Tuns of Fun

Click to enlarge is so last week. All the cool kids are clicking HERE to enlarge! (And then clicking the image to zoom in.)

Nature fact "Sunday" comic? And a vertical one no less! What madness is this?!

At first, it was the result of poor planning. Nature fact comics are typically easier to make and plan around. But in the end, I'm glad I chose this one, I'm happy with how it came out.

So, okay, wow. Tardigrades. I don't know when I'll ever get another opportunity to talk about them again, so I'd better go for it.

Last week, I told you about Bullsnakes and did my best to make them interesting. Don't get me wrong, I like them a lot, but save for a few clever behaviors, they're pretty unremarkable. But Tardigrades. Oh man. Oh man oh man. Where do I begin.

ANIMAL ESSAY #02 - Tardigrades, Tuns of Steel.

Tardigrades are little microscopic alien-potato-dachshund things that can slow their metabolism to less than 0.01% of what it normally is. This is known as Cryptobiosis, in which they dehydrate and turn into this thing called a 'tun', which looks a bit like a wad of old chewing gum. Thanks to this ability, some tardigrades are able to survive the following:

• 304 °F (151 °C).*
• Near absolute zero.*
• The vacuum of space.**
• Six times the water pressure present in the Mariana Trench.
• Almost a decade of dehydration.***
• Absurdly salty water.
• A thousand times the radiation needed to kill a human.
• Scientists subjecting them to a lot of insane stuff.

* For a few minutes.

** For over a week.

*** For ten years, although there is a report of one that may have survived being dried out for 120 years.

They feed on the fluid of plant and animal cells, and can be found in all sorts of places that would normally suck to live in, including polar regions, the Himalayas, and even the deep sea.

Some tardigrades are parthenogenetic, meaning they can squirt out little microscopic alien-potato-dachshund clones without the hassle of mating. With all of these traits combined, they are the perfect candidate for a low-budget movie monster. 

At the end of the movie, when the human race's existence hangs by a thread, and not even the deadliest weapons in humanity's vast arsenal have made the terrifying tardigrades so much as flinch, the protagonist will save the day upon discovering the beasts' one true weakness - being smooshed by cover slips.

Sources:

http://www.experienceproject.com/stories/Love-Weird-Facts/897740

http://sun.iwu.edu/~tardisdp/tardigrade_facts.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tardigrade

If you want to learn more about these crazy buggers, check out those links above. If you want to see what they look like, just do an image search. There's tons of pictures of them. If we ever find alien life, I hope it's as interesting and weird as Tardigrades.

Next week I'll try to kick off another series, so stay tuned!

- Nolan P.

Ressspect Your Eldersss

To view this week's comic, use the decoder ring found in specially marked boxes of Sugar-Blasted Spasm Flakes! Or click to enlarge.

Here's Big Charlie the Bullsnake, a.k.a. Smelly Chuck.

I feel like writing a little essay about Bullsnakes, so I will.

ANIMAL ESSAY #01 - The Insecure Bullsnake.

Bullsnakes are nonvenomous constrictors native to North America that often wear an expression reminiscent of a teenager being embarrassed by their parents in public. When threatened, they will attempt to mimic a more dangerous species of snake in hopes that people will find them intimidating or edgy.

When they aren't busy living a lie, they pursue their hobby of unhinging their jaws and swallowing anything that fits inside. Usually things like rats and mice, but in some cases they will eat rattlesnakes. Maybe they hope to gain their powers through consumption. And then the other snakes will finally stop making fun of them during lunch!

While they can become accustomed to handling, most Bullsnakes are quite defensive, although they're quick to deny all claims of this.

You can learn more about them on the Wikipedias.

Next week I'll be shooting for a "Sunday" comic.
See you then!
 - Nolan P.

Conversation Evasion

Personally, I could go for a nice Click to Enlarge right now.

(Part 4 of 4.)

A full month for one little story. Sick of it yet, or should I keep doing the series thing?

I'm probably going to go with a couple of one-offs next (including a "Sunday" for the last week of February), but if everyone's up for it, I'll go with another series after that.

Oh, shoot, and uh... Happy Valentine's Day. Forgot that was a thing. No themed comic this time, sorry! Guess I could've planned better.

Well, see you next week with another comic!

 - Nolan P.

The Thousand-Yard Hear

CLICK TO ENLARGE AND RUN.

Part three of the series.

 

Good gravy these things take a while to make. I'd like to be getting two comics out a week when I do series like this, but it's going to be really difficult if I keep nitpicking and focusing on cleanliness and consistency like I always do. (And I don't do a real good job with it either.) I'm thinking about trying to put the whole spick-n-span fanciness thing aside and focus on making them more about the energy and expressions than consistent proportions. I seem to get better expressions when I do that, and it's usually less frustrating to draw. So if the art style changes abruptly, it's because I'm experimenting.

Next part next week!

- Nolan P.