SCIENCE FICTION DOUBLES FEATURE pt.14
…but now, let us take a break from the fight scene above and talk about the Alternative Press Expo.
For those of you who weren’t in San Francisco last weekend (or weren’t at the Bluegrass festival/Castro St. fair thingamajig), the A.P.E. convention was a lot of fun. Everyone got a huge kick out of seeing the one-and-only Angus Oblong (who was kind enough to come on his own birthday) and purchase some of his official Oblongs merchandise…and to those who weren’t too starstruck by the crazy clown to buy my own merchandise, a big “thank you” as well!
Sadly, I didn’t have as much time to explore the convention grounds as I had wished, but I was able to meet up with a few fellow comic artists/travelers from previous cons, including Crow (Nicky510), Joenis (L.A.W.L.S.), Becky Hawkins (French Toast Comix) and the always-lovable Bridgett Spicer (Squid Row). Of final note, I got to meet Jason Little, creator of the fine graphic novel Motel Art Improvement Service.
That’s all for now, but tune in next week for the news about my next convention appearance!
inverto is all scapula wanted to be and more :O
and the backwards reading thing is kinda getting easyer
If I ever get to North America (which I doubt with the distance and currency exchange rate), I’ll be sure to drop in to the next APE.
I admit after I starting reading Inverto’s speech backwards, I reflexively also started reading the next row of panels from right to left, like some kind of %$&ing Japanese manga. Corrected myself, but not in time to avoid kicking myself under the table. Hands up if you made that mistake too, fellas! No? Didn’t think so.
Inverto seems to be into Capoeira (did I spell that right?) to be able to spring around like that. Flashy style, but effective. Almost makes me wish I had my head poking out my backside…wait, on second thought, I take that back. Bathroom business would have been too unpleasant.
Dude, Inverto is badass! He is also extremely creepy in my opinion, so I am not quite sure if I should be in awof him, or if I should have nightmares.
By the way, what does F.O.B. stand for? The only meaning I can thinl of is “father-of-a-bitch” or that the guy saying it has some kind of speech impediment.
@BarbaricBob True that, but then again, Scapula has always wanted to be understood…whether or not Inverto is accomplishing that all depends on how much eye-strain you readers go through!
@Treike I wouldn’t necessarily cross countries just to see APE, but it was a fun time, nevertheless.
Some readers having been flipping the comic backwards in Photoshop to read his dialogue; the problem, however, is that they end up reading the panels out-of-sequence (since, like you said, it becomes right-to-left). Boy, that was sure rotten of me to put my readers through such hell…maybe I was in a bratty mood when I wrote these!
Capoeira (I can neither spell or pronounce it correctly) would seem to be a fitting martial art style, as would the “rabid backwards baboon”, a rare technique only used by twisted doppelgangers with simian proportions. I wouldn’t expect to see it on MMA.
@ToCoWu How many people are going to dress up as Inverto for Halloween? Send me pictures!
“F.O.B.” stands for “fresh of [the] boat”, a derogatory term for immigrants. A Filipino friend of mine applied the term jokingly to himself and his family, so I reused it here (Tonio was also modeled after this particular friend). Rod, however, is an insensitive prick and uses it because he’s mean.
Yeah, I know how you feel. When you are a dealer, you go to work. I’ve been to tons of conventions and never been to any of them! If that makes sense. We artists just go to huddle together and bitch about sales and draw commissions in our hotel rooms while everyone else has fun. XD
Inverto is an ingenious ploy you have their to increase your page stats for time spent. It took me 3 times as long to read this post as normal. My eyes are still buggy.
I just thought of holding my laptop to the bathroom mirror so I can read Inverto’s speech and lo-and-behold the other’s speech was backwards instead! Perhaps I’ll follow as others have done and use Photoshop to save my neck from the constant turning around lol. I await next week’s strip and every one that follows as well!
I wish inverto was a bit more scary. Now , he is harmful, but still look ridiculous. Something a bit thrilling like Alien.
Heh! You’re quite the witty bloke! Yeah, I just wish they had the occasional expo over here in the land of joy that wasn’t geared to industrial investment and folk-singing.
Anyways, I noticed something. Rod’s eye in panel 3 row 4 looks a little oddly-shaped behind his lens. Probably just going really wide-eyed or the ‘spinning eyes’.
inverto is quite the wordsmith
to bad backwards speech doesnt make sence when you hear it
backwards text can always be read, and read again till it makes sence
Inverto is truly the master of witty fight narrations, I salute him. Then I run away. Very quickly.
@Longtail Well, it’s not always “bitching” (though, yes, there is that, but often it’s best to keep a good attitude, lest you gain a reputation amongst fellow artists as “the bitchy one!”). There are good days and there are bad days, just as there are good cons and bad ones.
But there’s also a lot of fun; the exhibitor mixers and afterparties can often be a good time to meet other people who love what they’re doing (and meet snobs, but who cares about them? Pfah…snobs!). You start meeting more new people who like the same things you do, and you run into a lot of old people from other conventions you thought you’d never see again.
It’s a nomadic life: traveling and surviving, then pitching tent in the gypsy camps to talk to the other nomads (I think that was a metaphor, even if it sounds pretty accurate).
@Bearman I knew I should have slipped some subliminal messages into Inverto’s dialogue: “!skoob eht yuB !skoob eht yuB”
@Encoyroaba Is it really that hard to read? I mean, I can blab, because I know what I wrote (…I think), but if everyone out there is really having a helluva time then…hmmm….we can do a contest for the most original way to read Inverto’s speech. That could be fun!
@mehdi You can watch “Alien” whilst reading this comic. Just look up and down repeatedly and you’ll never know the difference.
@Treike Now I need to guess where you’re coming from…hmmm…”bloke”…”folk-singing”…I’ve got it! Easter Island!
What? No? …well, I thought I was pretty close.
Yes, Rod is very wide-eyed in that panel, as most anyone would be if a crazy person bit their face!
@BarbaricBob Makes you wonder what Inverto would be like in an animated show, or maybe just a radio podcast. The results should be interesting.
@TheMonahan He who fights and runs away doesn’t get bitten by a warped jerkwad with backwards-talk!…so the old piece of advice goes.
Man, I can’t even imagine how to start fighting this guy. So far, he seems unbeatable. And I hope Scap gets all the credit. 😀
Oy vey! I wish I could make it out there, but I’ll be back in America in 1.5 months.
Love your comics, I still need to read a bunch though.
Cheers!
I’ve heard if you play some of Inverto’s speech backwards it says “I buried Paul”… or am I thinking of something else?
Inverto does some pretty solid bad-assery.
Love the “Oblongs” cartoon on Adult Swim! I see you and Angus fitting in well together!
Yeah, the backwards wording is challenging, but I’ve read that doing that is actually GOOD for your brain is it forces it to assemble the words and not just run on cruise control. Helps keep your mind fit, so to speak. I think I have a headache as I’m a lazy ass-hat who hasn’t worked out in 30 years.
😛
This page is SSAKCIK! See! I told you! Inverto is everything Scap is not! He’ll take that cheek, you can hold the sauce! Tip: hold a small mirror up to the screen and you can read Inverto’s gab so much easier!
@George A gun will probably put an end to any amount of Inverto monkey-business…so what will happen when Inverto meets Jemini and the other gangsters? Ooh, I love writing this ‘cliff-hanger’ nonsense!
@jwbalsley Anytime, fellow hyena-man! Sift through the archives like a spotted hyena through a rotting carcass (sadly, that’s a pretty apt metaphor).
@JerryBenedict Come to think of it, Inverto’s dialogue should have been nothing but, “!daed si luaP !mih ssim, mih ssiM”.
It’s funny how many songs people think/know have subliminal ‘backwards-meanings’ to them. I remember way back when some site called Ebaum’s had a clip from a Britney Spears song that, when played backwards, said “Sleep with me, I’m not too young”. I never knew if that was real or just someone messing around in Final Cut Pro, but it still makes you wonder…
@Byron Angus is waaay too cool to be hanging around with me on a daily basis, but at a convention he is indeed awesome company.
Crosswords and sudoku are supposedly good brain exercises…as for me, I read webcomics every morning and my mind has turned to mush! I’ve got no one to blame but myself!
@MarkStokes Hey, now you’re catching on! Inverto is BMOB AD! He is ELZZIZ-ARF-ELZZIR! He is SSEUG I, DAB TON.
This is fun! Everyone get a mirror!
AHHH! It hurts to look at Inverto-Scap! Hideous! Hideous! But I love his manner of speech…. He’s more charming… but my guess is he won’t get invited to many dinner parties.
Aww… am I lovable? Shucks. You say such nice things… (BWARRRPPP!)
Cool action and moves. Really fun to watch the Scapula clone kicking their asses.
@SquidRowMommy Inverto would be a blast at any party! Sure, a few guests might get bitten, but it would still make for a very entertaining night. Plus imagine if he gave a toast; that would be the greatest speech ever.
Of course you’re lovable! There weren’t a whole lot of people I wanted to hug at that con, but you earned it.
@FrankMHansen Thank you kindly, good sir!
very very clever with the reverse type for inverto!
Poor guys only got half a face now. I hope he gets an eye patch or something. Plus everybody knows huge scar + eyepatch = chick magnet.
@Jenn …and you are very, very nice.
@MortJMoose That’s true; unfortunately he’s only got a bite on the cheek (and he’s being a big baby about it). Maybe he’ll go home and sand off half of his face and get that eyepatch. Hey, being a chick magnet comes with a price!
Wow!!! Inverto is quite the mean guy. Looks like he has inherited all Scap’s pent up anger. Still struggling with the reverse type though.
The reverse type makes you pay attention and read slower. A pretty cool effect.
@TonyMcGurk I never thought of it that way, but it makes sense. A lot of people have been throwing out theories that he’s Scap’s “wish fulfillment”…I pretty much wrote him as just a bastard!
@ChrisK Savor the confusion! Good notion, Chris!
Is it sad that the first thing I did after reading this comic was make a mental checklist of moves and manouvers that are effective against this type of springy bastard? Glad to see those steel dentures finally paying off.
I can’t see Scapula actually wishing he was this guy. Way more likely he wants to be D.E.H.D.Man. A powerful mastermind in charge of an empire of goons. Inverto’s more like a psychotic monkey.
@LadyJenn Not sad at all. It pays to be prepared, especially with all the weirdos roaming about (that said, what does our resident fighting expert recommend against the ‘psychotic monkey’-type?).
Inverto will probably come into his own as a character (I guess…maybe…well, wait and see). You are right that Darkevilhelldeath-Man already represents Scapula’s ‘ideal self’; hey, who would want to be a flip-sided ‘Bizarro’ dupe when you could be a nuclear-powered sock puppet?
Reading the text backwards is pretty fun tho. I’ve gotten kinda used to it.
why does scapula always get into more trouble when he uses his brain?
first they were probably just gonna stab him a few times and leave him to die in a gutter, now they wont stop till his brain burst out of his skull when they put him in a car compactor! wich would solve the problem of him using his brain so much
Well depending hun. So far he’s very flippy and aerial, trademarks of Capoeira and Dragon Style Kung Fu, among others. As my personal style preferences are new york street brawling, Judo, and good old Irish Pugilism (boxing for the unlettered), the bulk of my techniques against agile opponents revolve around not moving. They have to come to me. Most do it while leaping, meaning they have zero anchorage and are pretty much at my mercy to redirect wherever I want them to land, or even just grab them (not this clown….. those teeth are nasty). As he’s smarter than most, and has an advantage in orienting himself whichever way he wants and is clearly multidexterous, then likely plan B unless he got cocky. Plan B is still not moving, but rather than waiting for him to lose anchoring, you wait until he’s about to do something (and it can be almost anything, from flipping, to jumping, to taking a swing), before attacking the limb in motion to throw balance. Followed up with a string of left jabs and a right hook before a left body blow, I have never seen anyone be in the mood for acrobatics against me again. If I can land a shot to the solar plexus, just standing up usually makes them puke. At the most basic on offense, concentrate on striking limbs to cripple mobility, defensively lower your center of gravity and force them to come to you. To quote my pocket philosopher Trevie: “Dragonflies can dart and dodge all they like, they still can’t break a rock.”
Alternatively alternatively, given his specific anatomy, I’d let him grab me with his feet, clamp my arms down to pin his legs to me, and whirl him around like I was in the olympic hammer toss until his skull had bounced off of everything in the room. But that one would more or less be Inverto-specific. Gah, that was long winded!
By the way, totally would rather be the sock puppet than a gibberish speaking bizarro. I mean, crazy fighting skills, yes, but….. Nuclear Powered Sock Puppet! Hehehehehehehehehehe
Having just got off the line with said philosopher, he notes: “Your ideal self can’t be your opposite self since an ideal is an amplification and an opposite is an inversion. We don’t strive to be the opposite of our ideal, in short.” Further stated: “Inverto is pretty well opposite Scapula….. physically fit, socially comfortable, and very aware of the current situation. However Scapula has big goals and ideas, often well beyond his reach, and a willingness to get over his head and work his way out (typically by running like hell). Inverto is extremely capable in the now, but he needs an audience to be effective….. left on his own, people like him typically end up being hired by others.”
Let’s see if he’s right!
For a guy who has his head coming out his a$$, he’s doing far better than his upright, head in place counterpart! …. although I say “head in place” loosely and figuratively! o.O
I read that as Buy the dooks
@Encoyroaba Good to know! It will come in handy finishing this storyline…
@BarbaricBob Moral of the story: brains always lead to trouble, so leave yours at home today and just enjoy where the wind takes you!
Actually, that IS my everyday philosophy.
@LadyJenn the First Once again, your encyclopaedic knowledge on how to make someone break like a KitKat bar is astounding. I swear I’ve got the best readers on the web. Does “xkcd” get fans teaching fighting techniques to everyone?
“Fighting while not moving” almost reminds me of what you do when some loud bratty kid is trying to get your attention. You give them the silent treatment; the more you yell or run after them the more they run away screaming gibberish (no, I’m not telling you all to go beat up children…well, not unless they have it coming).
You could also try talking Inverto out of a fight, but that all depends on how well you speak his language…in which case, maybe you’re better off just throwing him around.
@LadyJenn the Second More awesome insight (I can’t get over how many cool comments I get). It’s scary seeing my character getting psycho-analyzed…just tell this guy to stay away from my psyche, that’s off-limits!
Now I’m wondering what assumptions you would get from the other characters. Mira Mira? Throgor? Dog Doo Doug?
@jynksie I think most everyone in this comic has their head coming out of their ass. Now I should draw them all in a chorus line, doing the Jim Carrey ‘talking butt’ thing from “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective”!
@Bearman You’ve been reading too much “Maakies”. Dook! Dook! Dook!
wow jenn you have put alot of thought into his fighting :O
but my advice would be if he grabs you with his… feet? you know the ones with the thumbs? just hit the place where the original scaps head would be REALY hard and pray to god that the anatomy works that way 😛
I wonder what woulda happened if Scap had’ve put Darkevilhelldeath-Man into the machine?
@BarbaricBob Who can say what Inverto’s anatomy is like? Maybe a twisted dupe doesn’t have nards where nards should be…or have nards at all!
@TonyMcGurk The same thing that happens when you put a sock in any machine: it disappears! That’s what happens to ALL of my socks!
Wow! That was quite an action packed comic! And bit into the cheek? Ouch! 😉
@ Barbaric Bob Yeah, what can I say. One, I like fighting, and two, I’m a card carrying sadist. You gotta know how to hurt those folk that need hurting but don’t like it, ya know, hun? hehehehehehe. As for going for the nads, I would rather not risk finding out that I’d just pulled off a butt-punch.
@ DadaHyena The ‘ignore the kid’ simile (I think that’s the one) is pretty spot on. People get into styles based on personality. Acrobatic styles usually indicate attention seekers because they’re flashy, as seems to be the case here. If you just stand there and don’t get suckered in, they have to do what they aren’t meant to do….. take on the defender. Also note I kept it to unarmed combat. Melee would involve larger or fast moving weapons (any kind of polearm, staff, or chain would do) because they cover a huge area and could keep him back, and as for firearms, they have one for just these situations. It’s called a shotgun. In this case, preferably a semi-auto with a drum and foregrip for control, to make sure you sweep the area. Keep in mind these are just my ideas and suggestions (often tried and true in my life).
I’ll try and get Trevie in here to give his two cents’ worth on characters, but I don’t promise anything. He’s a pain to get to talk to people!
@Lady Jenn
hmm true, inverto is a punching hazzard can’t even hit his face without the chance he’ll chew your hand off :S
on a brighter note he would be the first person where you could break arm caps!
wich brings me to another point how can his… armlike legs support him so well O_O
Hmmm…. “I armcapped the mofo!”. Yeah, that’d be unique! As for his leg-arm things, I know people who can do handstand pushups on one arm, so I imagine it’s doable.
Inverto has a very good vocabulary. I just wish that it wasn’t such a headache to read.
@TheOddStrange You’re not the only one who’s had a hard time with this little punk. Just look at the guy’s who are trying to fight him!