Return the Favor 2013-09-27

[Atomic]

Stop over thinking a cartoon--it is just a fictional story.

Overthinking fictional stories is half the fun!

Well said! You may take any item you choose from the pun jar, assuming you can lift it without assistance. Gloves and bio-hazard suit are acceptable.

[DilyV]

gentlemen, please, lets not turn this into a shouting match....

I think you need to see a bit more scifi.. a lot of 'non-humans' may have their 'sensitive parts' in a totally different place, if they even have them!!!
see 'startek' where they try kneeing someone with NO effect...

In junior-high chemistry class, we studied "destructive distillation" of materials. They had us put a small piece of wood into a test tube, heat it over a flame, study the vapors which boiled off as the wood charred (smelled like a campfire and made a nice jet of flame when ignited) and study what was left in the tube... charcoal, and a black tarry substance all over the glass.

You seem to be suggesting that Tar is the residue from the destructive distillation of a Ballchinian?

Gonadaneckian?

Or in the case of that creature on Rurapente in Star Trek VI the Undiscovered Country, a Gokneedian.... LOL

[illiad]

In junior-high chemistry class, we studied "destructive distillation" of materials. They had us put a small piece of wood into a test tube, heat it over a flame, study the vapors which boiled off as the wood charred (smelled like a campfire and made a nice jet of flame when ignited) and study what was left in the tube... charcoal, and a black tarry substance all over the glass.

You seem to be suggesting that Tar is the residue from the destructive distillation of a Ballchinian?

but, surely he would have to be um, 'thinkin about a sexy female' to 'get wood' first???

[Haylo]

The tar appears to be a manifestation of evil itself.

Where do you get that?

(Wishful thinking?)

Although it's by no means conclusive, there is a hint of it: In a realm where even deamons show themselves as individuated and having (mask)faces, the Tar tries to disguise itself, suggesting it is trying to avoid being recognized and held accountable for its actions.

[as363]

Gives new meaning to the old phrase "Stick it where the sun don't shine" . And with malice aforethought . You go girl.

[KnightDelight]

After all, Paul didn't present any on the moral implications of keeping the nu gui aware while it is locked up, or the glee Bud felt about it. She was downright sadistic about the prospect of the crystal prison breaking up and multiplying the pain. Was it the nu gui's fault she is what she is?

That was Lily gloating, and I take that as a survivor of the Etheitian holocaust having spent 6000+ years as a vampire getting some closure.

Oh, I agree. Lily (thanks for the correction) had every right to want to see the nu gui suffer like she made her and thousands of others suffer for millennia. She has every right to feel the way she does. I'm just saying that, based on the nu gui arc, I have my doubts that Paul will spend any time on the rightness or wrongness (in human terms) of how Monica handles this situation and the ultimate fate of Tar. That's assuming Tar dies and is not just being ferreted out with exaggerations and fear tactics.

Interesting how, in this comic, Tar has a demon mask type head. It even has teeth. High "cheekbones" too. Makes me wonder if it actually is some form of demon and not just some totally alien sentient substance. Or maybe it's just taking on the general shape of those around it.

[jwhouk]

...Or maybe it's a Nu Gui as well?

[Mark N]

...Or maybe it's a Nu Gui as well?

The crash being the death of Jet's innocence?! That makes quite a bit of sense. Good catch there.

[scantrontb]

...Or maybe it's a Nu Gui as well?

The crash being the death of Jet's innocence?! That makes quite a bit of sense. Good catch there.

Nah, I called it a while back as the Nu Gui "branching out", But that doesn't make your prediction any less valid either.

[kingklash]

I want Moni to build a coat rack for me.

[Jabberwonky]

Where does your hatred for coats stem from?

[Fairportfan]

...Or maybe it's a Nu Gui as well?

The crash being the death of Jet's innocence?! That makes quite a bit of sense. Good catch there.

Actually, i suggested that Jet died in the crash, that her demons did the same as Tina's ... but didn't realise it without Nudge, and that the tar is Jet's original soul reacting to being ... displaced.

[shadowinthelight]

Where does your hatred for coats stem from?

Bunch of damn freeloaders. Can't do anything on their own, always riding on peoples' backs.

[Dave]

Today's page kind of reminds me of the quip my friends used to use when they were seriously annoyed about something. "Fuck you in the ass....with a cactus."

Considering that it's Tar we're talking about here, I doubt it's a cactus.

More likely a creosote bush (Larrea tridentata).

[Geezer]

It's impalement, with rape directly referenced by M.

Actually, from what I'm seeing in the comic, it's more akin to drawing and quartering. The initial insertion of the spiky thing is like impalement, but the effect is to separate one part from another, along a more or less symmetrical vertical axis. Oh, and the head also seems to be separating from the rest of the body.

Whatever - we're talking about a termination with extreme prejudice. And just to remind ourselves, we're also speaking of a being in a fiction created by a talented artist and writer. While we may be exploring important ideas using this device, we are not speaking of real people.

[illiad]

Interesting how, in this comic, Tar has a demon mask type head. It even has teeth. High "cheekbones" too. Makes me wonder if it actually is some form of demon and not just some totally alien sentient substance. Or maybe it's just taking on the general shape of those around it.

It is another tenet of scifi, that the alien will say "I only appear in 'human form' as my normal appearance is beyond your comprehension"


I am guessing the 'spiky thing' may be an icicle, as freezing is the the simplest way of removing tar - it makes it solid enough to handle..

[Julie]

If she had not aimed the force, or whatever it is, directly between Tar's legs, I would agree it's more like stabbing. But she did and said she was giving it a taste of it's own medicine. So I see it as rape also only much worse than anything Tar has done (as far as we know). Stopping it is one thing but this goes far beyond that,what with the disemboweling branch as well. Does M contain something more sinister than demons which is making it's presence known? At some point, Monica might split into two beings, a dark and a light version (no Monica lite jokes, please). At least become a Jekyll and Hyde type. I miss the person she used to be.

Huh...I'll admit that I didn't notice the thorny-thing sprouting from the ground between the Tar's legs initially (only when I saw your comment about it did I go back and see that), but I'd still call this more of an impaling than a rape. If something's going to grow up from the ground and tear someone apart, the most logical way for it to do that successfully is to grow up through the middle of the creature to split it in half...and the middle happens to have the junction of the legs. *shrugs* I suppose she could have done that through Tar's feet to avoid any rape implications, but it wouldn't have worked as well visually for the readers to understand what happened (not to mention how it would or wouldn't have worked to split Tar in two). Heck...I didn't even catch what was happening with it being drawn as it was anyhow. I'd definitely missed the "growing up from the ground" bit if it had come up anywhere but between Tar's legs.

[Mark N]

If she had not aimed the force, or whatever it is, directly between Tar's legs, I would agree it's more like stabbing. But she did and said she was giving it a taste of it's own medicine. So I see it as rape also only much worse than anything Tar has done (as far as we know). Stopping it is one thing but this goes far beyond that,what with the disemboweling branch as well. Does M contain something more sinister than demons which is making it's presence known? At some point, Monica might split into two beings, a dark and a light version (no Monica lite jokes, please). At least become a Jekyll and Hyde type. I miss the person she used to be.

Huh...I'll admit that I didn't notice the thorny-thing sprouting from the ground between the Tar's legs initially (only when I saw your comment about it did I go back and see that), but I'd still call this more of an impaling than a rape. If something's going to grow up from the ground and tear someone apart, the most logical way for it to do that successfully is to grow up through the middle of the creature to split it in half...and the middle happens to have the junction of the legs. *shrugs* I suppose she could have done that through Tar's feet to avoid any rape implications, but it wouldn't have worked as well visually for the readers to understand what happened (not to mention how it would or wouldn't have worked to split Tar in two). Heck...I didn't even catch what was happening with it being drawn as it was anyhow. I'd definitely missed the "growing up from the ground" bit if it had come up anywhere but between Tar's legs.

Besides, if you think about what Monica said there, she was not referring to a rape for a rape but the fact that rapists like to stick things into others against their wills and so she stuck something in it against its will.