NEW VOTING INCENTIVE! MAY IS EVERYWHERE!!
April showers bring May flowers, so…
CHECK OUT THE BOUNTIFUL BLOSSOMS!!!
As for this comic...
Happy with panel three.
Sorry for the late upload on the site. The whole website was down for a while due to (from what I can gather) poor management on my part where caches were overloaded and space was running out and all sorts of things that sounded terrible. It's kinda like getting in trouble for not cleaning your room when you didn't even know that you had a room that needed cleaning.
Not gonna lie, this week has been pretty rough. My financial situation has suddenly and drastically taken a turn for the worse. Hoping it won't impact things here, but I may soon be forced to reallocate my limited time to more lucrative activities in order to put food on the table. Not saying that I'm stopping the comic, but just cautioning that things have changed, and I may need to put the comic on a reduced schedule in order to spend more time doing things I utterly hate, like teaching night school or summer school or the like.
Thanks to all those that read, and extra thanks to those that leave a comment, and extra EXTRA thanks to those that throw a few dollars my way on Patreon. Everybody reading this rocks.
Puck 756
Chapter: Prince of Dappled ShadeCharacters: Daphne PhoebeTags: bald eagle kiss from a rose lisan al gaib seal
NEW VOTING INCENTIVE! MAY IS EVERYWHERE!!
April showers bring May flowers, so…
CHECK OUT THE BOUNTIFUL BLOSSOMS!!!
As for this comic...
Happy with panel three.
Sorry for the late upload on the site. The whole website was down for a while due to (from what I can gather) poor management on my part where caches were overloaded and space was running out and all sorts of things that sounded terrible. It's kinda like getting in trouble for not cleaning your room when you didn't even know that you had a room that needed cleaning.
Not gonna lie, this week has been pretty rough. My financial situation has suddenly and drastically taken a turn for the worse. Hoping it won't impact things here, but I may soon be forced to reallocate my limited time to more lucrative activities in order to put food on the table. Not saying that I'm stopping the comic, but just cautioning that things have changed, and I may need to put the comic on a reduced schedule in order to spend more time doing things I utterly hate, like teaching night school or summer school or the like.
Thanks to all those that read, and extra thanks to those that leave a comment, and extra EXTRA thanks to those that throw a few dollars my way on Patreon. Everybody reading this rocks.
Just love the Dune reference.
The “Lisan Al Gaib” thing is a bit of a meme now amongst the kiddos thanks to the recent movie. But it felt right. And even though it’s a ‘current’ joke, it has a timeless quality, so I went for it.
Oh, and also, don’t attempt this at home without very sturdy leather gloves. And keep your fist above the elbow : they climb to the highest point. And you don’t want those talons in your eyes.
I knew that gloves were required, but I felt Phoebe’s magic communication powers would prevent such injuries.
What they said, only magic or a sturdy glove made for the purpose will save you from those talons.
Let’s say magic.
Panel three is beautiful! Well done!!
Thanks, too, for sharing. Sorry you are having a tough time. Makes me appreciate our Tuesdays together even more. Take care of yourself, do what you gotta do — we’ll be here whatever schedule you put us on. Best regards!!
Thanks for sticking by and reading. Means a lot.
I guess being Satan’s daughter comes with *really* thick skin! 🙂
Second the kudos for planel 3.
We have not determined what Phoebe is made of, physically, but given the fact that she once gave Puck a black eye, and Puck seems to be made of very thought stuff, we can assume that she may have the durability of a mid-level superhero.
how Patriotic on Panel 3. but seriously, I’m sorry you’ve been having it rough lately. I hope things’ll get better for ya pal, I really do.
Well, it’d be patriotic if this weren’t Canada. But we DO have bald eagles in the area. And thanks, man. For commenting, reading, everything.
It’s probably how Farva thinks that he got away with shooting one down.
She’s be hugging a beaver in that case.
Well, bald eagles and seals are each predominantly fish eaters, so I see that parallel.
It makes sense, right?
Saved this picture. Now we need it on a coin!
Which pic? Panel three? That’d be nice.
Loonie, twonie, Phoebe
I’m rooting for the Threebie.
I’d’ve gone for Fivebie, but Threebie’s better.
I remember once, watching a documentary on Canadian wildlife, and they cut to a scene where several bald eagles were taking off from a lake.
All I could think of—and I know how ridiculous it is—was, “You lousy traitor draft-dodging birds, you!”
We got a bunch that came up during the ‘Nam years. Some married Canadians and stayed. I don’t judge.
Funny!
It happens. No reason to make a big deal of it.
So NOT a reference to the official Seal of the USA, but rather,
“BABEH!!!
I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey
Ooh, the more I get of you, stranger it feels, yeah
And now that your rose is in bloom
A light hits the gloom on the grey”
Yeah, I can get behind that….Although Phoebs 2024 has a VERY strong appeal right now.
If only Phoebe were running for president.
She can’t be President. She’s Canadian. And the Red wouldn’t like her. Not beligerant enough.
She’d definitely run as a Democrat, though. If she could run. Not really sure where she was born, though. She might have been born stateside. Her mom’s American, after all.
The “Birthers” would come out (of the woodwork) in force…
…just like earwigs.
And they’d find she’d been born in hell. Though I think we can make the argument that hell qualifies as a legal component of America.
The rules DO say that you’re supposed to be a natural citizen and one way of being that is to be born within the U.S. I don’t think that’s been adjudicated however.
They also say that you’re supposed to be resident in the U.S. for the previous 14 years. Well, we don’t know what she does on her days off.
She’s been pretty actively Canada-based the past fourteen years. So maybe not.
While I would vote for her, I don’t think Phoebe could abide lying, even if in the present day there’s no longer much effort to conceal the actual lying.
She could ford new territory: a politician who actually tells the truth! Terrifying.
If her Mom is American she can be an American, regardless of where she is born.
A raptor screaming at close range definitely makes me duck and cover my head, so I’m with Daphne here. Maybe it’s instinctual, from the days when they’d pluck us unwary monkeys from the trees if we dared poke our heads above the canopy…
Those eagles love them some monkey.
Yup, can confirm panel 3 is lovely, nice work.
Thanks. I’m not consistently good, but when goodness emerges, I’m happy.
A sparse update schedule sounds good to me, I’ve got a pretty good RAIC (Redundant Array of Independent Comics) and you’ve got a life (or a few lives, I don’t know, the point stands either way) to fund. So keep safe, that’s priority one.
But if I may offer some advice? Also try to keep sane. Because, you see… insanity is eventually unsafe. Which is the weirdest way I’ve worded this yet: stress without relief can put you in hospital. So if you can earn what you need by doing something you don’t utterly hate, even if that takes a bit more time away from the comic, I might recommend that. Unless creating the comic is important relief, important for your sanity, in which case I might recommend sticking with maximum money for minimum time and/or energy.
In the long term I recommend another solution altogether, but I don’t think this is the right time or place for that piece of advice. Maybe later.
Finally, panel 3 is a work of art! And I was thinking of Navy SEALs for some reason, did not think of the artist and did not see the connection until it was spelled out, despite Seal clearly being used as a name here. But, well… it is not news to me that my thought process and Phoebe’s are quite different!
Yeah, the whole idea of the panel four punch line was an illustration of Phoebe’s bizarre thought patterns where almost everything connects back to mid-90s music stuff. So it is expected that no one thinks like her. She is unique.
Thanks for the kind words. My sanity is definitely something I actively try to consider. Just not sure what that looks like. Yet. But I shall figure it out, I guess.
Here’s a thought – there’s nothing wrong with posting sketches or WIPs. This does two things – it reminds us that you’re still alive, and it gives your brain a chance to relax and reset by doing something you have been doing for well over a decade.
Valid. May do such a thing. Way better than radio silence.
100% agreed.
I wish you a speedy figuring out, which may not be all that common. I shall figure out my hotmail replacement, so that you may contact me if you find yourself with no idea how to do the figuring out of caring for sanity. I’m not currently able to access the hotmail.
It’s nice seeing Phoebe being Phoebe (mostly) again.
It’s a good thing those guys like fish. But I hope it’s not too hungry.
Panle, pannel, pannle, picture 3 is great.
No, I don’t get it. I’m not cultured enough.
I’m sorry for the difficulties. I hope it gets better. Do what you must.
You need more culture. And by ‘culture’, I mean extensive knowledge of 90s-era Euro-pop. That’s culture to Phoebe.
And thanks. I’m getting by. Day by day.
I went looking and watched the video. I remember that song being around but never knew the lyrics, didn’t know the artists and hadn’t even known it was connected to that movie. Thank you for bringing that back.
Fun fact: the song was NOT originally connected to Batman Forever and was recorded some years before the movie’s release. Certified wacky director Joel Schumacher had heard the song, though, and really wanted it in the film. I once saw an interview with Seal where he was visibly kind of annoyed that his heart-wrenching, haunting ballad had now been co-opted by a middling Batman movie. He questioned whether it really worked tonally with the film, though he did acknowledge some of the imagery reflected Batman’s origin. Still a killer song, though. I can’t listen to it without getting goosebumps.
I looked it up on Genious Lyrics. Yeah, that’s a good’un. I didn’t see the movie, so I cant’ say if it fits or not, but I saw the first two or three of that series, and yeah, I get his point. Mostly. It does have a darkness in its imagery that those movies have in a literal sense, but I suspect that’s the only place where they meet.
Note that “Forever” was way goofier and stupider than the Burton movies. It wasn’t as goofy as its sequel, “Batman and Robin”, but still pretty goofy. I saw it in the theatre. I think I was fifteen years old. And I remember thinking, “I’ve outgrown this.”
“I remember thinking, ‘I’ve outgrown this.’ ”
Yeah, that was my impression.
I love the song, especially the impossibility of getting a definitive understanding of the lyrics. I’m told that when asked, Seal says something about it means what you think it means, which differs from person to person and from time to time. Now that’s poetry!
No good poem ever has one definitive reading.
“But it’s fun, right?”
That is the point of it all.
Also, I’m sorry to hear about that. Do what you gotta do.
I know how to wait, I read Radiant on the yearly release I get in the States, and I’m still waiting on Winds of Winter.
Well, one thing I’ll say is that I promise to never go on indefinite hiatus. I hate that in webcomics. I think a hiatus needs to have a definite end point. Or just go on reduced uploads. But indefinite hiatus is usually just cancelling a comic by another name. Not my preference.
One day I will win the lottery and all of our worries will be over! Gotta get a ticket to ride, though. As a teacher I am going to suggest a lucrative side hussle — drawing people for money. I am fairly certain that most of us could get behind that! I repair computers to keep things like a roof, it comes in handy.
No money in drawing people. No money in drawing period, it seems, after AI became better than all of us. When your primary skill is drawing pretty girls, AI is an artistic death sentence.
Much if not most of the value in art comes from its origins, its provenance. AI generated art is likely to quickly have little to zero value in that respect. I’d guess it will still have an impact, but not be a death sentence. If I had a partner I’d want her depicted by all of my favourite artists, including you. I might experiment with AI and might get some beautiful results but to me it is really not a replacement.
As humans, we (I feel) find meaning in the actual, real observations and experiences of other people. Art is a statement of what it is (or was) to be that person at that time, and that has meaning. AI cannot replace that. The danger, though, is that corporations have no humanity, no soul, and don’t care about the personal human connection. They see product, and if the product can be procured for a lower price, then they will take that route. I am, thankfully, producing work for real human beings and corporations have nothing to do with the direct consumption of anything I make. But I have friends who are not so lucky. And I fear for them.
Exactly. You’ve understood your field and what impact AI is likely to have on it, you are miles ahead of most people in handling this particular revolution. I fear not for you, nor for the friends you have that can take a look at these wise words and figure out their opportunities to create value to humans rather than corporations.
Now if people make that kind of shift en masse, this revolution may well turn out to be a VERY positive one for humanity!
Perhaps. It remains to be seen. I’m still miffed, though, that AI art seemingly has made its strongest niche be pics of pretty girls in somewhat revealing outfits. Like, artistically, I put ALL MY POINTS IN THAT SKILL TREE! Why you gotta do me like that, AI? Why?
As her mother was ElizabethTaylor, American, she can claim USA citizenship, then wait until she’s 35 to run for President. Frankly though, I prefer we keep her here in Canada, for Prime Minister . . . naw. Empress of Canada!
Canada needs its own monarchy. Just some figurehead king or queen we choose at random.
A yearly lottery perhaps?
Perhaps.
Votey: Everyone loves a nice flower arrangement!
Panel 3 Phoebe is not only lovely in her own right, but the relationship between the characters is hilarious!
I’m sorry about the financial problems. That sux. It finally got me off my duff to order the print copy, which will make it easier to share the goodness.
Having myself been at times in the financial redzone (but not now, praise dog) I have a few extra-cash techniques I could share if you want.
Good luck, take care of you and yours first!
Dude, you didn’t have to buy the book. Nice of you, but it’s old, and I’m kinda embarrassed that I never got more of them made.
I sadly know no extra-cash techniques, though probably my most lucrative option would be tutoring and the like. Thing is, I hate tutoring. And teaching night school. And summer school. But I may need to do that stuff anyway.
I’m enjoying the story of the character’s development. The creative process is interesting — from the outside — and the variant timelines where Puck and Phoebe are streampunk border guards or God and the Devil are fun to contemplate, if only in vote incentives.
The best stuff in that book is definitely the intro section where I do the deep dive on the weird, long creative process that led to Puck. I had to open old boxes full of art from the 1990s, tracking down obscure gems to scan. Good times.
Ohh, interesting. I’ll have to get a copy of that book when I have my finances in order.
It’s … not a must-buy. But the intro section is fun.
“Justice for Tuvix” The Tuvix episode was the most disturbing of the series
A classic.
Yup, and jail the war criminal Sisko!
I’ll add to the praise for panel three, envious as I am of those who can render both the human figure and wildlife in comic form (in the same panel, yet).
Sorry to hear about the financial trouble. Whatever you decide to do about the comic’s schedule, I’ll keep on reading it.
You showed considerable skill at drawing human figures who happened to be wildlife, so that counts. I’m happy with the eagle in that I pretty much threw that down without any reference pics. I just needed to look up the feather configuration on the splayed wings a little, as that’s pretty distinct between bird species. But that was after I drew the rest of it.
Thank you for sticking by through thick and thin. I appreciate it.
Look, to maintain air speed velocity a eagle has to beat its wings 42 times every second am I right?
Seal’s got real musical talent IMO. He isn’t just “famous for being famous.” And I wish I were as thick-skinned as Phoebe. 😉 PS @EG, if you want to post Puck every two weeks, I won’t complain. I’ve waited longer for other webcomics.
@EG, great job on the bald eagle. You even got the white tail feathers, a feature I hadn’t noticed until yesterday. 🙂
I did consult some ref pics. I’ve seen them in the local marsh when kayaking, but I’ve admittedly never been close enough to really see the details.