lot of words, must be character backstory time
February 22, 2015
8:18 am
Wanted to infuse some more personality into ol’ Rock Lobster’s test-tubemates, it’s hard to find time to develop his backstory without bogging things down in this whole pop culture kitchen sink mess of a webcomic.
Man it sure was cool how I updated this thing on time like… once before my job got crazy and took over my weekend again.
I love the silent judgement in the last panel. “This is so all your fault”.
Ah, trolling older brothers. Only thing I imagine to be better would be trolling younger brothers.
No, they’re worse. Having one, I can confirm this.
I meant the act of trolling one’s brother.
Ah. Then, yes, I withdraw my previous statement, and say you are correct.
I am the middle of three brothers and can say with certainty trolling both at the same time having our parent yell at them for teasing me was the best feeling ever.
They look some sort of Trio of Saints or Gods with the fire being their aura… the fact that being on fire doesn’t seem to bother them only strengthens that impression.
“Pardon us, good sir, but do you have a minute to talk about Lord Beelzebub?”
Ha, it took a while to figure out the operative word in that last sentence. (Maybe should have paid attention to the italics.)
Is that an Grade A-53 Hotfoot you smell? He’d better hope that it’s not a Class D fire…
“Class D” is spacefuture-military speak for “sick”, obviously.
..I thought the joke was that the one guy came back significantly more black than before
Nah, that’s just the lighting. He was illuminated by the fire and thus looked paler than when the fire was extinguished.
Actually, a Class D fire is one that cannot be put out. You can only keep it from spreading & let it burn itself out. What I’m saying is that, if A-53 is gonna get a hotfoot from his siblings for this, he’d better hope it’s not a Class D fire.
Not quite, a Class D fire is a metal fire.
These are generally not extinguishable with water (and other common firefighting materials) because most combustible metals will react with it, making the fire worse.
There are Class D fire extinguishers, mostly of a dry powder type, and limited in the kinds of metal they can be used on.
Are you sure you’re not thinking of Class K, the reactive metals? Or is D distinct from K?
Not familiar with “Class K” fires, my navy fire/rescue traning listed classes A – E, with “D” being reactive materials such as magnesium, thermite, and molecular oxygen or hydrogen.
I still remember the mnemonic…
A is for “Ash”, AKA organic solids like wood and paper
B is for “Burn” specifically flammable substances like grease, gasoline, and plastic.
C is for “Charged” AKA electrical fires
D is for “Danger” AKA highly reactive sh*t
E is for “Everything else” or “Evacuate”, radioactive stuff, fuming stuff anything that is best avoided rather than fought.
That said there were “P-K” fire-extinguishers that were specifically for C and D class fires.
I didn’t even notice italics until you pointed it out. Makes much more sense now.
ok if they are not the ones that are on fire anymore I wonder who or what it is
I bet it’s been mentioned before, but Rock Lobster looks like the kind of guy that shaves three or four times a day so his muttonchops do not merge once more into a beard.
He shaves at least twice a day, so you are absolutely right!”
(b^.^)b
A-53, B-52… that might just mean C-51 and D-50, but it could also mean I just like patterns too much.
J37 and C48, Jet and Cate.
I thought B-52 was for the Stratofortress, aka BUFF (Big Ugly Fat F…fffriend). Because nothing says badass like a a bomber with 4 pairs of TWIN jet engines, that has proven so versatile that we’ve kept them around long enough they are starting to qualify for Social Security.
B-52 is the Commander’s serial number, and he was accordingly nicknamed Rock Lobster.
Kinda makes you wonder what his name was before. I mean, he mentioned once that he had to change his name to ‘Commander Badass’ because he was ordered to.
…D37-9E-B52. They weren’t given names.
I get that they weren’t given names by the MILITARY, but they gave THEMSELVES names. Obviously based off of their serial numbers, but still. I was wondering what the Commanders original (self-given) name was, or if Rock Lobster was always his ‘given’ name before he was forced to change it to ‘Commander Badass’.
If you’ve played Dragon Age Inquisition, “Rock Lobster” is to “Commander Badass” what “Iron Bull” is to “Hissrad”
Oh, I get it! A53 = Ase = Ace, J37 = Jet, and C48 = Ca”ate” = Cate. Leetspeak!
Now I wish my name was Katy, so I could spell it “K80”, because that would be damn cool… On second thought, being a boy named Katy might not be so great after all.
I like how Jonesy’s drink is bigger than her head. They’re great till you get halfway through the film and really really really really need the loo.
On that note: that is a huge bundle of popcorn the Commander’s eating in panel 2.
Just wait until the movie gets to the big misunderstanding where everyone acts like a dick because of assumptions and then is sad before they finally figure it out and race to get back together.
Happens in most movies and is damned boring most of the time.
We watch rather different movies, if that happens in most of yours. Many, sure, but a majority?
Granted, I don’t watch all that many movies, and those I do watch tend to be too focused on other conflict to need interpersonal strife like that.
Wait, why is CB missing a tooth in the flashback? I’m pretty sure he had his own future self knock it out while brawling over a drink, meaning he should still have it if the flashback happens before he started the temp agency (in his personal timeline, so time travel shenanigans notwithstanding). The alternative would mean he’s still running with his siblings, leading a double life of sorts, and the flashback actually does take place after the drink thing, according to his personal timeline.
Nope, he’s been missing it since the first page of the comic. He lost it as a teenager but that’s a story for another day~
You taunt us.
and i can’t wait to see it ^-^
I can only assume the Spacefuture Navy HMO doesn’t include dental.
I’m guessing polling showed that his image leaned more towards “gruff heroic warrior” when missing one tooth and the doctors were ordered to stand down.
Only for things that can’t be listed as ‘awesome single missing tough guy tooth’.
I can’t believe It took me so long to find this comic! I’ve been binge reading all week and now that im caught up i’m bummed out at the prospect of waiting a whole week for a new one :(
Thank you for this bounty of pop culture goodness fellow Manitoban!
I’m going to make the assumption that they lit themselves of fire just to mess with him and ruin his cool routine.
I think that’s quite strongly implied to be the case here.
As is my custom to do at times, I must now yell what most everyone else is thinking:
“Then what’s the bad news!?”
They knocked over a water tower up on a hill, which rolled down said hill (don’t ask me how a tactical squad of badasses managed that) before crashing into A-53’s car, causing it to rip open and douse them in water. The water tower blocking the road has caused traffic to back up on the main, making getting a taxi home kinda hard. (which is the bad news; the first half is just par for the course with them)
The question is, who or what is now on fire? “WE’RE not on fire anymore…” but something else is. Ace’s car? The building they’re in? The water source they used to put themselves out? The humorous possibilities are legion.
Wow. Now I feel really bad for not noticing that “we’re” was italicized.
Despite that, I’m now even more intrigued. We must know.
I think it’s supposed to be they’re going to light Ace on fire
Is it wrong that I find the most unbelievable thing in this comic is Commanders ability to palm that much popcorn? Not one kernel out of place….
His true power is eating all that popcorn.
You know what, if my sisters and I could set ourselves on fire to be a nuisance to each other, we totally would. Pestering and poking faces is amateur compared to this. Well done, Rock and co.
I watched my little sister set her own pants on fire once, while she was wearing them…
…good times.
Pics or BS ^_^
What’s with the whole pics or BS thing? I mean, by that standard I am the worst of liars– I don’t even OWN a camera!
I know.But wouldn’t it be hilarious if she DID set her own pants on fire & you can see the proof of it? XDDDDDDDDDDD
Is it weird I read Ace’s lines in George Takei’s voice?
You and I must both be weird then, cause I read them in a very similar voice.
Weird. I read them in Anthony Stewart Head’s voice.
More good news: They’re totally prepared if any ninjas show up to try and catch them.
It might help if Commander B grows an authoritative mustache.
“Okay, so… funny story. Remember your car?”
This is the best one I have read on here so far. I have headphones on and had no idea how loud I was laughing when my wife yelled at me to shut up.
Oh god that is such an awesomely quotable yet all-but-impossible to use phrase. “Have you perhaps considered, NOT being on fire?”
For some reason I read his lines in a Connery-esque rollllll… don’t know what to make of that.
really cuz all i heard in that line was a similar one from X-2 (you know, the one Iceman’s mom has.)
Commander, that is entirely too much popcorn to eat all at once. How are you even holding all of that?
That is a huge drink she is holding. Where can I get one of those?
Can i insert the “JUGS” joke here?
Doooo iiiiittttt
Okay:
Ace: “Well, babe, you sure got a huge jug there…”
Girl: “Oh you~”
On time you say, who are you and what have you done with colesquid? obtw, nice job on the sibling trolling.
i would love to see more of the jared rping there is alot more you can do with it
this is great!!
Confirmed; they’re elemental bloodline bloodragers. Fire resistance.
Or Paladins that took the Energy Resistance alternate favored class bonus
So, Commander and his siblings are every D&D party ever?
Is the way that Jet, Cate and Rock are posed in the fourth panel a reference to some classical painting? There’s something about the way they’re holding their hands that reminds me of the apostles in da Vinci’s Last Supper or something similar.
needed a laugh and I get this. Thank you!
ya, when my sister got too full of herself in public school, i remember how i would clench a skipping rope between my teeth and then gallop past she and her friends, whinnying and tossing my head!
You sound like you had a very interesting time in public school. xD
I like that WE’RE is italicized. How’d they extinguish themselves, and what caught on fire in the process??
You can tell Jones is paying attention to the story by how her eyes in the second panel seem to be looking more at the exposition bubble than at the Commander. Which is understandable, it’s a big bubble.
Hey Kelly, did you know that Fanboys did a little cameo of Badass and Jared weight lifting?
It’s a reverse angle of “Jared is me, I am Jared.”
And the author knows about bruising martinis (unlike most bartenders in my area)! So happy.
If not for the established test tube origins of the nondescript spacefuture squad, I’d bet real people money that the redhead was a descendant of Jared. I can’t be the only one who sees the Jaredness of her face in the last panel.
Who says he or his descendants weren’t DNA contributors?
Gasp! Who says replicating a future Jared wasn’t the goal of the project?
Just dawned on me why that woman looked weird to me:
Her hair looks like a wig. Because I can see a lot of scalp in panel 6.
My older brother once set my hair on fire when I was about 3 when I strolled past him on the stairs while he was playing with my Dad’s lighter. He put it out by whacking me on the top of the head with his hand.
I think I cried more about him hitting me on the head than the fact my hair was on fire beforehand.
I knocked out most of my brother’s baby teeth (on separate occasions, mind you).
Huh, commander lost his accent in that last panel.
Watch the next pannel will show that EVERYTHING is onfire, but them of course.
I cant decide which im enjoying more, their on a movie date or the sibling trolling flashback….
That is a huge cup of pop! O.o
That was fast.
“Have you perhaps considered…NOT being on fire?”
Gawd I love this comic.
I’m sorry, what is this ‘not being on fire’ of which you speak?
OMG I just got it that A-53 = ASE = ACE
I am such a dumbass
Good grief, I haven’t laughed this hard in ages!
If I had to pick just one page of this comic to take with me to a desert island, this would be it.
They look like a dugtrio