Don’t insult a man’s craft
February 16, 2014
11:16 pm
Got all bogged down this week cementing Platinum Black things and talking about why the new Robocop was a great tribute to the original that any fan who doesn’t go in looking to hate it from the get-go will probably enjoy.
I to would be insulted to be compared to hank hill.
Seriously, Commander isnt nearly shitty enough at parenting to be Hill, not to mention the christian fundamentalism
I dunno. Guy has a family, owns his house, truck, and has a steady job. He finds joy in simple things and pride in his work. He’s patriotic and has a decent moral compass. Bobby is a clown, but isn’t shooting up schools. I don’t understand how his “Christian Fundamentalism” is a negative point unless you’re some kind of judgmental asshole. I think you guys need to stop imagining yourself as someone like the Commander up there and realize that you probably wish you had what Hank-I-Sell-Propane-And-Propane-Accessories-Hill has.
That and he’s a better father figure to Luanne than her actual parents are (may not be saying much, but the man for his fondness of propane could be far worse)
The biggest problem for me regarding Hill: he always had to be right, even if he was a buffoon and a loud-mouth, he always had to be right, and the writer always made it that he was, always
Hank was wrong a lot of times and ended up looking like a buffoon because of it. He had a very specific set of skills, morals, and understandings and most episodes fell within that wheelhouse but any episode that didn’t focus on Hank as the main character made him look like a jerk, a tyrant, or an imbecile.
Did you not watch the show?
I don’t know what your issue is, but ‘we guys’ aren’t trying to compare ourselves to anybody here and the Commander would most definitely be pissy if you tried to force Christian fundamentalism in his house of Brando.
That comparison just makes him seem more like Hank Hill. I mean, imagine if Bobby brought Chuck Norris into Hank’s rhetorical house of Brando. He would probably act in a manner similar to how the Commander does, when Jared does that very thing. He also seems oddly defensive about the manner in which he cooks his meat, reacting to the idea of using propane in the same way that Hank would react were he accused of using charcoal and woodchips. Perhaps they are more alike than the Commander realizes.
…And Jared actually does have a bit of resemblance to Bobby, personality-wise.
Not everyone desires your christian fundamentalist idea of a perfect life, and just because someone suggests otherwise doesn’t necessarily mean that they hate you or your religion.
Now, if the Commander didn’t appeal to you in some fashion you wouldn’t be here reading this awesome webcomic.
…he wanted to force Bobby to get beaten up in a mascot costume because it was “school tradition”. How is that good parenting? Seriously, every time Bobby wanted to do ANYTHING that wasnt completely, middle class America mainstream, Hank did everything he could to sabotage it, and the show was written like this was a good thing to do.
I would argue the show was more often than not written to poke fun at what a stick in the mud Hank was or force him to face how uncomfortable things made him and deal with them, but it had it’s occassionl moments that were morealong the lines of “okay we all know in an ideal world things wouldn’t be this way but lets be real about how our actual present society will react to this (ie Bobby’s fashion show)
I don’t even like the show, and I agree with CoelaSquid. To me it was more like a boring, straight-laced parody of the “ideal nuclear unit family” and stuff like that. like a low-key, boring version of Moral Orel without all the bible-thumping stuff.
I think the christian fundimentalism is a negative point because christian fundimentalists are, by their nature, usually judgemental assholes. And Rock isn’t either of those things.
Even Commander Badass has his Berserk Button.
Yeah, i know how it feels. I got angry when my ex girlfriend says, “You like Gundam model kit? Eww, lame!”. So i yelled at her & says, “I DARE YOU TO TRY BUILD ONE. THE SD GUNDAMS!!”.
& we broke up.
only the chosen ones may build SD GUNDAM’s
Sounds like someone wants to eat the heat instead of the meat
The heat is in fact quite delicious.
Of course it’s delicious. It IS free-range fire, after all.
I see what you did there, Hank.
Rock Lobster ain’t got time for dinosaur gas.
He prefers dinosaur flesh and guts XD
That was mammoth, gaht dammit! Mammoths aren’t dinosaurs!
I’m afraid you missed the reference, we were referring to the source of gas… but then again I blew the joke too XD Coal is made of plants, not dinosaurs
It could be made of dinosaurs if it wanted to, you can’t keep it from it’s dreams XP
…*its >.>;
I am hoping the new Robocop holds up as well as the old movies and the mini series from a few years ago.
With the current state of Detroit things are getting to close for comfort to the plot of the original.
It’s PG-13. So no, it won’t hold up to the old version, at least not on the violence end.
I’m really kind of sick of this being the basis of why people think it will suck. Does it not occur to you people that PG-13 rating is FAR easier to get, in a Call of Duty Game of Thrones Walking Dead world, than it ever was in the time of PacMan and Disney cartoons? I’m not even saying your lame remake will be good. It will probably NOT be good. But PG-13 can incorporate a TON of violence, as long as it isn’t incredibly graphic, an f-bomb and all the lower swear words they want, and nonsexual nudity. The basis of whether or not a film is good, should not be how much blood spatter it contains. Shit.
The new Robocop didn’t have a ton of graphic violence, but honestly, it didn’t need it. It wasn’t Verhoeven’s Robocop, it still had a sense of humour but that humour just wasn’t rooted in over-the-top hyperviolence. I love the original, it’s one of my favourite movies, but this one succeeded at doing what it set out to and thoroughly entertained me. The majority of the people I’ve met who didn’t like it made up their minds beforehand that they weren’t going to and dwelled on the negative too much to have fun.
Yes, that is quite definitely what I was getting at. I have not seen it, because I have little interest in RoboCop in particular, but I have a few friends who were fans of the original, and have been bellyaching for months, because it was going to be PG-13. Gorey violence might have been part of the original, but such a thing is rarely integral to the plot.
It’s been shown that PG-13 movies are getting more and more violent than R-rated movies… The Dark Knight Rises was cited as an extreme example, with around 40 scenes of gun-based violence.
THAT is because showing a tit is less acceptable than violence. Show lil’ timmy somebody getting shot in the chest but heavens forbid he see’s a naked person. Funny story a history teacher from my highschool got fired because he showed Braveheart. He wasn’t fired because to show that movie in a history class for reasons other than “this isn’t even close to historically accurate”, he wasn’t fired because he showed a battle where somebodies head was caved in, he was fired because the battle scene he showed also showed male asses….
To make matters worse, cartoons are accepting PG-ratings, no matter how nonviolent they are. Frozen, for example. It makes it impossible to judge how harsh a movie is before seeing it.
I dunno. I don’t think the ratings boards look at dismemberment and violence the same when it’s robots and cyborgs. I for one, want to see more of that scene where he’s fighting two or three ED-209s. Outside too. No stairs.
To be fair, I’ve known people to whom the art of grilling and barbeque was more of a religion to them then just a means of making meat even more delicious. Best not go insulting a man’s work, especially one that was designed to kick your ass.
Pah, it’s his pet fire that does all the work.
Now maybe, but he had to put all that effort into training it.
Charcoal and propane just don’t compare.
I would pay a lot of dollars to see a Hank Hill versus Commander Badass GRILL-OFF.
He usually stay so calm. Interesting to see him enraged.
All that hard work paid off, his fires don’t dare burn anything he doesn’t want them to.
I’m from Texas. Barbecue is Serious Business down here. No real self respecting barbecue smoker would use propane.
Damn, you must hate Hank Hill then.
I think Hank would agree on the smokers. His angle with propane was stoves and grills.
you got that right, it is hanks one and only time he agrees propane isn’t up to the job
The only time I can recall smokers coming up was in the airport thanksgiving episode, when he was trying to prove to Peggy’s mom that he could smoke a turkey with propane just as well as you could with other fuels.
The turkey got exploded by the bomb squad after the dogs signaled on it, but he was making a good faith effort.
I don’t watch the show much but I do remember one of the episodes I did see he tried to enter a BBQ cook off and got upset because propane wasn’t on the entry form’s fuel of choice list.
It was at the Texas State Fair, and he had a very good point there. He wasn’t bragging about how he could mop the floor with everybody else or anything, he just wanted a fair chance. Equal ground.
I’ve never been a fan of King of the Hill. Every time I told someone from out of state that I was Texan, I would always get “You must love propane and propane accessories! Y’ALL Y’ALL Y’ALL!!!” Truthfully I had never heard of BBQing with propane till King of the Hill. We always used mesquite wood. I had propane BBQ once it tasted really bland.
Heh, I think Hank’s obsession with propane boils down to pride in his work. He’s a propane salesman. He HAS to believe in it.
I prefer his kind of cookin over propane
and now the commander has earned one more night in the my respect belt. charcoal over propane any day
Next future annoucement from headquarters? Ban on all non-propane BBQs.
Wait. They made him? So… He really WAS synthesized from steak!? :O
Mmm, beefy.
This must be why barbecue is such an important part of his self-identity that it would cause him to snap.
I’m thinking that maybe they changed him to suit their purposes. Kind of like what they tried to do with the Bishie virus.
You won me over on the Robocop issue, I don’t even like the original that much, but I respected how it succeeds in what it tries to do enough that I couldn’t imagine how you could add anything meaningful to it and presumed – going by the trailers – that the remake was a pointless cash grab.
Maybe you have to watch the original and sequels a lot to get it though?
In the meantime, I love the Commander’s sass. Who knew he had such strong feelings about Hank Hill?
Hm. Is… is that the first StarCraft reference we’ve had? I forget.
That said, I’d be more offended by being compared to that gutless, backstabbing traitor than to some mincing Texan with a fetish for cooking with dinosaur farts.
… actually, when I put it that way, I just don’t know.
Aside from the whole “Mengsk has a gun to his head and he doesn’t just let himself get offed” thing, dude was kind of awesome. And yes, sadly. I wanna see Jim Raynor hanging out somewhere as long as we’re in the spacefuture.
Maybe throw in some Nova for a bit of extra fun?
You obviously didn’t read the books detailing the back story between Tychus and Raynor. Pick them up if you see them in a book store, definitely worth the read.
Tychus did show up in one strip as a cigar-smoker in the strip where they all hot-boxed cigars for SCIENCE!
Its not tagged, but on binging through the comic again, I found it.
http://thepunchlineismachismo.com/archives/comic/its-okay-hannibal-you-had-a-good-run
Technically, if he was a gutless backstabbing traitor he would have shot both Jim and Sarah while their guards were down instead of making a big show and giving himself away completely.
Man’s got a point there. Propane isn’t real barbequing, it is just regular stove cooking. Solid fuel, fire-pit or trench is where real BBQ skill comes in, maybe a metal smoker but that is it. The best burgers I ever tasted were cooked over solid fuel, which was applewood chips.
CANNOT UNHEAR COMMANDER WITH HANK HILL VOICE NOW!
Just remember “Tom Waits and Beetlejuice on a road trip” and you’ll be fine.
Rock Lobster takes his BBQ very, VERY seriously.
I peddle propane and propane accessories.
peripherals*
Finally, someone put that buttcheek-less redneck hillbilly in his place (and, before anyone gets all pantie-wadded, was being specific about which redneck hillbilly)
Rednecks live in trailer parks or trashy suburbs, shoplift from WalMart, and hunt primarily for sport.
Hillbillies live in the mountains, make most of the things they need by hand, and hunt for food.
Don’t get them confused for each other.
Technically, ‘rednecks’ came from africa, it was an Afrikaans word for englishmen (rooinek)
I thought it was due to how their necks got red with sunburn doing manual labor/etc.
That’s what I thought too…
Yes, literally ‘rooinek’ means ‘red-neck’, due to the English being newer to the area than the Afrikaaners, and wearing inappropriate clothing/hats
I’d say it took him about 340 years to do so, relatively speaking.
Thank god, nobody noticed the pariahs of barbeque :
Those thugs using using electric grills!!!
*mentioned, not “noticed”.
Damn my english!
Hank Hill is a cool motherfucker. He earns his blue flame of valor, and Badass should respect him and his grill.
There is a new Robocop movie. What. !?!
Yeah, in black
I never noticed just how grey the commander’s eyes were before.
I just wanted to pop in and say I love this backstory arc. This is one of my favorite “story” web comics.
My name is Rock Lobster. I sell ass-kicking and ass-kicking accessories.
So that’s who supplies all of Hank Hill’s and Red Foreman’s ass-kicking needs.
Yeah, because Hank doesn’t have arse of his own
Damn straight! I’d like to see Hank Hill try and train a fire!
To be honest, training a fire seems like its easier with propane. However, that’s the pansy way to do it. Rock Lobster doesn’t need useless frivolities like “propane” or “water” or “fire extinguishers” to control his fire.
Great comic!! Love the manly anger expressions
So the new Robocop isn’t “Tron Meets the Dark Knight?”
Because from what I saw in the trailers it looked like “Tron Meets the Dark Knight.”
It’s kind of like Raidencop. With less grumbly brooding.
I’m just gonna pop in and say you got the prettiest space backgrounds of any comic I read. *pops out*
I won’t disagree, but they do make me think of the note on this. Real space is downright boring to look at.
It’s rather amusing reading his lines as Hank Hill now…
Sorta wonder who’s less accident prone Bobby or Jared..
Don’t know, but Jared doesn’t have the crippling self-esteem issues Bobby will likely develop having Hank as a father.
I like how right next to a comic called Manly Guys Doing Manly Things, there’s an ad for a pretty little kawaii moe comic
OMG…I found a pic of the Commander in his younger days: http://i57.tinypic.com/2z68n5t.jpg
Huh. CB as a Chaotic Good Tychus Findlay? GASP!
Wait. Naah…
And in CB’s defense… I think that Hank Hill would consider him a luddite for forgoing propane.
He wouldn’t have much ground to stand on, though.
Luddites don’t tame and train fire. :-)
Am I the only one who finds it a little weird with all the early 21st/late20th pop culture references these future men/women make ALL THE TIME? For a culture as obsessed with cool as they are, it makes it sound like the last artistic accomplishment of note happened 300 years ago.
Unless…
*GASP* This is one of those dystopic futures.. isn’t it?!
Well they all clearly time travel
Time travel is that ubiquitous in the nondescript spacefuture, isn’t it?
Or is it just the defining characteristic of TiALS troops?
Well the T does stand for Time, so….
If I had a time machine, I would be using it to surround myself with all this awesome pop culture again.
Also remember, they were giving people spaceships because they might look cool as action figures. This is a dystopia presented to you by Apple Computers.
I feel like all pop culture being references to pop culture is a key element of keeping a nondescript spacefuture nondescript.
I dunno guys. This would be like you or I constantly dropping references to Bach’s Prelude for Lute in C Minor.
It’s important to remember that the Commander chose to live in this time frame rather than any other (and he mentions why in a comic). Thus, it stands to reason that he’d visited this time frame at least once before hand and possibly on a mission with his time traveling squad. So it stands to reason that the popular culture from our world would be at least known in the future. Much as some people today still understand pop culture references from the 1920s.
Personally, I feel a key to enjoying media (from comics to movies to games) is to question something that feels odd (like this instance) and then figuring out how it could make sense given the world the story is built in. There are loads of times I found something stupid in fiction and thought about it for a bit and found an answer that made me appreciate the story even more (even if it could be something the writer hadn’t thought of).
I was raised with charcoal, I’ll die with charcoal!
So, what I’m getting here is.. They built him to be a renegade and are surprised that he reneged?
Yeah, I noticed that, too.
He’s Gone Horribly Right.
Coelasquid, no offense, but while I respect that you need to be focusing on your now high-maintenance job more, your comic is turning into talking head syndrome, with two people in a bland room talking without any visuals at all.
Maybe you could take a month-long hiatus and come back when you’re sure about what to do with the story?
Uh. Coela is sure what they’re doing. This is a way of injecting backstory they meant to tell us a long time ago into the comic. I’m loving seeing where Commander comes from and more of his life before the comic.
Hey dude I already said this arc was trying to condense a graphic novel’s worth of plot into a handful of pages because that’s the only way it’s going to get told, you don’t like it you are more than welcome to stop reading.
I don’t think “comin’ back ater” is part of his accent in panel 3…
In a feeble attempt to give you something besides a probably redundant correction, I shall summarize my enthusiasm for this nondescript spacefuture arc: http://tinyurl.com/l7z5sxt
Commander’s face is giving me OCD…
The Commander is right about Angel wrongfully making that into a comparison. Depending on the species of tree for your woodchips & the source-material making your charcoal, you can get a lot of variant flavoring with your BBQ. If you rely only on propane, the only flavor that transfers through is…oddly enough…propane & you’d have to rely more heavily on spices & seasonings to add any real variety.
So, it’s not a matter of having any real *comparison* here, it’s a personal choice of *preference.* The Commander obviously chooses variety over stagnation. It takes a keen sense of taste to prefer variety.
So…I almost hate to say it this way, but Rock has “good taste.”
I cant stop laughing at the fact that Rock Lobster was originally intended to be a “cool renegade Tychus Findlay” and then somewhere along the line the nondescript spacefuture government decided that a “bishified” version of Commander would be better with that whole nomura virus fiasco.
On that note I wonder if Rock Lobster’s kids have “Lobster” as their last name or “Badass”, as well as realizing that Commander has my eternal respect now with not only taming his own fire but also having a perfected smokehouse barbeque technique, which explains when they cooked up that mammoth earlier why it was so delicious :)
I’m kinda bored of this hallway. It’s the space future, can we see more environments, please?
They have literally been in this hallway for ten panels.
Welcome to the future. Hope you like chrome.
Welcome to the chrome. Hope you like future.
Hmmm…this revelation may be a little late, but here it is:
Remember how one of the Commander’s “clients” asked for five teenagers with an attitude & that’s what he got? This comic is a “meta” of that strip, in that they made the commander to be a “renegade-type” & got exactly what they wanted.
As the saying goes, “Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.”
I like how after all that was said the Hank Hill thing is the one thing that sets him off.
I actually loved the Hank Hill character, and while I’m not a Propane guy myself, I can definitely appreciate what that show said to people.