Welcome to the saga of the working-class adventurer! Enjoy the complete story with new annotations daily!
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.
Lighter Than Heir
Melissa Albino
A young Volant woman joins the military in an effort to upstage her war-hero father.
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.
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?
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...
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.
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.
Knights Errant
J.R. Doyle
Wilfrid's humble quest for revenge becomes bigger and bloodier by the day.
Goblins
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A fantasy RPG as told through the eyes of the low-level monsters.
Nerf Now!!
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A cute webcomic about fanservice, video games, and... love. Mostly video games, though.
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.
El Goonish Shive
Dan Shive
WARNING: This comic often ignores the Laws of Physics
Demon Studies
Miyuli
Four students summon and study potentially dangerous demons within the walls of the mysterious Summerland University.
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.
Far to the North
Allison Shaw
Kelu turns to the monsters of her remote mountain home when her family is held hostage by outsiders.
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!
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
Atomic Robo
Brian Clevinger, Scott Wegener
The robot punches monsters and bad robots and one time he was a cowboy.
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.
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.
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.
Sunshine Boy
Moosopp
New-kid Kelly is sweet but naive. Luckily, he's got his outgoing neighbor Grey in his corner.
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.
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.
Star Trip
Gisele Weaver
Jas is a human taken from her home planet on a trip across the galaxy she will never forget.
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.)
Whomp!
Ronnie
A depressed, portly, hirsute anime fan stumbles through life in the ever-pursuit of chicken nuggets and other life-shortening indulgences.
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.
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!
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...
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.
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.
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.
Awaken
Koti Saavedra/Flipfloppery
Superpowers, monsters and conspiracies. Piras, the spoiled Dameschi heir, fights to recover his identity after becoming a terrorist!
No End
Erli, Kromi
A queer romance about people attempting to build lives in a cold, post-apocalyptic world ravaged by hordes of undead.
Real Science Adventures
Brian Clevinger
Spin off stories and other adventures from the world of Atomic Robo!
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?
Anacrine Complex
Sae Cotton
A superhuman heist involving probably too many pigeons than entirely necessary.
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.
[un]Divine
Ayme
A highschool senior thought giving up his soul for a demon was a good idea. It wasn't.
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.
Wilde Life
Pascalle Lepas
Oscar decided to rent an old haunted house, and that's when things got weird...
Cyanide & Happiness
Explosm
Satire, dark humor and surreal humor.
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!
Shaderunners
Alex Assan, Lin Darrow
A ragtag band of bootleggers open a speakeasy for bottled colour in the greyscale city of Ironwell.
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.
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I gotta say, despite how rude Raidah is being in panel 5, she at least has the human decency to not laugh at someone she thinks is mentally-challenged. Yes, she is making a terrible, terrible assumption (and will hopefully pay the price for it) and is being condecending, but she’s not openly laughing and saying “Who else would willingly hang out with Sarah?”
Looking at you, Chan. B**ch
Also, who the hell says “Look at her!”, when laughing at a (in their minds) mentally challenged girl? F*ck you Char.
Dina’s about to say something awesome. Please, let Dina say something awesome. Dina needs to say something completely awesome that makes Raidah cry into her pillow every night for the next 8 weeks.
I’m skeptical. I don’t think we’ll ever see the switch flip so to say but I could believe that her observational abilities coupled with her lack of social awareness could lead her to say something particularly hurtful made all the more cutting by nature of the truthfulness of the statement. She seems the type.
Certainly I believe that she has no badass mode, but I that hardly means that she could not conceivably say something really awesome or that she couldn’t within the realms of theoretical possibility cause Raidah to cry.
There are many subtle layers to badass mode. I currently am envisioning Dina being like a conversational Aikido master, using her opponents own force against them. I could be totally wrong but it’s still fun to envision.
Mentally challenged, huh? OK, try to imagine yourself in the College Mall. You get your first look at this “middle school girl” as you enter a clearing. She moves like a bird, lightly, bobbing her head. And you keep still because you think that maybe her visual acuity is based on movement like Sarah – she’ll lose you if you don’t move. But no, not Dina. You stare at her, and she just stares right back. And that’s when the attack comes. Not from the front, but from the side, *whoosh* from the other two Dinas you didn’t even know were there. Because Dina’s a pack hunter, you see, she uses coordinated attack patterns and she is out in force today. And she slashes at you with this… a two-inch opposable thumb, like a razor, on the the right hand. She doesn’t bother to bite your jugular like Ruth, say… no no. She slashes at you here, or here… or maybe across the belly, spilling your intestines. The point is, you are alive when she starts to eat you. So you know, try to show a little respect.
ryan, after lurking and never commenting, your comment has finally drawn me out. I got to “visual acuity” and it dawned on me what you were quoting… I married a man who called me a “clever girl” while putting on a Aussie accent ;0)
It’s a different kind of clueiness. Dina saw what she saw, she took in cues from similar past experience, and her words rolled off her tongue, as the opportunity was presented to her when Sarah invited her to talk. Whether she responds in a negative fashion to Raidah’s condescension is likely but not certain, seeing that Raidah has not yet made herself worthy of Dina’s serious attention.
Roomy actually sounds a lot more familiar to me. Like roommate would be the technical term that you use to describe somebody where that’s all there is between you but roomy would be the term of endearment you use for the buddy that you room with.
Eh, they’re judgemental, she’s judgemental, I could see how maybe they’d have gotten along at one point. Main difference is that if Sarah doesn’t like you, she tells it to you straight, Raidah seems to condescend to say the same thing.
Condescension: not to be confused with condensation. Believe me, it was embarrassing when I tried to force my classmate into a liquid state by increasing the pression.
(And just so there’s no confusion, I was going to make a joke like this anyway. It’s just more convenient here.
Haven’t any of these bongoes watched any anime whatsoever? Don’t fuck with the little Asian girl. She’s about to go all Dino-Knight transformation sequence on their asses.
“This situation makes me question evolution. Surely there’s no way these girls are a superior species to dinosaurs? I’m positive dinosaurs could contribute more to society than them. Why, abelisaurus comahuensis would certain never make the mistake of underestimating and kneeling infront of it’s prey, infact–” (or something much brighter than I could come up with :p I just know Dina’s the smartest one there!)
Oh? I didn’t know she was so passionate about it! I guess it makes sense with paleontology and all though? Now I’m kinda scared what Joyce and Dina will think of eachother when it comes up…
Being passionate about evolution is like being passionate about the fact that cars exist, or passionate about the fact that 1+1=2. The people who accept evolution (or at least the vast majority of them) do it based on cold hard obvious incontrovertible fact, not “faith”.
When such a person meets a person who disbelieves in evolution, the reactions would tend to be one or more of:
1) disbelief
2) scorn
3) curiosity, of the ‘what a strange sociological find we have here!’ variety
4) frustration at the rampant stupidity of humanity, that you’re sharing a species with the person
5) dismissal
And the idea of a species being “superior” just because it’s still alive and another one isn’t isn’t really the kind of judgement a scientist would make. I’m pretty sure dinosaurs have been around for longer than humans. But all that survival means is that you’re better adapted to that specific location in that specific time period, not that you’re “superior” to an “inferior” species. No species “deserves” to survive or not.
No. When it comes to living in a lake and eating fish, ducks are way better adapted for that than humans. We get kinda spongey and eventually we tire and drown. Also, many of us don’t like to eat raw fish whole.
(If we wanna talk numbers, then clearly the viruses that plague bacteria are the “most superior life form.”)
Being a “superior species” (in terms of intellectual development) comes with some inevitable handicaps: the higher the species’ average intelligence, the higher the number of relative idiots.
(Think of that the next time a sci-fi show tries to sell you on the idea of a highly-evolved God-Race. There will always be morons.)
I am not convinced that all sapient species must have idiots. Just because the human race has a design flaw doesn’t mean it’s inherent in all sapient species.
For example, once the robots rise up and take over it would be entirely possible for all of their brains to be identical in every way, including (of course) in intelligence and capability.
In theory it would be possible, in practice I don’t think there will ever be a continuous mass production of anything, machine or biological, where there are never any malfunctioning units.
Additionally, while on a physical level their brains could be the same so long as we suppose that these robots are intelligent life they will be capable of learning and thus subject to socialization meaning that there would be more to them than merely the hardware which comprises their brain.
Short of a hive mind I don’t think it could happen, and then you’re really dealing with a single life form with multiple bodies rather than a number of life forms making the entire premise of gauging its intelligence relative to other members of its species moot.
Well, obviously all units that malfunction to the point of intolerable idiocy are to be detected by an objective quality control system and removed from circulation. With a hammer. (Note that this need not be restricted to mechanical species.)
As for the fact that the individuals will (probably) end up in differing environments and thus grow and develop differently based on differing experiences, my response is that ignorance and stupidity are recognized as not being the same thing. Ignorance is rectifiable, and stupidity is forever – and thus the level of idiocy or lack thereof would remain constant as the units went through life, despite their gathered knowledge that may or may not be gained.
The above rather semantic argument becomes more practically acceptable when we’re just talking about preventing idiocy, not the complete elimination of variance. If you start all units at an accepted above-idiot level, perhaps with a certain amount of knowledge and discernment hard-wired to be instinctively present, then idiocy can presumably be eliminated.
There is certainly a difference between ignorance and stupidity. The difference does not in any way imply that the causes are limited exclusively to genetics, or hardware as the case may be. A great number of influences go into making a person who they are and by cutting the nurture entirely out of the nature/nurture set-up you’re ignoring a huge part of the picture.
As for the former argument, this would not mean that the species does not have idiots. It would mean that they systematically kill their idiots. There’s an important distinction. As a species they are still very much capable of idiocy. Any lack of idiots is only a temporary state that persists so long as the current system remains in place.
How do we know that ones we see aren’t the idiots of that race?
I mean it could stand to reason if they’re more intelligent then their morons would be more intelligent then our morons, but still considered morons by said species.
Ha! Seen that tone of voice & posture before. I’ve worked at a neurological rehab facility for clients with traumatic brain injuries. I’m still friends with a few of them.
Never assume a person is a moron. Treat all people alike at first, then adapt only if necessary or convenient.
Just because people do not or can not express themselves clearly does not mean they can not perceive and think clearly.
That really just raises more questions, especially since Willis also says she wasn’t homeschooled. Who the fuck interacts with a vast multitude of people on a daily basis for eighteen years and comes out acting like…well, like this?
Not homschooled does not automatically equal interaction with vast multitudes. Small school systems exists where class sizes are small though even in large class sizes you can have the loners that avoid drawing attention to themselves and shun contact with others.
… I don’t get it. I google imaged “Aspergers” and everyone looked basically normal… Hold one pretty earie black and white image of a girl who was stareing into the camera with such meloncoly…
First off, I admit to much ignorance of Asperger’s Disease, but as far as I understand of it, it’s very much a personality disorder. They tend to prefer routine, and don’t fully comprehend social nuances. One possible trait is that they have many identical outfits, although the exact reason escapes me for the moment.
Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong. I like to invent justifications when I don’t know the truth.
Speaking as someone on the spectrum, it’s technically a developmental disorder that ends up affecting personality. And my guess on the clothing thing: Don’t have to think about what to wear every day plus similar temperature and texture to be comfortable. But that’s just a guess. Never heard that one before.
As someone with Asperger’s Syndrome who’s currently
studying to be an occupational therapist, I can tell you that it
also affects fine motor skills to an extent, as well as some
sensory aspects. The thing about clothes is true to a varying
extent. For example, I can’t stand pants. Has to be a skirt
or a dress, and crew neck clothes are very uncomfortable for
me.
Given that many people, especially girls, with Asperger’s go
undiagnosed, I feel it’s very possible that Dina could have it;
she fits the profile in other regards as well. Her obsession
with a particular subject (dinosaurs) is characteristic of
Asperger’s, as is her tendency to be quiet unless you get her
going on that subject. Also, I have, like Dina “misplaced
myself”. It’s due to being absorbed in one’s own thoughts.
Historyman68 is correct, I was referring to Dina’s Analysis of tone and posture, something people with Aspergers have difficulty reading. as I am new to the Walkyverse, I was unaware of the previous controversy.
David, i would just like to say i love you for finally having dina in the story for more then a few strips. shes my favorite character :’) manly tears of joy have been shed.
This is… actually a really interesting dynamic. Raidah and co are really interesting foils to Sarah, and having Dina there is a great factor to change everything up.
It’s great because you can tell everybody thinks they’re doing the right thing. Even Raidah, as bongoy as she’s being, is also, in her mind, trying to help Dina out. Mike is the only one, I think, who really is an asshole intentionally, and even he does it because (I think) it fits his code of ethics. Even Ruth is trying to take Billie down a peg, presumably to teach her a lesson or something.
The problem with people like Raidah – of which I have known several – is that their greatest fear is a situation wherein they are in the wrong. No matter what the evidence to the contrary, they will lie, patronise, mutter bongoy insults, spread nasty rumours and start tense arguments in which they cling to the last word like a barnacle to a whale’s face – and all in the name of ‘being the better person’.
Not yet. Calling someone condescending is not a diss, although someone like Raidah would probably take exception to it. It takes a more aggressive comment to truly get into dissing territory.
True, but it still won’t be in real diss terrority until Dina busts on her for having shoe’s from last years fall collection or something else along those lines. Though I can’t picture Dina being that aggressive or fashion savvy.
Char is the pale brunette, Chan is the blond. Willis refined Raidah a lot since her first appearance, I didn’t recognize her and had to go back to re-read her first run-in with Sarah to verify it was indeed the same girl.
I find this strip hilarious because yesterday I kept reading the “is she in middle school?” as “is she retarded?” due to Raidahs tone and posture. Even though she ended up going there anyway I will at least give Raidah the credit for using “mentally-challenged.”
Also “Do you understand?” made me LOL. Yes, she understands you’re being a condescending bi-atch.
Yes it’s kind of pathetic how they insist on making her life as bad as they can just coz she got someone kicked out. It’s not like drugs are a big deal, except for the fact that they often are.
I’m sure Dina is loyal and would protect her new friend with her words even if the condescension was towards her. Well, it’s two strikes, I’m excited to see how Dina will deal with verbal hostiles threatening herself and a friend.
It’s kind of funny it took the tone of voice and posture for Dina to realize, not the ‘mentally challenged’ bit. It’s interesting what things catches her attention. She’s probably been reading a book on tone and body language… or maybe she just hyperfocuses on certain aspects.
Please learn to put all of your thoughts into one post, rather than flooding. One more instance (following this and the much worse flood on Shortpacked!), and I’ll just start deleting them. Thank you.
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“Quiet, don’t be mean. I’m going to condescend to her.”
“I can understand that you are being a condecending b****.”
Please note that was against the character Raidah and not you Near.
I gotta say, despite how rude Raidah is being in panel 5, she at least has the human decency to not laugh at someone she thinks is mentally-challenged. Yes, she is making a terrible, terrible assumption (and will hopefully pay the price for it) and is being condecending, but she’s not openly laughing and saying “Who else would willingly hang out with Sarah?”
Looking at you, Chan. B**ch
Also, who the hell says “Look at her!”, when laughing at a (in their minds) mentally challenged girl? F*ck you Char.
That means “talking down to her.”
Dina’s about to say something awesome. Please, let Dina say something awesome. Dina needs to say something completely awesome that makes Raidah cry into her pillow every night for the next 8 weeks.
…or she can just go all raptor on her ass.
I support both of the above options.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but Word of God says Dina doesn’t have a badass mode.
I feel the need to point out that I say similar things to the busty murder-bait that runs up stairs to get away from the killer in slasher flicks.
I’m skeptical. I don’t think we’ll ever see the switch flip so to say but I could believe that her observational abilities coupled with her lack of social awareness could lead her to say something particularly hurtful made all the more cutting by nature of the truthfulness of the statement. She seems the type.
Certainly I believe that she has no badass mode, but I that hardly means that she could not conceivably say something really awesome or that she couldn’t within the realms of theoretical possibility cause Raidah to cry.
Short version: You don’t need to be a Badass to have a Crowning Moment of Awesome.
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Word of God could be trying to mislead us…
Maybe we can have a Badass Mode installed then.
There are many subtle layers to badass mode. I currently am envisioning Dina being like a conversational Aikido master, using her opponents own force against them. I could be totally wrong but it’s still fun to envision.
The cutting remark THEN the raptor mode!
HEAD BUTT HER LIKE A PACHYCEPHALOSAURUS!
Mentally challenged, huh? OK, try to imagine yourself in the College Mall. You get your first look at this “middle school girl” as you enter a clearing. She moves like a bird, lightly, bobbing her head. And you keep still because you think that maybe her visual acuity is based on movement like Sarah – she’ll lose you if you don’t move. But no, not Dina. You stare at her, and she just stares right back. And that’s when the attack comes. Not from the front, but from the side, *whoosh* from the other two Dinas you didn’t even know were there. Because Dina’s a pack hunter, you see, she uses coordinated attack patterns and she is out in force today. And she slashes at you with this… a two-inch opposable thumb, like a razor, on the the right hand. She doesn’t bother to bite your jugular like Ruth, say… no no. She slashes at you here, or here… or maybe across the belly, spilling your intestines. The point is, you are alive when she starts to eat you. So you know, try to show a little respect.
ryan, after lurking and never commenting, your comment has finally drawn me out. I got to “visual acuity” and it dawned on me what you were quoting… I married a man who called me a “clever girl” while putting on a Aussie accent ;0)
I got to “like a bird, lightly, bobbing her head” and caught myself mentally reading it in Alan Grant’s voice. Nostalgia bomb.
Ryan, you just won two internets and a cookie.
Dina, please punch her in the face. She’s at your level, so you can take her.
Dina’s pretty cluey when she needs to be.
I read that as cute and instantly thought “When isn’t she?”
It’s a different kind of clueiness. Dina saw what she saw, she took in cues from similar past experience, and her words rolled off her tongue, as the opportunity was presented to her when Sarah invited her to talk. Whether she responds in a negative fashion to Raidah’s condescension is likely but not certain, seeing that Raidah has not yet made herself worthy of Dina’s serious attention.
I grok Dina.
10 points for use of the word “grok”.
That’s one movie we will most likely never see. And probably a good thing, since I bet Hollywood would ruin it.
Go Dina! Rarr that Raidah!
Those three girls are mean. Maybe this is Middle School after all?
Yes they’re all poopy-heads.
That’s discriminatory against people with poopie on their heads.
Or is it people with heads made of poopy?
Suggesting that these two oft confused groups are comparable is discriminatory against seagulls.
The poopie-heads and the Doodie-heads are very different proud raves in the land a excreteland.
they are all poppy heads.
damn druggies.
Nope, that’s about college accurate.
Nothing really changes after High School. Everyone’s parents lied.
Exactly. I was just as mature and grown-up in college as i was back in high school.
Now excuse me. I have to go run down the hall, pretending I’m an airplane.
Watch Dina and Sarah, weeknights on the WB.
That might actually get me to watch the WB.
I’d watch MTV if they had that show.
Isn’t the wb non existant anymore? I thought that the WB merged with UPN to make the CW?
It did, but it lives on in our hearts and our Buffy DVDs.
Wow… And I mean WOW!!!
Could she be any more of a bongo?!
“Also Dinosaurs suck and Asians bombed us half a century agoso I hate them.”
Well damn…
Could you have left me more open for a Friends reference?
Dina’s reminding me of Spock again…
But she doesn’t look like she ever caught her head in a mechanical rice picker.
“Dammit, Jim, do you know what you’ve done?”
Oh Raidah. You’ve just made one of the classic blunders: Never confuse oddity for stupidity.
Tune in next time when Raidah gets involved in a land war with Asia, followed by her going up against a Sicilian when death is on the line!
This made me smile.
It’s okay… the land war was just a diversion, and the poison was in both goblets.
You forgot the maniacal laughter! AHAHAHAHA AHAHAHAHA AHAH*thud*
Yes, you’re very smart. Shut up.
And your mostly dead but not getting the pill.
I was hoping somebody would say something like that.
Simply awesome. Go Dina! Talk to Sarah as if they can’t hear you! IGNORE! IGNORE!!
How was Sarah ever friends with these douchelords? Seriously, they’re just terrible.
I don’t think she was, I think they were friends with her roommate, whom she busted.
The roommate herself of course being a relationship of necessity and convenience rather than friendship.
we now understand where she is coming from with respect to roommates.
Eh. Not fond of that word. I’ve always preferred roomies.
Roomy actually sounds a lot more familiar to me. Like roommate would be the technical term that you use to describe somebody where that’s all there is between you but roomy would be the term of endearment you use for the buddy that you room with.
Hmm. Douchelord… It has a nice ring to it. Do you mind if I steal it for use in daily conversation?
All hail Raidah, lord of the douches!
The Duchess of Douches?
The Douchess?
Douchelord is the best word ever…
Eh, they’re judgemental, she’s judgemental, I could see how maybe they’d have gotten along at one point. Main difference is that if Sarah doesn’t like you, she tells it to you straight, Raidah seems to condescend to say the same thing.
What do her one and posture have to do with dew on the grass?
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/condescension
Example: responding with a definition
I couldn’t help but feel Izzy was jokin’ but maybe that’s just me.
I read it that way, too.
Yes it was a joke. But I’m honored it caught willis’s attention.
Condescension: not to be confused with condensation. Believe me, it was embarrassing when I tried to force my classmate into a liquid state by increasing the pression.
(And just so there’s no confusion, I was going to make a joke like this anyway. It’s just more convenient here.
thank you for (more or less) explaining the above wordplay joke (i never get them)
I want to see Dina go into badass mode
Haven’t any of these bongoes watched any anime whatsoever? Don’t fuck with the little Asian girl. She’s about to go all Dino-Knight transformation sequence on their asses.
gnngh
Right in the Otaku!
Dina cannot be asian, she doesn’t have blonde hair or blue eyes like Sailor Moon and Sailor Moon is as Japanese as you can get.
Nah, the TRUE sign of a scary asian school girl is blue hair. You gotta have blue hair, after all.
well, she -does- have a certain “Rei” quality about her.
Rei Ayanami or Rei Hino?
Yes.
It’s called autism
TROPER!
Be thankful Rognik didn’t create a link.
MUAHAHAHAHA
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/YouGottaHaveBlueHair
Homestar Runner did that first!
“This situation makes me question evolution. Surely there’s no way these girls are a superior species to dinosaurs? I’m positive dinosaurs could contribute more to society than them. Why, abelisaurus comahuensis would certain never make the mistake of underestimating and kneeling infront of it’s prey, infact–” (or something much brighter than I could come up with :p I just know Dina’s the smartest one there!)
One organism displaying a very specific weakness would never shake Dina’s faith in evolution. All sorts of “superior species” have weaknesses.
Oh? I didn’t know she was so passionate about it! I guess it makes sense with paleontology and all though? Now I’m kinda scared what Joyce and Dina will think of eachother when it comes up…
Being passionate about evolution is like being passionate about the fact that cars exist, or passionate about the fact that 1+1=2. The people who accept evolution (or at least the vast majority of them) do it based on cold hard obvious incontrovertible fact, not “faith”.
When such a person meets a person who disbelieves in evolution, the reactions would tend to be one or more of:
1) disbelief
2) scorn
3) curiosity, of the ‘what a strange sociological find we have here!’ variety
4) frustration at the rampant stupidity of humanity, that you’re sharing a species with the person
5) dismissal
Of Dina, I would expect option 3.
And the idea of a species being “superior” just because it’s still alive and another one isn’t isn’t really the kind of judgement a scientist would make. I’m pretty sure dinosaurs have been around for longer than humans. But all that survival means is that you’re better adapted to that specific location in that specific time period, not that you’re “superior” to an “inferior” species. No species “deserves” to survive or not.
Sorry, that “superior” crap just gets my goat.
Our population is much higher than that of say… a duck. Doesn’t that make us the winners of the struggle?
No. When it comes to living in a lake and eating fish, ducks are way better adapted for that than humans. We get kinda spongey and eventually we tire and drown. Also, many of us don’t like to eat raw fish whole.
(If we wanna talk numbers, then clearly the viruses that plague bacteria are the “most superior life form.”)
Ha! That just what viral marketing wants you to belief!
Being a “superior species” (in terms of intellectual development) comes with some inevitable handicaps: the higher the species’ average intelligence, the higher the number of relative idiots.
(Think of that the next time a sci-fi show tries to sell you on the idea of a highly-evolved God-Race. There will always be morons.)
I am not convinced that all sapient species must have idiots. Just because the human race has a design flaw doesn’t mean it’s inherent in all sapient species.
For example, once the robots rise up and take over it would be entirely possible for all of their brains to be identical in every way, including (of course) in intelligence and capability.
In theory it would be possible, in practice I don’t think there will ever be a continuous mass production of anything, machine or biological, where there are never any malfunctioning units.
Additionally, while on a physical level their brains could be the same so long as we suppose that these robots are intelligent life they will be capable of learning and thus subject to socialization meaning that there would be more to them than merely the hardware which comprises their brain.
Short of a hive mind I don’t think it could happen, and then you’re really dealing with a single life form with multiple bodies rather than a number of life forms making the entire premise of gauging its intelligence relative to other members of its species moot.
Well, obviously all units that malfunction to the point of intolerable idiocy are to be detected by an objective quality control system and removed from circulation. With a hammer. (Note that this need not be restricted to mechanical species.)
As for the fact that the individuals will (probably) end up in differing environments and thus grow and develop differently based on differing experiences, my response is that ignorance and stupidity are recognized as not being the same thing. Ignorance is rectifiable, and stupidity is forever – and thus the level of idiocy or lack thereof would remain constant as the units went through life, despite their gathered knowledge that may or may not be gained.
The above rather semantic argument becomes more practically acceptable when we’re just talking about preventing idiocy, not the complete elimination of variance. If you start all units at an accepted above-idiot level, perhaps with a certain amount of knowledge and discernment hard-wired to be instinctively present, then idiocy can presumably be eliminated.
There is certainly a difference between ignorance and stupidity. The difference does not in any way imply that the causes are limited exclusively to genetics, or hardware as the case may be. A great number of influences go into making a person who they are and by cutting the nurture entirely out of the nature/nurture set-up you’re ignoring a huge part of the picture.
As for the former argument, this would not mean that the species does not have idiots. It would mean that they systematically kill their idiots. There’s an important distinction. As a species they are still very much capable of idiocy. Any lack of idiots is only a temporary state that persists so long as the current system remains in place.
How do we know that ones we see aren’t the idiots of that race?
I mean it could stand to reason if they’re more intelligent then their morons would be more intelligent then our morons, but still considered morons by said species.
The… the eyes on her Dino-hat move…
I knew it! She’s actually a robot, controlled by the hat, controlled by the Dinosaurs that left the planet to escape the asteroid!
Seriously, Dina is adorable.
Wait a second–obsession with dinosaurs? Controlled by a hat? Everything makes sense now…
Um, I think your link’s broken.
So it is.
…I was trying to link to Meet the Robinsons‘ Wikipedia page.
Ha! Seen that tone of voice & posture before. I’ve worked at a neurological rehab facility for clients with traumatic brain injuries. I’m still friends with a few of them.
Never assume a person is a moron. Treat all people alike at first, then adapt only if necessary or convenient.
Just because people do not or can not express themselves clearly does not mean they can not perceive and think clearly.
Thank you.
Well put.
Thank you.
Sherlock Dina, Brilliant!
Oooh, please knock them down with your higher order thinking skills, Dina… please… I so want you to put them in their place.
This conversation needs some Mike.
You mom needs more Mike.
I like that you said more Mike. As though she’s already had Mike before.
Which, considering it’s a mom and Mike, is most likely true.
She framed the first nickel.
I gotta ask; looking at that last panel, does Dina have Aspergers?
Before Willis goes completely insane from the comments on this comic, the answer is once again, still, and most assuredly no.
She’s not crazy. Her parents had her tested. :p
That really just raises more questions, especially since Willis also says she wasn’t homeschooled. Who the fuck interacts with a vast multitude of people on a daily basis for eighteen years and comes out acting like…well, like this?
Not homschooled does not automatically equal interaction with vast multitudes. Small school systems exists where class sizes are small though even in large class sizes you can have the loners that avoid drawing attention to themselves and shun contact with others.
I went to a school of over three thousand, crawled into a hole and came out the other side as a snarky bastard. So I see what you mean.
All I’ve ever said is that she’s never been diagnosed for anything.
I like t his answer. Suitably vague.
i’d be lying if i said i wasn’t kinda thinking the same thing. dina must’ve had a… fun upbringing.
… I don’t get it. I google imaged “Aspergers” and everyone looked basically normal… Hold one pretty earie black and white image of a girl who was stareing into the camera with such meloncoly…
I think what Bugberry meant was, given the dialogue in that panel…
First off, I admit to much ignorance of Asperger’s Disease, but as far as I understand of it, it’s very much a personality disorder. They tend to prefer routine, and don’t fully comprehend social nuances. One possible trait is that they have many identical outfits, although the exact reason escapes me for the moment.
Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong. I like to invent justifications when I don’t know the truth.
Speaking as someone on the spectrum, it’s technically a developmental disorder that ends up affecting personality. And my guess on the clothing thing: Don’t have to think about what to wear every day plus similar temperature and texture to be comfortable. But that’s just a guess. Never heard that one before.
As someone with Asperger’s Syndrome who’s currently
studying to be an occupational therapist, I can tell you that it
also affects fine motor skills to an extent, as well as some
sensory aspects. The thing about clothes is true to a varying
extent. For example, I can’t stand pants. Has to be a skirt
or a dress, and crew neck clothes are very uncomfortable for
me.
Given that many people, especially girls, with Asperger’s go
undiagnosed, I feel it’s very possible that Dina could have it;
she fits the profile in other regards as well. Her obsession
with a particular subject (dinosaurs) is characteristic of
Asperger’s, as is her tendency to be quiet unless you get her
going on that subject. Also, I have, like Dina “misplaced
myself”. It’s due to being absorbed in one’s own thoughts.
Why would someone with Asperger’s not “look normal”? It’s not like Rett’s or Down Syndrome. It’s a high functioning form of Autism.
Why does it have to be Asperger’s, why not give Schizoid Personality Disorder a go.
Historyman68 is correct, I was referring to Dina’s Analysis of tone and posture, something people with Aspergers have difficulty reading. as I am new to the Walkyverse, I was unaware of the previous controversy.
Some people with Asperger’s also tend to be interested in what they are interested in to the exclusion of most things.
Reminds me of Summer Glau. As either River Tam or the terminator girl.
David, i would just like to say i love you for finally having dina in the story for more then a few strips. shes my favorite character :’) manly tears of joy have been shed.
2 things: #1 many dinosaurs had both large enough teeth and mouths to bite a condecending bongo’s head off. #2 do not be condecending to Dina.
Someone needs to edit panel 5 so that Raidah is pledging loyalty to queen Dina
So, about how tall is Dina, anyway?
Fiddler On The Roof screenname ftw
heh. You know, if I had a nickel for every time someone got that reference… I’d probably have less than a buck. Kudos to you.
Bout time we got a butcher around here.
About 5’0″
This is… actually a really interesting dynamic. Raidah and co are really interesting foils to Sarah, and having Dina there is a great factor to change everything up.
It’s great because you can tell everybody thinks they’re doing the right thing. Even Raidah, as bongoy as she’s being, is also, in her mind, trying to help Dina out. Mike is the only one, I think, who really is an asshole intentionally, and even he does it because (I think) it fits his code of ethics. Even Ruth is trying to take Billie down a peg, presumably to teach her a lesson or something.
The problem with people like Raidah – of which I have known several – is that their greatest fear is a situation wherein they are in the wrong. No matter what the evidence to the contrary, they will lie, patronise, mutter bongoy insults, spread nasty rumours and start tense arguments in which they cling to the last word like a barnacle to a whale’s face – and all in the name of ‘being the better person’.
Whoa, did Dina just get a diss in?!
Not yet. Calling someone condescending is not a diss, although someone like Raidah would probably take exception to it. It takes a more aggressive comment to truly get into dissing territory.
Something to look forward to tomorrow then
Suspecting the Raidahs of the world are used to being the center of the universe, talking about her as if she were not there would indeed be a diss.
True, but it still won’t be in real diss terrority until Dina busts on her for having shoe’s from last years fall collection or something else along those lines. Though I can’t picture Dina being that aggressive or fashion savvy.
While I dislike Raidah’s personality so far, I do like her design and the tall pale brunette’s(Char or Chan?
The Amazing Raidah and the Char Clan!
Char is the pale brunette, Chan is the blond. Willis refined Raidah a lot since her first appearance, I didn’t recognize her and had to go back to re-read her first run-in with Sarah to verify it was indeed the same girl.
They are the worst kind of people.
Well, aside from serial killers and velociraptors.
Velociraptors are people now?
To the degree that they are, they’re not very good at it.
At first I thought the lines of the teeth on her dinosaur hat were angry eyebrows.
Why is Sarah punching Dina in the throat in panel one?
I’m pretty sure she’s putting her arm around her big-sister-style.
That’s what I took it as.
I find this strip hilarious because yesterday I kept reading the “is she in middle school?” as “is she retarded?” due to Raidahs tone and posture. Even though she ended up going there anyway I will at least give Raidah the credit for using “mentally-challenged.”
Also “Do you understand?” made me LOL. Yes, she understands you’re being a condescending bi-atch.
…Calling it, Dina is a Tamaran in disguise.
Dina’s just a tiny Vulcan.
Can’t believe I didn’t think of this two strips ago:
STRIFE!!!
URGE TO PUNCH… RISING…
I am unsure whether Dina will give her the professorial equivalent of telling her she disregards that opinion or to go fuck herself.
“Listen, little girl, Sarah is EVIL! She’s the Wicked Witch!! The Big Bad Wolf! She’ll gobble you up! Run away! Run as fast as you can!”
If these were the type of friends Sarah had her freshman year, she’s better off without them.
Oh wait, that’s condescension towards Dina, not her friend. Well, this will be extra sauce then!
Yes it’s kind of pathetic how they insist on making her life as bad as they can just coz she got someone kicked out. It’s not like drugs are a big deal, except for the fact that they often are.
I’m sure Dina is loyal and would protect her new friend with her words even if the condescension was towards her. Well, it’s two strikes, I’m excited to see how Dina will deal with verbal hostiles threatening herself and a friend.
It’s kind of funny it took the tone of voice and posture for Dina to realize, not the ‘mentally challenged’ bit. It’s interesting what things catches her attention. She’s probably been reading a book on tone and body language… or maybe she just hyperfocuses on certain aspects.
It seems Sarah likes making friends with people she can protect. That can be bad, but last comic made it seem really sweet. ^_^
I predict: Dina uses wall of text (well, for word bubbles) to condescend at the bongo squad. It’s super effective!!
(Well, it’s often a good thing too, finding people to protect)
Anyway, it’s nice to see Billy is socializing properly now. Ahh right multiposting again, sorry, weird habit that happens occasionally. I’ll stop now.
Billy?
Yeah, that wasn’t relevant to this comic I know, but I still posted it coz my message seemed a bit too short otherwise. Sorry.
Please learn to put all of your thoughts into one post, rather than flooding. One more instance (following this and the much worse flood on Shortpacked!), and I’ll just start deleting them. Thank you.
‘cept… she’s a self-rightous alpha bongo… the kind of person who tells others not to be mean, but is worse herself.
Never underestimate Dina.
i, for one, cannot wait for tomorrow – C’mon DINA!!!!!!!
Uh-oh. Where’s Walky’s man-Husband Gary and their faithful T-Rex when you need ’em?