I guess Simon has the upper hand for now, and I hope he’s enjoying it. Payback, as they say, can be a tad rough.
Security Agent Captain Cassandra Quinn is on assignment to the mining outpost Luna Seven amid rumors of pirates near the outpost. On her approach to the complex, she saw something moving around on the surface of the moon that shouldn’t have been. During her attempts to verify her visual sighting, a mysterious ship blasted her out of the sky. Her story starts HERE.
Meanwhile, on miner Simon Tripline’s morning commute to work, he sees something strange through a porthole. Shortly thereafter, Simon’s suspicions are aroused concerning the mysterious activities of the base’s top earner, Vin Sinclair, who becomes separated from the mining party. Simon takes off to find him, but finds Captain Quinn instead. He rescues her, but she wakes up confused, angry and armed. While they argue, something is watching them.
But the disoriented Captain Quinn threatens to shoot Simon one too many times, so he buckles in, seals his mask, and vents the cab compartment, blowing her out of the digger into the vaccuum of the moon, even though she only has 5 minutes of oxygen left.
For a run-down on all the characters, see the NEW READERS page.
I would actually say that this is HER payback, so technically the universe should be all right with how stupid she was upon waking, and how he was treated for saving her ass… right?
Sylan
Yes. Well, in any conflict, you can always go back to find the thing that made your side fighting mad, and retaliation doesn’t seem to count as YOUR offense. Go back far enough, you can justify anything. And on it goes.
I laughed out loud when I saw Simon in panel one. His position and attitude are perfect! Love his expression in panel two. Cassandra’s resorting to “officialese” speak is pretty funny too. Goes without saying that Flagg continues to entertain. Thanks for a good laugh . . .
If he checking is Moonbook status?! On a PDA? Nice. Very nice touch.
Mike – yep. The idea was that Cassie is trying to regain control of the situation after briefly breaking training. I’m glad that comes through.
Paul – Sure, he’s checking on Moon Town book #1 to see if the second proof is ever going to show up in all this snow! heh heh Actually, I have a feeling he’s reading the paper on some sort of futuristing Kindle or ITab, but who knows what he’s doing? Feet up. He’s waiting her out.
Me too Mike, I love Simon with his feet up in charge. Go Simon
It’s so much funner for me now when the characters are sparking off of each other. I’m glad you guys are liking it. Thanks for the note, Tom!
Oh my she is gonna be pissed. A standoff between two stubborn individuals is not going to end well.
UPDATE FASTER!!! We’re dying here!
LOL!:)
Nice poses in the first panel, both Cassie on her butt and Simon’s ‘laxed pose.
Dialogue is awesome too.
Yea, I’m really digging the character interaction. Art wise I like the strong black shading on Simon’s back. Also, I love the little hunk of her ship you can see in the distance.
Question, how can he hear her? Close range Dinglehopper reception?
Thank you for the nice notes, everybody.
Hai – going as fast as I can!!!
Mark – the idea is that there is a general comm channel sort of like CB channel 19, which everyone is tuned into.Cassie’s got a transmitter and receiver in her helmet, there’s one in the rig, Simon’s got one in his helmet, Flagg’s got one in his control room… so they’re all universally connected. And I have a feeling the helmets transmit everything you say if the shields are engaged, whether you intend them to or not. I belive this safety measure was instituted after the Landsdowne tragedy of 2053, but I could be wrong.
I’ve been reading Moon Town ever since Steve first talked about it on the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast.
Steve, the artwork is just awesome! In addition to all the comments others have been making about shading, lighting, layout and the like, overall the pictures are simply visually stunning a lot of the time and pleasing to look at the rest. The story’s shaping up pretty well, too. I eagerly look forward to the next panel every time.
One question: Why is Simon’s visor open? Isn’t all the air in his now outside? (I’ll try to keep these picky points to a minimum. After all, Steve’s trying to tell a story here, and trying to account for every potential incorrect or inconsistent detail would really bog it down.)
Brian – you 365 Days of Astronomy guys are the best! Keep those science questions coming. I really do try to think about the obvious things, but you’ll see me take artistic license when I want. Your comments are very nice, and I’m glad you’re enjoying the strip.
In today’s case – Simon’s visor is open because he recompressed the cabin after blowing Cassie out. Hmm. I guess you can’t see, and I didn’t show it, but the doors are shut, is the idea. He’s safe inside, calmly reading the paper, while her air is getting used up fast. Hope that explains it…
I only discovered Moon Town this weekend. Fantastic work. I’m hooked! Put me down for a copy of the book.
Andrew – that’s great! How did you discover Moon Town?
Here’s another fan that found about Moon Town from 365 Days of Astronomy podcast – and another picky question
Why does Simon say “Sure. You fire that thing out there and you’ll go into orbit.”?
It can’t be because of the gun recoil (that wouldn’t make sense on many levels)?
Thanks for the amazing comic. Every new page is a pure concentrated joy injection much needed during the short lunch breaks
What do you mean “kind of like” CB channel 19… It *IS* CB channel 19!
(just in the future!)
Felipe – indeed he is talking about the gun recoil. It’s not a projectile weapon, but it definitely has a kick, and although she wouldn’t really go out of orbit, it could seriously knock her around in that environment. Had she fired it in the digger cab with the grav floor (that works in tandem with their grav boots to keep them on the floor of the moving vehicle) it wouldn’t have been a problem. But out on the lunar surface, firing that weapon would have equal-and-opposite reaction consequences.
Of course she could brace herself against something like those bizarre formations, but I’m not sure she’s thought that far ahead right now. Simon seems to have found a way to get under her skin, and away we go.
I’m glad you are enjoying the strip. It makes me happy to create it, but even more happy when it finds an intelligent, literate, thoughtful audience.
Keep those cards and letters coming!
Tom – it may indeed be Channel 19… heh heh… Breaker One-Nine, this here’s the Ogster, come on back… I spotted a Smokey camped out on the Sea of Tranquility…
AWESOME!!!!
Just read through every post and I love it. Thank you for sharing your very creative work. Thanks to Reddit for showing this to me.
I’d certainly buy a book of these adventures.
Peace
ScurvyDawg – thanks for coming by and dropping a note! It’s always nice to have the Reddit guys popping by.
Tell your friends, spread the news – Moon Town is a fun place to spend your time! heh heh
Hopefully be seeing you here online!
Start spreadin’ the news,
I’m launchin’ today,
I want to be a part of it,
Moon Town, Moon Town.
These gravity boots,
have nowhere to play,
I need to see the start of it,
Moon Town, Moon Town!
I want to breath air in a shelter
that’s safe and warm,
far from the vacuum and the sun’s rays
that do me harm!
(Thanks, and a tip o’ the hat to Frank sinatra)
HA HA HA! Brilliant!
More from the nit-picking department.
What kind of weapon is not a projectile weapon but has recoil? The only thin I can think of would be a plasma weapon. I’m not real sure of the physics, but my guess is that the mass involved would be negligible and the velocity would not be high enough to make a difference.
I suppose the pistol could be a very low velocity gun that fires shaped charge explosive rounds.
Skeptible – it is actually a weapon based on the particle beam accelerator weapons pioneered during the Reagan Strategic Defense Initiative. So, I guess technically there is a projectile involved, but not the sort of gun-powder-fueled, lead-bullet projectile weapon one normally associates with gun recoil. Unlike their clunky, huge forerunners, the particle accelerators in the late 21st century are much smaller, not unlike the way the first computers took up whole rooms, and only a few decades later, personal computers were much smaller, yet much more powerful.
But in the case of the particle accelerators, (those little rings suspended around the main projectile rod) this downsizing came at a cost: with so much power concentrated in such a small space, the release of the energy really has a kick. It makes it a powerful weapon, but it also makes it somewhat useless in low gravity. So, of course Terraluna Universale saw fit to issue these to security guards headed into the vacuum of space.
Hope that helps!
“So, of course Terraluna Universale saw fit to issue these to security guards headed into the vacuum of space.”
Ha ha. Blast those darned pirates into the far reaches of space, and the security guards too.
Nifty. Hopefully it is less kick than a slug thrower.