The Dreadful -- Chapter 5

[MSperoni]

Page 107! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2012/03/26/the-dreadful-107/)

Flashbacks! Cliffhangers! Cormac McCarthy references! Kit and Poe as school girls (which makes what Kit is reading really odd based on their ages here)!

We're gonna have a three page update this week too. Which is good, right?


(bonus points to anyone who knows what book Kit is reading from. Hint: It's the book I finished reading right before I started The Dreadful.)

[kyrtuck]

Kit looks really weird in a skirt, especially since I always thought Poe was the girlier of the two.

[A Zarkin' Frood]

Well, they're both wearing skirts, only one is short the other long. It still fits with my perception of the characters.

[kyrtuck]

Oh, so they were. Poe's looked like jeans at first. Sorry.

[MSperoni]

Yeah, Kit's got a kind of anime sailor suit going on. Poe does too, actually, but like Dongs pointed out she has a long skirt on rather than a short pleated one (also Poe is wearing long sleeves).

It might seem odd that they would wear those kinds of things since they look so anime, but I did some research on clothing and sailor-suit style outfits did exist in the U.S around the late 1800s/early 1900s. Though I think they were designed for much younger girls (I didn't kill myself doing research, I just googled some pictures and found a site and ....there ya go).

So, I guess I'm somewhat historically accurate but not perfect. Ah well! :D

Girls having access to sailor schoolgirl outfits and pleated skirts makes me think of some kind of Wild West Sailor Moon combo...

The Dreadful being unconcerned with accuracy makes all sorts o' things possible.

[kyrtuck]

So I guess the only question now is what manner of hilarious Mooman prayers will Boozloaf say when getting caught in a hostage situation.

[Kim]

I'm gonna throw a random guess at the book being Blood Meridian since you mention that one a lot. I really ought to read more Cormac McCarthy stuff. The Road was just aces as hell.

[MSperoni]

Yeah, it's from Blood Meridian (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_Meridian) :)

Blood Meridian seems like the kind of book someone would either really like (if they can stomach it) or really hate.

It's definitely not something your average school girl would read (and certainly not Kit), but I figured it'd be fun to mention it in the comic. It's sort of a combination shout-out. It's a shout-out to Cormac McCarthy and Blood Meridian, and it's also a shout-out to Jeff Smith, who frequently referenced Moby Dick in his comic "Bone" (which was also a kind of fantasy story).

Moby Dick and Blood Meridian are sometimes compared, for instance:

" In the entire range of American literature, only Moby-Dick bears comparison to Blood Meridian. Both are epic in scope, cosmically resonant, obsessed with open space and with language, exploring vast uncharted distances with a fanatically patient minuteness. Both manifest a sublime visionary power that is matched only by still more ferocious irony. Both savagely explode the American dream of manifest destiny, of racial domination and endless imperial expansion. But if anything, McCarthy writes with a yet more terrible clarity than does Melville.
—Steven Shaviro, "A Reading of Blood Meridian""

(that's from the Wiki article on Blood Meridian)

(McCarthy writing "terrible" clarity is...very accurate. Blood Meridian is just a heavy book.)

[EVILNess]

A quick question for you, and sorry if you answered this before (I don't remember you addressing this), but I was wondering if Kit and Poe are twins.

Just something that has been sitting at the back of my mind since the scene where Kit killed the guy with the bag over his head.

[MSperoni]

Yup. They're twins.

[Doctroid]

The Dreadful being unconcerned with accuracy makes all sorts o' things possible.

Such as reading a book a hundred years before it was published! ;)

[MSperoni]

And in a world where it wasn't published at all! (The Dreadful doesn't take place on our Earth).

[MSperoni]

Page 108! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2012/03/28/the-dreadful-108/)

Hopefully Kit will be in top form despite having just woken up!

[Doctroid]

Still dark out!

[MSperoni]

Yup! But it will be day soon, and then the year long night will finally come to an end...

[MSperoni]

Page 109! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2012/03/30/the-dreadful-109/)

Action!

[BigDemonicBunny]

Actually that's not the type of warning I'd expect from a member of the Jeanne Noel gang.
If it was Jeanne Noel I'd expect more exploded brains instead of having their guns destroyed.

Also, is that The Judge?

[MSperoni]

If it was Jeanne herself there probably wouldn't be a warning. :)

Is that the Judge? Hmm...Wait till page 110 to see! :D

[Loyal]

Clearly these people have never had dealings with the Jeanne Noelle gang.

Also, that's a hell of a warning, Kit.

[MSperoni]

I seriously cannot wait to get into what Jeanne herself is capable of :)

[epcharles]

Actually that's not the type of warning I'd expect from a member of the Jeanne Noel gang.
If it was Jeanne Noel I'd expect more exploded brains instead of having their guns destroyed.

Well, in fairness, Kit only shot one gun. The other two seem like the type of warning I might expect from either Kit or Jeanne.... if, for some reason, Jeanne ever wanted to give a warning. Jeanne might be inclined to give warnings in many circumstances. I mean, when you think about it, 'warning', 'blackmail', 'forced submission', and 'hellishly disfigured, but still alive', are all roughly synonymous.
.

[Alanim]

I'm going to hope that this is the judge's second personality the "executioner", assuming she has one, that'd be pretty awesome :P
^
|
all guesses.

[kyrtuck]

haha, this reminds me of the Tall Tales movie, where Pecos Bill shot the trigger fingers off some bandits.

[BigDemonicBunny]

Well, in fairness, Kit only shot one gun. The other two seem like the type of warning I might expect from either Kit or Jeanne.... if, for some reason, Jeanne ever wanted to give a warning. Jeanne might be inclined to give warnings in many circumstances. I mean, when you think about it, 'warning', 'blackmail', 'forced submission', and 'hellishly disfigured, but still alive', are all roughly synonymous.
.

Ah. It was their thumbs and not the revolver hammers. That IS a bit more Jeanne Noelle gang like.

To be fair, they had it coming by threatening a pacifistic moomon preacher. The guy who wasn't so keen about it got off a lot easier.

[Krylo]

The guy who wasn't so keen about it got off a lot easier.

Are you sure it's because he wasn't so keen on it? Maybe he just got off easy 'cause he's kinda pretty and seems closer to kit's age.

[BigDemonicBunny]

Are you sure it's because he wasn't so keen on it? Maybe he just got off easy 'cause he's kinda pretty and seems closer to kit's age.

Not saying it's why, just saying he did.

[MSperoni]

This (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2011/10/11/the-dreadful-067/) is more Jeanne's style of "warning" :)

But I'm not sure that was so much of a warning but a "I know what you're up to".

EDIT: Also, poor pacifist Boozloaf has had a rough night.

[Arhra]

I'm giving this page two thumbs up!

Panel 4 is my favourite. Oh Boozloaf, never change.

[MSperoni]

Yeah, I like the way panel 4 turned out too :)

I think Chapter 5 is the best chapter yet, so I'm looking forward to hearing what people think as it develops.

[MSperoni]

Page 110! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2012/04/03/the-dreadful-110/)

A moron steps onto the scene.

[Donomni]

Oh god oh god

REVOLVER OCELOT(Or, really, a non-infringing look-alike).

This just keeps getting better.

[BigDemonicBunny]

Page 110! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2012/04/03/the-dreadful-110/)

A moron steps onto the scene.

A moron that deserves death.
So much painful death.
Or just a quick shot in the head. As long as he's dead.
Or exposed to a mile long humiliation conga.

[MSperoni]

He didn't choose his words very well, did he?

[SaltyKracka]

Welp. He seems rather intent on pushing Kit's murder button now, doesn't he?

[Arhra]

Is he going to somehow shoot himself with his own gun by throwing it like that?

Is Kit going to just shoot him while he's being fancy?

Both are acceptable!

[Krylo]

Kit will shoot the hammer of his gun while it's in mid air causing it to shoot him.

[Doctroid]

Is he going to somehow shoot himself with his own gun by throwing it like that?

Is Kit going to just shoot him while he's being fancy?

Both are acceptable!

Naah. In fiction, morons are always fun to have around.

IN FICTION.

[MSperoni]

All I'll say is that the page wherein this fellow meets his fate has already been drawn :)

So maybe one of you are right! Or maybe not...But maybe!

[Melfice]

As I said on Twitter:
The gun is going to be shot out of the sky, but not by Kit. It'll be Liz, who missed the guy's head (but will be refusing to admit that she did. She was aiming at the gun the whole time, honestly she was!.)
Kit shoots the extended pinky finger off the guy's hand as revenge for calling her a "pinky".

What happens next, I don't know.

[MSperoni]

Kit will shoot the hammer of his gun while it's in mid air causing it to shoot him.

Page 111! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2012/04/06/the-dreadful-111/)

[Doctroid]

Imagine what kind of shooting Kit could do if she were awake and had more light to see by.

Good thing for the moron nothing seems to stay dead around there. Or maybe not so good.

[Krylo]

Page 111! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2012/04/06/the-dreadful-111/)

We are obviously psychically linked.

[MSperoni]

I was pretty impressed that you called it. :D

The page was done a long time ago so it's not like I did any last minute changes to match what you guessed either :)

[Donomni]

Well, looks like Kit wouldn't be out of place in the MGS-verse...

Skin-tone and eldritch horror-making gun aside, of course.

[MSperoni]

"Kit, can love bloom even on the battlefield?"

"If you're drunk enough probably."

[BigDemonicBunny]

Ah. Sometimes I love Instant Karma

[A Zarkin' Frood]

Well, looks like Kit wouldn't be out of place in the MGS-verse...

Skin-tone and eldritch horror-making gun aside, of course.

How'd that be a problem? If you want to ignore the fact that ghosts exist in MGS we can still explain it with nanomachines.

[MSperoni]

If nanomachines can do what they do to Vamp, then they can be used for anything.

[MSperoni]

Page 112! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2012/04/09/the-dreadful-112/)

Kit seems a little wiped out there...and in a bad mood. Probably not a good idea to mess with her.

[Gitman]

Hmmm... it seems the Dreadful wants to arrive unbidden.

[Domestibot]

Hopefully the Dreadful doesn't go off on Pussy dudeface there, I daresay he's the first attractive male this comic has seen, ya know, aside from Hotty McElfington from the Christmas special, and MAYBE Rado, for all the 4 panels of screentime he got.

[Alanim]

...and MAYBE Rado, for all the 4 panels of screentime he got.

To be fair, he got 4 panels of screentime AND 3 panels of headtime:dance:

Also, it looks like she's getting dreadful withdrawls/killing withdrawls? Maybe it's just a bad hangover from the tons of liquor she drank+liquid lightning? I mean sweating and irritability are symptoms.

[CABAL49]

I'd say killing withdraws. It has almost been a full minute since she killed the Revolver Ocelot wannabe.

[darlid01]

Itchy trigger finger, indeed.

[MSperoni]

Page 113! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2012/04/11/the-dreadful-113/)

The 'loaf says "Not so fast, kid!"

[SaltyKracka]

Well, m'boyo, I'd say it's time for a informal introduction to your future career.


...Gravedigger

[epcharles]

Time to get our preach on, so that the boy may be led to a milky white salvation.

[MSperoni]

Page 114! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2012/04/13/the-dreadful-114/)

Praise the sun!

[A Zarkin' Frood]

I hope this is a Dark Souls reference. Because Dark Souls is awesome.

[MSperoni]

Yup. It is.

[Kim]

Haha, I remember when you first decided to do that.

[Domestibot]

What IS that big, giant luminous object in the sky? From the sounds of it, Boozloaf hasn't seen it before either. ;)

[MSperoni]

Page 115! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2012/04/18/the-dreadful-115/)

Kit's horse doesn't look to impressed by Boozloaf either...

[darlid01]

I love the fact that the horse has a personality too!

[MSperoni]

I need to figure out a name for it. Maybe I'll have a poll or something where people can vote on what Kit should name it or send in suggestions.

[BigDemonicBunny]

Since it's ridden by a demon, "Nightmare". Or maybe that's Jeannes horse.

Other suggestions:
Wrangler
Duchess
Flicker
Sundowner
Pathfinder

[A Zarkin' Frood]

Thunderhorse
Peggersis
Steven

[MSperoni]

Well, it's Kit, so it'd probably be something not all that creative and possibly immature.

Or something that doesn't make sense...like "Whitey" or "Blackford von Funkenmeister IV"

[BigDemonicBunny]

Or something that doesn't make sense...like "Whitey" or "Blackford von Funkenmeister IV"

Funkmeister King would be an awesome name for a horse.

[MSperoni]

Or Kit might go with something really tough...like in a crazy over the top way, like

"Hellpocalypse"

[phil_]

The way so much happens visually without drawing attention to itself, along with how much plot gets plotted in so little dialogue, makes this my favorite page.

[epcharles]

I think it would be something totally innocuous, like:
Bud
Carl
Stripe
Gwendolyn

Or pointlessly corny, like:
Found'um (how she got'um)
Hoarse (with insistence that she is not calling him "horse")
Long-face (named after his insistence on walking into bars)

[Donomni]

Based on the horse's face regarding Boozeloaf... Squinty.

[MSperoni]

Page 116! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2012/04/20/the-dreadful-116/)

Kit gives us some details about her past, and Boozloaf sorta makes a point. Also our heroes stop to get something to eat! Kit wants everything fried.

Also everyone here needs to take note of:

This (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2012/04/20/a-dreadful-contest/).

[SaltyKracka]

Not quite sure what Boozloaf is trying to get at here...unless he's trying to say that as a demon, Kit has power outside of what normal people have (i.e. Dreadful).

[Kim]

Not quite sure what Boozloaf is trying to get at here...unless he's trying to say that as a demon, Kit has power outside of what normal people have (i.e. Dreadful).

Basically. Not everyone has the same advantages, and she only thinks people never have to take no for an answer because she doesn't have to.

[MSperoni]

Yeah, that's pretty much it :)

[A Zarkin' Frood]

Well, it's Kit, so it'd probably be something not all that creative and possibly immature.

Or something that doesn't make sense...like "Whitey" or "Blackford von Funkenmeister IV"

That horse needs to know its place. Call it Steak.

[rpgdemon]

I am very interested in the whole guest comic thingy. I dunno if I will do anything for it, or be able to do anything for it, but I am very interested!

Curse youuu for your lack of details.

[Deck Knight]

Boozloaf gets major props for being able to travel as far as someone else on Horseback just by walking!

I take it he can't run as fast as a horse, but he probably has endurance out the roof. Hopefully a later strip proves me right!

[Loyal]

Boozloaf gets major props for being able to travel as far as someone else on Horseback just by walking!

I take it he can't run as fast as a horse, but he probably has endurance out the roof. Hopefully a later strip proves me right!

Humanity's entire thing (besides intelligence) is endurance, both in longevity and in efficient heat dumping. It's usually taken for granted that any humanoid race in fantasy would be similarly endowed.

Boozloaf may or may not have superhuman stamina, but he's not exactly doing anything that shouldn't be expected of someone in fit shape (which he clearly is) who needs to travel frequently (and he's a preacher, and in the Wild West, so he probably does).

[MSperoni]

Kit's not riding at full speed either so that might have something to do with why he can keep up.


I'm not sure what kinda animal a Moomon would ride. Booz seems too big for a horse, but he's not a giant, so maybe they can accommodate him. I don't know much about equestrianin'.

[stefan]

maybe some kind of draft horse, like a Shire or a Clydesdale. they're huge (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ShireDraftHorse.jpg), though as far as I know they're far more used for pulling plows or wagons than they are for direct riding.

ED: like, to put this in scale here, its not uncommon for a draft horse to weigh over a ton.

[Kyanbu The Legend]

Also everyone here needs to take note of:

This (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2012/04/20/a-dreadful-contest/).

Note taken.

Also damn, it seems I have a LOT of catching up to do.

[MSperoni]

The contest is announced!

Announcement! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2012/04/23/i-warned-you-it-would-be-dreadful/)

Feel free to spread the word to other forums you might inhabit :)

[rpgdemon]

How long of a one page are we allowed? For example, is something like the 8-bit theatre finale allowed?

[Kyanbu The Legend]

Is there a page size limit?

[rpgdemon]

Is there a page size limit?

Way to steal my question, but differently.

[MSperoni]

Well, the 8-bit finale was actually a few pages put together, not just one single page.

Try to keep it around the size of a standard comic page, though i won't reject things if they're a little bigger. I just don't want people sending me like 10-20 pages stuck together and try to pass it off as "one page". Or sending me a massive script with the same idea in mind :)

As for pixel dimensions, the pages I post are 720 by 1093 to give you an idea. Once again, it's flexible to a degree. I guess just use your best judgment and don't make pages that won't display very well (like don't make pages that are 10,000 by 10,000 pixels, etc).

[rpgdemon]

Curses, the comic I've been working on is right out then! I thought it was clever, too.

[A Zarkin' Frood]

I think I'm gonna write Matt an Alan Moore type Script, which is more like a blueprint and you need several degrees to understand it.

Or perhaps I should go for a Liefeld script... which everyone can understand but afterwards you'll be unable to read.

[MSperoni]

Alan Liefeld.

"WHO BLUDS THE BLUDMEN?!" It's "Bludshakk!" He's just like Rorschach, but WITH BLUD INSTEAD OF INK.

(I need to stop suggesting things because I might give people ideas).

[Satan's Onion]

Alan Liefeld.

"WHO BLUDS THE BLUDMEN?!" It's "Bludshakk!" He's just like Rorschach, but WITH BLUD INSTEAD OF INK.

(I need to stop suggesting things because I might give people ideas).

Don't forget to analyze the nature of storytelling and the relationship between reader and written work, and meticulously deconstruct the fourth wall--BY PUNCHING A GUY RIGHT THROUGH IT

[Kim]

Yo, are you accepting guest comics of any tone, or would you prefer we focus on something silly?

[MSperoni]

Any tone is fine.

I'm also very flexible in terms of content. Not that it should be "Dickburg's Dicksuck Dickquest of Dicks" or "Vagina Fest 9000", but I'm pretty open minded. It also would have to pass content mustard with Brian, but I think most people here have good enough judgment to know what'd be acceptable or not :)

EDIT: If there are any questions, ask. Of if I end up selecting your comic and there looks like there could be an issue we'll work something out.

[rpgdemon]

Would a comic that's 720x3786 be acceptable? Or should I just post it here as fanart? :P


Edit: For reference, it's somewhere around 3.5-4 normal pages.

[MSperoni]

I'd have to take a look at it. But that seems awfully big. That's about three normal pages worth. But it's kind of tricky because format and panel arrangement can make a difference. You could technically just have one panel that's really tall.

Email it to me before you post it here though :)

[rpgdemon]

Alright, done and done. It is large, but some of it is just panel formatting. It was necessary for the joke, I think.

ALTERNATELY, if it is unacceptable because it sucks and there's no way it would win, feel free to also say that, and it will get posted here anyway.

[MSperoni]

That's an okay size. It reads like a single page even though it's a bit tall. I'd prefer pages be more around the size of the regular comic, but if they work they work so I'm not gonna be super rigid about it. After all this contest isn't SUPER GRITTY SERIOUS OH MY GOD FOLLOW THE GODDAMN RULES.

Even if I don't ultimately select it, we can always make a thread for "runners up" and post them there :)

[A Zarkin' Frood]

Don't forget to analyze the nature of storytelling and the relationship between reader and written work, and meticulously deconstruct the fourth wall--BY PUNCHING A GUY RIGHT THROUGH IT

That reminds me more of Morrison. I happen to have the full script of Arkham Asylum. I might as well just copy it and replace Batman with Kit. Should be fun.

[MSperoni]

Not sure why there's been a lack of an update this week, but I will do what I can to make it up next week. If we only get one page this week I'll shoot for three next week. If we don't get any, I'll try for four.

I dunno why I care so much about the pages being updated on time, but I do.

[rpgdemon]

Well, consistent updates are what build a successful webcomic. The first time someone comes to a site expecting an update and there isn't one, it's a big deterrent from visiting again.

[MSperoni]

It'd be super consistent if I had total control over it. Alas...

[rpgdemon]

Well, I'm not going to stop reading it or anything, just mentioning a totally legit reason to care about updates.

[MSperoni]

Page 117! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2012/04/26/the-dreadful-117/)

Dammit, Liz!

EDIT: Liz as in the character Liz, not Liz as in the NPF Liz.

[Arhra]

Oh noooo!

Don't stoop, Kit! Don't stoop!

[MSperoni]

Page 118! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2012/04/30/the-dreadful-118/)

How hard can this be?

[Arhra]

Damn villagers, why can't they ever show them crazy badass adventurers any respect?

Do they, perhaps, suspect that they are secretly invulnerable?

Lucas eh? This is going to be awkward. This place sure feels like a one-Lucas town.

[MSperoni]

Page 119! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2012/05/02/the-dreadful-119/)

Spooky looking house...

[Arhra]

Oh well, you did the best you could Kit. Time to move on.

[darlid01]

I'm thinking that it's either something the horse sensed, or it's something in the ground that the horse is getting infected with but hasn't effected the rider... yet.

[MSperoni]

Page 120! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2012/05/04/the-dreadful-120/)

The horse is spooked by something. Hasn't it ever encountered mysteriously dead people before?

[Kim]

I think I know who did this.

[MSperoni]

You could probably make a pretty good guess! Especially with that preview panel I sent you awhile back :D

[Arhra]

It was Muttonchops, wasn't it?

He's back from the dead, for REVENGE!

[darlid01]

Annnnd, as always, I overthink it. Shoot them in the throat!

[MSperoni]

Page 121! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2012/05/08/the-dreadful-121/)

Dead rising, indeed!

[BigDemonicBunny]

You know. Call me weird or something, but I don't think Kit is as analytical or cunning as Erin.

And if she doesn't realize where to shoot...

Plus, 3 zombies, 1 dreadful shot. So she's probably not solving it through Massive Overkill either.

[Doctroid]

You know. Call me weird or something, but I don't think Kit is as analytical or cunning as Erin.

And if she doesn't realize where to shoot...

Plus, 3 zombies, 1 dreadful shot. So she's probably not solving it through Massive Overkill either.

She should, though, just so we can see what happens when you use a dead zombie to generate zombies. Or maybe they generate something else?

[SaltyKracka]

Consequences time.

[MSperoni]

Page 122! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2012/05/11/the-dreadful-122/)

Vambies? Zompires? *shrugs*

[A Zarkin' Frood]

For some reason I think this is the funniest non-intermission page of Dreadful so far.

I'm also currently writing a script for the contest, I hope it turns out good, but I'll send it to you regardless of how hard I think it sucks.

[MSperoni]

Page 123! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2012/05/15/the-dreadful-123/)

Get the point?

[A Zarkin' Frood]

Oh, Kit's face. She's enjoying this a little too much, I think.

[MSperoni]

Kit would probably enjoy being the protagonist in "Dead Rising".

[Donomni]

I think she got the point of the shotgun. Point-blank, at any rate.

[MSperoni]

The question is: Is a shotgun to the gut more powerful than a sniper bullet to the head?

That's like... almost a legit question because I have no idea. I assume the answer is "no" but it's point blank. My firearm research only goes so far...Seems like the more you know the less crazy fun you have :)

Going by video-game weapon damage logic, a sniper bullet is more powerful...Or at least they generally are. I think the sniper rifle is more powerful in Red Dead Redemption anyway...

Unless this is a double barreled shotgun from DOOM...in which case it's about as powerful as a rocket launcher.

[SaltyKracka]

Speaking from a purely technical standpoint, it depends on where she got hit, and how many bullets she got hit with. But IIRC, your average sniper rifle will impart more force to its rounds than your average shotgun. However, since shotguns might either be using buckshot or birdshot...

blah blah blah unless it actually manages to pierce her skin (not likely, given that it seems to have previously been established only silver does that) it's one gigantic hammerblow right in her gut. Which is one of the reasons bulletproof vests aren't as effective as many people think they are.

However, if it pierces once, then it'll probably pierce again, and poor Kit will have a big ole hole in her gut, instead of...y'know...a crushed one.

EDIT: Also, snipers are taught not to go for headshots. Too unreliabe, and there's all that nice curved skull to deflect your bullets. There's a reason why everybody who shoots a gun is taught to aim for center mass.

[BigDemonicBunny]

The question is: Is a shotgun to the gut more powerful than a sniper bullet to the head?

That's like... almost a legit question because I have no idea. I assume the answer is "no" but it's point blank. My firearm research only goes so far...Seems like the more you know the less crazy fun you have :)

Depends on the rifle and the shotgun.
Both can be ridiculously oversized.
For the sniper the larger and faster the bullet is, the better accuracy you get. This as speed = less flight time and weight equals less sensitivity to the wind (as the weight to surface ratio is exponential).
Shotguns on the other hand compensated for low-quality gunpowder by ridiculously large bores (8 or even 6 gauge wasn't unusual. That's a 20-23mm wide shell).

If we're going to generalize though.
Against an unarmored target the average shotgun makes a larger but more shallow wound.
Even an old sniper rifle is likely to shoot right through, but unlike a modern rifle you're unlikely to see bullet fragmentation (unless the sniper is using dumdums/hollowpoint). The normal was soft point bullets though, which expand slightly but really don't leave much of a wound canal. The lethality is in the depth of the wound (and the absolutely shoddy medicine of the time).

For a creature that's immune to infection and can regenerate over time getting hit with a shotgun is, generally, worse.

[BigDemonicBunny]

Btw, is Kit expressing some sort of berserker rage/bloodlust innate to devilkin?
That would explain why they're shunned. Because you really don't want people around that get that excited by a fight.
Because that's a full blown slasher-smile.

[MSperoni]

Thanks for all the gun advice! I don't expect this comic to be 100% accurate, but that's okay so long as it's fun to read. But I'd like to know the rules to an extent at least, that way I know what I'm breaking.

Btw, is Kit expressing some sort of berserker rage/bloodlust innate to devilkin?

It's more of a Kit thing than a devikin thing, actually.

[Arhra]

With a cool wit like that, Kit could be an action hero.

Unfortunately that zambire was all "You are huge! That means you have huge guts!" even though you'd have to be delusional to think such a thing.

Stupid zambires...

[epcharles]

Of course, in a world where zambires are a reasonable thing to run into, it might be quite likely that Kit doesn't know what the dreadful does and/or has no particular reason to like or dislike the effect.

[MSperoni]

Page 124! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2012/05/18/the-dreadful-124/)

Kit's really earning this breakfast...

[Spinell]

I guess now is the perfect time for Kid to get a sneaking suspicion that those are not regular zombies. :D

[MSperoni]

You'd hope so :)

I should put in some regular zombies so I can contrast them... I figure regular zombies in The Dreadful would look more decayed, and be unable to do anything aside from shuffle around and bite stuff. Sorta like the zombies from Resident Evil 1-3.

These creatures I think of more like the "zombies" from Resident Evil 4-5. Only perhaps w/ less social skills. If a zombie can be said to have social skills.

[SaltyKracka]

Obviously this is Kit's first time encountering Japanese zombies.

[BigDemonicBunny]

Obviously this is Kit's first time encountering Japanese zombies.

At least she's not dressed like a schoolgirl.

[MSperoni]

She was at the beginning (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2012/03/26/the-dreadful-107/) of the chapter...though it was a flashback.

[rpgdemon]

You know, this is now bugging me: For someone extolling the virtues of education, Kit's sister got her grammar wrong. Fewer jokes, not less!

[MSperoni]

If Kit had grammar skills she would've pointed out this out to Poe.

[MSperoni]

Page 125! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2012/05/22/the-dreadful-125/)

Well, that's that I guess.....or is it?

[Kim]

dun dun dun

[Donomni]

Well, Mr. Black Hair got a neck-shot, so he's probably done.

White Hair, though... not so much.

[MSperoni]

dun dun dun

Page 126! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2012/05/25/the-dreadful-126/)

Well, Kit has her work cut out for her today. It just keeps getting worse.

[Kim]

In the next chapter, Leech-Hulk has a baby that wants to return to the womb and everyone starts eating bizarre mushrooms.

[phil_]

This... is this how Westerns normally go?

[EVILNess]

This... is this how Westerns normally go?

Most of Clint Eastwood's best flicks end up just like this by the end.

[MSperoni]

I've never thought of The Dreadful as a pure Western. It's more like Final Fantasy in the sense that it's a lot of stuff mixed together. (Well, FF6-FF13 at least).

It's a *fantasy* story. Just unlike most fantasy stories it's not set in fantasy-England/Europe in the fantasy-Middle Ages.

EDIT:

Here's a bit of an example:

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4ld26LQGc1qdadbvo1_1280.jpg

Link (http://dreadfulpink.tumblr.com/) if image won't display.

[Donomni]

Really, one of the reasons this comic is so cool is that it's a fantasy story that doesn't shamelessly copy/paste about dang near everything from Tolkien.

Unlike most western(In the west/east sense, not wild west sense) fantasy stuff I hear about, which may as well be called middle-earth-but-don't-admit-it-because-copyrights-fantasy.

[Alanim]

*snip*
Here's a bit of an example:

Link (http://dreadfulpink.tumblr.com/) if image won't display.

That's likely the most badass flying dinosaur ever, I really like how it has a absurdly and completely pointless long neck with a constant frown.

Also, this comic keeps getting better and better.

[Arhra]

In the next chapter, Leech-Hulk has a baby that wants to return to the womb and everyone starts eating bizarre mushrooms.

Are you sure they're actually mushrooms and not something else?

Did you check?

[MSperoni]

Page 127! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2012/05/29/the-dreadful-127/)

Kit learns about tree hugging the hard way.

*insert totes classy joke about wood*

[A Zarkin' Frood]

That and in German penises are sometimes referred to as trees. Palm trees mostly. Also mushrooms, which makes more sense, I guess. Kit should be slammed into mushrooms next. Heh, heh, "lucky mushrooms"

I'm classy as fuck.

[MSperoni]

Man, you have more class than a school.

[Doctroid]

On the whole, I think Kit should have skipped breakfast.

[Domestibot]

"S.T.A.R.S!!!"

[rpgdemon]

Those tongues still make me incredibly uncomfortable.

[Sky Warrior Bob]

Those tongues still make me incredibly uncomfortable.

It isn't as bad as Kiss Players Megatron's tongue, but I get what you mean. (Go here (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Main_Page), search for Kiss Players. Prepare to be horrified. Might not be considered work safe, but certainly isn't good for your sanity.)

PS - When can we expect to see fan wark start to show? I considered submitting something myself, but my intention of working with early Sierra sprites went up in smoke.

Turns out nobody has made a sprite sheet, and it's one heck of a job to create a one, believe me.

Plus, in general my attempts at fan comics have been scary. Your better off for that fact that I didn't submit anything.

[MSperoni]

The Guest Comics will be posted in between Chapter 5 and 6, which is to say...erm... two-three weeks from now (Chapter 5 is turning out to be a little longer than I planned).

The deadline is more strict regarding Option 1 because I have to go over all the submissions and then draw the one I pick (and I actually got quite a few). I wanted to make sure I had enough time to draw it and keep up with the regular workload.

Option 2 is a bit different, I don't mind getting late submissions but they should be in no later than by the time Page 24 of Chapter 5 is posted. I'd rather have gotten them by the deadline, but if someone has an idea that they need a bit more time to produce I don't mind being a little flexible. The reason they can be no later than Page 24 is because I still would need time to go through them and decide which ones I wanted to get posted.

I was going to have Brian write up all the various "buts" and "ifs" regarding the contest but I figured it would make things sound too complicated.

I'm also happy to see fan work just in general, the only fanart of Kit I've seen posted anywhere is a Rule34 pic :P

[GameCobra]

TAAAAAAAAAAAANK!

[MSperoni]

What is this a reference to? Someone posted "TANK" on the TVtropes forum as well.

I'm gonna guess Team Fortress 2, but I have no idea (not played Team Fortress 2, I've only seen a few LPs and the most I know of it is due to coloring the characters in that issue of Real Science Adventures :P)

[Krylo]

Left4Dead (http://left4dead.wikia.com/wiki/The_Tank)

[MSperoni]

Ohhh.

Not played that game either. Nor have I seen any of it because I don't have a 360 (nor cared to get it on PC since my PC isn't very good for anything except my art program).

I guess I'm so nerdy with my video game references I can reference things I haven't even seen.

[A Zarkin' Frood]

I only know what a tank is because I've been watching a high quality L4D LP (which I'm happy to share (http://lparchive.org/Left-4-Dead/)). But that reference isn't obscure enough to fit in here. We da real nerds, we don't mess around with our references. Quick, someone mention something out of a shitty 80s tv show, like... dunno I don't wanna name anything because I'll be flocked by you guys like a lone survivor by zombies in L4D :(

It's one of those games I can never play because: German censorship.

[MSperoni]

I've had a couple references in this Chapter so far. I always have fun making references just to see if anyone picks up on them, though sometimes readers pick up on references I'm not actually making (like this Tank one).

[BigDemonicBunny]

Hmm. New ways of playing Horseshoes. With Kit as the horseshoe.

[Doctroid]

Past 2 pm EDT and still no Dreadful page? THIS IS A CALAMITY!

[MSperoni]

Yeah, I'm not sure why that is. I sent the page to Brian last night so I dunno why it didn't get posted.

[MSperoni]

Page 128! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2012/06/05/the-dreadful-128/)

The zombrute gets a bit weirder. Good thing Kit is light on her feet despite being beaten up like she has.

[BigDemonicBunny]

ROFL. It's like Kit is mentally saying (repeatedly) "Well, it can't get any worse now" and the universe goes out of its way to prove that "Yes, it can"

P.S: Although I kind of expected some quality headbanging after frame 2 :P

[epcharles]

First frame = awesome.

Bet she checks for wallet first next time.

.

[MSperoni]

Page 129! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2012/06/08/the-dreadful-129/)

D'oh!

[Spinell]

Is she loading silver ammo or just plain reloading? Would a shot to the throat still kill the smart guy?
All these questions and more will be answered in the next episode. :D

[MSperoni]

All these questions and more will be answered in the next episode. :D



Yup!

[rpgdemon]

So, was it established that somehow this is Kit's fault, for the whole Dreadful thing? Or are these zombies unrelated to those ones?

[MSperoni]

Nothing confirmed regarding any of that yet. At least not in the comic (maybe I've said something here on NPF that confirms it, but I can't remember).

[rpgdemon]

Nothing confirmed regarding any of that yet. At least not in the comic (maybe I've said something here on NPF that confirms it, but I can't remember).

Well, NOW you have. :P

I kid. I thought someone said something about it, and I wasn't sure if I missed something big or not.

[Bard The 5th LW]

Clearly she should shoot it with The Dreadful. Nothing wrong can come of that.

[Spinell]

Clearly she should shoot it with The Dreadful. Nothing wrong can come of that.
Now that would be something worthy for Ith to research.

[BigDemonicBunny]

Yup!

And now I had this weird idea that each chapter could end with a "cliffhanger presentation" that has absolutely nothing to do with the story. Just throwing anything weird in there and then vaguely relate it to the main characters of the chapter.

[MSperoni]

Page 130! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2012/06/12/the-dreadful-130/)

That guy before isn't the only gunslinger with Revolver Ocelot style gun twirling skills!


EDIT: Also, prepare yourselves, because tomorrow we are gonna start posting some Guest Comics!

[BigDemonicBunny]

...that zombie is getting up again. Isn't he?
Also, guntwirling is always pretty stupid (as demostrated in a previous comic. Especially if you're not immune to what you're shooting).

P.S: Rowr, those hips. Now if it wasn't for the fact that she's a devilkin maniac prone to berserker rages...

[MSperoni]

Guest Comic! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2012/06/13/how-i-killed-your-pastor-by-nick/)

"How I Killed Your Pastor"

[BigDemonicBunny]

Boozeloaf would have been proud of that pun.

[MSperoni]

Guest Comic 2! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2012/06/14/quack-juice-by-kyle/)


"Quack Juice"

[rpgdemon]

Boozeloaf would have been proud of that pun.

A comment on it! I feel appreciated! I'm not sure if anyone noticed, but I tried to make it mimic HIKYM's intro, dialog-wise and somewhat shot-wise.

[MSperoni]

Guest Comic 3! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2012/06/15/this-isnt-my-world-by-katelyn/)

Kit killing that owl now makes Kit the most heroic and appreciated character in literature. I'm thinking of making that canon.

Make sure to check out Katelyn's DA page too!

[MSperoni]

Heads up notice:

For some mysterious reason my laptop no longer will maintain a charge. I am at 79% now. I don't know what the deal is, but it's weird because my mom's laptop just experienced the same thing. In fact, I let her use my computer last night BECAUSE her laptop wouldn't charge and was dead. Now mine is suffering the same thing? Weird. She logged into facebook with it...you don't think there's some kinda Facebook virus that causes this to happen? I think it's just really weird coincidence (we both got our laptops around the same time).

Anywho, I will be out of commission here for awhile till I can get a replacement, luckily my desktop still works.

I kinda needed some time off anyway. However, I will still be working on comics and I have 4 pages of the Guest Comic sent to Brian for posting, so that should last you all at least two weeks!

Talk to y'all later!

[rpgdemon]

Try googling the symptoms, as well as the make of the laptop. It might get you on the right track.

Also, try running the dead laptop without the battery, but while plugged in. If it works that way, it's probably an issue with the battery.

[MSperoni]

Kit and Art Fight a Monster! Page 1 (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2012/06/19/kit-and-art-fight-a-monster-1-of-4-by-carl-matt/)

This was the script I selected out of all the submissions I received. It was pretty funny and had a big ol' monster.


*Laptop update: turns out I just had to take the battery out and put it back in. It seems to be working fine now.

[Doctroid]

Please announce Page 2 (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2012/06/22/kit-and-art-fight-a-monster-part-2-of-4-by-carl-matt/) so I can say how much I liked Kit's expression in the last panel!

[MSperoni]

I figured Brian was traveling to the Con and wouldn't have gotten around to posting it today, so it took me by surprise!

But, anyway, here is Page 2! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2012/06/22/kit-and-art-fight-a-monster-part-2-of-4-by-carl-matt/)

[Doctroid]

On the guest comics generally: For the most part I'm not a great fan of guest comics. I don't like most webcomics... any more than I like most movies, or most books, or most TV shows, or most songs. I find that I don't even like most webcomics that are liked by creators of webcomics I like. (You followed that thought, right?) So I read, for example, Questionable Content, because I like it; but show me ten QC guest strips and odds are I won't particularly like more than one or two of them. If that.

And of course the occasional exception comes along, perhaps even introducing me to a creator and their comic which I didn't know about but which turns out to be one I enjoy a lot.

So anyway: "How I Killed Your Pastor": I enjoyed the homage to HIKYM and the pun. Not a fan of the artwork.

Quack juice: Pretty good script, not a fan of the artwork.

This isn’t my world!: That's probably a good description of my reaction. Good artwork, but I take it the script is all about references to some video game? I play hardly any video games, so the whole thing went right over my head.

Kit and Art Fight a Monster: Excellent artwork! I'm enjoying the story so far.

[MSperoni]

Well, "Kit and Art Fight a Monster" has a bit of an advantage regarding "authenticity" than the others since I drew it/gave advice about how the script would best be laid out/designed everything.

Carl came up with the characters (except for Kit, obviously) and dialog, but visually speaking it is pretty much in the same vein as any other Dreadful comic. So it might seem like less of a Guest Comic than the others.

EDIT: The third guest comic is reference to Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. You've certainly heard of Legend of Zelda, right? (you'd think just being anywhere within 10 miles of nerd/gamer culture would make it so you'd HAVE to have heard about it at least once, even if you've ever played/seen one. I've never seen an episode of MLP:FiM but I know what it is, e.g )

[MSperoni]

Page 3! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2012/06/26/kit-and-art-fight-a-monster-part-3-of-4-by-carl-matt/)

Kit pulls a very powerful rifle out of her inventory menu and fires away! (yes, that's a rifle (http://www.imfdb.org/wiki/Holland_%26_Holland_Double_Rifle), not a shotgun)

[MSperoni]

Page 4! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2012/06/29/kit-and-art-fight-a-monster-part-4-of-4-by-carl-matt/)

The final page of the Guest Comic! Now, onto Chapter 6!

[Arhra]

Panel 3 is such an excellent expression that I am tempted to steal it for my avatar. It's just... perfect.