Page 333 – Breaking It Down
Feb12
I hope Sun didn’t lose anyone when she asked Sabrina about her going ‘Dark Phoenix.’ In the X-men comic, it was about Jean Grey making a deal with the cosmic power entity known as Phoenix. It was going well for a while but there was a heel turn, hence the Dark Phoenix and general laying the smackdown. We saw a bit of this in the third X-men movie, though not really the same thing. Basically, good girl gone bad. There’s also a fun Superman bit that I’ve been meaning to use as well. XD
Voting Incentive
That first panel got a bit covered up by text so take a look at what it did look like, minus all of the trash talking. Vote!!!
Cutting between a high-tension theatrical scene and a simmering, talky scene? Classic and awesome cinematic trick and you’re employing it well! I love seeing storytelling techniques like this handled so confidently. As the strip has progressed you really seem to have gotten more and more confident with adapting such techniques to the webcomic format. Many people get it completely wrong but this point I honestly believe your command of the medium’s storytelling requirements is on par with stuff like Questionable Content and Anders Loves Maria (which is supposed to be a compliment; they are two of my absolute favourite webcomics). I guess that’s a bit random but I really, really noticed it in this one!
One sour note this week I’m afraid, however: “That street corner that Gabrielle found you” doesn’t really work. It’d be better either as “found you on‘ or “where Gabrielle found you”.
<_<
>_>
Sorry. I can’t help nitpicking when it comes to grammar.
LMAO I just noticed Black Widow is covered up in the voting button! Did Brenda request that? XD
hmmm!!
‘Dark Phoenix’ Sabrina Mancini V.S. ‘White Queen’ Chloe De Sade..
🙂
hmmm!!
‘Dark Phoenix’ nickname for Sabrina isn’t very suiting for Sabrina.. Ultragirl is better.. Cuckoo’s for the Yorks too!
Brenda is more prettier than Blackwidow… good thing Jeff got no comment on this episode..
Panel one… Michael is doing something besides dallying with BrOOke. He looks nervous, like he’s worried one of the girls is gonna slap him if ( when? ) this confrontation gets physical. He’s not at all concerned such a tussle will upset the show’s schedule ( remember RA is live ). He’s not that professional.
I have just got to wonder what sort of revenge Sabrina is gonna plot on Marina; lies of that magnitude have to be answered somehow. All that Righteous Anger simmering away isn’t good for a young girl… Sabrina’s not going to stay calm about being manipulated like that.
Good one, Stygimoloch! But all I can say is “no comment.” 😛
Great chapter, boss! I love it all. But Sun’s “Sabrina” cliffhanger really has me wondering. And I have to wait till Monday? How about I buy you a beer or three and let’s talk?
There’s Sabrina’s Heel name if it ever gets to that point in her Career… Sabrina “Ultra-Destruction-Girl” Mancini… Love the X-men reference. But I can’t help and think that whenever Sun and Sabrina have deep meaningful talks that I hear the Dawson’s Creek: “I don’t wanna wait for this life to be over” almost want them to kiss and be interrupted by their parents 😉
Either way good stuff as always Al
Sun seems to have Brina down pat, Brina still seems to have trouble acepting it even still though. Marina realized the only way brina has any hope of getting focused is when she’s mad. Because when she’s mad she’s not “showboating” as Sun said and is just out there to put the hurt on her opponnent. at least brina has finally realized what Marina was trying to do…now if she always didn;t keep falling for it every time…
She can still get taken off note if the opponnent is trash talking in the match itself but at least the focus is directed at the opponnent rather than being busy with the fans and letting the other wrestler off the hook in the process.
but now if Brina is “Dark Pheonix/Jean Grey” as “White Queen” Chloe must be Emma Frost right? the question is…who’s Cyclops in all this????
Sabrina has been going through a lot of hard self-discovery lately. I’m interested to see if she can pull through this and grow from it, of if she’ll continue to fall victim to her tendencies. Some people can learn and grow, and other people just hopelessly self-analyze forever and get stuck there. I hope this is a kick in the butt, and not a crippling blow.
For some reason I just thought of Annie Hall, lol. Annie grew from her therapy and moved on while Woody Allen stayed, well, Woody Allen forever. XD (It’s Valentine’s Day weekend! I had to throw in a ref to my favorite romantic comedy!!)
::throws confetti as Sabrina achieves a clue:: Congratulations! Now that you have realization, it’s time for some action! My personal (silly) recommendation is that you get Sun to shout insults at you while standing in a wading pool full of chocolate pudding, wearing swimsuits. ::coughs:: Well, BOTH of you could be standing in the pool wearing swimsuits. But the point is, you’ll toughen up and if you do lose your cool then you’re all set to give us all a highly entertaining couple of pages.
::looks around:: Just a thought…
LMAO @ Cookie Ogre, hopefully Sun will help Sabrina learn how to continue to use her anger to her advantage. I think the two can thrive off one another. They were meant to be best friends, being apart just doesn’t feel right. And I would like to think both of them realize that by now.
Stygimoloch, thank you, thank you, thank you. I’m always trying to keep things entertaining and I’m always conscientious of going from actiony scenes to quieter ones so I’m glad this update worked out well. And double thanks to the comparisons. I’m a big fan of Anders Loves Maria and sad to see if end. As to Black Widow’s comment, I’m torn between grammatically correct and using language that real people use. I’m of two minds on the subject. Brenda IS the champ and as such, her influence including Voting buttons is strong. 😉
LOL MGC! You don’t like Jeff? XD No comments this episode, maybe Brenda shot him a look? Also, Rival Angels is the X-Men universe? LOL I’d take that.
Hey, hey RDF! Great catch with Michael. He’s fully aware of the potential for fisticuffs here and he doesn’t want to get caught in the crossfire. Has to make you wonder about the wiliness of Gabrielle, sending him down instead of herself. Sabrina is growing as we speak so it’s up in the air as to what happens when she sees Marina next.
Hey Champ! Yes, you caught that sly little cliffhanger there and I really think it will deliver on Monday’s page. 😉 You think I can be bought with three beers?? (you know me too well)
Kurt, it’s a solid heel name, but it doesn’t quite roll off the tongue. lol I’m sorry that I missed the Dawson’s Creek reference. Is it that every deep talk ended up with parents walking in or you just want to see Sun and Sabrina kiss? 😛 Thanks Kurt!
jpiv, that is a great way to sum it up. Can Sabrina get it together and learn from this? She seems to finally recognize what everyone has seen but that doesn’t necessarily mean she’ll improve on it. But, we can hope. 😉 You also have some good advice there for our lil Ultragirl. I don’t know who Cyclops gets to be in this, but he’d have an interesting time!!
Hey Lora! (I hope you’re feeling better). It’s not easy learning things the hard way like this, but she is learning and seeing it finally. That is an excellent point about self-analyzing. She could easily be lost in a hundred different self-analytical questions or use that energy to grow as a person and athlete. Here’s hoping that Sabrina doesn’t turn into Woody Allen…! XD
Cookie Ogre, I’m right there with you doing the ‘air trombone.’ I like where you’re going with this but I just don’t know how likely it is. Maybe butterscotch pudding? It would be crazy entertaining.
RAWF, that was nicely put. They do work well and are very supportive of each other. I think there’s a large group of readers that think the same way as you. Of course, Sun has something to say as evidenced by the last panel. 😉
Well, thanks, Cookie Ogre! How am I suppose to make a reasonable comment here if I’m watching Sun and Sabrina standing in a wading pool full of chocolate pudding? Oh, there goes her top!… Gotta go…
Now I’ve GOT to see Annie Hall.
Pudding wrestling? You think this is RAW? LoL
But anger. Wow. That’s actually not a good thing. The rush passes and then you’re gassed from the tension. And being tense causes injury. Plus anger leads to rash choices and blindness. I would use her anger against her and lead her by that leash. She’d never really know what hit her or how she got beat. So she was a bit lucky this time around. If Brina can learn how to channel that anger – and find that energy within herself – then she’s done some real growth and she’ll have the makings of a champ. I hope we get to see that!
I never thought of Dark Phoenix in terms of a heel turn, but it just seems to right, hehe.
I dunno if it’s the spider theme influencing my imagination, but Blackwidow, at least in appearance, reminds me a bit of Victoria/Tara/whatever you’d like to call her. Knowing that a number of the Rival Angels cast take some sort of roots in various female wrestlers, I’m curious about the real life basis for the ladies in this fine comic. I dunno if it’s correct, but I get a bit of a Serena Deeb vibe from Sabrina and considering Cindy Rogers is also known as the Definition of Technician, I imagine that’s where our beloved DefTech gets her name from.
GhostEraser, there’s no stopping that sort of thinking. You just have to let it play itself out.
Mark Brenda down for Annie Hall movie night. XD Sabrina’s in a spot where she might learn from this and evolve, or she just might get stuck in a rut. Either way, she’s always going to have a sensitivity towards that sort of thing. She wants to be a better person and athlete but time will tell if she can pull it off.
Hey Chris! Black Widow, this incarnation, is a fuller woman than Tara/Victoria and quite a bit meaner. Her finisher is different too, a corkscrew brainbuster, so other than the names,they don’t really have too much in common. What’s while about Sabrina/Serena is that Serena was going by the last name Mancini in FCW!! Sabrina’s based more on Jeff Hardy and RVD. Krystin definitely has some Cindy Rogers and Bret Hart in her. Brooke’s move set comes a lot from Cheerleader Melissa. Sun has a lot of the Motorcity Machineguns. Now as for looks, that’s a different story for another time, but that more closely resembles actual female wrestlers. XD
I figured moveset wise, Brooke was linked to Cheerleader Melissa, gimmick wise, not so much, hehe. I do see the Bret Hart in Krystin as far as her attitude and moveset goes, probably why she’s one of my faves.
I can’t help but try and pick out real life influences as I read the comic, hehe.
Good that Sun and Sabrina were able to make up and be friends again. Interesting tactic to pretend to have rumors circulating about Sun and Sabrina to get Sabrina’s head in the game. It appears to have worked…this time! 😉
:O
A heel M.G.C. doesn’t like! Even if it’s only Jeff, that’s still gotta be a first!
On the grammar front, when I was writing what I wrote earlier I was kinda thinking that since it’s in dialogue, it’s fine – lord knows I write intentionally bad grammar into my own characters often enough. Unfortunately I just really cannot help being an asshole sometimes when it comes to grammar. 🙁 I’m sure I’ll do it again so I’d like to apologize now, in advance!
PS. Annie Hall is awesome, and for anyone who likes it, I also recommend Manhattan.
PPS. Thanks for fixing my italics tags 🙂
Sun: “Wait. You went and opened a can o’ whup-ass on her because you thought she’d insulted me? Awwww….” *hugs*
Cans of Whup-ass available from the refreshments stand. Try our combo deal with “Your rivals head on a platter”
Chris, that’s music to my ears that you associate real life influences with these characters. I really think that makes a better connection with the material. Brooke’s probably got a new finisher on the way, but we’ll have to wait for the PPV for that. 😉
Trevor, they’re doing well now, but Sun has something to say, as evidenced by that last panel. Plus, they have some tough talk coming, but they made it this far, so there’s reason for optimism. Marina is a ring veteran and knows how to motivate these rookie kids. XD
Stygimoloch, no worries whatsoever. It’s a good point about the grammar and I was on the fence about it from the get go. I’ll have to check out Annie Hall and Manhattan. XD
LOL, alurker. A hug could be coming. 😛 I like the Can of Whup Ass and the combo deal. lol
Serena Mancini… FCW..
hmmm!! but I think they drop that.. coz Serana now is bald.. heheh!!
hmmm!! could it be that WWE is checking this out? I mean Gail Kim, got the first issue of Rival ANgels…
by the way.. Jeff Hardy… waaa!! why is he on TNA again..
It was probably just coincidence but I thought it was awesome! I got to see Serena in person a few times and she’s had some great matches with Sara Del Ray. Jeff needs a paycheck for those court costs I’m thinking.
Personally a little of Column A and B 😉 Just YTub search for Dawson’s Creek… you’ll understand… and love the “That’s so high school!” reference in the next page 😀