I can get behind this character. I mean, he himself admitted he needs to be behind someone in the first place or he wouldn’t work. But the reason he dismissed her is because he was expecting her to be just like megamind over there. *Points to empty helmet*
He thought she was going to be all bluster and FOR THE REVOLUTION MY BROTHERS, not someone who sees what needs to be done and does it. (A rarity indeed, in their world)
Interesting twist of events. And it’s looking more likely than ever that 84 will be the winner of the contest. I can see Firedrake sacrificing himself at some point to keep her going.
Where “winning” is defined as “getting to have the world’s possibly more deadly and insane equivalent of Mr. Mxyzptlk think of you as the awesome hero he should pester once a year”.
None of them are really thinking this one through at all…
Well, you need to add to that “… instead of periodically turning people into monsters that ravage Central Park and turning Manhattan into his personal massage parlor.” They are supposed to be heroes, after all.
They might only need something to stick out.
“Look for your secondary powers, even if they are mundane.”
There are a lot of hypertrained martial artists/gadgeteers in the Marvl and DC verses. Among them batman is the worlds greatest Detective.
There are quite a few Armored Characters and rich supers. From wich Tony Star is the greatest inventor.
Perhaps Veles has more foresight that we recognized. Perhaps all along he wanted Julie as his foil, but in order for her to become the challenge he desires, he needs to help her grow.
By providing 4 different styles of leadership for her to learn about, both the positive and the negative, she will learn what it is to lead from the front, to be bring those around her up, to display honour, courage, and other high standards to her life, ultimately becoming both a worthy replacement for Atlas, and a competent adversary to Veles.
Naw. Veles is bored – or anticipates that he will be, with Atlas gone. An earlier commentator had it right: Veles = Mr. Mxyzptlk. He’s auditioning talent to be his next challenge. If the victor in this scenario turns out to be boring… well, he’ll just move on to the next stuffed-spandex “hero” until he finds someone interesting enough.
Veles has more style, is more useful, more educational than Mxyzptlk. Mxyzptlk was just useless, annoying, and quite frankly in serious need of a permanent banishment to somewhere his powers would not work.
He’s not wrong in that regard, after all Atlas is just another FISS but has the gimmick that he’s an alien (not that he had to seek that out, he got it free) so he’s not ‘just another FISS’ but Atlas, whereas the rest of the FISS in general are subconsciously limiting themselves and avoiding something to stand out as each one’s ended up hearing how ‘oh you’re number X’ now and treated like they’re as common as dirt to the point they’ve been acting like it.
Thing is, while she initially adopted it out of frustration over everyone else’s obsession with the number of FISS, she kind of has a gimmick – her hero name. I think he wants her to embrace the concept.
And _the_ government-sponsored hero, meant to be the icon for the public.. raised in ignorance of his own origin and carefully groomed and controlled.
Atlas had a Propaganda department behind him to make him stand out. It’s not all that uncommon for one guy to be raised up as the figurehead, while the rest like him get stuck playing second fiddle.
“Hi, I’m essentially Human Torch. Flashy, loud, and totally a tool.”
“Making me the Thing, strong and direct?”
“More like the Invisible Woman. Standing in the rear lines, looking at opportunities, and calling out your team’s flaws.”
“Like a motherly nun.”
“Like frikking cavalry.”
I wouldn’t dare Mr. W to go all Phil Foglio on us… he might go all Bill Willingham just out of spite. The man’s an artist, and he has roots in the craft. That said, it does make one wonder (in a professional sense) where his limits are… has he seen “The Aristocrats”? How far south could one of his strips go? How much of a threat is he willing to present to his characters? I LOVE the GURPS PS238 splatbook for precisely that reason: it’s very easy to exploit the players’ real-life knowledge to imply squick that isn’t there… the innocence of children is held very dear to most responsible adults, and putting it in peril is a very powerful storytelling technique. You just have to be VERY careful and VERY good to pull it off without going too far.
The comments here are killing me. Now I can’t get the concept of an Aaron Williams version of the Ironwood comic out of my head. Shudder.
And yes, the PS238 book is Hero System – watching one on ebay right now. Pity, really – Hero isn’t doing very well of late. Although admittedly, neither is GURPS. All the RPGs of my youth seem to dead or dying these days.
That is because the current editions of GURPS and HERO managed to kill all the fun and follow the dumbed down in the name of simplicity that 4th edition Dungeons and Dragons did.
Actually, I think it’s good advice. Not all who are noticed or popular are actually good; a lot of good people and stuff is ignored because they’re not flashy.
It’s a harsh reality but a truth nonetheless.
Read Knug’s comment above. He makes a good point about Atlas. Atlas is indeed a FISS- so why do people look up to him instead of treat him like the other FISS guys? Atlas is definitely not even the first FISS around in the PS238 universe.
He’s accurately explaining the root cause of the issue that she has become the focus of. Now that she’s been saddled with a constituency if she’s actually going to do them any good (and get them off her back) this is something she needs to understand.
I can appreciate the contrast between the fire heroes we’re given here. We have Meson, who just shoots first and thinks of consequences later. And then we have Firedrake, who uses his fire as responsibly as one can.
Plus I can’t help but think that his dumbass acts fit more into his public persona, really. Cause if it was Meson instead of Firedrake there, you can bet Meson would’ve just shot the wizard instead of waiting politely for Conjurer/84 to figure out the time look mess.
It’s funny because in Strong Female Protagonist, people were discussing the fact that fire powers are useless for anything other than setting things on fire.
However, it seems that they do make a good distraction.
Wonderful. Now I have a horrific mental image of a PS238 storyline where Moonshadow has to face the same kind of decision SFP’s Moonshadow did, only with a child abuse theme folded in. Way too dark to happen here, though. Thankfully. I can only take so much grim reality in my comics.
Firedrake’s a lot smarter – or at least wiser – than he’s let on so far.
And yes, this information he’s sharing could potentially be very valuable to 84 and the F.I.S.S. who look to her for a better, brighter future. ^^
But Veles determined who the leader of each superteam was, remember? He saw right through the deceit surrounding Phlogiston’s position on her team, I’m sure he’d be able to see who was really in charge of the Elementalists.
Y’know, I’m more than a little interested in seeing where this is going. Something that I think a lot of the characters (and for that matter, readers) are forgetting… and that I don’t think that Aaron is forgetting… is that Julie is still just seven years old.
For all her maturity and intelligence, there’s a good chance she has trouble tying her own shoes (when not wearing spandex footie pyjamas, anyhow :P), sleeps with a nightlight, and/or would have difficulty remembering her home phone number. So the long-term effects this whole mess has on her psyche are probably going to be a bit odd, to say the least.
… something that just occurred to me is that PS238 could veer down a VERY dark road rather easily, and I’m thankful that Aaron is unlikely to want to go that direction, AND that he’s a skilled enough writer to make staying away from that quagmire believable.
The Vegas break was due to the school getting trashed during the Septos invasion, which hopefully is NOT a regular occurrence. Honestly, I think we might still be in the first semester, since there hasn’t been any snowball fights on the playground or mention of a Holiday Break.
So:
Phlogiston: People can be dumbasses, as long as they have good councillors, they can be the leader figure.
Neuronet: Giving orders to people without listening to them is bad for your health
Firedrake: A leader does not have do anything except attract attention
What’s next with magician dude: You can have all the subtle powers in the world, if you don’t use them intelligently/listen to your teammates, you are toast?
“Hey girl, now that I know you’re not after my money, I’m going to give you the secrets to how we get so much money.”
Yeah, this sounds like it’s going to backfire all over the place. Even if she personally wasn’t interested, she’s going to tell all the others who ARE.
I think it’s less “I’m going to tell you how we get so much money” and more of “I’m going to tell you how to get more noticed and appreciated since you’re not a bad kid and deserve better than you’re getting.”
He knows FISS heroes are ignored simply because they’ve got common, dull-seeming powers even though the truth is FISS powers are awesome and useful compared to even his own. He’s just met an okay example of FISS heroes, one who not only inspired the others but is genuinely trying to be the hero people need even while she’s not the one they popularly want (to paraphrase 84’s epiphany in issue 30). Like Phlogiston, he’s come to be on her side.
I can see Julie / 84 winning this egg challenge. Veles will want her time. Julie will say that she is busy with school. So Veles will become a teacher at PS238. I would love to read that lesson plan. I wonder what Veles will think of all the other kids at PS238?
On the one hand, he boast centuries of experience. On the other hand, he’s a trickster God out with a friendly grudge against one of our students. Meh, he can teach.
I’m looking at how the Flash is drawn. Red, flame-related, mask that looks like horns – maybe it’s just a commercial gimmick, but I think he may be the most dangerous to Julie so far. If he offers you a contract, Julie, don’t sign!
Firedrake is proving to be a very interesting character. I could see him returning periodically when Julie needs a slightly embarrassing but well-meaning “big brother” figure.
Ever since the move to the new server/host, updates are coming later and later. This strip has a date of the 18th, but was uploaded on the 20th. And it is now the 24th, and no new strip.
I really think he’s back-slid since Nodwick ended.
Ironically, PS238 would be one of the very few titles I’d buy physical copies of if he ever starts publishing again. And really, the slow updates are only relatively slow – go take a look at the Outsider webcomic for anexample of “why do I keep hoping?” levels of lateness. Heck, even Order of the Stick comes out at a snail’s pace compared to the old days.
Pepper spray is unusable for fire guys. The canister will explode if the pressurized fluid inside gets too hot.
The problem with brass knuckles and saps is that you have to have started your Batman-like martial arts training ten years ago and it takes time to get good; although many powered individuals do put in the investment as they get more experienced. (After all, all the kids learn some fighting in gym class in PS238 for exactly this reason.)
While I can get behind the concept of your anti-pressurized container argument. There is the issue that he does not melt or burn off his own clothes. So if he is shunting the fire and heat to an alternate earth if it gets too close to his body then he should be able to keep small items on his person as well. (Heat dissipation argument brought to you paraphrased from Tattletale.)
Well, well, well. The fire guy’s pretty decent at his core, after all: 84 has, simply by being herself, swayed him to sympathy with the FISS “cause”.
Well _done_, young lady! 🙂
Also: FIRST! 😀
I can get behind this character. I mean, he himself admitted he needs to be behind someone in the first place or he wouldn’t work. But the reason he dismissed her is because he was expecting her to be just like megamind over there. *Points to empty helmet*
He thought she was going to be all bluster and FOR THE REVOLUTION MY BROTHERS, not someone who sees what needs to be done and does it. (A rarity indeed, in their world)
He would still be useful at a BBQ or a cook out.
“Charlie… I’ve got an -angle-…”
Interesting twist of events. And it’s looking more likely than ever that 84 will be the winner of the contest. I can see Firedrake sacrificing himself at some point to keep her going.
Calling Hannover Fist!
In this case wouldn’t that be Hannover F.I.S.S
Woulden’t that be Hannover F.I.S.S. in this case?
I Love that movie, it’s playing in a theater near me this weekend.
Where “winning” is defined as “getting to have the world’s possibly more deadly and insane equivalent of Mr. Mxyzptlk think of you as the awesome hero he should pester once a year”.
None of them are really thinking this one through at all…
Lol! You win 100 internet points for that one. 🙂
Well, you need to add to that “… instead of periodically turning people into monsters that ravage Central Park and turning Manhattan into his personal massage parlor.” They are supposed to be heroes, after all.
WHAT ANGLE!?
Oh, and Hannover… Good bye!
They might only need something to stick out.
“Look for your secondary powers, even if they are mundane.”
There are a lot of hypertrained martial artists/gadgeteers in the Marvl and DC verses. Among them batman is the worlds greatest Detective.
There are quite a few Armored Characters and rich supers. From wich Tony Star is the greatest inventor.
Hm, I think I’m seeing a pattern here.
Phlogiston taught 84 that she leads from behind — and then she got slammed into combat by a more proactive person.
Neuronet taught 84 that you can force people to do what you want — and perished with Phlogiston for forcing her to follow his uninformed plan.
Now Firedrake is teaching Julie that you need a gimmick. Why do I not think this will end well?
Perhaps Veles has more foresight that we recognized. Perhaps all along he wanted Julie as his foil, but in order for her to become the challenge he desires, he needs to help her grow.
By providing 4 different styles of leadership for her to learn about, both the positive and the negative, she will learn what it is to lead from the front, to be bring those around her up, to display honour, courage, and other high standards to her life, ultimately becoming both a worthy replacement for Atlas, and a competent adversary to Veles.
^ Massively likes this comment.
Ditto. I would have said the same thing but I got here late.
Naw. Veles is bored – or anticipates that he will be, with Atlas gone. An earlier commentator had it right: Veles = Mr. Mxyzptlk. He’s auditioning talent to be his next challenge. If the victor in this scenario turns out to be boring… well, he’ll just move on to the next stuffed-spandex “hero” until he finds someone interesting enough.
Veles has more style, is more useful, more educational than Mxyzptlk. Mxyzptlk was just useless, annoying, and quite frankly in serious need of a permanent banishment to somewhere his powers would not work.
You mean…. Burbank?
That’s just cruel.
SO? And your point is?
He’s not wrong in that regard, after all Atlas is just another FISS but has the gimmick that he’s an alien (not that he had to seek that out, he got it free) so he’s not ‘just another FISS’ but Atlas, whereas the rest of the FISS in general are subconsciously limiting themselves and avoiding something to stand out as each one’s ended up hearing how ‘oh you’re number X’ now and treated like they’re as common as dirt to the point they’ve been acting like it.
Thing is, while she initially adopted it out of frustration over everyone else’s obsession with the number of FISS, she kind of has a gimmick – her hero name. I think he wants her to embrace the concept.
‘Just another FISS’ ignores the fact that he was probably the strongest one on the planet and we have hints that he is also significantly intelligent.
And _the_ government-sponsored hero, meant to be the icon for the public.. raised in ignorance of his own origin and carefully groomed and controlled.
Atlas had a Propaganda department behind him to make him stand out. It’s not all that uncommon for one guy to be raised up as the figurehead, while the rest like him get stuck playing second fiddle.
“Hi, I’m essentially Human Torch. Flashy, loud, and totally a tool.”
“Making me the Thing, strong and direct?”
“More like the Invisible Woman. Standing in the rear lines, looking at opportunities, and calling out your team’s flaws.”
“Like a motherly nun.”
“Like frikking cavalry.”
I’m reminded of the Nodwick comic where the adventuring party decides to split up and spend a week becoming more marketable.
Yeager: “Ignore him. He’s just jealous of how erotic the rest of us are.”
http://comic.nodwick.com/?comic=2004-06-30
“Erotic” and “anything by Aaron Williams ever” are non-intersecting sets. Especially Yeager.
But he is the one that gets married in the end.
It’s pronounced “ironic.”
I wouldn’t dare Mr. W to go all Phil Foglio on us… he might go all Bill Willingham just out of spite. The man’s an artist, and he has roots in the craft. That said, it does make one wonder (in a professional sense) where his limits are… has he seen “The Aristocrats”? How far south could one of his strips go? How much of a threat is he willing to present to his characters? I LOVE the GURPS PS238 splatbook for precisely that reason: it’s very easy to exploit the players’ real-life knowledge to imply squick that isn’t there… the innocence of children is held very dear to most responsible adults, and putting it in peril is a very powerful storytelling technique. You just have to be VERY careful and VERY good to pull it off without going too far.
Nitpick: The PS238 RPG is Hero System, not GURPS.
The comments here are killing me. Now I can’t get the concept of an Aaron Williams version of the Ironwood comic out of my head. Shudder.
And yes, the PS238 book is Hero System – watching one on ebay right now. Pity, really – Hero isn’t doing very well of late. Although admittedly, neither is GURPS. All the RPGs of my youth seem to dead or dying these days.
That is because the current editions of GURPS and HERO managed to kill all the fun and follow the dumbed down in the name of simplicity that 4th edition Dungeons and Dragons did.
GURPS is doing just fine. If it wasn’t SJG wouldn’t be pushing out a new supplement every few weeks, they wouldn’t be able to afford it.
He’s teaching her marketing and brand recognition. Interesting addition to her skill set.
Well, it is something that they do not actually teach the kids at PS238 and they should.
They’re probably saving that for sixth or seventh grade.
that stone road marker, looks like a rough cut, unhappy, Nordic garden gnome.
Oh. I get it.
This is where Julie learns to distrust really terrible advice, however well meant!
I hope.
Actually, I think it’s good advice. Not all who are noticed or popular are actually good; a lot of good people and stuff is ignored because they’re not flashy.
It’s a harsh reality but a truth nonetheless.
Read Knug’s comment above. He makes a good point about Atlas. Atlas is indeed a FISS- so why do people look up to him instead of treat him like the other FISS guys? Atlas is definitely not even the first FISS around in the PS238 universe.
He’s accurately explaining the root cause of the issue that she has become the focus of. Now that she’s been saddled with a constituency if she’s actually going to do them any good (and get them off her back) this is something she needs to understand.
I can appreciate the contrast between the fire heroes we’re given here. We have Meson, who just shoots first and thinks of consequences later. And then we have Firedrake, who uses his fire as responsibly as one can.
Plus I can’t help but think that his dumbass acts fit more into his public persona, really. Cause if it was Meson instead of Firedrake there, you can bet Meson would’ve just shot the wizard instead of waiting politely for Conjurer/84 to figure out the time look mess.
It’s funny because in Strong Female Protagonist, people were discussing the fact that fire powers are useless for anything other than setting things on fire.
However, it seems that they do make a good distraction.
PS238’s Moonshadow is way cooler than SFP’s Moonshadow.
Wonderful. Now I have a horrific mental image of a PS238 storyline where Moonshadow has to face the same kind of decision SFP’s Moonshadow did, only with a child abuse theme folded in. Way too dark to happen here, though. Thankfully. I can only take so much grim reality in my comics.
Well, now!
Firedrake’s a lot smarter – or at least wiser – than he’s let on so far.
And yes, this information he’s sharing could potentially be very valuable to 84 and the F.I.S.S. who look to her for a better, brighter future. ^^
Sidenote: now we can see why the Elementalists follow Firedrake’s lead. Behind the loudmouth, there’s a strategist…
They follow his lead in public… because he’s a good spin-doctor. Everyone contributes to the best of their ability…
But Veles determined who the leader of each superteam was, remember? He saw right through the deceit surrounding Phlogiston’s position on her team, I’m sure he’d be able to see who was really in charge of the Elementalists.
Y’know, I’m more than a little interested in seeing where this is going. Something that I think a lot of the characters (and for that matter, readers) are forgetting… and that I don’t think that Aaron is forgetting… is that Julie is still just seven years old.
For all her maturity and intelligence, there’s a good chance she has trouble tying her own shoes (when not wearing spandex footie pyjamas, anyhow :P), sleeps with a nightlight, and/or would have difficulty remembering her home phone number. So the long-term effects this whole mess has on her psyche are probably going to be a bit odd, to say the least.
… something that just occurred to me is that PS238 could veer down a VERY dark road rather easily, and I’m thankful that Aaron is unlikely to want to go that direction, AND that he’s a skilled enough writer to make staying away from that quagmire believable.
Dude, I was older than that before I finished 1st Grade (gorram public-school age restrictions!)
It’s been a few years since PS238 was founded. Julie is certainly in the double-digits by now.
I disagree. We’re still in Year One of the school’s operation, and it’s just after Spring Break (the Las Vegas storyline being a good clue).
The Vegas break was due to the school getting trashed during the Septos invasion, which hopefully is NOT a regular occurrence. Honestly, I think we might still be in the first semester, since there hasn’t been any snowball fights on the playground or mention of a Holiday Break.
So:
Phlogiston: People can be dumbasses, as long as they have good councillors, they can be the leader figure.
Neuronet: Giving orders to people without listening to them is bad for your health
Firedrake: A leader does not have do anything except attract attention
What’s next with magician dude: You can have all the subtle powers in the world, if you don’t use them intelligently/listen to your teammates, you are toast?
I’m thinking it could be something more along the lines of…
Firedrake: Here’s how to lead without being the person who has to *do* everything. Utilize your teammates!
I can imagine a lot of other FISS’s get caught up in being the idea of being the Final Word ™ in a fight.
“Hey girl, now that I know you’re not after my money, I’m going to give you the secrets to how we get so much money.”
Yeah, this sounds like it’s going to backfire all over the place. Even if she personally wasn’t interested, she’s going to tell all the others who ARE.
I think it’s less “I’m going to tell you how we get so much money” and more of “I’m going to tell you how to get more noticed and appreciated since you’re not a bad kid and deserve better than you’re getting.”
He knows FISS heroes are ignored simply because they’ve got common, dull-seeming powers even though the truth is FISS powers are awesome and useful compared to even his own. He’s just met an okay example of FISS heroes, one who not only inspired the others but is genuinely trying to be the hero people need even while she’s not the one they popularly want (to paraphrase 84’s epiphany in issue 30). Like Phlogiston, he’s come to be on her side.
I can see Julie / 84 winning this egg challenge. Veles will want her time. Julie will say that she is busy with school. So Veles will become a teacher at PS238. I would love to read that lesson plan. I wonder what Veles will think of all the other kids at PS238?
Picture PS238 remodeled into something like a cross between a funhouse, Hogwarts, and something from the Discworld Series.
I don’t think Veles becomes a teacher. I think the trickster regresses himself and becomes a STUDENT as PS238. Imagine Zodon’s reaction to that.
Zodon: Oh *MARMALADE*! What the *CARBON FIBER*?! I can’t even *devolves into singing “Memories” from Cats*
On the one hand, he boast centuries of experience. On the other hand, he’s a trickster God out with a friendly grudge against one of our students. Meh, he can teach.
I’m looking at how the Flash is drawn. Red, flame-related, mask that looks like horns – maybe it’s just a commercial gimmick, but I think he may be the most dangerous to Julie so far. If he offers you a contract, Julie, don’t sign!
I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought fire dude looks a lot like the devil.
Or better yet, if he does offer a contract, kick him as hard as you can in the nuts and shove the contract in his mouth.
Firedrake is proving to be a very interesting character. I could see him returning periodically when Julie needs a slightly embarrassing but well-meaning “big brother” figure.
I can’t help but see the resemblance to “Got to have a Gimmick” from Gypsy. This is a much more family friendly version though 🙂
Ever since the move to the new server/host, updates are coming later and later. This strip has a date of the 18th, but was uploaded on the 20th. And it is now the 24th, and no new strip.
I really think he’s back-slid since Nodwick ended.
You know, considering we get the comic for free I vote we just be happy it’s updating and not nitpick.
Have you seen some of the comments on FFN over at The Escapist? Essentially “Too many words. Reading bad.”
Some people just like to grumble.
Ironically, PS238 would be one of the very few titles I’d buy physical copies of if he ever starts publishing again. And really, the slow updates are only relatively slow – go take a look at the Outsider webcomic for anexample of “why do I keep hoping?” levels of lateness. Heck, even Order of the Stick comes out at a snail’s pace compared to the old days.
May I just say, the subtle ‘see Julie through the fire from Firedrake’s hand’ art in the first panel is sublime.
And the artwork for Firedrake in bottom left is fantastic.
I agree. Kind of like we’re about to see Julie through Firedrake’s point-of-view…
It occurs to me that Julie has a “gimmick”, her number 84.
She took her number, which she considered her badge-of-shame, and turned it into her hero name, a point of pride.
And that became a theme for other FISS, AKA “Flying Bricks”, to rally around, much to Julie’s chagrin.
Fire dude never heard of brass knuckles or a sap? If you are overpowered for the encounter, then tone it down to a more mundane manner.
IE. Read Worm. Take notes on Skitter.
Powers not gonna cut it? Pepper spray or taser.
Pepper spray is unusable for fire guys. The canister will explode if the pressurized fluid inside gets too hot.
The problem with brass knuckles and saps is that you have to have started your Batman-like martial arts training ten years ago and it takes time to get good; although many powered individuals do put in the investment as they get more experienced. (After all, all the kids learn some fighting in gym class in PS238 for exactly this reason.)
While I can get behind the concept of your anti-pressurized container argument. There is the issue that he does not melt or burn off his own clothes. So if he is shunting the fire and heat to an alternate earth if it gets too close to his body then he should be able to keep small items on his person as well. (Heat dissipation argument brought to you paraphrased from Tattletale.)