This is more of a PSA than a joke, really
November 5, 2012
12:00 am
People were asking for a beardy Commander in the spirit of November so here you go! Remember, no time like the present to donate to prostate and testicular cancer research over at Movember.com!
Aaaaand if you’ve still got some spare cash kicking around after that, you might want to consider chipping into the Goon animatic kickstarter (only a couple days left!) or Kreuzbach10’s Indiegogo, to start a shop that produces men’s style shirts tailored to women’s proportions!
Oh god, I’m sorry! I’ll never run adblock on your site again, I swear! Just make the bad viagra ads go away!
They only show ads based on your cookies history, or they show ads for webcomics. Methinks you’ve been up to no good…..
I demand poofy chest hair.
At first, I thought he was contemplating shaving the beard off with that knife, and I was like “No, Commander!” And then I realized he was looking in the shiny part for a reflection. Silly me.
Always like beardy Commander.
I thought the same, but I hadn’t realized it was for a reflection…
Same here, but my “No, Commander!” was for the fact that there was food on the knife.
I imagine he could do it with a knife without nicking himself.
I’m pretty sure a guy like the Commander always shaves using knives, or swords, or that machete-bladed-chainsaw I sent him for christmas.
And somehow I now have a situation in my head where the Commander is trying to teach Jared how to get a perfect shave by juggling lightsabers?!?
That’ll be awesome XD
On a side note… What exactly Jared know about “those sheeps”?? ^^;; I’m guessing:
A. a pack of bald (shaved), furless sheeps
B. mutilated sheeps (nightmare fuel ensues)
Of course. :)
I can’t make a Soviet Russia joke sound good here but…
I’d be more worried about him notching the blade than him nicking his face.
I didn’t realize that either… You know it really could go either way. Commander B doesn’t strike me as the type to shy away from shaving with a knife.
Hoi, hoi. As someone who has tried shaving with a knife (Indeed, very nearly THAT knife, which is sitting right next to my laptop this very moment), let me tell you it simply doesn’t work. Survival knives are simply not that kind of sharp.
It is, however, very good at cutting pretty much everything else.
Ditto. Can we vote on keeping the Commander unshaven?
I thought the same, and was cringing because that knife is VERY serrated. It’s possible (not actually that hard) to shave with a knife (there are Youtube videos, even), but serrated?
The beard adds like, years to Commander’s age. XD
I was really in two minds over a Goon animation; sure it would be funny, but it would be really hard to do justice to the incredible art from the books (also, I agree with Alan Moore that comics are art in their own right and shouldn’t be condescended to by cinema).
However what I’ve seen of the test reels is great. It’s not the same as the books, but it’s a good different.
Anyway, money pledged, here’s hoping to get to see Frankie on-screen, stabbing people in the eye.
(That’s my favourite part).
It’s worth noting that the Goon movie was written by Eric Powell and also that Alan Moore is kind of full of himself as well as had nothing to do with the film adaptations of his own comics.
Yeah, Alan Moore is pretty full of himself, but I think he’s right about how mistaken the weird drive to turn everything into a movie is. I don’t know anyone who comes out of the cinema saying “that would make an awesome novel”.
But animated The Goon could, should and will work (goddamit, have faith), it’s sick and weird and funny and it’s got a lot of heart. The people involved, not just Eric Powell, all look to really be genuine fans (and the choices for the voices are spot on).
It just would be incredible if rather than the cgi render they did the animation with artwork closer to the comics, especially the recent books, Return of Labrazio is just gorgeous to look at. But I really don’t know what that would take to animate something like that, 1930/40’s Disney staffing?
(But how funny would the making of documentary be? Studios full of artists, all hand colouring Peaches Valentine.)
… and Eric Powell’s involvement isn’t all good. He’s got a multi Eisner award winning comic to write and draw; a multi Eisner award winning comic which happens to be the only comic I still buy on a monthly basis. If there are any scheduling delays I could start jonesing.
I think most stories could make for satisfying movies if (and it’s a big if) they were handled correctly by people who understand comics and movies are two different mediums and it can’t just be a direct translation. Movies have been based on books, comics, novellas, shorts stories and the like FOREVER. Across the world since the beginning of cinema. Movies are and enormous risk, and a popular story is a powerful proof-of-concept.
Writing a book is kind of like being handed a plain graphite pencil and being told you have infinite blank white canvas to draw whatever to want. Making a movie is kind of like being handed a post card and told you can use all of the colours and media you want as long as you keep it within those dimensions. Cinema brings whole new possibilities for delivery on almost every level, but the creators have to know how tastefully simplify the big picture rather than get caught tripping over small details.
Ironically, it’s still possible to do a very cheap but beautiful hand-animated film, in the style of the old Disney movies. Lilo & Stitch was amazing and it really didn’t cost as much as you might think. The backgrounds for the old films are just watercolor paintings (although some films used different processes for foreground and background effects, but those weren’t always in use or always necessary.)
The reason people turned to CGI and Flash is because they’re faster, not necessarily cheaper (although it does have it’s own inherent cost-cutting factors as well.) But people can still be taught how to do it the old way and they have records of what made the Disney process better than anyone else’s cell animation. It doesn’t even take that long to teach someone. Maybe a few months, depending on aptitude for learning it. Most of what takes so much time, even in the case of someone going to college for animation, wouldn’t be the learning process, it would be the creation of their student film reel, as proof that the student learned what they were taught and can produce something wonderful with that knowledge, within a specified deadline.
It’s really the factor of how time consuming the whole process is overall. That and whether or not anyone makes cells for animation. I suppose other countries, like Japan, probably do, if there’s nowhere in the US anymore.
Also, creator involvement is still very important. Since movies are typically based on something that is generally a lot longer, a movie script must condense the original story to fit the length of the movie. Having the person who made the original book/comic write the script, and take part in any other process relating to the conversion, is generally necessary to guarantee that the vision of the original is preserved in some form. I’m very happy that Eric Powell’s got some say in what happens with the movie and I doubt it’ll take up that much of his time. The script would have taken the most time, but even that probably won’t get his schedule seriously out of whack. Everything else might be more along the lines of the director and producer asking him questions and getting opinions.
I am greatly looking forward to the Goon movie though! I saw the trailer awhile back and loved it. I just wish I had some money to spare for the kickstarter! :(
Speaking as a professional animator, cells are horrible and no one wants to use them. They are a pain to work on, they are a pain to paint, they are a pain to scan and composit.
I’m not saying people should be making big-budget A-List movies in Flash, but saying that Flash isn’t cheaper than painting cells shows uh… a certain disconnect with the point you’re trying to make.
The longest animated film I made was a graduation project took 10 weeks and is only 3 minutes long, because nearly everything was hand-drawn. I had to cut corners here and there, and ended up using flash to actually animate everything in the end. It was a HUGE pain in the ass.
I wouldn’t have graduated without flash, that’s what I am trying to say. :p
Sorry, you guys are right about that. I don’t know what I was thinking when I said the animation programs weren’t cheaper. Especially when you consider that time is money, let alone the fact that these programs really do make everything much easier with all the shortcuts and the ability to layer things.
I’ll chalk it up to me typing something without it actually registering in my brain. :\
… how the hell can that sheep even SEE?
Echolocation.
Not terribly GOOD echolocation, since the fluff muffles the sound, but echolocation nevertheless.
BAAH-AAH-aah-ah…
No no, the fluff acts as a sensory organ that picks up the vibrations. It’s the BEST echolocation.
Same way you see with a sweater polled over your eyes. If the sweater isn’t very thick, you still distinguish big things and lights.
wahahahahah im geting kild by laugter over here
beardy!Commander makes me swoon way too much
Nice to see him with a beard again. I too grow a manly beard… well mostly it is out of laziness, but still.
It’s Shrek!!!
The real one, not the green thing.
The green thing came first, in a book in 1990. The sheep was born before the movie, but not the book.
Wow, his testosterone level must be in serious overdrive, huh? I actually went to high school with a guy like that…he’d shave in the morning before coming to school, and by lunch he looked like he hadn’t shaved in a couple of days. Hairiest bastard I’d ever met at the time. :P
I know what that’s like; puberty hit me like a f***ing freight train. When I was 15, I could literally grow a mane around my neck if I went a week without shaving. Now I only visit the barber once a year because my hair grows so slowly.
I had a friend like that. He’d have 5 o’clock shadow by the time second period came around. Of course, he kind of liked how it made him look since he was otherwise a lean, well kept looking guy. Helped him get more than a couple boyfriends.
wait, boyfriends??
My ex-boyfriend was like that, and with his head-hairs and it made me really jealous because my hair grows unbelievably slow. He once said that it would probably take him a month to grow a foot long beard and I just glared at him.
My beard’s about eleven inches. I get called ‘Opie’ all the time. Took me something like 2 1/2 years. My mate Dave’s is about 8 months old and … argh… longer. Bastard!
I want that sheep!
I want a whole flock of them!
And I will give each and every one of them a very fluffy hug each and every day!
Dang, is his face covered with a tiny blond bamboo grove or something?
That sheep reminds me of a really fat frog. No seriously. Frogs have fat deposits in their eyebrows, so if they get too fat, their eyebrows can literally droop over their eyes and blind them.
As a New Zealander, I approve of this joke.
Bearded Commander looks bizarrely reminiscent of Old Flit from the Gundam series that just ended, but blonde and built like a firehouse.
Of course, Commander isn’t a racist psychopath, and MGDMT is actually good.
Wow. Another problem I’ll never have. Being manly isn’t worth it if I’d have to shave more than once a week. If I don’t shave for *weeks* I start to look like Jared plus a couple of weird, singular, foot long whiskers.
I have a question, I HAD to shave three days ago for a job interview. If I don’t shave for the rest of the month, would I still be participating in noshavemeber? Or is it too late for me?
Some people just aren’t made to participate in Noshavember.
Me, it doesn’t get longer, or thicker, it just kinda curls around. It generally ends up somewhere between “Yassir Arafat” and “Chin Pubes”, at which point I give up.
For those of you who want super thick facial hair, let me tell you how hair works.
The first stage, when the hair is just starting to grow from the follicle, is called the anagen stage. The hair grows very quickly in this stage as it pushes the old hair out. The hair starts very fine, and thickens as it grows.
As the hair gets longer, its growth slows, until it enters the second stage. In this stage, called the catagen stage, the hair has stopped growing and will form a little knot on the end still in the follicle, called club hair. Also, the follicle is receding from the hair and growing more relaxed.
In the third stage, called the telogen stage, the follicle is fully relaxed and the club hair is fully formed. The hair has stopped receiving nutrients and can easily be pulled out of the skin. At this point, the follicle is working on making a new hair to start the anagen stage again.
If you shave regularly, you lock your hair in the anagen stage. As your hair thickens as it grows, shaving on a frequent and regular basis can make your hair very thick indeed. This can also increase the speed at which your hair grows, as your body attempts to make up for it’s apparent hairlessness.
Basically untrue. I shaved all the not-hair on my face as a teenager three times a week. Ten years later, the best I can manage is Jared’s facial hair, only splotchier. Genetics rules hair patterns, not the “if you shave it, it’ll grow back thicker” wives’ tale.
And let’s not talk about rubbing onions…
I cut my beard only occasionally, perhaps once every couple of months. I say “cut” because it’s as thick as wire wool and electric razors/trimmers tend to get stuck on it; I just use scissors and call it a day.
November is also for lung cancer as well. Yes, you can get lung cancer without smoking, in fact certain types seem to target nonsmokers.
Ah, Novembeard! A fine tradition! I always let my whiskers grow this month even though my facial hair is white trash-lookin’. Support men’s health, dammit!
Though I may let it grow if Extraintelligence’s tip up there works. It’d be a toss-up. Beards a sexy and all, but they also itch like a bitch at first.
I always thought that No Shave November was to raise awareness, and not donating money. Either way, I’ve been going the extra mile, and haven’t shaved a single day since school started in mid-August.
I know it’s the Commander, but I keep seeing Canadian Guy sitting there.
Pfft that sheep is oddly safe…no predator could surely make their way through those layers of wool.
Must be tiring to be that manly at times though XD
o silly me.. when i first saw bearded commander i thought he was warming up for the xmas season.. cos when he gave jared beanie babies last year he had a beard..
but yeah im pretty sure that WAS commander in that cave xD xD xD
at least he wasnt cold xD!!
wonder if commander’s mom had to shave her legs every day (or she would look like that sheep!)
watch the movie BLACK SHEEP horror it’s a GAME CHANGER
It’s awful, much like your username.
So what’s Jonesy going to say about Commander Whiskers? (And picturing him as santa claus)
Serrated blades are really abysmal for shaving.
Which is why he’s using it as a mirror.
Bloody steak knives don’t make great mirrors either.
In all fairness, he’d only just taken the first cut of that steak, so odds are that there wouldn’t be -much- blood on it.
Because of two cancer tragedies at our school, all the male teachers are not shaving as part of a fundraiser for these two tragedies. I thought it was amazing to see this comic when we just started our donation campaign of Mo(ustache)vember. THanks!
I didn’t realize there was actually a point behind No Shave November other than it being an excuse not to shave. The more you know…
Love Jared’s face in the last panel by the way. And that sheep. Jesus christ, that thing has wool for years xD
Shrek the Sheep, the woolly rebel! A reference I did not see coming.
I want to hug that sheep so much.
Oh Balls his beard grows fast. Must be all the protein.
Hey! WwateVVah happened to Mr. (Lazer) Fish?
=D
…Eridan?! Is that you?!
Dang, Commander looks good with a beard. He should keep it like that!
He looks great in a beard, but if it grows that fast he’ll look like a very tall Cousin It in a week.
Oh my God! He looks like a young Santa! Or perhaps he is like King Peacecraft, created to be the ultimate symbol of good through the legendary fusion of Santa Claus and Superman.
Oh my God, it worked…
Holy crap. It’s a comic about me!
-ruffles beard-
…Did that last panel always have a white background?
I love the way he strokes his ebard like that.
I grew a beard for the reason that my dad became 60. Now it’s gone and my girlfriend actually misses it. Learn from my fail!
I looked up PSA and all I got was “Prostate Specific Antigen”
Public Service Announcement.
Is it sad that this is actually an almost accurate description of my hygiene issues?