Chapter 33 – Page 8
We’d like to thank Joel Watson again for the use of his likeness in our story! Y’know, it’s funny: There are things we plan, and there are things that “happen” in our scripts that surprise us, and Joel’s extended use is one of them. He’s added a layer that we once wanted in a different way, yammer yammer writing writing bullshit bullshit.
Please, check out his own hilarious comic over at Hijinks Ensue, and if you like his work, consider signing up for his Patreon.
JJ Berten’s parents must have had a strange sense of humor to name him “Just Joe”.
His father was a boy named Sue.
And his mother was a girl whose name was……well, I didn’t know what her name was, so we just called her Fred.
In Borderlands 2 Taggart names the female stalker Henry after his mother.
AHA!!!!! I knew it! He’s the hippie reincarnation of Stalin.
His cousin is Jamessir Bensonmam ;)
BensonMUM
I have a feeling Joe ain’t so bad.
No. Joe is dangerously bad. the thing is, he’s focused. Reasonble. Good at keeping things professional.
But understand, this also means what he’s set to do will be done as long as it’s in his continued power to do so. So when he threatens a man’s family, there is no bluff. As a point of fact he’s likely glad when it doesn’t come to that, but anybody dealing with him who thinks “not so bad” and makes bad moves on that assumption will see that detached ruthlessness is still ruthlessness.
I would thumb this up if I could. I love antagonists like this. Reasonable, calculating, charismatic monsters.
They’re genuinely scary. And the worst part is… if you do what they want, they’ll likely let you live. With yourself, and your guilt. While they sing a happy tune, being absolutely true to themselves.
Monsters? Scary? Guilt? What the hell are you on about?
Maybe so. Why don’t you go up to him and ask him about how evil he is? I’ll be behind you all the way. About ten miles behind you.
Lawful Evil types sometimes give that impression.
I was also thinking Lawful Evil.
I don’t believe he is even remotely “Lawful Evil”. He strikes me more as being in the Neutral realm.
Honestly, Joe doesn’t seem any more frighting than any other person from a comic con.
He probably smells better too.
i expect that he smells like a precisely seasoned steak and sandelwood leather
“Traumatize a comic author while buying their stuff”. Welp, that’s one more thing off the bucket list!
That’s actually a very common experience for comic writers. >_>
Achievement unlocked!
MEET & BLEAT
I wonder if JJ Berten does read comics and actually has interests in comic book conventions outside of his occupation. (I wouldn’t be surprised if he did.)
Nevertheless, buying some books and insisting on paying them makes him scarier.
Of course he was going to pay for the books! As you should well know by now Even Evil Has Standards!
His name isn’t Even Evil, it’s Just Joe.
His sister: Simply Susan
And her friend from next door: Seeking Susan.
Paying makes the criminal threats that much more plausibly deniable. It also takes the edge of the fear in the victim, now that he has what he wants, which helps things go away. Very intelligent.
That’s $30 dollars well spent, even if he throws the books away the moment he’s out of sight.
(Of course, it also leaves him with proof of who he talked to, in case he needs to come back for some reason, so there’s that, too…)
A plausible alibi is still plausible.
You know, I thought from looking at his eyes that he’s the kind of man that’s heart wouldn’t skip a beat if he snapped a baby’s neck. But that smile convinces me there’d at least be that little bit of thrill to it.
That Joe, what a guy!
You know, for a knee breaker he plays REALLY nice. Makes me wonder what he really is.
Oh, I knew from the beginning this guy was way more than just your run-of-the-mill knee breaker.
He’s a problem solver. If a problem can be solved with a smile and cash, great. If a problem needs somebody to disappear, so be it. If a problem needs bits of brain cleaned out of the back seat of a ’65 Chevy, get the morons who shot the guy to do it.
Head cheerleader. Problem solver.
True story: A friend of my wife’s was wasted out on the street in Japan. A couple of Yakuza members politely took his wallet from his coat (to find out where he was staying). In his inebriated state he thought he was being mugged (which had happened to him before in other exotic locales). They then….called him a cab and got him to a hotel room wallet intact. They don’t want to make waves around their legitimate business which in this case was the club he just exited was her friend’s theory.
The true Yakuza are not the thugs media and movies portray them as, nor are they simply ‘the Japanese mafia’
True, they do run a ‘protection’ game, but they don’t run a ‘shake-down game’ like the typical american mafia does (they actually do protect the businesses in their areas, and not from themselves)
JJ, Mr. Wolf, and the Yakuza – – birds of a feather.
Efficient.
It’s easier to play nice. Bloodbaths tend to attract way too much attention.
As things stand, Just Joe hasn’t done anything that the police can do anything about. He asked for help about his friend, and bought a couple of books. Even the threat against Joel’s family was only vaguely implied, and could be claimed to have been misconstrued due to odd circumstances and Joe’s rather imposing physique.
He’s the type of goon who says, “I wish it didn’t have to come to this,” before he does something horrible.
SQUEEEE. Lookit everybody. It’s Shanna!
That last panel looks odd. Like someone has taken a sepia photo of a road, drawn outlines around all the objects to turn it into a drawing but then forgotten to remove the actual picture.
Quite sure that’s really a photo in the background. If I remember correctly, the Waltrips do this from time to time. And I guess the effect here is on purpose. But you’re right, it really looks odd.
There’s something like that on almost every page, it’s just not always as noticeable. It’s the compromise you have to make for putting out 5 pages/week.
… There is a lot of compromise that goes into updating 5 pages a week.
Most notably, the fact that you guys would probably lynch mob us if we ever dialed it back to three.
I have a pitchfork just for that occasion.
DID I HEAR PITCHFORK? IS THE UPRISING STARTING ALREADY??
it’s just not as effective coming from a crate of apples :(
I’m wondering whether our thoroughly un-intimidating Gravatars happened by accident or are the first preemptive strike against our uprising?
If it came to that, I think we could probably also compromise and dial the lynch mob back to two or three people and one or two pitchforks.
I personally wouldn’t mind, I could even handle a single page per week. Battle Pug is 1/week and is still often late, OOTS has an output rate of “once in a blue moon”. The secret to pleasure is restraint and savoring things over time.
But now that you’ve opened the 5/week Pandora’s Box I doubt you could close it without consequences.
But if you ever seriously consider it you could try a poll to test reader reception.
Just don’t forget the “Pitchfork”-Option.
…and find out how many of us know where your families live. Some of us are reading your comic and learning things, you know.
Seriously, I didn’t even notice the photograph until someone pointed it out. Three days a week would mean less Guilded Age, but I would be grateful for whatever I got.
I’m happy with whatever. You guys are insanely ahead of the general web comics curve in terms of both quantity and quality.
We started with three per week. Going back to it would give us more time to add comments to each page before the next update!
“To Joe, thanks for not killing my family that time (sorry for the bad penmanship, I think I’m having a panic attack), from Joel.”
I believe that even if he asked for less than it, JJ would still hand that $20 just to get the memo across (the mug of Andrew “My only regret is that I didn’t killed enough people” Jackson that graces said bill).
Just is actually short for his first name, JUSTICE. He’s not a hitman, he’s a freelance hero who really IS just concerned about Shanna’s safety! He’s going to give her a stern talking-to about the dangers of sleuthing around the hidden secrets of such powerful organizations!
He’s not going to warn her, he’s going to recruit her into…
Justice Joe and the Justicettes!
Why do I get the feeling this was a subtle advertizement for Mr. Campbell and Mr. Kahn’s friend’s website? Not that I am complaining or anything. Is those two books really $30?
Just checked and yes, they’re $15 each.
Which is kind of a shame, in the sense that Joel didn’t even give JJ a “thanks for not murdering my family” discount.
I still think JJ is going to open one of those books and see a sticker that says “Con special: $10!” And go, “…Well played, Sir.” I mean, I know he won’t, But I WANT it to happen.
His store says $20 for a signed copy, but I figure it’s likely that signatures are free at cons, and even if they weren’t, I don’t think Joel feels like haggling.
JJ still should have gotten the “con” special, unless he’s just so good at what he does that he’s never been convicted for any crime.
“Product Placement”
Hah, “Godspeed, You Fancy Bastard” is ridiculously appropriate in this scene.
You don’t think that “My Heart is a Hate Filled Pineapple” is just as appropriate???
Had trouble reading that one. And really, do Joel or JJ here seem particularly hate-filled at the moment?
Polite and gallant which makes him absolutely terrifying. The thirty pieces of silver was either a nice touch or eerie coincidence. Great writing.
Thanks for pointing that out, I hadn’t gotten it before. Great writing, indeed.
*putsawaypitchforkforaslowclap*