…Honestly, the most annoying part is that it’s equally likely that this is the Clone Phillips. Or that they’re both clones and the original one died in a stupid accident.
Clones in the Zone is now canon! Unless it’s actually an alien shape-shifter. Or a Dr. Phillips from the future or an alternate timline. Or…darn, mad science makes it a bit hard to be sure about anything, doesn’t it?
My first assumption was that he had Tip’s superpower of situation-dependent teleportation, but clones is more more…I hesitate to say “logical” exactly, but… 🙂
There’s a Dr. Phillips in St. Charlie.
Goofy hats and kilts are what he wears.
He is not out there on an assignment.
He is here and drinking, we declare.
It’s great to be bizarrely in St. Charlie.
A place where our Mad Science rules the sprawl.
We are still a secret next to the subway.
And no human being’s a missing thing at all.
We say Dr. Phillips stands before you.
You say he’s in Carbondale.
Trailing him with giant robot fortress.
We think you’re are really off the trail
It’s great to be bizarrely in St. Charlie.
A place where our Mad Science rules the sprawl.
We are still a secret next to the subway.
And no human being’s a missing thing at all.
Sissy drinks with fruit chunks and umbrellas,
Kirk and Kinlin think he’s drinking here.
Is he twins or are you just mistaken?
Wonder which of us is thinking clear?
It’s great to be bizarrely in St. Charlie.
A place where our Mad Science rules the sprawl.
We are still a secret next to the subway.
And no human being’s a missing thing at all.
In St. Charlie, Massachusetts, USA.
—from “Okie From Muskogee,” Merle Haggard—but also a reworking of one I posted back in 2016.
So, I’ve been binge-reading Girl Genius trying to find a time where Von Zinzer actually said “I hate working with Sparks” (I thought sure he did), but so far, this is the closest I’ve been able to find: http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080901
So is the stick figure assembly above the good Doctor’s right shoulder in panel 4 a group of zombies, sleepwalkers, a marching band or some kind of mad yoga class? (Or some combination thereof?)
Also, is Phillips genuinely mad, or just a high functioning alcoholic?
You mean like Henry Kuttner’s Spark Gallegher who could invent just about anything but only when drunk and had to figure out what it was he invented when sober? o_O
Sweetheart isn’t talking about the Knitting Ninja. She’s talking about Phillips – you know, the guy (with the goofy hat) drinking in the outpost with Tip and the team.
I hate to say it, but there might have been more than one Phillips in St. Charlie already. Cloning is not beyond the capabilities of more than two-thirds of the population there, so they might have wanted a few of him around (either for a project he was working on and needed help with, or to mix drinks in one of the bars on board. There are very few mads that can be trusted with flammable chemicals in an eating facility after all.)
It’s also quite possible that if random teleportation is common, that may mean that the teleportation equipment is faulty, and so it may create a copy at the destination, rather than actually teleporting the original. This could, of course, result in any number of duplicates.
Dun dun dun!
If Tip isn’t wearing a “U R NOT U” shirt yet, maybe he’s *not* a duplicate?
…Honestly, the most annoying part is that it’s equally likely that this is the Clone Phillips. Or that they’re both clones and the original one died in a stupid accident.
He did die in a past storyline and got revified, so, basically this is mad ontology.
The afterlife probably counts mad scientists differently to simplify the paperwork.
Clones in the Zone is now canon! Unless it’s actually an alien shape-shifter. Or a Dr. Phillips from the future or an alternate timline. Or…darn, mad science makes it a bit hard to be sure about anything, doesn’t it?
My first assumption was that he had Tip’s superpower of situation-dependent teleportation, but clones is more more…I hesitate to say “logical” exactly, but… 🙂
The real-life version (me) always wears a plumeria flower on the left side of his hat, so maybe that’s a clue.
There’s a Dr. Phillips in St. Charlie.
Goofy hats and kilts are what he wears.
He is not out there on an assignment.
He is here and drinking, we declare.
It’s great to be bizarrely in St. Charlie.
A place where our Mad Science rules the sprawl.
We are still a secret next to the subway.
And no human being’s a missing thing at all.
We say Dr. Phillips stands before you.
You say he’s in Carbondale.
Trailing him with giant robot fortress.
We think you’re are really off the trail
It’s great to be bizarrely in St. Charlie.
A place where our Mad Science rules the sprawl.
We are still a secret next to the subway.
And no human being’s a missing thing at all.
Sissy drinks with fruit chunks and umbrellas,
Kirk and Kinlin think he’s drinking here.
Is he twins or are you just mistaken?
Wonder which of us is thinking clear?
It’s great to be bizarrely in St. Charlie.
A place where our Mad Science rules the sprawl.
We are still a secret next to the subway.
And no human being’s a missing thing at all.
In St. Charlie, Massachusetts, USA.
—from “Okie From Muskogee,” Merle Haggard—but also a reworking of one I posted back in 2016.
Yes, OK, I’ll just go ahead and fire up iMovie … https://youtu.be/BlWt1ImmETo
Oh! My! God!
I only wish I had a kilt and the fixings for a fancy drink …
It’s probably just me, but did some ‘comic authority'(?) put a 15 mph sign on travel though THIS neighborhood? You know, “Slow children”…?
It may indeed be just you, but take take it easy anyway, and enjoy watching the slow children (also known as Mad geniuses) playing.
Von Zinzer: “me too, Sweetheart. Me too.”
So, I’ve been binge-reading Girl Genius trying to find a time where Von Zinzer actually said “I hate working with Sparks” (I thought sure he did), but so far, this is the closest I’ve been able to find: http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080901
So is the stick figure assembly above the good Doctor’s right shoulder in panel 4 a group of zombies, sleepwalkers, a marching band or some kind of mad yoga class? (Or some combination thereof?)
Also, is Phillips genuinely mad, or just a high functioning alcoholic?
You mean like Henry Kuttner’s Spark Gallegher who could invent just about anything but only when drunk and had to figure out what it was he invented when sober? o_O
Well, there’s a tiny stick figure of a guy with a jet pack in Panel One…
I think the legs bend the wrong way for a man with a jet pack on his back. it looks more like a dragon (being chased by a rocket ship).
Depends on whether they’re wearing the jet/rocket pack on their back or their front.
What appear to be legs bent the wrong way are actually snorkel fins… Very large snorkel fins.
Well, we never found out what happened to Kay the Dragon…
The background stck figures look like Professor Harold Hill is directing a Zombie Lurch (Zumba class?) …
He didn’t have a hat, Sweetheart, he had knitting needles!
Sweetheart isn’t talking about the Knitting Ninja. She’s talking about Phillips – you know, the guy (with the goofy hat) drinking in the outpost with Tip and the team.
The plot thickens!
Panel one to panel four – gloves changing color. Are all these “off bits” a series of mistakes… or some kind of clever clue?
I’m wondering the same, if the differences aren’t clues of some nature.
They are microstructured. So, they change color depending on the exact angle of the light.
Maybe they change colour kind of like a mood ring.
I hate to say it, but there might have been more than one Phillips in St. Charlie already. Cloning is not beyond the capabilities of more than two-thirds of the population there, so they might have wanted a few of him around (either for a project he was working on and needed help with, or to mix drinks in one of the bars on board. There are very few mads that can be trusted with flammable chemicals in an eating facility after all.)
It’s also quite possible that if random teleportation is common, that may mean that the teleportation equipment is faulty, and so it may create a copy at the destination, rather than actually teleporting the original. This could, of course, result in any number of duplicates.
This might be a good time for Dr. Lee to pop out and say “finally someone understands my pain!”