Well, Nick is just hovering there, taking it all in, while Mistycorn is doing his best to give the impression that he should be wearing a leisure suit with gold jewelry. Who would deserve a slam more?
I’m not sure Lovelace being a helicopter would be that much less distracting for Nick. While he’s still definitely human-lady-oriented, from some of his last blog posts, “flying a sweet helicopter” seems to be worth some extra points on his personal scale.
I guess it’s a good thing I literally just finished reading Narbonic yesterday.
Yes, I read through Skin Horse before I did Narbonic. I tend to do stuff like that.
I’ve never read any of Narbonic, didn’t realize it was a required prequel and don’t really want to pick up a new comic right now. So instead I’m just kinda grumpy whenever I’m supposed to be familiar with it. 😛
It’s not required reading, you just miss out on a little extra stuff. They’ll never make it so you don’t know what’s going on or miss anything crucial for not reading it.
I gotta admit, having just resumed reading (from the end of the Cowardly Lion arc) to now over the past few days, I’ve been quite lost on several occasions due to characters from Narbonic popping up. Artie wasn’t too bad because he was pretty well fleshed out when he was featured in Skin Horse. I didn’t know that he was ‘still’ a gerbil until the alternate timeline arc (during which H.T’s line of eating him in one bite made sense). Until then, I’d thought that he was a human who’d been transformed from a gerbil.
But there have been a lot of references to characters and events that I’ve had to go to the comments section for answers because I don’t understand something.
I would say that some knowledge of Narbonic is required after the initial Whimsy Land arc and is mandatory once Gavotte leaves or you’ll find yourself very confused when someone pops up.
It’s not a required prequel- but the author uses some legacy characters, like artie and lovelace. However, these are usually introduced well either way- you don’t know everything about them, but you don’t need to.
Both comics are set in ostensibly the same setting, though there are some parts that have either been ignored or slowly eradicated
None of the main cast have been copied over, though unity does follow mell’s role of the one who handles most of the violence.
Well, I didn’t come to “Skin Horse” till the sequence with Jonah Yu repeatedly dying and the strip saying “The End”—so it was a while before I got what was going on. It was still awhile before I got the Narbonics books—and still later before I read them.
Yeah, while I had heard of Narbonic, I never read Narbonic. Then I stumbled onto PSH. I ended up reading Narbonic in a mad tear a month or two ago, just so I would understand the comments and references here.
Skin Horse was the first story-based webcomic I ever read. I go back and re-read it every few years or so, it was only after doing that for a while that I found out about Skin Horse – on that comic where you see the outside of Mendoza’s static caravan thing. Man, just gotta love the universe they’re set in.
… also sadbeans to see the comment system doesn’t like .tech domains.
Yay! Lovelace! Thanks, Shaenon!
Boy, I sure hope they don’t run into a Digital Justice Mel Kelly… that would be horrible, but would help explain my ISP…
Sadly, her usual crimefighting partner isn’t here. Because Babbage runs on clockwork and punchcards, he can’t handle the speed of computation needed for this VR interface. Lovely chap, plays canasta with Moustachio sometimes.
The Daughters of the Air are from the original version of The Little Mermaid, in which they’re disembodied spirits who do good deeds for humans to earn an immortal soul. What parts of this are relevant here isn’t clear yet.
I vaguely remember it being mentioned that the Daughters of the Air were some sort of AI group. It might have been during the machine uprising arc, but I’m really not sure off the top of my head. I know they’ve been mentioned in the strip before.
She’d already hit Nick with the “ex-military cyborg” line (“ex-military” is somewhat unfair as a description of him given how little he did for the military once he found out he was working for them, and “cyborg” doesn’t need to affect his behaviour on-line), so it may have just been Baron’s turn.
Yes, she’s back!
Good to know Madblood didn’t delete her.
Correction: That *Dave* didn’t delete her when he displaced her while uploading his brain.
She was backed-up twelve hours before. She doesn’t remember but she has a pretty good idea what happened…
Also she was emancipated in that montage of scenes in the final Narbonic strip.
I wonder if “I can be a cartoon helicopter if it helps you focus” was meant as a slam against Mistyhorn or against Nick? Or both? o_O
The Baron definitely looks happier than he should.
Well, Nick is just hovering there, taking it all in, while Mistycorn is doing his best to give the impression that he should be wearing a leisure suit with gold jewelry. Who would deserve a slam more?
I’m not sure Lovelace being a helicopter would be that much less distracting for Nick. While he’s still definitely human-lady-oriented, from some of his last blog posts, “flying a sweet helicopter” seems to be worth some extra points on his personal scale.
I guess it’s a good thing I literally just finished reading Narbonic yesterday.
Yes, I read through Skin Horse before I did Narbonic. I tend to do stuff like that.
I did the same.
I’ve never read any of Narbonic, didn’t realize it was a required prequel and don’t really want to pick up a new comic right now. So instead I’m just kinda grumpy whenever I’m supposed to be familiar with it. 😛
It’s not required reading, you just miss out on a little extra stuff. They’ll never make it so you don’t know what’s going on or miss anything crucial for not reading it.
I gotta admit, having just resumed reading (from the end of the Cowardly Lion arc) to now over the past few days, I’ve been quite lost on several occasions due to characters from Narbonic popping up. Artie wasn’t too bad because he was pretty well fleshed out when he was featured in Skin Horse. I didn’t know that he was ‘still’ a gerbil until the alternate timeline arc (during which H.T’s line of eating him in one bite made sense). Until then, I’d thought that he was a human who’d been transformed from a gerbil.
But there have been a lot of references to characters and events that I’ve had to go to the comments section for answers because I don’t understand something.
I would say that some knowledge of Narbonic is required after the initial Whimsy Land arc and is mandatory once Gavotte leaves or you’ll find yourself very confused when someone pops up.
Just keep Narbonic as something for the ol’ Bucket List.
I moved it into my bathroom so I’d get to reading it while I was sitting there.
Go, read it; it’s a freaking blast!
It’s not a required prequel- but the author uses some legacy characters, like artie and lovelace. However, these are usually introduced well either way- you don’t know everything about them, but you don’t need to.
Both comics are set in ostensibly the same setting, though there are some parts that have either been ignored or slowly eradicated
None of the main cast have been copied over, though unity does follow mell’s role of the one who handles most of the violence.
Well, I didn’t come to “Skin Horse” till the sequence with Jonah Yu repeatedly dying and the strip saying “The End”—so it was a while before I got what was going on. It was still awhile before I got the Narbonics books—and still later before I read them.
Same
Why does reading Narbonic after reading all of Skin Horse sound like the Kids-Today version of reading the Hobbit after finishing Lord of The Rings??
*And when is the Narbonic Movie due? (After that we can talk about HBO doing ‘Game of Skin Horse’ or something…)
Since I *am* about to read The Hobbit today, years after I read LotR, the Silmarillion, and even some HoME… maybe I should read Narbonic.
I did that too, actually, though that was partly because my dad had them but didn’t have a copy of The Hobbit anymore.
Yeah, while I had heard of Narbonic, I never read Narbonic. Then I stumbled onto PSH. I ended up reading Narbonic in a mad tear a month or two ago, just so I would understand the comments and references here.
Skin Horse was the first story-based webcomic I ever read. I go back and re-read it every few years or so, it was only after doing that for a while that I found out about Skin Horse – on that comic where you see the outside of Mendoza’s static caravan thing. Man, just gotta love the universe they’re set in.
… also sadbeans to see the comment system doesn’t like .tech domains.
Yaaaay Lovelace! <3 I'm happy to see her, she didn't get a particularly happy ending.
She did, actually. She got her emancipation.
So, not Jennifer Connelly, then.
One day…
how did I not notice it was lovelace!!
I am going AAAAAAHHHH about several aspects of this strip.
Yay! Lovelace! Thanks, Shaenon!
Boy, I sure hope they don’t run into a Digital Justice Mel Kelly… that would be horrible, but would help explain my ISP…
Being interested in love does not make one a love interest.
(Repeat as necessary)
Especially if it’s not love that you’re interested in.
This is the best twist! I thought she looked familiar. Yay.
YAY lovelace! I love it when the characters from Narbonic pop up.
Stick with the avatar you came with, Lovelace.
By all means! Stick with that avatar 🙂
Nick and Baron might want to reconsider theirs, though.
Hey, at least Nick is a helicopter.
most comically sick… or sickly comical love interest. At least his horn is in plain sight
Sadly, her usual crimefighting partner isn’t here. Because Babbage runs on clockwork and punchcards, he can’t handle the speed of computation needed for this VR interface. Lovely chap, plays canasta with Moustachio sometimes.
By the by, what with this “Daughters of the Air?” Aren’t there any “Sons of the Air?”
The Daughters of the Air are from the original version of The Little Mermaid, in which they’re disembodied spirits who do good deeds for humans to earn an immortal soul. What parts of this are relevant here isn’t clear yet.
I vaguely remember it being mentioned that the Daughters of the Air were some sort of AI group. It might have been during the machine uprising arc, but I’m really not sure off the top of my head. I know they’ve been mentioned in the strip before.
…It was three days ago. Tuesday.
Must have missed it. I don’t always check every day.
Seriously, did all three of you miss Tuesday’s comic or what?
Nah, just why are they “daughters” and not “sons”…
Given that Lovelace was getting open-sourced at the end of Narbonic, I think it possible that they’re all clones of her.
She’d already hit Nick with the “ex-military cyborg” line (“ex-military” is somewhat unfair as a description of him given how little he did for the military once he found out he was working for them, and “cyborg” doesn’t need to affect his behaviour on-line), so it may have just been Baron’s turn.