newFriend Armshark was trying to do you a solid, buddy, you could try being a bit more grateful
AND I gotta share some crazy awesome fanart that has been created lately: This piece of Mike and Thighfriend by Jordan of Hominids Comic! Also, a geologist Mike that my bud Ziggyzags was kind enough to share with me… and last but not least, I noted to my good friend Mags that her character Ayo from Monster Pulse sort of shares some features with armschilla here, and I drew this back XD Monster Pulse is an incredible comic btw, you should definitely take a read if you have the time!
There were some shingValentines if you missed them~ And Part 2 of (now) embarrassing MI background/ concept work for $5+ patrons to look at.
And lastly, a very big thank you to the healthy list of $10+ Patrons from January :]
65 Comments
D:
The monster! Poor thighfriend.
But yeah, I think Mike’s a little beyond the point of bewilderment right now.
At least he’s getting used to the environment down there?
dat beard.
Whoa, holding down and ripping out are no good Marsfriend manners!
I’m a little confused about how much time has passed since the end of the previous chapter. Is his hair growth accelerated because of the fungi on his face or has it been longer than I thought?
Good questions~
You inveterate tease.
(I love it.)
Originally read that at “invertebrate tease”… like gasp, how did you know
I learned a new word today!
Does Marsfriend’s species not have a tendency towards reticence after emotional trauma? Granted, Mike isn’t exactly an example of a typical human’s emotional state, but still.
“Yes. That’s how it works. You pull it out. Sometime you die, sometime you live. I guess it’s a bit of a gamble.”
it said : “… when I attempted to remove your parasite.”
That could mean that the creature failed to remove it Or that the creature did remove it. It’s a bit vague but clear that the creature did not succeed in pulling it out.
Well.. at least for me. I may be wrong.
Also the creature may not realize that healing in creatures from another planet is different from healing from it’s planet.
Thighfriend is OK! <3
“HE WAS MY FRIEND, OK ?”
“THAT WAS MY BEST MARTIAN FRIEND!”
“Yes.”
Don’t look so smug about it >:|
Oh gosh you’re your friends with Magnolia! It’s like when you see two celebrities you love hanging out on TV *_*
lol. I have to show her this… (the celebrity who draws this comic is currently wearing sweats and drinking their 3rd cup of instant coffee)
Rule of nocturnal people #6:
If you wake up before 10 am, your blood is 100% coffeine.
MY parasite? You’re the one with fully grown Martian crabs living in your fur! Worry about your own parasites!
OMG is Mike going to meet Legschilla
Thanks for the lovely shout out. It was really fun to paint your characters. Great page!
Geez, armshark, the angry flapflap is clearly a mutualistic endosymbiont, not a parasite.
Don’t trash-talk it like that.
ARMSHARK
Lance Armshark?
Out of the past month’s worth of silly names for this native Martian, I’m honored that mine caught your attention.
I love literally everything about this comment.
Mike’s face tho.
You tried to separate the friends. Ofc he is mad.
“Better to be schizophrenic than completely alone” (German saying).
Mike has gone so much in the wind before his “downfall”, that a martian more or less simply doesn’t count.
“Yes, Michael. LEVi told me about Band-Aids, how they must be ripped off quickly, all in one motion. Martian parasites operate on the same principle.”
best comment.
So if Thieghfriend is gone, then why are the faceshrooms still there?
Ah, I see. So the problem here is out new friend’s lack of a good “bedside manner”?
Yay! First comment since I got hooked on your comic!
And NOOOOOOOOOOOO. THIGHFRIEND. NU.
He was a parasite, but I thought it was a mutual relationship! Surely there must be more to this, right?
I dunno why, but I really like the idea of our protagonist gaining a literal mutualistic relationship with another creature, Thighfriend-style.
I dunno. Maybe they’re parasites when they attach to armsharks, but form mutualistic relationships with humans. If so, it could be a fortuitous body chemistry interaction, or it could be that legfungi interact with different hosts differently even among martian fauna.
Among other things, an armshark probably doesn’t need any assistance with breathing/filtering the local atmosphere.
Yes, humans are so often disappointing. Plus they get all cranky when you try to help them out.
“Tried to rip it out of me” OW OW OW???? OW
Holy shitballs! (Can I swear here? I’m going to swear here because this is amazing! I cannot get over how much I enjoy both comics).
*Praying to the God of Comics* Please! Please! Please! Let there be exposition! Or no, make us dangle by a thread…oh man, I don’t even know what I want.
Did Armshark rip Mike’s eyebrows off instead?
Not unless it lumbered over to Chapter 1 and ripped them off then, lol
Given the tendency to not have characters’ mouths always open in the presence of word balloons (which Der-shing has discussed previously), Mike’s sort of mute open-mouthed “what the hell” expression in panel 3 with the “…” is especially fun.
Come to think of it, I really want to see Dinobutt with his mouth open now.
RIP, Thighfriend.
2015-2016.
OH NOOOOOO THIGHFRIEND PLEASE BE OKAY D:
Ah, great expressions as always. Love panel 3.
Mike: “You held me down and tried to rip it out of me.”
Armshark: “Thanks Captain Obvious. Here’s a medal for your astounding observation.” *hands him a rock on a string. The rock has an engraving that says “No shit, Sherlock”*
That last frame is a nose to nose ending… I’m tempted to say “And now, kiss”
Or worse, it’s gonna start grooming Mike like a cat.
I keep coming back and reading those first couple of panels again. Armshark (thanks, Spav!) is trying to understand depression, which is… whew. It’s tough explaining that to someone who DIDN’T learn everything it knew about humans from a robot!
It’s also a really sad view of how much Mike has changed since he built LEVi. :(
Maybe now we can discuss why Mike’s blood appears to be GLOWING. owo
When I read Armshark’s lines it’s in a more androgynous version of Thane’s voice (Mostly the vocal distortion). Also maybe a bit of Guilty Spark from Halo? I’d be curious as to how Armshark is actually supposed to sound!
So, I’ve been really confused about what’s going on since he fell in that hole. Maybe someone can give me a summary or verify if mine is accurate (insofar as we know). From what I can gather, he found some caves (which he might have already known about since he buried his robot down here?), found an underground lake/ocean, somehow got parasites in his leg and face from one page to another, seemed really happy to have the leg parasite, found this alien who he apparently has met before (or is just SUPER chill about meeting new aliens), and had his parasites removed as quickly and secretly as they appeared. And he also hasn’t died from the inhospitable atmosphere during all this time. I’m totally lost.
Ok, so after re-reading this, I guess it’s not quite as confusing. I presume we simply skipped over his initial meeting with the alien and the removal of his leg-parasite. Still confused about the face-fungus and the atmosphere.
Yep, p much. Just a narrative choice (like not showing the actual fall between Ch1 and Ch2). I also tend not to spell every little thing out because… well, it’s part of the fun of writing and reading. LOST would have been a very boring show if they explained all the weird stuff in episode 1.
Hey Der-shing, I’m making a fanmix of music for Mike and his new friends on 8tracks, is it alright if I use a bit of the cover for Chapter 2 to illustrate the cover of the mix (with credit of course)? If not I will just find a weird picture of a cave.
Of course it’s fine :] Thanks for asking. Let me know when it’s up and I’ll share it here too!
Here it is! http://8tracks.com/spectacledbear/abyss-gazing
You don’t have a bear-face, Mike. Maybe ask Armshark for a razor. :)
This is gonna be interesting … what does she(?) mean by “attempted to remove” thighfriend?
BTW, I wanted to uphold (but forgot) my uptight reader status by pointing out that the word LEVi is not capitalized the way you usually do on this page. This is a minor thing and it’s totally okay to ignore.
Oh shoot, missed the second one. I thought I had actually remembered it this time XD Only got the first one
oh armshark, if you have to ask…
OH NO!
I just read “Michael” in the 1st panel in KITT’s voice from Knight Rider. D:
not to join the party two years late, but I can’t not comment. The parallels between the flashback scenes and current ones are so well portrayed I can’t stand it. I’m talking about thighfriend; the violent violation of Mike’s body; his attachment to the parasite that grows out of that violation, the pain and fascination; the almost pathological detachment he exhibits toward learning that his creation (constructed personality) made some value of connection with another intelligent life form; the wound he sustains when that same well-meaning life form tries to forcibly remove the parasite from his body in an effort to alleviate his suffering. I mean. It’s just. Navigating the world as a functioning adult when you survived years of childhood abuse… I’ll just say that getting stranded alone in extraterrestrial territory is an apt comparison.
Thighfriend, nooooooo!