October 2018 Wallpaper: Bzzt
Shaenon: For this month’s wallpaper I was planning to do a horror-movie-themed illustration, and somehow it turned into this Art Deco Metropolis situation. Anyway, enjoy!
As always, if you make a donation in any amount to the Skin Horse Tip Jar, or contribute any amount to our Patreon, we’ll give you a link to this wallpaper, designed for two computer desktop sizes and cell phones. Patreon contributors will continue to receive new wallpaper for the length of their contribution.
You’ll also get this more Halloweeny bonus wallpaper from the archives:
Channing: Well, Metropolis is horror of a sort, I suppose. Thanks very much to all Patreon donors! Hope you enjoy!
“Metropolis” can’t be science fiction—the term hadn’t been invented yet.
(… I mean, Coccinellidae magnifica, to pick a random example, were doing pretty much just fine before 1807, and people were happily forming polycules before, uh, probably sometime in the past decade or two I assume?, and Esperanto, Sindarin, and probably Loglan were still conlangs, even without that word being available…)
Sure it can. Things nearly always exist before we make up names for them.
My thoughts exactly. Not much point in naming something before it exists.
We name things that don’t exist all the time, too. Ansibles, griffins, Congressional ethics…
Never said we didn’t do it. Just that there’s not much point in it.
Virginia as Futura is nice, but if she had a robotrix outfit resembling her battle armor, it would be spectacular!
“Between the mind that plans and the hands that build there must be a … Virginia, put the mind that plans back where you found it, please…”
By the way, is that Nick sitting in her lap? (I guess he could think he’s asking Santa Claus what he wants for Christmas.)
And I was thinking; “So this is the final panel of Skinhorse. I can’t wait to see the convolutions of plot that get _here_!
Sitting in Virginia’s lap might be what Nick wanted for Christmas.
… If he celebrates Christmas, that is, what with his being Jewish and all. Point is, this might not be him asking for what he wants but receiving it.
Is Nick Orthodox, Conservative, or Reform?
I would say he’s Rabbinic, since he had a Mezuzah placed over the doorway in his helicopter body, and had it blessed by a Black Ops Rabbi. I’m not Jewish myself, so I could be wrong.
Neither am I; I only know about the mezzuzah because my grandmother’s across-the-hall neighbor had one, and I asked and it was explained to me.
Nick is non-observant, but that’s just the way he is, not a matter of religious preference…
It strikes me this would make a great High Priestess Tarot card, however temperamentally unsuited Virginia might be to that role.
Just discovered this comic. It is so wonderful! Since I’m binging from the beginning and have just reached the Alaska episode, I’m delighted to see that Dr. Lee is still in the strip ten years on. Keep up this great work!
I have such a Fiend Without a Face Meets Rosemary’s Baby vibe from that image.