Batty
Mar26
on 2019-03-26
at 00:01
Chapter: Down To Earth
Characters: G'Nar (the Insignificant), Maggie Rush
Location: Maddie's Apartment
Tho, I don’t recall there being a “White Lightning” hero… Could do a villain, with partners “Moon Shine” and “Rum Runner.”
↓ Transcript
G’Nar
Beauté Noire?
Maggie
Obviously, it’s a play on “bête noir.” French for “black beast.”
The idea was to keep boys from “borrowing” my bat.
Mr Cartman let me use his shop to do the anodizing myself, but I never got to use it. I thought my mother had destroyed it with the rest of my stuff, but someone got to my softball bag first and put it in the limo trunk. No one even knows I have it.
G’Nar
“Black Beauty” was a horse movie, you know. And they could go to calling you “Black Betty.”
Maggie
Well, “Black Beauty” is the bat’s name. And “Black Betty” does mean an attractive black woman.
G’Nar
And black tar heroin.
Maggie
Anyway, I was thinking of “Majika.” With a J and a K.
G’Nar
I think there’s a Japanese franchise called “Madoka Magica.” Why not “Black Majika?”
Maggie
No “Black” anything. That way if some white chick wants to be my cross-racial clone, she’ll have to go by “White” whatever.
Beauté Noire?
Maggie
Obviously, it’s a play on “bête noir.” French for “black beast.”
The idea was to keep boys from “borrowing” my bat.
Mr Cartman let me use his shop to do the anodizing myself, but I never got to use it. I thought my mother had destroyed it with the rest of my stuff, but someone got to my softball bag first and put it in the limo trunk. No one even knows I have it.
G’Nar
“Black Beauty” was a horse movie, you know. And they could go to calling you “Black Betty.”
Maggie
Well, “Black Beauty” is the bat’s name. And “Black Betty” does mean an attractive black woman.
G’Nar
And black tar heroin.
Maggie
Anyway, I was thinking of “Majika.” With a J and a K.
G’Nar
I think there’s a Japanese franchise called “Madoka Magica.” Why not “Black Majika?”
Maggie
No “Black” anything. That way if some white chick wants to be my cross-racial clone, she’ll have to go by “White” whatever.
There was a White Lightning female hero back in the 1960s, white suit, black cape with a white lightning bolt. I don’t remember the publisher but it wasn’t DC or Marvel. Charleton perhaps? Or one of the other indy publishers back then.
there’s a Dc villainess by the name as well https://comicvine.gamespot.com/white-lightning/4005-18332/
I read that the last scene created in the Incredibles movie was the one where all the dead heroes were named. It took the lawyers that long to come up with a list of hero names that hadn’t already been used at one time or another. They had to pay DC for Elastigirl as it was. 😀
I don’t remember an Elastigirl in DC…Unless it’s because her powers are so much like Plastic Man and Elastic Man
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elasti-Girl yeah doom patrol character created 1963
Elastigirl was Rita Farr, of the Doom Patrol. At the time, her only power was size-changing, but she was killed off in the 70s or so, and a
writer (I forget who) had her revived as an amorphous blob of protoplasm that has to really work to take on and keep her old human shape.
Doom Patrol has an Elasti-girl, they’re DC.
And they have just started a Netflix series about it 😀
In Mur Lafferty’s superhero-themed novel “Playing For Keeps” there is a White Lightning. He’s not the sharpest tool in the shed.
The Green Hornets, car, was called Black Beauty! Sasha Whitefur
:wave: Hi Sasha 🙂
“Beauté noire” also means a beautiful black woman in casual language – though it tends to disappear.
The other way around a “Bête noire” (black beast) is a nemesis.
Or a ‘Bug Bear’
Time to bring back Ace’s Angels…
Our special team of agents that protect Ace and the city from evil beings from space, or just bad people in general. They can use Orion Ship Suits for costume/armor, with the addition of a support belt/pack to collect microwave radiation to provide power for the suits. Add in a voice recognition controlled computer to adjust the settings, and you are good to go. Akane can mentor Maggie.
“Why not ‘Black Majika’ ?”
Over at Spinerette, the Black superhero Tiger will have you know that his name is ‘Tiger’, not ‘Black Tiger’.
Same well-spotted issue.
Same with ‘Lightning’, he hated being called ‘Black Lightning’ (butt he never said squat about ‘Black Canary’ or ‘Green Arrow’ who were both white)
Black Canary referred to her costume which was based off a singer’s (called a Canaryfancy and sexy outfit. Green Arrow’s name is also based off his costume which follows the Lincoln Green in which Robin Hood traditionally dressed his Merry Men. Neither refers to the character’s race, the reason Tiger objects to being Black Tiger is that all African American Supers seem stuck with their race in their name.
That’s… actually a very good point 🙁
I’m a comic geek and you happened to pick two of my favorite super heroes and one of the many webcomics I read. Tiger explains his reasons for not wanting Black in his name early on, just as Evil Spinerette objects to the idea of adding Evil to her name when she had been using the name first, just without the publicity.
Been reading, and supporting via Kickstarter, Spinnerette from the start 😀
Did not know that about Canary, and knew Arrow was based off of Robin Hood
Black Canary was not one of DCs bigger hits, her super power used to be a supersonic voice ability that could knock people out, shatter things and the like. She lost the special vocal cords that allowed her to do this and trained as a badass martial artist instead. She and Green Arrow were an item for a while both in and out of costume, until she got tired of his immaturity and excessive machismo (especially since he kept trying to protect her despite having less super abilities than her and not as much fighting training. (And before someone thinks I’m beating up on GA unfairly, DC basically had him have a midlife crisis during his midlife crisis. It was poor writing in my opinion but they did do some logical stuff during the arc.)
Spawn.
In addition, if anyone is familiar with Madoka Majika, that’s a very bleak narrative place to go to, and NOT one hopes where this is heading! The series starts off looking like a generic magical girl series and gets very dark very quickly in exploring the questions begged by that form…
It’s brilliant, but I really trust not what our writer has in mind.
Yes, but the problem is that “Tiger” is a common, ordinary word, that can refer to things other than that particular superhero. If didn’t want to be a “racial” superhero, fine, but he needs a two-word codename so that conversations like this don’t happen.
Police chief: “Where can I find Tiger?”
Informant: “uh… probably at the zoo… or you know, Asia.”
I’ll suggest the same to Maggie (via Andy). Superhero names need to be either a very unique singular word, or an combination of two words equally unlikely to occur in common conversation. “Majika” admittedly isn’t that common in ORDINARY conversation, but it’s not really a new or unused word either (regardless of how you spell it). Needs a bit more.
Although… I have to say, Maggie’s reason for not wanting to be “Black _____” is probably the BEST one I’ve ever heard! LOL
Um, if someone asked me where to find Batman or Spiderman, I might suggest the local tabloids. And most superheroes have a single word code name, many of which are common animals, some simply attach “man” to the name. Tiger man would make more sense than Black Tiger.
You’re proving my argument. “Batman” and “Spiderman” are compound words, and immediately identify the hero in conversation. If they called themselves “Bat” and “Spider”, those are common creatures (or sports equipment) and not specific or unique enough terms.
Yes, I agree. “Tigerman” would have been just fine, and avoids all the problematic issues of being just plain “Tiger”. The overabundance of Golden Age heros and villains unimaginatively named “____man” (vastly more of which didn’t take off like the famous ones) does admittedly make “___man” seem uncreative to modern readers though, like nearly the entire cast of He-man. 😛 So I understand Adam’s reluctance to follow that formula either.
Also it’s kind of funny to watch Tiger rant and complain about being tagged “Black Tiger” by reporters. Adam IS writing a deconstructive, comedic superhero comic, after all.
Always believed Spiderbait were singing about the hotrod 🙁
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU1VfYYKMDk
Fun fact: the movie playing throughout the clip was filmed in New Zealand, butt set in the US 🙂
Sorry for the necro-reply….. This is a cover of an old song by RamJam from 1977. I do like how they’ve personalized it a bit, though.
I think G’nar is just looking forward to the kind of hijinks he can inflict on the world as the cute companion animal of a magical girl.
And I’m starting to think maybe I like her interpretation of the magical girl trope.
I trust that the aluminum of this bat had been recycled? The kami of many soda cans would rejoice that they are now part of a magical girl’s wand!
Not “Apocalypse Maiden Princess Holy Aura.” That one’s taken, too.
I had to Google that and now I’ve had to add a book to my Kindle wish list.
Princess Holy Aura is a 2017 novel by Ryk E. Spoor, and is his take on the mahou shoujo genre, more specifically the Magical Girl Warrior. Mid-30s overweight Stephen Russ is drafted / recruited / volunteered / drawn into saving the world as Princess Holy Aura, the first of the Apocalypse Maidens.
I’d shill for Ryk, but you did it already. 🙂
Glad you bought it. I hope more people buy it.
Baen lets you sample the first 13 chapters https://www.baen.com/Chapters/9781481482820/9781481482820.htm
Thanks! Now I need to buy the rest of it.
“The first taste is free.”
You’re welcome! Buy from Baen – you can download
1. with no DRM/encryption
2. in ANY or ALL of the following formats: html, EPUB/Nook/Stanza, Mobi/Palm/Kindle, RTF, Microsoft Reader, Ebookwise/Rocket Format or Sony Digital Reader Format.
Notes number of titles in the “Books” folder from Baen. Subtracts those which came on CD/DVD-ROM with a hardcover DTE. Compares the smaller number of titles which came from Amazon. Contemplates whether bundles of Grantville Gazette should count as multiple titles or singular… Gets distracted by the adventures of the Barbie Consortium in Vienna
Oh, sorry, yes, GarySJordan, you’re quite right, it’s a great place to get eBooks.
And Remember at Baen books the first taste is free???
I’ve only been buying e-books from Baen since 1999. And I only buy from them 4 times a year — 3 months worth of monthly bundles at a time; in January, April, July, and October. 🙂
[AndyOH!]:
“Black Tar Heroin”?
Just put an “E” on the end of “Heroin”!
🙂
“Tar” could also reference the “Uncle Remus” story of “Bre’r Rabbit & the Tar Baby”.
… so “Tar”, “Tar Baby”, or “TB” could be G’Nar’s alias, unless he’d rather flash his claws & be known as “BP”, “Briar Patch”, or just “Thorn” …
… hmmm …
“Rose & Thorn” is already taken, isn’t it?
On_A_Different_Note:
I’m torn about the bat.
“OTOH”, a hollow aluminum bat is a lightweight weapon, easily carried.
“OTOH”, a solid aluminum bat is lighter than most other available metals, would have MUCH more stopping-power upon impact, & be less likely to “fold”, when hitting something really solid. I’m remembering the look of the “golden bat” wielded by “Little Slugger” in the anime, “Paranoia Agent”, & I’d hate to see this bat damaged so.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranoia_Agent]
And an aluminum bat with 18 oz of mercury in the hollow core is still easy to carry but the additional impact is… spectacular. But for health reasons some other substance should be used like #12 buckshot to the count of 43,000 or 18 oz. The fluid will be faster to shift from handle to head in a swing but only testing would show if the buckshot clogged or moved in an unpredictable way ruling out it’s use. I would suggest a steel bat if using a weight adder for improved longevity in active use.
Yes I actually know what will happen when pouring mercury into the aluminum bat. Therefore I suggest steel would be better if less fun to watch.
https://cosmosmagazine.com/chemistry/when-aluminium-meets-mercury
Yes when the chemistry types say you can’t…meanwhile the engineers have asked their buddy the metallurgist who suggests they ask his wife who specializes in 3d printing and voila’ (or however I ne’er took no French) you gots a lined bat with 18oz / 510.3 gm that moves in the bat and the container is impact resistant up to multiple kilojoules.
How about a Cold Steel brand Brooklyn Whopper Bat? It is solid polypropylene, black, and less likely to break or deform than a wooden or hollow aluminum bat when hitting solid objects or miscreants. It’s 48 ounces and 38 inches long, but a variety of lighter/shorter versions are also available.
Heros/heroines aside, somehow I Think Maggie and Stormy will get along like two peas in a pod when they met.
On the web comic “Sidekick Girl”, the heroine uses a baseball bat she calls “Mr. Bat”
Actually, “Mr. Bat II”, as her boyfriend/best enemy replaced the original which he had he broken. Evil Alternate Version of Sidekick Girl has apparently broken more…
Sorry about the extraneous “he”.
Just finished an archive binge, and some stuff is still lost. The bit where Bruno quit because he didn’t want Ace to have to fire him was surprising, as a lot of the pages he’d been in didn’t make it. I know for a fact that the strip where Carly gives him her fake breasts didn’t make it, nor do I recall rereading the strip where Carly asks Ace to bring lunch as revenge on whoever is stealing lunches. The first meeting with Luna is also missing.
I realize restoring the archive is a lot of work, and I’m not expecting to see you drop everything and fix it. At the same time, though, if someone doesn’t say anything, you won’t know about it.
[POSSIBLE_RENDER_SNAFU]:
Between Panels 1-&-2, the pink text on the bat has reversed direction.
Looking more closely at panel 2 it looks as if the lettering is on both sides of the bat, one set starting from the handle end and the other starting from the blunt end, this would mean when held horizontally there was a 50/50 chance of the writing being the right way up.
Yeah, was thinking that as well, you can just make out the ‘B’ on the other side (just near tittle of the ‘i’)
This way, whether you are holding the bat left-to-right, or right-to-left, a simply rotation means the name is easily read 😀
https://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/1966/04/24
“Keep the trademark up, Lucy, and there’ll be less chance of cracking the bat.”
Does that apply to aluminum bats?
No, at the time the name was burned into the wood making a week spot. If the hit stretched (on the front) or compressed (on the back) the burn it could crack.
Anybody poked the content creator with a stick recently to see if he’s still alive? Not as bad as “Honey Badger and Friends that updates every 6 months, but still a rather long pause between updates.
Didn’t Andy receive a new motherboard last month with some discussion about a system upgrade? If so he could be IT “dark”.
That’s a good thought @ravnali. Let’s hope he can debug the upgrade and be be back with us soon.
What gives me a little concern is that it would take less than 1 minute for anyone to log on here and post using a phone if they want to send a message, even under a different login if they don’t remember the info for their regular login. That leaves me with a few thoughts about Andy’s absence. One thought is that he is possibly having other difficulties than computer upgrade issues. The other thought is that he doesn’t give a crap about letting us know what is going on, but that is unlike him based on all of his communications in the past to readers who comment, so back to the first thought. I suspect almost everyone reading this comic has a computer a phone and a tablet or some third way to get online, so that makes me wonder if it is not a matter of no communication due to computer issues but some other health/family issue that has caused the absolute and total lack of communication from him. I hope I am wrong and it is something else that I have not thought of.
Given his health issues and a similar lack of updates to his Twitter from about the same time as the lack of updates here I’m concerned. There was a web comic I followed years ago that the creator died without notice. He had similar health issues as Andy.
I hate it when people I know die or get killed.
His Amazon wish list (linked on the right side-menu) has an item, some kind of computer desk, that was added April 30, 2019.
So assuming he’s the only one using that Amazon account and Amazon didn’t screw up, he was still alive and online a few days ago.
No idea why he hasn’t posted any sign of life here in the meantime though – maybe he lost the login or sth?
Would that have been Gene Catlow? I was absolutely stunned when I found out Albert died….
Might have been, I’m crap for names even before I got killed. Do you recall the comic he was making?
Don’t know if it’s who you are thinking of, but we lost Bryan Steiger of “Middleways” to a sudden heart attack about two years ago. He was well into the world-building process for his story at the time, and after a brief hiatus his widow took over the strip for a while, but I guess it proved a little too much as there hasn’t been an update in a very long time.
I still check every now & again just in case, though, exactly as I would have done with TMI even if we hadn’t heard from Andy (by way of his mom). Let’s hope Andy’s recovery goes smoothly!
Sigh, I guess it’s me, but there are too many different events going on and I’ve lost track.
It has been brought to my attention by the greatest comic writer ever (Rich Morris wouldn’t lie about that, would he?) that I am nothing but a toxic sock-puppet troll that irritates everyone, would like to say it’s been pleasant being part of this community, but that is obviously a lie as I have only ever been barely acknowledged and not part of it
Goodbye
You know, whenever someone says something like that to me, I mentally add them to the list of people who can just kiss my ass. I’d suggest that approach to Guesticus as well, but since he’s gone, I guess I can’t.
Coming from a stranger, thank you
Have had a few ‘issues’ here, butt that was more due to not having a valid email rather than comments made
Was more than a little childish posting in so many webics, butt after the repeated attacks (and having comments being edited to make me look worse) just felt a need to see if the opinion held by Mr Morris and his friends was shared by others as claimed
Who is Mr. Morris, and where can I ignore his webic? ^_^
“Yet Another Fantasy Gamer Comic”
It’s actually a great webic, been going for over 10 years, it’s sort of a D&D comic, with elves and orcs and everything else you would expect (including a Cloaker, who loves to give hugs :D), and Minotaur-Sphinx hybrids 🙂
[Guesticus]:
At the risk of ‘splitting hairs’, I might point-out that a webic of 10yrs., is a measure of PERSISTENCE, or ENDURANCE, whereas QUALITY is more properly measured via the quantity of readers who follow the webic because they like it, not because they enjoy ‘trolling’ it (or ‘trolling’ its readers).
“Trolling” (The ability to write a personal attack) is a ‘skill’ that is completely separate from the ability to create a quality webic. Neither one presumes the other.
Warning: Active trolling in this post!
Splitting hairs… So you are saying that a “great comic” can not have a publishing run of 10+ years. That just because many people read a comic that it is a “great comic” and that any comic that does not have a hoard of readers is shit. Glad that is so easy to understand. So every pathetic excuse for humanity that appears on social media to hype their comic and gets followers in a popularity contest provides better quality than the artists who spend time producing original script and ever improving art but doesn’t get on their knees to blow the social media dick? Got it, popular shit is better than obscure quality.
In any event, no matter how good Mr. Morris’ webic may be, he loses points in my eyes for having taken the time to write a ‘trolling’ attack. The better his webic might be, the more obvious it OUGHT to be that there are better ways to use his time than by attacking others.
What I don’t understand is why Guesticus has, FOR YEARS, continued to antagonize the writer/ Rich Morris in the comments of ‘Yet Another Fantasy Gamer Comic (YAFGC)” and why he [I don’t know Guesticus’ gender but “he” here for convenience] is complaining here on this forum. Guesticus says he has Degenerative Memory Disorder which results in him creating derogatory nicknames for many of the characters whose names he can’t remember. He continues to use these derogatory names instead of looking up the actual character names or listening to the other commenters or Rich himself who responds with the actual names. Rich has told Guesticus that using derogatory nicknames for his creation upsets him, and Rich and many commenters over the years have asked Guesticus to stop using these nicknames. Guesticus may be making be polite comments here, but see his snarky, insulting comments on YAFGC. In the 10 years I have been reading YAFGC, Guesticus is the only commenter that I can remember that insults the author and starts “flame wars” in the comments. Guesticus has claimed Rich is editing his comments to make him look bad. See the latest threads by and to Guesticus on YAFGC[dot]net episodes 3200 Oh Well I Can See How WHAAAT
on April 8, 2019 and 3201 The Fox Remembers on April 10, 2019.
Here is an example of one of Guesticus’ comments (note the all-caps text in square brackets is part of Guesticus’ original comment):
Guesticus
April 10, 2019, 9:38 pm
[POST TRANSLATION]
Again with the personal attacks?
[ACTIVATE: STANDARD REPLY PROTOCOL]
Yes, this community is toxic, and it’s an environment that you promote
[TRANSLATION: EXCELLENT, I HAVE ADDED TOXICITY TO THIS OTHERWISE CONFLICT FREE ENVIRONMENT. WILL NOW TURN ATTENTION BACK UPON MYSELF.]
As you pointed out, am active in many sites, and only this one has such vitriol directed at me
Not sure what your ‘issue’ is, butt it isn’t me
[TRANSLATION: MY ASSHOLENESS IS VERY EFFECTIVE HERE. MOST PEOPLE JUST IGNORE ME.]
I’ve had a number of interactions with Guesticus on another strip, some of them quite zealous on both our parts. I’ve never seen, though, the disparagement or vitriol claimed here. Nor have I seen any of that in his interactions with others in the commentary on that strip. He’s just pursued his thesis with considerable enthusiasm.
On the other hand, current Internet “society” is rife with snowflakes, thin-skinned, and those looking for excuses to be offended or outraged. The signal-to-noise ratio is lower than it needs be,
Eric Hines
[RandomGuy]:
I’ve not followed “YAFGC”, so I freely admit to being a complete outsider to this issue.
The little bit that’s been said here on this matter has given me the impression that I’d like to STAY_FAR_AWAY from this fight. I’m saddened to feel that I have nothing useful-or-helpful to offer, to try & help make things better.
I’m better-off just steering clear & wishing everyone concerned my best.
Wrong, the all-caps in square brackets is Rich’s clever edits
Tell me, what nicknames have been ‘derogatory’? Other than the recent ‘Glitterstarch’ (which one reader actually admitted sounded appropriate for that character)
Started using Drow-cups for Dewcup’s (always mis-remember her name as being ‘Dewcups’) Drow ‘twin’, which other readers adopted as well
Have never insulted Rich nor other readers, not even when they attack me
If you look at other posts on the page, you will see several attacks by readers have never even communicated with
Guesticus,
The readers of YAFGC have been replying to your comments explaining to you that what you do upsets the author Rich and even if you don’t think what your doing is a problem, you should recognize that it does bother Rich so you should please stop doing it. As a reminder, you say none of the nicknames you made up are derogatory, but here are a few examples of the character nicknames you have used:
Queen Elzear’bith = Lizzie’breath, Lizard Breath
Goddess Ranna = Rancid
Cadugan = The Cad
Prince Kassim Ibn Tambid = Kassim the Dimwitted
There is a character list under each comic; just use the actual character names.
Please re-read the comments from YAFGC #2947 Remembering The Elf Guy on August 15, 2016
Rich and the readers were trying to reason with you, not attack you, to get you to stop the derogatory comments. And now you start insulting Rich Morris on TMI comments. Please just stop the negativity.
In the words of the philosopher Bill S. Preston, Esq., “Be excellent to each other.”
Others have used both the names “Lizzie’breath” and ‘Rancid’, and The Cad is literally his name, just like Runt is literally the shortened form of his name
Again, haven’t insulted Rich, the only negativity here is from you
Wait, calling him the greatest comic writer ever is an insult?
You saying that someone calling someone a “backwater troll” or “Buttheadicus” (and numerous variations) aren’t personal attacks? o_O
Regarding Guesticus, I feel Rich Morris was justified in banning him from the comments (using male pronoun for convenience as I don’t know the Guesticus’ gender). Guesticus has been antagonizing Rich Morris FOR YEARS now in the comments of Yet Another Fantasy Gamer Comic (YAFGC). Guesticus says he has Degenerative Memory Disorder and needs to make up derogatory, alliterative nicknames of many of the comic’s characters because he cannot remember their actual names and will not take the effort to look up the names before posting. He has been told by Rich Morris (the author) and many readers/commenters that this upsets Rich, but Guesticus continues to do it and repeatedly claims he can’t see why it’s a problem. For years, Guesticus has refused to stop doing this, so this is not a case of a mean author banning a polite commenter.
I can’t understand why Guesticus is complaining to TMI readers in this forum. See for yourself Guesticus’ behavior and attitude from some of the final conversation threads below. The “…” indicates replies I did not copy here, but I did not edit or change any of the text in the replies I did copy here. For example, I did not write “bla bla bla [MEANDERING EXTRA WHINEY CRAP HAS BEEN TRUNCATED.]”; Guesticus wrote that in his original post. I am glad to see Guesticus says he will not be commenting further on TMI. I like reading the polite conversations and thoughts on the TMI comments.
Thread snippets from YAFGC:
Guesticus
April 9, 2019, 3:14 am | Reply
Oh right, forgot Glitterstarch and Dewcups were also there (Drow-cups managed to get out, and mess everything up, butt not on purpose)
Hate to see others having the same problems, butt at the same time, makes me feel better knowing it’s not just me
Rich Morris
April 9, 2019, 7:59 am | Reply
Glitterbranch and Dewcup. Guesticus, why don’t you just cut and paste the damned names?
…
Guesticus
April 9, 2019, 7:47 pm
In nearly twenty years of reading webics, have only come across one (maybe two) other authors who have a problem with their characters being giving nicknames
As the author, and creator, you have every right, it’s just… it’s not even what is written about the characters
Rancourt
April 9, 2019, 10:31 pm
But this one is bothered by what you’re doing, Guesticus.
Could you make the effort for him? It doesn’t really matter if no one else on Earth asks for this. He’s asking. We love what he creates. We want him to enjoy creating, and enjoy interacting with us.
Someone you admire is asking you to make a small change. Would you please try?
I’m asking, too. This is a thing you could do, to make the comments area a little more harmonious. Would you give a try, for Rich’s sake? Even if it’s a bit hard for you, even if it’s counterintuitive.
We love Rich. We love YAFGC. I have, frankly, pretty crippling social anxiety, and speaking up here is quite difficult for me…but I make the effort, even when it’s difficult, even when it’s counterintuitive and even when it’s uncomfortable for me. It’s the least I can do. I don’t need to understand the whys of it; I know I’m wanted here, so I speak up.
Please try working on this. Use the memory recall technique, if it helps you remember…but when you get ready to post, please substitute the characters’ real names. Sometimes, things that bother people aren’t “terrible” in themselves…they just get on someone else’s nerves. When that someone is our host and the series creator…that’s a problem, for those of us who want him to enjoy creating the strip, and interacting with its fans.
I’m not a mod or anything; this is simply a request from one YAFGC fan to another. I’m not perfect, either, and don’t speak from any imagined position of superiority here.
Ørjan
April 10, 2019, 10:49 pm
I see this escalated again… Note to self: When the universe tries three times to stop you from posting, listen.
…
T-Chall
April 9, 2019, 10:57 pm | # | Reply
Rancourt has said this very well, Guesticus. That Rich has said, on more than once, that this annoys him should be enough to make you stop, especially if you do care for this comic and its creator as much as you say you do.
That you are careful to write Lord Dave’s name correctly, T’Chall, and Caelin, shows you recognize there are real people behind those characters. Part of that, I suspect, is because that I’ve commented on these comics well before this current story arc.
But you were also able to write Levana and Zac’s names correctly, even though they have only had very few appearances in this comic. You are capable of being careful about such things, at least for myself and Levana and Zac.
But when it comes to the person who has created this comic, you seem to fail to show the same respect, which puzzles me, given how you have said how much you enjoy this comic and the work that Rich has put into it. That he has asked you to stop, more than once, should be enough for you to stop, if you really care for him and the work he has put into this comic.
Guesticus
April 9, 2019, 11:33 pm | Reply
No defending, explaining
Some names simply lend themselves better to nicknames (or ‘abbreviations’) than others
Just don’t understand why nicknames are such a problem
Leorin
April 9, 2019, 11:49 pm | Reply
Nicknames aren’t the problem. Derisive alterations on a given name are. And you are too intelligent to be playing stupid about not knowing the difference.
Rancourt
April 9, 2019, 11:50 pm | Reply
I can see that you don’t understand why this is a problem. But can you see that it’s a problem?
People’s reasons don’t always make sense to other people. Feelings aren’t always logical, and aren’t always the product of reason. That’s why, generally, we don’t ask people to justify their feelings. I probably could never adequately explain why I love my wife more than other people I’ve met. It isn’t a calculated decision with reasons; it’s just so.
So, whether or not you understand why it’s a problem, please see that it is, in fact, a problem…and just as some of your reasons are personal to you, please respect that the reasons that this bothers some people, our host among them, are personal to them. The reason our host’s feelings are specially important here is because this is his space, his home online.
T-Chall
April 9, 2019, 11:52 pm | Reply
It’s a simple matter of understanding that this upsets the person who is creating this comic, a comic that you say you enjoy, and that the person you say you appreciate creating this comic.
It’s a simple matter of being respectful and considerate of that person’s feelings. A simple matter of understanding that once he’s said that he doesn’t like you doing that, you apologize and stop doing it because you really do care for the person creating this comic.
Guesticus
April 10, 2019, 2:04 am | Reply
‘Being respectful and considerate of that person’s feelings’
So, nicknames [bla bla]
Rich Morris
April 10, 2019, 7:24 am
No Buttheadicus, you don’t get to hijack any more pages of comments with your dramatically defensive “help-me-help-me-people-are-very-politely-asking-me-to-behave-less-like-a-self-absorbed-jackass” ramblings. Nobody is ever going to be able to convince you of anything so I’m going to delete any more comments in this thread.
I tried, I really tried to be patient, understanding and to swallow my frustrations with your weird and irritating ways, but you’re really bad for my blood pressure.
Guesticus
April 10, 2019, 8:15 am
May have done many things, butt have not attacked another reader, or you
Rich Morris
April 10, 2019, 9:16 am
Never accused you of attacking anyone, Buttheadicus, just of being a really irritating pain in the ass and a total asshole.
And on that note……
…
Guesticus
April 10, 2019, 9:38 pm
[POST TRANSLATION]
Again with the personal attacks?
[ACTIVATE: STANDARD REPLY PROTOCOL]
Yes, this community is toxic, and it’s an environment that you promote
[TRANSLATION: EXCELLENT, I HAVE ADDED TOXICITY TO THIS OTHERWISE CONFLICT FREE ENVIRONMENT. WILL NOW TURN ATTENTION BACK UPON MYSELF.]
As you pointed out, am active in many sites, and only this one has such vitriol directed at me
Not sure what your ‘issue’ is, butt it isn’t me
[TRANSLATION: MY ASSHOLENESS IS VERY EFFECTIVE HERE. MOST PEOPLE JUST IGNORE ME.]
Rich Morris
April 10, 2019, 11:11 pm
YES YES YES, BUTTHEADICUS!
This is indeed a very personal attack.
And the only reason I’m doing it here and like this is because I’m not geographically close enough to you to punch you in the face! ?
BUT (and I’d like to point out that here I spelled ‘but’ correctly, with only one t) since you aren’t a real person, this shouldn’t bother you. But please, feel free to keep posting, I think I’m going to enjoy this. ?
Guesticus
April 11, 2019, 12:44 am
Have not once, ever, insulted you nor another reader
[REINITIATE: MENTAL DISORDER DIALOGUE – ELIMINATE SOME WORDS, RETAIN OTHERS.]
Reason why have problems with some names and not others, is partially because have a Degenerative Memory Disorder (the character Samar on “The Blacklist” has something similar)
Ever had a conversation and you spent a minute trying to remember a simple word like ‘house’? That’s me on a daily basis
[I NEVER ONCE BROKE SOCIAL RULES, I JUST SKIRTED AROUND THEM TO PISS YOU OFF WITHOUT GIVING YOU ANY OBVIOUS CAUSE TO RETALIATE! BY HUMAN LOGIC, YOU MUST HAVE SYMPATHY FOR ME BECAUSE MY BRAIN DOESN’T WORK!]
Rich Morris
April 11, 2019, 7:01 am
We all admire how your made-up condition triggers on and off at your convenience, Buttheadicus. But I am no longer capable of feeling guilt or sympathy for sock puppet people. You’re just a blight on my playspace and I hate you. ? Mwah. But do go on, you’re highly amusing.
Guesticus
April 11, 2019, 8:50 am
Wow! Are you denying the condition is real? Or doubting me having it?
Not looking for sympathy, because am adult enough to not need it
[Please be sympathetic! That’s what I was created for! To stir shit and draw attention and sympathy!]
Yes, have gone out of the way to not give cause…bla bla bla [MEANDERING EXTRA WHINEY CRAP HAS BEEN TRUNCATED.]
The [bracketed crap] was edited in by Rich, not me
It’s very difficult to cut&paste the name of people who haven’t been mentioned in ten years
I have not been a longtime reader of that other guy’s webcomic, but I have been a longtime reader of at least one other comic with a frequent commenter calling himself Guesticus.
Assuming the two are the same (some confirmation via visible gravatar images here; is that possible/acceptable?) then he doesn’t troll there. The webcomic there is also fantasy with gaming references throughout.
Then again, it’s Guilded Age, and the guys there don’t seem to complain about people making up nicknames for the characters in their story. (Good call; one character is named Frigg.) Technically, the webcomic’s done and over with, but they’re running through it again with production notes.
What I want to know is, why are we in webcomic A talking about someone else being involved in drama in webcomic B? Not that I mind contributing with stuff from webcomic C, just… is all of this really okay?
Use to read, and comment on, Guilded Age, until the author banned me after saying Moustached Robin Williams shouldn’t be killed (when everyone else wanted him to die)
That was a number of years ago
Only mentioned it here, because Mr Morris (and others) claimed that everyone on every other webic comment on secretly hate me. As it turned out, it was just a few fanbois on “YAFGC” who feel that way (even though several of them use the nicknames came up with, heck, even Mr Morris liked them at one time)
Just wanted to say that I came across this comic three days ago and now I’m all caught up. Very addictive and wonderful!
I guess TMI is finished, abandonned and left to die…
It has passed the 30 day mark with no communication from Andy. I will now stop checking for updates weekly and switch to monthly checks.
Only takes a minute to check in (and vote)
Most people didn’t bother to vote even when he was active
And yet he still manages to hold the number 8 slot on top web comics voting page! Think what could happen if everyone actually voted?
My system has always been to vote every time a new comic is posted. Obviously, I have not voted lately. I hope that he is just very busy and there is nothing seriously wrong.
Personally vote every day, regardless if there is a new comic or invotive (or at last, every time have the time to read webics)
Turns out he had a stroke the day after posting this page. According to his mom he is on the road to recovery.
Just noticed the TMI Archive was updated apparantly by Andy or someone acting on Andy’s behalf.
Check the little calendar on the left of this webpage for further archive updates.
Also, Thanks Skenjin for the update here. We are all pulling for Andy’s quick recovery.
TMI Archive for May 5th, 2019
1 result.
May 05, 2019 I’m alive
I don’t usually comment on a comic’s hiatuses, because I write, and there are entire weeks that go by without writing. In fact, if I’m depressed, often entire months. So, I feel like, I sort of understand, and I wouldn’t want to do anything to make someone feel pressured. Pressure of any kind, including the pressure all artists are under from themselves, doesn’t help. Art happens when it happens. When you get blocked, it doesn’t happen. Until it happens again. And you may wish it was different, that you didn’t get blocked so often or so long, but you don’t owe an excuse about it to anybody.
When I look at a months-long hiatus, I’m looking at me in a bad depression. I worry for Andy. I enjoy the comic and hope it continues, but I care about Andy. I hope he’s okay, physically and emotionally.
And if he needs to go on to a different project in order for art to start happening for him again, then I hope he does. I’d miss TMI, of course, but sometimes artists need to go in a new direction and some of them need time to learn that they ought to be able to do so without guilt. And if that’s where Andy is, that’s what he needs to do.
He had a stroke, not depressed out of writing this comic. Note the two posts above yours.
Aw, crap, that’s a heck of a lot more acute than just falling into depression.
Best wishes for a speedy and complete recovery.
Gene Catlow is the name of the comic. http://genecatlow.keenspot.com/ . The creator’s name was Albert Temple. It’s a really good (imo) furry comic.
Nope, that one wasn’t the one I was thinking about, but because I have developed the inability to remember names of people as a psychological defense (long story, very sad) I don’t remember the name of the creator or the comic. It was a slice of life rom com with lots of LGBT characters before that was a common thing. I started reading it back around the turn of the century, just after I got killed, so 2002 or ’03, and I know it was still running when my ex died in 2007 because someone in the comic got seriously ill right after her funeral. Then it stopped updating and someone posted in the comments they had just been to the creator’s funeral.
Is the comic finished? It’s been the same picture for one month.
[mutzka]:
If you scroll-up to the posts left by [Skenjin]&[RandomGuy], you’ll find a link to answer your question.
Meanwhile, we’ll just keep our fingers crossed.
Sorry, I hadn’t realized he was ill. I hope he recovers promptly (for his sake, not just for the comic)
[mutzka]:
“FWIW”, I think we were ALL ‘blindsided’ to hear about it, so don’t beat yourself up about this.
Any news about the author’s recovery? Is s/he doing better after the ordeal of the stroke?
Andy’s mom says that he’s weak-but-recovering.
She also says that she’s not as tech-savvy as her son, so there’s not a lot she can do, here at this site.
All of her posts (so far) can be found at this site:
[www.tmi-comic.com/2019/05/05/im-alive/]
… & she posts under the name [Delle Jacobs], starting at [2019-05-05, 07:39pm]
Beyond that, I’m just crossing my fingers & hoping for the best.
OOPS — I also found some of her posts here:
[www.tmi-comic.com/web-novels/aelfheim/chapter-19-refreshment/]
[2019-03-30, 08:57] = the earliest time-stamp that I’ve found so far.
Aw, man. I check the comic infrequently but even so had noticed the long delay. I figured Andy was having computer problems because he’d just received a new motherboard and I just thought he was in mid-build and all the issues with recovering all the application data that follows.
My father just had a stroke a couple months ago and it’s been a traumatic experience. Not just for him, but for the whole family. I wish Andy all the best in his road to recovery.
For the latest updates from Andy, click on the calendar to the left of the comment section. There are updates on 5/20 and 5/23.
missing the A. hope all is well.
Here it is, 9/17, and I’m hoping Andy is ok.
Me to, I need the reminders to not be a (insert pejorative of choice)
Assuming that Andy himself is not yet up to the task, I’m hoping that Andy’s mom can spare some time to update us on his status…?
…whether warranted-or-not, I’m finding this lengthy lack-of-response to be troubling.
Been a lil over seven months since the last update. Hopefully Andy is recovered and just building up a buffer before starting to post new comics.
Happy Birthday! Hope your recovery is progressing to your satisfaction.
Happy birthday for yesterday Andy!
Just wishing everybody a Happy Thanksgiving, but especially Andy. We’re really grateful you exist even if you can’t do the comic anymore. We are grateful for the years of archives you left us.
Hear, hear!
In all honesty… I would be happy with stick figures if it would get the story moving again.
Andy, I am praying for your recovery, and would like to remind you that you are appreciated, and your creation is loved.
Happy holidays.
Has there been any new info on Andy’s condition? I just hope he is continuing with his recovery and that he can fully recover.
Greetings Andy. Here is to hoping you doing well in recovery. Comic will keep till you are able to deal with it. I wish you a hope filled Christmas. One finger one thumb,, Onward.
Andy, and family,
Happy Holidays! I hope you are doing well.
Andy,
Wishing you and yours Happy Holidays
Hmm… it’s one of those things you don’t really recognise as a kid, listening to music (because in that era they were trying to be subtle, use code words for non-radio-appropriate stuff, and such) but I think “Black Betty” (the one in the song at least) was a prostitute. Maggie might want to avoid that one (if she hadn’t already made her decision on this page). On the other hand, a scene where she didn’t realize the meaning in that reference and someone (first criminal?) pointed it out to her could be funny.
G’Nar: “Come on out from under the bed, Black Betty! We’ve got crime to fight!”
Maggie: “Stop calling me that! I stood on top of a building and announced myself to a crowd of 100 people! Never coming out again!”
G’nar: “(sigh) teenagers sure are fragile these days…”