Skin Horse

By Shaenon K. Garrity & Jeffrey C. Wells
By Shaenon K. Garrity & Jeffrey C. Wells
Color by Pancha Diaz
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2014-10-30
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2014-10-30

by shaenon on October 30, 2014 at 4:40 am
Chapter: Mixed-Up Files
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Discussion (67) ¬

  1. John Robert Mead
    October 30, 2014, 4:52 am | # | Reply

    This cannot be good. Debbi’s been brainwashed. Starched, even. Our intrepid duo must needs break out before it happens to them, as well.

    • Robert Nowall
      October 30, 2014, 10:41 am | # | Reply

      Changed hairstyles, too…

      • Anson
        October 30, 2014, 12:15 pm | # | Reply

        What effect would the cure have on Frog? She’s not temporally challenged, just misplaced.

        • Waffle Sorter
          April 5, 2015, 3:12 pm | # | Reply

          Nah, the Cure’s not about temporal challenge, it’s about mad genius. Which Imogene’s got, we’re told, though we haven’t yet had a chance to see her in action.

          Now, me, I wonder whether the Cure always Cluelesses its victim. I don’t see a compelling reason why it would, but the known examples seem to point that way. Not that two’s a significant sample size.

          • Kitirena
            May 17, 2016, 7:06 am | #

            I thought The Cure were a goth band, not a mad science band. Now, The Cog Is Dead or Steam-Powered Giraffe, on the other paw…

          • Kanta
            July 2, 2016, 11:03 am | #

            This version has that as a standard side effect according to its inventor, Helen B. Narbon. She eventually fixes it.

  2. Zixinus
    October 30, 2014, 5:15 am | # | Reply

    Yup, she’s Clueless and clueless. She probably wouldn’t be even able to hear Sweetheart talking to her too.

  3. Towering Barbarian
    October 30, 2014, 5:37 am | # | Reply

    I hope they’re able to take Debbie with them when they make their break for it. ^_^;;

    • oneuniverse2
      October 30, 2014, 5:13 pm | # | Reply

      What makes you think there’s a cure for the Cure?

      • mellownade
        October 30, 2014, 7:32 pm | # | Reply

        There is one, but it’s worse than the disease

    • Shadowmehr
      October 30, 2014, 8:39 pm | # | Reply

      I’m sure there’s room in the trunk of whatever wheels they are able to buy/steal/build from spare parts*

      *Yes, I know the last is most likely, but we have to add the first two for completeness.

  4. Manifesta
    October 30, 2014, 5:58 am | # | Reply

    Off topic, but right in time for Halloween: I’ve had an eerie recurring experience with Skin Horse for several months, and I wonder if it happens to anyone else:

    I often save daily strips and comment threads, by copying and pasting them into a Word document. When I paste the lines I’ve copied, for some reason extra lines insert themselves that just say “.children,” with varying degrees of indentation.

    Just lines and lines of “.children .children .children.” I wish it were a Doctor Who crossover, but it’s just massively creepy.

    • outworldcats
      October 30, 2014, 6:31 am | # | Reply

      It’s an HTML thing. I had a look at the “page source” for yesterday’s strip, and the word “children” showed up in a few places, mostly where some folks replied to a comment (I had a hunch that was the case, that’s why I looked at the last comic). If I remember correctly, the replies are considered children of the parent comment, programming-wise. Didn’t see any “are you my mummy?” sub-code, so it’s probably nothing too sinister. 9 times out of 10.

    • roberttheaddled
      October 30, 2014, 5:12 pm | # | Reply

      Unless you really need the formatting – you could paste-special as plain text.

      That should eliminate the hidden HTML outworldcats is referring to.

      Another option could be to use the snipping tool and paste the whole thing as an image.

    • oneuniverse2
      October 30, 2014, 5:14 pm | # | Reply

      At least it wasn’t Weeping Angels.

  5. Hedgehog II
    October 30, 2014, 7:06 am | # | Reply

    But bring a gas mask remover, just in case

    • Manifesta
      October 30, 2014, 7:12 am | # | Reply

      One of my favorite episodes, and I think Christopher Eccleston may be my favorite Doctor.

      • Mad Scientist
        October 30, 2014, 9:09 am | # | Reply

        He was mine, but I believe Capaldi is edging him out. Such glorious snark! 😀

    • Andy4Hire
      October 30, 2014, 5:01 pm | # | Reply

      Those aren’t masks!

  6. Manifesta
    October 30, 2014, 7:07 am | # | Reply

    Then I hope this isn’t the tenth time. Thanks for the ‘splainer.

    • Manifesta
      October 30, 2014, 7:10 am | # | Reply

      Of couse, this was supposed to be a reply to outworldcats. There may be an otherworldly explanation for the way this comment section operates. Maybe HTML is mad science.

      • irdburns
        October 30, 2014, 11:45 am | # | Reply

        MAYBE?
        And I have to say, when any word starts mysteriously appearing, it’s dramatically creepy children.

      • Rex Vivat
        October 30, 2014, 12:03 pm | # | Reply

        Nah, HTML is not mad science… as long as you don’t try to parse it with regex.

        • waytoomanyUIDs
          October 30, 2014, 1:36 pm | # | Reply

          Now that’s a classic piece of programmer humour if I’ve ever seen one

    • oneuniverse2
      October 30, 2014, 5:16 pm | # | Reply

      Didn’t xkcd cover this situation in one of its strips?

  7. Moe Lane
    October 30, 2014, 7:31 am | # | Reply

    …*I* still listen to the Cure.

    • Candace
      October 31, 2014, 12:31 am | # | Reply

      Me, too. Further evidence that Debbie has been, sadly, broken.

    • cjmaloof
      October 31, 2014, 11:05 am | # | Reply

      Lol!

  8. Dave
    October 30, 2014, 8:51 am | # | Reply

    Oh dear…

  9. Freddie Freelance
    October 30, 2014, 9:18 am | # | Reply

    Continuing to rage quietly off topic: Fourth Doctor fan here, but my first was Dr. 1.5, Peter Cushing.

    • Tiff Hudson
      October 30, 2014, 9:47 am | # | Reply

      Freddie, you are not alone. Four was “my” doctor, but my first was also Peter Cushing. I saw Doctor Who And The Daleks on a local TV station somewhere between 1970 and 1972. I only discovered that it was an ongoing show later (1973 or 1974) when Jon Pertwee appeared in a blurb in Popular Mechanics with the Whomobile. I didn’t see any actual episodes until 1981 when I moved to Maryland and started watching Tom Baker on PBS.

      • stevemnd
        October 30, 2014, 9:53 am | # | Reply

        Ah, Maryland PBS in the 80s; I grew up on Dr. Who and Monty Python from them. It was a glorious time to be a kid.

    • Katrika
      October 30, 2014, 10:53 am | # | Reply

      Alas, I have not been able to watch Classic Who. I consider Nine /my/ Doctor. He’s fantastic!

      • Candace
        October 31, 2014, 12:33 am | # | Reply

        Older Dr. Who eps are an acquired taste, dependent largely on one’s tolerance for cheesy special effects.

        • Candace
          October 31, 2014, 12:34 am | # | Reply

          I should have added, I have a high tolerance for cheesy special effects, because I grew up on the original Star Trek series. On a little bitty black and white T.V., no less.

    • oneuniverse2
      October 30, 2014, 5:18 pm | # | Reply

      Matt Smith fan here, since Doctor Who is entering the Narbonic universe.

  10. Tiff Hudson
    October 30, 2014, 9:49 am | # | Reply

    “Keen Punchcards of Tomorrow” – that is an AWESOME phrase!

    • oneuniverse2
      October 30, 2014, 5:18 pm | # | Reply

      I resemble that remark

  11. Demiurgent
    October 30, 2014, 10:22 am | # | Reply

    …so… the Institute is devoted in part to research on The Cure, which we know is perfected by the time Unnamed Daughter is born to Dave and Helen.

    The Institute is apparently run by Anasigma, which among other things takes the products of mad science and reverse engineers them so unmad science can make use of them. It also occasionally nearly destroys the planet with things man was not meant to know. And it creates bioweapons like U.N.I.T.Y., which we know from Word of Sarge is in part Mel’s DNA.

    Narbonics Labs seems inexorably tied up with Anasigma, as a result.

    Dave is the Mad Science Liaison to the Dave Conspiracy.

    Mr. Green, in the extended series metaphor, is almost certainly the Wizard, he who grants hearts, brains, diplomas and Kansas, but not really. He is at the center, though he is probably not as powerful as he seems, instead manipulating things to his advantage.

    Anasigma to date has not been seen to use gerbils. Ergo, Anasigma is probably not a front for Helen Beta Narbon. If Dr. Helen Narbon is involved, she is probably the Wicked Witch of the [geology], not the driving force behind Anasigma.

    Mr. Green, therefore, is almost certainly a Dave.

    Ergo, Dave Barker is Mr. Green.

    Don’t look too closely at the logic. That’s how they get you.

    • Landis963
      October 30, 2014, 10:38 am | # | Reply

      Where have we seen Dave Barker before?

      • davidbreslin101
        October 30, 2014, 4:03 pm | # | Reply

        An off-stage character in “Narbonic”, and one of Shaenon’s friends in real life. He is one of the five leaders of the secretive (but very chilled out) Dave Conspiracy.

    • Rex Vivat
      October 30, 2014, 10:44 am | # | Reply

      Specifically, we know Helen sold Mell (and Dave)’s DNA samples. I don’t think Narbonic Labs are necessarily as tied to Anasigma as you think. The weirdest thing is that, somehow, the idea that Mr Green was Dave Barker has crossed my mind before and I don’t remember how I reached that conclusion.

      • waytoomanyUIDs
        October 30, 2014, 1:46 pm | # | Reply

        I’ve occasionally wondered if Mr Green is Homeschool Joe

        • oneuniverse2
          October 30, 2014, 5:21 pm | # | Reply

          Not a bad idea.

    • irdburns
      October 30, 2014, 11:48 am | # | Reply

      I think it’s likely that Dave and Helen sometimes do contract work for ASig, unaware of their true intentions to destroy all mad science. That or, since they’re the two biggest baddest mad scientists out there, they’re just too confident to be worried.

      • Anson
        October 30, 2014, 12:14 pm | # | Reply

        Wasn’t Helen’s original plan for the cure to use it to wipe out rival mads? She could be letting Asig do the hard stuff.

        • oneuniverse2
          October 30, 2014, 5:22 pm | # | Reply

          This would be fun. Dave Davenport would be Mister Green then?

          • Anson
            October 31, 2014, 12:59 am | #

            No, Mr Green is…

            No… probably not… hmmm.

            I was thinking that he was an accomplice (or unwitting stooge). Helen wants to wipe out her rivals. Asig wants mad scientists gone completely. Since their goals more-or-less line up, Helen provides the means, assured that when the time comes she can deal with them.

          • oneuniverse2
            October 31, 2014, 10:49 am | #

            You’re right Anson – Mr. Green is a different character, and your scenario is more likely

        • WJS
          July 24, 2019, 7:38 pm | # | Reply

          No, Helen’s original plan was to use the cure to cure Dave, not as a weapon. That idea came later when she got worse after he left.

  12. Robert Nowall
    October 30, 2014, 10:42 am | # | Reply

    Back to digging that hole…

  13. Clark
    October 30, 2014, 12:02 pm | # | Reply

    Hard to tell whether those are five inch or eight inch

  14. Lady Ice
    October 30, 2014, 12:38 pm | # | Reply

    Clark, judging from the size ratio to her hand, I’d say 5 and 3/4 inchers.

    • outworldcats
      October 30, 2014, 4:18 pm | # | Reply

      Definitely 5 1/4 inch, the eight-inchers were bloody huge. I still have a box of them from when I was working with an IBM System34. They’re good for freaking out youngsters.

      • roberttheaddled
        October 30, 2014, 5:17 pm | # | Reply

        Found a couple in the logroom back in my navy days – never could figure out what was on them so disposed of in the classified shredder.

        Also once had a smurf-job destroying classified HDD’s – including a set of 10″ or 12″ cakebox platters. Amazing how we went from dinner-plates to thumb-drives in about 30 years.

        BTW – a Vice and a belt sander w/ 40 grit really did a number on the platters.

  15. Delta Echo
    October 30, 2014, 5:47 pm | # | Reply

    @Anson: The Cure isn’t for temporal displacement or confusion, the Cure is for being a Mad.

    • Rex Vivat
      October 30, 2014, 5:55 pm | # | Reply

      It goes further than that. It inhibits your capacity to accept the implausible. It makes you what Jonah calls “clueless”.

      • =Tamar
        October 30, 2014, 6:06 pm | # | Reply

        Reality-blind.

  16. Ray
    October 30, 2014, 6:11 pm | # | Reply

    Imogene is both Temporally Displaced *and* a Mad Scientist. If she were administered the cure, she would merely be Temporally Displaced — but probably unable to percieve the fact. She’d be unable to compass the concept of Temporal Displacement, and thus would believe that the world around her was in fact the nice “normal” 1950’s.

    • Shadowmehr
      October 30, 2014, 8:38 pm | # | Reply

      So, you’re saying that the Cure for her insanity would eventually drive her mad?

      If she fractures the right way, Imogene might go right back to (ab)normal again.

    • Anson
      October 31, 2014, 1:03 am | # | Reply

      What Ray said. Taking the cure would probably land her in an (sane) insane asylum.

    • dornbeast
      October 31, 2014, 2:24 am | # | Reply

      Where did “temporally displaced” come from, anyhow?

      According to the sign on the cafeteria door (http://skin-horse.com/comic/look-look-look/) they’re Temporally Confounded. I presume that this means that they imagine they’re living in an idealized version of whatever decade suits their insanity.

      • Morgan R. Lewis
        October 31, 2014, 6:13 am | # | Reply

        I was confused by this as well, so I dug back a bit in the comments, and found a link to Imogene’s introduction in Narbonic, with the Director’s Cut commentary:
        http://www.webcomicsnation.com/shaenongarrity/narbonic_plus/series.php?view=archive&chapter=49469#strip5

        Seems that even though Tiger Lily and Debbie may be merely “confounded”, Imogene really is from a different era. She’s clearly confounded as well (since she doesn’t grasp that it’s not still the 1950s), but she really is displaced. If “Cured”, she would therefore realize that it’s now the present… but she’d remember being in the 1950s because she really was… but would be reality-blind to the mad science that propelled her forward… which doesn’t look like a stable mindset.

        • Rex Vivat
          October 31, 2014, 7:26 am | # | Reply

          Reality blindness tends to be inherently stable. Anything that could potentially destabilize your view is just ignored or seen in a different way as it is. Then again, in here it was never shown to be as extreme as it was in Mundementia One, different worlds and all.

        • dornbeast
          October 31, 2014, 1:07 pm | # | Reply

          Ah. One of those details that isn’t easily spotted.

          Poor kid. She’d need to develop a whole new delusion to deal with the missing years and her biological age.

  17. Michael Brewer
    October 31, 2014, 1:18 am | # | Reply

    I’d been wondering that too. It’s a pity about her.

  18. BMunro
    October 31, 2014, 2:07 am | # | Reply

    i’m still wondering if Debbi is actually an agent provocateur, to motivate them to escape…

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