Sisyphus

Doink · Post by **Doink** » Fri Jan 27, 2006 8:29 am

Confusion abounds.

What is this building and why does is fall short of Sissy's standards?

The_Fox · Post by **The_Fox** » Fri Jan 27, 2006 11:30 am

I believe this is Sissy's fortress, and that she is, to put it mildly, a megolomaniac.

- Jarylan

Micro_Fur · Post by **Micro_Fur** » Fri Jan 27, 2006 2:04 pm

*Wakes up after a nice, long, much needed nap* And they say that only guys compensate by doing such things.

Micro_fur - When you're this small anything is over-compensating. Also, don't put a bag of holding into a portable hole.

Sylvain · Post by **Sylvain** » Fri Jan 27, 2006 4:22 pm

The way I understand it, Miss Fusselton, like any mad scientist worthy of the name, is looking for a lair. Rather than to go through the hassle of building her own, I think she is simply planning to take over an existing one, even if it is somewhat below her standards.

Sissy certainly feels that she has the power to do so, but I have a feeling that Dr. Sisyphus will have something to say in the matter. This should prove interesting. This is the kind of encounter best viewed from afar, from behind a thick lead shield...

Micro_Fur · Post by **Micro_Fur** » Fri Jan 27, 2006 4:53 pm

Sylvain wrote:. . .This is the kind of encounter best viewed from afar, from behind a thick lead shield...

Considering she has the ability to distort space and time, a newly *ahem* found arm of nanites, and a very crazed personality; I'd be surprised if this battle of wits results in something short of unravelling the very space-time continuum with a final standoff with them both toe to toe for the last shreds of the universe. . .kinda duck-dodgers-ish (Sorry if this is to vage of a warner bros cartoon reference, it just popped into my head) That and I'm begining to suspect that Allan is trying to us a decoy on us.

Micro_fur - Wondering what to do tonight now that friends bailed on me at the last minute. v.v,

Allan_ecker · Post by **Allan_ecker** » Fri Jan 27, 2006 6:10 pm

Sissy Fussleton = Dr. Sisyphus.

Apparently have made serious scripting blunders. AGAIN.

Hopefully Tuesday's update will clear up some of this confusion. Or make it worse, given my track reccord.

Kesh · Post by **Kesh** » Fri Jan 27, 2006 7:03 pm

Mmm, not too bad a script error. Basically, there was no point of reference that Ms. Fusselton was going by the name of Dr. Sisyphus, so it wasn't quite as clear as it could have been up front.

Then again, it is pretty obvious once you spell it out here.

It's a common writing error: you're so familiar with the characters and how they think, that an obvious moment like that... never gets written out in 10-foot-high letters that the reader might need to clue in on it. I think every writer's been guilty of it.

Allan_ecker · Post by **Allan_ecker** » Fri Jan 27, 2006 8:16 pm

A lot of the reason for going back to an "easy" comic like UH2 was that I would be less likely to make these kinds of mistakes. A heavily character-driven (as opposed to situation-driven) story is a flow of emotions, not actions, so actions are less likely to get muddled.

And of course the action-genre stuff is where I keep falling flat on my face. But I have to keep trying. I have stories to tell that will burn searing holes of awesomeness in the sky... assuming I tell them correctly.

Practice. Practice. PRACTICE.

Maximuscoolman · Post by **Maximuscoolman** » Fri Jan 27, 2006 8:19 pm

Hmm, made perfect sense to me. Sissy steals nanites that can make a fortress, Sissy gets a Fortress... Maybe it's because I've been reading the Sissy strips over and over again because they're so great.

Micro_Fur · Post by **Micro_Fur** » Fri Jan 27, 2006 9:25 pm

Now I just want to bury my head in shame, some devoted reader I am PFFT! Such a rookie mistake! (No offense Sylvain) Maybe I should trim my daily read list down to 12 or so comics rather than the full list of 40.

Micro_fur - I have no idea what I'm getting at, I'm just so dang bored tonight.

Nyamaza · Post by **Nyamaza** » Sat Jan 28, 2006 12:03 am

I caught that the building had been built by the nanites *the blue glow around the building helps with picking that up*, but I had a bit of issue with the name. I finally had centered on the nanites themselves making a mistake, program error, that turned Sissy Fusselton into Sisyphus.

Sylvain · Post by **Sylvain** » Sat Jan 28, 2006 4:01 am

I think that part of the confusion stems from the fact that we are seeing those panels only every few days. Had this been part of a printed comic book, I am sure that it would have been obvious that this lair has been Sissy's from the start. The previous page would be fresh in our memory, and we could read the explanation provided in the next one right away.

It is true that I should have connected the fortress building nanites with this building. In fact, I did wonder why Miss Fusselton wanted to take over another's lair since I knew she had the ability to make one herself.

Allan_ecker · Post by **Allan_ecker** » Sat Jan 28, 2006 7:55 am

Ah yes, the delay factor. This is why the Unit Zero comic is going to only come out in full issues from now on. (UZ Issue 2 is moving VERY slowly, but progress -is- happening every now and then...)

As to Umlaut House's delay issues, they're here to stay since I've got this regular schedule thing going. And it's -real- hard to simulate because I show these comics to my various editorial sources in big chunks. ("Oh HEY! Haven't seen you in AGES! Here, read these comics. Now.")

But I think I can adapt; a little exposition here, an establishing shot there, repeat some words now and then.. It's just important that I do this -consciously- so that I don't end up doing it -unconsciously- in my multi-page-per-update comics.

And yeah, the blue glow is nanites at work. I -had- hoped that they'd be purely unnecessary to understanding the shot: a neat little detail.

Avewy · Post by **Avewy** » Sat Jan 28, 2006 9:00 am

Only an undying love for a webcomic could cause me to de-lurk.

I love the way Dr Sisyphus lair is evil, yet strangely stylish. I believe it's the nanite glow that makes it chic.

Here's to hoping Sisyphus doesn't end up in hell rolling a boulder around for eternity.

Allan_ecker · Post by **Allan_ecker** » Sat Jan 28, 2006 9:30 am

Too bad the glow wears off after a while, then!

Wow, welcome aboard, and keen avatar! It looks like something Studio Pixel would come up with!

RandomScribe · Post by **RandomScribe** » Sat Jan 28, 2006 10:49 am

For the record, I did get the Sissy --> Sisyphus thing. I mean it's the classic sequence for a villain in this genre: the megalomaniacal ambitions, the secret lair, the new identity... Finding a minion should be coming up soon on that list, I should think.

--RS

Sylvain · Post by **Sylvain** » Sat Jan 28, 2006 1:09 pm

I had actually taken the glow to be a force field of some sort. Perhaps projectors of some kind could be added after the nanites are finished, just for looks?...

Allan_ecker · Post by **Allan_ecker** » Sat Jan 28, 2006 1:28 pm

Sylvain wrote:I had actually taken the glow to be a force field of some sort. Perhaps projectors of some kind could be added after the nanites are finished, just for looks?...

Dr. Sisyphus wrote:Well, I have GOT to find a way to keep those eirie glows on the undersides of the awnings, and I can't have my logo go dark after all this. THAT would just be indicative of sloth. I don't think I could really keep the dripping blue luminescence, though.

Micro_Fur · Post by **Micro_Fur** » Sat Jan 28, 2006 1:41 pm

Dr. Sisyphus wrote:Well, I have GOT to find a way to keep those eirie glows on the undersides of the awnings, and I can't have my logo go dark after all this. THAT would just be indicative of sloth. I don't think I could really keep the dripping blue luminescence, though.

Two words: Cherenkov radiation. Not to mention the fact that the amount of activity required to cause it would make for a KILLER (quite literaly) force field! Not to mention you would never have to worry about unwanted pests, but it would save on the heating costs in that huge drafty lair.

Micro_fur
-"Sir, the meters! They're pegged!"
-*Sucks Thumb*
-"WE'RE GOING TO DIE! AIEEEGH!"

Avewy · Post by **Avewy** » Sat Jan 28, 2006 7:35 pm

allan_ecker wrote:Wow, welcome aboard, and keen avatar! It looks like something Studio Pixel would come up with!

Thanks for the welcome. And I'm surprised you recognized Pixel's work straight off the bat. My avatar is a tiny bit of a huge art piece Pixel did ages ago. Unfortunately it's long been taken offline

.

As for keeping the glow on the lair when the nanites run out, may I suggest some flickering fluorescent lights? You could go for that creepy back alley look. It's also a bold statement about one values practicality over vanity.

Which in retrospect is probably not the look the Doctor is going for.

PS: Yams.