First time commenting, I have been a long time lurker from the paper trade days. So it’s nice to see PS238 finally get updated. I hope that in Webcomic format it gets the awareness it deserves.
Regarding the new page, good thing 84 has the Moon Shadow/The Revenant on speed dial. I enjoy 84 storylines, but my perception is that I enjoy it the most when Tyler/Moonshadow is involved. And also vice-versa.
While asking Moonshadow for a ride was the sensible thing to do, I still think it’s a little ironic that the first thing the “All FISS team” does is get some help from a non-FISS. I wonder how many of Julie’s non FISS friends will be asked to lend a hand before this adventure is over.
They’re not so much asking for flight as much as way to fly to a place without losing track of each other or getting lost. It’s not that they’re asking for help with something their FISS powers already provide but with something FISS doesn’t.
Not everyone is as fast as Forak (or a jet).
And they don’t have build in GPS so some would get lost flying across half america.
They needed some way to fly there, as fast as possible and in one group so nobody got lost.
For the other three they would call a speedster, a non flight capable brick and a non-flight capable strongmen.
They are good at Flight, Invulnerability, Superstrenght and Speed. But naturally they are not as good in any area as someone who only has that one area. Versatility vs Focus.
Moonshadow is Revenant’s protege.
Most mainstream heroes don’t like Revenant because he doesn’t have powers. (Can’t recall which strip referenced that. Somewhere around Rainmaker?)
Most mainstream heroes don’t respect FISSs because of their “unremarkable” powers.
Seems like a natural team-up to me.
I can top that idea… Zero (or Nullset) the Meta-Human with the following powerset: Teleporter (the farther the distance the longer the time it takes to port… Basically the fastest unassisted teleporting “speed or velocity” he can reach with this power is about 1 foot per second), this Time-Flow-power (basically he can make himself faster and/or slower time-rate as the rest of reality, good to make him seem like he’s going at super speed fast or a one-way trip into the future-times), Regeneration (to the point that he’s basically immortal if pushed to it’s limits), Strong-ish (not to a true FISS level, but more like “spiderman level” strong if you compared him to a normal human, also with the right tech and/or magics, he can boost his straight to high-level level strong), & Super-smarts (not to Zardon level tech smarts, but he’s got enough smarts to know how such stuff works theory wise, just building it is beyond him… Also his mind is good with magical thinking… Lastly this brain of his is able to recall most info that he’d deam possibly useful or he feels like he can if he memorizes it enough, by way of “speedreading” by his timeflow powers) Basically at his best this character would be a non-FISS, who basically with the right tech and/or magic mix boosting him, could only BE AT PAR with a FISS… This Zero or Nullset I picture would be a total fanboy of 84, but for different reasons then any FISS does… Cause he’s a total non-FISS meta who’s powerset at their best of best can only get upto par as your basic FISS… So he feels like he’s not even that special enough to be a FISS meta with a number & junk. That’s why he’d take the number Zero for his name, because he doesn’t even have a FISS number, but feels much like one of the FISS’… Because of his weak powerset being only “upgradeable” to FISS level of hero-set. Which really for this teen before learning of 84 thought he was never going to be a hero and would’ve only been viewed as a “wannabe-FISS” at best by his fellow Hero & Villain peers who know his full powerset… So in the spirit of “84’s choice” he decides to EMBRACE what he fears others will think of him. And try to turn himself into the best and brightest hero he can become. Basically becoming very “Moonshadow-ish” with only being mostly self-trained in the Hero Biz…
What you think? Was just thought up right on the spit after reading this page. (though this type of powerset has been mulling in my head for a while)
The thing is that some FISS are probably weaker than that. Forak, for example. And slow teleportation is basically indistinguishable from phasing, which is an uncommon enough power to make him remarkable, as FISS are apparently discriminated against (or, more likely, ignored) because they’re boring. Also, regeneration to the point of functional immortality? How is this weaker than invulnerability that fails when hit by a tank shell?
Looking back, this seems like it may be harsher than I intended. It does seem like an interesting powerset, but it seems like some of the features could be smoothed together. Maybe he has relatively weak regeneration, or some skill with surgery, and can use his time dilation with that? And maybe he gets more durable the more he slows himself down? There are places you could go with this. Fun places.
Maybe she still has his card?
You know the ones the revenant made to him and added a hidden phone number too?
Chances are she got somebody to read the numbers to her and she wrote them down on her copy.
“It’s not so much you guys I’m worried about, it’s what’ll happen to the plane if one of the unsecured ones smacks into something fragile during turbulence at supersonic re-entry speeds…”
Not that long ago, the proper unspoken completion to that would have been “… something fragile like, you know, the pilot.” Now it probably doesn’t even occur to him.
Actually as Ajax/82 himself knows, being indestructible doesn’t mean you can’t be hurt, just that you will survive. Just as there are variances among the flight capabilities of F.I.S.S., there are varying degrees of invulnerability. While Julie/84 found being stomped into the ground by a giant robot tiresome, it probably would have knocked Forak unconscious. (And, he’d need of help digging his way out.)
Back when 84 was affected by “Argonite” the revenant remarked:
“I noticed how you did not hesistate to jump after her. Tell me later if that is something you want to work towards or against doing that in the future.”
So, the Revenant is showing what an intelligent person he is by utilizing Moon Shadow’s excellent common sense (his super power). Also, the Revenant has proven exceedingly able to monitor Moon Shadow remotely (and provide remote assistance) as need. Moon Shadow may bring great gadgets to the game, but he is also bringing adult supervision. To be honest, this is what the Numbers (great name, whoever came up with that) have shown they need more than respect for their powers.
Yeah. As a computer imaging guy, the awful aliasing and poor palette/dithering used really jumped out at me. Perhaps the color depth was changed before scaling the image, instead of after? Or a low quality scaling algorithm was used?
In any case, it looks pretty bad and is quite distracting, IMHO.
I’m more than slightly concerned by the fact that she used Forak’s phone to call him. That means that now Forak – and probably whichever agency gave him the phone too – now has the number too. That’s probably going to have unforeseen side effects.
Remember that Forak is from a society that has enslaved the ‘softlings’ and culled the ‘ferals’; even as a weak FISS, he was still nobility and regarded way above most of the population.
It’s also rather suspicious that he is organizing a FISS-supremacist group on Earth with Julie as the figurehead for PR cover.
I think Forak is much smarter (and more sinister) than he lets on.
Hopefully the Revenant has the foresight to provide Moonshadow with some Argonite.
Why? Moonshadow hands out business cards, remember? Getting his number is as easy as going up to kid you know attends PS238 and asking if they know anybody with a Moonshadow business card.
Especially since you have to remember that it is not his personal phone but his “professional” one, procured by the Revenant. They may have his number, but you can bet they will find it impossible to track him with this information.
How I overlooked this comic before is beyond me, but now that I’ve found it, I’m totally impressed. Sadly, I’ve read through the archives and am now up to speed; which means I have to wait for updates. *sigh*
This strips artwork, character design, dialogue, plotlines, attention to detail, layouts, pacing, timing and now coloring are all of high caliber and I am enjoying it thoroughly. I am quite pleased that Aaron decided to continue this strip after the supply of dead tree editions were exhausted.
You have a confirmed reader here and I have bookmarked this strip. Continued success to you, sir.
I forget if this was explicitly pointed out in a past issue, but the superkids do realize that Moon Shadow has no powers, right? It feels like most of them do, but some don’t.
‘Vinz Klortho…’ That name seems familiar for some reason, but I can’t recall why…
Anyway – on topic. The super-kids don’t realize that Moonshadow is ‘unpowered’ – in fact, they believe he has a whole suite of powers, some completely out of the ball park (forget left-field!).
First time commenting, I have been a long time lurker from the paper trade days. So it’s nice to see PS238 finally get updated. I hope that in Webcomic format it gets the awareness it deserves.
Regarding the new page, good thing 84 has the Moon Shadow/The Revenant on speed dial. I enjoy 84 storylines, but my perception is that I enjoy it the most when Tyler/Moonshadow is involved. And also vice-versa.
While asking Moonshadow for a ride was the sensible thing to do, I still think it’s a little ironic that the first thing the “All FISS team” does is get some help from a non-FISS. I wonder how many of Julie’s non FISS friends will be asked to lend a hand before this adventure is over.
More Irony: The help they’re asking for is with FLIGHT.
So, who do they call for help with Indesctrucatbility. Speed, and Strength?
They’re not so much asking for flight as much as way to fly to a place without losing track of each other or getting lost. It’s not that they’re asking for help with something their FISS powers already provide but with something FISS doesn’t.
Not everyone is as fast as Forak (or a jet).
And they don’t have build in GPS so some would get lost flying across half america.
They needed some way to fly there, as fast as possible and in one group so nobody got lost.
For the other three they would call a speedster, a non flight capable brick and a non-flight capable strongmen.
They are good at Flight, Invulnerability, Superstrenght and Speed. But naturally they are not as good in any area as someone who only has that one area. Versatility vs Focus.
Patriot Act and Whiz.
Moonshadow is Revenant’s protege.
Most mainstream heroes don’t like Revenant because he doesn’t have powers. (Can’t recall which strip referenced that. Somewhere around Rainmaker?)
Most mainstream heroes don’t respect FISSs because of their “unremarkable” powers.
Seems like a natural team-up to me.
That… is an excellent point. 🙂
It’s also been hinted at a couple of times that Julie has a crush on Moonshadow.
Brilliant
Can you imagine a FISS team equipped with by the revenant’s tech and actually following his advice? it would be glorious
I can top that idea… Zero (or Nullset) the Meta-Human with the following powerset: Teleporter (the farther the distance the longer the time it takes to port… Basically the fastest unassisted teleporting “speed or velocity” he can reach with this power is about 1 foot per second), this Time-Flow-power (basically he can make himself faster and/or slower time-rate as the rest of reality, good to make him seem like he’s going at super speed fast or a one-way trip into the future-times), Regeneration (to the point that he’s basically immortal if pushed to it’s limits), Strong-ish (not to a true FISS level, but more like “spiderman level” strong if you compared him to a normal human, also with the right tech and/or magics, he can boost his straight to high-level level strong), & Super-smarts (not to Zardon level tech smarts, but he’s got enough smarts to know how such stuff works theory wise, just building it is beyond him… Also his mind is good with magical thinking… Lastly this brain of his is able to recall most info that he’d deam possibly useful or he feels like he can if he memorizes it enough, by way of “speedreading” by his timeflow powers) Basically at his best this character would be a non-FISS, who basically with the right tech and/or magic mix boosting him, could only BE AT PAR with a FISS… This Zero or Nullset I picture would be a total fanboy of 84, but for different reasons then any FISS does… Cause he’s a total non-FISS meta who’s powerset at their best of best can only get upto par as your basic FISS… So he feels like he’s not even that special enough to be a FISS meta with a number & junk. That’s why he’d take the number Zero for his name, because he doesn’t even have a FISS number, but feels much like one of the FISS’… Because of his weak powerset being only “upgradeable” to FISS level of hero-set. Which really for this teen before learning of 84 thought he was never going to be a hero and would’ve only been viewed as a “wannabe-FISS” at best by his fellow Hero & Villain peers who know his full powerset… So in the spirit of “84’s choice” he decides to EMBRACE what he fears others will think of him. And try to turn himself into the best and brightest hero he can become. Basically becoming very “Moonshadow-ish” with only being mostly self-trained in the Hero Biz…
What you think? Was just thought up right on the spit after reading this page. (though this type of powerset has been mulling in my head for a while)
The thing is that some FISS are probably weaker than that. Forak, for example. And slow teleportation is basically indistinguishable from phasing, which is an uncommon enough power to make him remarkable, as FISS are apparently discriminated against (or, more likely, ignored) because they’re boring. Also, regeneration to the point of functional immortality? How is this weaker than invulnerability that fails when hit by a tank shell?
Looking back, this seems like it may be harsher than I intended. It does seem like an interesting powerset, but it seems like some of the features could be smoothed together. Maybe he has relatively weak regeneration, or some skill with surgery, and can use his time dilation with that? And maybe he gets more durable the more he slows himself down? There are places you could go with this. Fun places.
Shhh, spoilers. ?
So she has MoonShadow’s number? (and knows it by heart?) I wonder if it’ll come up again the next (first?) time she wants a date. In a few years.
This isn’t Facebook but I mega-LIKE your comment. 🙂
I’ll second Pen’s comment. I read it, and started laughing hard enough that I couldn’t see for a few secs.
She must! Forak certainly doesn’t have it…
Maybe she still has his card?
You know the ones the revenant made to him and added a hidden phone number too?
Chances are she got somebody to read the numbers to her and she wrote them down on her copy.
“It’s not so much you guys I’m worried about, it’s what’ll happen to the plane if one of the unsecured ones smacks into something fragile during turbulence at supersonic re-entry speeds…”
Not that long ago, the proper unspoken completion to that would have been “… something fragile like, you know, the pilot.” Now it probably doesn’t even occur to him.
Actually as Ajax/82 himself knows, being indestructible doesn’t mean you can’t be hurt, just that you will survive. Just as there are variances among the flight capabilities of F.I.S.S., there are varying degrees of invulnerability. While Julie/84 found being stomped into the ground by a giant robot tiresome, it probably would have knocked Forak unconscious. (And, he’d need of help digging his way out.)
Something fragile being Moonshadow. 😀
I like how Moon Shadow has gone from being terrified of everything, including flight, to giving the Numbers a ride across the continent.
He probably doesn’t even realize it yet, but this kind of thing has become normal for him :P.
I LIKE your comment, sir.
Back when 84 was affected by “Argonite” the revenant remarked:
“I noticed how you did not hesistate to jump after her. Tell me later if that is something you want to work towards or against doing that in the future.”
The resolution on this comic is rougher than on previous comics. Same for the last post of Use Sword on Monster. I hope that’s a temporary problem.
On a different note, Revenant is once again showing his disregard for what everyone else would consider age-appropriate child activities.
So, the Revenant is showing what an intelligent person he is by utilizing Moon Shadow’s excellent common sense (his super power). Also, the Revenant has proven exceedingly able to monitor Moon Shadow remotely (and provide remote assistance) as need. Moon Shadow may bring great gadgets to the game, but he is also bringing adult supervision. To be honest, this is what the Numbers (great name, whoever came up with that) have shown they need more than respect for their powers.
It’s not the resolution, it’s the complete absence of anti-aliasing.
Yeah. As a computer imaging guy, the awful aliasing and poor palette/dithering used really jumped out at me. Perhaps the color depth was changed before scaling the image, instead of after? Or a low quality scaling algorithm was used?
In any case, it looks pretty bad and is quite distracting, IMHO.
I’m more than slightly concerned by the fact that she used Forak’s phone to call him. That means that now Forak – and probably whichever agency gave him the phone too – now has the number too. That’s probably going to have unforeseen side effects.
Remember that Forak is from a society that has enslaved the ‘softlings’ and culled the ‘ferals’; even as a weak FISS, he was still nobility and regarded way above most of the population.
It’s also rather suspicious that he is organizing a FISS-supremacist group on Earth with Julie as the figurehead for PR cover.
I think Forak is much smarter (and more sinister) than he lets on.
Hopefully the Revenant has the foresight to provide Moonshadow with some Argonite.
Why? Moonshadow hands out business cards, remember? Getting his number is as easy as going up to kid you know attends PS238 and asking if they know anybody with a Moonshadow business card.
Or picking one up off of a thug he beats when on a ‘field trip’ with the Revenant.
I agree with Killerfish.
Especially since you have to remember that it is not his personal phone but his “professional” one, procured by the Revenant. They may have his number, but you can bet they will find it impossible to track him with this information.
I’m really amused by how content 71 looks in that passenger seat.
It’s definatly a kitten in a tree.
Has anybody else noticed 71 looks very similar to Simon Williams, a.k.a. WonderMan from Marvel?
Not until you mentioned it, but now I’m noticing your perceptiveness. All he needs is different colored shades.
How I overlooked this comic before is beyond me, but now that I’ve found it, I’m totally impressed. Sadly, I’ve read through the archives and am now up to speed; which means I have to wait for updates. *sigh*
This strips artwork, character design, dialogue, plotlines, attention to detail, layouts, pacing, timing and now coloring are all of high caliber and I am enjoying it thoroughly. I am quite pleased that Aaron decided to continue this strip after the supply of dead tree editions were exhausted.
You have a confirmed reader here and I have bookmarked this strip. Continued success to you, sir.
Huh????
I forget if this was explicitly pointed out in a past issue, but the superkids do realize that Moon Shadow has no powers, right? It feels like most of them do, but some don’t.
‘Vinz Klortho…’ That name seems familiar for some reason, but I can’t recall why…
Anyway – on topic. The super-kids don’t realize that Moonshadow is ‘unpowered’ – in fact, they believe he has a whole suite of powers, some completely out of the ball park (forget left-field!).
It’s the name of the spirit that possessed Rick Moranis’ character in Ghostbusters.
Ah – of course. Thanks for that.
*leafs through book* Here we are…
“I am Vinz Clortho. Keymaster of Gozer. Volguus Zildrohar. Lord of the Sebouillia. Are you the Gatekeeper?”
At least Forak knows what he’s about.