You'll never guess what happened to this scheduled comic. Now that I'm home from camping I will take a hammer and fix the WordPress.
As a fellow desperately lonely person, Talita sees through Bip's bullshit and is unimpressed.
Transcript
Bip: What about Gillie and Idrisah? You three talk about all kinds of things.
Talita: Oh! Yeah, they’re friends.
Bip: What about… me??
The front loader places its manipulator hands on both sides of its cokpit in an attempt to look endearing. Talita stares back at it, wearily unimpressed.
Talita: Well, you’re definitely not a coworker. So… sure. A friend.
Bip: A bestie, even?
Talita glares at the front loader.
Talita: Don’t push it.
31 thoughts on “Runaway to the Stars: Page 148”
terra
God, I can’t get over how clearly expressive Talita is.
also, Bip emoting with the multiuse rc vehicles is *great*
Mica
Shades of Tachikoma here…. Adorable!
Ave Zancuda
Feelings getting too real
florence
i love how expressive bip is even if theyre a literal forklift with arms
Auto
this is the first time I’m noticing that the front loaders are actually 3D modeled. and now I have to assume a lot of things are? It seems like the obvious and easiest way to keep hard surface stuff visually consistent, so I’m not surprised that the technique is being used. although this is the first time it’s used without being drawn over? (I think). the only reason I even noticed was because I spotted the polys on a round portion of the loaders arm (bottom left most panel).
1d4Nadg
They indeed are a lot of 3D models behind the scenes! Given the amount of complicated perspective on each page, it’s a good idea. Jay draws over them a lot tho, so it doesn’t show up unless you look at each panel with a magnifying glass XD
40
It reminds me of how Futurama uses 3D models. Especially this page where it’s not as hidden by being drawn over, it’s like bender suddenly switching to a model for a scene.
Bravo
Friend.
Unindicted conspirator.
Same thing.
creetur
I’d like to think the sparkles mean they actually played a sparkling sound effect
Malex
Or maybe the exact microadjustments of the lights and reflective surfaces to *shimmer*
hostuu
correct
Greebus
Blast of mica dust
tyrone
BFF´s !!!
Maybe…….I wonder who need friends the most, maybe Bip will turn out to be the real clingy insecure one….
creetur
Well, they lost what was essentially the closest thing they had to a family, so.. wouldn’t blame them for being a clingy sort
tyrone
point taken.
However if so, it would suggest Bip has a more sensitive nature than Bip tries to express.
Athelind Llewellyn Long
I’m still trying to figure out how Talita knows which Bip instance to look at when she’s in a space suit in a vacuum and his voice is just in her ear. Is the suit radio sophisticated enough that it can simulate position with stereo tricks? Or do the various lifters and cable worms have blinkenlights that flash when they talk? That always seemed a cinematic indulgence, but now I can see the practical aspects.
Lamprey
presumably whichever is more animated
Feather
I assumed she was just looking at whichever is more convinient! They’re all Bip and I thought the location of the speech bubbles was just the author making it unambiguous that it’s Bip talking.
Jay Eaton
The radio voice has no directionality. Talita is looking at whichever RC unit is moving the most, or gesturing. The tails of the speech bubbles are there entirely to help readers follow what’s happening more easily.
zaratustra
Literally partners in crime.
Chrysalis
Bip can make cute faces using heavy construction equipment without a face? This is too much power for one AI.
JoB
Just wait ’til Bip gets those pincers onto a sharpie, draws puppy eyes on the windshield, and uses a second loader as a forklift so that the first can “roll over” and pretty-please-paw at the mistress. 😛
Tooth
Adding anime sparkles to what is basically a forklift with arms is not something I expected to see, but I love it now that I have
tyrone
Think those sparkles are the Regolit / dust reflecting in the sharp light from lamps…..
in low grav there would be dust everywhere there is movement….
JoB
Well, Dirtball’s gravity is 0.8 g, so.
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I can totally see Bip using a loader arm to scoop up a bit of “pixie dust” and confetti-shower the loader just for the effect, though.
Lilac
I feel that a large factor at play here bip is that Talita has only known you for like a bit over a week(I think??) and your first meeting was something like “There Is A Criminal In My House-Hey It’s Me the Criminal wanna do Crime” while talita’s known gillie and idrisah from much longer and their first interactions were probably something like “Hello people who also work here I work here Too. Small Talk” like ya Gotta have some patience dude gjfjdhfhfhs
Lilac
*for not from. The typos….
Arcstone
I wonder which part of the autoloader you would have to look at to make eye contact with bip.
Is there like a dash cam behind the windscreen somewhere?
Cause that sarcastic glance talita gives there might not quite work if she looks at the wrong spot. 😄
JoB
As Jay explained a couple pages ago, these loaders have eleven cameras distributed over their surface, to make a 360° view for proper RC maneuvering. In other words, even before activating the worms, Bip could always choose to have Talita “look at the wrong spot” simply by focussing on another cam feed. 😉
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(And yes, there supposedly is quite a bunch of cameras to choose from aboard the Runaway, too, so Bip can happily continue ignoring stink-eyes …)
Kataratakaran
I wish you the Finest of Percussive Maintaining 🥰 (and bip might get percussively maintained as well if they dont mind their p’s and q’s)
Spinland
Well, you can’t blame an entity for trying!