Skin Horse

By Shaenon K. Garrity & Jeffrey C. Wells
By Shaenon K. Garrity & Jeffrey C. Wells
Color by Pancha Diaz
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2022-05-05
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2022-05-05

by shaenon on May 5, 2022 at 12:01 am
Chapter: Phantomwise
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Discussion (87) ¬

  1. Nick
    May 5, 2022, 12:03 am | # | Reply

    Holy SHIT

    • OneUniverse
      May 5, 2022, 8:44 pm | # | Reply

      My thoughts exactly!

  2. AeromechanicalAce
    May 5, 2022, 12:03 am | # | Reply

    Oh hey, Mell!

    Out of the Frying pan and Into the Flamethrower for Tip then…

    • Moe Lane
      May 5, 2022, 12:08 am | # | Reply

      She seems to be doing well.

    • Rick
      May 5, 2022, 12:14 am | # | Reply

      Somehow, I don’t think Tip is in that bag. Officially, he was portraying Dr. Sanders.

      Mel may just have a big ole bag of Chris and Marcie.

      • Candace
        May 5, 2022, 12:16 am | # | Reply

        Ah, yes, this could be what happened to them.

      • David B Huber
        May 5, 2022, 12:20 am | # | Reply

        (gasps in astonishment)
        Brilliant!

      • Moe Lane
        May 5, 2022, 12:59 am | # | Reply

        That would explain why the mojo didn’t work.

        • Roto
          May 5, 2022, 10:27 pm | # | Reply

          Mel is also in a relationship. Not even Artie was able to change that.

      • Robert Nowall
        May 5, 2022, 6:56 am | # | Reply

        Pretty sure.

      • Frank Hightower
        May 5, 2022, 9:52 pm | # | Reply

        But all the pictures they have during his ascent are of tip

    • Frank Hightower
      May 5, 2022, 9:54 pm | # | Reply

      Dang, I’d forgotten she actually graduated from law school!

  3. dvandom
    May 5, 2022, 12:06 am | # | Reply

    I mean, probably the least dangerous lawyer Anasigma has on the payroll.

    • dvandom
      May 5, 2022, 12:07 am | # | Reply

      (Especially if she finds out he Knows Artie. Nudge nudge.)

    • OneUniverse
      May 5, 2022, 8:53 pm | # | Reply

      Mell didn’t get high in the Shadow Government attorney pool by not being dangerous, and since she bagged der Führer, she must be near the top.

  4. Urlance Woolsbane
    May 5, 2022, 12:09 am | # | Reply

    Wow wow wow

    I reckoned we might see some of the Narbonic cast before the end, but I thought they’d show up after the denoument. I’m mighty curious to see where this goes

    • Urlance Woolsbane
      May 5, 2022, 12:13 am | # | Reply

      Aside from Artie, obviously; I mean the ones that hadn’t shown up

      • Seph
        May 5, 2022, 5:25 pm | # | Reply

        I’m hoping for a cameo from ANTONIO SMITH.

        • Andy4Hire
          May 5, 2022, 7:22 pm | # | Reply

          That would be excellent. I keep hoping for one by Foxy Cop myself.

          … Although now that I think about it, it might be even more fun to watch Zeta meet Jonah and Nera.

          • John Campbell
            May 5, 2022, 11:17 pm | #

            We actually had a Foxy Cop cameo back in “Grillo Parlante”.

            I, too, have been rooting for a Jonah+Nera/Zeta+Foot team-up pretty much since they were introduced.

    • Darius Drake
      May 5, 2022, 12:23 am | # | Reply

      You do realise that the shadowy figures are almost certainly The Dave Society, right? They do run the world, and everything’s terrible in politics mostly because of how laid back their control is. In the Narbonic/Skin-Horse Universe, anyway.

      • tuiteyfruity
        May 5, 2022, 1:11 am | # | Reply

        i did not consider that :O

      • Beachfox
        May 5, 2022, 3:59 pm | # | Reply

        Oh %&^$, that would totally fit. Taking a new harder line against mad science after one of their own tried to nuke the world?

  5. thejoemoose
    May 5, 2022, 12:28 am | # | Reply

    Oh heck yeah

    • thejoemoose
      May 5, 2022, 12:30 am | # | Reply

      Oh heck, I just realized. Tip’s Mojo and Mell’s…being Mell.

      [leans back, offers popcorn to everyone]

      • Shadowmehr
        May 5, 2022, 1:02 pm | # | Reply

        The possibilities, and consequences, boggles the mind.

  6. Darius Drake
    May 5, 2022, 12:37 am | # | Reply

    I’m honestly surprised that this isn’t showing them knowing each other. Tip was an Army Psychologist, and Mell joined the Army after getting her Law Degree. I would have thought that the two of them would have some history, both given how stories work and the fact that Tip’s technically a Hero while Mel’s certainly a Villain.

    • Paul Lee Burks
      May 5, 2022, 12:39 am | # | Reply

      I don’t know that I would class Mel as a villain. She’s mostly a mercenary. The fun starts when she meets Unity.

      • dexitroboper
        May 5, 2022, 1:10 am | # | Reply

        She was an Evil Intern at Narbonic Labs. She’s a villain by trade.

        • awgiedawgie
          May 5, 2022, 10:52 am | # | Reply

          Mell and Virginia and Tip are three sides of the same coin (and yes, in the Narboniverse, it’s actually possible for a coin to have three sides). They’re all evil – and they admit it – but they try to use it for good.

          • Darius Drake
            May 5, 2022, 10:20 pm | #

            Honestly, I feel like Mell & Tip are opposites. Mell is Evil who occasionally produces Good results, while Tip is Good who occasionally produces Evil results. If you want to add Virginia into the mix, she’s True Neutral, ignoring both Good and Evil for Entertainment, the results of which usually considered Evil in the short-term, and Good in the long-term.

          • awgiedawgie
            May 6, 2022, 7:30 am | #

            I’m just saying, they’ve all admitted to being evil. You can explain it any way that keeps you sane.

  7. Paul Lee Burks
    May 5, 2022, 12:37 am | # | Reply

    Aw, look at her all grown up. I hope she catches up with Sergio and Artie.

    Pretty sure that’s Chris and Marcie, which is fun because one of them now heads the private sector shadow gov.

    • Duane B.
      May 5, 2022, 8:21 am | # | Reply

      I agree with both parts of your post.

      Tho…I think A-sig is confused over which is Chris and who is Marcie.

  8. Tiff Hudson
    May 5, 2022, 1:00 am | # | Reply

    If he doesn’t calm down, he’ll end up in Storage Room C.

    • awgiedawgie
      May 5, 2022, 10:53 am | # | Reply

      Oh, dear.

    • jdreyfuss
      May 5, 2022, 3:31 pm | # | Reply

      If he runs into the sentient meme he’s got problems.

  9. tuiteyfruity
    May 5, 2022, 1:10 am | # | Reply

    OH MYGOSH MEL!!!

  10. theysabet
    May 5, 2022, 1:16 am | # | Reply

    HIYA MELL. Mother Goddess on stilettos, this is going to be SO MUCH FUN.

    • David B Huber
      May 5, 2022, 9:56 am | # | Reply

      Well said!

  11. BMunro
    May 5, 2022, 2:48 am | # | Reply

    I’m a bit confused again. If A-sig is a for profit corporation, it’s not the same as the secret government (although it might run it) and the CEO would be picked by the board of directors (or in some cases, the shareholders), not rise to the position through some sort of bureaucratic Cursus Honorum.

    • codebracker
      May 5, 2022, 7:11 am | # | Reply

      Well A-sig is employed by the shadow government tho, right?

      • awgiedawgie
        May 5, 2022, 11:01 am | # | Reply

        Shadow government is, by definition, private individuals and/or companies who carry out actions on behalf of the actual government. So A-Sig is a shadow government, and they are employed by the actual government.

        Notwithstanding, any company can select their CEO in whatever means suits them.

        • BMunro
          May 5, 2022, 5:10 pm | # | Reply

          Quibble: the Shadow government by definition _is_ the “actual” government, in the sense that it’s the true power, not the elected officials.

          And if there is any actual company that selects it’s top officials by their ascending a bureaucratic ladder, with board of directors/shareholders not having a final say, I’d be much surprised. It smacks of _merit_. 🙂

          • awgiedawgie
            May 5, 2022, 5:50 pm | #

            Seems to me that we’re looking at (but not really seeing) those shadowy figures who have that final say.

    • David B Huber
      May 5, 2022, 7:23 am | # | Reply

      I think the implication is that Ari Green *was* the Anasigma CEO, but the Board has lost confidence in him and took notice of the meteoric rise of this “Chris Sanders” fellow to the pinnacle of shadow gov nobility… Which makes him not only competent but uniquely valuable (because there is no such thing as “conflict of interest” in the Shadow Gov).

      • BMunro
        May 5, 2022, 5:17 pm | # | Reply

        It certainly is puzzling as to why there would be spaces _above_ the CEO position. But Ari calling it a “bureaucratic error” would seem to imply that Tip _did_ become CEO by ascending the bureaucratic ladder.

        But I may once again be looking too hard for explanations in a cartoon where people make teleportation devices out of a bunch of coat hangers. (It’s just that Tip now being revealed as not only the top person in the secret government bureaucracy but also as a result CEO of Anasigma feels vaguely _unearned_ to me.)

        • awgiedawgie
          May 5, 2022, 5:46 pm | # | Reply

          I’m still waiting for it to be revealed that Dr. Chris Sanders is the top person. Isn’t it convenient that both he and Tip are tall with long-ish blond hair?

  12. Beachfox
    May 5, 2022, 3:59 am | # | Reply

    Honestly, the last Narbonic character I expected to see and the least expected way for one to show up.

  13. ebonysable
    May 5, 2022, 4:06 am | # | Reply

    AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH MEL!

  14. Blofeld's Cat
    May 5, 2022, 4:39 am | # | Reply

    1) It’s Mel – Huzzah!
    2) Another loose end gets tied up – literally.

  15. Trivena
    May 5, 2022, 5:18 am | # | Reply

    MELL!

    *insert appropriate screaming here. Make up your own mind whether it’s excitement or terror*

    • Duane B.
      May 5, 2022, 8:24 am | # | Reply

      Think rollercoaster, it can be both.

  16. Robert Nowall
    May 5, 2022, 5:21 am | # | Reply

    Retainer? Her teeth need straightening?

  17. LordFuzzy
    May 5, 2022, 5:38 am | # | Reply

    Yes, Mel is a Vilain
    Evil Intern > Graduated to Lawyer…
    And Futureward Eventually Politician 😉
    Nothing But Villain in that Progression 😀

  18. Kyle
    May 5, 2022, 5:46 am | # | Reply

    I’m an atheist who was raised a protestant. I still crossed myself. Be brave, Tip!

    (I mean, of course it’s Mel. Anasigma apparently refuses to pay until the client is kidnapped. Any other lawyers willing to go that far got in Mel’s way a long time ago…)

  19. alanoodle
    May 5, 2022, 6:25 am | # | Reply

    I love it! This just keeps getting better!

  20. sorcyress
    May 5, 2022, 6:41 am | # | Reply

    “wait it doesn’t make any sense for Virginia to be there wait the hair is wrong WAIT WAIT HELL YES”

    • kiralamouse
      May 5, 2022, 7:47 am | # | Reply

      I think you mean “MELL YES” }=D

      • awgiedawgie
        May 5, 2022, 11:03 am | # | Reply

        You say that as if there’s a difference.

        • kiralamouse
          May 5, 2022, 10:31 pm | # | Reply

          Of course there’s a difference; hell hasn’t been kicked out of Mell. 😉

          • awgiedawgie
            May 6, 2022, 7:31 am | #

            Touché.

    • Sol
      May 5, 2022, 12:59 pm | # | Reply

      I went through the same progression. And now I have a profound need to completely re-read Narbonic…

  21. David B Huber
    May 5, 2022, 7:41 am | # | Reply

    This is a job for Captain Beyond!

  22. James Moar
    May 5, 2022, 7:56 am | # | Reply

    Kirikirikirikirikiri….

  23. reverendfiesta
    May 5, 2022, 8:26 am | # | Reply

    omg

  24. elephant
    May 5, 2022, 8:38 am | # | Reply

    I’m not sure if TIp would be in more or less danger if he rolled seduction 😀

    • davidbreslin101
      May 5, 2022, 10:08 am | # | Reply

      TIP: Why, hello- WTF?! Why am I dressed as Willie Nelson now?!

      • David B Huber
        May 5, 2022, 1:06 pm | # | Reply

        ROFL!

  25. Robert Nowall
    May 5, 2022, 8:45 am | # | Reply

    The new CEO has arrived. Ira thought he was dead—no, alive. It’s kind of Machiavellian, ’cause he’s brought by Mel Kelly, and, who knows if her baggage survived?

  26. David B Huber
    May 5, 2022, 10:00 am | # | Reply

    I love Mr. Green’s reaction in panel 3 upon hearing Tip somehow survived. 😉

    • bergerjacques
      May 5, 2022, 10:13 am | # | Reply

      Gonna love Mr. Green’s reaction upon meeting Mel. Assuming he hasn’t already met her….

  27. bergerjacques
    May 5, 2022, 10:12 am | # | Reply

    MEL, WHEEEE!!!
    And I’m not sure if telling Tip to chill is not a mis-reading of his muffled cries. He may just want company in there.

  28. charlesrwest
    May 5, 2022, 11:55 am | # | Reply

    O no! Dave Barker’s back!

  29. Daibhid C
    May 5, 2022, 1:43 pm | # | Reply

    Yay, Mell!

    Also, I was apparently completely wrong about A-Sig and the Shadow Government having seperate org charts yesterday. Ah, well

    • David B Huber
      May 5, 2022, 2:09 pm | # | Reply

      Actually, Daibhid, I think you were right.

      A-Sig would naturally recruit the head of the Shadow Gov if possible, if only to preempt ties to competing contractors.

      And by offering Mr. Sanders the newly-vacant CEO position, they kill two birds with one stone.

  30. Canadian Mad Scientist
    May 5, 2022, 2:37 pm | # | Reply

    MMMMEEEELLLL!

    That’s about it, really.

  31. Tiff Hudson
    May 5, 2022, 3:01 pm | # | Reply

    Wait!? Has anyone ever done a Mission:Impossible chin-peel on Ira to make sure he’s not Helen’s mom in disguise?

    • awgiedawgie
      May 5, 2022, 3:27 pm | # | Reply

      Nah… Ira’s way shorter than Dr. Narbon.

      • D. Walker
        May 5, 2022, 4:06 pm | # | Reply

        More importantly, Ira doesn’t drink NEARLY enough box wine.

        (…and Dr. Narbon would never have had the patience to hang out in Annex One pretending to be an elderly security guard with dementia for months on end…)

        • Seph
          May 5, 2022, 5:27 pm | # | Reply

          She wouldn’t have made it half a day without getting bored and blowing something up.

          • awgiedawgie
            May 5, 2022, 5:44 pm | #

            *someone

  32. Andy4Hire
    May 5, 2022, 7:25 pm | # | Reply

    Oh HELL yes.

    • Andy4Hire
      May 5, 2022, 7:26 pm | # | Reply

      (I see the obligatory “Mell yes” joke has already been made. ‘S what I get for not being able to read the strip until evening.)

  33. Robert Nowall
    May 5, 2022, 8:43 pm | # | Reply

    Mel once represented Lovelace. If she’s now representing Anasigma, isn’t there a conflict of interest?

    • Steveh
      May 5, 2022, 9:37 pm | # | Reply

      Not if they deposit the retainer….

    • John Campbell
      May 5, 2022, 11:23 pm | # | Reply

      Mell is always interested in a good conflict.

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