t… then don’t tell me what it is.
I’d think it’s probably vitreous humour, maybe blood too if his finger got as deep as the retina. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitreous_humour
And as I reread your comment before hitting submit I notice you ask not to be told…
’tis eye goo. Don’t worry, you can’t get at the brain through the eye socket with your finger unless you’ve got, like, laser-thin fingernails. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Caucasian_Human_Skull.jpg
Actually the skull at the bottom of the eye well is rather thin, only a millimetre or two. That’s why most skulls you see skulking around have “empty eyesockets”, as the bone behind the eye has broken up. Mind you, the skull is only a few millimetres thick at your temples too, and you still can’t stick a finger through.
Which is probably a REALLY GOOD THING. ‘Cause people are stupid.
most likely it’s blood. if it’s any of the humour* buddy can pretty much kiss his eye goodbye.
*Humour is the liquid that is inside your eyball. Vitreous humour and Aqueous humour depending on which side of the lens it is. you would be surprised at how many parts of your body which have names. you learn A LOT in anatomy :P
I said DON’T tell me what it is…
And you thought that by asking the readers of THIS comic not to tell you something, that would prevent any one of us from doing so?
That….is so ADORABLE.
Hey, Mage, you ought to wipe your mouth. You’ve got something pouring out of your mouth and…
Oh, wait. That’s sarcasm.
Never mind.
Well, it’s differently colored from Ben’s blood so yeah, I’m guessing vitreous humour.
I’m guessing EJ just isn’t seeing the humor in this…
*applause, standing O*
XD beautiful.
Maybe later he’ll look back on it humorously?
Geez, when Gene went berserk at least he seemed to be acting more on instinct. There seems to be a genuine DISCONNECT between what Ben’s body and Ben’s brain are doing right now, and that’s really unsettling.
He is at the very least in shock, which would be consistent with that disconnect.
try getting a head concussion some day, you’ll se how “connected” you’ll be able to behave…
why does it hurt so much to read this comic
Silly boy. Should have just grabbed the bag and ran instead of trying to be so rational. Sits down and pulls out the popcorn.
Nevermind then, what Ben needs to do NOW is to grab the bag. EJ might just abandon said bag in favour of getting away. I’m expecting next page to show some more Jakes, though. :-D
Naw, now that Ben has made it clear to EJ the bag is more important than life, EJ won’t leave it without some major incentive. I bet the bag contains whatever was hidden in his fusebox when Zora redecorated his apt. Personal guess, the irreplaceable meds.
My guess is that this mess will end with EJ in Jake custody, Ben with his head shaved so the Jakes can tend to his head wound(s), Zora and Gene happily playing some videogames, and Reagan laughing her ass off.
Uh-oh, retaliation. You know what that means! LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!
that looks like Scipio’s arm.
thank god. a marginally sane person!
No, that’s EJ’s hand, grabbing Ben’s hair and cracking his head on the floor. Two hard knocks in a matter of minutes, not good.
Ben’s next Note to Self: get buzzcut.
Except is he cracking Ben’s head on the floor or his hand -followed- by Ben’s head? Because in first case it’ll hurt Ben much more as it’s likely his head hitting the floor, while in the latter it’s more of the case of the “thud” coming from his whole upper body hitting the floor shoulder first.
whelp, yer right, there’s no hope for anybody.
Jakes swarming over them like ants on a honey-covered catapillar in 5…. 4…..
3…
2…
It took me like five re-reads to realize that Ben pulled some kind of crazy Jiu-Jitsu move then thumbed EJ’s eye himself, and it wasn’t somebody else interceding on his behalf.
HOBO FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!
AND THEN THE JAKES! OH GOD.
You know what? If the tension builds any more I may just explode.
Well the one good thing about the fact that Marcus is the one most likely to show up is that he has a hateon for EJ so he’ll come in on Ben’s side if only because the enemy of my enemy…etc.
Yeah, with two head traumas like that in quick succession Ben is heading for concussion land. No if’s, and’s or but’s about it.
I have a theory that the last few pages were created to deter refresh monkeys. “Wonder if there’s been a new TAZ lately..? OHYUKNO.”
Can I just point out how I love how the screams are bleeding into Ben’s dialogue balloons? Because I do.
Anyone want to make bets how long the new hiatus lasts?
This is why I’d prefer a pre-set “slower update page”. Since 3 updates per week are too much, howabout two? Or even just one comic update and one doodle update per week? I understand real-life issues, I really do, but when the update schedule is too tight to follow, pulling back will work, as long as the readers know to expect it. I follow several comics that update only once per week (and often not even on the same day, it’s just “once per week”, whenever the artist has gotten the page done), it doesn’t make a webcomic worse in any way.
And no, I don’t produce a web-comic, but I used to write continuous fiction a few years back, and as real life got worse, I scaled back the appearance of updates, which those reading it understood just fine. (And that particular page no longer exists, so can’t direct you to an online source, sorry.)
Also “and no”, the Twitter feed still doesn’t make any sense. :-P
That we get comics at all, for free, at her expense and time, is enough on it’s own. It’s not like this is a payed service, where we can demand that a deadline be met.
But, uh, some consistency would be nice I guess… and I agree that the twitter feed isn’t any kind of coherent.
I think everything would be okay if there was more communication, or information to go on.
…again, I don’t really have the right to demand anything.
To clarify, I’m not demanding anything. I’m -wishing- for some consistency, and -suggesting- how things might be easier for the artist AND the audience.
The Hiatus might have something to do with Spike and her hubby having just bought a house and having to pack and move and deal with all the crap entailed in THAT as well as doing it over christmas/new year. The twitter feed is spike’s actual twitter feed, she updates constantly with what may seem like random things, but it’s no more nonsensical than anyone’s twitter feed taken out of context.
Thank you for the explanation. I don’t do Twitter, so I don’t have the ability to “read” the jumbled-up messages. It would be nice if there could be a textual update from the artist on the comic’s page, but as long as someone can translate Twitter into plain English, I’m happy with that too.
Twitter isn’t really…hard. Click it. Go look at the feed. There are updates, and they’re labeled with the time and date. The ones at the top are most recent.
Also, everyone freaking about the delay must be fairly new to the comic, because there have been months-long delays before. This is nothin’.
That’s what I’m sayin’! There is one thing to point out, though. I don’t think she’s ever left us with such a dramatic page. Maybe we saw Ben walking down the street and some dialogue with another character, and then it didn’t update for a month or so. I don’t recall anyone getting their head bashed in or some other noteworthy drama, and having to wait weeks to find out what the hell is happening. I will gladly wait, though, as long as it’s not a two monther. That would not be bueno.
I can dig that – twitter is like the most annoying ephemeral thing. You have to read from bottom to top to get the stuff in order. And with some people, they’re so prolific, if you don’t follow along AS they say stuff, it’s hell to try to sort it out. I have a twitter account and i still get aggravated as fuck sometimes trying to catch up.
Oh no. Waiting for the next update is hard given the current pacing in the story. I think I’ll come back to read it after New Year. Hopefully Templar will still be around. It seems like a lot of web artists have tossed in their hats and gave up on their awesome work – like Punch N Pie, Other Peoples Business (though Sandra was kind enough to update her readers and write out the remaining scripts), Roza (the website is dead now), and a number more updating very slowly. Don’t know if it’s the economy, something in the air, or just sheer coincidence, but it seems more and more good artists are letting go of their comics. I can’t complain too much as it has been free and these folks have a right to do anything they wish with their creations, but I miss the stories. Guess I’ll go to the store today and find more print publications.