Yes, what @KQY and @Kaidah said. In every series, I’ve used the brackets to indicate the language the person is speaking without the chip, and then drop it when they receive the translation device because they are part of the universal understanding pool. But they are still speaking their language, it would just be too hard and unattractive to read the strip with brackets and footnotes several times every single page for every different human and every different alien.
Jude
Screw up your courage doesn’t mean screwing the whole thing up. That’s Nogg’s job and he does it so well.
Coyoty
They should be safe. They don’t have homes to crush. They should still follow her if they want to avoid Biker Puppies from Not Mars. They’ll get to meet a space cop and her talking coyote and fly away in a big metal shed. No, that’s okay, Doctor, the restraints are comfortable.
@Ray, well… so I’m always making little micro-decisions with the strip. With plays on words and idioms, I work with english, no matter where they’re from. I mean, especially with wordplay where words have two meanings or sound like other words, it would just be too much to even attempt that. So, like the universal translator, I simply made a decision to work with the language I’m writing in (mind you, every now and then I do throw in idioms from the location they are from)
@Shoop, Perhaps it’s weak today. But basically the premise is he is just standing there saying “oh” rather than having the courage to help her.
Nomi
@ChristopherBaldwin, I’m glad you added that. I had the same question.
Is this one of those strips that was originally the first half of a longer one? and if so, does the next half clarify?
@Nomi, it is a bit. I mean, this is the first half of a page, and it does all work together as a scene. But still, this punchline could’ve been done better. I think I was too pleased with the wordplay on “screw up” to recognize it might be weak as a whole (but by golly, I hoped!). 🙂
shoop
Thanks Christopher! Sorry it didn’t land for me. Your gags are usually really strong so that’s what I was looking for, but it’s ok to have something a little tenuous occasionally. Seems like most other commenters got it anyway.
Pete Rogan
If you ever have a conversation with a sleepy hobo in an alley at night, I doubt you’ll find the dialog worthy of Christopher Marlowe either.
I love a good prolonged chase. I’m still waiting for a successor to the pre-automotive chase scene in “A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum,” with grain milling, laundry, and several changes of horses thrown in. And no, “What’s Up, Doc?” doesn’t come close.
Julia
I am really enjoying the narration that you do at the top of the strip. Your sound effects are amazing. And it is interesting to see what you think is important enough to describe and what you leave unsaid. For example, you describe the race of the homeless people and indicate that one of them could be male or female. But you didn’t mention one of the things that I find the most interesting about Aitana’s parents–that they are different races.
ronald
“you didn’t mention one of the things that I find the most interesting about Aitana’s parents–that they are different races”
Well, he conveyed it through the art so he knew we’d catch on without him mentioning it in conversation too. 😉
In The Adventures of Tintin, Spielberg gave us a beautiful one involving a falcon, buildings sliding down a hillside, a motorcycle and a bazooka – three minutes of the scene are a single shot.
So if indicates Spanish, that means she’s been speaking English to herself. Okay.
We all have chips, so we can understand anything anyone says. 🙂
It indicates people who are speaking without benefit of a translation device.
Yes, what @KQY and @Kaidah said. In every series, I’ve used the brackets to indicate the language the person is speaking without the chip, and then drop it when they receive the translation device because they are part of the universal understanding pool. But they are still speaking their language, it would just be too hard and unattractive to read the strip with brackets and footnotes several times every single page for every different human and every different alien.
Screw up your courage doesn’t mean screwing the whole thing up. That’s Nogg’s job and he does it so well.
They should be safe. They don’t have homes to crush. They should still follow her if they want to avoid Biker Puppies from Not Mars. They’ll get to meet a space cop and her talking coyote and fly away in a big metal shed. No, that’s okay, Doctor, the restraints are comfortable.
Does that pun work in Spanish? Is “screw up” a thing there?
not to worry, i’m sure the Spanish have never screwed up anything, Ray.
@Ray, well… so I’m always making little micro-decisions with the strip. With plays on words and idioms, I work with english, no matter where they’re from. I mean, especially with wordplay where words have two meanings or sound like other words, it would just be too much to even attempt that. So, like the universal translator, I simply made a decision to work with the language I’m writing in (mind you, every now and then I do throw in idioms from the location they are from)
Did one of those little micro-revisions remove the setup for the punchline’s joke?
I know it’s not pertinent to the current story-line but there’s a kangaroo out for blood.
https://wreg.com/2019/11/22/mississippi-officials-warn-of-runaway-kangaroo/
@Alan, ha! Oh no!
I don’t understand the joke at the end. What does screwing up *or* “screw up your courage” have to do with what is going on? Seems like a non-sequitur
@Shoop, Perhaps it’s weak today. But basically the premise is he is just standing there saying “oh” rather than having the courage to help her.
@ChristopherBaldwin, I’m glad you added that. I had the same question.
Is this one of those strips that was originally the first half of a longer one? and if so, does the next half clarify?
@Nomi, it is a bit. I mean, this is the first half of a page, and it does all work together as a scene. But still, this punchline could’ve been done better. I think I was too pleased with the wordplay on “screw up” to recognize it might be weak as a whole (but by golly, I hoped!). 🙂
Thanks Christopher! Sorry it didn’t land for me. Your gags are usually really strong so that’s what I was looking for, but it’s ok to have something a little tenuous occasionally. Seems like most other commenters got it anyway.
If you ever have a conversation with a sleepy hobo in an alley at night, I doubt you’ll find the dialog worthy of Christopher Marlowe either.
I love a good prolonged chase. I’m still waiting for a successor to the pre-automotive chase scene in “A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum,” with grain milling, laundry, and several changes of horses thrown in. And no, “What’s Up, Doc?” doesn’t come close.
I am really enjoying the narration that you do at the top of the strip. Your sound effects are amazing. And it is interesting to see what you think is important enough to describe and what you leave unsaid. For example, you describe the race of the homeless people and indicate that one of them could be male or female. But you didn’t mention one of the things that I find the most interesting about Aitana’s parents–that they are different races.
“you didn’t mention one of the things that I find the most interesting about Aitana’s parents–that they are different races”
Well, he conveyed it through the art so he knew we’d catch on without him mentioning it in conversation too. 😉
Ronald, I believe Julia meant in the audio recording for the seeing impaired — who wouldn’t be able to see that.
I missed that part, sorry. 😐
No worries!
In The Adventures of Tintin, Spielberg gave us a beautiful one involving a falcon, buildings sliding down a hillside, a motorcycle and a bazooka – three minutes of the scene are a single shot.