A cute webcomic about fanservice, video games, and... love. Mostly video games, though.
Shaderunners
Alex Assan, Lin Darrow
A ragtag band of bootleggers open a speakeasy for bottled colour in the greyscale city of Ironwell.
2 Slices
RJ Morel
After a case of mistaken identity, will awkward Daisuke find help from excitable Mamo, or will his love life be thrown completely off track?
Guilded Age
T Campbell, John Waltrip, Florence Machina
Welcome to the saga of the working-class adventurer! Enjoy the complete story with new annotations daily!
Folklore
Adam Ma, Colin Tan Wei
A superhuman horror story focused on a small band of survivors trying to navigate a war-torn world in the aftermath of the Federation’s collapse.
Wychwood
Varethane
When Tiara's pyrokinesis is finally noticed, she is captured by a magical research organization for study. If she cooperates, she could be helping to save humanity from a dire threat - but can she trust them?
Paint the Town Red
Windy, Winter Jay Kiakas
Winona runs a werewolf shelter with partner in crime, Odile in the Gothic city of Merlot. One day they take in an injured vampire, and soon unravels many of the dark secrets of Merlot.
How to be a Werewolf
Shawn Lenore
Malaya Walters was bitten by a werewolf as a child. After being raised by her human family, she faces the chance to learn what being a werewolf is really like as an adult.
Star Trip
Gisele Weaver
Jas is a human taken from her home planet on a trip across the galaxy she will never forget.
Tove
Severin
The end of the world is coming, and Tove doesn't want to be a hero, but SOMEONE has to look after her little brother.
Clockwork
Chikuto
Cog Kleinschmidt is a diligent, quiet worker at the Mercia Fortress, the world power's leading stronghold. His orderly life is thrown into chaos when an enemy kingdom sends a diplomat for peace talks. This diplomat needs something from Cog - whether he agrees to their terms or not!
Monster Pulse
Magnolia Porter Siddell
Four kids run afoul of a creepy secret organization's experiments, which turn their body parts into fighting monsters. Part sentimental coming-of-age story, part monster-training shonen manga, with just a bit of sci-fi body horror.
Countdown to Countdown
Velinxi
Iris Black is a self-proclaimed inventor with the curious ability to bring his drawings to life, and yearns to find a space where he can use his powers freely.
El Goonish Shive
Dan Shive
WARNING: This comic often ignores the Laws of Physics
Go Get a Roomie
Clover
Experience the queer journey of an upbeat hippie and the friendships she makes along the way! A tale of self-discovery and love of many forms.
Come Hell or High Water
Jenny/Star, Mori
Prince Gladimir was never meant to fall for a pirate. Swearing off love for duty, the threat of war propels him back into the Captain’s world of high seas and high stakes. Their relationship could be the thing to save the kingdom of Yvoire - or destroy it.
The Witch Door
Anni K.
Katariina Lehto discovers her neighbor is a witch called Jousia Muotka. Jousia introduces Katariina to the strange people and places beyond the witch door...
MASKLESS
kickingshoes
In a world where people can wield the magic of elemental Masks, all Ashe wants to do is help. Maskless and useless, with dreams of fire and smoke on the back of his tongue, he finds himself on a strange, dangerous path to uncovering the secrets of these incredible objects, and the source of the monsters plaguing his home.
Atomic Robo
Brian Clevinger, Scott Wegener
The robot punches monsters and bad robots and one time he was a cowboy.
Girl Genius
Phil Foglio, Kaja Foglio
In a time when the Industrial Revolution has become an all-out war, Mad Science rules the World...with mixed success.
Anacrine Complex
Sae Cotton
A superhuman heist involving probably too many pigeons than entirely necessary.
Real Science Adventures
Brian Clevinger
Spin off stories and other adventures from the world of Atomic Robo!
The Otherknown
Lorian Merriman
Chandra is a 12-year-old accidental time traveler with a reluctant new dad, who happens to be a member of a feared galactic crime syndicate.
[un]Divine
Ayme
A highschool senior thought giving up his soul for a demon was a good idea. It wasn't.
Lighter Than Heir
Melissa Albino
A young Volant woman joins the military in an effort to upstage her war-hero father.
The Lonely Vincent Bellingham
Diana Huh
Vincent is an unkind man looking to disappear, and finds himself in the care of a vampire and her two wicked children.
Obelisk
Ashley McCammon
In 1908 New York, a young woman struggles to put her life back together in the wake of her father's death - until she discovers a vampire in the shambles of her inheritance.
Knights Errant
J.R. Doyle
Wilfrid's humble quest for revenge becomes bigger and bloodier by the day.
No End
Erli, Kromi
A queer romance about people attempting to build lives in a cold, post-apocalyptic world ravaged by hordes of undead.
Whomp!
Ronnie
A depressed, portly, hirsute anime fan stumbles through life in the ever-pursuit of chicken nuggets and other life-shortening indulgences.
Demon's Mirror
Harry Bogosian
Based loosely off of "The Snow Queen", a story by Hans Christian Andersen, we see things take a different turn as the demons become central characters, and the side characters stick around. Yup, that's the only differences. Enjoy!
Wilde Life
Pascalle Lepas
Oscar decided to rent an old haunted house, and that's when things got weird...
Demon Studies
Miyuli
Four students summon and study potentially dangerous demons within the walls of the mysterious Summerland University.
Sunshine Boy
Moosopp
New-kid Kelly is sweet but naive. Luckily, he's got his outgoing neighbor Grey in his corner.
Lunar Blight
Studio CARTRIDGE, Laura Lee
Lunar Blight is a gothic horror story about an elite knight serving a moon cult who must choose between upholding his honoured duty or condemning everything he’s grown to know.
Dumbing of Age
David M Willis
Joyce has been homeschooled her entire life until now, when she's suddenly a freshman in college! Things don't go well.
Awaken
Koti Saavedra/Flipfloppery
Superpowers, monsters and conspiracies. Piras, the spoiled Dameschi heir, fights to recover his identity after becoming a terrorist!
Drugs & Wires
Mary Safro, Io Black
Dan used to be a VR operator until his brain got fried by malware. Now he's stuck delivering packages in a post-Soviet hellhole all while trying to adjust to his new life and find some answers.
Killjoys
Flatw00ds
When two disgraced ex-feds fall backwards into trouble with the clown mafia, getting out in one piece is gonna be no joke!
Hazy London
Scotty
A story about messy relationships. From friendly foes to crazy families. Nothing is black and white, just full of color. But, all colors can get a little hazy...
Far to the North
Allison Shaw
Kelu turns to the monsters of her remote mountain home when her family is held hostage by outsiders.
Solstoria
Angelica Maria
After her brother goes missing, Samantha vows to become a Knight and help those around her in the Kingdom of St. Helena.
Empowered
Adam Warren
A sexy superhero comedy (except when it isn't) about the never-ending struggles of a plucky but very unlucky young superheroine.
Heart of Gold
Eliot Baum, Viv Tanner
A pianist with failing eyesight seeks out a priest with a miraculous healing touch, drawing him deeper into a world of miracles and curses.
Goblins
Ellipsis
A fantasy RPG as told through the eyes of the low-level monsters.
Spinnerette
Krazy Krow, Rocio Zucchi, Pablo Rey
When a lab accident gives Heather Brown spider powers and six arms, she does what any midwest comic geek would do: Become Ohio's #3 superhero!
Sam & Fuzzy
Sam Logan
Troubled by gangster rodents, lovesick vampire stalkers, or confused ninja assassins? Don't panic! Sam and Fuzzy are here to help. (For a reasonable fee.)
Between Failures
Jackie Wohlenhaus
The low stakes adventures of an assorted group of 20 somethings trapped in the declining years of American retail. They are naughty and say lots of swears.
Patrik the Vampire
Bree Paulsen
Patrik loves to knit, bake, and help his friends while dealing with his own demons... like his thirst for blood because, oh yeah--he's a vampire.
Fairmeadow
Kendra P. / KP
A wayward soldier finds herself in a pacifist commune deep in the wilderness of a war-weary land. Living in isolation brings her closer to those she was sworn to kill than she could ever imagine - but also threatens to tear the place apart.
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Not really. If you look at it, this is Amber going a little sane. The point of Amazi-girl is that she doesn’t and ideally won’t react with unchecked violence like Amber did.
You speak like a Human who never had the pleasure of meeting Cyclonus or Whirl. I can say from personal experience, as Cyclonus’ shipmate, his bartender, and his roommate’s best friend, that Cyclonus worries me a great deal, despite never having been a Decepticon. Ever. He makes a point of emphasizes that a lot, which is impressive for a ‘Bot who believes excessive speech is blasphemous. (He gets along just great with me, thanks for asking. I attribute it to Tailgate, who’s always telling Cyclonus how great I am.)
And then there’s Whirl. That ‘Bot has seriously crossed wires in his head. Probably a result of undergoing Empurata and all that. I’m totally sympathetic to the fact that Whirl suffered greatly, but a) that was millions of stellar cycles ago, and b) why does he have to take it out on my bar! I heard he was even kicked out of the Wreckers for some unfathomable crime, and I can fathom quite a few crimes that Whirl’s committed.
I guess my point is that for all that we Autobots like to brag about how heroic we are compared to the “Evil Decepticons”, we had more than our fair share of lunatics and war criminals. Like Tyrest. Or Whirl. Or Flame. Or Whirl. Or Impactor. Or Whirl. I think you can see where I’m going with this.
So maybe Amber needs to stop looking at the universe in a binary fashion. Cyclonus wasn’t a ‘Con, but everyone assumes he was because some Humans shot their mouths off. He’s just a very devout, very patriotic soldier, who likes to sing. A lot. In the Primal Vernacular, which sounds like a turbofox being fed into a smelting pool. And Whirl is still an Autobot, but his behavior before, during and after the war was and is horrifying (and remember, I’m the closest thing Whirl has to a friend, now that none of the Wreckers will speak to him!). And scuttlebutt around “The Lost Light” says that Megatron himself has become an Autobot (and will bej oining the crew of “The Lost Light”!). If Megatron could pull a 180, learn the Autobot Code and become a better robot, then there’s definitely hope for Amber. I mean, hey, all she’s done is stab a girl through the hand, resist arrest, commit breaking and entering, vandalism, and assault and battery! Whirl would call that a good start to his day!
One of my favorite lines from the late ’90s Nightwing comic is when Nightwing and Robin (Tim Drake) are talking about Batman retiring someday:
Robin: “Retire? And what, be Bruce Wayne all day? He doesn’t even LIKE Bruce Wayne.”
Bruce: Second, the voice kept calling me “Bruce.” In my mind, that’s not what I call myself.
Terry: What do you call yourself?
[beat]
Terry: Oh, yeah. I suppose you would. But that’s my name now.
Bruce: Tell that to my subconscious.
That’s only because Bruce is lazy/Batman’s a selfish-ass. Bruce is sitting on a giant pile of money. If Batman stayed as Bruce all the time he could actually run his company and contribute to philanthropic projects. Plus there wouldn’t be Batman anymore, and you know what that means: Superman can come back into Gotham.
Put on a supervillian suit and go defend Sal! And then when you get there and find Danny there, strap him into a deathtrap for no coherent reason, because Danny.
What do you mean??? There’s…. Hmm. Okay, wait. Gimme a moment. I’ve got this.
There’s… Dina? Okay, no, she’s a bit odd. Amber when she’s normal? Okay, yes, but the caveat puts a dent in that. There’s… um… well… My avatar? He’s at least saner than his pseudo-Cockney ex. Maybe Dorothy? She may be deluded, but she’s not necessarily insane — except she’s dating Walky. Okay. She’s insane.
Oh god. Other than Joe, the only sane one is Danny. Who is boneheadedly stupid, but not insane.
I think I read that fanfic.
..there probably actually is a fic of that. Huh. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be bleaching the part of my brain responsible for that mental image.
We got the same problem in my neighborhood! Except now we got an anti-art villain who runs around tackles the graffiti artists and then uses their spray paint to draw on their bodies. This guy or gal also shoves a soap bar in their mouths which the cops assume he or she does it because the graffiti artist is cursing during the attack.
Yeah, I get that she doesn’t want to go and start stabbing people without cause. That is never good. But is she trying to warn Ethan that “the girl” (since let’s face it Amber never learned Sal’s name, so let’s call Sal “the girl”, cool?) is a student on campus and that he should be careful of “the girl”, or is Amber trying to warn Ethan that she’s terrified she’ll resort to violence against “the girl” and wants Ethan to help her avoid that. Y’know how Bruce Banner had Rick Jones lock him up back in the old days when he turned into the Hulk when the sun set? (Yes, that was a thing, look it up!) Maybe, in her subconscious Amber wants Ethan to get her help, or to even go tell the school administration about what she’s doing. Y’know, like how Rick Jones blabbed about Bruce Banner being the Hulk to Major Glenn Talbott? Man, why would anyone take that kid on as a sidekick? Okay Captain Mar-Vell and Genis Vell didn’t have a choice, but Rom? Rom could have done much better. Rom should have gotten Kitty Pryde for a sidekick. Imagine the stories: the Galadorian Space Knight and the Ashkenazi Kuniochi! They could battle Dire Wraiths and the Red Skull! That should have been a thing.
Amber is more messed up then we had realized. Now I want more in depth arcs for characters all around. For that matter, why is Roz still a slut? why wouldn’t she want to outshine her sister, rather than try to tarnish the family name?
Can we not act like there’s a good reason to use that word at all? Maybe you would call Joe a slut, but most of the time people don’t apply that word to guys. Regardless, even if you would call both Roz and Joe ‘sluts’ that doesn’t erase the connotations of the word. Roz will suffer much more from being labeled a ‘slut’ than Joe. That’s kind of the nature of the word.
Aside from general misogyny, the reason you have the term slut being used and don’t see the term male-slut or some equivalent expression specific to the male gender used is that once you’ve said male, the rest is, generally speaking, redundant.
Maybe you’re thinking about it the wrong way. Robin, while in a position of political power, seems to be a bit repressed in terms of expressing her sexuality. Roz, on the other hand, has no problem with that at all, nor expresses any shame in doing so, regardless of what you and others might think of her actions.
Also, it’s less about “tarnishing the family name” and more about “not wanting to be used as a political piece to advocate a stance she clearly doesn’t support”. Roz is being her own person to spite her sister’s attempt at controlling her, while Robin is manipulating her own identity and values in order to gain votes and stay in power. I’d personally say that Roz already has outshined Robin, in her own way.
Can I upvote ninja_jesus’ comment? I want to upvote that comment.
Also Kelly’s comment. ‘Slut’ is a pejorative term that implies that enjoying sex is bad somehow, and that’s messed up. The fact that it’s more often used to describe women rather than men is also messed up. Women (and other people) should be allowed to enjoy having sex.
I think that the term “slut” should be preserved for a person who is in a monogamous relationship that is discovered to have been sexually active with other people. <_< That, to me, seems like a justified use of the word.
Because being honest with your sexual desires is a good thing, and Roz absolutely sees it that way (to a degree which borders on recklessness, in her particular case). Even if she does want to “outshine” her sister, for Roz, having lots of sex is an indispensible component of that.
Why leave out the door when leaving out the window gives the viewer a nice view of her toned buttocks?
My name is ShaggyDonahugh, and I approve this message. And the nickel Amber’s mom gave me.
Huh. This is actually the first time I’ve considered what Sal’s reaction would be if Amber confronted her. Or, you know, if she ran into Amazi-Girl while sneaking in through windows. As in, ‘Wait, you’re the crazy bongo due to whom I wear gloves all the time???’
Yeah… Amber kind of crossed that line between funny college vigilante and mentally unstable danger to the community. like she needs some time in a psych ward.
Hey guys… remember that Robot Chicken episode with Calvin & Hobbes, and you see Calvin, like, murder other characters form the comic and get locked up, only he has retreated so far into his imaginary world that he thinks he is on Mars, and mars is awesome?
Now, I THINK I remember Willis saying that people are not going to die in this strip, so it is unlikely that Amber will kill Sal (who knows?). But do you think that she might go so far over the deep end that, when the authorities come to take her way, she somehow sees herself as a victorious, beloved super hero?
Nah, given that Willis wants this to run forever and ever and ever and ever, even unto the heat death of the universe. He won’t go that far. (also he doesn’t write for DC)
He doesn’t have to keep it running forever. He just has to keep it running for two more weeks of strip-time and he’ll be collecting his pension before it gets to that stage.
While Amber still greatly disturbs me I think it could be very beneficial to both her and Sal for the two of them to just talk. I’d like to see Sal faced with some reprecussions of what she did. Something she can’t just brush off onto parental favoritism and her brother.
Or she could say “bongo, you stabbed me, I don’t give two shit’s about your mental state”. Which is probably what I’d say. But then I’m kind of a jerk.
I feel like there’s a bit of weird magnitude whiplash in the story now that Willis has kind of lost control of the threads and let some wander off into soap-opera territory again.
When most of the characters are worrying about frustrating but ultimately pretty inevitably-resolved and relatable identity issues (the decision to be “out” or not, balancing religion against reality), having one character’s arc be the realization that she’s an outright psychopath and that she’s gradually losing the self-control fight that keeps her from slipping into serial killer territory is a bit… much.
I’m hoping he manages to reel in/scale back Amber’s arc at some point so that we don’t end up with everything wandering off into magical realism like his other strips.
Although, strictly speaking, neither Sociopathy or psychopathy are recognized medical condition. Both terms are merely aspects of the DSM’s definition of Antisocial Personality Disorder.
Yeah. Dissociative disorder fits Amber better than antisocial personality characteristics. The compartmentalization as a defense mechanism is classic. I’m not sure if she’s slipping further into it or struggling to come to terms with herself as an undivided self.
Yeah, um, Amber is hardly about to “slip into serial killer territory”. She’s angry and she wants to confront someone, but that’s *because of her father*, whom we know is an emotional abuser. Yeah, she’s not exactly rational right now, but she’s always been violent and vigilante – it’s just, she’s channelled all that through Amazi-Girl and fighting the good fight, and probably beating her opponents at Nintendo games. Now she’s going through some trauma, which =/= “serial killer mode”.
I have to ask: getting stabbed through the hand doesn’t count as repercussions? (Leaving aside the whole jail and convent-school-in-Tennessee-that-for-some-reason-stole-its-uniform-from-Canada side of things.)
Nope. She just slaps some gloves on and doesn’t deal with it. We’ve seen no indication she feels bad about what she did, no indication she cares she hurt other people. So far it’s been all about her and her issues and blaming other people, whether she has a point or not about her parents favoring her brother is besides the point.
So your just assuming Sal hasn’t faced any repercussions because we haven’t seen any yet? We haven’t exactly gotten Sal’s side of the story yet, so I’d slow down a little in your condemnation of her.
Hey guys, I wanna apologize for all the trolling the last couple of years. I honestly don’t know why I did it, except to be a bastard. Odd thing is, I don’t do it anywhere else.
I might be misunderstanding this strip or something, but I got the distinct impression that she didn’t want revenge. That she doesn’t want Sal to see her at all, ever.
If she wears the mask she won’t look like herself and since she’s in character, so to speak, she won’t be the same weak little girl that felt completely frozen and helpless like she was then. Well, up until her asshole father basically bullied her in to attacking Sal after she was unarmed, defenseless, and pretty much in custody. But I’m sure she felt helpless even then.
Anyway, I thought she was slipping in to Amazi-Girl’s persona and attempting to completely abandon her own because Amber wants to hide from Sal and to not be recognized by her. I figured she was feeling like she could either hide in her room all the time feeling alone, helpless, scared or she could slip in to being Amazi-Girl and still hide from Sal, but without those helpless, scared feelings.
Also, Amber uses the mask to keep her rage/violence/emotions in check. I think she wears the mask so that she never goes out of control like she did when she stabbed Sal, and maybe as a way to atone for it. That’s why it was so devastating for her when she beat the shit out of Blaine, and why she slipped from Amazigirl to Amber halfway through the beatdown. Amber definitely doesn’t want to fight Sal, I just hope she has the self-control not too.
Sal liked it because when you wanna escape the best way go is the window, because whether it’s the first floor or the third floor windows are not an exit.
Amber/AG goes to confront Sal. Danny shows up to bring the charger or check the math. Danny tries to stop things and gets stabbed/hurt by Amber/AG. Defecation hits the rotating air movement device…
You forget: Amber isn’t us, and actually LIKES Danny. She would not like stabbing Danny, and might lose her last grip on sanity. Whether she goes completely psycho or curls up into a ball is still up for debate.
Amber will complete the stigmata on Sal’s other hand, thus ushering in Third Impact and a world where the difference between Amazi-Girl and Amber is completely irrelevant.
More Danny hate. I thought we got over that a few strips ago. I admit I’m not a *fan* of Danny, but still, he’s just slow, a little stupid and neglected as a child.
Also Nietzsche: Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.
I’m now actually left wondering what would occur if Ethan tracked Sal down himself, before Amber did. ‘Huh, hey. Seven years ago you held a knife to my throat. Wanna talk ’bout Transformers?’
“Oh, by the way, my ex-girlfriend is here also, and she’s the girl who stabbed you. She hasn’t grown past that yet, so you might want to be a leetle careful around her.”
It’s not often that I get to see a superhero beaten like the drum we only allow into the house because of contractual obligation, not love or even a simulacrum of an emotional connection, due to a mistake that the drum made when it was younger.
That is exactly what I needed to start my week and ensure that I don’t go out an kill my Drum if he can’t pay back the money I lent him.
For all the other possibilities, I’m really hoping we get a cathartic confrontation, rather than a violent one. Whether that starts with aggression or an apology, it could be solid either way – but it’d be a pretty satisfying way to resolve Amber’s current arc.
This is in no way motivated by my desire to see Amber and Sal as the most confusing of all possible bros.
Considering that Amber as she was then stabbed Sal in the hand, her not wanting to be then-Amber could be either a good sign or a really, really dark one, I think. Amber’s recent trajectory is not encouraging me to be positive.
I think if anyone is on a fast track to jail (or a padded cell) it’s Amber. That girl should’ve been in therapy this whole time, *not* putting on a super hero outfit.
Sal would make the greatest nemesis for Amazigirl. Apparently they both have mad ninja skills. Sal is basically the antithesis of Amber. It would be perfect
Two titans shall meet in an epic battle that will cause the earth to shake and the skies to darken. The audience will be forgotten and their welfare unheeded. Their fate sealed by their proximity to the affairs of dragons-until one intercedes to stop this mighty conflagration-Danny. Will Amber recognize it as an appeal to her innate humanity, or as a betrayal and siding with Sal? Will Danny be hurt,maimed, killed in the attempt? Will Amber’s depleted sanity be destroyed utterly leaving her a mere husk of her current damaged self? Tune in next time to learn—oh…no it’ll be at least a couple of more strips ’cause Willis is a dick.
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Fight of the Century
No, that would be Epic Hatefucks
[you suckers reading this instead of that!]
Not interested in het!
So. Amber.
going a little crazy aren’t ya?
Not really. If you look at it, this is Amber going a little sane. The point of Amazi-girl is that she doesn’t and ideally won’t react with unchecked violence like Amber did.
Yeah, like with her dad.
Wait a minute…
That wasn’t Amazi-Girl. Check the tags. The hovertext even points that out.
I didn’t even notice that before. Touche David Willis. Touche.
Clever batman symbolism.
Also clever Transformer symbolism.
The question is, Autobot or Decepticon? She’s worrying me.
I think that’s the point.
You speak like a Human who never had the pleasure of meeting Cyclonus or Whirl. I can say from personal experience, as Cyclonus’ shipmate, his bartender, and his roommate’s best friend, that Cyclonus worries me a great deal, despite never having been a Decepticon. Ever. He makes a point of emphasizes that a lot, which is impressive for a ‘Bot who believes excessive speech is blasphemous. (He gets along just great with me, thanks for asking. I attribute it to Tailgate, who’s always telling Cyclonus how great I am.)
And then there’s Whirl. That ‘Bot has seriously crossed wires in his head. Probably a result of undergoing Empurata and all that. I’m totally sympathetic to the fact that Whirl suffered greatly, but a) that was millions of stellar cycles ago, and b) why does he have to take it out on my bar! I heard he was even kicked out of the Wreckers for some unfathomable crime, and I can fathom quite a few crimes that Whirl’s committed.
I guess my point is that for all that we Autobots like to brag about how heroic we are compared to the “Evil Decepticons”, we had more than our fair share of lunatics and war criminals. Like Tyrest. Or Whirl. Or Flame. Or Whirl. Or Impactor. Or Whirl. I think you can see where I’m going with this.
So maybe Amber needs to stop looking at the universe in a binary fashion. Cyclonus wasn’t a ‘Con, but everyone assumes he was because some Humans shot their mouths off. He’s just a very devout, very patriotic soldier, who likes to sing. A lot. In the Primal Vernacular, which sounds like a turbofox being fed into a smelting pool. And Whirl is still an Autobot, but his behavior before, during and after the war was and is horrifying (and remember, I’m the closest thing Whirl has to a friend, now that none of the Wreckers will speak to him!). And scuttlebutt around “The Lost Light” says that Megatron himself has become an Autobot (and will bej oining the crew of “The Lost Light”!). If Megatron could pull a 180, learn the Autobot Code and become a better robot, then there’s definitely hope for Amber. I mean, hey, all she’s done is stab a girl through the hand, resist arrest, commit breaking and entering, vandalism, and assault and battery! Whirl would call that a good start to his day!
I thought it was established that she’s Prowl.
Does Batman dislike Bruce Wayne?
There isn’t any Bruce Wayne. He’s just a costume that Batman sometimes wears.
Somehow in my head this reads like a Chuck Norris joke.
Bruce Wayne is a pansy. Batman would kill him if he could.
Batman doesn’t kill, except that one time.
Just like Hulk hates bruce banner, but what is Hulk going to do If he gets out of line, Hit himself? ya Good luck with that.
One of my favorite lines from the late ’90s Nightwing comic is when Nightwing and Robin (Tim Drake) are talking about Batman retiring someday:
Robin: “Retire? And what, be Bruce Wayne all day? He doesn’t even LIKE Bruce Wayne.”
Terry: Trust me, he even dreads calling ME Batman.
Bruce: Second, the voice kept calling me “Bruce.” In my mind, that’s not what I call myself.
Terry: What do you call yourself?
[beat]
Terry: Oh, yeah. I suppose you would. But that’s my name now.
Bruce: Tell that to my subconscious.
Of course. Bruce Wayne lazes around all day, not really DOING ANYTHING to help Gotham. Batman is better than that.
That’s only because Bruce is lazy/Batman’s a selfish-ass. Bruce is sitting on a giant pile of money. If Batman stayed as Bruce all the time he could actually run his company and contribute to philanthropic projects. Plus there wouldn’t be Batman anymore, and you know what that means: Superman can come back into Gotham.
But then he wouldn’t be able/allowed to personally beat up criminals. Which is what really matters.
Poor Amber. Maybe poor Sal. Do something now Ethan.
Put on a supervillian suit and go defend Sal! And then when you get there and find Danny there, strap him into a deathtrap for no coherent reason, because Danny.
That would only make Amber worse. And Sal wouldn’t care.
So. The perfect plan then?
Jeez, she really needs to spend more time with Ethan. He’s the only sane person at this school.
Spending that much time with Joyce will erode his SAN score soon enough.
Yeah, especially if she keeps bringing up “Strap-Ons.”
Ohhhhh right, I totally forgot about him and Joyce. Okay, there’s no one really sane left at this school.
Sanity is for the weak!
Sanity is over-rated.
Mike, Sarah, Joe, and the-girl-who-goes-barefoot-who-I-forgot-the-name-of-and-isn’t-on-the-cast-page are all good candidates for still sane students.
Cierra
Sierra. Like the old computer game company!
(And the mountain range. Whatever.)
You forgot Jacob.
Reread his interaction with Sarah carefully.
Yeah but he’s still kinda being a collosal dick.
Not in this strip but just in general
I think he’s only sane when it comes with regard to Amber’s well being, due to him having known her for so long…
No, he’s just not crazy in quite the same way that Amber is.
But I agree they should hang out more. It’d help both of them with their particular forms of crazy.
That’s the point of friends. If you get enough crazy together, it points in opposite directions and cancels out.
Or it all points in the same direction and you ascend to crazy awesome.
Amber and Ethan are beneficial to each other but harmful to others.
The thing with Amber and thing with Joyce &Ethan are two separate ticking time bombs not a good Idea to bring them both together again
What do you mean??? There’s…. Hmm. Okay, wait. Gimme a moment. I’ve got this.
There’s… Dina? Okay, no, she’s a bit odd. Amber when she’s normal? Okay, yes, but the caveat puts a dent in that. There’s… um… well… My avatar? He’s at least saner than his pseudo-Cockney ex. Maybe Dorothy? She may be deluded, but she’s not necessarily insane — except she’s dating Walky. Okay. She’s insane.
Oh god. Other than Joe, the only sane one is Danny. Who is boneheadedly stupid, but not insane.
This is why I prefer insanity.
Roz is sane.
Oh yeah, the guy who decided to change his sexuality because of SANDWICHES is real sane.
Yeah, the sandwhiches were totally the real reason, not any of the other things he whined about around that time, it’s just the sandwhiches.
Without the rest of the costume, it just looks like she’s a big fan of Leonardo the Ninja Turtle.
Which makes it great for hiding her identity, as everyone knows Amber is a Donatello fan.
It’s not impossible that she likes both turtles.
In that way.
I think I read that fanfic.
..there probably actually is a fic of that. Huh. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be bleaching the part of my brain responsible for that mental image.
There is fanfic of that. And Amber probably wrote some of it.
TheOtherDibbler —
There’s another one besides CMOT Dibbler?
Way more than one. They’re discussed in, I think, The Last Continent.
At least one shows up in Interesting Times as well.
Who do you think writes all the tabloid stories?
Turtle Power!
Oh…well, Shits about to go down!
This is why I go to art school. Too many vigilantes at universities.
That doesn’t mean you won’t have any villain’s there, like if someone is running around defacing art calling himself graffiti master.
Actually, it’s a little known fact that art schools have, in place of vigilantes, murderous catfolk.
Did someone call for murderous catgirls?
http://somethingpositive.net/sp11182008.shtml
We got the same problem in my neighborhood! Except now we got an anti-art villain who runs around tackles the graffiti artists and then uses their spray paint to draw on their bodies. This guy or gal also shoves a soap bar in their mouths which the cops assume he or she does it because the graffiti artist is cursing during the attack.
The Justice League should contact him/her.
Hoo damn, it’s getting heavy in here.
Does this mean that AG wants to finish Sal off with some more stabbing?
I wouldn’t worry. Sal’s tough. I think she could match Amber since the latter is off her game and reckless.
i’m pretty sure the point of this strip is that she wants the exact opposite
Does she want to extend an olive branch?
But Amber never gets what she wants. Therefore, Sal is gonna get completely stabbed. It’s canon, folks.
I don’t suppose you mean that its going to end up as an AG VS Amber fight ala Superman III by any chance? :O
Willis, you mean Amber wants to be stabbed by Sal? That doesn’t sound right.
No, she wants to stab a knife with Sal.
Yeah, but what do you know?
You mean she wants Sal to stab her with a knife? Or, you know, something other than a knife?
Sorry, did I just spoil your next Slipshine?
Well now we know where Joyce gets her strap-on from.
She wants to begin Sal with some not-stabbing?
How would you know?
Yeah, I get that she doesn’t want to go and start stabbing people without cause. That is never good. But is she trying to warn Ethan that “the girl” (since let’s face it Amber never learned Sal’s name, so let’s call Sal “the girl”, cool?) is a student on campus and that he should be careful of “the girl”, or is Amber trying to warn Ethan that she’s terrified she’ll resort to violence against “the girl” and wants Ethan to help her avoid that. Y’know how Bruce Banner had Rick Jones lock him up back in the old days when he turned into the Hulk when the sun set? (Yes, that was a thing, look it up!) Maybe, in her subconscious Amber wants Ethan to get her help, or to even go tell the school administration about what she’s doing. Y’know, like how Rick Jones blabbed about Bruce Banner being the Hulk to Major Glenn Talbott? Man, why would anyone take that kid on as a sidekick? Okay Captain Mar-Vell and Genis Vell didn’t have a choice, but Rom? Rom could have done much better. Rom should have gotten Kitty Pryde for a sidekick. Imagine the stories: the Galadorian Space Knight and the Ashkenazi Kuniochi! They could battle Dire Wraiths and the Red Skull! That should have been a thing.
Amber is more messed up then we had realized. Now I want more in depth arcs for characters all around. For that matter, why is Roz still a slut? why wouldn’t she want to outshine her sister, rather than try to tarnish the family name?
Why outshine her when you can slipshine her?
Roz on slipshine would either be an orgy or a “how many people can I screw in a day” slice-of-life story.
Why do you think liking sex and having a lot of it makes her a slut? Do you call Joe a slut?
If Joe wasn’t too fussy with whom he would sleep with, then yeah, that would qualify Joe as a slut.
Can we not act like there’s a good reason to use that word at all? Maybe you would call Joe a slut, but most of the time people don’t apply that word to guys. Regardless, even if you would call both Roz and Joe ‘sluts’ that doesn’t erase the connotations of the word. Roz will suffer much more from being labeled a ‘slut’ than Joe. That’s kind of the nature of the word.
Aside from general misogyny, the reason you have the term slut being used and don’t see the term male-slut or some equivalent expression specific to the male gender used is that once you’ve said male, the rest is, generally speaking, redundant.
You know it’s true.
I really, really, don’t.
Please tell me you knew who your avatar was before you posted that.
Maybe you’re thinking about it the wrong way. Robin, while in a position of political power, seems to be a bit repressed in terms of expressing her sexuality. Roz, on the other hand, has no problem with that at all, nor expresses any shame in doing so, regardless of what you and others might think of her actions.
Also, it’s less about “tarnishing the family name” and more about “not wanting to be used as a political piece to advocate a stance she clearly doesn’t support”. Roz is being her own person to spite her sister’s attempt at controlling her, while Robin is manipulating her own identity and values in order to gain votes and stay in power. I’d personally say that Roz already has outshined Robin, in her own way.
Can I upvote ninja_jesus’ comment? I want to upvote that comment.
Also Kelly’s comment. ‘Slut’ is a pejorative term that implies that enjoying sex is bad somehow, and that’s messed up. The fact that it’s more often used to describe women rather than men is also messed up. Women (and other people) should be allowed to enjoy having sex.
I think that the term “slut” should be preserved for a person who is in a monogamous relationship that is discovered to have been sexually active with other people. <_< That, to me, seems like a justified use of the word.
Or we could use terms like ‘cheater’ or ‘asshole’, which do not (as far as I know) have a long history of being used as a sexist attack against women.
Why is Roz a slut? I dunno, why are you ignorant of the jerky implications of your words?
wowww, god forbid Roz enjoy having casual sex. Nah, she’s ‘tarnishing the family name’.
Because being honest with your sexual desires is a good thing, and Roz absolutely sees it that way (to a degree which borders on recklessness, in her particular case). Even if she does want to “outshine” her sister, for Roz, having lots of sex is an indispensible component of that.
Why leave out the door when leaving out the window gives the viewer a nice view of her toned buttocks?
My name is ShaggyDonahugh, and I approve this message. And the nickel Amber’s mom gave me.
Amber you have a problem. Do we need to arrange an intervention?
The Deep End: Amber has gone off it.
The first thing to go is a bit of sanity.
The second is breaking character…
But the deep ends is the fun end of the pool!
Amber, you can’t leave yet! He’s still watching you! Quick, point out some monkeys!
Or a demonic duck.
http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=726
Gonna have to call an amber-lance after the fight.
The world was dominated by Chromatic Ambers, until the gods granted a heroic knight the Amberlance.
And ever after that, they called the place … the Amber Lands.
Hopefully Amber Lamps will be there.
That is some superhero level angst.
I can see a comic where AG and Billie join up to STAB THE WORLD!
Face her? Amber you freaking STABBED her.
Amber vs Sal knife fight rematch.
It’s a knife fight if both sides have knives. If only one side has a knife than it’s just a stabbing.
There is wisdom in this statement.
Huh. This is actually the first time I’ve considered what Sal’s reaction would be if Amber confronted her. Or, you know, if she ran into Amazi-Girl while sneaking in through windows. As in, ‘Wait, you’re the crazy bongo due to whom I wear gloves all the time???’
I don’t think Sal would ever say “whom”. Not that she shouldn’t, we need “whom”!
I think Sal would have a visceral reaction to someone using the word “whom”.
*reads alt text*
She can’t take the mask off!
Not while she’s cosplaying as Leonardo…
Man I don’t know if that helped or made things worse.
Yeah… Amber kind of crossed that line between funny college vigilante and mentally unstable danger to the community. like she needs some time in a psych ward.
I wonder if Ethan has that GI Joe poster with Road Block hanging in his room.
Hey guys… remember that Robot Chicken episode with Calvin & Hobbes, and you see Calvin, like, murder other characters form the comic and get locked up, only he has retreated so far into his imaginary world that he thinks he is on Mars, and mars is awesome?
Now, I THINK I remember Willis saying that people are not going to die in this strip, so it is unlikely that Amber will kill Sal (who knows?). But do you think that she might go so far over the deep end that, when the authorities come to take her way, she somehow sees herself as a victorious, beloved super hero?
“Mars is awesome!”
Nah, given that Willis wants this to run forever and ever and ever and ever, even unto the heat death of the universe. He won’t go that far. (also he doesn’t write for DC)
He doesn’t have to keep it running forever. He just has to keep it running for two more weeks of strip-time and he’ll be collecting his pension before it gets to that stage.
Do web-comics have pensions?
It’s called “Kickstarter”
“Everything is awesome”
Crap, now I have that song running through my head, again.
Amber’s been giving off a strange mixture of emo and crazy recently.
“I’ve been waiting for years for this! Real mental illness!”
While Amber still greatly disturbs me I think it could be very beneficial to both her and Sal for the two of them to just talk. I’d like to see Sal faced with some reprecussions of what she did. Something she can’t just brush off onto parental favoritism and her brother.
Or she could say “bongo, you stabbed me, I don’t give two shit’s about your mental state”. Which is probably what I’d say. But then I’m kind of a jerk.
No I’d say it too
Tell me you knew that was your Gravatar
A fight could also be beneficial. Especially if Amazi-Girl loses. Amber needs to lose her dependency on it.
I can see it all now, how its going to go down.
Amber: so, we meet again
Sal: wait am aH supposed to know ya?
Amber: drop the act .
Sal: seriously gal ah don’t know who the hell ya are.
Amber:seriously!
Sal: wait know Ah recognize ya, ya that Amzi-gal in the the newspaper you rock.
Sal: “Ahm lakh your biggest fan!”
Amber: “You held my boyfriend hostage! Prepare to pay!”
Sal: “Oh man, that? Ahm so sorry, ah was really angry and lashed out at the wrong peeps. Ah really hope he’s okay naw.”
Amber: “…work with me here.”
Sal: “Gettin’ stabbed in mah hand really taught me that mah actions affect other peeps. Ah try to be ah much better person naw.”
Amber: “…aaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!”
(Note: I cannot do Sal’s accent, like, at all.)
You do it better than me kid
I feel like there’s a bit of weird magnitude whiplash in the story now that Willis has kind of lost control of the threads and let some wander off into soap-opera territory again.
When most of the characters are worrying about frustrating but ultimately pretty inevitably-resolved and relatable identity issues (the decision to be “out” or not, balancing religion against reality), having one character’s arc be the realization that she’s an outright psychopath and that she’s gradually losing the self-control fight that keeps her from slipping into serial killer territory is a bit… much.
I’m hoping he manages to reel in/scale back Amber’s arc at some point so that we don’t end up with everything wandering off into magical realism like his other strips.
I don’t think you know what the word psychopath means.
To be fair, most people don’t.
Nor does he seem to know what magical realism is.
Although, strictly speaking, neither Sociopathy or psychopathy are recognized medical condition. Both terms are merely aspects of the DSM’s definition of Antisocial Personality Disorder.
Yeah. Dissociative disorder fits Amber better than antisocial personality characteristics. The compartmentalization as a defense mechanism is classic. I’m not sure if she’s slipping further into it or struggling to come to terms with herself as an undivided self.
Yeah, um, Amber is hardly about to “slip into serial killer territory”. She’s angry and she wants to confront someone, but that’s *because of her father*, whom we know is an emotional abuser. Yeah, she’s not exactly rational right now, but she’s always been violent and vigilante – it’s just, she’s channelled all that through Amazi-Girl and fighting the good fight, and probably beating her opponents at Nintendo games. Now she’s going through some trauma, which =/= “serial killer mode”.
I have to ask: getting stabbed through the hand doesn’t count as repercussions? (Leaving aside the whole jail and convent-school-in-Tennessee-that-for-some-reason-stole-its-uniform-from-Canada side of things.)
Nope. She just slaps some gloves on and doesn’t deal with it. We’ve seen no indication she feels bad about what she did, no indication she cares she hurt other people. So far it’s been all about her and her issues and blaming other people, whether she has a point or not about her parents favoring her brother is besides the point.
So your just assuming Sal hasn’t faced any repercussions because we haven’t seen any yet? We haven’t exactly gotten Sal’s side of the story yet, so I’d slow down a little in your condemnation of her.
Hey guys, I wanna apologize for all the trolling the last couple of years. I honestly don’t know why I did it, except to be a bastard. Odd thing is, I don’t do it anywhere else.
Uh… kill Danny?
Yeah!!!! It’s Danny’s fault! LET’S GET HIM.
How DARE you lend her Mario Kart.
Actually he did his copy of Mario Kart a favor by sparing it from further mediocre gameplay at his hands.
It’s okay, Ridureyu. None of us noticed.
I noticed! Heck, one of his threads inspired my first comment!
So he does have something to answer for then?
Damn, there goes my your-trolling-was-to-insignificant-for-us-to-notice subtext.
Dude, Willis even said once (like, two or thre eyears ago) that he couldn’t decide whether to ban me or not, or whether I was a troll or insane
And I’ve felt bad.
…someone needs to see a therapist. I can understand why she wants revenge, but seriously that girl has problems.
I might be misunderstanding this strip or something, but I got the distinct impression that she didn’t want revenge. That she doesn’t want Sal to see her at all, ever.
If she wears the mask she won’t look like herself and since she’s in character, so to speak, she won’t be the same weak little girl that felt completely frozen and helpless like she was then. Well, up until her asshole father basically bullied her in to attacking Sal after she was unarmed, defenseless, and pretty much in custody. But I’m sure she felt helpless even then.
Anyway, I thought she was slipping in to Amazi-Girl’s persona and attempting to completely abandon her own because Amber wants to hide from Sal and to not be recognized by her. I figured she was feeling like she could either hide in her room all the time feeling alone, helpless, scared or she could slip in to being Amazi-Girl and still hide from Sal, but without those helpless, scared feelings.
Also, Amber uses the mask to keep her rage/violence/emotions in check. I think she wears the mask so that she never goes out of control like she did when she stabbed Sal, and maybe as a way to atone for it. That’s why it was so devastating for her when she beat the shit out of Blaine, and why she slipped from Amazigirl to Amber halfway through the beatdown. Amber definitely doesn’t want to fight Sal, I just hope she has the self-control not too.
I’m glad someone is actually paying attention to the strip instead of an alternate strip they are creating in their minds.
Shit’s about to get real
amber
don’t
Climbing out the window is the best exercise.
Now wonder sal like it so much.
Sal liked it because when you wanna escape the best way go is the window, because whether it’s the first floor or the third floor windows are not an exit.
Although nobody keeping her there.
Also, you get to check off a box on your loner rebel bingo card.
People can’t change! That’s not possible! After all, I’M still the same! I haven’t changed! Why should she get to change? CHAAAAANNNNGGGGEEEE!
Chaaaange!
http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/155590/i-dont-have-change
Of course I would fuck up a simple hyperlink copy and paste.
Amber/AG goes to confront Sal. Danny shows up to bring the charger or check the math. Danny tries to stop things and gets stabbed/hurt by Amber/AG. Defecation hits the rotating air movement device…
I don’t know. I think the violent stabbing of Danny would be a hit with the fanbase.
It could even be a new comic: “The Violent Stabbing of Danny.”
I’m holding out for a truck.
You forget: Amber isn’t us, and actually LIKES Danny. She would not like stabbing Danny, and might lose her last grip on sanity. Whether she goes completely psycho or curls up into a ball is still up for debate.
When I face her?!?! I’m starting to worry this will escalate further..-_-
Watching the Amazi-Girl tag is like getting a full psychological evaluation on Amber.
She has to leave the same way she came in so she doesn’t arouse suspicion.
Also, I wonder how she’d react to learn this is Sal’s favorite way in and out of a room as well.
I like the parallelism between Amber entering and leaving through a window the same way Sal does too now.
Amber will complete the stigmata on Sal’s other hand, thus ushering in Third Impact and a world where the difference between Amazi-Girl and Amber is completely irrelevant.
What can change the nature of an Amber?
Regret, Love, an a host of other things, my Ravel.
Now you deserve Danny.
Whoa now, no need to go to that extreme.
More Danny hate. I thought we got over that a few strips ago. I admit I’m not a *fan* of Danny, but still, he’s just slow, a little stupid and neglected as a child.
Amber is so broken. I am so sad.
Is Amber on her way to becoming a villain herself? Dun dun dun…
You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.
That actually sounds familiar. What’s it from?
Harveyyyyyyy!!
Also Nietzsche: Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.
I’m now actually left wondering what would occur if Ethan tracked Sal down himself, before Amber did. ‘Huh, hey. Seven years ago you held a knife to my throat. Wanna talk ’bout Transformers?’
“Oh, by the way, my ex-girlfriend is here also, and she’s the girl who stabbed you. She hasn’t grown past that yet, so you might want to be a leetle careful around her.”
You know what the real tragedy of all of this is?
Even after everything, Amber is still trying to impress her dad.
Poor Anber, she’s so damaged :'(
It’s not often that I get to see a superhero beaten like the drum we only allow into the house because of contractual obligation, not love or even a simulacrum of an emotional connection, due to a mistake that the drum made when it was younger.
That is exactly what I needed to start my week and ensure that I don’t go out an kill my Drum if he can’t pay back the money I lent him.
Can I point out that I don’t think Sal is going to be fooled by the mask and/or costume and cape?
She doesn’t know Amber so it’s not really going to matter.
For all the other possibilities, I’m really hoping we get a cathartic confrontation, rather than a violent one. Whether that starts with aggression or an apology, it could be solid either way – but it’d be a pretty satisfying way to resolve Amber’s current arc.
This is in no way motivated by my desire to see Amber and Sal as the most confusing of all possible bros.
That… would actually be a great ending. We need a poll on what should happen between Sal and Amber STAT!
Between Sal and Amber? The tea-leaves say Danny.
I see what you did there.
I don’t envy your ability to visualize a three-way with Danny.
I am literally at the edge of my seat. My thighs hurt.
Appropriate Gravatar is appropriate.
So she’s still Amber, kind of a shame really.
Also kudos for the batman symbol on the window, excellent
Great, now I think the character Gargamel wants Smurf bacon.
Considering that Amber as she was then stabbed Sal in the hand, her not wanting to be then-Amber could be either a good sign or a really, really dark one, I think. Amber’s recent trajectory is not encouraging me to be positive.
Amber’s kind of a shithead.
I think if anyone is on a fast track to jail (or a padded cell) it’s Amber. That girl should’ve been in therapy this whole time, *not* putting on a super hero outfit.
Sal would make the greatest nemesis for Amazigirl. Apparently they both have mad ninja skills. Sal is basically the antithesis of Amber. It would be perfect
Two titans shall meet in an epic battle that will cause the earth to shake and the skies to darken. The audience will be forgotten and their welfare unheeded. Their fate sealed by their proximity to the affairs of dragons-until one intercedes to stop this mighty conflagration-Danny. Will Amber recognize it as an appeal to her innate humanity, or as a betrayal and siding with Sal? Will Danny be hurt,maimed, killed in the attempt? Will Amber’s depleted sanity be destroyed utterly leaving her a mere husk of her current damaged self? Tune in next time to learn—oh…no it’ll be at least a couple of more strips ’cause Willis is a dick.
This scene looks so much better now that I know to look for the cheek thing.