Armed thugs, no problem. A ticked-off fitness instructor? That’s tougher to handle.
Of course, no one likes being disturbed by strangers at the door, but Ms. Catherine Rickett seems to have a particular beef with our hero. And the chops to show it.
Max-The-Artist had some fun with the expressions on this page. And Bob got to do a flying-spittle effect, using the same techniques as the blood stuff on the previous page but a lot easier to clean up afterward. Yay!
And a new Vote Incentive for October! A full-resolution version (suitable for wallpaper and greeting cards) is available here: https://gum.co/NYclr
Plus a special piece of Countdown fan art contributed by Dan Butcher of Vanguard! You rock, Dan!
And more below!
Bobservations
Knocking The Knocker
Ms. Rickett’s reaction above may be a bit extreme in its physicality, but it can hardly be denied that in this day and age, showing up at someone’s door unannounced and in person is considered at the very least somewhat thoughtless, if not downright rude. Unless it’s an emergency, or you somehow lost your Pocket Internet/Voice/Video/Texting device on the way over, anyone showing up at my door unexpectedly is going to be greeted with a decided curtness, assuming I bother to even answer.
Sure, it might be someone I actually want to show up, like a parcel delivery person, but I’ve signed all those signature-waivers that let them leave packages on my porch, so they generally don’t even press the doorbell. No point anyway; I took the batteries out of it two years ago. It’s reached the point where anyone at my door actively trying to get me to open it is almost certainly no one I want to see. Door-to-door salespeople are few and far between these days (I think that job’s been rendered more-or-less obsolete) but there’s still an occasional “kid from the neighborhood” (actually dropped off via white van) who claims to live “over on Hillhurst” and would I like to buy some raffle tickets? Funny how they never have a driver’s license with their address on them at the time.
Oh, and there will always be folks armed with religious documents wishing to discuss the condition of my soul. I know they mean well, but I want them to go away so I can go back to playing with my flamethrower.
So yeah, knocking unannounced just isn’t cool any more. Heck, I’ve been running errands, discovered I’m in the neighborhood of an old friend, and I’ve parked in front of his house to call and say something like “Hey, I’m gonna be in your area, wanna get lunch?” If he says yes, I say I’ll be right over and stall for a few moments before getting out. If he says he can’t – drive on. It’s only polite. You’ve probably done the same.
But while I am secure in my hermitude, Max-The-Artist has taken a completely different, more high-tech approach. He’s installed a video doorbell that rings on his phone whenever anyone presses it, so that it doesn’t matter if he’s inside at his desk or someplace more distant – like Paris – he can see and speak to whomever is at the door. And, of course, politely tell them to go away.
Because that’s what most of us do when strangers knock, these days.
Unless you’re Ms. Catherine Rickett, apparently. She takes a more direct approach. Pow!
— Bob out
Artist’s Notes — This month’s Vote Incentive started out as a fun, old-fashioned pen and ink sketch, as you can see below! I certainly could do with some more traditionally sketching like this; it’s a lot of fun.
As a side benefit, I’ve got an original physical piece of artwork lying around now, so for fun I’m going to raffle it off as a prize: everyone who goes to this Gumroad store page link and donates $1 between Midnight Oct 2 and Midnight, Oct 31 2016 (EST) gets a “ticket” to the raffle IN ADDITION to the Hi-Res download of this month’s Vote Incentive, “Night Flight.” Only one entry per person, please.
I’ll pay for shipping myself and mail it First Class to the lucky winner in the first week of November. I’ll address any questions in the comments section below. Good luck! — Max
Bonus! Turns out there’s some fun preliminary sketches on the back of the drawing, so the winner gets those too!
The only people we’re happy to have knocking on our door unannounced around here are the Girl Guides, because their cookies are so damn good they put heroin to shame. Historically they’ve also been one of a very few to make it to our front door past the dogs, goats, and emus. After that gauntlet, dropping $40 on cookies just seems fair.
Girl Scouts on this side of the pond, and yes, the damn things are baked heroin. Or worse, I’m not sure I want to know what is more addictive than heroin. Besides thin mints, that is.
Samoans. If the cookies in general are heroin, then Samoans are crack.
“You’re supposed to be dead!”
Well i think you effectively rectified that situation with that haymaker lady…………..
Look’s like you broke his neck, or at least his jaw
“I got better.”
I’m not entirely sure a human mouth can do what his is doing in the last panel, but it’s so hilarious that I don’t care.
Apply enough force in a small enough area at very high velocity and you’d be VERY surprised what can pass thru what and the ensuing carnage
If you can find a slo-mo clip of someone being hit or slapped in the face, I think you’ll find that panel to be pretty close to reality.
http://www.inspirefusion.com/media/2012/boxing_punch.jpg Face punch
How did she unchain the door, open it and still punch him without any signs or resistance? The ex-soldier turned superhero at that.
I’m guessing she’s so strong, she must have ripped the chain right out of the wall and POW! Punched Max before he had a chance to react.
To be fair, the thugs gave him warning of their attack. Ms. Rickett’s attack was completely unexpected.
Max: “Oh, good, you already know who I am.”
The instructor looks like Starbuck from the newer Galactica(I like both series’ so deal with it), so this reminds me of that scene from the mini where she slugs Tigh.
The last panel makes me think of ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK. “I’m Snake Plissken.” “I know you. I thought you were dead.”
Her actual response makes me suspect “Old Lover? Comrade-in-arms?”
Holds him responsible for her friend’s death and cursed him out of retribution?
I am guessing more a seer wiccan. Predicted his perma death at the bank and told Sophie who intervened and changing fate. That or pissed he is alive and her best friend isn’t………or both.
At Max. Oh and I love the fact the pencil sketch is actually more risqué than the full version, was the outfit meant to be see through by moonlight? 😛 Plus wondering if vote version is body paint lol.
The skirt isn’t. But as for the rest, well, I wouldn’t put anything past Marissa at this point.
But that outfit must be cold. It’s filmy, tailored for lots of exposed skin, and she’s wearing it about 300 feet up and with a fair bit of speed, so losing ~10 degrees of heat for altitude and another ~10-20 for windchill (depending on exact starting temperature).
She’s gonna be parathermic inside half an hour, with hypothermia developing shortly thereafter.
Yeah you can see she is a little “nippy” 😛
Yeah well, just trying to work out the anatomy 🙂
Oh we all think her anatomy works out very, very well:)
This is why many witches require that their apprentices learn Protection from Elements before they are taught Broomstick Flight. ^_^
Anarchyant- you probably didn’t mean anything by “pencil sketch” but just to clarify, the sketch is all pen and inkwash (and white out for hilites), no pencil used, no eraser marks.
Sorry Max, old habit that I refer to sketches as pencil ones. When I used to draw properly years ago in black ink, I still used to refer to them as pencil sketches. I blame my art teacher as she used to drum the term into me and it stuck. No offence meant.
Way to start the conversation, Max…with a creepy perv grin the size of a double-decker tour bus. Not that it seems like it would have made a difference, but still, have some sense, man! You’re not wearing a mouth guard!
P.S. to Max the Artist – For all your talk of being slammed with work, you have way too much fun as an illustrator, and now you’re just plain showing off (or at least Marissa is…HA!). Consider yourself tipped for the raffle. 😉
I know right? He could have at least added “Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeres Johnny!” while giving off his maniacal grin and mentioning he has an axe to grind.
Woohoo! Thanks Thracecius, I appreciate it! As it turns out, there’s some fun sketches on the back of the drawing as well- I’ve posted them below the original scan above. Good luck everyone!
Dan Butcher … any relation to Jim Butcher? It’d fit well with the comic slugfest AND the nubile, risque witch.
I’m not sure if I like the goofy expression, it’s only a personal opinion but I think it’s merely distracting from something that could be emmotionnal here.
She’s an absolute barbarian.
Catherine Rickett —– Cricket?
Is this Max’s new ‘conscious’?
If somebody came to my door with a smile like that on their face, I’d probably punch them to. Also, that panel 5 face XD
Did you sell FX to the Archer people, Bob?
Can’t always tell. Generally the effects are purchased by whoever is doing the editing/compositing, so it’s not like I recognize the individual’s name. But I’ll see the effects turn up on various shows. Kind of a thrill when that happens.
Sooo…who won the raffle? 😀
The winner is chosen! As to whom it was… Only he, myself, and my wife are to know… bwahahaha. He was notified on Oct 31. And the prize is in the mail, as of yesterday. So the lucky winner should check his mail soon. Thanks everyone who played!
Good to know. Thank you, Max. 🙂