Star Power III: Fail to the Void!

[Mewtarthio]

Welcome to the third thread discussing Star Power (http://www.starpowercomic.com/new-chapter/)!

What is Star Power, you ask? Shut up! I'm the one asking the questions here!

Now, would you like me to tell you about Star Power? Star Power is a collaborative effort between Michael "Mookie" Terracciano and Garth "Delectable Eye-Organ Fruits" Graham. According to the website, it merges the majesty of hard sci-fi with the wonder of the Silver Age. If you have no idea how anyone could reconcile such disparate elements, don't worry: Neither do Garth and Mookie.

Features a rich, diverse cast of characters:
Danica - Antisocial girl who gains superpowers. Sorry, super Star Powers. That is literally her entire character.

Mitch - A surprisingly perceptive voicemail recording stuck in Danica's supersuit.

Doctor Brightman - Danica's boss. She claims to be a scientist, but she's clearly lost sight of the joys of science with her obsessions with "protocol" and "data" and "repeatable results published in peer-reviewed journals."

Da Chief - Surly (but lovable!) security chief who's actually picked the right week to quit smoking. Namely, five weeks after the entropic heat-death of the universe.

The Countess - EVIL!

Void Archon - ALSO EVIL!

The Void Angels - An elite mercenary organization that is apparently so powerful entire governments flee before them. Famed for their ruthless tactics, unbreakable stealth tech, and high turnover rate because Void Archon keeps killing his own men. They've always got open positions!

Black Hole Bill - You know what? I'd rather not talk about this guy.

Larry, Curly, and Moe - A comedy trio whose bumbling attempts to kill Danica endeared them to us readers. Currently on the run from their boss, who wants to kill them.

Froggy McNotkrogan - A brave soul who nobly volunteered to risk his life disarming a bomb. It was a solemn moment; I remember it as if it were yesterday. I remembered all the good times we had together, like that time he volunteered to risk his life disarming a bomb, and that time when he was just about to volunteer to risk his life disarming a bomb (or would that be "her" life? Someone probably should have asked; guess we'll never know, now). Farewell, whatever your real name was! Your sacrifice will not be forgotten!

Previous threads!
The second thread! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=298918)
The first thread! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=15239130#post15239130)

[TheEmerged]

Meh, this title works.

[Bobikus]

The countess's dialogue and the newsposts comments about her makes me think Mookie would probably start scribbling in stink lines around her if Garth would allow it.

[Mr. McGician]

My thoughts after catching up on something like seven months of comic:

-It's a good thing we were given some exposition telling us how competent the Chief is. Otherwise I'd think him to be a total blunderer, the way Danica is always able to make the right decision after second-guessing him.

-Sorry, Mookie. Giving the Countess a sympathetic backstory won't work when you introduced her sneering and spouting cliched evil dialogue.

-Ah, Void Archangel, the classic incompetent Mookie villain. Continually sends waves of second-rate minions to their inevitable doom. And I'm sure killing them when they fail or just when you're mildly irritated by something does wonders for their morale.

-And Blackhole Bill is our first strawjock. I knew Mookie wouldn't disappoint us.

-Why is Void Archangel hiring a bounty hunter to do this for him? Isn't this what the Countess hired HIM to do?

-Wow, the "science" in this is just as confusing and nonsensical as the magic in Dominic Deegan.

-This comic is actually pretty boring if you just read it through in one go like I just did. Incompetent villain sends out disposable scrubs, they get defeated, wash, rinse, repeat. At least this latest twist might go somewhere more interesting, although similar "twists" in Dominic Deegan never lasted long.

-On the plus side, I like "hail to the void" and how it's strict Void Angel protocol to say that every other sentence.

[Vinyadan]

And finally, the third issue has been slain!
Here it is, ready to be read: just follow the links!

Issue 3:


http://i.cubeupload.com/OUCDW9.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/pyj9D4.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/rqglnJ.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/3vz3se.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/vsVfLw.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/pqMVWq.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/ewuMnu.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/IirBTg.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/vf8bnH.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/rkYCSf.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/axV80o.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/gqmvvK.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/yqrxmw.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/0NpUMk.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/H8frKN.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/3zPsKr.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/cdKkUG.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/xxw6lG.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/WlH2k7.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/bJ76N1.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/CbsBpx.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/NDPXlX.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/CsMZw9.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/VXNWWY.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/3UBOpB.png

All images at: http://cubeupload.com/codes/406674

The previous issues:

Issue 1:


http://i.cubeupload.com/CGVHlA.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/bmrgqu.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/AYZWEP.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/oqbS3E.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/ASdNP1.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/DQR80a.jpg
http://i.cubeupload.com/24junF.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/sueb7u.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/WDMaWC.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/wWTAEM.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/Ob0eTM.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/I6CM7q.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/80iqHQ.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/wjzq2z.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/eR75sM.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/mMbw1N.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/iuOuke.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/tBLhVL.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/rUoBja.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/5O88K0.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/HQiotY.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/1W2j75.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/Baf1PB.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/NeNNeU.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/T90Lgu.png

All images at: http://cubeupload.com/codes/bab8ed

Issue 2:

http://i.cubeupload.com/Lh98MA.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/gquW8o.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/jMrrbh.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/9qBB7A.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/QHQULD.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/WemExo.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/znxK4B.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/IqEiSe.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/ZXU05i.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/keWyAZ.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/TbrxHE.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/XOlSnY.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/llUBe4.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/3EVuGB.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/KUiiL9.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/eiPfy5.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/TXybTC.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/NorOs9.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/5iV7YU.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/5pbXI8.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/WfhXUk.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/TMENM8.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/WpeRMc.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/CWGiDX.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/om1K6V.png

All images at: http://cubeupload.com/codes/d0ccea

Personal commentary (read after the slay!)
Issue 3 took a very long time. It is the only issue we have yet seen, which I hold for completely unredeemable. There are so many mistakes in dialogues and organization of the scenes, I don't even know what to think. Anyway, the slaying went rather well, but I think there is much less humor than before, together with a more reasonable storyline. Next issue will probably be "back to crazy and beyond" :smallbiggrin:The little Voidpedia boxes weren't meant to be a "in universe" addition, but just to explain concepts I don't know how to express in English (and the butter one, litterally "to have the ass immersed in butter" for "being born lucky and wealthy", only exists in local dialects.) Nevertheless, I think they look nice without being cumbersome. :smallsmile:

[Oracle_Hunter]

I think Void Archangel might be the stupidest Mookie Villain yet. Even DJ Callan had a goal which was theoretically achievable. How he expects to use a Remote Exploding Spaceship to keep his Invincible Enemy under control for more than a day -- let alone the long term -- is beyond me :smallsigh:

[Kornaki]

From the last thread


So stars are 'winter sky friends'? That's gotta be a Garthism.


He's probably referring to winter constellations specifically, so it's not that bad.

But yeah this plan sucks on everyone's part. Doesn't Danica realize that if she works for the Void Angels the first thing she's going to be told to do is hurt people?

[Morty]

-Sorry, Mookie. Giving the Countess a sympathetic backstory won't work when you introduced her sneering and spouting cliched evil dialogue.


I don't think it's supposed to be a sympathetic backstory. It seems to be there to make her even more evil, since the Sentinels were so merciful to her and she still kept on attacking. That's the sort of sledgehammer-shaped character establishing I would expect from Mookie.

[MReav]

I'm guessing Danika didn't have a high enough Paragon/Renegade score at this point. Otherwise she could have either convinced or intimidated Vorp Archangle into backing down.

[Trazoi]

I don't think it's supposed to be a sympathetic backstory. It seems to be there to make her even more evil, since the Sentinels were so merciful to her and she still kept on attacking. That's the sort of sledgehammer-shaped character establishing I would expect from Mookie.
I'm expecting the next piece of the story is, after she knifes her mother, to order the entire fleet to fire at the Sentinels rather than the attackers even though that makes no sense. Either way she's going to blow up all her species and blame the Sentinels for it (but everyone saw that coming months ago).

[Mewtarthio]

I think Vinyadan deserves a big hand for managing to turn the comic into something readable, no?


I think Void Archangel might be the stupidest Mookie Villain yet. Even DJ Callan had a goal which was theoretically achievable.

Fixed that for you.

[Oracle_Hunter]

I think Vinyadan deserves a big hand for managing to turn the comic into something readable, no?
I dunno, personally I think the execution is all thumbs :smallamused:

[Hopeless]

What if the revelation is that due to her actions she's the last remaining member of her race and her actions now are focused against the last surviving member of the group she holds responsible for her own actions?

Well how much worse can this get?

[Humbug]

Vinyadan's jokes actually made me laugh which Mookie has yet to accomplish (serious scenes which are unintentionally funny don't count), so the rewrite is way ahead in my book. :smallbiggrin:

[MReav]

I'm expecting the next piece of the story is, after she knifes her mother, to order the entire fleet to fire at the Sentinels rather than the attackers even though that makes no sense. Either way she's going to blow up all her species and blame the Sentinels for it (but everyone saw that coming months ago).

It makes a certain amount of sense. They'd have to blow through the Sentinel shield first, so taking them out simultaneously kills the Sentinels and lowers the shield for them to fire on the dreadnoughts. The ones that were kicking their asses moments before.

[Neoriceisgood]

Man you guys have blown through three threads on this comic yet? The DD-effect continues.

[Grif]

And finally, the third issue has been slain!
Here it is, ready to be read: just follow the links!

Issue 3:


http://i.cubeupload.com/OUCDW9.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/pyj9D4.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/rqglnJ.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/3vz3se.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/vsVfLw.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/pqMVWq.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/ewuMnu.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/IirBTg.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/vf8bnH.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/rkYCSf.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/axV80o.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/gqmvvK.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/yqrxmw.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/0NpUMk.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/H8frKN.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/3zPsKr.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/cdKkUG.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/xxw6lG.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/WlH2k7.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/bJ76N1.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/CbsBpx.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/NDPXlX.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/CsMZw9.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/VXNWWY.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/3UBOpB.png

All images at: http://cubeupload.com/codes/406674

The previous issues:

Issue 1:


http://i.cubeupload.com/CGVHlA.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/bmrgqu.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/AYZWEP.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/oqbS3E.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/ASdNP1.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/DQR80a.jpg
http://i.cubeupload.com/24junF.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/sueb7u.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/WDMaWC.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/wWTAEM.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/Ob0eTM.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/I6CM7q.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/80iqHQ.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/wjzq2z.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/eR75sM.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/mMbw1N.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/iuOuke.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/tBLhVL.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/rUoBja.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/5O88K0.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/HQiotY.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/1W2j75.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/Baf1PB.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/NeNNeU.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/T90Lgu.png

All images at: http://cubeupload.com/codes/bab8ed

Issue 2:

http://i.cubeupload.com/Lh98MA.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/gquW8o.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/jMrrbh.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/9qBB7A.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/QHQULD.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/WemExo.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/znxK4B.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/IqEiSe.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/ZXU05i.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/keWyAZ.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/TbrxHE.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/XOlSnY.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/llUBe4.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/3EVuGB.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/KUiiL9.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/eiPfy5.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/TXybTC.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/NorOs9.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/5iV7YU.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/5pbXI8.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/WfhXUk.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/TMENM8.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/WpeRMc.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/CWGiDX.png
http://i.cubeupload.com/om1K6V.png

All images at: http://cubeupload.com/codes/d0ccea

Personal commentary (read after the slay!)
Issue 3 took a very long time. It is the only issue we have yet seen, which I hold for completely unredeemable. There are so many mistakes in dialogues and organization of the scenes, I don't even know what to think. Anyway, the slaying went rather well, but I think there is much less humor than before, together with a more reasonable storyline. Next issue will probably be "back to crazy and beyond" :smallbiggrin:The little Voidpedia boxes weren't meant to be a "in universe" addition, but just to explain concepts I don't know how to express in English (and the butter one, litterally "to have the ass immersed in butter" for "being born lucky and wealthy", only exists in local dialects.) Nevertheless, I think they look nice without being cumbersome. :smallsmile:

I must say there were a few minor spelling errors. :smalltongue:

But yes, I do like the slightly off-crazy tone the slay has. It made everything more sensible.

[random11]

New comic (http://www.starpowercomic.com/momentary-luck/)

Still don't understand the voider's plan.
He KNOWS that the threat is the only thing keeping Danica his "ally", does he expect the bomb to stay near the station forever?

[slayerx]

New comic (http://www.starpowercomic.com/momentary-luck/)

Still don't understand the voider's plan.
He KNOWS that the threat is the only thing keeping Danica his "ally", does he expect the bomb to stay near the station forever?

Here's another point... when he came up with this idea to meet with Danica, he had the full intention of blowing up the ship the moment she left... exactly how long was she gonna remain his "ally" after finding out he had already blown up the ship?

[Mewtarthio]

Here's another point... when he came up with this idea to meet with Danica, he had the full intention of blowing up the ship the moment she left... exactly how long was she gonna remain his "ally" after finding out he had already blown up the ship?

"I, Void Archangel, have no idea what you're talking about. I am quite certain your precious space station must be somewhere around here. Perhaps it is on the other side of that debris field?"

[Traab]

This is just so, so very dumb. I mean, the kind of dumb my three year old nephew would give me an odd look over if I tried to tell him this story. I mean, a real bad guy would have told her to meet him at a random distant location. Waited till she left, then blown up the station right away. Upon reaching the meeting point, danica would find it empty except for a piece of paper that says "SUCKER!!!" on it. See, they failed to kill her, and clearly they dont have enough power to do it themselves, but SHE has no idea where they are located, so there is nothing she can do about it when she returns to see the station blown up and everyone dead. Its a ^%$ move on the part of the bad guy, but its the best they can do. A sort of, "This is the price for opposing us!" scenario. Now she is alone with no support and has the deaths of everyone else on her head for being too stupid to see an obvious trap.

[Kwatsu]

What is Danica's plan* here, exactly? Is she hoping to infiltrate the Void Angels and learn stuff; or is she going to try to destroy them from within? Or is she just buying time for the station?

*Yeah, I know she can't plan her way out of a space paper bag, but I'm giving her the benefit of SOME doubt, dammit.

[Zaq]

What is Danica's plan* here, exactly? Is she hoping to infiltrate the Void Angels and learn stuff; or is she going to try to destroy them from within? Or is she just buying time for the station?

*Yeah, I know she can't plan her way out of a space paper bag, but I'm giving her the benefit of SOME doubt, dammit.

Remember, inaction is the highest virtue. Just trust that everything will work out in the end. Danica knows this.

[Traab]

What is Danica's plan* here, exactly? Is she hoping to infiltrate the Void Angels and learn stuff; or is she going to try to destroy them from within? Or is she just buying time for the station?

*Yeah, I know she can't plan her way out of a space paper bag, but I'm giving her the benefit of SOME doubt, dammit.

Her plan is to do exactly what her new boss says until chief sends her a letter saying, "Uhhh, what the hell are you doing?" Then she will FINALLY understand that the problem was solved some time ago and she didnt have to agree to much of anything except to buy a little time. Seriously, the more I think on it the worse it gets. She KNOWS they have bomb techs on the station that could disarm the ship. She SHOULD know there is no way the station crew will just allow a disabled void angel ship to just sit there untouched for very long. She SHOULD know the threat of the vorp commander is so short term as to be meaningless beyond his demand for a meeting. But she doesnt. She is a 6 year old with phenomenal cosmic power.

[FrankLuke]

Here's another point... when he came up with this idea to meet with Danica, he had the full intention of blowing up the ship the moment she left... exactly how long was she gonna remain his "ally" after finding out he had already blown up the ship?

Forever. I'm sure that a person's word, even given under duress and coercion, is binding in this universe. Since Danica gave her word, she would continue to act as an agent for Void Archangel until the terms of the agreement had been met.

"Does a coerced oath count?" is an ethical dilemma I've seen in other works of fiction. Either "yes" or "no" can be written well and go beyond simple entertainment value.

"Yes, I gave my word and will keep it, even though it means doing things that are morally repugnant. I will act to lessen the effects of my actions, but I cannot betray the one I gave my word to." Then we watch while the actions wear the person down. He gradually becomes corrupted by the repugnance until he is doing the things he didn't want to do with nary a thought. There's a wake up call, and now he has to get out of the mess he put himself in.

"No. Oaths made under duress do not count." Now the hero has to get out of the oath without hurting those who were threatened to begin with as that is the only reason he even took the oath.

I will be surprised if this dilemma is given even a passing mention in SP.

Chief: You don't have to do this.
Danica: Yes, I do. I gave my word.
C: Oaths under duress do not count.
D: You're wrong. It still binds me.

Even this passing mention shows some depth of character for Danica. It shows something beyond reaction to the current events. Something more than stimulus-response.* Thus, it won't happen.

*It struck me while typing that. Danica is a Star Powered Amoeba! Her existence revolves around responding to stimuli without thinking. I know that lack of planning and inaction being a virtue are characteristics Mookie cannot get away from, but I've never thought of the characters as amoebas before.

[Bobikus]

"Yes, I gave my word and will keep it, even though it means doing things that are morally repugnant. I will act to lessen the effects of my actions, but I cannot betray the one I gave my word to." Then we watch while the actions wear the person down. He gradually becomes corrupted by the repugnance until he is doing the things he didn't want to do with nary a thought. There's a wake up call, and now he has to get out of the mess he put himself in.

It's the kind of horrible "honor" that exists in garbage fiction like the Xanth series but I can definitely see Mookie thinking along these lines.

[Kornaki]

It's the kind of horrible "honor" that exists in garbage fiction like the Xanth series but I can definitely see Mookie thinking along these lines.

It works under reasonably evil agreements, but the thing Danica is working under is just silly. I'm still holding out hope that she snaps the Void guy's neck on Wednesday.

[Trazoi]

It's highly likely the Void Archangel will attempt to detonate the ship in front of Danica anyway, neatly bypassing any need to worry about oaths and such.

[Traab]

It's highly likely the Void Archangel will attempt to detonate the ship in front of Danica anyway, neatly bypassing any need to worry about oaths and such.

Yeah, but equally dumb and almost as likely is vorplord telling her to do something later on, she balks, and he tries to threaten the station again and it will work, because she is playing a D&D game where the npcs cease to do anything when she isnt there in person, so the ship is obviously still waiting in front of the station to explode.

[Trazoi]

It kind of makes you wonder why anyone bothers being part of the Federation, given they are nowhere while all of this is happening.

[Traab]

Good point. You know, I just did an archive trawl and it sounds like aside from letting the federation know they are going to be attacked, they arent even going to TRY to do anything to help. Seriously, why dont the vorp angels rule the galaxy if it is generally accepted that there is no way to effectively fight them? You would think perhaps the federation would send at least something to the station to check for survivors or to comb the debris for anything they could use.

[Trazoi]

As far as I know the station still has comms, so they must have reported back to the Federation what happened. And there's one of the Vorp's prized stealth battleships just sitting there. It's pretty obvious if the rest of the universe could function off-page what their response would be.

Basically the only way the Void Archangel's plan and this entire story arc holds together is through everyone being collectively stupid.

[Traab]

As far as I know the station still has comms, so they must have reported back to the Federation what happened. And there's one of the Vorp's prized stealth battleships just sitting there. It's pretty obvious if the rest of the universe could function off-page what their response would be.

Basically the only way the Void Archangel's plan and this entire story arc holds together is through everyone being collectively stupid.

So if they can kill the chief the plan will work perfectly? Got it.

[slayerx]

Yeah, but equally dumb and almost as likely is vorplord telling her to do something later on, she balks, and he tries to threaten the station again and it will work, because she is playing a D&D game where the npcs cease to do anything when she isnt there in person, so the ship is obviously still waiting in front of the station to explode.

Well we already know that the npc's ARE doing something... though vorp's threat will remain because Danica herself thinks she's in a DnD game where the NPC's do nothing

And y'know, Dancia really could have taken the time to meet with the chief to appraise him of the situation; then, after insisting she must go, the chief would advise her to simply do whatever she must to stall for time while they disarm the ship... Vorplord doesn't know exactly how fast Danica can move, heck he was even surprised at how quickly she showed up.

And as mentioned a while ago, Vorp is an idiot for just leaving his ship there... he should either reclaim it or blow it up. He's just asking for his prized stealth technology to be stolen so that the federation may not only use it, but also develop ways to more accurately detect it.



Basically the only way the Void Archangel's plan and this entire story arc holds together is through everyone being collectively stupid.

This is true, though i do find a bit of irony... namely because the chief is actually being rather effective. Mookie has acknowledged that station security should not be run by ineffective idiots and shows it through the station security actually doing productive things... he gets some merit for that, but then he falls flat with Danica, VoidLord, Mitch and the federation.

[AgentPaper]

So...whatever happened to the legion of soldiers on that battleship? Or were those 4-5 guys Danica knocked out on the way in really the entire crew?

[Lord Raziere]

This is true, though i do find a bit of irony... namely because the chief is actually being rather effective. Mookie has acknowledged that station security should not be run by ineffective idiots and shows it through the station security actually doing productive things... he gets some merit for that, but then he falls flat with Danica, VoidLord, Mitch and the federation.

well here is a secret to storytelling:

sooner or later somebody has to screw up. stories, especially ones with heroes and villains and fighting, are almost always about when something goes wrong. because if nothing has gone wrong, there is no story. the only question is: how well written is the screw up?

they're screwing up, yes, but its not a screw up you can accept. its why often its the security guards and such are ineffective most of the time in fiction- you need the hero to do things or why bother with the hero? security guards will take care of it, and you might as well start writing about the guards themselves and make them the protagonists. the protagonist can only exist when most else is ineffective.

[AgentPaper]

well here is a secret to storytelling:

sooner or later somebody has to screw up. stories, especially ones with heroes and villains and fighting, are almost always about when something goes wrong. because if nothing has gone wrong, there is no story. the only question is: how well written is the screw up?

they're screwing up, yes, but its not a screw up you can accept. its why often its the security guards and such are ineffective most of the time in fiction- you need the hero to do things or why bother with the hero? security guards will take care of it, and you might as well start writing about the guards themselves and make them the protagonists. the protagonist can only exist when most else is ineffective.

This doesn't sound like any kind of good storytelling advice at all. Yes, in most stories the hero should, and will, ultimately triumph, but that doesn't mean that his plans go off without a hitch. He should be behind every step of the way right up until the end. That's what tension is all about, after all. It's the basic 3-act structure: Chase hero up tree, throw rocks at hero, get hero down from tree.

The villains should be out-playing the hero every step of the way, or at least more often than not. This means either competent antagonists, or at least powerful ones. Making the hero himself incompetent is generally bad storytelling, because people don't like to read about a guy who makes dumb mistakes all the time. Having the villains be incompetent only means that the hero needs to be even more incompetent to compensate.

[Lord Raziere]

This doesn't sound like any kind of good storytelling advice at all. Yes, in most stories the hero should, and will, ultimately triumph, but that doesn't mean that his plans go off without a hitch. He should be behind every step of the way right up until the end. That's what tension is all about, after all. It's the basic 3-act structure: Chase hero up tree, throw rocks at hero, get hero down from tree.

The villains should be out-playing the hero every step of the way, or at least more often than not. This means either competent antagonists, or at least powerful ones. Making the hero himself incompetent is generally bad storytelling, because people don't like to read about a guy who makes dumb mistakes all the time. Having the villains be incompetent only means that the hero needs to be even more incompetent to compensate.

yes but for a hero to exist at all, somebody has to have screwed up already. sure the hero is behind every step of the way, and sure they don't make mistakes and the villain outplays them, but I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about for THAT situation to exist, someone or something has to have screwed up for the problems to exist in the first place, because if everything was fine there would be no plot to exist in the first place for the hero go do anything.

and eventually, the villain always makes a mistake- also known as a screw up. its always a little one, that they could've avoided, maybe even easily, but they don't. and it leads to their ultimate downfall. because any good villain is inherently about tragedy and how they will eventually fail.

but for the villain to exist at first, somebody screwed up enough for that person to become a villain, and for the hero to exist, somebody screwed up enough to cause a situation dire enough for somebody to become a hero. its just assumed by default. if the guards were competent and the situation contained and dealt with easily, the hero never comes into existence, for the guards handled it. Batman would not exist if the Gotham Police easily took care of the crime in the city and caught the guy who shot his parents before he did it. therefore the guards need to be ineffective, for the hero to be effective.

in short, while I acknowledge what you say is true, you seem to be missing the point in that what you say can only be true in a world where heroes and villains can exist at all, which comes with a few requirements like the guards being ineffective.

[Trazoi]

The effectiveness or not of guards isn't necessarily critical; it depends heavily on the type of story. What is critical is conflict: the protagonist needs to want something, and is blocked by something, which causes conflict, drama, plot etc. And typically this blocking thing is the antagonist, who wants something that conflicts with the protagonist's goal.

Star Power flounders because these goals haven't been properly set. Danica seems mostly motivated by some generic superhero vibes that we're meant to assume apply because she's wearing a spandex suit. The closest we've got is a desire to protect the space station, but then there's the problem that the antagonists don't particularly have a good reason to threaten it - they just are, to artificially create drama.

[Kwatsu]

It's highly likely the Void Archangel will attempt to detonate the ship in front of Danica anyway, neatly bypassing any need to worry about oaths and such.

I don't know why--it's just a feeling--but I have an unshakeable intuition that such a scene would go like this:

Void Archangel: Now witness the POWER OF THE VOID!
*pulls out detonator*
Detonator: *click*
Detonator: *clickclickclickclickclick*

Weird.

[Doompuppy]

I don't know why--it's just a feeling--but I have an unshakeable intuition that such a scene would go like this:

Void Archangel: Now witness the POWER OF THE VOID!
*pulls out detonator*
Detonator: *click*
Detonator: *clickclickclickclickclick*

Weird.

I don't know. That story just isn't clicking with me...

[FrankLuke]

It's the kind of horrible "honor" that exists in garbage fiction like the Xanth series but I can definitely see Mookie thinking along these lines.

Yes. But I said it could be written well. That excludes Xanth as a reference. :smallwink:

[AgentPaper]

yes but for a hero to exist at all, somebody has to have screwed up already.

This simply isn't true. Yes, there needs to be a need for the hero, but incompetence and ineffectiveness doesn't need to be that reason. Guards can be competent and effective in what they do, but still not be strong enough to handle the monsters completely, creating the need for a hero. In fact, having your guards be strong and effective helps showcase the hero even more, because if those guys can't handle it, then the hero really has to be a badass to clean up after them.

A good example of this, using the specifice example of town guards, is Attack on Titan. In that show, the town guards (the town being the last bastion of humanity on earth) are competent and effective in their role: They have good equipment, good training, good morale, use sophisticated tactics, and generally do a good job of fighting off Titans, at least in small numbers.

When things start to go wrong, it's not because the guards made any real mistakes, but simply that the enemy is too strong and unpredictable for them to handle. This creates the need for the hero, which the protagonist of the series fulfills.

In short, nobody has to screw up to make a need for the hero, they simply need to fail. They can fail because of their own incompetence, but that is generally a sign of bad writing.

[Kato]

Oh look, the matriciding (?) countess' plan fails anyway and now she murdered her mommy for no reason at all... And this still doesn't explain how the **** the sentinels were destroyed. Maybe they started killing each other because each one wanted to rule the universe. But that would be just too interesting, I guess...

[Traab]

I got something different from that. She ordered everyone to attack, which means the sentinels will be literally shot in the back by a last ditch effort from the countesses troops, but her mom recalled HER ship at the last second, which means she basically abandoned her troops to die.

[Kato]

Well, that assumes there are two different forces fighting... I guess it's not entirely impossible but I took it she tried to order them to fight but the mother's order was followed because... well, she's the bigger shot.

[Doompuppy]

And once more Mookie does the thing that I might dislike the most about his writing (who do I kid? That's still a major tossup between half a dozen failings). He did it all over Dominic Deegan too... never foreshadow anything more than two panels beforehand.

The whole "Show old thing, show new connected thing next panel" all the time is so tedious. There's no pacing to it. There's no TIME for the reader to wonder about how thing A we just learned is connected to something else. It's the same vein as his atrocious "I really hope X doesn't happen." / next panel / "X happened!".

He really doesn't trust his readers to even remember things to the end of the strip/page, even less so the day/page before. It's there the next panel. Or the same panel. I'm sure he's done the same panel several times.

:smallfurious:

[Kornaki]

A business partner is changing the details of a contract? Woah, that reminds me of that one time I murdered my mother in a coup but she didn't die fast enough.

I read it as all the ships abandoning the fight. Possibly the empire destroys the Sentinels after the retreat for their insubordination.

Strange that Nurak-Nor feels the need to report that it is ready twice under different categories.

[AMX]

Strange that Nurak-Nor feels the need to report that it is ready twice under different categories.

You're assuming that it's actually a unique ship name.
Note that the countess herself is also named Nurak-Nor (http://www.starpowercomic.com/the-countess/)...

[Kwatsu]

I could probably take this (slightly) more seriously if the Countess and her mother didn't pull ridiculous expressions whenever something serious and moving is supposed to be going on.

...Can anyone make a montage? :)

[Mewtarthio]

I read it as all the ships abandoning the fight. Possibly the empire destroys the Sentinels after the retreat for their insubordination.

I figure that Mother pushed the button that activated the escape drive. Otherwise, we'd have to assume that the button is a special "give the order to retreat" button that must be pushed even after the order to retreat is given and which countermands an existing order to stand and fight. Which would just be silly.

My theory is that, as soon as the Countess's ship vanished, the Empire detonated the Starbreaker (http://www.starpowercomic.com/two-can-keep-a-secret/), wiping out all the babies, all the Sentinels, and probably all their own troops as well (because EVIL). Later on, the Void Archangel will detonate the Starbreaker himself in an attempt to take Danica down with him. He will only manage to conveniently wipe out every badguy who could trace the Last Sentinel back to Sigma Six (except maybe the Countess) because Danica will spontaneously develop a new superpower that lets her survive.

[Vinyadan]

Thanks to everyone who commented the slay! I am happy you liked it. Personally, I find incredible how much I enjoy doing them.

But now, I am waiting for VArcha saying something like "pray I don't alter them any further". Or Garth about head-body proportions :smallbiggrin:

This issue is much better than the last one, at least from our point of view - there is something to snark on! The previous one was like shooting a fish in a barrel.

But I'd agree on the fact that the design of our marquises is way too cartoony to be taken seriously as vile killers - motherkiller! following roman law, she is now to be whipped, put into a sack with a monkey, a cat and a **** and then thrown in the waters of the Tiber - just look at their face in the fourth panel (http://www.starpowercomic.com/family-argument/). Then compare it with this (http://bestgamewallpapers.com/files/worms-3d/happy-worm.jpg). :smallwink:

[Trazoi]

Did the Countess' ship jump into timeless space? My reading of the comic was it was the hatcheries that left, but it's unclear whether the Countess' ship left as well.

[Landis963]

The Countess has her tongue out again. If anyone cares to re-dub?

[T-O-E]

You're assuming that it's actually a unique ship name.
Note that the countess herself is also named Nurak-Nor (http://www.starpowercomic.com/the-countess/)...

The Nurak-Nor was the name of that vessel. The Countess who survived must have been a child who had not received her name yet.

Or, Nurak-Nor is an archmage who named a magic spaceship after herself.



Some thematic carryovers from DD:
-The caste seems to be intact.
-Villain is a racist.
-Effort is evil. Inaction is next to Godliness.
-The hero surrenders, purportedly to stop the villain from killing his or her allies but actually for no reason.

[Kwatsu]

The Countess has her tongue out again. If anyone cares to re-dub?

Yeah, how does she talk so coherently (ahem) with her tongue filling her entire mouth? :smallconfused:

Though, it only seems to happen in moments of extreme stress, so maybe it's actually sentient in its own right, embodying the angry side of the Countess's personality and only able to incoherently yell until she gets it under control. I imagine it's actually kind of a faux pas for her species to get so angry that the tongue starts ranting on its own; the equivalent of humouring that annoying relative at family dinners.

[Vinyadan]

Yeah, how does she talk so coherently (ahem) with her tongue filling her entire mouth? :smallconfused:


That reminds me of this:

http://s27.postimg.org/qmimb8udf/iutooo.jpg

The child who ate everyday at fast-foods :smallbiggrin:

The image comes from Zerocalcare's 'La profezia dell'armadillo'. I suggest it to anyone who understands Italian. :smallcool:

[t209]

How would this comic be under these comic writers?
Grant Morrison- Nausea, Acid trip, or dada angels. Or better story despite weirdness.
Garth Ennis- Definitely better than that Garth but this Garth hates super hero.
Alan Moore- would make Danica a better person and showed her stupid world view.
Warren Ellis- Better story and Danica as Authority like hero.

[Kwatsu]

How would this comic be under these comic writers?
Grant Morrison- Nausea, Acid trip, or dada angels. Or better story despite weirdness.
Garth Ennis- Definitely better than that Garth but this Garth hates super hero.
Alan Moore- would make Danica a better person and showed her stupid world view.
Warren Ellis- Better story and Danica as Authority like hero.

Or under TV writers:

- Ronald D. Moore - the story focuses on the Chief and is about him battling the secret corruption at the heart of the Millennium Federation.
- Joss Whedon - Danica kicks butt and has snappier dialogue, but every love interest she has dies abruptly in a solar flare.
- Steven Moffat - Danica is saved by the Doctor, and then falls in love with Cumberbatch's Sherlock on the way back home.

[Gez]

Ed Wood: no difference, except it's actually made funny.

[Mewtarthio]

Roland Emmerich: In order to kill the Star Powered, the Countess makes all the stars explode!

Michael Bay: The trailers are for Emmerich's film. What we get is thirty minutes of space action scattered around ninety minutes of a cringeworthy Danica/Bill rom-com as da Chief makes inane and vaguely racist jokes.

Frank Miller: The Void Angels are now a blatant caricature of Al Qaeda, which doesn't stop Danica from having sex with all of them.

[t209]

Roland Emmerich: In order to kill the Star Powered, the Countess makes all the stars explode!

Michael Bay: The trailers are for Emmerich's film. What we get is thirty minutes of space action scattered around ninety minutes of a cringeworthy Danica/Bill rom-com as da Chief makes inane and vaguely racist jokes.

Frank Miller: The Void Angels are now a blatant caricature of Al Qaeda, which doesn't stop Danica from having sex with all of them.
What about pre- nutjob Frank Miller?
- Or Danica's a scar bodied anti hero (Sin City).
Edit: For Grant Morrison's part, I'm not joking. These two clowns, Mook and Garth, can't make a good characterization but good enough to make a My Little Pony (G3 or 3.5) fanfic.
You should read Animal Man or JLA Run.

[Doompuppy]

New Comic (http://www.starpowercomic.com/shell-love-this-idea/) is up.

:smallsigh:

No surprises there. Well, apart from Danica being oddly racist for someone living on a ambassadorial space station and who therefore probably sees new alien species around every other week.

[Kato]

No surprises there. Well, apart from Danica being oddly racist for someone living on a ambassadorial space station and who therefore probably sees new alien species around every other week.

Well, I wouldn't say racist (because it's clearly specist) but it is an odd reaction, assuming the number of alien species isn't that limited she'd expect to know them all or its mere curiosity because she doesn't know her...

So, will the Countess blow up the archangels next and then Danica saves them and they turn into good guys?

[Traab]

New Comic (http://www.starpowercomic.com/shell-love-this-idea/) is up.

:smallsigh:

No surprises there. Well, apart from Danica being oddly racist for someone living on a ambassadorial space station and who therefore probably sees new alien species around every other week.

Which might be why she is so confused to see an alien race she has never heard of before. But yeah, what is she is not the most diplomatic of questions WHEN SHE IS RIGHT EFFING THERE! Hell, even adding in the word race would have done a lot to fix that. And getting rid of the pause, "Um, what race is she?" There, now it doesnt come across as a little girl going, "Ugh! What the hell is THAT?!"

As for the rest of the comic, wow, are we seeing the start of a danica/vorp angel alliance against the countess? Because im seeing something approximating the countess about to declare war on the vorpers. On the one hand I approve because short of mitch waking the hell up and talking to her, this is probably her best chance to finally get some info on wtf is going on in the universe right now. So far she knows literally nothing but the vorp angels have tried to kill her three times, and there have been 9 invasions from some wormhole somewhere in galactic history. On the other hand, I dont approve because danica is going to try an "enemy of my enemy i my friend" argument with the chief, and he will agree, despite the fact that he is the head of security for a space station, and not legally allowed to make alliances with intergalactic terrorists that just this morning tried to wipe out said station. This is the equivalent of JFK airport teaming up with al queada because there is a team of even worse terrorists out there out to destroy them both.

[Kwatsu]

Why the hell is Void Archangel having this conversation not only in public, but in front of the enemy he's just converted to his cause?

This is stupid! Void Archangel TOLD the Countess he had arranged a meeting (http://www.starpowercomic.com/chat-with-the-countess/) with Danica, and the Countess took it perfectly calmly. She even said she was going to send representatives! Not assassins to help the Voidies to kill her--representatives, implying that she knew this was going to be some sort of diplomatic encounter--she even unironically calls it a "meeting"--rather than an ambush.

Now granted, he didn't say he was going to try and convert her, but now she seems to take anything less than "kill her on the spot" to be a reason for frothing rage, when before she was calmly thoughtful about the whole idea of having him meet up with Danica. It's like Mookie forgot all about that call with Void Archangel, since she was behaving rationally (and we never saw hide nor hair of the representatives she was supposed to be sending).

And finally--at first glance, I literally read the second panel as "SOMEONE WILL PAY FOR THIS OUTRAGE!" Good grief.

EDIT: Yeah, reading the new comic again: this conversation makes no sense at all given Void Archangel has already told the Countess they've had trouble fighting Danica on two ([URL="http://www.starpowercomic.com/the-countess/) separate (http://www.starpowercomic.com/chat-with-the-countess/) occasions, AND that he was arranging a meeting with Danica, which the Countess agreed to. I think Mookie just flat-out forgot any of that happened, or the Countess's reminiscing has pushed the memory of it out of her brain.

[Cavelcade]

This is stupid. (http://static4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20111216011132/mspaintadventures/images/6/6c/This_is_stupid_Large.gif)

[Lord Raziere]

....but....how could Mookie forget something so....recent? surely no one has that bad of a memory?

I'm thinking he intentionally changed it. like going "oh wait, I made the villain look too reasonable by making her agree to the meeting thingy, GOTTA MONSTERFY HER AGAIN!" just like he did with the genocide retcon thing.

its like he is yo-yoing between one kind of villain and the other, between Countess "I'm a sympathetic villain with understandable motives" and Countess "I'M AN UNREASONABLE MONSTER, ALL SHALL DIE." making her look more like she has multiple personality disorder, or he just decided to suddenly change what kind of villain she is halfway through without going to the effort to making it gradual, of actually eroding the villain's grip on the situation little by little and slowly destroying her until she becomes that monster naturally and in a way we can believe it happened.

or he thinks this is all somehow consistent and that he is somehow showing a well-rounded character. :smallconfused: Somehow. I can't grasp Mookie Logic.

[Grif]

Is Countess the new Mustache Warlord? :smallconfused:

[Kornaki]

The ancient enemy, of course, is Void Archon, whose people are the technological successors of the empire. The coward is Danica, whose Star Powered ancestors weren't willing to strike the killing blow when they had the chance all those millenia ago.

[Mr. McGician]

Is Countess the new Mustache Warlord? :smallconfused:

I'd say she's the new DJ Callan, given that she's the big badguy but she mostly just sits around, she keeps changing personalities from affably pragmatic to irrational monster, we see flashbacks of her that cause gaping plotholes, and she can't plan her way out of an empty bathtub.

At least Mustache was consistent in his evuhlness. That makes him more like Blackhole Bill.

Come to think of it, Blackhole Bill has been the only villain in this comic to display the slightest amount of competence. He's either the new Mustache or the new TIM.

Edit: Or here's another way of looking at it: Archvorp is the new DJ Callan, and Countess is the new Snuggly. Their relationship is almost the same: she's off-kilter and spouts cartoonish supervillain dialogue, he's calm and collected but still just as stupid. They fight commit crime.

[Mewtarthio]

No, no, no, you see, all these flashbacks are actually taking place alongside the "modern" timeline! You see, the Countess of the past issues was actually the reasonable mother figure in the flashbacks, but then the daughter killed and replaced her in the past, and now the Countess is suddenly the daughter!

You see! Time travel explains everything!

[Kornaki]

It does beg the question that if timeless space is so timeless that these aliens are able to pop in and out invading over multiple millenia in a single of their generation, why do they perceive the Star Powered Sentinels as "ancient" enemies?

[Friv]

It does beg the question that if timeless space is so timeless that these aliens are able to pop in and out invading over multiple millenia in a single of their generation, why do they perceive the Star Powered Sentinels as "ancient" enemies?

There is a scientific answer for that.

Shut up.

(Shut up is the answer.)


This is stupid! Void Archangel TOLD the Countess he had arranged a meeting (http://www.starpowercomic.com/chat-with-the-countess/) with Danica, and the Countess took it perfectly calmly. She even said she was going to send representatives! Not assassins to help the Voidies to kill her--representatives, implying that she knew this was going to be some sort of diplomatic encounter--she even unironically calls it a "meeting"--rather than an ambush.

To be fair, I read that interaction as clearly sounding like "meeting" was code for "ambush-murder". The Archangel stressed that he was "meeting" Danica, that she was going to be alone and he would have all of his troops, and did the Countess want to come watch what happened next? She said no, she didn't want to dirty her hands, and that she would send representatives "from her legion", meaning deadly soldiers. The emphasis there seemed to be on betrayal and violence.

Of course, she immediately berated him for wasting resources and reminded him that you could always gain new ones, which basically is what he's now doing, so it still makes no goddamn sense.

[Kwatsu]

No, no, no, you see, all these flashbacks are actually taking place alongside the "modern" timeline! You see, the Countess of the past issues was actually the reasonable mother figure in the flashbacks, but then the daughter killed and replaced her in the past, and now the Countess is suddenly the daughter!

You see! Time travel explains everything!

Wow, time travel really does change everything.



To be fair, I read that interaction as clearly sounding like "meeting" was code for "ambush-murder". The Archangel stressed that he was "meeting" Danica, that she was going to be alone and he would have all of his troops, and did the Countess want to come watch what happened next? She said no, she didn't want to dirty her hands, and that she would send representatives "from her legion", meaning deadly soldiers. The emphasis there seemed to be on betrayal and violence.

Of course, she immediately berated him for wasting resources and reminded him that you could always gain new ones, which basically is what he's now doing, so it still makes no goddamn sense.

To me the language of it all seemed very reasonable rather than literal. "Dirty her hands" didn't seem to be literal; more in the sense you'd talk about sullying your hands by hiring a mercenary. But *shrug* different readings.

On the other hand, this comic is still stupid any way you slice it.

[Kornaki]

Did we ever get to see the representatives that she sent?

I think it's ambiguous enough that Void Archon could have thought he was negotiating from a position of strength while the Countess thought Void Archon was setting up an ambush.

[T-O-E]

Brandon Sanderson - We'd get an elaborate description of the magic system involved in firing beams of energy.

---

Danica Maris: Orion for Hire

[slayerx]

the Void leader is really bad at selling himself... I mean he just admitted to his client that his best weapons were no use against the target. Not exactly a good way to keep your client in you services. A more diplomatic explanation is simply saying that trying to destroy the target was becoming too costly; Which is technically true, but leave the false impression that he is capable of killing her if he really wanted to... he just doesn't because he'd loose more than she is worth.

Not to mention that void becomes even LESS threatening now that they have indeed confirmed that Danica already beat their best... granted they already come off as minor threat at best, so its actually not that big of a problem if they are done as villains... though if mookie wants these guys to keep playing a villain then it will take A LOT to create any sense of tension. Otherwise the above would have been better; if mookie wants to keep this guy around as a villain, then the least he could do is leave the impression that Void does have bigger weapons up his sleeve


Did we ever get to see the representatives that she sent?

I think it's ambiguous enough that Void Archon could have thought he was negotiating from a position of strength while the Countess thought Void Archon was setting up an ambush.

Almost seems like the set up for something comedic.

Void: I have arranged to have a meeting with her
Countess: Ah excellent, i will send a "representative" to this "meeting"
-end call-
Void: Minion prepare the complimentary snacks and beverages!
Countess: Minion prepare the complimentary guns and battleships!
-Que a very awkward "meeting"-

Or something like that.
But yes, one of the big off's about this is that she said she would send someone to the meeting and that someone never showed up... if he shows up now it will be AFTER the meeting.

[Kornaki]

the Void leader is really bad at selling himself... I mean he just admitted to his client that his best weapons were no use against the target. Not exactly a good way to keep your client in you services. A more diplomatic explanation is simply saying that trying to destroy the target was becoming too costly; Which is technically true, but leave the false impression that he is capable of killing her if he really wanted to... he just doesn't because he'd loose more than she is worth.

I get the impression from the interactions between Archon and Countess that their relationship is not simply one of client/mercenary. What species is Archon? Could he be a male member of Countess's race and is actually taking orders from her (but trying to hide this fact because they don't want anyone to know that Archon's race is really all frontrunners for the wormhole invaders).

[slayerx]

I get the impression from the interactions between Archon and Countess that their relationship is not simply one of client/mercenary. What species is Archon? Could he be a male member of Countess's race and is actually taking orders from her (but trying to hide this fact because they don't want anyone to know that Archon's race is really all frontrunners for the wormhole invaders).

no, he and the countess don't really have much in common that would suggest they are of the same species, and Danica was not surprised to see him as opposed to her which would suggest that she has seen his kind before. There is also nothing that really suggests their relationship is any closer than that of client and merc.

[Kornaki]

no, he and the countess don't really have much in common that would suggest they are of the same species

Mostly I was thinking they're both blue and running with it


and Danica was not surprised to see him as opposed to her which would suggest that she has seen his kind before. There is also nothing that really suggests their relationship is any closer than that of client and merc.

What suggests to me their relationship is closer is, for example

http://www.starpowercomic.com/the-client-is-never-wise/

"with you on our side, our client will gain a powerful new weapon". If he was just being paid to kill a bunch of star powered sentinels, he'd call up the Countess and say "I turned the last one, job's over". Instead he acts as if the Void angels are under the employ of the Countess and the Countess alone, which is odd for what appears to be a very large mercenary group. He even knows the star powered sentinels are ancient enemies of the Countess, which is information that she probably wouldn't have shared if it was just "I have a job for you, kill these magic light people for me". They seem to be more like allies than her hiring out the Void's for a simple mass assassination job.

[Vinyadan]

I think you are trying to see too much in the Varcha&Countess relationship. Mookie simply didn't think it through and went with what he found cool in a couple of passages, and now his comic has already become the content of a tanglefoot bag.

But, you know, I think it would really make the story better, if it turned out that they just want to bang each other really hard, they just can't see each other's intentions and therefore don't go with it. And then the reveal! And then the effects! And... then... the...

http://s24.postimg.org/dqyf3pmrp/TVTJawdrop.png

I can't go any further. But I think it would make the comic better.

[Mewtarthio]

Brandon Sanderson - We'd get an elaborate description of the magic system involved in firing beams of energy.

Danica dies five minutes in because the superpowers are too rigidly-defined for her to make up new ones on the fly. And then Da Chief becomes a god.

[t209]

Just watched Space Dandy.
It's much better than this.
I just wish Mookie would read Flashman series, or other incompetant coward with heroic reputation story.
P.S- He's also a friend with Tim Buckley, which I felt that they should form the Dumb Writers of Boston foundation.

[Lord Raziere]

Just watched Space Dandy.
It's much better than this.
I just wish Mookie would read Flashman series, or other incompetant coward with heroic reputation story.
P.S- He's also a friend with Tim Buckley, which I felt that they should form the Dumb Writers of Boston foundation.

yea like Ciaphas Cain, (obligatory HERO OF THE IMPERIUM!) or as I said before, Booster Gold.

or heck, how about Deadpool, or Black Mage, or Arthur Dent, just Arthur Dent given Star Power, or Zaphod Beeblebrox given Star Power. and we could replace the white star thingy with Marvin's head. it would be 100 times more entertaining with anything like that.

as for writers:

Dan Shive: one of the beams Danica shoots turns people into girls, and we spend half to most the comic on her relationship with her boyfriend, who turns out to be an alien who can change gender at will while his friend is a robot who is trans-biological (the robot thinks he is human stuck in a robots body and wants to "transition" to human) who himself has a trans-robotic friend who believes he is a robot stuck in a human's body. wacky hijinks ensue.

Sandy Mitchell: Danica tells the story in first person while saying that half the stuff about her is propaganda, while Da Chief puts in footnotes for accuracy and whatnot.

George RR Martin: The Ninth Wormhole is just a vaguely hinted at threat, the Star Sentinels are an overworked small guardian force that can't enforce order everywhere in the galaxy, and most of the comic revolves around the politics in center of the federation and how they make life horrible for everyone involved.

Jim Butcher: Danica has been a Star Sentinel for years, but some sort of tragedy ensued because she got her powers, and despite her best efforts destruction tends to happen around her partly because of her blastiness and she ends up accidentally killing a large amount of people because of it and she is slowly beginning to make deals with various alien or evil entities to ensure peace and safety for everyone while becoming more and more hardened and broken in the process

Little Kuriboh: Danica constantly breaks the fourth wall and is a jerk all the time, everyone has a catchphrase, and there is an endless parade of gay jokes.

JRR Tolkien: We begin thousands of years ago when the first wormhole opened, then we have some failure involving men and the corruption of power, then we trail off into more history involving various details about certain races that are awesome but tangential to the tale that goes on forever, then detailing each and every planet in further detail and the legendary battles that happened there, and wasn't there supposed to be something about a last star sentinel doing something?

Robert Jordan: we begin thousands of years ago when the first wormhole opened and then we have some failure involving men and the corruption of power that screws things up cosmically, so that only women are granted the Star Power, Danica is chosen as the Star Power and goes on a quest to rally the federation to her banner and is a complete jerk, accompanied by other Star Sentinels who are also jerks, who are accomplished manipulators of galactic politics which leads to getting into the various cultures and social groups of the world as the conflict with each other sparks and turns to battle and traditions are in upheaval because of Danica's existence, while we focus on Danica's friends doing various smaller things in other places with at least two love interests for each, both of them coming from a different culture, and wasn't there supposed to be a last star sentinel doing something?

[EvilRoeSlade]

I think that we're about to learn that void archon formed a fleet of intergalactic killers because his mommy didn't hug him when he was a child and then when he grew up nobody really gave him a chance. Then he'll be a mostly ineffectual good guy and we can forget all about how he used to commit large-scale murder and execute his own employees.

The Countess will die in this arc because she lifts weights.

[T-O-E]

Maybe the Countess didn't actually murder her mother. Maybe she was actually to kill scare away her mother's lesbian lover.

[Vinyadan]

Maybe the Countess didn't actually murder her mother. Maybe she was actually to kill scare away her mother's lesbian lover.

Maybe her mother wanted to run away from the battlefield to lower her self-esteem and lead her to suicide!

[Traab]

Maybe her mother wanted to run away from the battlefield to lower her self-esteem and lead her to suicide!

Clearly her mother was never very fond of her desire to be a blue skinned long tongued princess rakararrr!

[Welf]

Did we ever get to see the representatives that she sent?

I think it's ambiguous enough that Void Archon could have thought he was negotiating from a position of strength while the Countess thought Void Archon was setting up an ambush.

How much people does the Countess actually command, aside from the Void Angels? So far we have only seen her and seminar room full of cheerbots. Maybe she is just a crazy old cat lady with a big bank account but without cats and wrinkles?

[Kwatsu]

How much people does the Countess actually command, aside from the Void Angels? So far we have only seen her and seminar room full of cheerbots. Maybe she is just a crazy old cat lady with a big bank account but without cats and wrinkles?

It's however many people you can recruit in a timeless space where you don't age, but can still plan an invasion and get your lust for revenge to a nice simmering boil.

Speaking of, *where* is the Countess right now? Is she in the galaxy or still in timeless space? Because this (http://www.starpowercomic.com/inevitable-victory/) suggests that they haven't returned yet. If so, how is she talking to Void Archangel? And how did she even hire him? :smallconfused:

[Traab]

It's however many people you can recruit in a timeless space where you don't age, but can still plan an invasion and get your lust for revenge to a nice simmering boil.

Speaking of, *where* is the Countess right now? Is she in the galaxy or still in timeless space? Because this (http://www.starpowercomic.com/inevitable-victory/) suggests that they haven't returned yet. If so, how is she talking to Void Archangel? And how did she even hire him? :smallconfused:

The same way the ultimate evil recruited old plastic head in the 5th element.

[Mewtarthio]

The same way the ultimate evil recruited old plastic head in the 5th element.

The Ultimate Evil just used a telephone. :smalltongue:

[slayerx]

New comic up...

What legionaires is she talking too... is she talking to the Archon's men? Cause they are the only ones in position to do any killing. Does she have some kind of legione stationed right outside? Cause i haven't seen it... and if not, then she's kinda telling the archon that she is going to send people to kill him giving him plenty of time to defend himself. Usually these things are a lot more tense when you can act on such things immediately...

would have been a good way to work in that "Representative". She sends legionnaires to the "meeting" so their are the archon's, her legions and danica, and when things don't go the way she plans she tells the legion to attack. Kinda feels like that's how things should be playing out.


And as for the flashback... Y'know its starting to look like one of those plans. That plan where you start killing everyone who notices you killing people. Its the kinda plan that usually ends with losing your hat (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20031017).

Though really; i would have preferred they left it where it was... leave it a bit more ambiguous how things played out (she framed someone, they never figured out it was her, or she just had enough loyal minions who help cover up her betrayal). Now i feel like I'll be left wondering; how did she manage to keep her position in the hierarchy?

[fwiffo]

New comic up...

What legionaires is she talking too... is she talking to the Archon's men? Cause they are the only ones in position to do any killing. Does she have some kind of legione stationed right outside? Cause i haven't seen it... and if not, then she's kinda telling the archon that she is going to send people to kill him giving him plenty of time to defend himself. Usually these things are a lot more tense when you can act on such things immediately...

She hit the mute button?

I would imagine one does not go around invading galaxies without having some kind of military force that you *do not* recruit at your destination.


Though really; i would have preferred they left it where it was... leave it a bit more ambiguous how things played out (she framed someone, they never figured out it was her, or she just had enough loyal minions who help cover up her betrayal). Now i feel like I'll be left wondering; how did she manage to keep her position in the hierarchy?

Perhaps they share some similarities with Thraddash (http://wiki.uqm.stack.nl/Thraddash). For those unfamiliar with that particular race, Thraddash totally disrespect you until you kill enough of them to convince them that perhaps your ruthlessness and power make you someone worth listening to.

[slayerx]

She hit the mute button?

I would imagine one does not go around invading galaxies without having some kind of military force that you *do not* recruit at your destination.


the question is WHERE are her legions at this moment. if they are with her, then they are not in position to kill anyone. If they are with the archon, or near him like right outside his base where they could attack on a moments notice, then mookie did not establish it.

[MReav]

So... what can these Legionaires do to Danica that starfighter weaponry, Black Hole Bill's supergun, and full-on battleships couldn't do?

No seriously, what? Do they have those black swords and those black swords are kryptonite to the Star Power Sentinels?

[AMX]

the question is WHERE are her legions at this moment. if they are with her, then they are not in position to kill anyone. If they are with the archon, or near him like right outside his base where they could attack on a moments notice, then mookie did not establish it.

She did say she was "sending representatives" - that counts as "establishing it" by Mookie-standards...

[T-O-E]

She did say she was "sending representatives" - that counts as "establishing it" by Mookie-standards...

By representatives she means 'best wishes and positive thoughts'.

[Vinyadan]

There is something jazzy (http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x33aby_elvis-presley-trouble_music) in the Countess's evilness.

And besides, I am afraid that the Countess is exhibiting a Jägerkin-level (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20031017)intelligence. :smallbiggrin:

[Cavelcade]

At least it's snarkworthy again. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svYQG_BnAls)

[Kato]

God... the constant time skips aren't confusing per se but still poor writing. Or at least I feel it would be better handled differently.

So, she kills her mother and their guards and then she is still accepted as the supreme rules of their people? (Putting aside the useless guards but I guess she took them by surprise) Well, I guess she claimed it was a random assassin... or a Sentinel. Yeah, that makes sense.

[Hopeless]

I'm thinking she doesn't have the full might of her people behind her, perhaps she represents a forward scout since she can't be trusted if word gets out about what she did.

Huh, so does this mean the Void Angels and Danica team up against their former employer now she has quite firmly shown her hand?

[Mr. McGician]

What's with the "then, now" flashbacking and then flashforwarding to something vaguely similar? Does Mookie seriously consider that clever writing? It doesn't even show any character development. All I'm getting out of it is "she was a scumbag then, she's still a scumbag now."

[Traab]

Well, it certainly was nice of mookie to remove all doubt and confirm the countess is not only insanely evil, she is also flat out insane. Apparently she is relatively pleasant... so long as you never EVER disagree with her goals. Then its all "BLARGH BLARGH DEATH DEATH FEAR ME!" Also, yeah, im pretty sure she just sent out a general signal to her "representatives" and double yes, an incomprehensible alliance is about to form between the galaxys most wanted army of mercs and the empire, via security chief.

[T-O-E]

Why aren't people linking to new strips?

[Hopeless]

Why aren't people linking to new strips?

Here you go (http://www.starpowercomic.com/kill-you-all/) mind you I think that hurt my brain too!

[Kwatsu]

Impulsively killing her mother in a moment of crazed, blind rage and desperation--kind of understandable.

Clinging to the ceiling and killing any innocent fellow who wanders into the room, like Sam Fisher on a really bad day--I don't even know what that is.

And weird logic fail here:

Goon #1: The Countess is dead!
Goon #2: Who could have done this?
Goon #1: Well, her daughter reported that she was dead--
Goon #2: Gods! Then surely her daughter is the only one who could have done it!
Goon #1: Why, that's just common sense, because we have never heard of assassins, and the fact we're in a pitched space battle with our ships being ripped apart has completely escaped us.

I guess we're back to "if Mookie knows it, all characters know it, regardless of logic."

[random11]

Remember the good old days in this chapter when we had hopes for some form of moral ambiguity?

The question "does the countess have any good motivation?" was quickly answered with a "no", later it was answered again with a "NO", and now with a "HELL NO".
By the end of this chapter, the answer will be "I'm busy strangling puppies, what was the question again?"

[Welf]

God... the constant time skips aren't confusing per se but still poor writing. Or at least I feel it would be better handled differently.

So, she kills her mother and their guards and then she is still accepted as the supreme rules of their people? (Putting aside the useless guards but I guess she took them by surprise) Well, I guess she claimed it was a random assassin... or a Sentinel. Yeah, that makes sense.

Maybe their people like her clear message as leader? "100% pure unapologetic craziness". Otherwise I have no idea why they would follow a clinically insane weirdo like her.

[Vinyadan]

Hello, we are two heavy armored guards with fingers which turn into swords! Oh, my! It would appear that someone has been murdered! I think we will just sit on our feet and admire the corpse, instead of, you know, doing what any other squad would do - give each of us a different role, given that we have different grades, and, while one of us examines the body and, if possible, contacts other forces, have the other one keep guard.

Oh, look, we were taken off guard by a girl who slowly and menacingly ranted on us from the ceiling! And disarmed, too! Cursed magic fingers!



.... you know, if these people select their leaders based on mental incapacity, it would explain much.

[Welf]

I hadn't noticed the finger-swords before. Nice touch.

[Grif]

... huh.

I guess moral ambiguity wasn't a blip on Mookie's agenda. Shame. I'm just wondering, how did she manage to climb up to become the leader if she went to murder everyone who supported her mother. Surely an entire ship (most possibly filled with trained military personnel) could subdue a half-crazed daughter, right? :smallconfused:

[Vinyadan]

... huh.

I guess moral ambiguity wasn't a blip on Mookie's agenda. Shame. I'm just wondering, how did she manage to climb up to become the leader if she went to murder everyone who supported her mother.

The same way she climbed up the ceiling, I suppose.

[T-O-E]

I hadn't noticed the finger-swords before. Nice touch.

Wouldn't beams be more practical?

[AgentPaper]

Wouldn't beams be more practical?

Beams would beam more beam, that's for beam.

[random11]

New comic (http://www.starpowercomic.com/breaching-team/)

No idea what's going on anymore.

[AgentPaper]

Looks like the countess really is the last of her kind, after extinctifying her entire race because...uh, grr sentinals bad!

[lamepudding]

at least the comic isn't boring anymore :D

[Kato]

New comic (http://www.starpowercomic.com/breaching-team/)

No idea what's going on anymore.
Geez, defending the comic again... Countess' representatives in a cloaked ship ram into the Archangels and then swarm over their hull in space suit and rip the ship open. What's not to follow?


Looks like the countess really is the last of her kind, after extinctifying her entire race because...uh, grr sentinals bad!
Uhm... don't we just see the (probably) males of her species attacking the other ship? How does this mean she's the last of her kind? (Unless you mean "she have to be the last female of her kind because they couldn't possibly have chosen her as their ruler if they had another option")


Also... I actually kind of like the design of these guys.

[AgentPaper]

Uhm... don't we just see the (probably) males of her species attacking the other ship? How does this mean she's the last of her kind? (Unless you mean "she have to be the last female of her kind because they couldn't possibly have chosen her as their ruler if they had another option")


Also... I actually kind of like the design of these guys.

Hm, looking at it again, you're right. For some reason I thought that the ones we're seeing now were robot versions of the troopers we saw before, but they're actually identical other than wearing helmets, which of course is a sensible thing to be wearing in outer space. So I guess at least some of her kind made it out with her, though I wouldn't be surprised if it was just the ones on her ship.

Assuming, of course, that these are in fact males and not robots. Can't know for sure until one of them de-helms, so maybe I'll be proven right anyways. :smalltongue:

[Kwatsu]

So Void Archangel doesn't know what the Countess's ships or troops look like? Seems a bit strange, but okay.

Also, Danica looks like she wants to say "....Line?" I guess she knows she won't have anything to contribute until she's asked to step in and save the Void Angels, who will then swear eternal allegiance to her.

[Vinyadan]

Taken by itself, this page is nice. The baloons in the first panel aren't all that well placed, but that's it.

Pity for the plot behind it. And for what will likely follow.

[Mr. McGician]

I'm starting to like Archvorp. His dialogue here was funny, anyway. Although "what is it with things breaching the hulls of my battleships..." Wouldn't hull breaches generally happen a lot in space battles? At least in battles as portrayed in this comic, where the general goal seems to be to get as close to the other ship as possible.

[Traab]

Not normally. Their whole modus operandi is sneaking up on their targets, and obliterating them from stealth before they can mount a defense. In D&D terms they are more rogues than warriors. Getting hit isnt something they are supposed to experience much of.

[Kornaki]

Also given their recent history of attacking mostly civilian targets and being the only military force in the galaxy, they probably aren't terribly used to being in a fair fight anyway.

[Welf]

I liked Archvoid's lines. As long as the villains in this comic are likeable and/or funny the supposed heroine can stay a void of a character.

[AgentPaper]

From another character, they could be funny, but on him they just make me groan at how incompetent and useless he's becoming. He should be a competent, experienced villain, and this just makes him seem like a incompetent buffoon.

[Hopeless]

Right so he should call for a fighting withdrawal and use his control over those explosives on his ships so once clear they detonate hopefully damaging that cloaked ship and killing as many of the new enemy as possible...

So he should now flee maybe using an escape pod and then self destruct the ship to insure he isn't followed...

Hmm now what happens if they encounter Danica?

Point, scream "Starpowered!" and flee for their lives?

After all if the Countess had the Void Angels handle them it must make her underlings a little nervous about dealing with the bane of their entire species?

[Cen]

Ha, look at Danica in second panel, how uninvolved in anything she is! She knows that it's a cutscene, so she can't yet go and kill stuff and just waits when she'll finally be given a quest

[Oracle_Hunter]

From another character, they could be funny, but on him they just make me groan at how incompetent and useless he's becoming. He should be a competent, experienced villain, and this just makes him seem like a incompetent buffoon.
Wait, becoming useless? He's been a joke pretty much from the day he assigned The Three Stooges to take out a superpowered threat :smalltongue:

No, he's hilarious. Best feature of the comic since Da Chief has taken a backseat.

[Welf]

Wait, becoming useless? He's been a joke pretty much from the day he assigned The Three Stooges to take out a superpowered threat :smalltongue:

No, he's hilarious. Best feature of the comic since Da Chief has taken a backseat.

So he is basically Chief's evil counterpart. With "evil" meaning "incompetent". Face-meld in 3, 2, ...

[Oracle_Hunter]

So he is basically Chief's evil counterpart. With "evil" meaning "incompetent". Face-meld in 3, 2, ...
As per usual, I'd gladly read any Buddy Cop Comic made up of two of Mookie's B-Listers :smallbiggrin:

The Archvoid runs an interstellar mercenary cult devoted to hailing the Void and pushing buttons.

Da Chief is in charge of security of a highly valuable but incredibly undefended space station.

Together, they fight crime.

[Vinyadan]

As per usual, I'd gladly read any Buddy Cop Comic made up of two of Mookie's B-Listers :smallbiggrin:

The Archvoid runs an interstellar mercenary cult devoted to hailing the Void and pushing buttons.

Da Chief is in charge of security of a highly valuable but incredibly undefended space station.

Lord Mustache kills orcs and uses their teeth as a necklace.

Together, they fight crime.

I think it missed an element :smallcool:

[Kornaki]

So Void Archangel doesn't know what the Countess's ships or troops look like? Seems a bit strange, but okay.


Actually let's talk a bit more about this. The Countess told Void Archon that her representatives would be showing up. He proceeds to not see them anywhere, and doesn't question the situation until he is ambushed by them an hour later.

I don't think these are actually members of Countess's species however, they're probably robots. If they were members of the same species they would be all shouting "... gods" as some sort of warcry as they jumped across the void.

[Vinyadan]

I am waiting for a scene where VArcha says "See you in Honolulu", pulls a lever and starts shooting at the invaders with the ship's cannons, throwing them into the infinite space.

[FrankLuke]

I just googled "star power comic." The first snark thread came up third on the list. Good work!

[Welf]

New comic. (http://www.starpowercomic.com/enough-of-this-nonsense/)

Poor little voids.
And it seems Danica finally heard a response she can react to with the full scale of her skills.

[AgentPaper]

This...my brain...

[Hopeless]

Well I was right about him wanting to escape... second one down actually!:smallwink:

Lord how many ships does he have there and as Far as I can see only his is being invaded?

Even if the others are he can just self destruct them after giving his troops the order to disembark and join him on his so he can get rid of any excess Countess forces before escaping himself in the confusion... I mean come on what villain doesn't have his escape pod built into the bridge of his own flagship...

Yes there's that optimism I keep getting warned about!:smallsmile:

[Dr. Simon]

Oh for ...

Just when Arch-Vorp was starting to seem like a potentially okay character we have the same "kill my minions who have failed me" schtick as the Countess. Why? To show that he's EEEEEEVIL?

Reminds me of this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xETlYacSCHE). I'm bad, you have to stop me.

[Gez]

I like to think that Captain Harrington (I’m early in the series) would approve of Danica.
I like to think that this fictional character would facepalm as hard as we do.

[lamepudding]

seems like a proper time to reflect on how our favorite heroine uses her creativity and intelligence to solve problems.

https://24.media.tumblr.com/e68df7f9fa26bc3e2a7a8404734c8579/tumblr_mzjq5qLApB1r8zzm9o1_500.jpg

i wonder how she'll do it next time.

[Hopeless]

I vote for groin kick after all they'll hardly expect her to try that!:smallwink:

[Mr. McGician]

So Danica chooses to save the people who were attacking her station and are now threatening to blow it up?

Really, helping Archvorp escape would probably be the best option here. She has no stake in this fight; it's two people who were allied against her now fighting each other. If they keep fighting it means they won't be attacking the station. And if whichever side loses, it'll be one less enemy for the station to worry about.

[Kornaki]

Head Void was doomed to fail the second he thought about pressing a button.

We get another Mookie classic 'ambush in a straight featureless hallway.

And let's not mince words, if Danica is flinching at this order, what was she going to do when she was ordered to actually do something? This was a terrible plan on both of their parts from the start.

[elros]

I looks like Mookie's is using the Shredder (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teenage_Mutant_Ninja_Turtles_%281987_TV_series%29# Villains) as his inspiration for the ArchVoid. I guess "evil but incompetent" is the only way to go.

That been said, I kind of like Garth's artwork. Not perfect, but it conveys a campy spirit that implies we shouldn't take this too seriously. I'm just not sure if that was Garth's intention...

[Traab]

Ok Danica, next step is to snap his neck like a twig, smash the computer so no random voidys can press the button, and leave. For bonus points shout out, "Fail to the void, suckers!" as you fly off the ship.

[Welf]

seems like a proper time to reflect on how our favorite heroine uses her creativity and intelligence to solve problems.

https://24.media.tumblr.com/e68df7f9fa26bc3e2a7a8404734c8579/tumblr_mzjq5qLApB1r8zzm9o1_500.jpg

i wonder how she'll do it next time.

Stand around a (likely male) authority figure and then prove her worth by physical violence?

[Kwatsu]

Void Archangel. Dude. Why would you want to be escorted by the one person that these forces are going to target more than anyone aboard the ship?

If you know that the Countess wants to kill Danica, and she's clearly not down with your "recruit-the-enemy" plan to the point of killing all your Voidies, why don't you just shove Danica out of an airlock and say "here, have her!"? At this point, using her as a distraction is the best hope that the Voidies can escape alive.

And hey, if the Countess's elite forces do kill Danica, you can always weasel out of it by saying "AHA! Yes, just as I hoped, I lured her here under a false alliance so you could enjoy the kill, your Highness! ...Ehheh. Truce?"

EDIT: Newspost suggests Mookie is working on a Dominic Deegan documentary.

[T-O-E]

EDIT: Newspost suggests Mookie is working on a Dominic Deegan documentary.

My wish came true. The concept hadn't even crossed my mind before but now I realise that this is what I want.

Truly, we live in the best of all possible worlds. And it always gets worse.

It should be called 'See the Inconvenient Truth' and must definitely be narrated by David Attenborough.

Here is the Dominion Ape in its natural habitat: the white void.


I was flattered to learn that they wanted to make an entire DVD about, well, me!

The comic is called Dominic Deegan not Michael Terr- Oh forget it.

[Mr. McGician]

I...

I'm speechless.

I understand that this is a tiny independent producer, but...

Of all the webcomics they could make a documentary about, why Dominic Deegan??

Dominic Deegan stopped being at all relevant long before it finished. And surely they must know the artwork was overall a total joke and only slightly improved throughout the comic's run. How do they think it's going to look to show these junior-high scribbles in a documentary? And... And...

In all probability, they're planning to make documentaries about a number of different webcomics, but...

Dominic Deegan??



It could be that Mookie misunderstood their intentions; they might be making a documentary about webcomics in general and Mookie will just have a tiny cameo. Maybe...

[T-O-E]

I...

I'm speechless.

I understand that this is a tiny independent producer, but...

Of all the webcomics they could make a documentary about, why Dominic Deegan??

Dominic Deegan stopped being at all relevant long before it finished. And surely they must know the artwork was overall a total joke and only slightly improved throughout the comic's run. How do they think it's going to look to show these junior-high scribbles in a documentary? And... And...

In all probability, they're planning to make documentaries about a number of different webcomics, but...

Dominic Deegan??



It could be that Mookie misunderstood their intentions; they might be making a documentary about webcomics in general and Mookie will just have a tiny cameo. Maybe...

Could it be a goon or 4chan prank? Edit: After watching this video (youtube.com/watch?v=lLoEcLGdWxk&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DlLoEcLGdWxk) I can confirm that they are the perfect studio to do DD. Geek specific comedian. What.

[Lord Raziere]

Could it be a goon or 4chan prank? Edit: After watching this video (youtube.com/watch?v=lLoEcLGdWxk&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DlLoEcLGdWxk) I can confirm that they are the perfect studio to do DD. Geek specific comedian. What.

oh, I see the media fracturing has produced a geek specific comedian. not unexpected. the direction of media nowadays, at least online, is to personalize things to the point where everyone is catered to and their interests given to you, most for advertising purposes, while all else is filtered out, this produces more and more islands of specific media and culture for smaller and smaller groups (this is both a good and a bad thing for reasons I won't go into now)

but yeah, I'm not surprised, *looks at the video* ooooooh :smallbiggrin: we're getting a studio run by a university methinks. I think they're going to be looking at stuff like the orc rape stuff than anything else in DD, probably webcomics in general, I think they're just going to mention the notable controversy thing and leave it at that.

[Traab]

Oh you have GOT to be kidding me! Not only is she not going to murder 50 flavors of *^% out of the vorp archangel, she is going to be little miss keeps her word only given under threat of murder and save the void angels? Oh, and great job beating up the boss and then leaving him there next to his control panel to blow up your station out of spite. (Not that either of them are aware the station has dismantled the bombs already, even though they should be able to guess) I swear its like she is intentionally picking the least logical path to follow.

[Kwatsu]

*sigh* This isn't fun to read, and it's even less fun to try joking about it. It's so contrived it's like snarking a line graph.

[Hopeless]

*sigh* This isn't fun to read, and it's even less fun to try joking about it. It's so contrived it's like snarking a line graph.

Right looks like Danica has been watching the wrestling channel... I hope she remembers she can just create a giant teddy bear with claws for them to be hugged by!:smallsmile:

Well if they're going to be absurd may as well sit back and discuss what they've missed!

[Kornaki]

And now the void soldiers have devolved into the female lead of a bad horror movie. Meanwhile Danica gains the instant respect and undying loyalty of ten thousand vorpers, and will be leading the invasion against timeless space next book probably. This whole thing could be wrapped up before April.

[Mr. McGician]

...Yeah. I think I pretty much covered all the problems with this in my post about the last strip. Except this strip adds the additional layer of stupidity that Danica doesn't try to kill or even incapacitate Archvorp. Hey Danica, how do you think he's going to react, now that you've humiliated him in front of his soldiers and revealed that they can't trust him? I don't think keeping your coerced oath to him is going to lighten his mood very much. And you left him right next to the button that blows your station up.

...He's going to be impressed by her ability to make stupidest right decision under pressure and become friends with her, isn't he?:smallsigh:

[Vinyadan]

*sigh* This isn't fun to read, and it's even less fun to try joking about it. It's so contrived it's like snarking a line graph.

It's like celery: Nature's toothbrush for your colon! O la la!

[Oracle_Hunter]

Y'know, Danica really acts like an overconfident God-Mode PC in a particularly dire RPG. She doesn't bother to do anything but make grand gestures when they are either (A) Cool; (B) Screwing over the DM's Plot; or (C) Both. And the DM has no choice but to sit back and look bemused while the PC steamrolls everything put before her.

[Traab]

...Yeah. I think I pretty much covered all the problems with this in my post about the last strip. Except this strip adds the additional layer of stupidity that Danica doesn't try to kill or even incapacitate Archvorp. Hey Danica, how do you think he's going to react, now that you've humiliated him in front of his soldiers and revealed that they can't trust him? I don't think keeping your coerced oath to him is going to lighten his mood very much. And you left him right next to the button that blows your station up.

...He's going to be impressed by her ability to make stupidest right decision under pressure and become friends with her, isn't he?:smallsigh:

I foresee two variations that are likely.

1) (aka the better option) "Hmm, you saved us star powered, when you could have easily fled and left us to our doom. Obviously our contract with the countess is done, so you will not see us attacking you again." Basically, they will "thank" her by no longer trying to kidnap/kill her or her friends.

2) (aka the lame ass option) "HAIL DANICA! HAIL THE VOID!" Now she has a loyal army of faceless mooks that have switched allegiance because she actually tried to help while their boss was going to throw them all away so he could live. There are all sorts of messiah angles that could be played here. Danica is "The Light In The Void" or something to that effect, and so they will follow her will from now on against their mutual foe, the countess and her 9th wormhole army. This is unfortunately likely due to the chosen one angle mookie loves ever so much.

[Trazoi]

Y'know, Danica really acts like an overconfident God-Mode PC in a particularly dire RPG. She doesn't bother to do anything but make grand gestures when they are either (A) Cool; (B) Screwing over the DM's Plot; or (C) Both. And the DM has no choice but to sit back and look bemused while the PC steamrolls everything put before her.
Hey it's not Danica's fault the DM screwed up the enemy levels. This way she's going to get her own battle ship and crew of Vorpers.

[Oracle_Hunter]

Hey it's not Danica's fault the DM screwed up the enemy levels. This way she's going to get her own battle ship and crew of Vorpers.
I dunno if a Battleship without Point Defenses (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PointDefenseless) and a Crew of Redshirts (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RedshirtArmy) are assets so much as shiny traps :smalltongue:

[Trazoi]

I dunno if a Battleship without Point Defenses (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PointDefenseless) and a Crew of Redshirts (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RedshirtArmy) are assets so much as shiny traps :smalltongue:
Pfft that's just the DM being clueless again, time to blow this railroad campaign and become space privateers.

[Traab]

Btw, I just wanted to add, the last panel is awesome. I have no idea WHY the bad guy decided to stand up straight and tilt his head back, considering up till then it was more of a lean forward type of posture, but since thats the only way she could have nailed him in the throat with a drop kick, I will allow it. :smallbiggrin:

[Vinyadan]

I still remember meeting Mookie at a convention a few months ago. I fully intended to tell him how bad I thought Dominic Deegan was, but he was just SO NICE. SO FRIENDLY. SO HAPPY. With such a HUGE BEARD.

Oh well.

Yeah, you can't hate that guy or his comic. Not really. It's just sort of humorously disappointing, like a superhero with flatulence.

Guess what I found... http://balazo.net/2010/09/going-to-wor/ :smallbiggrin:

[random11]

AAH! Danger! Take it away, take it away! (http://www.starpowercomic.com/at-once/)

Seriously though, I hope this conflict lasts more than one update.
The enemy design is nice, and "At once" sure is better than "hail to the void".

It's hard seeing it happens after knowing Danica can pierce through battleships like they were paper bags.

[Mewtarthio]

You... you've had anti-Sentinel weaponry this whole time?!

Why didn't you give it to the people who were supposed to be fighting the Sentinel?!!!!

[AgentPaper]

You... you've had anti-Sentinel weaponry this whole time?!

Why didn't you give it to the people who were supposed to be fighting the Sentinel?!!!!

I'm more worried about why, when faced with a bunch of guys waaay on the other side of the room who quite visibly had only melee weapons, Danica's first response is to put up a shield and patiently wait for them to talk to their boss and then walk over to her. Rather than, you know, blast them with beam spam while keeping her distance in the long, featureless hallway.

[Trazoi]

Seriously though, I hope this conflict lasts more than one update.
We're on page 18 of a fixed 24 page issue. The conflict might last more than one update but it isn't lasting for much longer.

[Kato]

I'm more worried about why, when faced with a bunch of guys waaay on the other side of the room who quite visibly had only melee weapons, Danica's first response is to put up a shield and patiently wait for them to talk to their boss and then walk over to her. Rather than, you know, blast them with beam spam while keeping her distance in the long, featureless hallway.

Uhm.. because Danica is pretty pacifistic reluctant when it comes to blasting her opponents? Also, because DRAMA.

But honestly, I have no idea how this could possibly develop towards a satisfying ending of the chapter. Issue. Whatever.

[Vinyadan]

Uhm.. because Danica is pretty pacifistic reluctant when it comes to blasting her opponents? Also, because DRAMA.

But honestly, I have no idea how this could possibly develop towards a satisfying ending of the chapter. Issue. Whatever.

Well, VArcha will likely detonate the last bomb while Hop-Frog is working on it. Who will be fastest - Froggy or Mr. RandomEvilDude? DUN DUN DUNNNN!

[Mr. McGician]

You... you've had anti-Sentinel weaponry this whole time?!

Why didn't you give it to the people who were supposed to be fighting the Sentinel?!!!!

Well, considering how quick she was to betray them, it turned out to be a good decision to keep the best weapons to herself. The bigger question is why she would ally with them in the first place if she was going to massacre them after they made a single blunder, and why they would agree to an alliance with such a psychopath.

[Lord Raziere]

You... you've had anti-Sentinel weaponry this whole time?!

Why didn't you give it to the people who were supposed to be fighting the Sentinel?!!!!

Because Mookie just came up with that and decided to hastily put it in to clumsily try to up the tension.

[Kwatsu]

The only source of tension here is: what new power Mitch is going to magically "unlock" to get her out of this? My money's on a Patronus. :smalltongue:

[Friv]

I've got to say, this is one of the worst action scenes yet.

It doesn't look like they're cutting through her shield, although from inference to previous panels that's clearly what's happening. There isn't the slightest hint of motion or direction in those claws. It looks more like they're standing still and letting Danica raise the shield around the claws.

[Oracle_Hunter]

So yeah, you could write a comic where this turn of events makes sense. But Mookie isn't going to bother.
As mentioned before, The Countess runs a Space Magic-powered force that is trying to take over Real Space. Having suffered dire losses in the process of dispatching the Good Space Magic people ("SPS") she is now operating through mercenaries that she pays via Space Magic equipment. Since she plans on eventually conquering everyone she'd rather not produce rivals by giving away her best stuff so she only gives them stuff that will give them an edge over their Real Space targets.

The Void Cult is one of the Countess's mercenary factions. While crazy and incompetent, they follow orders fairly well and have managed to perform adequately armed with low-end Space Magic (e.g. Stealth Tech and high-powered munitions). Now, the crazy/incompetent aspect is usually to the Countess's benefit -- they won't see that they're stupid pawns and, if they do turn, they'll be easily wiped out by an organized force. In this case, the Cult isn't doing so well. First, they dispatch grossly inadequate force to take out a new SPS and then follow up by "recruiting" her and taking her into the heart of their power. So, the Countess triggers her contingency plan.

After all, she was planning on taking out the Cult eventually and, as they are crazy/incompetent, it is easily conceivable that they could outlive their usefulness at any time. So the Countess has had a Space Magic Ship with a force of her Space Magic Marines ("Legionnaires") trail the Cultist Flagship in the event they ever needed to be taken out.

The basic contingency plan was as follows: the Legionnaires breach the Cultist Flagship and kill all personnel who know anything about the Countess or her Space Magic. Then they retrieve all Space Magic stored on the flagship (i.e. the best stuff) before destroying it with a Space Magic Bomb. Why? Because that's the only way to be sure that everything and everyone is accounted for.

In this case, the Countess has added an additional detail to her Legionnaires' mission profile: kill the SPS. As veterans of the last Space Magic War, they are well equipped to kill even seasoned SPS and know the full scope of their powers. Unfortunately, you need to get up-close-and-personal to penetrate SPS defenses but, well, the Legionnaires were going to do that anyways.
In a competently written story, the Legionnaires would rip away the Paper Tiger of the Void Angels and force Danica to flee before their superior firepower -- sacrificing the Evil Mooks she swore to protect. This would humble her and cause her to actually think about what it means to be a Hero instead of just drop-kicking everything in her path.

Obviously, this is not going to happen. But I can dream :smallsigh:

[MReav]

In a competently written story, the Legionnaires would rip away the Paper Tiger of the Void Angels and force Danica to flee before their superior firepower -- sacrificing the Evil Mooks she swore to protect. This would humble her and cause her to actually think about what it means to be a Hero instead of just drop-kicking everything in her path.

Plus, it helps establish that dropping superpowers on a random person is not necessarily the best idea.

[Oracle_Hunter]

Plus, it helps establish that dropping superpowers on a random person is not necessarily the best idea.
Which is antithetical to all that Mookie stands for :smalltongue:

[lamepudding]

http://www.starpowercomic.com/ok-new-plan/

I had the same face danica does when i realized that was her blood.

[Trazoi]

That should have severed her spine, looking as nasty as that.

[Lord Raziere]

she is facing an actual challenge?

...anyone wanna take bets on how long it will last? I bet two more pages. at most.

[slayerx]

Danica seems to be having some trouble. If only she had some kind of guide who had information about the history of the sentinels and would thus know about the strengths and weaknesses of their ancient enemies and how best she could use her abilities to counter them... If only...

[Kato]

she is facing an actual challenge?

...anyone wanna take bets on how long it will last? I bet two more pages. at most.

Well, its better than certain conflicts dragging on for four years in other media :smalltongue:


But yeah, we lose nothing if he just severed her spine and Danica dies next week. Then we can maybe focus on more interesting characters. (I'm sure somewhere in this universe there must be such)

[lamepudding]

But yeah, we lose nothing if he just severed her spine and Danica dies next week. Then we can maybe focus on more interesting characters. (I'm sure somewhere in this universe there must be such)

not in this universe
or should i say

mookieverse

[Kwatsu]

Well, time to find out what this universe's equivalent of healing magic will be.

[MReav]

Danica seems to be having some trouble. If only she had some kind of guide who had information about the history of the sentinels and would thus know about the strengths and weaknesses of their ancient enemies and how best she could use her abilities to counter them... If only...

Make a contract with me and become a Star-Powered Sentinel!

[Traab]

THAT BASTARD! He clearly obliterated the koolaid man just as he was busting through the walls. All that is left is a smallish splash of his precious red juice. If I were danica I would be shocked by that savagery too.

*EDIT* Silliness out of the way, wtf kind of crazy design does this ship have? I mean, does it have an endless series of corridors just jackknifing back and forth so there is only a single thin wall between them? Where the hell did that guy come from and how did he know to carve through the wall THERE in order to ambush danica? Is he just tearing a straight line through the ship hall by hall like a slower but bulkier danica and this was pure luck?

[Dr. Simon]

Where the hell did that guy come from and how did he know to carve through the wall THERE in order to ambush danica? Is he just tearing a straight line through the ship hall by hall like a slower but bulkier danica and this was pure luck?

He heard the FWEEENing sounds.

[Hopeless]

If those suits have any kind of sensors wouldn't they just track where she is and blindside her exactly like that?

makes you wonder why she doesn't have that capability doesn't it?

I mean they had it in the Aliens movie... oh dear there I go raising my expectations!:smallannoyed:

[Traab]

If those suits have any kind of sensors wouldn't they just track where she is and blindside her exactly like that?

makes you wonder why she doesn't have that capability doesn't it?

I mean they had it in the Aliens movie... oh dear there I go raising my expectations!:smallannoyed:

At this point its another star power scenario. We have no idea what these mystery things can do so they can do anything mookie wants without explanation or justification. It makes it easier to not contradict yourself when you neglect to list their abilities and limits.

[Kornaki]

The technology to ambush someone through a wall exists in today's military, let's not be so surprised these guys are able to pull it off.

Traab, how thick do you expect the walls to be? He was probably in a room or something.

[Traab]

The technology to ambush someone through a wall exists in today's military, let's not be so surprised these guys are able to pull it off.

Traab, how thick do you expect the walls to be? He was probably in a room or something.

Im trying to figure out the layout of this ship. How many straight line hallways are there on this deck? What is the purpose of that when the walls are apparently only 6 inches thick anyway? There doesnt appear to be anything IN these halls. Just blank walls as far as we can see. Who puts empty halls long enough to play a game of football in a spaceship?

[Kornaki]

Im trying to figure out the layout of this ship. How many straight line hallways are there on this deck? What is the purpose of that when the walls are apparently only 6 inches thick anyway?

If you have ever seen a building with a straight line hallway, I hate to break it to you but those walls were probably six inches thick. Walls are designed to block off spaces for people to use; if there are beds on the other side of the wall for example the people sleeping in them are probably glad they aren't exposed directly to the light and noise of the foot traffic going through the hallway. The doors to the sleeping areas would be at the ends of the hallway, and the hallway exists just to move people from one side of the ship to the other.

Another plausible explanation is that the power systems are all in the middle of the ship and this is a corridor that connects the bridge to the rest of the ship.

There are too many reasons why this hallway might exist to criticize it, even if the reason to put no doors in it probably is because Garth is lazy/wasn't thinking.

[Mr. McGician]

she is facing an actual challenge?

...anyone wanna take bets on how long it will last? I bet two more pages. at most.

To be honest, I'm surprised the challenge has lasted this long. In Dominic Deegan, there was usually a challenge introduced in the last panel of a strip, only to be resolved in the first panel of the next strip. In other words, the challenge would last a single panel. This one has been going on for at least two pages. Even if it lasts two more pages, it will still be much longer than usual.

Ultimately the quality of the writing depends on how this is resolved. Mookie has built these guys up to be very tough to beat, so the easier they're defeated later on, the more illogical it will seem.

[Kornaki]

I'm rooting for Danica getting killed and the comic focusing on Void Archangel's rebirth as a freedom fighter for the galaxy after realizing the error of his ways.

[T-O-E]

Mitch: I am now authorising Beam Spam level 2

[Cavelcade]

I'm rooting for Danica getting killed and the comic focusing on Void Archangel's rebirth as a freedom fighter for the galaxy after realizing the error of his ways.

"The Star Power was inside all of us, all along...just waiting to fill the void. Now prepare yourself, as I blast you with my inner light so you can...SEE THE TRUTH!"

[Analytica]

Who puts empty halls long enough to play a game of football in a spaceship?

Space jocks, that's who. :smallbiggrin:

[Doompuppy]

Well, time to find out what this universe's equivalent of healing magic will be.

Beam spam.

[Kornaki]

"The Star Power was inside all of us, all along...just waiting to fill the void. Now prepare yourself, as I blast you with my inner light so you can...SEE THE TRUTH!"

Hahaha we can only hope it will at least be that snarkable.

[Kwatsu]

Beam spam.

OF COURSE!

Or, we discover that the soldier slashed open the standard-issue strawberry jam containment unit that Sentinels keep on their back at all times (just in case they need to feed helpless space hatchlings)... and now Danica's angry.

Hang on; if her own soldiers are so much better at both hurting Sentinels AND withstanding Sentinel attacks, why the deuce did the Countess waste money hiring someone else? Just send a legion of your own dudes out to take care of her.

Granted, maybe the Countess needed the Void Angels to find Danica, but that brings us back to: why haven't we seen representatives of her forces before now?

And this might be uncharitable, but I think Mookie is going to run into serious problems if he wants to keep doing his token fight scene "get hit in the back from behind with lots of blood but then they're able to stand and talk in the next update" with this kind of art style. Garth's art is able to convey that Danica is seriously hurt and bleeding, whereas it was more ambiguous in DD. If the story doesn't reflect that, it's going to be even more tiresome than usual.

[Welf]

Oh you have GOT to be kidding me! Not only is she not going to murder 50 flavors of *^% out of the vorp archangel, she is going to be little miss keeps her word only given under threat of murder and save the void angels? Oh, and great job beating up the boss and then leaving him there next to his control panel to blow up your station out of spite. (Not that either of them are aware the station has dismantled the bombs already, even though they should be able to guess) I swear its like she is intentionally picking the least logical path to follow.

That might be character development? She began as reclusive person with no social contact, no she's emotional and good at making new friends?


That should have severed her spine, looking as nasty as that.

I was shocked, too. I came home after week of travel and suddenly something actually happened.
And then I saw that the space splattering blood starts already left of her body while the guy behind her slashes from left to right. Which means it's either fake drama and not really her blood or an art blooper.

[Nerd-o-rama]

If I may speak on Mookie's behalf, briefly, the Countess's strategy of hiring the Void Angels does make sense - at least if you've played Starcraft.

The strategy was basically a Zerg Rush - build/hire a lot of quick to build, expendable units to throw at the enemy all at once before they're ready. It worked, too - every potential Sentinel got wiped out before their powers came online, apparently. Danica's the equivalent of the only player smart enough to rush-build a couple of Photon Cannons and turtle her Probes behind them.

Of course, since this is Mookie, this is luck rather than intelligence, skill, or effort, but same principle.

tl;dr the Void Angels were never meant to fight Sentinels, they were meant to assassinate them. The Wormhole mooks can fight Sentinels, but the only reason they're doing so well against Danica (for the next page or so) is because she's alone; if all the Sentinels came online at once, the Countess would be ****ed. It's all a numbers game, and the Countess probably doesn't have too many of these guys. Or at least, no more than the plot requires her to have.

And that's why Danica's going to win this when the Void Angels decide she's the bestest ever for defending them and back her up in an organized fashion.

[Traab]

Yeah, you just know the vorp mooks are going to save her ass somehow. The background mooks when danica was reaming out archangel, the survivor running off when she saved him, it almost HAS to end that way. Mildest form is a "we are even now. Since we are no longer employed by the countess, we wont be attacking you again. Goodbye forever." Worst form is, "All hail danica! New Archangel of the Vorps! HAIL VORP!" Then she trundles back to the station, "Hai guyz! I got us sum four sez, can I keep them?"

[slayerx]

Hang on; if her own soldiers are so much better at both hurting Sentinels AND withstanding Sentinel attacks, why the deuce did the Countess waste money hiring someone else? Just send a legion of your own dudes out to take care of her.


Actually i think hiring Merc's makes good sense. The Countess is part of a race that has been long since forgotten; when plotting conquest this gives her the very valuable element of surprise. She can hit the galaxy HARD before they even knew she exists. However, she also wants to eliminate the biggest threat, the setinels, before she makes her move. And that's where the merc's come in.

If she sent her own troops in, she would tip off the galaxy to her presence. The military would quickly figure out that their is a new hostile force and begin to prepare themselves. They may even get a chance to see them in action. By the time the countess is done mopping up the Sentinels, the galaxy will have already be on guard and expecting her attack. The merc's allow her to keep her own forces a secret from the galaxy while at the same time allowing her to obtain her goal of eliminating the sentinels

The only flaw in the plan is when the voprs fail like in the case of Danica... Using her own troops would have assured her death since they have gear to counter her powers AND she has no training in the use of her powers. But no plan is perfect. The countess either looses the element of surprise against the galaxy, or she takes a low risk of allowing the sentinel's to escape alive... And it worked out seeing as Dancia was the only survivor.

[Vinyadan]

I was shocked, too. I came home after week of travel and suddenly something actually happened.
And then I saw that the space splattering blood starts already left of her body while the guy behind her slashes from left to right. Which means it's either fake drama and not really her blood or an art blooper.

I think that's because he slashed with both hands in both directions.

This reminds me of a scene in Primo Levi's The Truce, where Soviet soldiers from Siberia cut the spinal cords of German soldiers and leave them to die.

From an in-comic perspective, if her back is now broken, she could have a chance for character development. I mean, she could have to figure out how to escape and survive when she doesn't just have overwhelming power.

I suppose she will just discover that she can do something new. SEE THE TRUTH!

[Mewtarthio]

Wait, why is everyone acting like she's been seriously injured? The blood there is clearly just to indicate that she's been hit. I'd be surprised if she lost 5% of her HP there.

[Trazoi]

Wait, why is everyone acting like she's been seriously injured?
We're saying a combination of two things: that with this kind of effect she should be seriously injured, and surprise that she got injured at all.

Obviously she's going to be fine.

[Vinyadan]

We're saying a combination of two things: that with this kind of effect she should be seriously injured, and surprise that she got injured at all.

Obviously she's going to be fine.

Maybe she'll discover that she's sterile, get an artificial leg and fight with brittle bones.

...that's how you compensate for superpowers, right? Right?

[T-O-E]

Oh yeah? Well my finger-swords go through your shields! Neener neener!

[MReav]

Guys, she just needs to hide behind some cover. Her health should regen pretty quickly.

[Kwatsu]

If she sent her own troops in, she would tip off the galaxy to her presence. The military would quickly figure out that their is a new hostile force and begin to prepare themselves.

I might be inclined to believe that, if we'd seen Galactic Defence defending, well, ANYTHING so far. The Void Angels clearly don't give two hoots about them; on multiple occasions, they've attacked a station which has at least one representative of Galactic Defence on board (the Chief (http://www.starpowercomic.com/two-can-keep-a-secret/)), so it's not like they were hitting a civilian target that's outside GD's purview, since he was presumably assigned there and isn't on holiday or something.

That means, either the Chief hasn't got around to telling his bosses that the station has become a magnet for mercenary attacks (which seems unlikely given he's competent at everything else) or Galactic Defence just doesn't care. It can't be because the Chief thinks Danica can protect them; he's eager to keep Danica OUT of Galactic Defence's hands, but he can't handwave the damage to the station, so it would make sense for him to mention this to GD to keep her cover, and just tell Danica to lie low while they're around.

[Welf]

I think that's because he slashed with both hands in both directions.

This reminds me of a scene in Primo Levi's The Truce, where Soviet soldiers from Siberia cut the spinal cords of German soldiers and leave them to die.

From an in-comic perspective, if her back is now broken, she could have a chance for character development. I mean, she could have to figure out how to escape and survive when she doesn't just have overwhelming power.

I suppose she will just discover that she can do something new. SEE THE TRUTH!

Now I'm confused. No art blooper, no cop out?
And I'm somewhat curious how this will be resolved. There are 5 pages left, I wonder how they will cram it in.

[Traab]

Now I'm confused. No art blooper, no cop out?
And I'm somewhat curious how this will be resolved. There are 5 pages left, I wonder how they will cram it in.

Page 1: Danica is on the ground helples. Just as the sword finger robot alien guard thing goes to finish her off, we get a vorp angel tackle on the guy while another drags her off.

Page 2: As she is being pulled to safety she watches in horror as the people who were trying to kill her get killed by the people who are trying to kill her because when your enemies fight, thats apparantly a bad thing to her. Add in a few panels of her shouting out no or we have to save them.

Page 3: The vorp angel who dragged her out of there shoves her in an escape pod and launches it, leaving himself behind. Cue more dramatic screaming as she watches through the porthole as the vorp angels ship gets destroyed. She passes out from her injuries. Oh, and through the magic of... well... magic. She isnt targeted by the countess in her little escape pod.

Page 4: The station goes back on alert as they detect an incoming vorp signal. They bring in the escape pod and find danica lying on the ground badly wounded. Cue looks of horror.

Page 5: She is in a hospital bed giving her debriefing, first panel goes something like, "... and then I woke up here." The chief tells her good job and she wallows in her guilt a bit more. Then a single panel cliffhangar. Could be a dramatic line about how the military will finally step in, or could be a splash panel of the countess and her army forming up to invade.

[Welf]

Page 1: Danica is on the ground helples. Just as the sword finger robot alien guard thing goes to finish her off, we get a vorp angel tackle on the guy while another drags her off.

Page 2: As she is being pulled to safety she watches in horror as the people who were trying to kill her get killed by the people who are trying to kill her because when your enemies fight, thats apparantly a bad thing to her. Add in a few panels of her shouting out no or we have to save them.

Page 3: The vorp angel who dragged her out of there shoves her in an escape pod and launches it, leaving himself behind. Cue more dramatic screaming as she watches through the porthole as the vorp angels ship gets destroyed. She passes out from her injuries. Oh, and through the magic of... well... magic. She isnt targeted by the countess in her little escape pod.

Page 4: The station goes back on alert as they detect an incoming vorp signal. They bring in the escape pod and find danica lying on the ground badly wounded. Cue looks of horror.

Page 5: She is in a hospital bed giving her debriefing, first panel goes something like, "... and then I woke up here." The chief tells her good job and she wallows in her guilt a bit more. Then a single panel cliffhangar. Could be a dramatic line about how the military will finally step in, or could be a splash panel of the countess and her army forming up to invade.

That would sad ending. Poor Void Angels, their only crime was to be murderers. :smallfrown:

[Traab]

Admit it though, you can practically SEE this being the end result.

[Hopeless]

So how long before the Chief and a squad of his crew take that Void ship that's had its bombs defused and jumps out after Danica?

I so could see them picking up Danica in that escape pod after the battle is finished since the Countess didn't tell her troops to hunt down any escape pods since having no ships to pick them up they're left to die...

[AgentPaper]

What's with the escape pod ideas? Are we forgetting that we're talking about a Star Sentinel here, who can fly through space at the speed of light, travel between distant stars faster than the speed of light, and tear through battleship hulls like they're made out of butter? An escape pod would be meaningless to her. It wouldn't protect her in any way, and wouldn't stop her from busting out and saving the dumb shmuck that stuck her in there.

I mean, unless she was literally paralyzed by this attack, but Mookie doesn't seem the type to go for permanent, actually debilitating injuries like that. Although then again, maybe she'll get it fixed with nanites or some garbage and continue to whine about how her spine is now half-metal even though it doesn't actually inconvenience her at all.

[slayerx]

I might be inclined to believe that, if we'd seen Galactic Defence defending, well, ANYTHING so far. The Void Angels clearly don't give two hoots about them; on multiple occasions, they've attacked a station which has at least one representative of Galactic Defence on board (the Chief (http://www.starpowercomic.com/two-can-keep-a-secret/)), so it's not like they were hitting a civilian target that's outside GD's purview, since he was presumably assigned there and isn't on holiday or something.

That means, either the Chief hasn't got around to telling his bosses that the station has become a magnet for mercenary attacks (which seems unlikely given he's competent at everything else) or Galactic Defence just doesn't care. It can't be because the Chief thinks Danica can protect them; he's eager to keep Danica OUT of Galactic Defence's hands, but he can't handwave the damage to the station, so it would make sense for him to mention this to GD to keep her cover, and just tell Danica to lie low while they're around.

Well, just because the military is incompetent does not undermine the merit of the countess's plan. In only means that she grossly over-estimated her enemy, assuming they were competent, and the galaxy is probably doomed

Though seriously, the lack of the military is indeed a glaring issue. There really is not a reason at all why the military has not been seen or heard from, especially when you consider that the station is the all so important source of galatic data. I mean the military should probably have forces that could arrive in a single jump, and should have sent forces to investigate after the first attack. Heck it could have added something interesting to 2nd chapter, as the military would arrive to the station to investigate what happened and the chief would be trying to keep Danica hidden because of what he knows would happen if they found out about her.

[MReav]

So, this happened. (http://www.starpowercomic.com/)

Void Archangel, activate the self-destruct. You already seem willing to blow up your own ships, at least now it will serve a tactical purpose.

[slayerx]

Vile hypocrite? Hypocrite for doing what exactly? Did the vorp's have some kind of "no man left behind" protocol? cause it seems like "failure means death" is the standard around them... With how he was so ready to dispose of his first group that failed him it seems like execution for failure would be common amongst their ranks. Why rebel now?

Really, i feel like we missed a page here.

In a way it DOES seem reasonably that they would revolt, but at the same time it begs the question why they never revolted before. You kinda of have to ask why they would ever get started in an outfit like this if they cared about about the lives of others. Heck the one guy his calling his commander "vile" and yet these same troops would not hesitate for a second to blow up an entire space station of civilians.


I mean think of how other minions work out... Many are just too afraid of their boss to ever rebel. Others are just as vile as their boss so they don't care if minions get executed. And Some are honestly loyal no matter how despicable their boss.... In a way you can get why the minions would not rebel. If they don't fit the minion role, then you have to ask why they follow the villain in the first place.

[Trazoi]

Some minions just want to party.
http://i.imgur.com/ESfr1Ng.gif
(I don't know why I made that...)

edit: V: fair enough. Don't want a stupid GIF to actively hurt someone.

[Lord Raziere]

whoa Trazoi, be careful, I think that thing needs an epilepsy warning...:smalleek:

what? just saying...

[AMX]

Vile hypocrite? Hypocrite for doing what exactly?
I guess he's a hypocrite for running away instead of applying that "failure means death" thing to himself.

[Vinyadan]

Wooo hoooo! Me too! Mookie Disco Epilepsy!

http://s12.postimg.org/wdqq6awyl/T29gh.gif

Not made by me.

[Psychonaut]

So, this happened. (http://www.starpowercomic.com/)

Permanent link (http://www.starpowercomic.com/so-much-for-that-plan/) for posterity.

SHHWIIISH!

FWEEEN! ZAP!

http://i.imgur.com/bcjzffT.png

SHHHHRRRAAAK!! "AAAAAGH!" "AAAAAGH!"

SHLIKT! SHLIKT! SHLIKT! "Too aaaaah!"

SHLIKT! SHLIKT! "AAAAAAAGH!"

http://i.imgur.com/jGILqjJ.png

[Bobikus]

Was waiting for the tension killer. Lunica being struck from behind multiple times and having slash marks about her spine but just treating it was "don't be scared of the pain" will do it.

[Cavelcade]

I actually like this - the...whatevers, are actually a genuine threat and feel like one. Danica can't just kill them like the others, and her plan to let the void angels escape isn't working, except for the one guy she doesn't want to escape (50/50 as to whether he will or not). There's still lots of potential for snark here, but there's also the potential for...and I hesitate to utter this word in a Mookie thread...tension!

[Kato]

I'll give him that... Danica failing like that is somewhat unexpected. We know SHE'll make it but the angels seems pretty much crushed. Though, I do wonder what kind of armor makes you tougher than a spacecraft.

[Traab]

I want to know why claw strikes turned the metal door into a pipe bomb. Thats a lot of deadly shrapnel impaling people from a slice. Also, thank god these star power killing aliens have no ranged weapons.

[Grif]

Hey, even if the pieces don't make sense, at least there's potential for tension now, right?

Though now I'm questioning the role of Void Angels in all this.

[Kwatsu]

Hey, even if the pieces don't make sense, at least there's potential for tension now, right?

Though now I'm questioning the role of Void Angels in all this.

Given their client and their boss have just flung them under a bus, and they're being ripped apart by bizarre aliens after recruiting the person they were supposed to be killing (AND after bombs were hidden on their battleships without them knowing) I imagine the Voidies themselves are asking a similar question.

[Mr. McGician]

Well, I like the fact the same threat has lasted a few pages now. In a typical Dominic Deegan story we would have had several threats be puffed up and deflated by nonsense in the same time span.

The main problem with this is that the only reason there's tension is that Danica is acting stupid. She still has no stake in this fight; it's her enemies fighting each other. She should have used the confusion to kill or incapacitate Archvorp, dismantle the shipnearthestationblowup mechanism (if possible) and then leave. But that would have been easier, thus less tension.

[guttering flame]

These guys may be the best in hand to claw combat but how seriously can we take them if that's all they're good for? It'll take them years just to conquer exterminate a single planet (unless their numbers are humongous). Sure they're scary in the gladiatorial ring but they'd be microbes in a galaxy wide war.

[Kornaki]

These guys may be the best in hand to claw combat but how seriously can we take them if that's all they're good for? It'll take them years just to conquer exterminate a single planet (unless their numbers are humongous). Sure they're scary in the gladiatorial ring but they'd be microbes in a galaxy wide war.

How many people are you going to get to volunteer to be the planet that is exterminated to stave off the enemy for a year?

I'm fairly certain their ships have ship to ship weapons, seeing how that fight from the previous invasion we saw was taking place in space.

[T-O-E]

<snip>

I predict this will end with a 'Hail to the Sentinel*'.

*Deegan

[guttering flame]

How many people are you going to get to volunteer to be the planet that is exterminated to stave off the enemy for a year?

I'm fairly certain their ships have ship to ship weapons, seeing how that fight from the previous invasion we saw was taking place in space.

This millenia their ship to ship technique is similar to their hand to hand technique: ramming and even uses disposable ships in the bargain.

[Kornaki]

This millenia their ship to ship technique is similar to their hand to hand technique: ramming and even uses disposable ships in the bargain.

This is just standard villain fare. The Countess needs to appear to be so overpowering that her troops can afford to use hand-to-hand combat and still come out overwhelmingly ahead in this fight. We'll see them use legitimate weapons later. It's by no means good writing, but I don't think this fight is intended to be representative of the best weaponry they have available

[Zaq]

This is just standard villain fare. The Countess needs to appear to be so overpowering that her troops can afford to use hand-to-hand combat and still come out overwhelmingly ahead in this fight. We'll see them use legitimate weapons later. It's by no means good writing, but I don't think this fight is intended to be representative of the best weaponry they have available

I dunno, "blades > guns" is a pretty deeply seated trope in Mookie's style of fantasy. I doubt he's ever seriously considered otherwise.

Lunica's beam spam, incidentally, is both, so she comes out ahead no matter what. Of course. Hail to the Blank White Void.

[Nerd-o-rama]

Well, I like the fact the same threat has lasted a few pages now. In a typical Dominic Deegan story we would have had several threats be puffed up and deflated by nonsense in the same time span.

The main problem with this is that the only reason there's tension is that Danica is acting stupid. She still has no stake in this fight; it's her enemies fighting each other. She should have used the confusion to kill or incapacitate Archvorp, dismantle the shipnearthestationblowup mechanism (if possible) and then leave. But that would have been easier, thus less tension.

That held true for the first few issues like it did in the last few arcs of DD, but maybe Mookie's regressing back to when he could keep tension up for a few updates in a row. If we're lucky we'll see a backwards progression all the way to Visions of Doom, where the initial gang of Chosen actually had the hero completely on the ropes for most of the storyline.

[Mewtarthio]

Perhaps this comic will end with a jaded, cynical Danica complaining about all the rubes who try to exploit her Star Power to solve their trivial problems.

Then, of course, Mookie will stop writing comics and go back to high school. Eventually, after regressing through all the grades, he will crawl back into the womb and disappear. At this point, the cycle will start over, and Mookie will be born anew, this time going though childhood with the knowledge he gained from adulthood. Hopefully, this new outlook on life will result in a more mature Mookie, one without so much high school baggage to deal with, and he will finally produce some decent fantasy comics.

...I may have lost control of my speculation a bit.

[Mr. McGician]

Perhaps this comic will end with a jaded, cynical Danica complaining about all the rubes who try to exploit her Star Power to solve their trivial problems.

Then, of course, Mookie will stop writing comics and go back to high school. Eventually, after regressing through all the grades, he will crawl back into the womb and disappear. At this point, the cycle will start over, and Mookie will be born anew, this time going though childhood with the knowledge he gained from adulthood. Hopefully, this new outlook on life will result in a more mature Mookie, one without so much high school baggage to deal with, and he will finally produce some decent fantasy comics.

...I may have lost control of my speculation a bit.

I was predicting that this comic would follow a trajectory similar to DD: It would start out with promise, but then eventually stagnate. It turned out to be somewhat the opposite: The beginning was like a retread of the final arc of DD, with a pair of incompetent, one-dimensional villains tripping over their own shoelaces. It's gotten somewhat better now with the Countess looking threatening, but the storyline is still mostly stupid.

[AgentPaper]

I was predicting that this comic would follow a trajectory similar to DD: It would start out with promise, but then eventually stagnate. It turned out to be somewhat the opposite: The beginning was like a retread of the final arc of DD, with a pair of incompetent, one-dimensional villains tripping over their own shoelaces. It's gotten somewhat better now with the Countess looking threatening, but the storyline is still mostly stupid.

I've actually expected it to start out terrible and become better, not because Mookie will learn anything, but because Garth will slowly realize how terrible Mookie's writing is and become more and more willing to call him on stuff and force him to change things. I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up with Garth doing basically all of the writing himself, whether he realizes it or not. Or maybe with Garth constantly pointing out the flaws in his work, Mookie will get kicked out of his rut and finally start to improve as a writer. Or maybe Garth will just get fed up and either leave Mookie to write and draw the story on his own, or just kick him out and handle everything himself if he thinks the comic is still worth salvaging.

[Vinyadan]

I've actually expected it to start out terrible and become better, not because Mookie will learn anything, but because Garth will slowly realize how terrible Mookie's writing is and become more and more willing to call him on stuff and force him to change things. I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up with Garth doing basically all of the writing himself, whether he realizes it or not. Or maybe with Garth constantly pointing out the flaws in his work, Mookie will get kicked out of his rut and finally start to improve as a writer. Or maybe Garth will just get fed up and either leave Mookie to write and draw the story on his own, or just kick him out and handle everything himself if he thinks the comic is still worth salvaging.

You forgot Mookie's magnetic optimism-charisma superpowers :smallbiggrin:

[Nerd-o-rama]

You forgot Mookie's magnetic optimism-charisma superpowers :smallbiggrin:

Well, they make him likeable, not his writing. It really just depends on how much Garth cares about the story he's illustrating and/or whether he has any better ideas (I'm not a big fan of his solo work, personally).

[random11]

Death of a space station (http://www.starpowercomic.com/death-of-a-space-station/)?
Who are you trying to fool?
This MIGHT have worked if we didn't have a scene before with the the station sending someone disarming the bomb. Or if we didn't have the exact same thing with the smaller bomb in the previous chapter.
There isn't even a dramatic "boom" sound effect since they are too far, so what purpose does it serve?

Also, the voider is stupid, he is right in Danica's punching range and instead of running he's showing her that he just lost the only advantage he has on her?
And as a bonus, at the same time as making Danica his enemy (again), he is also distracting the only thing that is preventing him from being killed by the sword guys.

[Humbug]

Oh no, S-Infinity Space Station got blown up. Poor Danica. /deadpan

[Hopeless]

Death of a space station (http://www.starpowercomic.com/death-of-a-space-station/)?
Who are you trying to fool?
This MIGHT have worked if we didn't have a scene before with the the station sending someone disarming the bomb. Or if we didn't have the exact same thing with the smaller bomb in the previous chapter.
There isn't even a dramatic "boom" sound effect since they are too far, so what purpose does it serve?

Also, the voider is stupid, he is right in Danica's punching range and instead of running he's showing her that he just lost the only advantage he has on her?
And as a bonus, at the same time as making Danica his enemy (again), he is also distracting the only thing that is preventing him from being killed by the sword guys.

So how will he know if that works?

I assume unless he had time to make appropriate precautions that will cause the bombs on all of the Void ships to detonate after all he's fleeing in an escape pod that I hope he remembered to not sabotage...

Then there's the fact this could allow Danica to escape since the ship she's on should also start blowing up and given recent characterisation this should mean she'll immediately fly back to SSS6 to discover its safe...

Maybe a cut scene to Black Hole Billy showing him sneezing as a reminder to when he tried that tactic?