Compatible in their own way
December 11, 2017
2:44 am
Rock probably dressed up extra trashy just to annoy Ace. Or it’s just close enough to Lemmy’s birthday it was time to break out the handlebar.
Also hey, 400 comics, to celebrate I actually got it up in colour right off the bat.
For a second I thought Ace was a Yakuza character and you were doing a comic about that series.
(I hear it’s really good, I should probably give it a shot one of these days)
…this should happen!
You know, I never realised that there hadn’t been comics done of the Yakuza series (And if there has, I’ve clearly forgotten), I definitely third that suggestion!
The games themselves are also very good, so bonus!
You were wondering what to do for a 400th strip? I’d say you nailed it.
The handle bar mustache? lol I agree this feels like a special number strip.
Think those are “Friendly muttonchops”
Ohhh I love both of them. Ace is stylish and handsome while Rock is a wild 90s Biker.
They are adorable dorks. Ace could probably use it to protect himself from the raining blood
“Two great tastes that taste great together.”
I’d say Ace is chocolate: smooth & refined.
The Commander is peanut butter because he can make things get quite…messy…
He’s also chunky and full of protein.
*applause*
Is this set in the (relative) future? They look a bit… older. Or are you just experimenting with the style?
I think the padded shoulders in Ace’s suit and/or jacket are the main factor there. Rock just shaved differently and dressed scruffy to match.
“Who’s scruffy-looking?”
~Han Solo
I inked it with a different brush than I normally use to test it out, that might have something to do with it
Maybe! The edges on the jawlines is probably what I’m seeing. They look a bit more angular.
Always nice to see Deluge having sibling time.
Wait, so that’s not Bruce Wayne?
That’s Bruce Wayne crossed with Alfred Pennyworth with a dash of Bruce Lee for good measure.
And just a light sprinkling of George Takei.
He’s got a british accent, so I’d say he’s more than one share James Bond.
Alfred’s British. Also, ex-SAS.
… We need a strip along the lines of Alfred treating dealing with villains who figure out Batman’s secret identity the same way he treats doing the dusting or polishing the silver. “Honestly M aster Bruce, you really must learn to tidy up after yourself. That’s the 3rd hit-squad this week, and the disposal men won’t come until Thursday. Even your cellar isn’t limitless, and it’s getting rather awkward to reach the wine, hmm?”
I had an Idea that Alfred was gothems most successful crime boss. He funded his empire embezzling for the Waynes. When the grew suspicious of them he had them killed and arranged to be Bruce’s guardian. after bruce grew up and became batman he was able to use his access to the cave, computers, and evidence to keep his sprawling empire under bruces radar. If batman comes across evidence on Alfreds organization he can alter or falsify the evidence so that it looks like the work of lesser crime lords. he also manipulates bruce into acting as an enforcer for him by sending batman after his rivals
This is amazing, why is it not a comic yet?
In one of the alternate mirror universe Earths, Alfred’s also the head of the evil version of the Justice League.
Two prime variations of manly guys doing manly things. Possibly in a pub!
“Manners maketh man”
“Yeah, what he said. But, also, WAAAGH!” *ka-tackle*
Is commander a green skin now?
No that’s his adopted brother Commander Waagh Jr. Due to Tzeentch having fun with 4th dimentional warppuckery He ended up at Commander badass’s Gym.
I love this! Also, I was going to say that Ace is a very stylish and debonair James Bond/secret agent type, very much in the vein of Duke Togo… but then I realized that Ace is SO MUCH COOLER than mister “Golgo 13.” Especially the version from the animes (He wasn’t bad in the two 8-bit NES games… but in the animes, he’s neither heroic nor likeable).
He’s really not meant to be. He’s just an unstoppable force.
Not gonna lie, I was really hoping for a “Manners Maketh Man” call-out, with the umbrella and all.
I think it’s safe to say everyone was sort of expecting Kingsmen references.
I would be surprised if Coelasquid didn’t invoke them eventually.
Ace is basically the Kingsman of the family.
The moment I saw Ace in his stylish suit, with tha umbrella. The Pub fight scene from the Kingsman movie just popped into my head. Even before he said he was going to use it for “stylish combat dramatics.”
*Slow Claps.
*That
Oooh, ace got a bit of a redo… I like…. mostly cause I’m not going to mix him up with angel..
He got this redesign back in the survival dome arc, I think I’m just drawing faces a little differently now after all the Overwatch Fanart I spent last year drawing. My big issue with the two of them is Angel is supposed to look like a female version of Lee van Cleef and Ace is supposed to look like Daniel Dae Kim (and then all the supersoldiers have the same hair cut), but when you put them beside each other I realized the markers I honed in on when drawing Daniel Dae Kim and Lee Van Cleef were too similar to each other (particulary the cheekbones), so I tried to emphasize more Ace has a square face, Angel has a triangular one, Ace has a pretty delicate, angular nose nose, Angel has a rounder one with flared nostrils, Ace has epicanthic folds, Angel has hooded eyes. They’ve both got pretty crazy cheekbones (I mean, so does Commander for that matter) but Angel’s face is fleshier and rounder and Ace’s is more taught and angular, kinda like the difference between Blackwatch Reyes’ Cheekbones VS Strike Commander Morrison’s.
Also a matter of figuring out what the characters’ roles were supposed to “be” as far as being tropey action stereotypes. Jet’s another big brawler like Commander, but he’s “the animal guy”, he’d be like the Chris Pratt in Jurassic world or something. Cate hasn’t gotten a lot of screen time either, but she’s the demolitions one who knows her way around explosives. Tank is the roid’ raging Doomguy Unstoppable T800 Hardcore Henry Juggernaut. Before Spider Robocopped herself she was the little scout who could climb anything and weighed basically nothing, so she could figure out how to get anywhere she needed to be. Angel’s the well-meaning captain, the disciplined hardass who gets everyone to fall in line but still “one-of-them” so they respect her. The other Valkyries in Angel’s Group, Brunhilde is the heavy weapons one, Sigrun is the pilot, Wagner’s the gangly tech one. There were a bunch of others that I haven’t even trotted out because I planned to do a graphic novel with the characters years ago that never happened, like two identical twin ones that they had to call “Alpha” and “Prime” because any insinuation that one was more important than the other would start a fight, and a set of three snobby preppie ones they all call “Charlie” because it was easier than trying to discern whether or not they actually had individual personalities.
So when it came to Ace it was hard to figure out exactly what “role” he’d have. The one that seemed missing from their four man team was “the smart one” but I didn’t want him to end up being the-nerdy-Asian-guy. Then I realized there was no debonair secret service type, and the “smart” guy could absolutely be the handsome, calculating spy, which did a lot to help me solidify his look and personality.
I feel like you need to draw a character at least a dozen times or so to start to get the feel of what they’re “supposed” to look like, so unfortunately the characters that don’t show up as often don’t get the benefit of that kind of repetition.
Thank you, I really like hearing how different creators fertilize ideas if their original one is unable to get off the ground. I really enjoy how much extra oomph you are able to give them and show a wonderful cast expounding on them all the time.
Fertilize is supposed to be reutilize
No, no, fertilize is great, makes the ideas grow and mature.
Have you done any panels at, like, a con or something? I’d pay good money to see one, hell I’d take a class from you on this stuff. Thinking about it that sounds like it’d be way too damn much with all you have on your plate so I wouldn’t really expect you to but if you ever did that’d be really interesting with as much experience as you have in the industry. IDK, this was a good read though.
It’s neat to pay attention to diversify the faces and bodyly build of every characters. too many artist stick with same-face characters.
Speaking as a twin, Alpha and Prime are great name choices.
Twin 2 and Twin B?
I’m always super okay with more facial hair on ruggedly handsome guys.
It’s always nice to see brothers make the effort to accommodate each other’s preferences when they’re playing.
There’s suit, handlbar, biker style comander…this strip have everything.
Well, now I want an entire buddy cop show…
Woo 400 comics yeah!
RIP Lemmy…. Still kinda stinging about that even though it has been a couple years.
Truth. I sill have trouble believing he’s actually dead, or I forget and then it hits me again. I genuinely believed he was going to outlive me. R.I.P.
LOl I wonder how many times they’ve had a discussion about their preferred fighting styles.
Also, if Rock has Plate Armour implanted inside him does that make going through metal detectors awkward? Or is it some space-future Plate Armour that’s undetectable by past-present equipment?
Who said that it’s plate *metal* armor? Space-Future can utilize all sorts of fancy-shmancy composite plastics, polymers, ceramics, & other esoteric materials that we’ve got no idea what they could be. Besides, how would Rock allow them to put metal in him if there’s a chance it could start rusting?
He was probably unconscious after losing half his guts to retrieve the recruits. Once he’s out, they can out almost anything into him. Legally.
By specific rules of contract, they can’t make Rock into a cyborg without his permission. That was noted way back in the archives here, but I’m a bit too lazy to dive for the link.
This is true. Most modern body armor with plates skews away from steel because of the weight, and modern ceramics (like interceptor body armor) are better bullet catchers than old school steel anyway. I would be suprised if it wasn’t some sort of metallic terminator hyper-deforming nanomechanical amorphous super alloy though, because marketing would probably think that metal plates are more “Mad bitching” than plastic/ceramic stuff. As the old saying goes “Steel is Real” :D
I have metal hip plates from a surgery when I was in third grade, and the only time a metal detector other than the one I had as a kid went off was on the RETURN trip from Washington DC after a trip a year ago, after having gone through all sorts of security in national landmarks that week with no issues. Go figure. Anyway, they probably used some sort of scrambler tech to make sure the enemy couldn’t just search for soldiers with a metal detector.
I have the weirdest boner right now.
Plate armor. That explains so much, you know.
How does he bend over, though? and does the armor go right under the skin, under the muscles, or under the nerve endings? Space future medicine must be so advanced….
Probably made of the same kind of stuff Tank’s sides are, that let him bend
Nanoscale chainmail? Looks like plate but bends like skin? Can that be canon?
That’s actually a really good look for him.
Uh, second to last panel. It should be, “”That’s WHY”, not “That’s WHAY”.
Wait, was this how Kingsman: The Golden Circle went? I haven’t seen it yet.
I love how Rock and Ace have their own good brotherly dynamic here. There haven’t been many comics where he isn’t either being made fun of or kind of a prat, so it’s good to see that underneath it all, they’re good brothers.
I don’t know if it’s just the umbrella handle blending in but Ace’s hand seems huuuuge. Had to do a double take, and I’m still on the fence on the thumb.
I think of Ace more like their group’s “big brother”, even though they’re all the same age. He was probably the one who was supposed to be the cool handsome leader and the others were supposed to be his backup/muscle/goons, so he’s a little more uptight because he was always held to a higher standard and was tasked with keeping the others in line.
To each their own, I guess. And congratulations on reaching 400 comics! may your reign be just and manly.
B sporting the Lemmy Stash is great. Also dig the buddy cop dynamic.
I’ll admit to being rather jealous of Rock’s facial hair. Given that he can grow like an inch and a half (at least) of full beard every day (based on an older comic), that gives him a lot of flexibility in figuring out his preferred style of grooming – i.e. he can experiment without worryying about screwing anything up for a noticeable period of time.
This easily could have been a total Kingsmen spoof.
Is that the pub from “Kingsman: The Secret Service”? the pattern on the door looks kind of familiar
I think it’s a generic pub door. It also looks like the one from Moe’s Tavern in the Simpsons.
Nothing saying the Kingsman pub door wasn’t echoing Moe’s :V
I love seeing more interactions between The commander and his family/ coworkers, and I hope that this trend of comics continues!
I admit, not a whole fan of the Hulk Hogan look on the commander, but, hey, it’s his face, and it makes a good contrast to Ace’s nerdy suaveness.
i see all the holes in his shirt. could it be his stab shirt?
Does Ace follow the Dao of Brando like Commander? (Stupid phone keeps saying Brandi instead. Totally different religious philosophy there)
She is a fine girl, though it’s debatable how good a wife she would be.
400, wow. Coming up on the eight-year anniversary in just over two months… and you’ve missed, what, one week total? That’s dedication to your art right there, especially since this is in addition to your job.
Hahaha I’ve never actually *missed* a week, I’m technically posting everything 6.9 days late these days, but I’ve always had something up by midnight the Sunday before “next Monday” technically starts
“Technically correct; the best kind of correct.”
Are we actually going to see those stylish combat dramatics? O_O
<3 HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!! <3 I assume this is set in the past?
Umbrellas are also good for keeping off the sun – perhaps he is just worried about his complexion.
Sudden question. The government in the nondescript space future uses these dude’s cool super-shenanigans to boost morale and capitalize on action figures. Has there ever been a villain that outsmarted them a few times, and which then contacted by their superiors to be an official merchandise villain with all of the rights and benefits thereof?
I super want to see the Commanders Officially Sponsered Archnemesis.
I love this comic, but I miss when you tagged the franchises involved in them. I never have any idea if someone like Ace is a character from a game or a character you created. I really appreciated the tags. Thanks
Ace is one of mine. I still tag when they’re from games.
This is perfect. Thanks Coelasquid for all those strips. I’ve been reading the last few and I’m both smiling and crying, because it’s so heartwarmingly perfect.
Again, thanks.
Having just re watched Kingsman the Secret Service I can’t help but imagine Rock in Eggsy’s roll now. That movie would have been a loooot different.
Ok just want you to know this comic has set the course for my face. Wanna see how I looks with facial hair like what Rock has going on.
Man, is it Lemmy’s birthday already?
Although MGDMT was all ‘rehabilitating video game dudes’, I suddenly wonder how they’d get along with the Brütal Legend crew.
Rock looks like a Village People reject and I’m absolutely living for this. You go, dude. Be your best trashy biker dad self.
I was almost expecting a Kingsman reference from how Ace is dressed.
Does anyone else suddenly have a pang of regret over never getting a Roger Moore/Sylvester Stallone movie?
Oh and Happy 400th!
Toasting in epic bread–
No, wait…
Celebrating 400!
Your dedication is inspiring, you da real supersoldier!
So I’m guessing his armor implants are the part that makes Rock ‘barely’ a cyborg.
Technically, an implanted hearing aid would make you a cyborg. An artificial heart makes one into a cyborg. There’s some debate whether or not a pin in your hip to hold it together also counts. It’s a pretty thin line there & it mostly depends on who you ask, but subdermal armor is a “passive” thing in that he doesn’t need it to function normally.
This is the perfect summary of everything this comic is about.
OOOH I like the handlebars. Keep ’em! <3
And BIG CONGRATS on 400! You do outstanding work. I could look at your boys all day.
That door… is the target drinking at Moes?
Congrats on #400!
And only 1 spelling mistake! Panel 5, 2nd bubble, “whay”.
I just handwaved that as a out of character funky accent moment.
surely you meant to say that for 400 comics, the Commander got a facial hair upgrade!
Oddly enough, the first thing I thought of was Big Trouble in Little China.
… which makes me believe that Jack Burton and the Commander would get along famously.