I wanted to like the CyberTruck, I really did. When they first announced it, I was excited about the idea, and I figured the photos they showed were early concepts, and what we would get in the end would be more rounded, sleek, and sexy like other Tesla vehicles. I was wrong, and after talking to a few other people who shared my surprise at the monstrosity they eventually released, the idea for this comic began to form. Credit is due to my broseph for the line about Tron. This comic may seem a little heavy-handed and mean-spirited, but it's due to my enthusiasm for this vehicle being smashed to pieces by the reality of what they released. This is easily the ugliest vehicle I have witnessed since the Scion Cube, and I've wondered if that vehicle influenced Toyota's decision to tank Scion.
On Wednesday, I released a comic based in reality, but it is a bit of a bummer. I don't want to go political very often, and when I do I'm not picking sides, because both sides are rife with amoral criminals and conmen. I didn't know how to present this one with any humor, and forcing humor into it would have felt cheap. Sometimes all we can do is point out how ass-backward something is, and hope that enough people agree this has to stop.
Unequal points out a different kind of absurdity. Things like Equalizer and John Wick are outlandish enough when you have a large, powerful male in the role. Sure, he can kick ass, but the reality of ballistics is unforgiving. Real armor has its limits, even with high-tier heavy gear. There are suits with built-in armor you can buy, but they only protect the chest against sub-caliber pistol rounds, or maybe a bit of birdshot if you're dealing with a shooter who doesn't know how to select the right ammo. I try not to discuss my background because I don't think it is interesting, but my degree is in Criminology, I am a fitness fanatic, firearms, and martial arts enthusiast, and I'm the same height and build as Denzel and Keanu. Against most people one-on-one I feel confident, but you add in multiple assailants armed with knives and firearms, and I should now be praying while sprinting as hard as I can in the opposite direction. And serpentine, don't forget to serpentine. My point is that the recent trend in television and movies to portray small-statured women as the ultimate hand-to-hand combatants is ridiculous. If she focuses on shooting people like LeFemme Nikita, she might win, but the best-trained female fighters in the world would still be in tremendous danger against one large male who knows how to handle himself. Add on top of that that they chose an aging obese woman, and you get one hell of an unintentional comedy.
I’ve been updating the early pages I released for KyoKayne to feature better thumbnail previews, and to be more easily readable on mobile devices. I might do the same with some of the first comics I released in the old webcomic folder, but because of the Instagram format for those it may not come out as cleanly as my more recent three-panel comics. I’ll be peppering these out one at a time on Tuesdays and Thursdays in between new comics. I’ve also been more active in the comments on Substack recently, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised that this place is not at all like the other social media I’m used to. I can’t say for sure why this is, but I’d wager that it has something to do with other creative types being more open-minded and accepting compared to the general populace. If you have other thoughts on why this place seems more sane, I’d love to hear it in the comments. 🫡 Have a great weekend, and I’ll return as always with more comics on Monday.