Grrl Power #954 – Happy belated and otherwise
Glen is one of the previously unnamed fashion ninja from way back on page 316. One of Ashley’s assistant. Why they are ninjas instead of just seam… seamsters. Textile crafters? Whatever, it’s probably an interesting story. Which won’t be told now.
BTW, Maxima wasn’t acting grumpy earlier in the day because the team “forgot her birthday” or anything. She just had a mountain of paperwork to look forward to and it’s not exactly her favorite thing to do. A brief googling told me that Lt. Colonels probably don’t have aides, though it’s reasonable that Maxima could probably make a case for one, as she’s basically in charge of the whole base here in addition to being a critical field asset. General Faulk is usually running political interference for the team, and doesn’t often have input on field operations.
I had considered a page between this one and the last featuring superheroines in the shower showing Sydney de-saucing from the last page. Partially because we haven’t had one of those recently. The central gag being Frix showing up, not realizing the showers weren’t co-ed, queue some size-comparison comments, etc. I waffled on that briefly, but Frix isn’t a dummy, he’s an engineer and a medic. He’s smart enough at least know to ask what the shower situation is, if not just guess it outright. Plus I wanted to move things along after all the… dang it, I forgot to add Detla to the group shot. I guess she’s standing off to the right, along with everyone else who shows up in this scene that I didn’t have room for. Like Dabbler. Double dang it!
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Sydney, shame on you.
“Always. Expect. Ninjas.”
She needs to buy her own shirt.
She’s not lax. She just has additional directives so she doesn’t accidentally kick co-workers in the head of of “Fight or Flight”.
I DEMAND Glen be added to the Whos Who!
>angry face<
Please.
I want to know how many times he’s been on panel and no one has seen him. Sydney has been looking for ninjas since her first day at ARC Recon
I am now imagining a side-comic detailing Glen’s secret tailoring adventures!
^ This ^ , ^ Totally This ^
Is the hole in the sock you wear suddenly gone? Does the suit you wear suddenly fit you perfectly? Dis you tug your skirt annoyed wishing it was longer and then suddenly find it having the perfect lenght? If something like this have happened to you, you may have been… Glenned!
Are you a webcomic creator? Are you constantly reverting to default character costume after shirt-shredding incidents, laser vaporization, and cats clawing your furnitures all the time? Then you need: FASHION NINJAS! Trailing along after your heroes, they’ll stitch up all your plot holes or your money back.
(This commercial not directed at DaveB.)
Wow, targeted advertisements are getting REALLY specific these days…
I’m curious about the monetization.
Service agreement plans.
Won’t be Glen though. He’s got his hands full keeping Hiro supplied with shirts.
To be fair, if you’re looking for ninjas and find them they aren’t very good ninjas.
He was excited they remembered his birthday! You gotta give him a break!!!
He’s the heart and soul of Archon. I agree! Put Glen in Who’s Who! You might even want to rename the webcomic Glenpower! :)
He could be Deus in disguise. I have never seen Deus and Glenn at the same place and time.
I’ve never seen Glen and Glen in the same place at the same time.
And Glen is never visible when president Obama is on panel.
My god you’re right.
Obviously Deus is controlling the USA by impersonating all major politicians. Not because he needs to use such crude methods of course, he just find it amusing.
It’s surely for the good of all of us.
While Deus obviously has the agility of the world’s greatest ninjas, Deus cannot be Glen. Because Glen works for Ashley, and Deus works for no one, although future Deus may work for Deus. Or be in a partnership with Deus. And on a more figurative sense, Deus works, of course, for humanity, for whom he tirelessly serves as a beacon of hope for all of us to strive towards, even though we can never achieve a fraction of his greatness. It is the journey to Deusdom that is the true reward, for it makes all incalculably better people.
All praise Deus, Amen.
Or maybe that is just what Deus want you to think. Ask yourself who someone like Ashley would like to work for. A a rich and well dressed man like Deus perhaps? That way Ninja Deus would work for himself via Ashley and thus humbly help the supers be almost as well dressed as he is.
Your words are wise, and in deference to his grace that is Deus, but I still don’t think your theory is correct.
Deus just likes to do the Undercover Boss thing now and then, it’s a great way to verify his minions are not only sufficiently skilled but also have good team spirit.
check it out, it’s Spider-Glen
All of her time spent talkin about being on the lookout for the ninjas and expecting ninjas she completely forgot it when a birthday party Banner was in her sight
That’s Sydney for you…
What surprises me more is that Glen isn’t treated to a Sydney Tongue-throw..
Or her trainng *is* paying off, and she dives for Max because she instictively knows she has even faster reflexes than her.
*grabs shield orb and finds three people are inside*
He might ask about the shower sit. But that doesn’t mean he gets a truthful answere depending on who he asks…
Btw are Kronas eyes missing? Or is that a resolution issue?
She’s got the ‘grinning with her eyes closed’ going on right now.
Krona must be related to my fanily.
Our females keep closing their eyes, ruining 50% of family photographs. It’s now standard to shout “Open your eyes!” before taking family pictures.
Dabbler and Detla missing the party.
That’s not suspicious. Much.
I’m sure they’re in seperate places doing different things.
Dabbler will *not* miss a jump-out-of-the-cake opportunity. Detla is … well.. joining Dabbler because it’s an interesting surprise attack move?
Anvil: Wait ’till you see the cake!!
Max: I’m sure Dabbler is smearing the cake all over her breasts as we speak.
Dabbler: (shouting from other room) I’m smearing it on Detla’s breasts, thank you Little Miss Surprise Spoiler!!
Mmm, cheesecake.
Okay, you got me chuckling for almost a minute straight. Many blessings upon you Dave for the creativity, comedy, cheesecake and just sheer endurance you share with us!
What happened to being three steps ahead?
Dabbler isn’t missing. I see her ears behind Jiggawat.
That’s Frix’s elbow
No, I’m pretty sure that’s Cora. Hiding for some reason?
It’s not Frix’s elbow unless his arm is broken. And is that one of the Harems turned sideways to talk to somebody behind Jiggawatt? More likely Cora than Dabbler, though.
I just enlarged the photo. That IS Cora’s face.
Frix’s elbow?
I read the comic, and felt something was off.
Thought it was Maxima’s boobs being too small. But that wasn’t it.
First panel Max is wearing a t-shirt, but in last bit Max is now wearing a full sleave shirt.
Also I think her boobs are smaller than usual at the end
It was Ceiling Ninja Magic, not the Sealing Ninja Magic you’d expect.
Glen is the tailor/ninja…. it may not be past his abilities…
Also Lone Ninja -> Inverse Ninja rule applies, so, totally within his power
The sleeves got me, too. Think Dave will notice?
I think the boobs are a result of the angle and the way the shadows are being cast, coupled with the fact that Sydney is cutting off our view of how far they protrude from her side it makes for a fair optical illusion. If you go back to panel 1 and cover the left (from our perspective, not her’s) boob and stair for a minute or two so your eyes adjust you produce the same effect. Honestly, the fact that the art is consistent enough that the same optical illusion can be produced via external interference with one drawing as is observed as a consequent of other characters in another drawing is really impressive.
As for the sleeves, three possible explanations, either it’s a mistake, the fabric ninja did it, or she wasn’t wearing short sleeves in panel 1, but rather had her sleeves rolled up. Granted, in order for it to look like that they’d have to be rolled inwardly which is significantly more difficult than rolling them outwardly, but that also results in a much more stable roll and thus is more effective at keeping the sleeves at the height desired. Given how tight the short sleeves are on her shoulders and upper arms in panel 1 they could be rolled up, and if the material is particularly thin and she used a wide roll it might not be all that visible from the distance we are viewing it. That said, I doubt that’s the case, if the intent were to have rolled up sleeves that are later unrolled off panel I would imagine it would have been more clear that that is what we’re seeing, and my analysis of panel 1 isn’t so much that it looks like they are rolled so much as I can’t say for certain that they aren’t.
*stare, not stair. I’m kinda sleep deprived, wouldn’t usually make an error like that.
And if you were there personally in front of Max, you’d never make a blatant staring error again.
are you saying Psychie would ascend to a new level?
Max would take steps
She good at dealing with unwanted stairs.
Noticed this as well. Also the characters in this page don’t seem as Buff & Buxom compared to other pages. I wonder of they got another artist to do this.
I see Cora in the very background behind Jiggawatt and next to Frix. But she looks like she’s not drawn all the way? Is she trying to be invisible to double surprise Max and Sydney or something? Or is this some other blue-ish probably alien human with pink hair I don’t remember?
Her legs blend into the wall.
That’s what I’m saying, it looks like she’s hiding. I had to really zoom it in just to recognize that it was Cora.
I think Sidney should have made a Koala style grab onto Maxima in the last frame. accidental Boob grab.
“queue some size-comparison comments” Did you mean cue? I feel like adding comments to a list would be weird.
Why did the coloring change so suddenly?
No, “seamster” is not a word, the masculine conterpart to seamstress is tailor, and vice versa.
The word is “sempster” and it’s English. British English, but they’ll tell you that’s the only English there is.
sempster in British English
(ˈsɛmpstə) a man who sews; tailor.
Per Collins dictionary.
Not a word I’ve ever heard, and my folks were seriously pedantic.
Online Etymology ( https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=sempster ) goes with “seamster”, originally feminine, but with a late emphasis alteration (“-stress”).
Darn. I was hoping for some fanfic about the Seamsters Union auditions, since I love the ode to the Teamsters.
Maybe it should be actively disused like any other diminutive we use for women.
Why not call a tailor a tailor, a waiter a waiter, anactor an actor, ad infinitum?
Because in some cases, it is useful to know whether you’re dealing with a male or a female one. Different words only imply a better and a worse if you give them that additional meaning.
Even if a gun were a wand of cone of fear, targets will still get a saving throw to resist the spell. Using their save against rods, staves and wands, I assume.
From a UK perspective, a Lt Col if not in a staff post would be the Commanding Officer of a Regiment or Battalion sized formation, and would have a Captain as an Adjutant, which means in charge of discipline and pretty much a secretary!!
From a Canadian army perspective, the units are:
* Platoon, headed by a Lieutenant (1st or 2nd), with a Corporal or Master Corporal as the senior NCO. Consists of 20-50 soldiers.
* Company, headed by a Captain or Major, with a Sergeant as the senior NCO. Consist of 2-5 Platoons, but usually about 200 soldiers in a company.
* Battalion, headed by a Lt. Col, with a Warrant Officer as the senior NCO, who may referred to as Sergeant Major. Consists of 3-5 synergistic companies.
* Regiment, headed by a full Colonel, with a Master Warrant Officer as the senior NCO, who will be referred to as Regimental Sergeant Major. Consists of 2-5 battalions, which may be distributed at different bases and armouries.
* Brigade (sometimes called a Brigade Group), headed by a Brigadier General, with a Chief Warrant Officer as the senior NCO. Consists of 3-10 regiments; the larger brigades are mostly reserve regiments which usually have fewer soldiers than the regular-force regiments.
A brigade normally consists of thousands of soldiers, but Archon’s exceedingly high recruiting standards (Do you have super-human abilities?) and low recruitment levels mean that Archon is smaller than most companies, but more powerful than most regiments. Brigadier Faulk’s forces are pretty much as powerful as that of any other Brigadier General in the United States, as far as overall ability goes, especially considering Archon’s massive rapid deployment ability.
Lt. Col. Leander would normally be commanding a brigade, but may be recognized as commanding a regiment (she is more powerful than most regiments on her own), and Major Hiro is her 2IC. I think Master Sgt Anvil is her RSM.
Sydney is learning to control herself. Glen doesn’t have a concussion.
Hey at least she didn’t try to punch him. Remember when Dabbler surprised her when she first started….
I think Tailor has become the normal usage for that profession, either male or female.
The Wapsi Square comic has a custom bra designer employing lingerie ninjas
https://wapsisquare.com/comic/elite-bra-guard/
Don’t forget the French ninja waiters in Freefall
http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff1100/fv01077.htm
Where I have seen differentiation in terms, it’s been on grounds of ability level rather than gender – rather like the difference between a Chef and a mere Cook.
Please don’t categorically say that Glen won’t get his own story. Even if you don’t have plans, at least leave us some glimmer of hope.
Gotta admit “A day in the life of the fashion ninjas” would make decent filler strips.
They could even save the world in the event that a fashion-powered supervillain arises.
Sidney keeps NOT EXPECTING NINJAS.
She should ALWAYS be expecting ninjas.
You can never prove the absence of ninjas, only their direct prescence.
This is why you need to maintain CONSTANT VIGILANCE.
Krona looks REALLY uncanny with her eyes like that, are they closed or even… missing?
Her eyes are closed, that’s pretty normal. Her eyebrows are missing though.
Dabbler is hiding in the birthday cake and ready to pounce. Though how she convinced Delta to wheel it in is beyond me.
There’s probably a grizzled senior noncom generating a lot of the paperwork Maxima has to approve. Opportunity for someone like the Sergeant Major from We Were Soldiers to pop in and dispense the tribal wisdom.
Did Dave accidentally give us the Patreon-exclusive double resolution comic for free? Hot dang, that extra sharpness is gorgeous.
who is the black/mulatio chick on the far right?
That’s the sister cousin of sydneys crush
No, Olive was never that dark-skinned
Not sure why you’re so adamant that it isnt. Who do YOU think it is?
I know it’s a really touching moment but I can’t help but notice chrona’s face looks an awful lot like the creepy mannequins from way back lol!
Then there’s the big poster outside the women’s shower talking about the men and x ray vision and such. I’ll bet medic-engineer Frix can read big giant warning signs in plain language.
I swear i asked myself “wait who’s Glen? my memory is failing already?” just before I scroll the page down.
also, I’m with Sydney this special training sounds tremendously sus.
Can anyone understand what actually happened on the gun range?
Sydney had to have further training. She is (was?) still intimidated but also had to get used to the realities of carrying a sidearm on a daily basis. It’s a lot more complicated than just swaggering around with a big iron on your hip.
Sydney has a newfound respect for guns, after someone threatened to shoot her in the head at point-blank range.
Didn’t Sydney already get a make-up birthday party? They had cake pops, as I remember?
That was a welcome back party. I’m guessing this is Sydney’s biological birthday party, her physical body is now one year older.
Another great page. I especially like panel six where Sydney is very cute. Regarding your comment on LTC Maxima and aides. Not sure what you mean by that but she certainly has a full staff to handle routine business including keeping her on track for appointments, meetings an other executive level type stuff. Hmm, the basic unit in the Army to have what one would recognize a “staff” would be a Company typically commanded by a Captain (O3j. The Captains staff would typically consist of a Executive Officer (Lieutenant), First Sergeant, then you have the support staff/office workers – driver, company clerk, property NCO, several different positions depending on what type of position with ranks of Private to Staff Sergeant. A company size varies depending on its mission but typically runs to about 200 – 250 troops. The next unit up would be a Battalion consisting of about 3 to 6 Companies which is typically commanded by…a Lieutenant Colonel. The Battalion Commander has a correspondingly larger staff but regardless of his/her number one assistant “go to person” would be a Sergeant Major or Command Sergeant Major who eats Lieutenants for breakfast (heheheh). Seriously if Grrls is missing anything it would be a really badass CSM as Max’s side kick. Actually, Kenya/Anvil out of all the existing characters would most likely be a good candidate for CSM. But she’s a bit young and a Lieutenant anyway. Did you see Mel Gibson’s “We Were Soldiers”? If so think of Sergeant Major Plumley. Plumley, Speaking to his Battalion’s assorted officers…”If any of you sons of bitches call me ‘grandpaw’…I’ll kill you.” I shudder to think of a female version of CSM Plumley.
As to and Adjutant or XO, I’m thinking Hiro is probably closest fit….I think it was the “peel potato” comment a couple pages ago. Of course, one could then argue he sucks as a disciplinarian since the team members are pranking his shirts regularly. (OK, Dabs is excluded as it’s her nature to do that – queue opening for the nature argument again – and she’s a contractor). For the senior non-com, yah Anvil probably fits. We have seen her goading Sydney a few times when action is pending or training needs “focus”. I’m too lazy to go back and find the specific pages. Hey it’s a comic. You can all go reread it to find them. I know I will forget I’m looking for something and would end up just…. re-reading… again!
While Maxima would not likely have a personal aide, there are likely any number of civilian and/or military administrative personnel supporting the paperwork.
It is always safest to assume that any place you find yourself in contains at minimum one (1) hidden ninja at any given time.
With regard to paperwork. Forms must be filled out in quadruplicate. One copy to local files, one copy to command files, one copy to the fireproof vault, and the last copy to an offsite storage location in case there is a fire INSIDE the fireproof vault.
You should probably thank HR, Glen, if the tacked-on sign is any indication.
“X” is just off-camera to the right.
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/comic/grrl-power-107-dabblers-green-card-say-extra-super-super-skilled-alien/
She’s come a long way from booping them in the nose for being a poptart.
Dabbler. Offscreen. Nuff Said. Next voting incentive right there.
LtCols usually have Adjutants. Though I doubt this is well known outside of the military. Usually a Captain or some such.
With that said… Maxima is not your usually LtCol… I refer to Colonel Jack O’Neill of course (two l’s) as evidence. Rank here is probably prescribed more via pay than by what she has to do and accordingly to make sure she is shown the proper due respect. I’d call it a personal choice as to whether she gets a staff.
If this was realistic military, she’d be a Captain (possibly Major at most), but then she wouldn’t be spending much time in the field as she does now so… it wouldn’t make nearly as entertaining a read.
Continue with the Rule of Cool please :D.