FIRE…
I bet y’all thought that when Captain Custer finally got the chance to give the order to “FIRE” that it would be a fist-pumping, shout-out-loud moment. Kinda like when the Enterprise finally gets the drop on the Reliant near the climax of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Captain Kirk (in an iconic moment) orders his own crew to “FIRE” (this gratuitous ST reference will payoff later in the blog, trust me).
Well, we’ve never been satisfied with the conventional approach, so we decided that the first time the Custer unloaded it’s torpedo tubes on an enemy vessel it was going to be super-mega DOWNER. You should know by now that nothing is ever easy for the Daredevils, but this might just be the toughest dilemma we’ve seen them tackle yet.
The Captain was forced to make a gut-wrenching choice: spare the life of his crewman, McGinty, and doom the world to unending darkness, or sacrifice one of his own and spare the entire population of the planet from a horrible fate? In the end, and with a heavy heart, he chose the good of the many over the good of the few (told you).
Be here NEXT WEEK for the FALLOUT from this week’s explosive page! In just 7 days, the final page of Pitch Black Day Chapter 4 drops and you DO NOT want to miss it! With that in mind, make sure to RSS, Like, or Follow, OK?
Since I haven’t in while, I might as well mention that if you’ve got the time and inclination PLEASE vote for the Daredevils on the Top Web Comics list. That’s right, gear up HOSS and get your clicking finger limber, because we are making yet another push for Internet glory!
Oh, and read the Sunday Bonus Lunch. Why? Um…cuz, like, it’s a pretty good blog, man.
Anyways, till next week!
-Matt-
Better the “Mayor of Sonovabitch City” then the “Lone Sub Captain of the Apocalypse”…
Keep um Coming!!!
You always struck me as a “good of the many” type of guy…
And, don’t worry, we’ve already got finished art rolling in for the NEXT story. We’re not going anywhere!
What a wonderful Jesse Pinkmann pulls the trigger moment (beg your pardon for the gratuitous BB reference).
I absolutely love your storytelling.
When I came aboard, it was kinda-sorta a dirty pleasure, of the Ace Killroy type. The premise is a mixture of many themes that I strongly dislike (boy heroes – with dogs!!, know-it-all docs / scientists, silly adventures, magic!!, vampires!!) with a few that I like (navy stuff, tech, sci-fi, and strong female protagonists who are smart and sexy but not supersized fan service).
But now I’m finally a real part of the crew (reference to complex math not intended), because what you call your unconventional approach to storytelling took me by force.
The cell phone – sorry, voicedat module – reveal just blew my mind. It deconstructed the whole Badass / My Name Is Inigo Montoya / Never Tell Me The Odds trope suite quite nicely.
Of course, your beautiful visuals play an important role, too.
Finally, your pacing is amazing. Many webcomics that update weekly have a pacing problem, often because they are plotted as graphic novels. The wonderful Galaxion is a telling example.
The way you used parallel editing to compress the time the Custer needs to chase the contact, surface, and get into kill position, is definitely top-notch.
Yeah, what he said…
Well, welcome aboard, Timothy!
We’re glad to have you along for the ride. It’s great to hear that we won you over despite so many initial misgivings. That means we’ve got to be doing something right.
I’m glad you brought up the pacing because it is something that we think long and hard about here at the ThreeOneFive Ranch. We are well aware that at a page-a-week there is a real danger of the stories progressing at a glacial pace, so we are always looking for ways to move the plot forward at a brisk pace.
When we are at the scripting phase we go over every page individually to make sure that each is worth showing up for every single Tuesday – whether that means a big reveal, a stunning splash page, a meaningful character moment, or a nail-biting cliffhanger we aim to deliver the goods EVERY SINGLE WEEK.
Thanks for noticing, and thanks for such a great, in depth comment. It means a lot!
Just so we are on the same page, is this gig still going into the “Easy Money” column for the Daredevils?
Don’t you think I already felt awful enough about that comment without you rubbing it in, Sailor?
It was a tough call, Captain, but McGinty would’ve been the first one to say “Blast this bloody thing to smithereens!” I hope he’s alright…
Me too!
(To be fair, I know whether or not McGinty is alright, but you’ll have to wait a whole DANG week to find out.)
Given the circumstances I can understand the captains call there. Annihilation or…that. Besides I’m kinda sure McGinty is made of steel… hell be fine I hope.
Wondering why they didn’t use the deck gun as well. The rocket is going to be more delicate than the bottom of that barge or whatever it is. Lost too many crew members?
Those torpedos would have to have the sea drive as well if they were to have any chance to get there in time. It looks like they launched on the count of 10. If they were half a mile away, they’d have to average something like 180 mph! That’s not so easy in the water. The front of the torpedo will have to be very strong. The dynamic pressure would be hundreds of PSI.
Now setting suspension of disbelief back to on!
Welcome aboard, LR! Sorry for the late reply…I’ve just now seen your comment.
Ok, on to the answers…
1. Well, I figure that the Captain was not sure when the sub surfaced that he was going to fire straight away at the enemy sub. After all, he had a sneaking suspicion (backed up by strong evidence) that McGinty was somewhere on board the enemy vessel. Remember, the Captain did not ready the torpedoes to fire until he was informed of the countdown. So, consequently, I just don’t think there was time to get a crewman top-side and ready to fire the deck gun.
2. While the torpedoes do not utilize the S.E.A Drive, like everything else on the Custer, they are much more than just “standard” torpedoes. Doc loves to tinker with and improve all manner of things on the sub, and the torpedoes are no exception.
Hope that helps to keep your disbelief suspended.
Thanks for reading and talking the time to comment!