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More Alice revelations

Ardent hits on their attacker

Their attacker is another Alice

Gavia walks

More exposition

[Kugai]

A New Year comes and it's more mayhem and exposition

[BenRG]

Just a thought that occurred to me earlier this evening: Alice could be a contraction for A.L.I.C.E.

Autonomous
Life-
Immitation
Combat
Endoform

If I'm right, you're being used as a weapon. That's a terrible thing to be. I should know. I was a weapon too, once.

-- Alice
-- Strip 85

As for the rest, I'm thinking we're going to have some mayhem as Alice stomps her correspondent into a slightly more rationally communicative mood followed by two loads of exposition: The latest down-and-dirty on the wider world followed by the other person's warning to Ardent and Gavia about the danger Alice poses to them, which turns into some alleged background story about Alice.

[FunkyTuba]

inb4 the first comic of the year

[jwhouk]

Boss has the strip on temporary hiatus until after his ear surgery.

[FunkyTuba]

then I made it in time

[BenRG]

New Comic Up!

Well, it looks like Alice's 'contact' has feelings for her more-or-less as I imagined. So, old comrade in arms or a sister? A fellow Gen-3 Synth out of The Institute? A fellow alumnus of the Super Soldier program?

At least we know how she's been keeping shooting for so long. Assuming that thing (it looks like something from the Colt-Ingam MAC-10/-11 family) shoots 9mm or 45-calibre pistol rounds, those extender drums probably carry around 400 rounds; enough for 40 seconds continual fire at sub-machine-gun rates of fire.

Something tells me that this is about to turn into a hyper-kinetic fight scene right out of the pages of manga. I have no doubt that these two, be they Synth or Super Soldier are capable of movement speeds, damage resistance and attack strengths that Gavia and Ardent will have trouble following, let alone matching.

[Zebediah]

It may just be weird perspective, but panel 2 makes it look like the new character is about 12 feet tall.

[Caspian Sea Monster]

At least we know how she's been keeping shooting for so long. Assuming that thing (it looks like something from the Colt-Ingam MAC-10/-11 family) shoots 9mm or 45-calibre pistol rounds, those extender drums probably carry around 400 rounds; enough for 40 seconds continual fire at sub-machine-gun rates of fire.

I am 99.9% sure that is supposed to be a Micro-Uzi (9mm) with a Beta Co. C-Mag (100 rounds)  - from what I understand Jeff is adamant about drawing guns correctly and accurately and I'm continually impressed with his ability to do so - but if Snake Eater is anything to go by, it actually has infinite ammunition because the magazine is shaped like a lemniscate.

ETA: Identifying guns is all I'm good for.  I'm sorry.

[Kugai]

Real friendly, ain't she?

[Neko_Ali]

Nothing says "Hello! Now go away!" like a bullet storm.

[Is it cold in here?]

Why shoot at Alice, knowing that she's bulletproof?

[BenRG]

Why shoot at Alice, knowing that she's bulletproof?

Because she really, really doesn't like Alice and even the small possibility of causing her irritation and soreness later on just can't be passed up!

I'm more interested to learn what led to this very, very obvious lack of love.

[Caspian Sea Monster]

It's probably more on the principle of the thing, I suspect.  It's not expected to hurt her, it's just cathartic - like yelling at her, only louder.

[improvnerd]

If she's that causal with bullets, she must have a source for fresh ammo. Interesting.

[Zebediah]

Alice said that Ms. Bullet-Storm wouldn't run out of bullets. Either she has a lot more magazines stashed nearby, or that fancy magazine is actually a replicator.

[Undrneath]

It may just be weird perspective, but panel 2 makes it look like the new character is about 12 feet tall.

It's definitely forced perspective, but it does look odd.

[Kugai]

Alice said that Ms. Bullet-Storm wouldn't run out of bullets. Either she has a lot more magazines stashed nearby, or that fancy magazine is actually a replicator.

I was thinking that myself actually.

[Method of Madness]

A.L.I.C.E.

[improvnerd]

Alice said that Ms. Bullet-Storm wouldn't run out of bullets. Either she has a lot more magazines stashed nearby, or that fancy magazine is actually a replicator.

Or she knows the local bullet farmer, like in Fury Road.

[sitnspin]

Alice said that Ms. Bullet-Storm wouldn't run out of bullets. Either she has a lot more magazines stashed nearby, or that fancy magazine is actually a replicator.

Or she knows the local bullet farmer, like in Fury Road.

Or she IS the bullet farmer.

[Channelore HellicottAtham]

Oooh! It's Alice's nemesis, Malice! 

[Zebediah]

Right then, until Jeph gives her another name, I'm calling our new character Malice Bullet-Storm. 

[TinPenguin]

I'da thought it'd be "Malice Grave".

[Kugai]

Hmmmm

I'm wondering if Gavia is gonna join the fray and let rip with some of her patented explosions here to back Alice up.





Then again...............

[Method of Madness]

I know Alice denied being friends, but she may have been still been exaggerating when she said "acquaintance".

[BenRG]

I know Alice denied being friends, but she may have been still been exaggerating when she said "acquaintance".

I'm voting 'Sister'. Furthermore, her name is Alice Gaile

Just a thought that occurred to me earlier this evening: Alice could be a contraction for A.L.I.C.E.

Autonomous
Life-
Immitation
Combat
Endoform

Alice Grove - A.L.I.C.E GR0V3 - A.L.I.C.E., Ground forces Repair unit 053

What about her sister?

Alice Gaile - A.L.I.C.E. GA113 - A.L.I.C.E., Ground forces Assault unit 113

[Method of Madness]

I'm still thinking Alice is a human that got immortality and various other powers somehow (like Vandal Savage).

[Kugai]

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned??

[Timemaster]

Malice has brown hair and green eyes. But apart from that she has pretty much the same face as Alice (blonde/blue). Especially the form of the nose is very similar.
Another hint that she is a kind of clone or a fellow syth?

TM

[Aegir]

I don't think she looks too much like alice, aside from the fact that they're both women drawn by Jeph.

[Zebediah]

New comic's up. I wonder what Alice did to get Malice so pissed off at her.

[improvnerd]

Mal seems to use that gun on Alice like you'd use a spray bottle on a cat.

[Kugai]

I really hate not being able to hold a civilised conversation with someone when they keep shootout at me.

[Method of Madness]

New comic's up. I wonder what Alice did to get Malice so pissed off at her.

I spent way too long trying to figure out when she was named before I figured out it was just a pun. Well played.

[Wildroses]

She keeps digging up guns. So is that why Alice thought she wouldn't run out of bullets?

I shudder to think what will happen if Ardent touched one of her guns. Which probably means that he will. Ardent is like our cat Pesky. Sweet natured, friendly and free of malice but somehow has an uncanny ability to accidentally cause complete worst scenario chaos in all situations in which the possibility of trouble exists, hence the name.

And I imagine he will be along soon, out of curiosity, desire to help, or merely following Gavia to try stop her causing explosions.

[BenRG]

Yeah, looks like I called it! She knows that she can't more than hurt and annoy Alice but, to her, that's a great reason in its own right to do it!

New comic's up. I wonder what Alice did to get Malice so pissed off at her.

She probably won't stop telling her to stop playing with guns!

Or, maybe she regards Alice as a traitor for abandoning the fight. Maybe, even though the war is over and their enemies vanished, she thinks that it is their duty to be ready to fight should it ever start again; Alice disagreed and that was treason in her eyes.

[Is it cold in here?]

It's interesting that this was Alice's best information source or at any rate her first choice.

[jwhouk]

I suspect proximity as the reason.

[katsmeat]

Beat me to it. If her best information source is a 1000 mile trek away, it makes perfect sense to try the worst one first.

[BenRG]

New comic up!

Okay, firstly, thank you to Jeph for confirming that the infantry assault unit's gun was based on a MAC-10/-11 family design. I am not exactly a gun nut, knowing just about enough from a misspent youth as an action film fan to recognise many more popular designs from the late 1980s. So, the fact I was able to recognise it correctly gives me a little buzz of satisfaction.

Secondly, as Jeph says in the news post footer, Alice is fast. Consider how fast 9mm or 45-calibre rounds travel, Alice is able to avoid all the shots aimed at her as she charges her antagonist (note the lack of impact sparks that we saw in the previous strip). She was able to dodge around all the fire before reaching her foe. Can she do Bullet Time? Does The Matrix have her?

Finally... Just how much force did she put into that palm strike that it disintegrated the gun? Or was it even a direct contact attack or did she use ultrasonics to shake it apart? Alice is a woman(?) of many surprises! I wonder what we'll learn next?

[Caspian Sea Monster]

...I just died a little bit on the inside.  That looks nothing like an Ingram, and almost everything like a Micro-Uzi, while assembled or exploded.  Like, I get that he said "very loosely" but by changing it up for the comic he inadvertently and independently invented the Uzi...?

Ugh, just forget it.  I don't wanna drag this any further off topic.

[Kugai]

Up close and personal, that's Alice's style I think.

[TinPenguin]

Noteworthy that Alice, a being clearly designed for war, has yet to be seen using a weapon more deadly than her own fist.

Admittedly, that does set a higher bar than most.

[Method of Madness]

That looks nothing like an Ingram, and almost everything like a Micro-Uzi, while assembled or exploded.

Then it's a Micro-Uzi, what's the problem? Sure, Jeph says otherwise outside of the comic, but even people who put stock in "word of god" don't think that it outranks actual evidence from the canon itself, do they?

[cesium133]

Does it seem to anyone else that the relationship between Alice and Malice might be similar to a sibling rivalry? After all, Malice knew that her bullets couldn't harm Alice. Similarly, she knew that Alice wasn't going to harm her; otherwise she would have used something that could harm Alice, or she would have fled.

[Caspian Sea Monster]

...even people who put stock in "word of god" don't think that it outranks actual evidence from the canon itself, do they?

It sits rather uneasily with me when the two don't match.

[Method of Madness]

Makes sense. It's one of the benefits of completely ignoring "word of god" (or at the very most seeing it as commentary and not canon).

[Skewbrow]

Either Alice & Malice are sisters (or spawning vat mates or whatever) or this is their version of "Hi, long time no see". Not entirely unlike what happened when VV met Jane. Combat instead of verbal sparring.

[Method of Madness]

I went a few ahead of that and was proud of myself for thinking of a better wedding toast for my sister than "marriage yes! Good job, marriage!"

[mikmaxs]

Would it have mattered if 'Malice' pulled the trigger? I'm not sure what all this violence is supposed to mean, since with armor up Alice seems to barely be inconvenienced by the pellets. (Heck, without armor it only seemed like a paintball gun even when it smacked her right in the eye.)