The Joker, when written well, has a similar quality, where in the span of a page, you go from laughing at this funny man to screaming bloody murder at a horrifying murderer.
I feel like what makes HA so entertaining and loves by the audience is the same thing that makes villains like Gravity Falls’s Bill Cipher and Undertale’s Flowey so entertaining and loved.
There’s something enthralling about a clown who demonstrates at the right time(s) that, oh, shit, this clown’s actually well on their way to dooming us all.
I’ve always wondered about which it was intended to be, considering both still have hair attached when we see them later in the embassy (that could be artistic license though because cartoon recognizability).
While the concept of seeing your parent’s skull bouncing past you is dark as hell, I think the drawing style makes it… weird. That panel, out of context, is almost like something you’d see in a Looney Toons cartoon after Daffy Duck blew himself up by mishandling ACME equipment.
Very dark indeed.
Jerk to Horrifying in 5 seconds flat.
If anyone has had a world view shift, it has to be Sal. Hellofa way to get booted out of your rebellious teen years.
Well, it gets much darker in places but part of what makes it a great journey is that the art and writing continuously get better as it goes on so “worse” isn’t a term I’d choose to use.
The moment Sal said “screw you”, the HA decided it’d be funnier to cause her some trauma. Why? Because he’s a jerk, he doesn’t let things such as effectiveness get in the way of getting his psychopathic giggles.
Never doubt it for a moment: Regardless of his (it’s?) off-handed, non-serious demeanor, Head Alien is a gigantic fucking murdering ASSHOLE. Never forget that.
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This is why Head Alien was such a cool villain. He effortlessly swung from goofy harmless jerk to cold blooded murderer without a beat.
The Joker, when written well, has a similar quality, where in the span of a page, you go from laughing at this funny man to screaming bloody murder at a horrifying murderer.
I feel like what makes HA so entertaining and loves by the audience is the same thing that makes villains like Gravity Falls’s Bill Cipher and Undertale’s Flowey so entertaining and loved.
There’s something enthralling about a clown who demonstrates at the right time(s) that, oh, shit, this clown’s actually well on their way to dooming us all.
Man I feel old. I don’t get those references, but give me Kefka. Kefka does the trick for me.
Undertale’s Flowey is like, 2015 tho 😀
Let’s not forget Order of the Stick’s Xykon.
There’s gotta be some sorta fan fiction out there where all these humorous villians join forces.
Man, Kefka remains my favorite FF villain to this day.
Yeah, “switches from harmless goofball to cold-blooded murderous at the drop of a hat” seems like your type.
Wasn’t Head Alien at the same distance than Sal?
HA was, in fact, closer, but he’s on a hovercraft and has access to some sort of hover-tech that absorbs shock waves. Either that or he just moved.
This explains a lot of how Sal went from fun loving cutie to stone cold killer.
WTF at that last panel. That’s dark as hell.
Really? I had always felt like it ruined the page for being too goofy.
It’s her mom’s or dad’s *skull* bouncing past her, for crying out loud. Jeez.
I’ve always wondered about which it was intended to be, considering both still have hair attached when we see them later in the embassy (that could be artistic license though because cartoon recognizability).
Dad’s, apparently. (Take a guess at how I know….)
No sunglasses?
It almost looks like his moustache had a skeleton ?
Oh yuck. It’s tagged.
Got it in three.
While the concept of seeing your parent’s skull bouncing past you is dark as hell, I think the drawing style makes it… weird. That panel, out of context, is almost like something you’d see in a Looney Toons cartoon after Daffy Duck blew himself up by mishandling ACME equipment.
Very dark indeed.
Jerk to Horrifying in 5 seconds flat.
If anyone has had a world view shift, it has to be Sal. Hellofa way to get booted out of your rebellious teen years.
I don’t think I noticed the eyeball in the original version of this strip.
What eyebaaAAAHHH!
In the last panel there’s a small circle in black and white. I think that’s the eyeball.
…uuuuuh
That can’t be an eyeball. It’s way too small.
This is my last serenade~ x2
I like how there’s a brief moment of “well, maybe they survived someh– oh.”
This comic has started being really dark since Joyce killed herself in cold blood… I haven’t actually read the original so no idea if it gets worse.
Well, it gets much darker in places but part of what makes it a great journey is that the art and writing continuously get better as it goes on so “worse” isn’t a term I’d choose to use.
Can someone without spoilers explain how HA thinks…. I mean he is trying to recruit Sal… How would this help… EVER?
Sal defied him and gave him an opportunity to do something horrible and traumatizing to her. Not really more to it.
The moment Sal said “screw you”, the HA decided it’d be funnier to cause her some trauma. Why? Because he’s a jerk, he doesn’t let things such as effectiveness get in the way of getting his psychopathic giggles.
Given the choice between achieving his goals and spitting in someone’s eye, Head Alien will go for the disrespect EVERY time.
Never doubt it for a moment: Regardless of his (it’s?) off-handed, non-serious demeanor, Head Alien is a gigantic fucking murdering ASSHOLE. Never forget that.
But a funny one!
Also, nobody comments on the indestructible jacket? It just survived an explosion, and doesn’t give a damn. That jacket is a badass!
Actually not that surprising. It’s flexible enough that the initial shockwave would just blast it clear.
JESUS! Ahgha mabab a ab a ba la … My god…