As I’ve said before,”Watch yourself little Mob Baron,you’re at punting level!” …btw …Have I mentioned Lovejoy looks HOT? Welcome back,we have all missed you! 🙂
Honestly, I’m not even sure the very early panels of Narbonic qualified as badly drawn. Shaenon has a way with expressions and body language that is so effective that even actual diagnosed autistics can read it once she’s done with it (proof by example: me). And, honestly, that’s the single most important artistic quality in any comic strip containing actual humans. Or AIs. Or whatever the hell Baron qualifies as (virtual AI unicorns, I suppose).
Heck, even *Foot* had perfectly readable expressions. Shaenon managed to give body language to a huge disembodied foot! That takes artistic chops, man.
My favorite trick, personally, is using the same exact body for multiple characters — in Narbonic when there are three or four Dave-bodied people running around at the sane time, and (originally-)Virginia’s dronebody in Skin Horse.
And there’s not a single instant where you have the slightest question who is who, just by posture and expression. It is SO cool.
This was the topic of a presentation I did for a class on illustration, as something I admire and want to emulate. If I’m ever *half* as good at expression as Shaenon is, it’ll be a significant achievement.
Well, for Dave she can cheat, and does (and arguably has to): on the occasions when she has multiple actual Daves at different points in their timeline coexisting in the same strip, either one of them is, say, uncharacteristically happy, or one is pre-haircut-change and the other is post-haircut-change. But then Dave usually has the same posture as himself, so relying on that won’t work as well.
If they hit you in the thumbs with a ball-peen hammer in a virtual reality *on a server you run*… surely not, except if Rule of Funny requires it. (Universal overriding principle.)
I’m not sure that reference applies, since the computer in that story was modifying actual physical reality rather than virtual avatars.
But yeah, judging from Lovelace’s evident displeasure at being electrocuted earlier, the use of ball peen hammers on thumbs should lead to screaming among those with mouths.
I mean… what about for the intents and purposes which involve them having the same parents, being the same age, and even simply being the same species?
They are not twins in any actual sense, and even a metaphorical usage is a bit of a stretch that doesn’t actually hold much water if you think about it.
Literally the only common usage of “twin” that applies -is- the one about people looking alike. (We don’t really call people twins for thinking alike.)
You might argue they are “duplicates” rather than twins, but even that doesn’t really work – technically only one of them is a duplicate, the other is the original. Calling them both “duplicates” would imply they were both duplicated from a separate third party.
You do understand how twins happen, right? That’s essentially what happened here – virtually – except it happened after Nick was grown, rather than when he was only a single cell.
Call them duplicates. Call them clones if it makes you happy. But for all practical purposes, they are twins.
..and Aimee learns the meaning of “Be Careful What You Wish For”!
I love Lovelace’s expression in the first panel.
So uh, can I give a belated YAY SKIN HORSE IS BACK?? Because YAY!! SKIN HORSE IS BACK
I don’t think we can get enough of those
I predict a mix of “Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang” “The Royale”, and what Cartman sees when his eyes are shut…
Mobster Baron’s are adorable! I want that action figure.
Sorry, it was a limited time only thing from WhimseyCorp
Looks like they’re almost there.
Mob Baron has a whole new meaning
As I’ve said before,”Watch yourself little Mob Baron,you’re at punting level!” …btw …Have I mentioned Lovejoy looks HOT? Welcome back,we have all missed you! 🙂
thedoctor55: Mob Baron’s doesn’t need to watch himself. He’s got people to do that for him.
They’re lucky that these are the mob and not the police, though. Lovelace already has a criminal record.
Truthfully, had not read this post when making a similar ‘punting level’ comment below
Compare panel 1 yesterday with panel 1 today, and tell me again Skin Horse is badly-drawn.
Honestly, I’m not even sure the very early panels of Narbonic qualified as badly drawn. Shaenon has a way with expressions and body language that is so effective that even actual diagnosed autistics can read it once she’s done with it (proof by example: me). And, honestly, that’s the single most important artistic quality in any comic strip containing actual humans. Or AIs. Or whatever the hell Baron qualifies as (virtual AI unicorns, I suppose).
Heck, even *Foot* had perfectly readable expressions. Shaenon managed to give body language to a huge disembodied foot! That takes artistic chops, man.
My favorite trick, personally, is using the same exact body for multiple characters — in Narbonic when there are three or four Dave-bodied people running around at the sane time, and (originally-)Virginia’s dronebody in Skin Horse.
And there’s not a single instant where you have the slightest question who is who, just by posture and expression. It is SO cool.
This was the topic of a presentation I did for a class on illustration, as something I admire and want to emulate. If I’m ever *half* as good at expression as Shaenon is, it’ll be a significant achievement.
Well, for Dave she can cheat, and does (and arguably has to): on the occasions when she has multiple actual Daves at different points in their timeline coexisting in the same strip, either one of them is, say, uncharacteristically happy, or one is pre-haircut-change and the other is post-haircut-change. But then Dave usually has the same posture as himself, so relying on that won’t work as well.
What’s the version of Baron M in Panels 3 and 4 holding? It looks like a cigar, or at least it’s cigar-shaped.
So is there any reason to think it isn’t in fact a cigar?
My vote is on “cigar-shaped biscotti” because this IS run on a modified Whimsyworld VR server
Bubble gum?
https://www.google.com/search?q=gum+cigars&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS767US767&oq=gum+cigars&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l2j0i22i30l2j0i22i30i457j0i22i30l4.2979j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Which end do you light and are they easy on the draw?
“Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.”
— Sigmund Freud
It’s an exploding cigar.
Or a chocolate one.
If they hit you in the thumbs with a ball peen hammer in virtual reality, does it still cause permanent damage?
If they hit you in the thumbs with a ball-peen hammer in a virtual reality *on a server you run*… surely not, except if Rule of Funny requires it. (Universal overriding principle.)
If you have a mouth, do you scream?
I’m not sure that reference applies, since the computer in that story was modifying actual physical reality rather than virtual avatars.
But yeah, judging from Lovelace’s evident displeasure at being electrocuted earlier, the use of ball peen hammers on thumbs should lead to screaming among those with mouths.
A montage would have only taken one strip, so no, Nick, you did not actually save any time.
On the one hand, kneecaps. On the other hand, they’re just such adorable muscle!
And you are at ‘football about to be punted for a fieldgoal’ level
The 11th panel is clearly an imposter. I suspect a rogue AI is attempting to merge the strip with Hägar the Horrible again
11th panel? Are you feeling well?
I enjoy so much the similarities and subtle differences between Nick and Aimee’s body language, especially when they’re being cranky/shouty
They look like adorable twins in those white suits. 🙂
They don’t just look like it. For all intents and purposes, they are adorable twins!
I mean… what about for the intents and purposes which involve them having the same parents, being the same age, and even simply being the same species?
They are not twins in any actual sense, and even a metaphorical usage is a bit of a stretch that doesn’t actually hold much water if you think about it.
Literally the only common usage of “twin” that applies -is- the one about people looking alike. (We don’t really call people twins for thinking alike.)
You might argue they are “duplicates” rather than twins, but even that doesn’t really work – technically only one of them is a duplicate, the other is the original. Calling them both “duplicates” would imply they were both duplicated from a separate third party.
You do understand how twins happen, right? That’s essentially what happened here – virtually – except it happened after Nick was grown, rather than when he was only a single cell.
Call them duplicates. Call them clones if it makes you happy. But for all practical purposes, they are twins.
Fraternal twins.