Comments on: Dave’s Dead, Dave: June 11-16, 2001

By: sharon (sharonopolis)

sharon (sharonopolis) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 19:00:41 +0000

Everybody’s totally off on the couch. Obviously, it was the first draft of Mongor (the Iguana Couch!) which Beta pilfered from her mom’s lair when she thought mom had been burned at the stake. And thus the ancient tradition of handing down crappy furniture to one’s offspring has been fulfilled.

By: Owl Who says South (owlsayssouth)

Owl Who says South (owlsayssouth) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 19:00:40 +0000

I think doctor narbon dabbled in many different forms of mad science. after all, she has left many a landscape desolate in her wake. and aparelty been burned at the stake. not a woman i would want to tangle with. even if she is more bluff than substance... with temporal mechanics anyhow.

i have to agree with andy, social science might be the Narbon's Greatest field of mad science. i mean, really, even other mad scientists Fear the name of Helan Narbon... but not beta. but then as andy noted, beta doesnt use the more "evil" methods of her mother. though, when she gets angry, its only the most powerfull that do not Tremble and buckle.

The next arc following dave's afterlife experences i find most interesting.

By: Kevin Peckham (detailbear)

Kevin Peckham (detailbear) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 19:00:39 +0000

This is hardly unique to strips from this period, but everybody's glasses are FLIPPIN' HUGE. What's up with that?

Helen's glassess are about double the size in panel 5 as they are in panel 1. I think Dr. Narbon or Helen invented Reflexive Refractive Plastic, which alters it's size in response to it's wearer's emotions, and it's been used in all the characters' glasses. Unfortuately, the notes and specialized equipment used to make the formula blew up in one of the lab explosions.

By: David Harmon (mental_mouse)

David Harmon (mental_mouse) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 19:00:38 +0000

Actually, it's not clear that Mongor is Dr. N's creation -- given his prior on-line relationship with Artie, he might well be a hireling.

Ed: I'd say the wrap-up for the hamster battle pretty well covers that question....

By: Andy Holloway (garran)

Andy Holloway (garran) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 19:00:37 +0000

Oh, right, I got distracted. I was going to say that we do know that Dr. Narbon has kept up both the villainous manipulation and the biology — Mongor the Iguana Man seems to be a pretty recent project.

By: Andy Holloway (garran)

Andy Holloway (garran) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 19:00:36 +0000

Helen Sr. will later be accused of being a one-trick pony, but both she and Helen Beta have two main tricks, I think: first, mad biology, which they use to create the other characters (some substantial portion of the cast are either first or second-generation Narbon experiments); and second, a sort of mad social science, which they then use to maneuver and manipulate those characters. They tend to get more recognition for the former talent, but I think that the latter is where they really shine. Dr. Narbon uses it to build her villainous aura, and to overtly play with people’s heads — we don’t meet anyone else who inspires the sort of respectful terror that she does, even in the mad scientific community, and this seems to be something she’s cultivated entirely through unsettling perspicacity and force of personality; Helen is lower-key, favouring charm over intimidation and a cutesy and scattered persona over the unabashedly wicked one, but proves just as adroit, in her interactions with the immediate cast, at having everyone end up doing what she wants, and twisting their brains into knots in the process (my personal favourite example is Artie as he’s falling toward the swimming pool). Both tend to it as much in service of their whims as their plans, which I take to be why it so often gets Helen Beta, at least, in trouble that it’s hard to imagine she intended.

Of course, Helen also shows a wider range of invention — I think the time machine is all hers, and the transmogrifier certainly is. Maybe Dr. Narbon is advancing similar frontiers of knowledge off-screen, or maybe the bulk of her work is behind her and she’s into the ‘Harlan Ellison’ stage of her career, mostly just enjoying making public appearances and being a Personality.

I’ve always been fond of this punchline; I guess I have a minor weakness for dysfunctional family politics.

By: Ed Gedeon (eddurd)

Ed Gedeon (eddurd) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 19:00:35 +0000

All these different timelines, with different versions of Dave running about … how come there’s no “Crisis On Infinite Daves” story arc? Would the “Everlasting Ices Of The North” story be the Narboniverse equivalent of Marvel’s “Civil War”? Don’t you just love the word “Narboniverse”?? Can you tell I had another late night update before heading off to Chicago and I’m running on 3 hours of sleep again?

By: Leon Arnott (l)

Leon Arnott (l) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 19:00:34 +0000

Saturday's Comic: Now that's how you make a memorable exit. The only tough part would be trying to edge the current conversation toward the subject of teleportation.

"Heh. Heh. Heh.": 15.3. If this were on film, the last "Heh" would echo out in an oh-so-sinister fashion.

If my memory serves me correctly, all of the Narboniverse's teleportation technology was invented by our own Future Dave, and sent back through time by Future Mell as proof of authenticity. (Or at least, that's what happens in Timeline 0. For all other Daves, the teleportation technology is simply repaired. )

By: Pancha Blonde (pancha_blonde)

Pancha Blonde (pancha_blonde) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 19:00:33 +0000

http://www.webcomicsnation.com/users/narbonic/051305created_as.jpg

By: Basil Jelly (basil_jelly)

Basil Jelly (basil_jelly) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 19:00:32 +0000

"This is hardly unique to strips from this period, but everybody's glasses are FLIPPIN' HUGE. What's up with that?"

You just want me to say "big powerful ears" again don't you? Take another look at Dr Sivana.