hands free satnav, hands free phoneset – both hands never leave the wheel, and we even see him start the conversation when there’s no-one near him either ahead or behind :)
he’s a very responsbilbe hitman, you see – besides the littering of corpses, but really, no-ones perfect
“Now, Carol. This is a much tougher job than you made this out to be. That Cochran, she – yes, I know I’m 150 pounds heavier and 4 inches taller than her – but she shot me! In the leg! With a .22! I mean, it smarted so much I said ‘ouch’! Then her gamer buddy hit me in the leg, with this power strip – a 5-plug one! That REALLY smarted! And though I could still walk, they stole my car … and now are joined by two short out-of-shape gamer types, so … so … uh …
“Y’know, never mind. I’ll stick to the original agreement. Sorry to have bothered you.”
Physical build doesn’t matter in a country where firearms are easily available- will and savvy do. How’s that old saying go? “God made man, but Samuel Colt made them equal”? In any case, our group of intrepid gamers should be getting tooled up right about now if they have any sense at all; and they’ve been given plenty of incentive to be willing to kill in self defense or even revenge, so the risk associated with dealing with them has increased exponentially.
That’s another issue: Yes, .357 Mag is perhaps the most effective handgun round in terms of capability to incapacitate another human being, but it’s loud, kicks like a mule, and very unpleasant and difficult to fire, much less shoot effectively. The recoil can actually send the gun up to headbutt its user, particularly those unprepared or unused to shooting.
So, not only is caliber selection (and firearm selection) vital, a bigger point is: it’s possible for our sepia-colored protagonists to pick the wrong caliber/firearm for their defensive purposes, putting themselves more at risk.
It’s very easy to say, “Get a gun,” or the like. It’s totally different for you to bring it out and shoot someone with it EVEN if said someone is about to kill you. Even considering them all as a group brought together by conspiracy and death, they may not have the mindset or will to choose to kill Berten when it comes down to it. Even cops and soldiers have this unconscious desire to avoid harming another human being and part of their training involves discipline to overcome that inclination.
That’s the psychological part. For practical purposes, what about the skills and training and necessary to wield those guns effectively? Shooting accurately and effectively even at close range is not easy even under non-stressful conditions. I’m not kidding. And under real danger and duress, a lot of the fine motor skills and ability to make complex decisions just goes out the window.
So, yes, get the guns and arms, but it’s still not going to be worth much against a professional if they don’t make plans and practice their use.
ahh, but see now the job has become much more involved. it’s not just painting the walls, it’s sanding, laying down protective mats, buying brushes and paint. cleaning up the old drips from the last painter and then priming, sanding, first coat, sanding, and the top coat.
If this wasn’t about a basically irreplaceable hit-job, I’d tell Carol to just cut him off. He didn’t follow through on services promised, and managed to make the situation worse instead. That it was at “personal cost” really doesn’t fly when he was given professional freedom in how he handled the situation.
Of course, since the situation is a mess now, even hiring a different professional would probably be just as expensive and almost certainly slower. So Carol’s stuck with him, because there’s no way she will just walk away from this.
He did do everything perfectly, given his knowledge base and goal. I don’t think he could have acted in any other way for the most optimal outcome. He couldn’t have accounted for cochran going, well, nuts (imsosorry) and actually resisting unlike all the other folks he’s had to strongarm before.
+1 to this. it’s amazing how extreme situations wash away doubt. but have 5 people in a room see someone fall over, and they will all look at each other for hours trying to figure out who is responsible for picking them up again.
I honestly thought he WOULD kidnap her if he did anything to her at all. It seemed needlessly sloppy and violent to resort to a murder that quickly, especially considering the victim wasn’t even tied directly to Cochran who is the whole reason for his efforts in the first place.
Instead he provided serious motivation for STRANGERS to join her cause.
That episode perplexed me. It looked to me like he’d bungled. Up to that point, I’d gotten the impression that we were supposed to read his confidence as an indication of real competence. So I wasn’t sure if at this point we were supposed to see his confidence as braggadocio that collapsed as soon as he faced a challenge, or if we were supposed to still see him as very competent, and all this was a lesson in how quickly plans can fall to chaos when violence is involved.
I agree, Byzantine. Bertren has turned this into a fight-or-die situation. A hostage situation makes the idea of just walking away safe and unharmed after surrendering plausible. But Shanna + Adventurer Team 2 + Penk (?) have no longer any reason to believe they’re safe after complying.
Its difficult to fault a professional hitman for thinking that a gaggle of decidedly soft gamer geeks would actually decide to take him on instead of just walking away from the stranger who’s suggesting that a game company kidnapped and somehow imprisoned some people they don’t actually know inside a videogame, quite possibly TRON style.
Aside from the remarkably high tolerance for risk to life and limb, he’s predicted their moves so far almost exactly.
It was definitely a surprise that they decided to fight back, but ultimately the only reason they were galvanized into action is because they got to hear their friend being murdered over Skype, by him. Which both confirmed Shanna’s story and established that the group as a whole would not be allowed to just stay quiet and play video games.
All in all, I just think a bit of subtlety and reconnaissance could have done his job for him, and instead it’s a full blown SNAFU.
I’m inclined to agree. As I’ve said before, Bergen talks a big game but I’m not entirely convinced he’s as good as he’s made himself out to be. And now it sounds like Carol may be sharing those doubts.
Of course, something people tend to forget is that those physically soft Gamer Geeks are often a lot more mentally and morally, uh, ‘hard’, than folks who’s pasttimes are primarily shopping, gossiping and watching organized sporting events. Though it seems like fun-times make-believe, RPGs are actually a powerful tool for training yourself in how to react calmly to extreme and extraordinary situations- they teach that violence is not just a ‘horrible tragedy’ but something that happens, and can solve and create myriad problems along with ‘talking things out’ and ‘money’. They’ve probably run ‘simulations’ of ‘hitman kills friend, threatens the rest of you if you don’t stay out of it’ before, in RPGs, so they’re not paralyzed with fear since this is a familiar situation for them to be thinking about- if more real than they ever expected.
Go look up how you can leverage playing RPGs as a benefit on resumes for more examples of this sort of stuff.
Also, if the world wasn’t as soft, a lot of the people who play fantasy games are the sorts who desire that kind of physical challenge- the fact that the world makes pretending easier and safer, and the real-thing illegal, is the big reason they don’t go around getting in swordfights with restaraunt waitstaff.
I used to LARP alongside a professional paramedic. I’m not sure if he always kept a cool head in the game because of his job, he was always good at his job because of the LARPing, or both.
Said geeks showed a good amount of moral integrity and idealism prior to any of this. The murder of their friend made things clear that they could not just back away quietly lest a similar fate befall them thanks to Berten. It was a miscalculation on Berten’s part. See Byzantine’s comment above for what may have worked better.
Plus, price isn’t really an issue for her anyways. If everything goes to plan, she’ll be a goddess in another world. Money in this world will no longer have meaning.
And if she’s bothered to pay attention to what’s happening in the game, she might realize that instead of being a God, HR is just an over glorified magic user with still all too human limitations.
I doubt that’s the end-all of HR’s godhood thing, simply being another powerful NPC still susceptible to the rules of the game/that world. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had an actual apotheosis planned that truly made him a god there rather than what he currently is.
Originally, I always had JJ Berten soundin a little like Michael Clarke Duncan in my internal narrative thanks to his build and the way he carries himself… but after saying ‘Inn’ernet’ while sporting that ‘stach, he’s starting to sound a little more like Yosemite Sam
Does he not watch any movies or TV? Hit men always get murdered themselves right after they demand more money for a contract they’ve already agreed to!
I’m guessing JJ just bit off a bit more than he can chew. You do not try to extort more money out of someone who wants to become a god and is convinced they are on the verge of doing so.
Can’t help but feel like your freelance hitman is a few blunders away from becoming a liability?
Should’ve gone union.
“You have failed me for the last time, Berten.” (Stretches out hand in throttling gesture) “…Oh yeah. I’m not actually able to do that.”
The godhood offer’s sounding a little less crazy and a little more attractive every day.
She considers it, and then she walks into that room and sees HR floating naked in that tank, and she comes to her senses.
He really needs to just shave his head. His hair’s thinning out embarrassingly fast for him to be clinging to a ponytail.
rather then a comb-over he is going to go for a comb-up. He has more then enough moustache to spare.
He’s using several devices while driving! His chances of getting into an accident are SUPER HIGH!
How reckless. He should be ashamed of himself. Next time, park before you call the person that wants you to murder someone, mister!
That’s funny, I was just thinking that he was really responsible to be using all those hands-free accessories.
hands free satnav, hands free phoneset – both hands never leave the wheel, and we even see him start the conversation when there’s no-one near him either ahead or behind :)
he’s a very responsbilbe hitman, you see – besides the littering of corpses, but really, no-ones perfect
“Now, Carol. This is a much tougher job than you made this out to be. That Cochran, she – yes, I know I’m 150 pounds heavier and 4 inches taller than her – but she shot me! In the leg! With a .22! I mean, it smarted so much I said ‘ouch’! Then her gamer buddy hit me in the leg, with this power strip – a 5-plug one! That REALLY smarted! And though I could still walk, they stole my car … and now are joined by two short out-of-shape gamer types, so … so … uh …
“Y’know, never mind. I’ll stick to the original agreement. Sorry to have bothered you.”
Physical build doesn’t matter in a country where firearms are easily available- will and savvy do. How’s that old saying go? “God made man, but Samuel Colt made them equal”? In any case, our group of intrepid gamers should be getting tooled up right about now if they have any sense at all; and they’ve been given plenty of incentive to be willing to kill in self defense or even revenge, so the risk associated with dealing with them has increased exponentially.
Been saying the whole time, .357 is a powerful demotivational tool, even for a professional.
That’s another issue: Yes, .357 Mag is perhaps the most effective handgun round in terms of capability to incapacitate another human being, but it’s loud, kicks like a mule, and very unpleasant and difficult to fire, much less shoot effectively. The recoil can actually send the gun up to headbutt its user, particularly those unprepared or unused to shooting.
So, not only is caliber selection (and firearm selection) vital, a bigger point is: it’s possible for our sepia-colored protagonists to pick the wrong caliber/firearm for their defensive purposes, putting themselves more at risk.
Just gotta point out:
It’s very easy to say, “Get a gun,” or the like. It’s totally different for you to bring it out and shoot someone with it EVEN if said someone is about to kill you. Even considering them all as a group brought together by conspiracy and death, they may not have the mindset or will to choose to kill Berten when it comes down to it. Even cops and soldiers have this unconscious desire to avoid harming another human being and part of their training involves discipline to overcome that inclination.
That’s the psychological part. For practical purposes, what about the skills and training and necessary to wield those guns effectively? Shooting accurately and effectively even at close range is not easy even under non-stressful conditions. I’m not kidding. And under real danger and duress, a lot of the fine motor skills and ability to make complex decisions just goes out the window.
So, yes, get the guns and arms, but it’s still not going to be worth much against a professional if they don’t make plans and practice their use.
Oh wait…they *did* steal his car, didn’t they?
Shoulda spent the extra few dollars on lo-jack.
Except that could potentially be used to trace him to the scene of whatever crime… remember, he’s off the grid as much as possible.
Which makes him vulnerable in a few ways, apparently
yeah he is driving a Nissan now. Camaro gone.
ahh, but see now the job has become much more involved. it’s not just painting the walls, it’s sanding, laying down protective mats, buying brushes and paint. cleaning up the old drips from the last painter and then priming, sanding, first coat, sanding, and the top coat.
i’d charge extra too;)
strangely appropriate avatar too
I can’t help but imagine JJ as a contractor explaining why Carol’s bathroom renovation has gone over budget.
If this wasn’t about a basically irreplaceable hit-job, I’d tell Carol to just cut him off. He didn’t follow through on services promised, and managed to make the situation worse instead. That it was at “personal cost” really doesn’t fly when he was given professional freedom in how he handled the situation.
Of course, since the situation is a mess now, even hiring a different professional would probably be just as expensive and almost certainly slower. So Carol’s stuck with him, because there’s no way she will just walk away from this.
He did do everything perfectly, given his knowledge base and goal. I don’t think he could have acted in any other way for the most optimal outcome. He couldn’t have accounted for cochran going, well, nuts (imsosorry) and actually resisting unlike all the other folks he’s had to strongarm before.
His mistake was killing her. If he had taken her hostage instead they would have folded in a heartbeat.
+1 to this. it’s amazing how extreme situations wash away doubt. but have 5 people in a room see someone fall over, and they will all look at each other for hours trying to figure out who is responsible for picking them up again.
I honestly thought he WOULD kidnap her if he did anything to her at all. It seemed needlessly sloppy and violent to resort to a murder that quickly, especially considering the victim wasn’t even tied directly to Cochran who is the whole reason for his efforts in the first place.
Instead he provided serious motivation for STRANGERS to join her cause.
That episode perplexed me. It looked to me like he’d bungled. Up to that point, I’d gotten the impression that we were supposed to read his confidence as an indication of real competence. So I wasn’t sure if at this point we were supposed to see his confidence as braggadocio that collapsed as soon as he faced a challenge, or if we were supposed to still see him as very competent, and all this was a lesson in how quickly plans can fall to chaos when violence is involved.
I agree, Byzantine. Bertren has turned this into a fight-or-die situation. A hostage situation makes the idea of just walking away safe and unharmed after surrendering plausible. But Shanna + Adventurer Team 2 + Penk (?) have no longer any reason to believe they’re safe after complying.
Its difficult to fault a professional hitman for thinking that a gaggle of decidedly soft gamer geeks would actually decide to take him on instead of just walking away from the stranger who’s suggesting that a game company kidnapped and somehow imprisoned some people they don’t actually know inside a videogame, quite possibly TRON style.
Aside from the remarkably high tolerance for risk to life and limb, he’s predicted their moves so far almost exactly.
It was definitely a surprise that they decided to fight back, but ultimately the only reason they were galvanized into action is because they got to hear their friend being murdered over Skype, by him. Which both confirmed Shanna’s story and established that the group as a whole would not be allowed to just stay quiet and play video games.
All in all, I just think a bit of subtlety and reconnaissance could have done his job for him, and instead it’s a full blown SNAFU.
I’m inclined to agree. As I’ve said before, Bergen talks a big game but I’m not entirely convinced he’s as good as he’s made himself out to be. And now it sounds like Carol may be sharing those doubts.
Of course, something people tend to forget is that those physically soft Gamer Geeks are often a lot more mentally and morally, uh, ‘hard’, than folks who’s pasttimes are primarily shopping, gossiping and watching organized sporting events. Though it seems like fun-times make-believe, RPGs are actually a powerful tool for training yourself in how to react calmly to extreme and extraordinary situations- they teach that violence is not just a ‘horrible tragedy’ but something that happens, and can solve and create myriad problems along with ‘talking things out’ and ‘money’. They’ve probably run ‘simulations’ of ‘hitman kills friend, threatens the rest of you if you don’t stay out of it’ before, in RPGs, so they’re not paralyzed with fear since this is a familiar situation for them to be thinking about- if more real than they ever expected.
Go look up how you can leverage playing RPGs as a benefit on resumes for more examples of this sort of stuff.
Also, if the world wasn’t as soft, a lot of the people who play fantasy games are the sorts who desire that kind of physical challenge- the fact that the world makes pretending easier and safer, and the real-thing illegal, is the big reason they don’t go around getting in swordfights with restaraunt waitstaff.
Heck, Fans! itself covers this idea pretty well.
I used to LARP alongside a professional paramedic. I’m not sure if he always kept a cool head in the game because of his job, he was always good at his job because of the LARPing, or both.
Said geeks showed a good amount of moral integrity and idealism prior to any of this. The murder of their friend made things clear that they could not just back away quietly lest a similar fate befall them thanks to Berten. It was a miscalculation on Berten’s part. See Byzantine’s comment above for what may have worked better.
Plus, price isn’t really an issue for her anyways. If everything goes to plan, she’ll be a goddess in another world. Money in this world will no longer have meaning.
Was Carol into the whole godhood thing? I thought she was just in love with && supporting HR Daedulus in his godhood quest.
And if she’s bothered to pay attention to what’s happening in the game, she might realize that instead of being a God, HR is just an over glorified magic user with still all too human limitations.
I doubt that’s the end-all of HR’s godhood thing, simply being another powerful NPC still susceptible to the rules of the game/that world. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had an actual apotheosis planned that truly made him a god there rather than what he currently is.
Or he’s literally just that nuts.
Originally, I always had JJ Berten soundin a little like Michael Clarke Duncan in my internal narrative thanks to his build and the way he carries himself… but after saying ‘Inn’ernet’ while sporting that ‘stach, he’s starting to sound a little more like Yosemite Sam
He’s basically Larry the Garrote Guy.
A little bit of stick, a little bit of garrote.
Could we maybe go with a different Sam?
In panel 3, I believe you meant the “strongest” warning. Either that, or I need someone to fill me in on what “stongest” means.
It’s the Strongbadian dialect. Fixed for English audiences.
Of course… it’s all so clear now. I finally know who Best/WAV really is.
if they become each others problem….GOOD
If the enemy of my enemy see me as their enemy… damnit!
You’ve got a lot of problems, don’t you Carol?
Ah well, as soon as Plato world of forms gets involved you know it’s gonna be Good.
Does he not watch any movies or TV? Hit men always get murdered themselves right after they demand more money for a contract they’ve already agreed to!
He sounds like he’s getting terribly close to being a loose thread that needs wrapped up.
Well, might be awkward, he kills one of them then just quits the job…
Perhaps she shouldn’t be quite so rude to her assassin.
I’m guessing JJ just bit off a bit more than he can chew. You do not try to extort more money out of someone who wants to become a god and is convinced they are on the verge of doing so.
It tends to end badly.