Carol is so bad at lying it makes me sad. She’ll never advance beyond body dumping. C’mon Carol, go all Hannibal Lecter on Shanna’s face! It puts the story in the shredder or else it gets the tube again.
wait… when was it established that the people in the tubes were actually dead? I thought HR tried to shut them down but the system sort of insisted that wasn’t going to happen?
There may be a moral issue here that Carol hasn’t considered: What if the 5 don’t want their old lives back? What if Arkerra was the first thing they ever felt good about?
Shanna assumes they are dead, so she has no reason to consider their interests in the matter. If Hurricane has the appropriate signatures and paperwork, they might even be able to beat most of the rap for kidnapping, but an investigation would certainly lead to a lot of meddling and eventual extrication from the system.
On the other hand, HR is an effing nut job who aught to be put away for what he’s done to Ferris. If Carol cooperated, she might get off lighter if she says she felt like HR was using the five as hostages to coerce her, and she was undecided over what would ultimately be best for them. But HR killed a man and chopped him into pieces, that’s just never cool.
Or… since Shanna is the one who assumed they were dead, were you suggesting Carol play along with that assumption? (It’s too damn early. Yawn.)
Shanna won’t be as stupid as to go straight to Hurricane’s Basement without leaking the stuff. Just in case shit would hit the fan.
But then, if she ever goes there, she’ll get an entire army of SWAT officers with her.
“And you want me to betray that trust, if that were true ?”
Yeah, right. So much better to cover up a murder for a freaking psychotick who has a god-complex. Because you admire and looove him. The guy who was killed ? Let’s bugger him. Screw the law ! Yay ! Killing spree !
Of course, you’d have to betray him, for Pete’s sake !! It’s that or become accomplice to murder !!
Don’t forget she’s trying to lie to *Shanna*. Who knows what this universe’s Shanna has done, but she’s dealing with a mind that has the potential to stand up to the worst the world- ANY world- has to offer. I don’t think even Hilda could match Shanna’s ability to discern reality back in the FANS! world.
This is why I always, in every instance, loathe these sorts of character crossovers. “No, but in *other universe* she was *Batman-equivalent*! No one could ever possibly dream of even hoping to consider the concept of defeating *Batman-equivalent*!”
As effective as Shanna later became in Fans, it’s worth remembering than the version of her in the first four pages of that series probably couldn’t have successfully intimidated Homer Simpson. This one is somewhere in between, and in any measure of competence, she has to stand on her own two feet.
Why would an investigative reporter be more concerned with preventing a murderous CEO from losing his “genius,” than exposing a CEO who murdered an employee? Is…that…sensible? For a journalist?
No wonder print is dying. Reporter suspects CEO killed a man, sets out to help cover it up. Fantastic.
That’s how I read it, too. Shanna saw that threatening to have Carol locked up as an accessory to murder wasn’t having the effect she wanted, so she changed her tactic to an Appeal to Shanna’s Better Nature.
Oh come now, histories greatest monster? Hitler, Stalin and Honourable Chairman Mao all enacted horrific genocides after taking power. H.R. Pufnstuf’s trapped four dudes in a virtual reality simulator, and murdered an employee.
At least give him until he’s fully summoned the dark gods to fray the edges of reality and chew on our sanity.
Eh, with how frivolously people bandy aroudn the name Hilter and Nazi’s these days, I wouldn’t put it past them.
“Ohhh, you think we should have free healthcare? You just want a nanny state you damn Nazi!”
“Wait..did you just imply that taking healthcare out of the hands of people who have a vested interest in using it for personal profit means I support imperialism, ethnic genocide and efficient dams?”
Yeah. A third of the population gone is pretty significant, even if the total number of deaths was lower. And he successfully exterminated ethnic groups. Yet everyone forgets Pol Pot.
I think part of the reason Hilter is more often known is because his rampage went outside of Germany and into other nations, while to my understanding Pol Pot kept his horrors within his national lines.
Dammit! I though for sure that everybody was still fooled by the pogroms, the Spanish Inquisition, that time the Babylonians destroyed the Temple and forced us out of our homeland, that other time the Romans destroyed the Temple and forced us out of our homeland, etc. Now you know the truth: we arranged to be persecuted for thousands of years as a smokescreen. In fact, we even arranged the Holocaust, because go big or go home, right?
Seriously, though, I’m not angry. I spun the Wheel of Evaluation and it landed on “moron,” and there’s no sense getting angry at a moron when he or she says something stupid. I get that you’re just trying to emulate the cool crowd. It’s stylish to be anti-Israel, so it must be even more stylish to be overly anti-Semitic, right? Plus they say history repeats itself, so being a century behind the times makes you progressive, right?
So let me give you a tip: direct prejudice is out, and cloaked prejudice is in. By all means use your prejudices to signal to other members of your group, but you MUST be able to deny them to other groups. You don’t want to become a public embarrassment to your group, do you?
Anyway, beyond what Tsapki said, Hitler is also better known because his genocide was very industrial and the death factories provided, and still provide, a striking and horrifying image, and because America cares more about Europe than Asia and the effect only gets stronger as you move backwards in time.
whoops Sorry I accidentally posted my comment in the wrong thread. I reposted it where it belongs in the discussion about Hitler &c. This comic strip is the first I have ever read that gives me nightmares. I have been dreaming of Carol coming to git me. Ick.
Hey everyone. Person who’s never read “Faaans”, here. Could someone please give us non-faaans the skinny rundown in short of who Shanna is?
From what I’ve gathered: She’s a reporter (I think), anyone who crosses her regrets it, and…she goes crazy at some point? I mean, how much should I know about her cross-dimensional self?
Shanna doesn’t go crazy, but her mother did, and she’s afraid one day she’ll go crazy herself. For some reason she hated all things fandom, until she realized its not so bad and got over herself.
But basically you’ve got the gist of it – investigative reporter with a very high level of cynicism and very low level (for most of the series) tolerance for non-mundane explanations. Similar to the Agent Scully, but a good deal more effective.
And by ‘remembered as history’s greatest monster’ I mean he’ll basicly be like the love child of Hitler and Stalin.
And by ‘Basicly be like the love child of Hitler and Stalin’ I mean he’ll probably get a pretty light sentence… The guy is fucking rich…
HR’s a classic example of the oft quoted Shakespearian quote: ‘Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad’. There’s a thin line between genius and madness and he’s crossed that one some time back. Carol, on the other hand, is motivated by fear and (misplaced) loyalty and is still capable of being turned by appealing to her basic humanity and not by threatening her boss. All Shanna has to do is to decline the invitation to come into the spiders parlor.
She’s trying to dig up a story. That’s not the same thing as righting a wrong. And I’ve disliked her since before Ferris died, it’s just intensifying the more I see her in action.
The fact that she apparently makes a living throwing mud at a hobby I enjoy is also not a point in her favor.
I’ll admit and say I am a bit disappointed with Carol. She has the balls to go meet up face to face with reporter chick and then completely loses her composure and cool? Either Carol is a bit of a dunce or she has some ulterior plan to take care of this issue; making reporter chick lower her guard thinking she has Carol on the ropes. I don’t know!!
I’ve been looking at the comic on google+ and I’m wondering how you set that up? – If I set up a community group for my comic, I can’t auto-update to it, but if I set up a personal page for my comic, it complains about my names not being real names, and so on and so forth. How is Guilded Age done?
Carol is so bad at lying it makes me sad. She’ll never advance beyond body dumping. C’mon Carol, go all Hannibal Lecter on Shanna’s face! It puts the story in the shredder or else it gets the tube again.
Hey, lying about day to day stuff isn’t too hard, but covering up a murder weighs more heavily on the conscience (or at least, so I’ve been told).
Carol’s probably going to convince her to help her get the bodies out, and then when she’s in the basement, WHAM H.R.Magic Death Hand!
wait… when was it established that the people in the tubes were actually dead? I thought HR tried to shut them down but the system sort of insisted that wasn’t going to happen?
There may be a moral issue here that Carol hasn’t considered: What if the 5 don’t want their old lives back? What if Arkerra was the first thing they ever felt good about?
Shanna assumes they are dead, so she has no reason to consider their interests in the matter. If Hurricane has the appropriate signatures and paperwork, they might even be able to beat most of the rap for kidnapping, but an investigation would certainly lead to a lot of meddling and eventual extrication from the system.
On the other hand, HR is an effing nut job who aught to be put away for what he’s done to Ferris. If Carol cooperated, she might get off lighter if she says she felt like HR was using the five as hostages to coerce her, and she was undecided over what would ultimately be best for them. But HR killed a man and chopped him into pieces, that’s just never cool.
Or… since Shanna is the one who assumed they were dead, were you suggesting Carol play along with that assumption? (It’s too damn early. Yawn.)
Shanna won’t be as stupid as to go straight to Hurricane’s Basement without leaking the stuff. Just in case shit would hit the fan.
But then, if she ever goes there, she’ll get an entire army of SWAT officers with her.
“And you want me to betray that trust, if that were true ?”
Yeah, right. So much better to cover up a murder for a freaking psychotick who has a god-complex. Because you admire and looove him. The guy who was killed ? Let’s bugger him. Screw the law ! Yay ! Killing spree !
Of course, you’d have to betray him, for Pete’s sake !! It’s that or become accomplice to murder !!
Don’t forget she’s trying to lie to *Shanna*. Who knows what this universe’s Shanna has done, but she’s dealing with a mind that has the potential to stand up to the worst the world- ANY world- has to offer. I don’t think even Hilda could match Shanna’s ability to discern reality back in the FANS! world.
This is why I always, in every instance, loathe these sorts of character crossovers. “No, but in *other universe* she was *Batman-equivalent*! No one could ever possibly dream of even hoping to consider the concept of defeating *Batman-equivalent*!”
As effective as Shanna later became in Fans, it’s worth remembering than the version of her in the first four pages of that series probably couldn’t have successfully intimidated Homer Simpson. This one is somewhere in between, and in any measure of competence, she has to stand on her own two feet.
Why would an investigative reporter be more concerned with preventing a murderous CEO from losing his “genius,” than exposing a CEO who murdered an employee? Is…that…sensible? For a journalist?
No wonder print is dying. Reporter suspects CEO killed a man, sets out to help cover it up. Fantastic.
She’s just manipulating Carol is disappointingly quite susceptible to it.
That’s how I read it, too. Shanna saw that threatening to have Carol locked up as an accessory to murder wasn’t having the effect she wanted, so she changed her tactic to an Appeal to Shanna’s Better Nature.
*Carol’s Better Nature.
^
*who is
Oh come now, histories greatest monster? Hitler, Stalin and Honourable Chairman Mao all enacted horrific genocides after taking power. H.R. Pufnstuf’s trapped four dudes in a virtual reality simulator, and murdered an employee.
At least give him until he’s fully summoned the dark gods to fray the edges of reality and chew on our sanity.
Eh, with how frivolously people bandy aroudn the name Hilter and Nazi’s these days, I wouldn’t put it past them.
“Ohhh, you think we should have free healthcare? You just want a nanny state you damn Nazi!”
“Wait..did you just imply that taking healthcare out of the hands of people who have a vested interest in using it for personal profit means I support imperialism, ethnic genocide and efficient dams?”
“You will be proud of ‘Murica and what we’ve done to the Colorado river!”
If Barry Goldwater hadda whupped Lyndon Johnson in ’64, nunno this whudda happened. Jessayin.
Five dudes, Er five folks that is. Any chicks in there?
Everyone always chimes out Hitler. How about Pol Pot? He was a bastard.
Yeah. A third of the population gone is pretty significant, even if the total number of deaths was lower. And he successfully exterminated ethnic groups. Yet everyone forgets Pol Pot.
I think part of the reason Hilter is more often known is because his rampage went outside of Germany and into other nations, while to my understanding Pol Pot kept his horrors within his national lines.
It’s also because the Jews (who had been screwing people for centuries) won’t ever let people forget that someone finally stood up to them
I’m sorry, but what? I’m reading over the comments months after the fact and I just have to respond after reading this post.
I can’t even begin to comprehend how someone could say something like that and begin to think it’s a reasonable position to hold.
Dammit! I though for sure that everybody was still fooled by the pogroms, the Spanish Inquisition, that time the Babylonians destroyed the Temple and forced us out of our homeland, that other time the Romans destroyed the Temple and forced us out of our homeland, etc. Now you know the truth: we arranged to be persecuted for thousands of years as a smokescreen. In fact, we even arranged the Holocaust, because go big or go home, right?
Seriously, though, I’m not angry. I spun the Wheel of Evaluation and it landed on “moron,” and there’s no sense getting angry at a moron when he or she says something stupid. I get that you’re just trying to emulate the cool crowd. It’s stylish to be anti-Israel, so it must be even more stylish to be overly anti-Semitic, right? Plus they say history repeats itself, so being a century behind the times makes you progressive, right?
So let me give you a tip: direct prejudice is out, and cloaked prejudice is in. By all means use your prejudices to signal to other members of your group, but you MUST be able to deny them to other groups. You don’t want to become a public embarrassment to your group, do you?
Anyway, beyond what Tsapki said, Hitler is also better known because his genocide was very industrial and the death factories provided, and still provide, a striking and horrifying image, and because America cares more about Europe than Asia and the effect only gets stronger as you move backwards in time.
*overtly anti-Semitic. Stupid autocorrect, I know what words I want to use.
hmm…nope, still torn. Killing still bad, but now the reporter is trying to manipulate poor Carol as well *shakes fist*
If Barry Goldwater hadda whupped Lyndon Johnson in ’64, nunno this whudda happened. Jessayin.
whoops Sorry I accidentally posted my comment in the wrong thread. I reposted it where it belongs in the discussion about Hitler &c. This comic strip is the first I have ever read that gives me nightmares. I have been dreaming of Carol coming to git me. Ick.
Its not your fault you posted in the wrong place. Its Lyndon Johnson’s fault, for beating Goldwater.
Shanna’s manipulating for a good cause. Not HR.
I woould say that it’s not the road that’s gonna swallow him and his genius, but rather it’s his genius who’s swallowing him.
Not that I would care though. If anything, I’m loyal to the genius more than the person.
Hey everyone. Person who’s never read “Faaans”, here. Could someone please give us non-faaans the skinny rundown in short of who Shanna is?
From what I’ve gathered: She’s a reporter (I think), anyone who crosses her regrets it, and…she goes crazy at some point? I mean, how much should I know about her cross-dimensional self?
Shanna doesn’t go crazy, but her mother did, and she’s afraid one day she’ll go crazy herself. For some reason she hated all things fandom, until she realized its not so bad and got over herself.
But basically you’ve got the gist of it – investigative reporter with a very high level of cynicism and very low level (for most of the series) tolerance for non-mundane explanations. Similar to the Agent Scully, but a good deal more effective.
And by ‘remembered as history’s greatest monster’ I mean he’ll basicly be like the love child of Hitler and Stalin.
And by ‘Basicly be like the love child of Hitler and Stalin’ I mean he’ll probably get a pretty light sentence… The guy is fucking rich…
The irony is there’s no way he’s getting busted for the murder of Ferris. All the evidence points to Carol.
Like the old saying goes: A friend will help you move…A REAL friend will help you move a BODY.
In cases like this, always have one question (not just one question, but a main one): “What do you believe you will get out of this, Shanna’s Nose?”
HR’s a classic example of the oft quoted Shakespearian quote: ‘Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad’. There’s a thin line between genius and madness and he’s crossed that one some time back. Carol, on the other hand, is motivated by fear and (misplaced) loyalty and is still capable of being turned by appealing to her basic humanity and not by threatening her boss. All Shanna has to do is to decline the invitation to come into the spiders parlor.
I’m disliking Shanna more and more as the story progresses. Is…is this the intended reaction?
Why do you dislike her ? Because she’s trying to right a wrong, which is Ferris getting killed ?
Shanna’s doing good.
She’s trying to dig up a story. That’s not the same thing as righting a wrong. And I’ve disliked her since before Ferris died, it’s just intensifying the more I see her in action.
The fact that she apparently makes a living throwing mud at a hobby I enjoy is also not a point in her favor.
“She’s trying to dig up a story.”
A story about a murder. While it might not be the main objective, that still part of his.
She’s more like a whistle-blower, to me. And whistle-blowing is seldom anything else than throwing mud, in a way. But well, imho.
She started digging long before Ferris’ Wheels got derailed
I’ll admit and say I am a bit disappointed with Carol. She has the balls to go meet up face to face with reporter chick and then completely loses her composure and cool? Either Carol is a bit of a dunce or she has some ulterior plan to take care of this issue; making reporter chick lower her guard thinking she has Carol on the ropes. I don’t know!!
Hi Phil.
I’ve been looking at the comic on google+ and I’m wondering how you set that up? – If I set up a community group for my comic, I can’t auto-update to it, but if I set up a personal page for my comic, it complains about my names not being real names, and so on and so forth. How is Guilded Age done?
Ok, I have to ask, what is this FANS! Thing I keep reading about in the comments?
A previous comic (now complete) by T Campbell. See link: http://www.faans.com/
Thank you very much. :D