Page 4 ⊂ A Couple of Badass Superheroes ⊂ Eli Dupree's website

A comic page; see below for a transcript

Panel: The Investor (the "woman" from the previous strip) takes the top hat from the Museum Director (the "man").

INVESTOR: Maybe I should take the hat before you explain.

NARRATION: AN EVIL MAGICIAN GAVE THE HAT TO THE DIRECTOR OF THE MUSEUM OF MYTHOLOGICAL HISTORY, AS REVENGE FOR A PARTICULARLY UNFLATTERING EXHIBIT. THE HAT IS CURSED SO THAT IT CANNOT BE REMOVED UNLESS ANOTHER PERSON WILLINGLY TAKES IT, AND SO THAT ANYTHING THE WEARER SAYS SOUNDS RIDICULOUS.

Panel: The Investor wearing the top hat. Ze looks fairly silly wearing the blocky dark top hat with zir dress. Ze is surrounded by a dramatic visual effect.

INVESTOR: Let's rock this popsicle stand!

MUSEUM DIRECTOR: As you know, anyone who sees the Medusa's Head directly will turn to stone. (No backsies.)

MUSEUM DIRECTOR: But if you see it in a mirror, you're fine.

MUSEUM DIRECTOR: On the other hand, it's perfectly safe to see a vampire directly...

MUSEUM DIRECTOR: ...and they don't show up in mirrors at all.

Large image: On the right is a large niche in the wall, but you can't see into it, because it's blocked off by two rows of stuffed vampires in stereotypical vampire capes. On the left is a mirror, showing the reflection of the Medusa's Head in the blocked-off niche.

INVESTOR: I knew you'd come up with a way to display it. I'm glad to see my investments paying off.

MUSEUM DIRECTOR: ...how did you say that while wearing the hat?

INVESTOR: Haven't you heard? Capitalism is the most ridiculous thing since sliced epistemology.

Back to Tritia and our heroes. Tritia looks regretful.

TRITIA: I tried my best to steal it... But I simply couldn't bring myself to harm those... IMMACULATE stuffed vampires.

Tritia grins.

TRITIA: But, this was all a ruse! I was only delaying you! Because I can read minds too! And now I KNOW YOUR WEAKNESS!!!

JEVA: Wait, wh--

(the page ends mid-sentence)

(hide transcript)

First · Archive ·

encourage me

This one took me 2 hours, 24 minutes. Maybe I should increase my update frequency!

By the way, I'm curious how well the mirror image works. It's a blatant violation of basic geometry – I just drew everything I wanted in the mirror, without being careful about where to put it. (If I'd drawn it accurately, you wouldn't be able to see into the Medusa's Head niche at all, because of the angle the viewer is looking from.) That's called artistic license – drawing things unrealistically to make them work with the artistic effect I'm trying to create.

– Eli

Approximate readability: 7.68 (433 characters, 97 words, 6 sentences, 4.46 characters per word, 16.17 words per sentence)

Do you like this comic? Consider pledging a few $$$ on Patreon so I can keep putting cool things online for free. October 1, 2011 · Permalink

Comments

Ole_Ferme_loeil · October 2, 2011 · Permalink · Reply

Hey, Good Idea, hiding Medusa's head behind Vampires! :)

_i_ · October 15, 2011 · Permalink · Reply

Now that you mention the mirror, the only thing that bothers me about it is that the two people are in the wrong order in the mirror. I'm happy with the artistic license of it how it mirrors the Medusa's Head.

Eli Dupree · October 15, 2011 · Permalink · Reply

They're only in the wrong order if you think they're being reflected from behind. Which they're not, since the investor is clearly viewed-from-zir-front in the mirror. The problem with the people in the mirror is that they're drawn farther away from the viewer than the real people, when they should be drawn closer (either that, or they're in the wrong order AND drawn from the wrong direction; take your pick).