The President
Shaenon: These two ladies are a couple of characters from Narbonic, my old webstrip, which takes place in the same universe as Skin Horse. Jeff wrote a strip for them in this storyline, but I try to avoid doing strips that require people to have read Narbonic, because, you know, not everyone’s done that. Although you should. Anyway, I cut the strip, but I liked the dialogue, so here they are. Helen and Mell, chilling on Helen’s evil island while the world burns. They are such jerks.
Channing: Aw, I can’t help it. I still love “Narbonic” so effing much, I keep wanting to write the people in it. Other than Artie, though, I’m going to have to settle for Dave’s robot receptionist, seen at the end of “If I Ran the Zoo.”
Keeping them out of the main storyline was probably for the best. But I’m very glad you gave us this Sunday strip.
http://skin-horse.com/comic/todays-comic-720/ is where it’s seen… Not a classic design like our own Moustachio, whose mirror version, hint hint, has not yet been shown… Probably collects knives and NASCAR stuff. And bumper stickers… on himself!
After remembering that chapter, I’m wondering if poor ol Phil wasn’t a transplant from this reality. Would explain why he always insisted he was human. Hmmm…
Some women just want to watch the world burn. Or, y’know sit back and enjoy their cocktails and snacks because sure the world needs saving, but then these drinks will get warm and what what would they do then, huh?
There’s something I’ve been wondering for awhile – does Sergio canonically know Mell? I know he’s from Lil’ Mell and Sergio before being worked into Skin Horse, but Lil’ Mell isn’t a canonical series… or at least, not canonical to THIS verse, I don’t think.
There’s a point near the start of “Choose” where he tells Violet that he knows a very good lawyer, who is generally presumed to be Mell since she became one toward the end of Narbonic.
I have difficulty believing that anyone could be a fan of Skin Horse and not rush to consume the Narbonic archives if they hadn’t already.
You could always give more Narbonic characters cameos, e.g. background characters, where knowing who they are doesn’t necessarily add anything to the story but is an additional bonus for those familiar with Narbonic.
I’d like to see more of this, too.
Kinda hard for Helen & Dave to make cameos; they’re on an island in the middle of Only-the-Daves-know-where.
“Kinda hard”? Impossible is not even an inconvenience to them! Besides… how do they shop on an island?
They have robot/gerbil minions… I wonder how much of their minion population consists out of little gerbil cyborgs with Matrix-style waistcoats with pink harts plastered over them.
Gerborgs? …yeah, that seems pretty plausibly Dave+Helen.
I suppose we could get to meet them and love them if they just appeared in “Skin Horse”…and, yet, so far, I haven’t done more than skim the “Narbonic” books…
President Mel – didn’t recognize her at first, too relaxed.
Personally I think she was at her best evil w/ the little glasses and the short skirt – looking totally cute and harmless but was anything but harmless.
One of the best moments was male-form Helen asking if she’d always worn those skirts….
“didn’t recognize her at first, too relaxed.”
Given the changes in the Skin Horse cast, it seems quite plausible that the local Mel is a very mel-low supervillain.
Narbonic was hosted on WebComicsNation, which went down several months ago and looks to be permanently gone. Shaenon, any word on finding a new host for the Narbonic archives?
http://narbonic.com/ still seems to be live, and has the archives
So Dave and Cal are dead in this universe?
I’m afraid you have to first specify which universe “this” is.
I shouldn’t have to, given that it clearly says that this is an except from an unused script from the current arc.
Why would Dave and Caliban have to be dead? Are you implying that Helen and Mell aren’t allowed to sit together having drinks without their significant others in tow?
My reaction precisely. Well, that, plus they’re not talking about Dave and Caliban either–but that only proves they’re capable of passing the Bechdel Test, not that their significant others are dead.
I kinda liked Mell’s hair better before… that one wild lock. Didn’t Ma Timbertoes have one like that? Back around 1967?
Have you read the comments? Most people here seem genuinely want strips that require people to have read Narbonic.
Note to everyone who has not read Narbonic yet:
FRIGGEN’ READ NARBONIC ALREADY! WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU?!?!