I hate not having juicy links for you. I’ve just been so overwhelmed with work that I haven’t had time to read, tweet, or breathe these days. For sci-fi fun you’ll just have to re-read Dicebox and Marooned for now. Oh, I’ve been reading book 2 Gini Koch’s “Touched By An Alien” series, those are quite entertaining.
We and I watched the Czech film, “I served the King Of England.” It was interesting in what it was trying to do, although I’m not sure I’d go as far as to recommend it to anyone. But there was a quote in it, “We in the 20th century are inclined to see the glory in ourselves and the shame in others. That’s how the mess got started.” Concepts like that, although not unique or revolutionary, make me sit back and think. I try to think of perspectives from both our larger society, to politics, to my personal actions. Makes me quiet sometimes. It’s a big world, and it’s good to feel wonder at it.
In the news, a piece I did for MAD Magazine got a nice mention over on PopMatters.com. “Baldwin’s 9-panel unpacking of the derivative bigotry rampant in Polish jokes is so meaningfully sublime.” Feels good to hear things like that. Wait ’til they hear my Helen Keller jokes.
Now we KNOW this is a science-fiction strip!!!
They stopped making film for Polaroid cameras years ago!
Err … didn’t they? *blinks and cocks my head* 😉
Awesome strip today. Pure Baldwin gold.
Some places hoarded the film. And there are a few diehards that have been resuscitating it, especially in such remote places as South America … and Chris doesn’t specify when this encounter happens.
Quite true, Richard.
Here’s some trivia for you — did you know that Polaroid made black-and-white film for their Instamatic camera? I know because I used to be a newspaper journalist in the 1990s, back before digital cameras existed. An editor showed it to me and said it was available in case a photo needed to be taken and rushed to print in a newspaper that didn’t couldn’t print color images. I thought it was pretty cool at the time. *grins*
Oh, and I was wrong about the lack of availability of the film these days — I found a link online to a store that still sells it new! ( http://www.adorama.com/PDPIF300.html?gclid=CPytprrE5a4CFQKEhwod4VMrxg ) I guess having a Polaroid Instamatic is for some people like listening to music on vinyl records — for some reason, it’s still cool. 🙂
I usually don’t nitpick, but Nogg’s scale in panel 10 looks off to me. He looks a lot bigger than he does in panel 11 (or in general for that matter).
Mr. Zorilla is adorable.
And in the ship Mr Zorilla will meet is human-grub grandchildren.
and with the start of book three: Shut Up And Take My Money!
I want to see the edge of the universe, the bottom of the oceans, other planets, alien species before I die.
I won’t even need the Polaroid, my memories would be enough.
Man, I wake up yelling that all the time.
The bit of me that likes to watch Top Gear also stills likes how accurately the Minerva (or whatever GM calls Mr Zorilla’s car in that part of the world) is drawn.
It’s a small thing but I appreciate the effort taken. The rest of the galaxy looks swell too 🙂
Haha, reminds me of that episode of The Forbidden Files where that guy had old black and white home movie footage of the moon close up from his alien abduction.
I love the Zorilla Villa. Are we ever going to see more of Dustin’s non-douchebag brother? As an Australian I am concerned that the team’s only representitive of our great wide flat brown land is a complete and utter cock.
Oh hai, Christopher, weren’t you looking for funny S.F. books at one stage? I could recommend “The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy” by Douglas Adams, “Red Dwarf” by Doug Naylor, and “The Stainless Steel Rat” by Harry Harrison. Harrison did a few, actually, I could also pimp his “Bill The Galactic Hero” and “Star Smashers Of The Galaxy Rangers”. And “Who Goes There” by Bob Shaw, “Venus On The Half Shell” by Philip Jose Farmer (writing as Kilgore Trout), “The Flying Sorcerors” by Larry Niven and David Gerrold, “Prostho Plus” by Piers Anthony, and “Autumn Angels” by Arthur Byron Cover.
Amazing (to me) that I’m just getting around to mentioning it after all of this time, but Nogg really has a kick-ass Han Solo-type outfit on. Totally digging the boots.
@Lord Morgue
At the time Chris asked for suggestions I wasn’t thinking the story would turn so dark. What happened since then made me think more of «the purple cloud» than of funny SF.
I’m really glad you were Wheezin the Juice on those links Mr. Baldwin, I am excited to check out some new sci fi comics!
Your comic rocks, not sure how mondays and wednesdays became my favorite day, space trawlers is the only explanation
Hmm. A blue bird startles Nogg. Could it be he’s afraid of happiness?
As always, thanks for the link-love, my friend. Also: Nogg *always* cracks me up. I do think he is my favorite character.
@Lord Morgue, after Harry Harrison on your list, the only one I’ve read is Venus In A Half Shell, so I look forward to tracking the rest down. 🙂
Oh, and sorry about the whole Australia-bad-rap thing, the idiot had to come from somewhere and I was so bored of always making it the American. 😉
@Tom Dell’Aringa, you’re welcome!
Loud agreement, Mr. Zorilla is just a sweet, adorable guy. I see where Martina gets half of her awesomeness from. I kinda would like to know more about Martina’s mother though.
And about Nogg’s outfit. I never really saw it as Han Solo but more like Dilbert actually. It must be the white shirt and his demeanor, sort of a ineffectual but well meaning drone.
The edge of the solar system looks pretty much like any other part of space unless you’re carefully measuring the apparent diameter of the sun. What you really want to get is a good look at the cooler planets.
As for Nogg’s outfit? I’m just trying to figure out how he laces up his boots. Maybe he hasn’t taken them off since he bought them? Or does he have some hidden physical traits, like the Centauris in “Babylon 5?”
@TB: He’s using the lacing bot, of course.
Wow, great start! Are you using a different coloring, Christopher? The colors seem really vivid and rich. Or is it just because we’re on earth and not on a ship?
I was thinking the bird probably looks just like some terrifying flesh-eating alien that Nogg knows. Or he could be thinking of Oohlooh https://www.baldwinpage.com/spacetrawler/2011/06/13/spacetrawler-146/
@Prairie, i did alter my process ever so slightly starting with book 3. Should reduce the muddiness a bit, glad you noticed! 🙂 Although, the change was not mean to be drastic, or noticed, so maybe I’m not. hrm. 😉
I noticed the color too, but I thought it was just because i turned up the brightness on my laptop screen.
re. “I served the king of England”: you should check out the novel it’s based on, too. I liked that better than the film.
That’s a very calm and cool bluebird. Nogg didn’t (literally) scare the crap out of it. 😉
Whoops, actually Bob Shaw’s book is called “Who Goes Here”.
BlueBird of Happiness?
Or Chicken of Depression?
Also it cracks me up that Mr Zorilla has a 50-metre Starship parked in his yard for two whole days now, and the Men in Black havent arrived askink pointed question about the fat fisch alien in his guestroom.
Or the neighbours complaining about the view…
Am I the only one feeling sorry for the bluebird? It looks like it was hungry, and I bet Nogg smells of fresh fish
And of course it’s a Polaroid! Isn’t that what Armstrong used to take the famous “blue marble” picture?
@WellWell: It’s Uruguay; their Men in Black are too busy convincing people Brazil is a good neighbor
@Corpore: We know Martina’s mother: she’s an old-fashioned lady with stubby fingers: https://www.baldwinpage.com/spacetrawler/2010/01/13/spacetrawler-7/
@Frank, she’s not only old-fashioned with stubby fingers, she’s dead:
https://www.baldwinpage.com/spacetrawler/2010/01/06/spacetrawler/
I’m thinking at the time of this story earth may have seen some signs of the Eeb uprising. Maybe Mr Zorilla was just too oblivious to notice.
Noticed that no one had posted an actual link for real Polaroid film yet. So this is where I have been getting mine for a while. They actually MAKE film for old Polaroids. And at affordable prices as well!
Also need to say I am super happy the next chapter is underway.
http://www.the-impossible-project.com/
@Frank: I actually found what you said about Brazil offensive, guess there is a first time for everything.
If you want funny SF, then the first stop has to be Keith Laumer’s Retief series. Satirical intergalactic diplomacy and high adventure.
Matt Howarth’s “Keif Llama” and “Konny and Czu” comics would be good fun SF as well as companions to ST.
Interesting plot turn! I would never have guessed that Mr. Zorilla–dour beast that he is–would be bitten by the adventure bug. Can’t wait to see how this turns out!
A Little to the right and he’s eating that picture.