Ah’ve been contaminated
on May 15, 2015 at 12:01 amChapter: Hurricane Joyce
Location: Island in the Bermuda Triangle #2
I remember starting to lay out this strip, with all the SEMME agents clamped to the wall, and suddenly freaked out halfway through as I realized that I’d created something kinda Crucifixiony. Â Dammit, no, I was not intending Christ allegory! Â I was not yet weaned away from thinking such things kinda blasphemous, and so I… uh, I guess bent them all at the knees? Â I mean, there’s only so many ways you can keep people clamped upright with their hands away from their bodies. Â It’s just how humans do.
Anyway, this is way more space efficient. Â Thumbs up to the Head Alien.
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that did kinda strike me as a really weird human storage method
For an in-universe explanation… Maybe they were designed for Alien-height prisoners! D’you think an Alien’s foot-to-shoulder height would roughly match the restraints here?
But SEMME will die for their own sins.
In THOSE restraints, SEMME’s shins are dying for SEMME’s sins
Yeah, that’s horribly unergonomic on the knees. Like sitting in the seiza position crossed with some sorta suspension bondage at the ankles. Ow.
If you needed to sum up Sal’s character in IW! in one comic, or at least introduce it, this might be the strip.
I would’ve just gone with “She’s crazy”, but that works, too.
Well, it looks more interesting and unique. And I’m sure it’s very uncomfortable, so it makes sense for the Head Alien.
I really do like this part in the story. I find this to be one of the most thrilling chapters in the whole comic.
The thing is you always freaking had it dumbass.
Man, I’d always thought you were invoking the Crucifixion deliberately, not trying to avoid it.
Dear lord, what happened to Sal’s head in that last panel?
It’s just the highlight on her hair, isn’t it?
Yeah but without the outline she looks like the Elephant Man.
That’s one of the rare appearances of Sal’s stand-in, that’s all. 😀
If they were hanging freely they could die of some type of suspension trauma, or at least dislocate their shoulders. But if the platform were at standing-level, it would have to be adjusted based on the height of each prisoner. This way keeps them alive and makes them easier to clamp up there. An accidentally good design choice?
I would think permanent joint damage might occur, depending on how long this went on (and how flimsy a given SEMME agent was, given the superpowers and all).
Wait did head alien capture all of SEMME? What did they keep sending one squad at a time?
SEMME never was known for their tactical brilliance.
Not all of SEMME, no. Just the 3 squads that were there.
Are you sure that’s not all they had, in total?
The more the feet are supported, the longer the prisoners last. That’s why the story about the Roman soldier breaking Jesus’s knees is actually a sign of mercy, because it would make him die faster. From suffocation, admittedly, but faster.
Crucifixion really isn’t a nice way to go. And you probably won’t be able to sing a jaunty little song as you die, either.
Yes, tactical was not their high point, let alone brilliance.
i keep being struck, rereading these, at how many agents wear shorts. that seems both unprofessional and somewhat unsafe. you’d think they’d be all SWAT-ted up with the kneepads and the kevlar armor and all, but nope, hawaiian shirts and jean shorts.
the real threat to SEMME was the fashion police.
(also, I just noticed that in one strip, Pic is tagged by his RL name, but in all the others he’s just “Pic”, while Jen, Graham, etc. are always tagged by their names – is that intentional or just a tagging error?)
SUDDENLY: ANGST
I always thought this was a dizzying example of mood whiplash. If there were a textbook on the subject, this page and the one before it might be a strong contender for the top example.
The name of this strip doesn’t match the first line like they usually do. She said “contaminated”, not “compromised”. Mind you, “compromised” makes way more sense in the context. Possible grounds for a retcon edit?
And Willis stealth-edits the page title so I look like a crazy person now…
Well that was a “fun” distraction now lets get back to the plot…oh, crap I got Mood Whiplash.
Yeah, still not as bad as the restraints (and brain electrode hat) Agent Mulder was put in when the Smoking Man decided to go all Last Temptation of Christ on him. Subtlety, thy name is not Chris Carter.
And then a few seasons later Mulder dies and is resurrected after three
daysepisodes. Just in case nobody caught it the first time around.The actual effect of your attempts to make it look less Crucifixion-y is that they end up looking supplicative and crucified simultaneously.
Well done.
Their legs must be cramping something fierce…
This is one of the most nightmarish things I have ever seen in a comic. Pedestrian horror doesn’t bother me much; some guy has a knife, blood everywhere, yadda yadda, seen it before (in comics, not in real life). But this strange situation, with agents dying one by one, each knowing that their turn is coming and with a good idea of when… just total nightmare fuel.