Topic: Alice Grove MCDT - NEW COMIC! - October 2014 (Read 164310 times)

Kugai · « **Reply #50 on:** 27 Sep 2014, 19:27 »

Finally able to Bookmark it now it's back up.

Loki · « **Reply #51 on:** 28 Sep 2014, 00:24 »

Quote from: BeoPuppy on 27 Sep 2014, 10:19

We did once. But it was too crowded.

Four people is hardly crowded in my books

Besides, I am sure if you had asked nicely, you could've'd that king-sized bed all to yourselves.

BeoPuppy · « **Reply #52 on:** 28 Sep 2014, 02:39 »

Yeah. Right.

jwhouk · « **Reply #53 on:** 28 Sep 2014, 05:23 »

Quote from: Half Empty Coffee Cup on 27 Sep 2014, 19:19

His eyes did what, now? *checks* Well, I'll be. From brown eyes to blue.

"Don't it make my brown eyes bluuuuuueeeee...."

(Okay, maybe it'd be better if you imagined someone with long dark hair singing that...)

HiFranc · « **Reply #54 on:** 28 Sep 2014, 05:29 »

Like this?

jwhouk · « **Reply #55 on:** 28 Sep 2014, 06:50 »

Good job!

Thrillho · « **Reply #56 on:** 28 Sep 2014, 06:59 »

Quote from: Loki on 28 Sep 2014, 00:24

Quote from: BeoPuppy on 27 Sep 2014, 10:19
We did once. But it was too crowded.
Four people is hardly crowded in my books Besides, I am sure if you had asked nicely, you could've'd that king-sized bed all to yourselves.

I doubt either one of you wanted to go anywhere near it, gents.

Aimless · « **Reply #57 on:** 28 Sep 2014, 09:44 »

Pretty sure it's an anagram for Lager Voice, or possibly Vice Galore

Loki · « **Reply #58 on:** 28 Sep 2014, 12:12 »

Or Alice Grove.

Reminds me of a joke:

What's an anagram of Banach-Tarski?

(click to show/hide)

Orkboy · « **Reply #59 on:** 28 Sep 2014, 16:36 »

Oh, wait, I know why his eyes turned blue. The white walkers got him.

Method of Madness · « **Reply #60 on:** 28 Sep 2014, 16:57 »

Winter is coming.

Storel · « **Reply #61 on:** 28 Sep 2014, 18:02 »

Quote from: Orkboy on 28 Sep 2014, 16:36

Oh, wait, I know why his eyes turned blue. The white walkers got him.

Either that, or he's been eating the Spice.

Orkboy · « **Reply #62 on:** 28 Sep 2014, 19:57 »

Can it be both? Let's say it's both. A Herbert-Martin crossover would awesome. Or terrible. Or both. Let's go with both again.

Is it cold in here? · « **Reply #63 on:** 28 Sep 2014, 21:52 »

Quote from: Aimless on 28 Sep 2014, 09:44

Pretty sure it's an anagram for Lager Voice, or possibly Vice Galore

I Love Grace
Eevil Cargo

BeoPuppy · « **Reply #64 on:** 29 Sep 2014, 03:38 »

Quote from: Storel on 28 Sep 2014, 18:02

Quote from: Orkboy on 28 Sep 2014, 16:36
Oh, wait, I know why his eyes turned blue. The white walkers got him.

Either that, or he's been eating the Spice.

Bilal-kaifa.

Kugai · « **Reply #65 on:** 29 Sep 2014, 14:08 »

Aziraphale · « **Reply #66 on:** 29 Sep 2014, 18:07 »

Totally random thought: It would be interesting if this entire comic were told without words. That'd take some serious visual/storytelling chops, but the ambiguity would leave all sorts of narrative possibilities open. I doubt if that's where this is going, but it would be neat.

Other totally random thought: I only ever knew "Fear is the Mind Killer" as a Fear Factory song. I really need to watch the rest of that movie one of these days...

Zebediah · « **Reply #67 on:** 29 Sep 2014, 18:44 »

No no no. Read the book. The book!

So now we have an explanation for what the young lady was doing on top of the wind generator. Still don't know what Change-Eyes is up to, though.

Aziraphale · « **Reply #68 on:** 29 Sep 2014, 19:38 »

Quote from: Zebediah on 29 Sep 2014, 18:44

No no no. Read the book. The book!

So now we have an explanation for what the young lady was doing on top of the wind generator. Still don't know what Change-Eyes is up to, though.

Okay, okay. The book. I'll put it on the to-read list, behind "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay," which I just started, and the other book I picked up with it.

Cajun · « **Reply #69 on:** 29 Sep 2014, 21:25 »

His eyes went from brown to blue and her hair went from red to yellow. Strange things are afoot in the Grove.

Kugai · « **Reply #70 on:** 29 Sep 2014, 22:36 »

Well, someone has to maintain them

The Wind Turbine you filthy minded people you!

Carl-E · « **Reply #71 on:** 29 Sep 2014, 23:42 »

We have a wind turbine plant nearby. When I was commuting, I frequently wound up behind parts of them on the highway.

I mention this because these things are fucking huge!! The exit ramp from the highway to get to the windfarm had to be widened to get these trailers around the bend...

When you go up to service one of these, you go up an elevator through the base, ending with a climb up a steep ladder-like stairwell through the base pivot into the generator housing. Maintenance is done from the inside; no one is on top of these things, they're over 300 feet (about 100 meters) tall! The only time someone's on the outside is during construction.

Not trying to bitch, but... well, it just bothered me...

Barmymoo · « **Reply #72 on:** 30 Sep 2014, 00:18 »

Maybe she's constructing it.

Loki · « **Reply #73 on:** 30 Sep 2014, 02:16 »

Okay, Carl's post made me realize there is something I hadn't mentioned, because I had subconsciously assumed everyone thought the same as me.

Does anyone else feel like the world is slightly... I dunno... supernatural? It feels a bit like a dream sequence, with the unimportant parts filed off. It reminds me of xkcd's "Time" (a movie I yet have to watch, by the way). The title of the comic seems to reinforce that - Alice Grove sounds like a "special" place, akin to "World of Amelie" or "Sophie's World".

Such a world need not necessarily operate on the same principles as ours.

pwhodges · « **Reply #74 on:** 30 Sep 2014, 02:39 »

For me it's more that it's pared down, simplified if you like. But we don't yet see what else there is in this world which in time we will assume as a background for what we see in-frame.

Jeph is starting it very differently from the start of QC. Whereas QC began as (and largely remains) a gag-a-day comic, here we have three initial strips which are entirely scene-setting in preparation for whatever interaction will shortly occur.

KOK · « **Reply #75 on:** 30 Sep 2014, 03:43 »

Wind turbines come in many different sizes.

Edit: Here is a photo of the Viking fortress Trelleborg. Also visible in the picture is a farm that was until recently owned by relatives of mine. The wind turbine you see looks much like the one in the comic, but it is smaller. There is certainly no room for an elevator inside. I have never seen it serviced, but my guess is that the technician would stand on a lift.

https://www.mynewsdesk.com/dk/nationalmuseet/images/luftfoto-af-trelleborg-261921

BeoPuppy · « **Reply #76 on:** 30 Sep 2014, 03:51 »

Some are growers and some are showers. however, size does not matter. Also, I'm not in RELATE, am I?

Plasma_Wolf · « **Reply #77 on:** 01 Oct 2014, 01:05 »

One annoying thing I noticed is that the page numbering is the wrong way. Every time a new page is added, the number of the previous pages increases by one. Now the first page has number 3, soon it will have number 4.

It's weird.

KOK · « **Reply #78 on:** 01 Oct 2014, 01:54 »

The URL's end in /3 for the first, /2 for the second and nothing for the first. So it seems that the pages are counted from the latest and backwards.

pwhodges · « **Reply #79 on:** 01 Oct 2014, 02:08 »

I'm a little surprised that Jeph used Tumblr as the host rather than adapting his own well-established code used for QC.

bhtooefr · « **Reply #80 on:** 01 Oct 2014, 03:42 »

Technically, those aren't the URLs for the comics themselves, they're the URLs for the pages, and he's got it set to 1 post per page.

The permalinks start with http://www.alicegrove.com/post/98389994494 for the first post.

Mlle Germain · « **Reply #81 on:** 01 Oct 2014, 04:49 »

I have to say that I really like the style of this comic very much. The art, the layout with the lovely big background panels (especially since these are outside and have a different perspective from the usual QC middle close-up shots), the set-up of the action without words... The only downside is that due to it only updating twice a week, it will take ages for the story to advance (yes, I am impatient).

I know that this layout with very little action is precisely what I complained about with regard to QC (when it came up in QC), and I stand by this: QC is a gag-heavy story with lots of talk and characters where it is extremely annoying to have little action in one comic, but with Alice Grove (do we abbreviate it to AG yet?) I find it fits. It really seems to be a very different comic to QC.

Loki: Yeah, I also get this slightly otherworldly feeling, although so far it really could just be set in our universe.

MooskiNet · « **Reply #82 on:** 01 Oct 2014, 09:21 »

I'm probably dating the hell outta myself, but I see the title of this comic and this goes through my head on repeat.

Rghfrgl · « **Reply #83 on:** 02 Oct 2014, 20:24 »

Well, it had a good run.

Method of Madness · « **Reply #84 on:** 02 Oct 2014, 20:25 »

jwhouk · « **Reply #85 on:** 02 Oct 2014, 20:27 »

The rest of the comic is a flashback as Alice sees her entire life flash before her eyes as she falls to her demise.

Method of Madness · « **Reply #86 on:** 02 Oct 2014, 20:34 »

And just before she hits the ground she wakes up and it turns out she's Pizza Girl.

stephber · « **Reply #87 on:** 02 Oct 2014, 20:37 »

Oh, snap! This is getting interesting very quickly.... and his eyes are brown again.

HiFranc · « **Reply #88 on:** 02 Oct 2014, 23:03 »

My first thought was: Shouldn't she be using 2 ropes to avoid disaster if one breaks?

Loki · « **Reply #89 on:** 02 Oct 2014, 23:04 »

Now we get proof for my "otherwordly" theory. I hope o.O

jmucchiello · « **Reply #90 on:** 02 Oct 2014, 23:28 »

"And that's why it's called Alice Grove. Her death affected people all around this here grove."

KOK · « **Reply #91 on:** 02 Oct 2014, 23:42 »

Quote from: stephber on 02 Oct 2014, 20:37

Oh, snap!

Exactly.

NilsO · « **Reply #92 on:** 02 Oct 2014, 23:51 »

Killing Alice in strip #4 is a recipe for a very short-lived comic. Some other thoughts:

How did she get the rope up there in the first place?
This wind turbine is big enough to have a ladder on the inside. Why did she not use it?
Proper climbing ropes just do not snap like this.
This is not rapelling, as she is hanging from the end of the rope. Ergo, there must be a remote-controlled winch on the top of the turbine.
This is certainly not an approved maintenance activity. Was Alice sabotaging the turbine?
It seems the man on the ground was in a hurry to warn her to get away. I guess the police are on their way?

BeoPuppy · « **Reply #93 on:** 03 Oct 2014, 00:36 »

... and the award for shortest web comic ever goes to ...

bhtooefr · « **Reply #94 on:** 03 Oct 2014, 00:39 »

Prediction: This is a nightmare sequence. The woman died, the man has nightmares in which he tries to save her and fails.

Mlle Germain · « **Reply #95 on:** 03 Oct 2014, 00:43 »

Today's comic is already pulling hard at my suspension of disbelief - this is just not how climbing/ abseiling accidents happen. Unless you're a complete idiot and really careless (and I don't like to think that of Alice, who I think does this professionally as well, because amateurs usually don't climb turbines) you will check your rope for structural weaknesses and, especially if you're a professional, regularly exchange it for a new one even if no tears or frailties can be seen. Since one is today able to produce extremely reliable ropes, this makes today's scenario in the comic very unlikely - unless it is a special feature of the Alice Grove universe that they can't produce structurally sound ropes.
The climbing accidents that do happen are mostly due to people doing their knots wrong, forgetting to tie themselves in properly due to being distracted (!) or not being able to use their abseiling equipment correctly, not to speak of them falling on rocks/ against the wall, avalanches and the like, which can't happen when climbing a turbine.

stephber · « **Reply #96 on:** 03 Oct 2014, 00:49 »

Do we know that she's really Alice? We haven't had a proper introduction yet...

::mind blown::

Mlle Germain · « **Reply #97 on:** 03 Oct 2014, 00:56 »

Quote from: bhtooefr on 03 Oct 2014, 00:39

Prediction: This is a nightmare sequence. The woman died, the man has nightmares in which he tries to save her and fails.

Intriguing theory. I could really see this to be the case.

Although in this one, he sort of causes the accident - if he hadn't arrived flailing his arms widely at her, she just would have stayed on the turbine, and maybe would have come down later in a less hasty fashion, which maybe would have avoided the accident.

stephber: Yeah, maybe the girl isn't Alice. Doesn't really change anything for me, although I guess it would feel like a letdown to lose the naming character so early in the comic and less so if she was only a side character - I kknow this is mean and irrational.
Edit: I actually don't think this accident will be fatal. And I still think it is in fact Alice.

NilsO · « **Reply #98 on:** 03 Oct 2014, 01:20 »

Quote from: Mlle Germain on 03 Oct 2014, 00:56

Edit: I actually don't think this accident will be fatal. And I still think it is in fact Alice.

If this accident is not fatal, it will be a miracle indeed, assuming it takes place in a universe with the same physical laws as ours. Unless it is a place with significant lower gravity, such as a small planet or a space habitat. But the blue sky suggests it is happening on Earth. Besides, a space habitat (or a pressurized dome on a small planet) would not have much wind, so a wind turbine would be useless.

I also think this is Alice. This may be how it ends. The rest of the story is just flashbacks from the man down below's point of view.

KOK · « **Reply #99 on:** 03 Oct 2014, 01:33 »

There is nothing unusual in ropes breaking or other such unlikely mishaps in fiction. That is artistic license. (Of course now it will prove to be an assasination attempt, and I will have made a fool of myself.)

She falls from the same hight as the lowest point of the circle made by the wingtips. That is not that far up. Could be fatal, but not inevitably so.

THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)

Poll

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Author Topic: Alice Grove MCDT - NEW COMIC! - October 2014 (Read 164310 times)