Angels2200

Heh. I was halfway to pitching a fit; it's been forever and a half since we've had a new comic, and I was starting to wonder...

Anyway, hrm...is it my imagination, or are our girls getting cashiered? Not just transferred, but actually booted out of the service, made civilians? In the last comic, I thought they were just being transferred, but now...I d'know.

And are we now following Cap'n Rob and Pronto as they pursue whateverinhell Forseti is? Like...will that be the next part of this saga?

Somehow, I can't help feeling about as ripped off as the rest of Icebreaker must; Our Heroes seem to have been shed in favor of other people. I hope that's not the case, but unless they hijack the shuttle that'll take them to Earth in order to get the answers that I want as much as they must...well...

Anyway...I'll probably lose some karma for this, but...I have to admit that my patience is wearing a wee bit thin with the updates coming so slowly. It's not so much a dissatisfaction with the comic itself, only that I find my own personal enjoyment is lessened by the infrequency of the updates. It's like trying to watch Lost or Babylon 5 or Heroes or 24 or some other show where continuity is important, only there's a summer-long cliffhanger between each episode...hell, I probably wouldn't have stuck with half those shows if I hadn't watched them on DVD instead of weekly...
I don't wanna jog anybody's sword arm, but...I've been halfway to giving up on Angels more than once over the last month or two, and it's only pig-headed stubbornness that's kept me checking for updates.

I'm...just sayin'. It's hard to keep my enthusiasm up this way...that's all. So...keep 'em comin'. Please?

It does look like it, though I find it hard to understand the reasons or the legal aspect behind this course of action. A Captain would have the power to effect a dishonorable discharge, through a court-martial maybe, but that should require the Icebreakers to have done something to deserve it - which they haven't, according to what Robyn just said. A medical discharge is non-applicable, and an honorable discharge might require the Icebreakers to be willing. On board their ship a captain is God, so perhaps the Terran Navy code has a clause which affords Robyn the right to kick out crewmembers from the military without sufficient explanation. But as she was just relieved of command by Cherensky, her actions are easily contested should the Icebreakers decide to make a fuss later.

As to why she's doing it... though I never saw the Captain as a cold and unfeeling type, with the amount of concern she shows for the Icebreakers' future in the last panel we might be seeing a soft side of her that could under certain circumstances be considered a liability in a professional officer, and I suppose she has little reason to lie to Pronto at this point. Commanders are expected to show some care towards their subordinates, but that takes second place to the requirements of the service. Robyn just lost half her pilots in the battle, and now she's getting rid of half of the remaindeer. Other than being a soft touch deep down, perhaps she is worried about the reaction of the crew when the situation becomes clearer to them, and is now getting rid of elements she can't trust. Though it is not immediately obvious to me how the remaining Icebreakers, with the exception of BG, should be considered less trustworthy in these things than anyone else onboard.

Well, Quetz said she's going to explain things to Kid later, so I guess I'll find out then.


That might be a good guess. Or maybe we will get to see the adventures of Captain Konrad and her crew, chasing down a rebellious ship of their own fleet, and the contents of the Forseti file could be revieled when they catch up with the Outcast some time next year... But I think my composure might stand your choice better.

'Outcast'... a fitting name for the ship. Intentional, no doubt.


I hear you. With what we've heard, no-one could claim the author slacking off, but has several other responsibilities that understandably take priority over the Angels webcomic. Still, from the viewpoint of the reader, things aren't really proceeding smoothly in my humble opinion. Personally I have less of a problem with the frequency of updates, but more with the irregularity. Please, nobody get me wrong here, but with me, not knowing when an update can be expected is worse than a lengthy hiatus with a definite end to it. I keep checking the comic on a regular basis, but with the same old page up and no info on when the next one's coming... It's probably just me, but I find myself building up what seem to me to be reasonable expectations, and when they are continuously not met, I get a bit disappointed. For me, life is easier knowing that an update is coming on a certain date in a month or two or three or fifteen from now, rather than not knowing anything at all, even if the latter meant speedier update schedules.

Still, I do not intend to seem overly critical. Han and his team have kept me entertained with their comic for the better part of a year, with little benefit for themselves. I do not wish to come off as seeming to make unreasonable demands of a service provided for free, and am grateful for their work. I for one will be sticking with this comic to the end.

Heh...for a minute there, I thought I was the only person still reading this thing. Where IS everybody?



Well, that's partly their own fault; I bought the book when the first volume came out and I'da bought any other volumes. Heck, I wouldn't mind a T-shirt or a coffee mug or something...I use a trackball so a mousepad would be pointless, but...
They could be gettin' more outta this comic if they really wanted; just sayin'.



I probably will too...but I might just take off for, like, a year, come back when there's a bunch to read at once. My nerves just can't take getting input in dribs and drabs like this; it's easier to take the suspense when you've got this huge chunk of info to absorb at a time, yanno?

We'll see.

Hmm... Actually, that doesn't sound like too bad of an idea for me to try, either. I hadn't thought of that one. I could set my own 'update schedule' for, say, January the 1st, 2010. Then come back and see what has happened, and read the bunch of new pages. Makes forum debate and ongoing speculation about events a tad difficult, but oh well, you take the bad with the good.

After the current chapter gets wrapped up, and we get an update schedule for the new one... Who knows, I might try it.

Thanks for the survival tip

Hey guys, I just wanted to let you know that with the end of the current storyline, you may be pleasently surprised at the frequency of the updates.

I can't give any details because I don't know them them myself. But with 2 Artists drawing for Peter, we should be able to get things rolling much more frequently than is currently the case. I know he wants to build up backlog as well so maybe check once every month rather than that Jan 2010.

Personally as far as updates go, I love my RSS reader Netvibes. I use it to check all the comics, blogs and news sites I read have updated before going to the site.

There'z (allegedly) two pages left to go, here; at this rate, the current storyline won't be over until April...just sayin'.



So...is Han just dropping out entirely as an artist, or what?



Yeah, maybe...I just...well, you've already heard my position, no need to repeat it.

DAMN!!!...............



Just



DAMN!!!...........................


To me, this kinda does seem rushed to conclusion. I hope that there is a good explanation.

A good idea, and helps a lot with the 'checking-if-updated' part of the process.

It's the waiting for an update with no clue of whether it's up next week or next month that is the issue with me. But it's basically my problem, and I'll live with it, knowing the update is worth it when it does arrive. And frequent updates would certainly help

I'm not trying to be difficult here or anything, just... letting you guys know how I feel. No big deal.

There are quite a lot of open questions, and only a couple of pages left; I guess it's very likely we won't get all the answers, at least during what's left of this chapter. Which is just as well in my opinion, good to leave some mysteries for the next chapter to solve. But answers to some might be nice.

I have this nagging feeling that Forseti is more Chapter 2, though I remember Han mentioning something about it. But I'm hoping Quetz can shed some light on other things

Yes, I agree. If I didn't know we were nearing an end of some sort, I'd assume we were headed into some intrigue or Our Grrls makin' with the mutiny; they've done it before.

As it stands right now, I wanna know about Forseti more than anything else. Granted, I also want the best for the Angels, but...speaking purely as a reader, Forseti's buggin' me.

Oh man, this just leaves it so wide open for a new storyline, by someone else. maybe more than one storyline. Maybe we could even get more than one comic. One for the girls, looking for Hammer. And one for Captain Rob, turning rogue. Not with earth not with mars, just adventuring out in space to find the truth and make sure everyone kows whats really happening.

If I'm not mistaken I think an honorable discharge can be issued if the soldier hasn't necessarily done anything wrong, but just isn't working out with the rest of the soldiers. Kinda like a "no-fault" divorce. It could also be used to just get rid of somebody without going through the hassle of a court-martial.

True, but if you think about it, she's no longer "in the service". It's not like Rob hasn't "used" the Icebreakers before, as on the Arroway. But now that's over and Rob is giving the Icebreakers a chance to walk away with honor.

I suspect that was specifically about BG, but to be honest the word balloons weren't particularly well arranged in that middle section so I can't be entirely certain that I followed that dialog correctly.

Well, it's clearly not the latter, since Cap'n Rob flat-out states they've done a good job. And I think it's actually more common to dismiss someone with a dishonorable discharge or some sort of neutral, no contest discharge if you just want to be rid of them without a court martial.

So, as to the former...wouldn't a transfer make more sense? I mean, unless the Cap'n feels that Our Grrls are just plain ruined for the service entirely, why would she kick them out, really?



That's the only thing that I can think of that makes booting the Icebreakers make sense: by kicking them out of the service, they're no longer under any obligation to explain what has happened aboard the Outcast when they get to the Hypatia.
Otherwise, it seems to me that cutting orders for a transfer makes more sense than discharging them; why ruins their careers if you don't have to?

I think I know where this is going... Captain Rob has her own plans which don't necessarily involve rescuing Hammer - or at least, that is not her direct goal. She is about to do something extreme like going rogue (probably exactly what she's doing), and ask her crew to follow her, and she doesn't want the Icebreakers to come along because: a) they are the kids (too young and untrained, the rest of the crew are adults and properly trained, therefore responsible for the choice they'll be asked to make) and b) they'd want to rescue Hammer, once she tells the crew that she's the reason she let Shorty go. As to losing pilots, it is quite possible she'll be losing a lot of crew, so what difference do 3 people make? If you wish to argue it's 3 PILOTS, remember how little training they had - she can train others if she needs them that bad.

And why send them home? She no longer believes in the Federation (? - I no longer remember what we call them), and she just sends them home to find a new life rather than deliver them to an unworthy cause to be used as cannon fodder.

Speculations about the new series? I'm afraid the Icebreakers won't be the center of it. What my main question from this one is? Who the heck is Marc? (And I'm sure it's gonna stay unanswered). Secondary question: Where exactly in the Siren did Hammer hide? Objection to this thread? Who told you the rebel leader is a "he"? It could also be a she. Real-life question? Coudn't there be temporary pages with Peter's version published later? And can I at least hope that the second parts buffer is currently being built and will start running as soon as those two pages are published?

Loser out!

Just how many pilots does she have left? I'd think she would retain as much of the crew as she possibly can.



...I really don't think that's how it works. Even if she can train older, more mature crewmembers to fly, that doesn't mean they'll be any good; they're non-flight personnel for a damn good reason, I'm sure.



Well, I'm still hoping we'll find out that Earth is in the wrong here, that the colonies have some knowledge that makes their cause the just one. I keep hoping that Hammer will be convinced to switch sides for real because she genuinely believes in what her enemies are trying to do. And though it looks less and less likely now, I keep hoping that she'll have to confront and convince the other Icebreakers to go along with her on that.
...picture the part of Demolition Man where they go into the sewers to confront Edgar Friendly, and kind of end up joining his cause, only less silly (cuz let's face it, Demolition Man was at least half comedy). That's the kinna thing I'm thinkin', over here.

...maybe it's cuz I'm a long-time Star Wars fan, but I usually have a soft spot in my heart for the rebels in any story. And the colonies certainly qualify, here, assuming they're in the right.

Well, whatever happens. at least Hans has us hooked.