“Latest” meaning “most late,” and i apologize for the super-delayed update of this week’s comic. Excuses, self-deprecation, paralyzing creative fear, severe overthinking, 1001 rewrites, ramblin’ hills of text, etc. Keep scrolling, it’s a long one. Oh, and in case this doesn’t work as a stand-alone comic: precursor. Of course, it might not work in any context. I…have to go now.
wr
Virus Comix News 
August 13, 2010 at 7:44 pm
reminds me of randy’s hobby shop xD
but i can relate this comic to the previous one…in the way that we should take chances even we it seems so unreal to us,even when it sounds dangerous,even when standing in our confortable zone seems…confortable :x…but that’s just my humble opinion…i’m sleepy -_-
August 13, 2010 at 9:18 pm
I’m in love with the character (literally), and I like the alternate (pun intended) drawing style.
I feel like understatement would be better. So much of what makes your comix magical (Jobs can suck it) is the elegance of your metaphor. Especially since you somehow manage to make each of what, 3000 words of so seem absolutely essential.
You really don’t need to say “get it?” after the joke, is all.
August 13, 2010 at 9:21 pm
Also, so, so, so glad you fixed her bust since the first one.
August 13, 2010 at 11:26 pm
LOVE this characters. worth the wait 🙂
August 13, 2010 at 11:36 pm
I went on holiday for two weeks, and when I got back there were two new comics waiting for me here. Bliss 🙂
August 14, 2010 at 12:37 am
You continue to win at drawing teh womens.
August 14, 2010 at 4:16 am
I love this comic so much that I hate it sometimes. Sad endings make me sad…
Still, keep bringing in this character.
August 14, 2010 at 8:08 am
You are a fucking genius. A fucking genius.
August 14, 2010 at 5:10 pm
The creatures of Dimension ?XJQ are pretty sexy as well.
November 27, 2014 at 10:00 pm
I’m not gonna judge…
August 14, 2010 at 5:12 pm
Sexy Girl With Masculine Activities Know-How is so alone 😦 Maybe someday she will be able to find a dude to have a conversation with.
November 27, 2014 at 10:01 pm
That’s the whole joke – these kinds of ironies constantly happen. Plenty of attractive women miss out because guys don’t think they have a chance.
August 14, 2010 at 6:17 pm
Love it! Great work as usual!
August 14, 2010 at 6:32 pm
ITS FUNNY BECAUSE SHE HAS AN INTEREST IN AN ACTIVITY THAT WOMEN DO NOT NORMALLY HAVE AN INTEREST IN LMAO!1
August 14, 2010 at 6:40 pm
This works as a great follow up to the last comic. This could be were you end up if you take the teleporter =P
August 14, 2010 at 8:28 pm
Should I find myself in similar circumstance I am sure something similar would happen. GREAT LMAO.
August 14, 2010 at 9:31 pm
One day she’ll meet a guy who’s gonna be like her. I think she should go around doing random guys till this day. It’s not healthy to find people disappearing into other dimensions after talking with them. Every time it happens it gets you down.
August 15, 2010 at 1:49 am
Oh… and i was wondering what she looks like from behind
August 15, 2010 at 2:16 am
Extra-dimensional beings are boss. Find me this hot chick so that I may meet them!
August 15, 2010 at 2:35 am
So, we’ve seen her talk to a clothing retailer salesperson, a hobby shop owner, and a landscaping enthusiast.
I wouldn’t mind that happening to me the next time I need to head to the electronics store for thermal paste and compressed air. Great comic.
August 15, 2010 at 2:36 am
Darn… I know a girl like this and its too bad I really can’t compete with her knowledge…
August 15, 2010 at 5:35 am
I love your extra-dimensional characters their speak almost could make sense too. in speech bubbles 8 and 9: “Indeed!, a happy ending then!” “A happy ending!”
The untranslated pictograms end with the same figure, just like the translated balloons, so that figure must mean “ending”
It’s as if you’re actually translating it for us. I feel as if I studied it more, this just might be the rosetta stone I need to communicate in such a dimension.
August 15, 2010 at 5:44 am
You can draw some pretty hot ladies. Ever thought about getting into porn comics?
August 15, 2010 at 10:29 am
Nice touch on the sloppy grass around the bus stop.
August 15, 2010 at 11:34 am
I know that relationships shouldn’t be founded on deception, but I can’t help but think that people wouldn’t spontaneously traverse dimensional borders if they were introduced to the technical know-how a little more gradually.
August 15, 2010 at 2:37 pm
I find myself now waiting for the comic where this girl, in a set of serial panels, manages to talk enough to make a small crowd of guys “disappear” (as she’s apt to do), only to have one left, who’s actually too effeminate to know what she’s talking about.
See, then suddenly SHE’S the one whose ultimate preconceptions are called into question, and it’s HER reality that doesn’t seem to fit anymore. She may even find that attractive in a guy. Either way, I’m starting to feel sorry for her- she never has a happy ending.
August 15, 2010 at 4:16 pm
One of those rare comix that manage to pull off the 3k+ words per panel milestone.
August 15, 2010 at 4:26 pm
superb man, superb.
August 15, 2010 at 6:51 pm
I really wish I had some way to console you as the artist on any angsty feelings you have. Your comic has been and is uniformly superb. Your work is very well done, and I look forward and recommend your comic to all I know.
A++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Will read again! A Lot!
August 15, 2010 at 7:59 pm
lmao, that was great!
August 15, 2010 at 8:24 pm
i never thought the precursors to this comic were that good (thought the punchlines were a bit too random). but this one’s great, really makes you care for the character. she just wants to be close with someone but everytime she tries to connect the person is in such awe of her beauty that they die in increasingly dramatic ways…
i know exactly how she feels…
August 15, 2010 at 9:10 pm
I can relate. I have a classmate who is a pretty attractive girl and is into programming, Html, PHP and such. And I’m really into (interface) design, so that is something that would be like the most perfect match ever, but what life gives… she has a boyfriend for years. FML!
Actually what bothers me sometimes in the comix is not the too much words, but the complexity of words
Well okay, I’m don’t have English origins, but the dictionary sometimes doesn’t help.
August 15, 2010 at 9:21 pm
Woah, just noticed she’s wearing his hat at the end. I love your attention to small details like that. 5 stars out of a possible 3 triangles.
August 15, 2010 at 9:32 pm
A box kite is a happy ending.
August 15, 2010 at 10:35 pm
“… unable to comprehend its situation it reflexively collapsed through a dimensional rift …” ROFLMAO. Thigh-slapping peels of laughter over here. Took minutes to recover to finish the comic. Then got into the extra-dimensional being’s translated pictograms. More peels of laughter. Oh, my. As a modelling geek myself, would totally love having a conversation with her – she sounds like an interesting person to talk to. So long as I got over my own hormones.
August 16, 2010 at 1:21 am
I loved this. Excellent comic. Grinned all the way. And thumbs up for the emotional ending too; not so much a happy ending for everyone, eh? The way she’s wearing his hat; priceless.
Side note : damn Winston, you draw hot chicks like nobody’s business. I stared at panel 4 and 7 waaay too long for my own good.
August 16, 2010 at 1:59 am
Beautiful!
August 16, 2010 at 3:26 am
valy: I agree, in retrospect it was kind of similar to the previous comic; the same idea though maybe from a different perspective? Or something.
dodoman1: More fun to draw also. From now on every comic will be set entirely in Dimension ?XJQ! You heard it here first.
name: No.
trobert: Yeah, i was kind of proud of that, to be perfectly egotistical..
Innominate: That’s a pretty good point actually. [processing…]
Otter: I definitely appreciate you reading despite the language barrier. What are the particular words/phrases that gave you trouble? Maybe i can clarify something for you.
ChronoSamurai: Yeah, that maybe turned out more subtle than i’d intended, but i’m glad it did come through. I shall keenly accept your stars/triangles also.
Mike: I like it. Very Zen, as they say. Inarguable too, i reckon.
August 16, 2010 at 4:36 am
You might be able to make use of this, it’s a really simple bit of advice on drawing boobs that aren’t straight up circles http://mark2000.com/?p=66
August 16, 2010 at 4:40 am
Meh.
Third time. First two times weren’t obvious enough, were they, Winston?
*Just kidding*
I’m curious as to how much research you did here, hein? A lot of what she was saying about two-strokes sounds accurate, and America recently passed legislation concerning emissions standards for two-strokes. But some of it sounds like the kind of stuff you’d hear from old duffers set in their ways.
August 16, 2010 at 4:48 am
Having spent some time in my youth working at a lawnmower sales and repair store, I’m surprised at how accurately you depict the people that hang around them.
Never in all my time there did I see a woman enter who wasn’t the proprietor enter the front door, though, so we may well have all disappeared in this circumstance.
August 16, 2010 at 7:19 am
Hoo-ray for the interrobang!
August 16, 2010 at 10:24 am
I wonder if the last panel’s unruly looking grass might be intentional. I mean, they have to be.
August 16, 2010 at 11:05 am
It’s great to once agaim see this girl as she was originally presented: A woman who is beautiful, intelligent, in touch with her sexuality but of a certain innocence, not consciously trying to seduce or harrass people, just trying to strike up a friendly conversation about lawn-mowers or whatever. The guys catch on fire not because they’re aroused, but because they can’t compromise their idea of an attractive woman with their idea of a peer they can talk to about their hobbies.
The comic in the clothing store was a miss, IMO, because it seemed like she was intentionally hitting on him. It was a stretch to assume that a grown woman is so out of touch with social norms, that she wouldn’t know that talking about not wearing underwear carries sexual connotations. Moreover, the “victim” wasn’t hit by a “logic bomb” like these guys, he burst up just because he was aroused.
On the contrary, this one has as much depth as the original one (although it feels more like a remake).
August 16, 2010 at 1:56 pm
@Winston:
Actually I’m a really fluent English speaker/reader, but some of those creatures word use just goes over my head 😀 Or maybe it’s not even the words just the “Too much complex words in one place” fact 🙂 But one should expect that from an interdimensional highly intelligent beings.
Anyway, keep up the good work. You are one of my favourite comic artist 🙂 And even the people how come here to comment write pretty intelligent things. Maybe “Too much words” isn’t a bad thing after all. 😀 Should keep most of the trolls away.
August 16, 2010 at 4:22 pm
Bitch stole his hat.
August 16, 2010 at 6:07 pm
Will she ever get the guy???
Kinda random but seeing this made me wonder what would happen if she was in a comic with sphinx and the pink-haired [former] waitress…
keep up the good work and the massive text!
August 16, 2010 at 7:43 pm
Long time reader here. Just wanted to say I think you’ve been on a roll with the past 3 comics. Thank you so much.
August 16, 2010 at 9:24 pm
I’m loving the super hot uber nerd character you’ve created.
August 17, 2010 at 12:54 am
I kinda feel bad for that chick. lol. There should be at least one guy out there for her.
August 17, 2010 at 2:55 am
Damn. Great Comix.
August 17, 2010 at 5:26 am
I love this character. I want to marry her and have her baby. Or something…I love that she’s wearing the dude’s hat in the last panel, too. Yeah, you are still brilliant. Thanks for a great strip. PS – Lily isn’t giving you enough credit (no disrespect, Lil). You are drawing her boobs just fine, man.
August 17, 2010 at 11:44 am
I once wrote an article on water-dissolvable labels for airline bulk food trays, managing to sneak in the same Radiohead song “How to Disappear Completely” as a title. It’s heartening to see it put to actual good use in your always-excellent comic.
For some reason I still really flinch whenever I see the word “Zounds!”, especially when not partnered with the requisite “Gadzooks!” I’m going to have to imagine that those are the paralleloblobs’ names and stop moaning, I think.
August 17, 2010 at 5:01 pm
Lovely as always.
August 18, 2010 at 12:00 am
Senór Rowntree, another job well done. And i love some throwbacks to old comics, they’re always great. And it kind of added an meaning to that last one which was just kind of comical gore, but in a subtle way? Yeah, i know i’m not meant to ask questions when i’m complimenting you, but you know what i mean. =P
August 18, 2010 at 12:20 am
Is the background constantly changing because they are in motion?
August 18, 2010 at 1:21 am
lily: Cheers, i appreciate the info. Of course that’s just one of thousands of things i can’t draw properly though…
Quirel: There was definitely research involved, particularly with regard to two stroke engines vs four stroke and all that. The stuff about trimmers was from personal experience though.
TentacledBeast: Yeah, i agree with that for sure. I definitely wanted to get her right the third time around, plus try and take the idea of that first strip a step further.
Otter: Yeah, it definitely keeps the trolls away most of the time (JINX!); i’m just glad it doesn’t keep everyone else away too. HEY WORLD, SOME PEOPLE LIKE TO READ!
GerryB: I used to do that in school, try to sneak song titles or lyrics into creative writing projects etc. Try this at home, kids!
Jamie: Cheers! And yeah, your analysis of the first comic is correct, i reckon. And you may ask questions whenever you want, so please don’t hold back.
Nick: The background is constantly changing because the artist hates drawing the same thing more than once, which is a damned foolish predilection to have when you’re making comix, but, uh, oh well… Anyway, it provides Lovely and Pleasant Visual Variety For You the Reader.
August 18, 2010 at 3:40 am
Hehe, its Sarah Palin. Intellegent, niave, attractive, get’s guy dig’s and has on occassion dressed as trashy as a peeler on the dance floor.
Go get ’em Ms Palin…one registered voter at a time 😛
August 18, 2010 at 2:54 pm
@Sam: You better be trolling.
Great comic, one of my favourite characters!
August 18, 2010 at 4:10 pm
Ahhh.
She wore his hat. Ah man that’s a bit sad.
August 19, 2010 at 6:02 pm
Oops !
I’m no MD but… could this guy have eaten too much Warfarin or something? Or could it be that nice-looking girl without burqa? Not so much Palin-alike as sooner Lena Horne-ish, I would say.
Nice extradimension(s) b.t.w.
August 20, 2010 at 2:26 am
ok, what do I want to say ?
you talk too much about things that shouldn’t take much time to think about if you didn’t think in words or in terms of what someone historical or someone you know thinks or what debating the point should be like. Your drawing is good but it’s intentional caricature of what real people/beautiful people actually look like (you are consciously avoiding making the characters and the scenery too beautiful or unrealistic in any way, I don’t know why). You lack direction in what to draw and as a result just do a lot of gruntwork when the alternative is waiting for good ideas and giving them time to mature, the same can be said for the way you lead your life. When you look at life you look at it with a “no use” attitude (not that you’re apathetic, it’s just no use caring about something you can’t control) but don’t really say it and instead try to focus on what should be done (to the extent of your knowledge). You are smart and, given enough time, you will learn more and more about the world BUT you will likely die long before you do any of that. I don’t know why I’m writing this (it probably tells more about me than about you) but it’s easy for you to dismiss it if you know it’s wrong so I don’t lose much either way. Also, it’s not true you don’t need to be happy to do what you want to do.
August 20, 2010 at 4:19 pm
George: You’re right, it IS easy for me to dimiss if i know it’s wrong. And thanks for telling me i’m going to die before i learn anything about the world, that was a lot of fun to read.
August 20, 2010 at 5:15 pm
Hey, George, I’d like to see some of your art someday! Wait, what do you mean you don’t have any art to show us? Really? Nothing? Too bad.
Winston, your comics are inspiring. I always try to show them to everyone I know will appreciate them, and so far they have never failed to amaze me.
August 21, 2010 at 2:08 am
I’ve always loved this character as more of a novelty than anything else, but with the last panel of this strip you gave her a whole new depth. I love the fact that she’s wearing his hat.
As for you, George – someone who has genuine talent and has accomplished great things in their life doesn’t normally feel the need to deliver unsolicited criticism of other people. So, you either don’t have talent, or you’re a dick. Either way, I feel it’s of the utmost importance that you, without delay, walk east till your hat floats.
August 21, 2010 at 4:16 am
wonder what it is about guys that causes their tendency to turn all their hobbies in to obsessions. do women actually not do this, or is just not covered in such detail?
also, if they’re really so worried about attracting women in the first place, why do they pick such boring, depressing interests in the first place? i mean, lawncare? seriously?
August 21, 2010 at 4:22 am
wow nice redundant second paragraph there, i suck cocks apparently
August 21, 2010 at 4:54 am
I had a girl like this once. Only we talked about video games. The twist is of course she disappeared not me.
August 21, 2010 at 5:15 pm
DaveB/Winston: re: the boob drawing link, I hope that wasn’t rude or trolly to post; in retrospect, the brusqueness makes it seem way assholish. I love the comic and the art but somebody earlier in the comments mentioned the circle boob phenom that occasionally shows up in this comic and I wanted to throw the link out there.
August 21, 2010 at 9:15 pm
lily: Don’t worry, i definitely didn’t think you were being rude. I completely agree that i’m in need of the anatomy lesson in question, and i appreciate the link. It’s the only way i’ll learn…
August 22, 2010 at 7:44 am
Isn’t she really just a sort of reverse Twilight?
August 22, 2010 at 10:52 pm
I have been browsing your comics and wanted to drop a word in. I love your style, the visuals, the sometimes rambling dialogue and the humor. I have only gotten through maybe a dozen comics, but I am already a fan.
Probably not your typical fan, I am a right winger … conservative on most issues. I find myself wishing I could rebut some of your statements with the same satire and artistic skill that you present them with.
So, even if I may strongly disagree with many of your messages, I at least wanted to tell you that those messages (and the art you use as a medium to deliver them) speak to me on some level.
Probably sounds hokey, and I’m sure you couldn’t care less …. but how often do you get to see some artistic expression that speaks to you on some level and actually get to send thanks to the artist?
August 23, 2010 at 9:15 pm
George: Wow, just…wow. You make me weep for humanity, you really do.
Winston: Haters be hatin’, shine on you crazy diamond.
August 24, 2010 at 11:48 am
I like big butts but panel 6 is kinda ridiculous.. 😉
Great job!
August 25, 2010 at 9:39 am
Must have reached the end. A happy ending indeed.
August 25, 2010 at 5:19 pm
Another good hot chick with dorky hobbies. Next time, you gotta have her chat up a computer hobbyist or strategy gamer or both (basically me lol).
September 10, 2010 at 7:14 pm
Why do guys act like they want this but then treat girls who are actually LIKE this like they’re either lesbians or freaks of fuckin nature?
September 27, 2010 at 6:45 am
Winston,
Does Hobby Girl have a name and how would you best summarize her character?
I ask because I tried putting an entry on Wikipedia myself (twice. With references even!) and it get got wiped out like that.
She’s my favorite!
October 2, 2010 at 5:36 am
yeah 2 strokes are awesome! no I am not gay
October 19, 2010 at 9:59 am
I get it, Winston Rowntree mows lawns as his day job, which is why he picked this hobby
October 28, 2010 at 10:52 am
Yeah, I just noticed after re-reading this, she totally stole his hat.
Maybe she’s playing some kind of reverse stripping game, where she kills guys and takes their clothes.
November 14, 2010 at 5:55 pm
Brilliant. I’ve only ever accidentally slipped into an alternate dimension through the use of powerful psychotropics, but I love the idea of a beautiful nerd having the same effect me.
Thank you, WR, for your incredible work and for the courage to bare your sensitive soul (not nec. in this comic, but you know what I mean).
January 28, 2011 at 11:41 pm
I have met this lady in my universe. She’s totally hot, unfortunately for me, she’s happily married to somebody else. But its great fun geeking out with her about tech junk.
May yours find a soul mate as well.
January 28, 2011 at 11:44 pm
@Sam-D
Two Strokes Suck
Four Strokes Truck
Caterpillar Forever!
September 7, 2013 at 10:49 am
So she’s justine, then? I’ve been calling her HSH.
November 27, 2014 at 9:59 pm
Man, screw gas engines. They’re noisy as hell and just keep people overweight. [In Captain Barbossa voice] Better were the days when mastery of the lawns came not from bargains struck with devilish oil companies, but the sweat of a man’s brow and the strength of his back alone!
Seriously, get an electric or a manual. Manual’s great for physical fitness and way cheaper than the alternatives.
February 18, 2015 at 2:19 am
Holy shit, if someone started going off like that about weed-eaters to me I’d fucking vanish too.
…
Oh wait, you’re implying that it’s because she’s female…
November 26, 2019 at 12:32 am
I’m gonna go off to bed now and as I’m going to sleep I’m going to think about whether I’ve ever had a conversation or even a relationship with a woman — I’m a guy — who was totally into the same subject I’m into — I’m into a few subjects as intensely as the female protagonist here is into lawn’n garden tools and maintenance. Like say back when I used to drive truck, what if I met up with a fellow driver who happened to be female and she too had a REALLY strong predilection for Cummins? Or imagine if she were a flatbed operator, and we spent a half hour talking about chains and binders and ropes and vee-boards; and she could even see the humor in it, that we were both really into the DETAILS! Reminds me of the comic where the guy shows up at the sex shop on Christmas and shares a story with the Hostess; that’s one sided, but that’s the level of detail and the point of that is the undercurrent where hey, if you’re sticking with this, if you’re with this this long, then we’re gonna fuck like nobody ever fucked beFORE.
I’m gonna think about it. Surely in 70 years on the planet I must have been in a situation close to that. I was a biochemist too and when I was a grad student I met a woman at the Federation meetings who was also a biochemistry grad student. If we had spent a little time talking about our work; and about science; yeah, I really blew that.
This guy in the comic has such a great tee shirt for picking up — or rather getting picked up by — a woman like her. “Two strokes is ENOUGH” , right? And it’s so suggestive in a really really dumb and loveable kind of way — you know, “strokes”. He said “strokes” hehehe (BeavisandButtheadtalk). I’m going to interpret what happened to him//them as metaphorical; in real life , if things were even halfway what Rowntree has painted for us, almost ANYTHING could happen and it would probably be pretty cool. The bus stop with her wearing his hat — that is sooooo existential and metaphysical, could be anywhere from “he didn’t really exist” to “he only exists in her dreams”.
okay, I went on long enough to put together in my head what this is like — this is Jennifer Moyle and Peter Mitchell where Jennifer is an ex-spook biochemist who grooms Peter to be her frontman, mouthpiece,and puppet to get a Nobel Prize for the Chemiosmotic Hypothesis. She ends up retiring to Cornwall with her half of the Nobel money in solid gold. She never marries or even has a boyfriend, but she loves to entertain Cornish miners lustily.
That would be the greatest comic ever drawn.