Drone Thumbnails
Shaenon: Jeff and I don’t write everything out in advance, but Nick controlling the drone fleet was something I wanted to do from early on. These thumbnails are so old they contain both a Twilight reference and a Firefly reference.
Actually I still like the Twilight one. We just didn’t have room for it.
Channing: These are seriously old. Practically 2008 old. It’s amazing that the story eventually ended up in such a recognizable place after so long, but here we are.
Wait, is that Tip in men’s clothes? Maybe this was already stated somewhere, but was the original plan that he wouldn’t get his mojo back until much later on?
Maybe it’s “schoolgirl” Tip.
That’s plausible; regardless, it seems like his infiltration of the Shadow Government was a later addition
For a long time we weren’t sure when Tip’s non-mojo period would be.
Oh, interesting! So it might have come at some other pivotal moment, like when Ira abducted Nick? Thanks for the clarification!
This is amazing; thank you for sharing!
I absolutely LOVE the Firefly reference! And the “Crowning Moment of Awesome”! Thank you for sharing these!
The Firefly one made me smile because Nick’s expression in the last panel is so cute. ❤️
It’s amazing impressive that the two of you are able to create a gag-a-day strip that also has a decade-plus-spanning plot in which things are set up that don’t pay off until years later. Either one of those things alone seems really difficult!
This also really struck me when I was originally given the Narbonic collections (I hadn’t previously read Narbonic) and mainlined them over the course of a weekend.
I read Narbonic in its original format and STILL mainline it some weekends. 🙂
Nick takes on the drones in this scene. It’s mostly left off of our screen. In particular, “Twilight,” which didn’t work quite right. We’ll assume that it’s all in between.
These are brilliant. Thank you both for sharing.
LOVE these, especially the ‘leaf on the wind’ thing. I am so, so glad Nick didn’t die/discorporate/evolve/whatever; the bitter in that bittersweet’d be too much.
here is the poem, I hope it is ok to post it
Forever shackled by these chains,
I wallow in their lies.
They tie me to my fears and hate,
And all that I despise.
I see my friends across the road,
But my shackles hold me back.
They have looks and wit, they say.
Everything you lack.
The birds and clouds glide in joy,
Dancing across the sky.
But my chains tie me to the ground.
Shackled tears I cry.
Another mountain lies before me,
A new challenge I must try.
Don’t fool yourself, you’ll never succeed.
My shackles tell no lie.
I stare into the lonely mirror.
Blinded to my perfection.
I see nothing but a broken soul.
Shackled to its reflection.
I hug my knees and cry for someone
Who understands my pain.
As expected; no reply,
But the rapping of the rain.
My only rest I find at night,
After the death of day.
And with cold and burning steel
I cut my life away.
This is all I’ll ever be worth.
Dig deeper, until I’m dead…
My shackles laugh. They have won.
My arm…its crying red.
But one bright day I realise,
It’s myself I’ve been trying to find.
These oppressive and evil shackles
Live only in my mind.
My shackles return, fighting back,
Fearing what I now see.
Foolish things, they’ll never understand,
I will always be free.
Because I am the Sun,
Raining down my light.
I am a myth,
A whisper in the night.
I am the sky,
Serenity’s haven.
I am a mountain,
The silent warden.
I am the earth,
Life’s verdant source.
I am the wind,
The unstoppable force.
I am the sea,
Caressing the shore.
I am the storm,
The legendary Roar!
These lying shackles,
Bind me no more!
I am a leaf on the wind!
Watch how I soar.
I couldn’t find a author for it…sorry
Kamikaze death poem, “A Shackled Leaf”
Huh. All this time, it never occurred to me that Wash might have been quoting something. Thanks for posting this, Duane B.!
I always love peeks at the thumbnails! they’re so expressive even when it’s 1/4 of Dr. Lee’s face or 3/4 of Sweetheart’s sketched in pen.