Skin Horse

By Shaenon K. Garrity & Jeffrey C. Wells
By Shaenon K. Garrity & Jeffrey C. Wells
Color by Pancha Diaz
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2012-08-07
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2012-08-07

by shaenon on August 7, 2012 at 12:00 am
Chapter: Railway Children
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Discussion (48) ¬

  1. Forzin
    August 7, 2012, 12:26 am | # | Reply

    Hello, Dr. Lee? Mad Science?

    St. Charlie probably doesn’t even occupy a specific zone on the Time-Space continuum, or even in the multiverse. Next stop, Pleistocene era!

    • Towering Barbarian
      August 7, 2012, 1:09 am | # | Reply

      As a proper Spark she is probably thinking “How do I go about building one in my basement?” and hopes that the right leading questions will reveal useful technical information. That’s the way the mind of any gadgeteer I ran in Champions or GURPS would work. ^^

      • Forzin
        August 7, 2012, 1:11 am | # | Reply

        Speaking of which, the phrase ‘We make space’ is probably more literal then I first guessed.

        • Darkstarr
          April 20, 2016, 1:39 am | # | Reply

          Rather like how robotics engineers are always making new friends? -_^

  2. Michael
    August 7, 2012, 1:15 am | # | Reply

    HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! We make space! HAHAHAHAHA! I love you guys!

  3. Mental Mouse
    August 7, 2012, 2:46 am | # | Reply

    Oh yeah, this punchline’s a classic. I imagine the train itself is just a portal.

    • Sparks
      August 7, 2012, 9:25 pm | # | Reply

      TARDIS: Trains and Relative Dimensions in Space.

      • Darkstarr
        April 20, 2016, 1:40 am | # | Reply

        Well, St. Charlie is dimensionally transendental, so it could be…

      • The Other Mike
        February 16, 2017, 12:30 am | # | Reply

        Trains and Railroad Dimensions in Subways.

  4. KTLeone
    August 7, 2012, 2:48 am | # | Reply

    There is a mention of White Castle, officially make this THE BEST COMIC EVER.

  5. Barking Monkey
    August 7, 2012, 3:15 am | # | Reply

    “White Castle” is their idea of appealing dining? Guess that’s where the Mad part comes in.

    • Sam Setter
      October 26, 2018, 11:28 am | # | Reply

      As a mad Mechanic, Engineer, and Computer Technician I can confirm. White castle is irresistible to those of those of us that are sparks/in the field of irrational science(both applied and theoretical)

      • awgiedawgie
        October 26, 2018, 12:44 pm | # | Reply

        Particularly the microwave kind, for when you know you have to eat, but you don’t want to stop working, because if you lose your train of thought, it takes forever to get it back.

        • awgiedawgie
          October 26, 2018, 12:46 pm | # | Reply

          And yes, it just struck me that “train of thought” is a perfect nickname for St. Charlie.

  6. Eddurd
    August 7, 2012, 3:53 am | # | Reply

    (TUNE: “Peace Train”, Cat Stevens)

    Now all aboard St. Charlie,
    Home to six thousand, more or less!
    And how we all fit inside,
    You’ll never guess!

    And when I say, “We make space”,
    We really make space!
    Make yourself at home now
    In our little place!

    So much more space inside
    Just like a TARDIS!
    We sometimes rent the room out
    For private parties!

    So much nicer inside
    Than Unity anticipated!
    Says, “Modern travel by rail is
    Sadly underrated!”

    Now all aboard St. Charlie,
    Our inner-space train!
    (Ooh aaah oh, my word now!)
    We’ll bend your brain!

    • davidbreslin101
      August 7, 2012, 11:29 am | # | Reply

      Here stands a man unafraid to end a rhyming line with “TARDIS.” Look well. His type shall not come again.

      • Trish
        August 7, 2012, 9:06 pm | # | Reply

        Not JUST rhyming a line with TARDIS, but rhyming TARDIS with “private parties!” ED, YOU ARE MY HERO!

  7. Shane
    August 7, 2012, 5:00 am | # | Reply

    Train noir is pretty cool, but you’re going to have to climb over the bar of what Final Fantasy already has to say about trains and the fighting of them to compete.

    Suplexing trains: http://www.halolz.com/2012/01/16/bitch-im-mother-fuckin-sabin/

    ^ In-game footage of said train suplexing:

    • Sailorleo
      February 20, 2017, 3:15 am | # | Reply

      Pony Fantasy VI makes the joke even better. Pacifistic butter yellow pegasus suplexes undead train to redeath.

  8. nemryn
    August 7, 2012, 6:03 am | # | Reply

    Man, it’s been a while since I had any White Castle. I should probably fix that.

    • woozy
      August 7, 2012, 7:49 am | # | Reply

      If it’s been a while then you *have* fixed that.

  9. KeeCoyote
    August 7, 2012, 6:11 am | # | Reply

    White Castles super grease absorbent squareburgers makes my arteries scream in fear 🙂

    • Loki
      August 7, 2012, 7:10 am | # | Reply

      What other reaction would you expect from mad science food?

      • Sparks
        August 7, 2012, 9:26 pm | # | Reply

        “Mad science food” is the best explanation I’ve ever heard for White Castle.

    • Darkstarr
      April 20, 2016, 1:42 am | # | Reply

      That’s nothing compared to what would happen at the (aptly-named) Heart Attack Grill!

  10. Glenn
    August 7, 2012, 7:22 am | # | Reply

    Um. If you can make space, then you should be able to manufacture time on demand as well…I MUST EMIGRATE THERE, NOW!!!!!!!

  11. commodorejohn
    August 7, 2012, 10:12 am | # | Reply

    I pity the poor child that cannot grasp the appeal of White Castle.

    “With those who follow a different Way it is useless to take counsel.” – Confucius

    • mnementh
      August 7, 2012, 9:47 pm | # | Reply

      I don’t have the White Castle addiction gene, I’m afraid. But I WILL admit to an inexplicable attraction to Wendy’s Monterey Ranch Chicken(oid) sandwich (add tomato).

      I know it’s just guar gum and chicken powder in a wallpaper paste bun; but it’s my guilty pleasure. Like “Rock Lobster” by the B-52s. And velour.

      mnem
      Day-old White Castles make great slingshot ammo, though…

  12. Ike
    August 7, 2012, 11:32 am | # | Reply

    I’m puzzled by Unity’s line. Are you sure it’s her saying this? What about this reveal appeals to her? You can’t regulate, eat or kill it.

    • Feech
      August 7, 2012, 11:36 am | # | Reply

      Maybe she’s now rethinking all the modern trains (or train stations) she’s ever eaten or destroyed.

      • Carl Fishman
        August 7, 2012, 12:18 pm | # | Reply

        I think that line actually belongs to Sweetheart. More her speech pattern, and the balloon tail is ambiguous.

    • Rex Vivat
      August 8, 2012, 2:03 am | # | Reply

      Don’t flanderize someone else’s characters, people. It’s not polite.

  13. Klyfix
    August 7, 2012, 11:42 am | # | Reply

    Would you believe that the White Castle on/in St. Charlie would be the only one in Massachusetts? 🙂
    Never actually seen one of the restaurants, although I see the little burger thingies in the grocery store and got some once with a coupon I think.

    • Jeffrey Wells
      August 7, 2012, 5:29 pm | # | Reply

      Yeah, we don’t have them in Wisconsin, either. The presence of White Castle hamburgers (and thus the gag) is based on the fact that for a while a few decades back White Castle scored a major contract with Amtrak, and they were always available on board. You’ll sometimes find old promotional copy spinning this like it’s a good thing, which it obviously isn’t.

      • commodorejohn
        August 7, 2012, 7:26 pm | # | Reply

        Skin Horse: come for the transvestite sex soap opera, stay for the meticulously-researched Amtrak jokes!

      • Kay Gilbert
        August 7, 2012, 9:20 pm | # | Reply

        Oh, Jeff. Oh, young, ≤i≥young Jeff. when I was growing up in Milwaukee in the 60s and 70s, everyone ate at White Castle. I couldn’t see why then, or now, but they were fetish objects for some people..

  14. woozy
    August 7, 2012, 12:00 pm | # | Reply

    Note she said the “make” space. Not bend, fold, manipulate or control space. Not even the TARDIS could make space. Neat trick!

    • Jon
      August 7, 2012, 3:21 pm | # | Reply

      Wellllll… where did you think all of those rooms come from?

  15. Andrew
    August 7, 2012, 2:01 pm | # | Reply

    White Castle is to Kansas what Krystal is to Alabama, Whataburger is to Texas, and most of these mini-burgers or slammers are to every diner. Although I have to say the White Castle is the least tasty of the collective mini-heart attacks.

    • Khade
      August 7, 2012, 2:21 pm | # | Reply

      How does it compare to Jack in the Box?

      • Kay Gilbert
        August 7, 2012, 4:03 pm | # | Reply

        Jack in the Box: The world’s best ads in service of the world’s worst food.

        • woozy
          August 7, 2012, 9:51 pm | # | Reply

          A few weeks ago I had a dream about the Jack In the Box guy. I dreamt he scouting a central american rain forest to convert to grazing grounds and a militia group kid-napped and tortured him by cutting off his nose. The also fractured his jaw. He continued to make his own comercials but his head was misshapen and you could see the back of his ball in the hole where his nose used to be. He was still cheerful and optimistic that he would continue to sell his food though.

  16. Jon
    August 7, 2012, 3:22 pm | # | Reply

    Ulp. Bigger on the inside. I approve.

    Also, has anyone else notice that Ruby seems significantly more cheerful than she did when we saw her in Narbonic?

    • Andy4Hire
      August 7, 2012, 3:33 pm | # | Reply

      Maybe she and Mike worked out a way to have sex?

      • Jon
        August 8, 2012, 3:15 pm | # | Reply

        One can only hope.

  17. mittfh
    August 7, 2012, 5:06 pm | # | Reply

    “We make space.”

    Hmm. Pocket dimensions, anyone?

    Actually – it’s better than that. Dynamically resizable pocket dimensions.

    This is, after all, a world of mad science. (Almost) anything’s possible…

  18. Anderson
    August 7, 2012, 5:08 pm | # | Reply

    …they need a conversation about labeling their interdimensional vortices…..

  19. midwestmutt
    August 7, 2012, 6:46 pm | # | Reply

    What? No filk about “sliders on the City of St. Charlie?

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