Cartoon and Conquer – Commentary Gallery

 

Published 29/03/2013

I’ve always like Venus flytraps and I now actually own one. The imagery of mutated plant life always seems to lead to plants eating people, something that didn’t really exist in the tiberium universe. Although I had no idea where this story arc was going to end up, one thing I did know from the start was that the plant was not going to mutate into a man-eater. Inventing a new lifeform would be straying too far from the canon material.

 

 

Published 12/04/2013

Anyone can spout philosophy, that doesn’t make you intelligent, wise, or insightful. And if you have only one perspective, you will probably fall on your face.

 

 

Published 26/04/2013

I figured the GDI infantryman wouldn’t be able to keep his secret project secret, and misinformation is a pretty big problem in war. The high expectations of the infantryman may have reflected any readers who also thought it would mutate successfully.

 

 

Published 10/05/2013

This strip was inspired by Br’er Rabbit and the Tar-Baby. Br’er Fox, using the Tar-Baby to catch Br’er Rabbit, considers how to dispose of him and Br’er Rabbit pleads him to do anything but throw him in a briar patch. The fox does just that, but the briar patch is actually where rabbits are at home and Br’er Rabbit gets what he wants. The G.I. is not quite as clever, and gets what he wants for the exact opposite reason. Underestimating your opponent’s wit is no less dangerous than underestimating their stupidity.

 

 

Published 24/05/2013

I decided I needed to end the Venus flytrap story arc fairly quickly before people became too attached to an inevitable failure. I hoped the third panel with visual evidence of the experiment working would be the ultimate bait for anyone who still expected the plant to mutate before dashing their hopes to pieces. How sadistic of me.

 

 

Published 7/06/2013

This strip ends the conscript’s goal to become a Tesla trooper, though it also ends his very short-lived goal to become a Desolator too. The Desolator cannot be defended against, he cannot be driven away, and he cannot be joined. There is no possible victory for anyone else wherever he is concerned.

 

 

Published 21/06/2013

Things are not always what they appear, and sometimes the correct answer is far easier than one might assume. For once the cookie thief is on the losing side. ▫ The first panel is a throwaway joke that strongly reminds me of newspaper comics that used these a lot due to the format they were restricted to, I used it here because it was funny and the rest of the joke didn’t need four panels. ▫ The safe was not going to be copy/pasted, but it proved surprisingly annoying to draw in the second panel, so its next depiction is a duplicate.

 

 

Published 5/07/2013

The personalities of the characters are contrasted, the G.I. is immature and impulsive, the Sniper curious and willing to learn. However, burning ants with napalm is always fun. ▫ The fire, as with explosions, was a blend of yellow, red, and black, but it did not work very well and I fought with it for a very long time trying to get it looking right. Although it finely reached the point of being acceptable, I was never happy with it.

 

 

Published 19/07/2013

Although it is merely jabs at one another, and GDI too, this innocent-looking strip begins the Nod story arc that would continue and eventually merge with GDI until finally leading into the conclusion of the series.

 

 

Published 2/08/2013

I’m sure any ink that he could concoct with the intent of fooling X-rays would be quite toxic, probably with high levels of heavy metals in it. This is why the medic still refers to the condition as the “worst case” he’s seen, even though he wasn’t fooled. ▫ The medical jargon is dog Latin (intentionally bad Latin) meaning “lazy soldier”.