Michael Brazier (michaelbrazier) says:
Am I wrong to think Dr. Narbon is supposed to speak with a New Jersey accent?
Leon Arnott (l) says:
Good point. How am I supposed to cogitate the timbre of Dr. Narbon's voice? These webcomic authors are notoriously, though understandably, lax when it comes to textually and/or visually communicating the sound of their characters' voices. If only these Narbonic commentaries included some kind of weekly audio segment...
Monday's Comic: I find it hard to believe that either Mell or the gerbil rebellion is so liberal with their application of high explosives that the very top of the elevator shaft has been set alight. It's a wonder that the elevator itself is still functional. But wait - doesn't elevator entry require some kind of spot-coloured retinal scan that, while failing to prevent the senior Narbon's access, would at least somewhat reveal the Doctor's identity? Mmm-hmm! Panel four. meanwhile, proves the old adage about sentences ending in more than one punctuation mark.
Ed Gedeon (eddurd) says:
I thought the multiple-punctuation-mark rule only applied to exclamation points. As I mentioned before, I always thought Dr. Narbon sounded like Doris Roberts (she plays the mom on "Everybody Loves Raymond"). Or maybe Bette Midler from "Ruthless People". Of course, I'm sure the author imagines her own mother's voice associated with Dr. Narbon.
Matt Wagner (bzarcher) says:
The best thing about Iron City is that now it comes in those metal bottles, you can toss the empties around and it sounds like someone's throwing artillery shells into your kitchen.
Dave Van Domelen (dvandom) says:
Leon: The idea that Mama Narbon has hacked her daughter's security is equally plausible and scary, so the nature of their relationship is not necessarily tumbled at this point.
George Vanovich (finfan) says:
Ahhhh Iron City! It was also the Keg of choice at most of the parties I went to in college back at good ol' IUP. I'm sure Shaenons mom and I would have gotten along famously! Yuns guys got any gum bands?
Jaye Brown (illogicalv) says:
Ah...Iron City, which replaced Coors Light as Worst Beer Ever. And my dad looks so happy whenever he can find it.
David Cunnius (capnq) says:
Leon Arnott said, "I find it hard to believe that either Mell or the gerbil rebellion is so liberal with their application of high explosives that the very top of the elevator shaft has been set alight." I would think it perfectly in charater for Mell to try to cause as much collateral damage as possible. The blast could be coming through the ground surface behind the elevator, and the smoke drifting up the shaft from a different explosion.
Shaenon Garrity (shaenongarrity) says:
My parents were over the moon when our local IGA turned into a Giant Eagle, a Pennsylvania-based chain, and they were able to buy Iron City. They ran right over and stocked up. It was on that occasion my mother noted with pride that Iron City is the only beer for which the lite version doesn't taste substantially worse than the regular version, since they're both awful.
Verm the Germ (verm_the_germ) says:
I just remembered, if you haven't heard the song Muffin Man by Frank Zappa, you need to. Perfect Narbonic cd material.
Thomas Manganello (fairfaxmango) says:
The real-life Dr. Narbon (Shaenon’s wonderful mother Kathy) shares her fictional counterpart’s scientific genius, at least when it comes to bar and beverage implements. When she received complaints that her box wine left red drip marks on the floor and refrigerator after each pour, she invented a complex yet mobile cantilevered drip-catcher that would have made Frank Lloyd Wright proud. And so it went for almost a decade of Kathy’s unfortunate fascination with box wine. Lately, however, our dear cousin is far more likely to show up to a host's home armed with exotic liquors and sickeningly sweet (or salty) mixers, often accompanied by tacky theme glassware from her favorite discount retailer, Marc’s. Whether this is an evolution in taste is something the family continues to debate. In the meantime, prickly pear margaritas, anyone?
nathaniel miller (skavensrule) says:
Low quality beverages so far; LoneStar beer, Iron City beer, and cheap boxed wine. I love these commentaries.
James Rice (jhrice) says:
This, (Tuesday's) strip was the one I requested for winning the Spot-the-non-Dave contest. By a fortunate accident, I got the strip that appeared last Friday, that has been appraised in the 100 millions range. I eventually got this strip as well, although I can't remember how, (probably blackmail). The reason I requested this strip is that Artie is completely out of his element, his brains do him no good, and he has no brawn.
Rockphed (rockphed) says:
Perhaps it would be better to say that Artie does not have brawn Yet.
Rachel S. (masamage) says:
I love Dr. Narbon's dialogue here.
Leon Arnott (l) says:
Tuesday's Comic: "Giant Gerbils Ravage Midwest". It seems as if the strip hasn't yet assembled a distinction between which 'consequences of madness' are permitted to filter out into the vision of Greater Mundanea. Mayhap this particular headline was found, not in respectable news sources, but in a certain nefarious weekly publication of world news? (And thus, providing the fondly regarded sane madman trope?) Incidentally, today's punchline happens to rise above its more typical variations only by virtue of the contained contradiction in the Doctor's dialogue. So... thanks?
Ed Gedeon (eddurd) says:
As for mad scientists in the news ... what do you think the "MS" in MSNBC stands for? Oh sure, they pad the schedule out with a lot of other stuff to look like a mainstream news source ... until 3am when the *real* news comes on. "Good morning, mad geniuses, I'm Matt Bwahahaha, and here are today's headlines..."
Jaye Brown (illogicalv) says:
Low quality beverages so far; Did I not do an Ode to Dave's Guinness? My bad.
Shaenon Garrity (shaenongarrity) says:
Tuesday's Comic: "Giant Gerbils Ravage Midwest". It seems as if the strip hasn't yet assembled a distinction between which 'consequences of madness' are permitted to filter out into the vision of Greater Mundanea.
Well, much later the Blonde Anchorwoman does an entire TV report on the Madblood robots, and Dave explains that some people just won't register it.
Adam Underfoot (unnatural20) says:
I am honestly just fascinated at how the bubbles on the box move around.
Jesse Cox (zebediah) says:
retinal prints aren't genetically determined -- while I'm sure Dr. Narbon could have used Mad Science to make sure Beta developed the same congenital features as well, I'm not sure she would think to do so. Or does dulplication of whatever's funny automatically come with the Mad Science Cloning Technique?
Leon Arnott (l) says:
Wednesday's Comic provides us with one of the first examples of the fearful knowing gaze, which indicates to the reader that plot-significant information is being transferred. Some first-time readers incorrectly assume that Artie is the obligatory zany comic relief character by virtue of being a talking animal. As this strip - among others to come - nicely illustrates, that character is actually Mell. From here on in, Artie's place in the main cast is well-cemented. Finally: dramatically diving for cover is, as we all know, the best way to escape approaching bad news. Wednesday's Song: How this was ranked down to #21 is beyond my meagre comprehension.
David Harmon (mental_mouse) says:
Yeah, it's properly mad to hide behind a case of ammunition... One of the cool things about this comic is how some of the trope roles hop around -- notably the Trickster/Joker and Chick roles, for which everybody gets a turn!
Kevin Peckham (detailbear) says:
That's pretty legible to me, except for the F in SNAFU, which is kind of fitting.
Bill Livingston (billfl) says:
I've never heard the Aquabats song, but may I also recommend the song "Robot Cat" by Logan Whitehurst and the Junior Science Club. Well, it slices, it dices, it catches the mices.
John Campbell (jcampbel) says:
Yeah, it's properly mad to hide behind a case of ammunition... Well, it's not like the gerbils have (or could lift) anything* with which to shoot at them and/or the ammunition. There doesn't seem to be any good reason for them to be hiding in the first place, come to that. I'm guessing they just think it's The Thing To Do. * Except the death ray, and given that it's demonstrably capable of shooting through the roof of the underground lab, it pretty much makes what you're using for cover irrelevant.
Peter Thorne (freemage) says:
The thing that scares me most about this strip is that I totally follow Mel's dialogue, comprehending the meaning despite the completely inappropriate references. To be clear: I understand Mel. That's the sort of thought that'll keep you awake at night... cackling madly.
Mike B. (epenthesis) says:
I was desperately trying to tape the entire TNT run of Babylon 5 for a very long time, IIRC. It didn't help that a certain housemate of mine (and insane gerbil-to-be) watched part of a tape in progress and forgot to fast-forward it to the end before I taped more episodes. Which reminds me, Sarge, I rewatched and enjoyed the MST3K classic "I Accuse My Parents" the other night. Thanks again. :-)
Rachel S. (masamage) says:
I courted my husband with Babylon 5.
Leon Arnott (l) says:
Thursday's Comic: What is beauty? I will tell you: it is a solid line of perfect white, clothed in shimmering rings, that reaches out across matter and distance, and snuffs the life of those that it touches, with absolute finality. Usually. And it is far above any comparison to Mell's butt. Falling, incidentally, is my favourite method of unpowered locomotion. I guess I'm just foolishly romantic like that.
David Harmon (mental_mouse) says:
Lots of Zelazny fans taking that poll -- over 7% chose "Brachiating"! Translation: climbing --the reference is to Doorways In The Sand, whose protagonist is a bit compulsive about it. Amusing that falling seems so much more popular though -- I guess folks are just lazy. ;)
Matthew Miller (mattdm) says:
David Harmon: or, maybe people just like monkeys.
Dave III (dave_iii) says:
I think the idea of sexual attraction between Mell and Dave... even in the mere appreciation of one another's finer points... simply does not enter their brains. Heck, it took this long for Mell to realize Dave had value beyond being a useful target.
Dana Mackenzie (zymurgy) says:
This may have been the first Narbonic strip that I read, or close to it. I wouldn't be surprised if the line about Babylon 5 hooked me, because I was a big fan.
Iain Henderson (sdf_iain) says:
Technically, falling and its modified forms such as gliding or skiing are the only form of unpowered locomotion. Most of the others are self powered. If we're going to post in a mad science forum, lets do it in a precise manner :p
Ed Gedeon (eddurd) says:
I live for Photoshop grey-shading. (Shameless self-promotion.)
Dave Van Domelen (dvandom) says:
But what about Mono Puff?
Rockphed (rockphed) says:
How does that death ray not leave a hole in the floor? Atleast it should leave a scorch mark.
Leon Arnott (l) says:
Friday's Comic: Death from on high! The road of mad science wanders ever deeper into God's domain. And with black-on-white skeletons, too - the nightmare fuel of a generation. (Also, the cool nightmare fuel of a generation.) One may perhaps call into question the logistics of a 'laser' that evapourates living tissue but leaves walls and floors untouched. One could also argue that this incongruity fittingly augments the laser's existing deific features.
Melissa Trible (tamtrible) says:
btw... as far as I know, brachiating=/=climbing. Brachiating is swinging from branch to branch. Slightly different beast.
Tara Tallan (ttallan) says:
FWIW, the Oxford English Dictionary (next to me) has no entry for "brachiate" as a form of locomotion. According to it, "brachiate" means "having arms" and is used chiefly in botany for bilateral branches. However, if it were used for locomotion, it would make sense that it means "moving by the arms" as in swinging from branch to branch.
Tara Tallan (ttallan) says:
Actually, the above was written by David Tallan. I didn't realize I was reading this signed in as Tara.
David Harmon (mental_mouse) says:
Bah, nitpickers! Seriously, I was being fairly casual about the definition -- mostly because the Zelazny novel was the only place I remember seeing the word applied to humans. (Google gets a handful of definitions and many articles on various apes and monkeys.)
Liza Furr (liza) says:
If we're going for biology-minded TMBG songs, there's also "Mammals," off of (I think) Apollo 18.
Trey Reilly (wgptrey) says:
For moon songs, there's "You Will Go to the Moon", by Moxy Fruvous. It has the added cool factor of having been used to wake the US Astronauts one morning.
Paul Anderson (pmanderson) says:
Actually, there is also Brachiate ''v''., which is defined by the quotation " Their [sc. apes'] ability to brachiate, that is to swing their way from branch to branch by their arms." Still not climbing though; brachiation downward may be close enough to falling to count as unpowered, even for nitpickers.
Chab Guthrie (chab) says:
Dearest nerds, All ERB/Tarzan fans know that brachiating is swinging from branch to branch [my thanks to Melissa for first pointing this out]. Re: OED - no one loves the OED more than myself, however, it has never kept up with American verb constructions [Who could?] Now, as regards Helen's mother's accent: [I've been waiting for this.] The key to her dulcet tones has been - AT LAST - presented to us by our gracious author/director. The final piece to this great puzzle is her own admission to family roots in Allegheny County, PA. Firstly [showing, YOU WILL NOTE, my zen-like discipline in not going into an historical rant on IRON CITY BEER], the great metropolis of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has its own Upper Ohio Valley patois. In a bigish tri-state region, it demonstrates itself in such pronouciations as: iggle for eagle and feesh for fish. However, the purest version is encountered in Pittsburgh itself, spoken by the natives in, according to a native Pittsburgher friend of mine, about a one mile radius whose epicenter is the confluence of the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers itself. This pure VALLEY {as in "I'm from da Valley."} patois is frequently mistaken by outsiders as an East Coast accent, but it is not. One can {or could, as he retired in 2005} hear it in the CLASSIC broadcasts of sports announcer/commentator Myron Cope {the MAN who invented the TERRIBLE TOWEL!}. Secondly: It is obvious to me that Helen's mother is from Pittsburgh -- Nay -- from the Golden Triangle itself. This may be easily deduced from her ATTITUDE, TACTICS, FONDNESS FOR BOXED WINE, and MAD PROCLIVITIES. One could suggest that for a true Pittsburgher Dago Red would be the wine of choice, but this argument ignores 1. the times we live in, and 2. Dr. Narbon's subtle Upper Ohio Valley femininity. I speak as one who knows. THIS JUST IN: 1. brachiate v. (of certain apes) move by using the arms to swing from branch to branch: the gibbons brachiate energetically across their enclosure.From The New Oxford American Dictionary {O, the joy of once getting it right!}
Kevin Peckham (detailbear) says:
And recalled from biology class, brachiation involves the rotation of the arm directly over the shoulder, without moving the upper arm out to the side. This is a motion that all or most of the monkeys and most of the apes can do, but we can't, having given up the ability to move our arms behind the midline of the body for greater rotation in other planes.
Edwin Quantrall (reynard) says:
And who can forget "Everyone's Gone to the Moon" (1965) by Jonathan King? (Not exactly scientific, I know, but it's still a neat song...)
Andy Holloway (garran) says:
I think the protagonist of TMBG's 'No One Knows My Plan' is arguably a mad scientist, or some close variant.
Michael Suttkus, II (the_mess) says:
Of COURSE the floor is scorched. You can't see it under the dust. Nevermind that the beam seems wider than the dust pile, that's only because of fluorescing air molecules around the actual disintegration radius.
Sam Robb (samrobb) says:
The senior Dr. Narbon as a Pittsburgher... oh, my. As a native of the 'burgh who is preparing myself to play the role of a Mad Scientist next week for a children's affair at church... it's not just inspirational, it's downright eerie. Shaenon, please say it's so!
Leon Arnott (l) says:
Saturday's Comic: Yoink. I love the fact that Mell's eyebrow in panel 3 is actually curling all the way around. You should've pursued this logical continuation of your unique art style! Today is a good day to notice for the first time that Mell's neck is unnaturally thin and elastic. Superhero Mell with Mr. Fantastic powers confirmed?
Adam Underfoot (unnatural20) says:
...I think you mean supervillain.
Ed Gedeon (eddurd) says:
Villain? Mell? Nawww ... she'd be a hero that blows up villains. Eliminate the competition, right? Plus, after you get rid of bad guys, people cheer for you and give you stuff! I can just imagine Mell smiling and shaking the President's hand, while thinking *you poor gullible fool ... heh heh heh*. *SPOILER* Just remember what Mell will be like when she starts studying law, and how she interacts with her classmates. *END SPOILER*
Wallace Good (good_the_third) says:
Howzabout Mastermind Mell?
Dave III (dave_iii) says:
I, for my part, LIKE the flyaway eyebrows. Just thought I'd mention it.
David Cunnius (capnq) says:
"Yoinks" goes back to the Scooby-Doo cartoons. I'm surprised there's no mention of that on that page.
Ed Gedeon (eddurd) says:
Much-belated Big Freakin' (tm) Gun count: I'm assuming this is still the same gun from last week so it doesn't count. Holding at 4.
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