*Sigh*
Something tells me this week is going to be just awful. I do hope I’m wrong. But I don’t think I am.
I won’t waste time and effort expatiating on the economic crisis in which we now find ourselves in the United States, except to say that it all strikes me as stupid and pointless and a source of wasteful worry that is dragging everyone down. Instead, I present a page with a big tank on it. Some things you CAN count on!
Yeah, having washed him right down, Ryan Hoffman, of Chapter 1, is now setting about the task of trying to repair poor Mike. Ryan Hoffman, in case you didn’t know, is a cartoonist (nowadays, a former cartoonist, it seems), whose strip Guten Tag was a personal favorite of mine until he wrapped it up in 2009. I consider it a tremendous loss to the comics community that he has gone on the Permanent Vacation (to use an overblown phrase). But wayyyyyy back in Chapter 1 I based a character on him who happened to be in charge of Mike’s ground crew, and so here he is again, making repairs. At Mr. Hoffman’s request, by the way, his 6-Commando alter-ego is a German exile. Maybe if we pester him enough, we can bring Guten Tag out of retirement. Maybe.
Any-hway, I’m bracing myself for the week to come. I’m not thrilled by the prospect. There’s something unseemly about praying for an economic turnaround, so instead I’m praying for people to exercise some calm, some common sense, and to quit with the gloating about who told who so, cut out the superpower schadenfreude, and get to work trying to behave like normal, civilized human beings. Ooo, GOD, look, I DID IT ANYWAY! Rrg.
Yeah, so by the way, I heard back from the state about my formal inquiry and so Vicious Print’s legal status is on the make. Soon, everyone, soon! I did learn, after an enormous run-around, that publishing cannot be licensed or restricted in the United States because of the First Amendment to the Constitution, and so one major hurdle was not actually there. See, folks, you don’t need a license to run a publishing enterprise! Free speech! God, I love it.
So if the whole system doesn’t come crashing down like CNN seems to think it will, I’ll see you next week with another page. I may not still have a JOB, mind you, but I’ll still be drawing.
Good night and good luck!
Consider this a pre-order for the printed edition of 6-Commando.
You just made my day.
In all honesty this comic has become like a second job to me, and I am determined to see it through now, come what may.
–M
Is that a radiator behind the openings in Mike’s glacis? I wondered what the gaps in the armor were for.
It’s the outermost of a series of five armored baffles that draw fresh air across the heat sinks on Mike’s atomic reactor. The reactor itself is relatively small and is buried deep in his central hull. It uses graphite as a moderator. However, there is a great deal of unmoderated waste heat produced by the system, and this is cooled by an air exchanger and vented in small amounts from his sides and rear, to keep from generating a big heat plume that would make him a major missile target.
Of course, being the size of a house already makes him a major missile target, but the idea is that he needs all the help he can get.
–M
I take it there is a system of identification/ service branch behind the different coloured NBC-[power]-suits?
There is, in fact! Gold is the Chemical Corps, Blue is the Technical Corps, White is Medical Corps (although we’ve only seen combat medics so far), and Black and White is Military Police (also, so far not seen).
–M
Don’t worry! Those of us who still have jobs (However much they may suck…) will buy stuff from you once you put up that merchandise and provide you with alternate income!
Also, there seem to be a lot of people just standing around when theres work to be done…
😀
I’m workin’ on getting you some decent stuff, too, believe me!
–M